牛津书虫系列《威廉莎士比亚》Chapter8 附中英双语文本

8 A Scottish King for England
8 苏格兰来的英国国王
Will's father died in September 1601．In his last years John Shakespeare was a happy man．His son was famous，and the Shakespeare family was important again in Stratford．But there weren't many children in the family．Will's sister Joan was married and had a little boy，but Will's brothers didn't have any children．
1601年9月威尔的父亲过世了。约翰·莎士比亚安然愉快地度过了晚年。他的儿子出了名，自然莎士比亚家族在斯特拉福镇又风光起来。只是这个家族子嗣不多，威尔的妹妹琼结婚后只生了一个小男孩，而威尔的几个兄弟都后继无人。
Susanna，Will's older daughter，was now eighteen，and Will said to her one day：
如今，威尔的大女儿，苏姗娜已是一个十八岁的大姑娘。一天，威尔问她：
‘We must find you a husband soon，Susanna．’
“苏珊娜，我们很快该给你物色丈夫啦。”
But Susanna shook her head．‘Oh，I don't want to be married，Father，thank you．’
苏姗娜拼命摇头，“哦，我还不想结婚呢，爸爸，谢谢你。”
We all smiled at that，because there was already a young man who was often a visitor at New Place．That was John Hall，a clever young doctor．Will liked him．
我们会意地笑了起来，其实有个青年早已成为“新地方”的常客。他叫约翰·霍尔，是个聪明的青年医生。威尔很喜欢他。
Back in London，the theatres were always full，and actors were now important people in the city．Will and I were now living in very fine lodgings in Silver Street，with the Mountjoy family．The Globe and the Lord Chamberlain's Men were doing very well，and the older actors in the company were making money，and buying houses and land．But some people still thought that actors were dangerous，wicked people．
再回到伦敦，形势已明显好转，剧院经常爆满，演员在市里已成为举足轻重的人物。威尔和我住进了银街的豪华住所，同住的是芒特乔伊家。“环球剧院”和“宫内大臣剧院”事业兴隆，剧团中老资格的演员赚了钱，开始买地置产。不过，还有少数人始终认为演员既危险又龌龊。
Then Queen Elizabeth died，on the 24th of March 1603，at Richmond．I remember the day well．The theatres were closed —you can't have plays when a queen is dying—and we were all at Henry Condell's house．He and John Heminges lived verg near our lodgings in Cripplegate．
1603年3月24日，伊丽莎白女王死于里士满宫。这天我记忆犹新，各家剧院关门息演——女王快要驾崩时，是不许演出的——于是大家都聚到亨利·康德尔家。他和约翰·海明就住在我们住处附近的“克里普勒门”大街。
We were all very worried．The new King of England was James the First．He was already King of Scotland，and he had a young wife，Queen Anne of Denmark，and three young children．But what was he like？Would he be a good king？And，most importantly，did he like plays？
大家都忧心忡忡。新继位的英国国王是詹姆士一世。他已经是苏格兰国王了，年轻的妻子是丹麦的安妮王后，膝下有三个孩子。不知这国王为人怎么样？他是不是位好国王呢？最重要的是，他是否爱看戏？
‘If King James doesn't like plays，’said Henry Condell，‘we're finished．There are already a lot of Puritans on the London City Council，and they'd love to close the theatres down．’
“万一詹姆士国王不爱看戏，”亨利·康德尔说道，“那我们全完了。伦敦市政参议会中有许多清教徒，他们巴不得关闭剧院呢。”
Henry always looked at the black side of everything．
亨利总是想到事情的阴暗面。
‘Well，he's written a lot of books himself，’said Will ‘Perhaps he'll be interested in plays，too We'll just have to wait and see．’
“然而，国王他自己也曾写过许多书，”威尔说，“或许他也会对戏剧感兴趣的。我们只能等着瞧。”
We didn't have to wait long．On the 19th of May I was underneath the stage in the Globe．I was trying to mend a bro-ken door in the floor of the stage．We used this door when a ghost came on or went off in a cloud of smoke．Suddenly，I heard feet running across the stage．I looked up through the hole，and saw Will and John Heminges and Richard Burbage．They were all very excited．
我们并没等多久。5月19日，我正在“环球剧院”的舞台下面修理舞台场地的一扇破门，这扇门是演出时，让幽灵驾着一团烟雾进出用的。突然，我听到一阵脚步声跑过舞台，透过洞眼，向上一看，原来是威尔，约翰·海明和理查·白贝芝，他们欣喜若狂。
‘Listen to this，Toby，’said Will．He was holding a piece of paper in his hand．‘It's a letter from King James！From today，we are the King's Men！We're working for the King himself，and he wants to see all the plays．’