The House of The Seven Gables -- [La casa de los siete tejados]




VI. Maule′s Well

VI. la fuente de Maule

AFTER an early tea, the little country-girl strayed into the garden. The enclosure had formerly been very extensive, but was now contracted within small compass, and hemmed about, partly by high wooden fences, and partly by the outbuildings of houses that stood on another street. In its centre was a grass-plat, surrounding a ruinous little structure, which showed just enough of its original design to indicate that it had once been a summer-house. A hop-vine, springing from last year′s root, was beginning to clamber over it, but would be long in covering the roof with its green mantle. Three of the seven gables either fronted or looked sideways, with a dark solemnity of aspect, down into the garden. DESPUES del té, Phoebe salió a pasear por el jardín. Este había sido muy extenso, pero poco a poco se fue contrayendo por la presión de las vallas de madera y de los saledizos de los edificios contiguos. En el centro, un pequeño prado de césped rodeaba un ruinoso edificio del cual quedaba apenas lo bastante para adivinarse que en tiempos fue una glorieta o cenador. Una parra salida de un retoño del año anterior trepaba por aquellos restos, pero aún tardaría en cubrir el techo con su verde manto. Tres de los tejados contemplaban el jardín con sombría solemnidad.
The black, rich soil had fed itself with the decay of a long period of time; such as fallen leaves, the petals of flowers, and the stalks and seed--vessels of vagrant and lawless plants, more useful after their death than ever while flaunting in the sun. The evil of these departed years would naturally have sprung up again, in such rank weeds (symbolic of the transmitted vices of society) as are always prone to root themselves about human dwellings. Phoebe saw, however, that their growth must have been checked by a degree of careful labor, bestowed daily and systematically on the garden. The white double rosebush had evidently been propped up anew against the house since the commencement of the season; and a pear-tree and three damson-trees, which, except a row of currant-bushes, constituted the only varieties of fruit, bore marks of the recent amputation of several superfluous or defective limbs. There were also a few species of antique and hereditary flowers, in no very flourishing condition, but scrupulously weeded; as if some person, either out of love or curiosity, had been anxious to bring them to such perfection as they were capable of attaining. The remainder of the garden presented a well-selected assortment of esculent vegetables, in a praiseworthy state of advancement. Summer squashes almost in their golden blossom; cucumbers, now evincing a tendency to spread away from the main stock, and ramble far and wide; two or three rows of string-beans and as many more that were about to festoon themselves on poles; tomatoes, occupying a site so sheltered and sunny that the plants were already gigantic, and promised an early and abundant harvest. El suelo, negro y fértil, se había alimentado con los restos de vegetales podridos, tales como hojas caídas, pétalos de flores, pericarpios y pedúnculos de plantas erráticas, más útiles después de su muerte que cuando lucían al sol. El daño de los pasados años se manifestaba en enorme cantidad de hierbas y cizaña, símbolos de los vicios de la sociedad que se transmitían de generación en generación. Phoebe vio que la invasión había sido combatida en cierto grado por un cuidadoso trabajo diario y sistemático. Era evidente que el rosal de blancas rosas había sido fijado al muro al comienzo de aquella misma estación. Un peral y tres ciruelos, que junto con un grosellero eran los únicos árboles frutales del jardín, habían sido podados recientemente. Se veían también varias clases de flores antiguas, no muy florecientes, por cierto, pero escrupulosamente escardadas, como si alguna persona, por cariño o por curiosidad hubiera querido que lucieran con toda su belleza. El resto del jardín presentaba un surtido de vegetales comestibles, en avanzado periodo de desarrollo. Calabazas de verano casi doradas, pepinos que mostraban tendencia a apartarse de la planta y a vagabundear, dos o tres hileras de habichuelas, que bordaban un camino alrededor de las cañas. Los tomates ocupaban un sitio tan resguardado y lleno de sol que ya eran gigantescos y prometían abundante cosecha.
Phoebe wondered whose care and toil it could have been that had planted these vegetables, and kept the soil so clean and orderly. Not surely her cousin Hepzibah′s, who had no taste nor spirits for the lady-like employment of cultivating flowers, and--with her recluse habits, and tendency to shelter herself within the dismal shadow of the house--would hardly have come forth under the speck of open sky to weed and hoe among the fraternity of beans and squashes. Phoebe se preguntaba quién se habría tomado el trabajo de plantar aquella huerta y de tenerla tan bien cuidada. Con seguridad que no había sido Hepzibah, poco aficionada a la señorial ocupación de cuidar flores. Era demasiado aficionada al retiro de la casa y a sus costumbres de reclusa para salir a cielo abierto a escardar y cavar entre aquella hermandad de guisantes y calabazas.
