The late Love letter(一封遲到的情書)（五）
"I must have been a wonderful letter, Aunt Stephia,"I said.
"斯蒂菲娜老姑，那封信一定美極了吧，"我說。
The old lady came back from her dreams of that far-off romance."Perhaps," she said, hesitating a little, "perhaps, my dear, you would care to read it ?"
老太太從她那久遠的愛之夢中醒過神來。"也許，"她帶著猶豫的神情說，"也許，親愛的，你想看看那封信吧？"
"I should love to , Aunt Stephia,"I said gently.
"我很想看，斯蒂菲娜老姑，"我輕聲說。
She rose at once and tripped into the house as eagerly as a young girl. When she came back she handed me a letter, faded and yellow with age, the edges of the envelope worn and frayed as though it had been much handled. But when I came to open it I found that the seal was unbroken.
她猛地站起身，奔進屋里，急切得像個小姑娘。她從屋里出來后，遞給我一封信。由于天長日久，那信已經褪色發黃，信封邊已經磨損，好像曾被摩挲過好多次。但在取信時，我發現封口還沒有拆開。
"Open it ,open it,"said Great-aunt Stephia, and her voice was shaking.
"拆開，拆開吧！"斯蒂菲娜老姑聲音顫抖地說。
I broke the seal and read.
我撕開封口，開始念信。
It was not a love letter in the true sense of the word, but pages of the minutest directions of how"my sweetest Phina"was to elude her father/'s vigilance, creep down to the drift at night and there meet Jantje with a horse which would take her to Smitsdorp. There she was to go to "my true friend, Henry Wilson",who would give her money and make arrangements for her to follow her lover to Cape Town and from there to England ," where, my love, we can he be married at once. But if, my dearest, you are not sure that you can face lift with me in a land strange to you, then do not take this important step, for I love you too much to wish you the smallest unhappiness. If you do not come, and if I do not hear from you, then I shall know that you could never be happy so far from the people and the country which you love. If, however, you feel you can keep your promise to me, but are of too timid and modest a journey to England unaccompanied, then write to me, and I will, by some means, return to fetch my bride."
嚴格說來，它算不上是一封情書，實際是只是幾頁內容詳盡的行動指南。信里稱"我最親愛的菲娜"該怎么擺脫她父親的監視，夜里逃出家門，詹杰會在淺灘上牽馬等著她，然后將她馱到史密斯多普，到了那里再去找理查德的"知心朋友亨利?威爾遜"，他會給她錢為她作好安排，使她能跟隨她的情人到開普敦，隨后轉道英國。"親愛的，這樣我們就可以在英國結婚了。但是我的至愛，如果你不能保證你能在一個陌生的地方和我一塊生活，你就不必采取這個重大行動，因為我太愛你了，不能讓你感到絲毫不快。如果你不來，如果我聽不到你的回信，我就會知道，如果你離開你摯愛的親人和鄉土，你是不會幸福的。但如果你能實踐你對我的許諾而由于你生性持重膽怯不愿單身前往英國，就來信告訴我，那我就會設法回南非來迎接我的新娘。"
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