第231期:与沃丽斯相识

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　　1) Her name was Bessie Wallis Warfield.She was born into a poor, southern family on June 19th, 1896.

　　她的原名叫贝西.沃丽斯.沃菲尔德。她1896年出生再一个贫穷的南方家庭。

　　2) The only thing I could do was dress better than anyone else.

　　我唯一能做的就是比别人穿的美。

　　4 .The Meeting

　　On Saturday the weather was cold and windy. It was raining heavily¹ so we could not ride our horses. We decided² to stay in the house and have an early lunch with some of Lady Furness' friends.

　　At one o'clock Wallis arrived with her husband. She was beautifully³ dressed and she smiled all the time. She spoke⁴ with Lord⁵ Furness for a few minutes, and then Lady Furness brought her over to see me.

　　'Sir, I would like you to meet one of my dearest and sweetest American friends, Mrs Wallis Simpson.'

　　'How do you do, Mrs. Simpson,'I said.'Please come and sit down.'

　　Lady Furness left us and we began to talk.

　　I could see that Wallis was not felling very well. She had a bad cold and her eyes were red.'I'm afraid that our English houses aren't very warm,' I said.'We don't have American central heating⁶ here.'

　　There was a long silence⁷. Mrs. Simpson turned her face and looked out of the window. Then she said:'You have disappointed⁸ me, Sir.'

　　'And why is that?'I asked.

　　'Because everybody asks me about American central heating. I thought that the Prince⁹ of Wales¹⁰ would talk about something more interesting.'

　　I began to laugh.

　　'What's the matter, Sir?'Wallis asked.'Have I said something wrong?'

　　'No,'I replied.'I'm laughing because you didn't lie to me. You told me the truth.'

　　'But why is that funny? Doesn't everybody do that?'

　　'One day I'll be King of England,' I replied.'And people are afraid of me. If I say that the sky is yellow, they say, “Yes, Sir, you are right”. If I say that Wednesday is the first day of the week, they say, “Yes, Sir, you are right”. And if I say that Scotland¹¹ is bigger than Canada, they say, “Yes, Sir, you are right”. But you told me that I was boring！ You told me the truth. I like that'.

　　There was another silence and then Wallis began to laugh.'Can I say one more thing, Sir?'

　　'Yes, Mrs Simpson, what is it?'

　　'It's your trousers, Sir.'

　　'My trousers?'

　　'Yes, Sir. They are black and your shoes are brown.'These two colors don't look right together.'

　　I stood up and looked in the mirror.'Yes, Mrs. Simpson, you're right. I look very strange. The next time we meet, I will be better dressed.'

　　4 相识

　　星期六, 天气很冷, 刮着风。雨下得很大, 所以我们无法出去骑马。我们决定待在屋里, 早点开午饭。与我们共进午餐的是弗内斯勋爵夫人的一些朋友。

　　1点钟, 沃利斯和她的丈夫来了。她穿得很漂亮, 始终面带微笑。她与弗内斯勋爵夫人谈了几分钟, 然后弗内斯勋爵夫人把她带到我面前。

　　“殿下, 我想介绍您认识我的一位最可爱、最甜美的美国朋友, 沃利斯·辛普森夫人。”

　　“您好, 辛普森夫人,”我说, “请过来坐坐。”

　　弗内斯勋爵夫人走开了, 我们交谈起来。

　　我看得出, 沃利斯不太舒服。她得了重感冒, 眼睛红红的。“恐怕我们英国的房子不够暖和,”我说,“我们这儿没有美国的中央供暖系统。”

　　接着是长长的一段沉默。辛普森夫人转头向窗外望去。然后她说:“您让我感到失望, 殿下。”

　　“为什么?”我问。

　　“因为每个人都问我美国中央供暖的事儿。我想, 威尔士亲王准会谈些比较有趣的事。”

　　我大笑起来。

　　“怎么了, 殿下?”沃利斯问,“我说错什么了吗?”