It being her first day of complete estrangement from rural objects, Phoebe found an unexpected charm in this little nook of grass, and foliage, and aristocratic flowers, and plebeian vegetables. The eye of Heaven seemed to look down into it pleasantly, and with a peculiar smile, as if glad to perceive that nature, elsewhere overwhelmed, and driven out of the dusty town, had here been able to retain a breathing-place. The spot acquired a somewhat wilder grace, and yet a very gentle one, from the fact that a pair of robins had built their nest in the pear-tree, and were making themselves exceedingly busy and happy in the dark intricacy of its boughs. Bees, too,--strange to say,--had thought it worth their while to come hither, possibly from the range of hives beside some farm-house miles away. How many aerial voyages might they have made, in quest of honey, or honey-laden, betwixt dawn and sunset ! Yet, late as it now was, there still arose a pleasant hum out of one or two of the squash-blossoms, in the depths of which these bees were plying their golden labor. There was one other object in the garden which Nature might fairly claim as her inalienable property, in spite of whatever man could do to render it his own. This was a fountain, set round with a rim of old mossy stones, and paved, in its bed, with what appeared to be a sort of mosaic-work of variously colored pebbles. The play and slight agitation of the water, in its upward gush, wrought magically with these variegated pebbles, and made a continually shifting apparition of quaint figures, vanishing too suddenly to be definable. Thence, swelling over the rim of moss-grown stones, the water stole away under the fence, through what we regret to call a gutter, rather than a channel.
Nor must we forget to mention a hen-coop of very reverend antiquity that stood in the farther corner of the garden, not a great way from the fountain. It now contained only Chanticleer, his two wives, and a solitary chicken. All of them were pure specimens of a breed which had been transmitted down as an heirloom in the Pyncheon family, and were said, while in their prime, to have attained almost the size of turkeys, and, on the score of delicate flesh, to be fit for a prince′s table. In proof of the authenticity of this legendary renown, Hepzibah could have exhibited the shell of a great egg, which an ostrich need hardly have been ashamed of.
Be that as it might, the hens were now scarcely larger than pigeons, and had a queer, rusty, withered aspect, and a gouty kind of movement, and a sleepy and melancholy tone throughout all the variations of their clucking and cackling. It was evident that the race had degenerated, like many a noble race besides, in consequence of too strict a watchfulness to keep it pure. These feathered people had existed too long in their distinct variety; a fact of which the present representatives, judging by their lugubrious deportment, seemed to be aware. They kept themselves alive, unquestionably, and laid now and then an egg, and hatched a chicken; not for any pleasure of their own, but that the world might not absolutely lose what had once been so admirable a breed of fowls. The distinguishing mark of the hens was a crest of lamentably scanty growth, in these latter days, but so oddly and wickedly analogous to Hepzibah′s turban, that Phoebe--to the poignant distress of her conscience, but inevitably--was led to fancy a general resemblance betwixt these forlorn bipeds and her respectable relative. 		Era el primer día que pasaba apartada de la vida rural y esto le hizo encontrarse más a gusto en aquel rincón de hierba y follaje, de aristocráticas flores y plebeyos vegetales. El cielo parecía contemplar aquella escena con placer y con una sonrisa peculiar, como si se alegrara al ver que la naturaleza, expulsada por todas partes de la ciudad, encontraba aquí un espacio libre. El lugar adquiría una gracia un poco selvática merced a una pareja de petirrojos que habían construido su nido en el peral y se sentían felices en la sombra de las intrincadas ramas. Las abejas, aunque parezca extraño, habían pensado que valía la pena acudir, quizá, desde las colmenas de una granja situada a muchas millas de distancia. ¡Cuántos viajes, entre el alba y el crepúsculo, para buscar polen y néctar ! Ya era tarde y todavía se oía un zumbido entre las flores de las calabazas, en medio de las cuales las abejas libaban laboriosas. Había en el jardín otra cosa que la naturaleza podía reclamar como de su propiedad inalienable, a pesar de lo que el hombre pudiera hacer para apropiársela: una fuente, cercada de viejas y musgosas piedras, cuyo lecho estaba pavimentado con una especie de mosaico de guijarros multicolores. El constante movimiento del agua, que fluía a chorro, jugueteaba con los cantos y hacía aparecer figuras cambiantes de grotescos contomos que se desvanecían con demasiada rapidez para poder ser definidos. Saltando por encima del cerco de piedras musgosas el agua se deslizaba luego por debajo de la valla, siguiendo un arbollón.



