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安琪拉

Angela

一個顛倒的愛情故事

An Inverted Love Story

威廉·施文克·吉爾伯特 著

By William Schwenk Gilbert

（The Century Magazine，

(The Century Magazine,

1890年9月）

September 1890)

我是個可憐的癱子，

I am a poor paralysed fellow who,

多年以來

for many years past,

一直困在床上或沙發上。

has been confined to a bed or a sofa.

這六年來，我住在一間小屋裡，

For the last six years I have occupied a small room,

窗外是威尼斯的一條支流運河，

giving on to one of the side canals of Venice,

身邊除了一個耳聾的老婦人，別無他人，

and having no one about me but a deaf old woman,

她替我鋪床，照料我的飲食；

who makes my bed and attends to my food;

我在那裡畫些花卉和水果的水彩畫（它們是威尼斯最便宜的模特兒），勉強掙得一年約三十英鎊的微薄收入，

and there I eke out a poor income of about thirty pounds a year by making water-colour drawings of flowers and fruit (they are the cheapest models in Venice),

這些畫我寄給倫敦的一位朋友，

and these I send to a friend in London,

由他以低廉的價錢賣給一個畫商。

who sells them to a dealer for small sums.

不過，

But,

總的說來，

on the whole,

我很快樂，也很知足。

I am happy and content.

我有必要把我房間的位置描述得相當詳細。

It is necessary that I should describe the position of my room rather minutely.

房間唯一的窗戶離運河水面約五英尺，

Its only window is about five feet above the water of the canal,

窗戶上方，房子向外突出約六英尺，

and above it the house projects some six feet,

懸在水面之上，

and overhangs the water,

突出的部分由打進河底的粗壯木樁撐著。

the projecting portion being supported by stout piles driven into the bed of the canal.

這種結構有一個缺點（缺點還不止這一個），

This arrangement has the disadvantage (among others)

就是把我向上的視線限制得太死，以致正對面那棟房子的高度我只能看到十英尺左右；

of so limiting my upward view that I am unable to see more than about ten feet of the height of the house immediately opposite to me,

不過，

although,

在病體允許的限度內盡量把身子探出窗外，

by reaching as far out of the window as my infirmity will permit,

我能沿著運河上下望出相當遠，

I can see for a considerable distance up and down the canal,

運河寬不過十五英尺。

which does not exceed fifteen feet in width.

然而，

But,

對面那棟實實在在的房子我雖然看不到多少，

although I can see but little of the material house opposite,

卻能看到它倒映在運河裡的倒影，

I can see its reflection upside down in the canal,

我對那裡的住戶懷著一份顛倒的濃厚興趣——他們不時露面（總是頭朝下），

and I take a good deal of inverted interest in such of its inhabitants as show themselves from time to time (always upside down)

在陽臺上，在窗前。

on its balconies and at its windows.