第35章让心灵去旅行（11）
“可这值得吗？”我不禁叫了起来。“当然啦，”勒·罗斯回答道。“这不至于让他们自觉是‘他乡客’。列车员会因此敬重他们，而其他乘客也不会瞧不起他们——他们不久就要一同登上轮船的。这能为他们赢得整个航行中的地位。再说，事情本身就很有意思。你刚才看到了我送那位女郎吧。不觉得我身手不错吗？”“的确不凡，”我承认道。“我真羡慕你。你看看我站在那儿——”“是的，我能想象。你在那儿，从头到脚哪都不对劲，呆呆地望着你的朋友，搜肠刮肚地找着话题。我完全理解。以前我也是这样的，只不过后来专门研习，干起了这行，才表现得像模像样起来。我现在的技术还没有登峰造极，登上站台后不免总有些怯场。这火车站的戏可最难演，这点你一定也有切身体会。”“可是，”我有些生气了，“我没有演戏，我可是在真心实意地感觉——”“我也是的，伙计，”勒·罗斯又说，“没有真情实感是演不了戏的。那人叫什么来着，那个法国人——狄德罗，对了——他说过可以，可他都懂得些什么？你没看见火车开时我眼睛里涌出的泪水吗？告诉你吧，我确确实实受了感动，我的眼泪不是硬挤出来的。我敢说刚才你也一样，只不过你做不到用眼泪来证明你的感动罢了。你不会表达你的感情，也就是说，你演不了戏。退一步说，”他说得稍微委婉些，“至少你在火车站演不了戏。”“那请赐教！”我放开了嗓门请求。他定定地看着我，斟酌片刻，终于说“好”，答应了下来，“实际上送行的旺季也快过去了。我可以给你上几堂课。目前我的门下子弟还真不少，不过还是这样吧，”说着，他查了查他那漂亮的记事簿，“定为每周四和每周五，一次一小时。”
他开出的学费，坦白说，实在是不低的。但既然是学点本领，我也就不会嫌贵。
Iamnotgoodatit。Todoitwellseemstomeodiffigsintherobablyseemssotoyou，too。
ToseeafriendofffromWaterlootoVauxhallwereeasyenough。Butwearenevertoperformthatsmallfeat。Itisonlywhenafriendisgoingonalongishjourney，afuishtime，thatweturnupattherailwaystatiohefriehejourhelohelikelyabseheearlierdoweturnup，andthemorelamentablydowefail。Ourfailureisiiototheseriousheo，ah。
Inaroom，orevenonadoorstep，wemakethefarewellquiteworthily。ressihegenuinesorrowwefeel。Nordowordsfailus。Thereisnoawkwardness，，ohethreadofourintimaotbeeheleave-takingisanidealo，theheleave-takingatthat？Alartingfriendsimploreusnottobothertoetotherailwaystatiom。Always，wearedeaftotheseeies，kobenotquitesiingfriendswouldthinkitveryoddofusifwetookthemattheirword。Besides，theyreallydowanttoseeusagain。Andthatwishisheartilyreciprocated。Wedulyturnup。Ahen，whatagulfyawsvainlyacrossit。Wehaveutterlylosttouch。Wehavenothingatalltosay。Wegazeateachotherasdumbanimalsgazeathumanbeings。We“makeversation”—andsuversatiohatthesefriehefriendsfromwhomwepartedht。Theyknowthatwehave，onthesurface，everythingisdifferent；aensionissuchthatweonlyluardtoblowhisutahefarce。
OnaoflastweekIdulyturEuston，toseeoffanoldfriendwhforAmerica。
&，wehadgivenhimafarewelldinner，inwhiesswaswellmihfestivity。Yearsprobablysebeforehisreturn。Someofusmightneverseehimagain。Ntheshadowofthefuture，wegailycelebratedthepast。Wewereasthankfultohaveknuestasweweregrievedtolosehim；andboththeseemotionsweremademaerfectfarewell。
Andnoere，stiffandself-stheplatform；ahewindowoftherailway-carriagewasthefaceofourfriend；butitwasasthefaceer—astrangeranxioustoplease，aranger，anawkwardstranger。“Haveyoug？”askedoneasilehing，”aidourfriend，leasahied，withtheemphasisofaybrain。“You’llbeabletolurain，”saidI，thoughtheprophecyhadalreadybeehanonce。“Oh，yes，”hesaidwith。HeaddedthatthetrairaightthroughtoLiverpool。Thisfactseemedtostrikeusasratherodd。WeexgedglastopatCrewe？”askedoneofus。“No，”saidourfriend，briefly。Heseemedalmostdisagreeable。Thereause。Oneofus，withanodandaforcedsmileatthetraveler，said“Well！”Thenod，thesmileandtheunmeaningmonosyllable，werereturnedtiously。Anotherpausewasbrokenbyoneofuswithafitofg。Itwasanobviouslyassumedfit，butitservedtopassthetime。Thebustleoftheplatformwasuherewasnosigraiure。Release—ours，andourfriend’s—was。
Mywaedolymiddle-agedmanwhowastalkilyfromtheplatformtoayoungladyatthewindowbutooours。Hisfineprofilewasvaguelyfamiliartome。TheyoungladywasevidentlyAmeridhewasevidentlyEnglish；otherwiseIshouldhaveguessedfromhisimpressiveairthathewasherfather。IwishedIcouldhearwhathewassaying。Iwassurehewasgiviadvidthestrongtendernessofhisgazewasreallybeautiful。Heseemedmagic，ashepouredouthisfinalinjuns。Icouldfeelsomethingofhismagismeveood。Aism，liketheprofile，wasvaguelyfamiliartome。erie？
InaflashIremembered。ThemaLeRos。ButhowgedsiIsawhim！Thatwasseveyearsago，irahen（asusual）outofa，andborrowedhalf-a-。Itseemedaprivilegetolendanythingtohim。HewasalwaysmagidwhyhismagismhadnevermadehimsuctheLondonstagewasalwaysamysterytome。Hewasaor，andama。But，likemanyothersofhiskiLeRos（Idonot，ivetheaamebyn）driftedspeedilyawayintotheprovindI，likeeveryoneelse，berhim。
Itwasstraeralltheseyears，hereoformofEuston，lookingsoprosperousandsolid。Itwasnotohathehadputon，butalsotheclothes，thatmadehimhardtheolddays，animitationfurcoathadseemedtobeasintegralapartofhimaswerehisill-shornlanternjaws。Butnowhisewasamodelofrioderati，notg，attentiontoitself。Helookedlikeabanker。Anyonecouldhavebeenproudtobeseenoffbyhim。