No debemos de olvidar el gallinero, de reverente antigÜedad, situado en el fondo del jardín, cerca de la fuente. Ahora solamente contenía a Cantaclaro, a sus dos esposas y un solitario polluelo. Eran los cuatro de una raza transmitida hereditariamente en la familia Pyncheon y se decía que sus primeros ejemplares alcanzaron el tamaño de pavos, con carne digna de la mesa de un príncipe. En prueba de la autenticidad de esa fama legendaria, Hepzibah habría podido exhibir la cascara de un huevo, del cual no se avergonzaría un avestruz.

Sea lo que fuere, las gallinas no eran ahora mayores que palomos, tenían un aire extraño y de vejez, como de cosa marchita, una manera de moverse que hacía pensar en la posibilidad de que sufrieran la gota, y su cloqueo un tono adormecido y melancólico. Era evidente que la raza se hallaba en plena degeneración, como ocurre con otras nobles razas, a consecuencia de una vigilancia demasiado estrecha para mantenerla pura. Aquellos personajes de pluma habían permanecido demasiado tiempo en su altivo aislamiento, de cuyo hecho sus actuales representantes parecían darse cuenta, a juzgar por su lúgubre aspecto. Indiscutiblemente estaban vivos: de vez en cuando ponían un huevo e incubaban un polluelo, no tanto para su placer como para que el mundo no se viera privado de lo que en su tiempo fue admirable raza de aves de corral. Su rasgo distintivo era una cresta tan mustia, tan singular y extrañamente parecida al turbante de Hepzibah, que Phoebe, con gran turbación de su conciencia, pero sin poderlo evitar, encontró una semejanza general entre esos bípedos y su respetable prima.

The girl ran into the house to get some crumbs of bread, cold potatoes, and other such scraps as were suitable to the accommodating appetite of fowls. Returning, she gave a peculiar call, which they seemed to recognize. The chicken crept through the pales of the coop and ran, with some show of liveliness, to her feet; while Chanticleer and the ladies of his household regarded her with queer, sidelong glances, and then croaked one to another, as if communicating their sage opinions of her character. So wise, as well as antique, was their aspect, as to give color to the idea, not merely that they were the descendants of a time-honored race, but that they had existed, in their individual capacity, ever since the House of the Seven Gables was founded, and were somehow mixed up with its destiny. They were a species of tutelary sprite, or Banshee; although winged and feathered differently from most other guardian angels. La muchacha corrió a buscar amigas de pan, patatas frías y otros restos apropiados para calmar el apetito de las gallinas. Llamólas una vez de vuelta y las aves parecieron reconocer su voz. El polluelo se acercó dando muestras de alguna vivacidad, mientras Cantaclaro y sus esposas la miraron de soslayo y luego cloquearon, como comunicándose sagaces observaciones. Tenían un aspecto tan prudente y tan de viejos que sugerían la idea de que no eran meros descendientes de una raza famosa, sino que existían desde la fundación de La Casa de los Siete Tejados y habían fundido su destino con el de la antigua mansión. Eran una especie de espíritus tutelares.
"Here, you odd little chicken !" said Phoebe; "here are some nice crumbs for you !" -¡Pst ! ¡Pst !... Aquí traigo unas migas para ti -gritó Phoebe, dirigiéndose al polluelo.
The chicken, hereupon, though almost as venerable in appearance as its mother--possessing, indeed, the whole antiquity of its progenitors in miniature,--mustered vivacity enough to flutter upward and alight on Phoebe′s shoulder. Este, casi tan venerable como su madre y poseyendo, de hecho, la misma antigÜedad que sus progenitores, pero en miniatura, dio aletazos bastante enérgicos para elevarse hasta el hombro de Phoebe.
"That little fowl pays you a high compliment !" said a voice behind Phoebe. -Ya veo que incluso los polluelos la saludan -dijo una voz detrás de la muchacha.
Turning quickly, she was surprised at sight of a young man, who had found access into the garden by a door opening out of another gable than that whence she had emerged. He held a hoe in his hand, and, while Phoebe was gone in quest of the crumbs, had begun to busy himself with drawing up fresh earth about the roots of the tomatoes. Volvióse ésta rápidamente y quedó sorprendida al ver a un joven que había entrado en el jardín por otra puerta. Sostenía un azadón en la mano, y mientras Phoebe fue a buscar el pan, él se puso a cavar alrededor de las tomateras.
