第十七章（第6/18页）

Sir Malcolm was painting. Yes, he still would do a Venetian lagoonscape, now and then, in contrast to his Scottish landscapes. So in the morning he was rowed off with a huge canvas, to his 'site'. A little later, Lady Cooper would he rowed off into the heart of the city, with sketching-block and colours. She was an inveterate watercolour painter, and the house was full of rose-coloured palaces, dark canals, swaying bridges, medieval facades, and so on. A little later the Guthries, the prince, the countess, Sir Alexander, and sometimes Mr. Lind, the chaplain, would go off to the Lido, where they would bathe; coming home to a late lunch at half past one.

马尔科姆爵士最近热衷于绘画。没错，他想找个时间，画一幅威尼斯水景，毕竟意大利水城与苏格兰的景致迥然不同。于是，每天清晨，他便带着大画布，乘船外出，寻找合适的取景地点。稍迟一会儿，库珀夫人则会带着写生簿和油彩，乘船赶往市中心。她沉迷于水彩画，家里摆满她的画作，玫瑰色的宫殿、阴暗的河道、摇摆着的索桥、中世纪的建筑物，诸如此类。再晚些时候，格思里一家、亲王、伯爵夫人、亚历山大爵士则会集体出行，前往利多岛畅泳，有时候牧师林德先生也会同往，大家都回来得比较晚，午餐通常在一点半开席。

The house-party, as a house-party, was distinctly boring. But this did not trouble the sisters. They were out all the time. Their father took them to the exhibition, miles and miles of weary paintings. He took them to all the cronies of his in the Villa Lucchese, he sat with them on warm evenings in the piazza, having got a table at Florian's: he took them to the theatre, to the Goldoni plays. There were illuminated water-fêtes, there were dances. This was a holiday-place of all holiday-places. The Lido, with its acres of sun-pinked or pyjamaed bodies, was like a strand with an endless heap of seals come up for mating. Too many people in the piazza, too many limbs and trunks of humanity on the Lido, too many gondolas, too many motor-launches, too many steamers, too many pigeons, too many ices, too many cocktails, too many menservants wanting tips, too many languages rattling, too much, too much sun, too much smell of Venice, too many cargoes of strawberries, too many silk shawls, too many huge, raw-beef slices of watermelon on stalls: too much enjoyment, altogether far too much enjoyment!

别墅里的宴会跟普通的家庭聚会没什么两样，令人兴致索然。但这并不会给姐妹俩造成困扰。她俩整天不着家。父亲带她们去欣赏展览，绵延数英里的画作沉闷乏味。他还会带她们去卢切塞别墅探望旧友，共赴广场的热闹晚会，在弗洛里安咖啡馆（注：坐落于威尼斯圣马尔科广场的著名咖啡馆，始建于1720年）小坐，或者是去剧院欣赏哥尔多尼（注：1707-1793，意大利剧作家，现代喜剧的创始人）的戏剧。此外，还有灯火通明的水上游乐会以及舞会。这里堪称度假胜地中的度假胜地。而利多岛的海滩上，则充斥着无数慕名而来的游客，那些镀上古铜色的或者身着肥大衣裤的肉体，活像来此交配的海豹。太多的游客在广场上徜徉，太多的肉体拥挤于利多海滩，太多的凤尾船，太多的汽艇，太多的轮船，太多的鸽子，太多的冷饮，太多的鸡尾酒，太多的侍从渴求小费，太多的语言叽里呱啦，太多，太多的阳光，太多的威尼斯气息，太多的草莓充斥着船舱，太多的丝绸围巾，太多的西瓜切得好像生牛肉片摆在水果摊上：太多的娱乐，无穷无尽的消遣！

Connie and Hilda went around in their sunny frocks. There were dozens of people they knew, dozens of people knew them. Michaelis turned up like a bad penny. "Hullo! Where you staying? Come and have an ice-cream or something! Come with me somewhere in my gondola.” Even Michaelis almost sun-burned: though sun-cooked is more appropriate to the look of the mass of human flesh.

康妮和希尔达穿着轻薄的连衣裙，四处游逛。她们认识的人不少，认识她们的人也挺多。米凯利斯像个讨厌鬼似的出现了。“嘿！你们在哪儿落脚？来吃点冰激凌或者别的怎样？乘我的凤尾船出去哪里玩吧。”就连白皙的米凯利斯都快被晒黑了，但鉴于着上如此肤色的人为数众多，似乎说是被太阳烤熟了更为贴切。

It was pleasant in a way. It was ALMOST enjoyment. But anyhow, with all the cocktails, all the lying in warmish water and sunbathing on hot sand in hot sun, jazzing with your stomach up against some fellow in the warm nights, cooling off with ices, it was a complete narcotic. And that was what they all wanted, a drug: the slow water, a drug; the sun, a drug; jazz, a drug; cigarettes, cocktails, ices, vermouth. To be drugged! Enjoyment! Enjoyment!

相对而言，这样的生活确实算得上舒适。几乎可以说是享受。但无论如何，痛饮美酒，尽情畅泳，沐浴阳光，纵情歌舞，饱尝冷饮，一切都是完美的麻醉剂。男男女女们渴望的都是麻醉自己的精神，海水，阳光，爵士舞，香烟，鸡尾酒，冷饮，苦艾酒，林林总总，效果相同。麻醉自我！纵情享乐！尽情欢愉！