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It was early in the month of June, 1751, when I shut the door of our house behind me for the last time. All my life I had lived in the quiet little village of Essendean, in the Lowlands of Scotland, where my father had been the dominie, or schoolteacher. But now that he and my mother were both dead, I had to leave the house. The new dominie would soon arrive, and he would teach at the school and live in the dominie's house. So, although I was only seventeen, there was nowhere for me to live, and no reason for me to stay in Essendean.
我最后一次关上身后我们家的那扇门时，那正是1751年6月的头几天。我一直生活在苏格兰低地的埃森丁这个安静的小村庄里。我的父亲曾经是那儿的教师。但既然他和我的母亲都去世了 ，我就不得不离开那幢房子。新教师很快就要到了，他将在学校里教课并住在供教师住的房子里。所以说虽然我只有17岁，但已经没有我的栖身之地了，我也没有理由待在埃森丁了。
But my heart was beating with excitement as I walked down the road, because in my hand I carried the letter that my father had given me just before he died. 'Davie,' he had said, 'when I am dead, take this to the house of Shaws, near Cramond. That's where I came from, and that's where you must go. Put this letter into the hands of Ebenezer Balfour.'
但是我走在路上时心激动地跳着，因为我手中拿着我父亲临终前给我的那封信。“戴维，”他曾说，“我去世以后，拿着这封信去克莱蒙德附近的肖家大院。那儿是我的出生地，也是你应 该去的地方。把这封信亲手交给埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗。”
Balfour! The same name as my own! It was the first time I had heard of any of our family outside Essendean.
鲍尔弗！和我一样的姓氏！这是我第一次听说埃森丁地域以外我的家族成员。
So I decided to walk to Cramond, hoping that perhaps this Mr Balfour, in his fine big house, would receive me kindly, and help me to become a rich man one day. With my plaid over my shoulder, I walked fast up the hill away from the village. What an adventure, to leave that sleepy place, where nothing ever happened, and go to a great, busy house, to be with rich and important people of my own name and blood! But when I reached the top of the hill, I turned a little sadly, to take my last look at the dominie's house, and Essendean churchyard, where my father and mother lay.
于是我决定走到克莱蒙德去，盼着有一天这个鲍尔弗先生能在他的豪华的大房子里友好地接待我并帮我变成富人。方格肩巾披在肩上，我大步流星地走上山岗，离开了那个小村庄。离开 那寂静的、从未发生过什么事的小村庄而去一个热闹的大宅院里与姓氏和血缘和我相同的、有钱有势的人待在一起，这可真是一次历险！但当我到达山顶时，我带着一丝悲哀转身看了最后一 眼供教师住的房子和我父母长眠着的埃森丁墓地。
My journey northwards took almost two days. By midday on the second day I could see the smoking chimneys of Edinburgh in front of me, and soon I arrived in Cramond.
我往北差不多走了两天。到第二天中午时我能看见前面爱丁堡冒烟的烟囱，很快我就到了克莱蒙德。
Now I began to ask people on the road for the house of Shaws. Their answers worried me a little. Some people seemed surprised, some afraid, and some angry, when I spoke the name of Ebenezer Balfour. I could not understand this, but it was too far to go back to Essendean that day, and I wanted to find the rest of the Balfour family very much. So I continued on my way, and when I met a dark, wild-looking woman coming towards me, I asked her where the house of Shaws was She took me to the top of the next hill, and showed me a large building standing alone in the bottom of the next valley. Although the fields around were green, and the farmland was excellent, the house itself looked unfinished and empty. Part of its roof was missing. There was no road to it, and no smoke coming from any of its chimneys, nor was there any garden.
我开始向路上的行人打听肖家大院。他们的回答使我心里有点儿担忧。当我说出埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗这个名字时，一些人显得惊讶，一些人恐惧，一些人愤怒。我不明白这个，但那天回埃 森丁是太远了，而且我也特别想找到鲍尔弗家族其余的人。于是我继续走着走着；而且当我看见一位皮肤黝黑、看似野蛮的老妇人向我走过来时，我向她打听肖家大院在哪儿。她把我领到下 一座小山的顶峰，指给我看下一个山谷里的一幢孤零零的建筑物。虽然四周的田野一片葱绿，庄稼长势很好，但那幢房子本身好像没有建完，也显得空旷。有部分屋顶不见了。没有路通到那 儿，烟囱里没有烟冒出来，也没有花园。
'That!' I cried. 'No, it can't be!' 'It is!' cried the woman angrily. 'That is the house of Shaws! Blood built it, blood stopped the building of if, and blood shall bring it down! Black is the heart of Ebenezer Balfour! Ye can tell him from me that I hope to see him die, and his house fall down around him!'
“那个？！”我惊呼着，“不，绝对不是！”“就是！”那个女人愤恨地说道，“那就是肖家！它是用血筑成的，血停止了修建，血还将把它给毁掉！埃比尼泽·鲍尔弗的心是黑的！你 可以告诉他我说我希望看到他死了并看到他的房子塌下来把他给埋了！”
The woman turned and disappeared. I stood where she left me, shaking like a leaf, and looking down at the house for a long time. But when it began to get dark, I noticed some smoke coming out of the chimney, and felt a little more hopeful. 'There must be a fire, and cooking, and people in the house,' I thought. So I walked up to the front door. The house seemed locked up and unwelcoming, but there was fire light shining through the kitchen window, and I could hear someone talking quietly to himself. Bravely, I lifted my hand and knocked loudly on the strong wooden door. The house was suddenly silent, and there was no reply. I knocked and knocked, and shouted as loudly as I could. Finally, the window opened, and a man holding a gun put his head out.
那个女人转身不见了。我在她离开我之处站着原地不动，像一片树叶一样颤抖，久久地俯视着那幢房子。但当暮色开始降临时，我发现有烟从那幢房子的烟囱冒出来，便感到稍微有点希 望了。“那里面一定有火，有人在做饭，也一定有人，”我心想。于是我走到前门。房子似乎紧锁着，不欢迎来访者的样子，但是厨房的窗口透着火光，而且我能听到屋里有人悄声自言自语 。鼓起勇气，我举起手，在那扇结实的木门上大声地敲起来。屋子忽然间静了下来，没有人回答。我敲了又敲，还使劲地喊起来。最后，窗户开了，一个手握一枝枪的男人探出头来。
