The Story of Ebenezer Webster 埃比尼澤·韋伯斯特的故事

詹姆斯·鮑德溫

Many years ago there lived in New Hampshire a poor farmer， whose name was Ebenezer Webster.

許多年前，新罕布什爾州住著一個(gè)貧窮的農(nóng)民，他的名字叫埃比尼澤·韋伯斯特。

His little farm was in the hills， not far from the Merrimac River. It was a beautiful place to live in; but the ground was poor， and there were so many rocks that you would wonder how anything could grow among them.

他的小農(nóng)場坐落在群山之中，離梅里馬克河不遠(yuǎn)。這是一個(gè)美麗的地方，但土地很貧瘠，有很多巖石，多到你可能會想，怎么會有東西在這些巖石中生長。

Ebenezer Webster was known far and wide as a brave， wise man. When any of his neighbors were in trouble or in doubt about anything， they always said， “We will ask Captain Webster about it.”

埃比尼澤·韋伯斯特作為一位勇敢、睿智的人而廣為人知。當(dāng)他的鄰居遇到麻煩或?qū)θ魏问虑橛幸蓡枙r(shí)，他們總是說：“我們會去問韋伯斯特上尉。”

They called him Captain because he had fought the French and Indians and had been a brave soldier in the Revolutionary War. Indeed， he was one of the first men in New Hampshire to take up arms for his country.

他們稱他為上尉是因?yàn)樗c法國人和印第安人作戰(zhàn)，在獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭中是一名勇敢的士兵。事實(shí)上，他是新罕布什爾州第一批為國家拿起武器的人之一。

When he heard that the British were sending soldiers to America to force the people to obey the unjust laws of the king of England， he said， “We must never submit1 to this.”

當(dāng)他聽說英國派遣士兵到美國，強(qiáng)迫人民遵守英國國王的不公正法律時(shí)，他說：“我們決不能屈服?！?/p>

So he went among his neighbors and persuaded2 them to sign a pledge3 to do all that they could to defend the country against the British. Then he raised a company of two hundred men and led them to Boston to join the American army.

于是，他走到鄰居們中間，說服他們簽署承諾，會盡一切努力保衛(wèi)國家不受英國人的侵略。然后他組建了一個(gè)200人的連隊(duì)，帶領(lǐng)他們到波士頓加入美國軍隊(duì)。

The Revolutionary War lasted several years; and during all that time， Captain Webster was known as one of the bravest of the American patriots4.

獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭持續(xù)了幾年，在此期間，韋伯斯特上尉作為美國最勇敢的愛國者之一而聞名。

One day， at West Point， he met General Washington. The patriots were in great trouble at that time， for one of their leaders had turned traitor5 and had gone to help the British. The officers and soldiers were much distressed6， for they did not know who might be the next to give them up.

一天，在西點(diǎn)軍校，華盛頓將軍會見了他。當(dāng)時(shí)愛國者們遇到了大麻煩，因?yàn)樗麄兊囊晃活I(lǐng)袖叛變?nèi)陀肆?。官兵們非常痛苦，因?yàn)樗麄儾恢勒l是下一個(gè)拋棄他們的人。

As I have said， Captain Webster met General Washington. The general took the captains hand， and said， “I believe that I can trust you， Captain Webster.”

正如我所說，華盛頓將軍會見了韋伯斯特上尉。將軍握著上尉的手說：“我相信我可以信任你，韋伯斯特上尉?！?/p>

This made Captain Webster feel very happy. When he went back to his humble7 home among the New Hampshire hills， he was never so proud as when telling his neighbors about this meeting with General Washington.

這讓韋伯斯特上尉感到非常高興。當(dāng)他回到新罕布什爾州位于山間簡陋的家時(shí)，他最自豪的莫過于告訴鄰居們他與華盛頓將軍的這次會晤。

If you could have seen Captain Webster in those days， you would have looked at him more than once. He was a remarkable8 man. He was very tall and straight， with dark， glowing eyes， and hair as black as night. His face was kind， but it showed much firmness9 and decision.

如果你能在那些日子里見到韋伯斯特上尉，你就會不止一次地注視著他了。他是個(gè)了不起的人。他又高又挺拔，有一雙明亮的眼睛，頭發(fā)像黑夜一樣漆黑。他的臉很和善，但卻顯得很堅(jiān)定果斷。

He had never studied in school; but he had tried， as well as he could， to educate himself. It was on account of his honesty and good judgment that he was looked up to as the leading man in the neighborhood.

他從未上過學(xué)，但他盡了最大的努力自學(xué)。正是因?yàn)樗恼\實(shí)和良好的判斷力，他在鄰里中被尊為領(lǐng)袖人物。

In some way， I do not know how， he had gotten a little knowledge of the law. And at last， because of this as well as because of his sound common sense， he was appointed10 judge of the court in his county.

在某種程度上，我不知道他是如何獲得法律知識的。最后，因?yàn)檫@一點(diǎn)以及他健全的常識，他被任命為所在郡的法院法官。

This was several years after the war was over. He was now no longer called Captain Webster， but Judge Webster.

這是戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后的幾年，他現(xiàn)在不再被稱為韋伯斯特上尉，而是韋伯斯特法官。

It had been very hard for him to make a living for his large family on the stony farm among the hills. But now his office as judge would bring him three hundred or four hundred dollars a year. He had never had so much money in his life.

對他來說，在群山間的石頭農(nóng)場里養(yǎng)活一大家子人是非常困難的。但現(xiàn)在他的法官職位每年會給他帶來三百或四百美元的收入。他一生中從未有過這么多錢。

“Judge Webster，” said one of his neighbors， “what are you going to do with the money that you get from your office？ Going to build a new house？”

“韋伯斯特法官，”他的一個(gè)鄰居說，“你從辦公室里拿到的工資怎么辦？要蓋新房子嗎？” “Well， no，” said the judge. “The old house is small， but we have lived in it a long time， and it still does very well.”

“不，”法官說?！斑@所老房子很小，但我們在里面住了很長時(shí)間了，質(zhì)量仍然很好?！?/p>

“Then I suppose you are planning to buy more land？” said the neighbor.

“那我猜你打算買更多的地？”鄰居說。

“No， indeed， I have as much land now as I can work on. But I will tell you what I am going to do with my money. I am going to try to educate my boys. I would rather do this than have lands and houses.”

“不，真的，我現(xiàn)在有足夠耕種的土地了。但我會告訴你我要用我的錢做什么。我要盡力教育我的孩子們。我寧愿這樣做，也不愿擁有土地和房子?！?/p>