"The chicken really treats you like an old acquaintance," continued he in a quiet way, while a smile made his face pleasanter than Phoebe at first fancied it. "Those venerable personages in the coop, too, seem very affably disposed. You are lucky to be in their good graces so soon ! They have known me much longer, but never honor me with any familiarity, though hardly a day passes without my bringing them food. Miss Hepzibah, I suppose, will interweave the fact with her other traditions, and set it down that the fowls know you to be a Pyncheon !" -El polluelo la trata como si la conociera de siempre -continuó diciendo el hombre, mientras una sonrisa volvía su rostro más agradable de lo que Phoebe imaginó-. Hasta esos venerables personajes parecen sociables. Es usted afortunada en ganarse tan pronto su amistad. A mí me conocen hace tiempo, pero jamás me han honrado con ninguna familiaridad, a pesar de que no pasa día sin que les traiga comida. Supongo que miss Hepzibah relacionará este hecho con las tradiciones de la casa y asegurará que las gallinas conocen que usted es una Pyncheon.
"The secret is," said Phoebe, smiling, "that I have learned how to talk with hens and chickens." -El secreto es que he aprendido a hablar con las gallinas y los polluelos -repuso Phoebe, sonriendo.
"Ah, but these hens," answered the young man,--"these hens of aristocratic lineage would scorn to understand the vulgar language of a barn-yard fowl. I prefer to think--and so would Miss Hepzibah--that they recognize the family tone. For you are a Pyncheon ?" -¡Ah !, pero es que esos polluelos de linaje aristocrático se harían de menos de comprender el vulgar lenguaje de las aves de corral -replicó el muchacho-. Prefiero creer, con miss Hepzibah, que reconocen el tono familiar. Porque usted es una Pyncheon, ¿verdad ?
"My name is Phoebe Pyncheon," said the girl, with a manner of some reserve; for she was aware that her new acquaintance could be no other than the daguerreotypist, of whose lawless propensities the old maid had given her a disagreeable idea. "I did not know that my cousin Hepzibah′s garden was under another person′s care." -Me llamo Phoebe Pyncheon -contestó la muchacha con cierta reserva, pues adivinó que aquel hombre era el daguerrotipista de cuya propensión a salirse de la ley le había dado Hepzibah una idea desagradable-. No sabía que el jardín de mi prima lo cuidaba otra persona.
"Yes," said Holgrave, "I dig, and hoe, and weed, in this black old earth, for the sake of refreshing myself with what little nature and simplicity may be left in it, after men have so long sown and reaped here. I turn up the earth by way of pastime. My sober occupation, so far as I have any, is with a lighter material. In short, I make pictures out of sunshine; and, not to be too much dazzled with my own trade, I have prevailed with Miss Hepzibah to let me lodge in one of these dusky gables. It is like a bandage over one′s eyes, to come into it. But would you like to see a specimen of my productions ?" -Sí -dijo Holgrave-. Yo escardo y cavo en esta vieja tierra negra, para solazarme un poco con lo que queda aquí de naturaleza. Revuelvo la tierra como pasatiempo. Mi trabajo, cuando lo tengo, es muy ligero... En resumen, aprovecho el sol para hacer retratos y, para no quedarme deslumhrado, conseguí que miss Hepzibah me dejara alojar en una de esas sombrías buhardillas... ¿Le gustaría ver una muestra de mis trabajos ?
"A daguerreotype likeness, do you mean ?" asked Phoebe with less reserve; for, in spite of prejudice, her own youthfulness sprang forward to meet his. "I don′t much like pictures of that sort,--they are so hard and stern; besides dodging away from the eye, and trying to escape altogether. They are conscious of looking very unamiable, I suppose, and therefore hate to be seen." -¿Un retrato al daguerrotipo, quiere decir ? -preguntó Phoebe con menos reserva-. No me agradan, porque encuentro que resultan duros y torvos. Además, parece que esquivan las miradas. Supongo que se dan cuenta de que tienen cara de pocos amigos y no les gusta que les vean.