　　“没有,”我回答,“我笑是因为你没对我说谎。你讲了真话。”

　　“可这有什么可笑的?难道大家不都这样吗?”

　　“有朝一日我会成为英国的国王,”我答道,“所以人们都怕我。如果我说天是黄的, 他们会说,'对,殿下,您说得对'。如果我说星期三是一周里的第一天,他们会说,'对,殿下,您说得对'。如果我说苏格兰比加拿大还要大,他们会说,'对,殿下, 你说得对'。可是,您却告诉我,我令人乏味！您讲了真心话。我喜欢这样！”

　　又是一段沉默,然后沃利斯笑了起来“我能再说一件事吗,殿下?”

　　“可以,辛普森夫人,什么事?”

　　“是您的裤子,殿下。”

　　“我的裤子?”

　　“是的,殿下。您的裤子是黑色的,鞋却是棕色的。这两种颜色配在一起有点儿不协调。”

　　我站起身,照了照镜子。“不错, 辛普森夫人,您说得对。我看上去真奇怪。等我们下次见面时,我会穿得更得体些。”

　　5 Wallis

　　Wallis was born in Baltimore. She never knew her father. He died when she was five months old. But her mother was a strong and loving woman, and Wallis was a happy child.

　　When she was twenty, she married¹² a man called Win－field Spencer. For the first few years they were happy together. But one day Winfield lost some money in the street. He was very angry. When he came home, he took a bottle of whisky¹³ from a cupbodrd and began to drink.

　　That night he hit Wallis in the mouth. She screamed¹⁴ and he hit her again. There was blood on her face and she was shaking like a leaf.' Please, Winfield,'she said.'No more.

　　But Winfield took her arm and pulled her up the stairs.'You're my prisoner,'he shouted at her,'and you're not going to leave.'Then he pushed her into the bathroom and locked the door.

　　The next morning Wallis went back to her family.'I can't stay with him,'she said.'I want a divorce¹⁵.'

　　'Poor Wallis,'Edward said.'But what happened next, Lady Furness?'

　　'Well,'said Lady Furness,'a few months later she met a fine man called Ernest Simpson. He's quiet, but interesting. They got married and they now live in a beautiful flat in the centre of London.'

　　'And are they happy?'asked Edward. Lady Furness looked at the Prince and smiled.'I don't know, Sir,'she said.'I don' t know.'

　　5 沃利斯

　　沃利斯出生在巴尔的摩。她从不认识自己的父亲。她才5个月大,父亲就去世了。她母亲是个坚强而充满爱心的女人,沃利斯童年很幸福。

　　她20岁时与一位名叫温菲尔德·斯潘塞的人结了婚。在婚后的最初几年里,他们在一起很幸福。可有一天,温菲尔德在街上丢了钱。他很恼怒。回到家, 他从柜子里拿出一瓶威士忌,喝了起来。

　　那天晚上,他扇了沃利斯一记耳光。她尖叫起来,他又打她。她脸上都是血,身体像一片叶子一样颤抖着。“求求你,温菲尔德,”她说,“别打了。”

　　但温菲尔德拽起她的一只胳膊,一直把她拖到楼上。“你是我的囚犯,”他对她吼道,“你别想走。”然后他把她推进浴室,锁上了门。

　　第二天早晨,沃利斯回到娘家。“我不能和他在一起生活了,”她说,“我要离婚。”

　　“可怜的沃利斯,”爱德华说,“可是后来呢,弗内斯勋爵夫人?”

　　“后来,”弗内斯勋爵夫人说,“几个月后她认识了一位叫欧内斯特·辛普森的好人。他很少说话,但很风趣。他们结了婚, 现在住在伦敦市中心一套漂亮的公寓里。”

　　“那他们在一起快乐吗?”爱德华问。

　　弗内斯勋爵夫人看着王子笑了。“我不知道,殿下,”她说,“我不知道。”

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