"If you would permit me," said the artist, looking at Phoebe, "I should like to try whether the daguerreotype can bring out disagreeable traits on a perfectly amiable face. But there certainly is truth in what you have said. Most of my likenesses do look unamiable; but the very sufficient reason, I fancy, is, because the originals are so. There is a wonderful insight in Heaven′s broad and simple sunshine. While we give it credit only for depicting the merest surface, it actually brings out the secret character with a truth that no painter would ever venture upon, even could he detect it. There is, at least, no flattery in my humble line of art. Now, here is a likeness which I have taken over and over again, and still with no better result. Yet the original wears, to common eyes, a very different expression. It would gratify me to have your judgment on this character." -Si usted me lo permite -dijo Holgrave mirando a Phoebe-, haré una prueba para ver si el daguerrotipo consigue hacer aparecer rasgos desagradables en un rostro perfecto... Pero sin duda hay algo de verdad en lo que usted ha dicho. Muchos de mis retratos, en efecto, son poco atractivos, pero es culpa de los modelos. El cielo y los rayos de sol ofrecen un espectáculo maravilloso. Mis máquinas los reproducen con mucha más veracidad que un pintor. Por lo menos, en mi humilde arte no hay adulación. Aquí tengo un retrato que he tomado una y otra vez y siempre con pésimo resultado. El original tiene, a los ojos de la gente, una expresión muy distinta. Me agradaría saber qué opina usted.
He exhibited a daguerreotype miniature in a morocco case. Phoebe merely glanced at it, and gave it back. Le enseñó una miniatura en daguerrotipo, guardada dentro de un estuche de tafilete. Phoebe la miró brevemente y la devolvió en seguida. -Yo conozco ese rostro -dijo- porque sus ojos me han seguido durante el día. Es mi antecesor puritano
"I know the face," she replied; "for its stern eye has been following me about all day. It is my Puritan ancestor, who hangs yonder in the parlor. To be sure, you have found some way of copying the portrait without its black velvet cap and gray beard, and have given him a modern coat and satin cravat, instead of his cloak and band. I don′t think him improved by your alterations." que cuelga en el salón. Ha encontrado usted la manera de retratarle sin su gorro de terciopelo negro y sin su barba gris y le ha dado, a cambio de su capa y de su banda, una chaqueta moderna y una corbata de seda. No creo que esas modificaciones mejoren el retrato.
"You would have seen other differences had you looked a little longer," said Holgrave, laughing, yet apparently much struck. "I can assure you that this is a modern face, and one which you will very probably meet. Now, the remarkable point is, that the original wears, to the world′s eye,--and, for aught I know, to his most intimate friends,--an exceedingly pleasant countenance, indicative of benevolence, openness of heart, sunny good-humor, and other praiseworthy qualities of that cast. The sun, as you see, tells quite another story, and will not be coaxed out of it, after half a dozen patient attempts on my part. Here we have the man, sly, subtle, hard, imperious, and, withal, cold as ice. Look at that eye ! Would you like to be at its mercy ? At that mouth ! Could it ever smile ? And yet, if you could only see the benign smile of the original ! It is so much the more unfortunate, as he is a public character of some eminence, and the likeness was intended to be engraved." -Si hubiera mirado con más atención, habría visto otras diferencias -dijo Holgrave riendo, aunque sorprendido-. Puedo asegurarle que es una persona moderna, actual, con la cual posiblemente se encontrará usted. Lo curioso del caso es que el modelo resulta para todo el mundo, hasta para sus íntimos amigos, de aspecto agradable, benévolo, de corazón abierto, cargado de buen humor y de otras loables cualidades. El sol, según ve usted, nos cuenta una historia muy distinta y por más que hago, no se deja tentar para variarla. Aquí tenemos al hombre, taimado, astuto, sutil, duro, imperioso, y, además, frío como el hielo. Fíjese en los ojos. ¿Le agradaría encontrarse a su merced ?... ¡Y esa boca ! ¿Cree usted que pueden sonreír esos labios ?... Y, sin embargo, ¡si viera usted la sonrisa del original !... Es una desgracia, porque se trata de un personaje y el retrato era para ser reproducido.
"Well, I don′t wish to see it any more," observed Phoebe, turning away her eyes. "It is certainly very like the old portrait. But my cousin Hepzibah has another picture,--a miniature. If the original is still in the world, I think he might defy the sun to make him look stern and hard." -Pues no deseo verle más -observó Phoebe apartando la mirada-. Se parece mucho al cuadro del salón. Pero mi prima Hepzibah tiene otro retrato... una miniatura. Si el modelo vive aún, creo que puede desafiar al sol a que le haga aparecer torvo y duro.
"You have seen that picture, then !" exclaimed the artist, with an expression of much interest. "I never did, but have a great curiosity to do so. And you judge favorably of the face ?" -¿Usted ha visto esa miniatura ? -preguntó el artista con interés-. Yo no, pero tengo gran curiosidad por verla. ¿Juzga usted favorablemente sus rasgos ?
"There never was a sweeter one," said Phoebe. "It is almost too soft and gentle for a man′s." -Nunca he visto un rostro más dulce -dijo Phoebe-. Es demasiado suave y noble para un hombre.
"Is there nothing wild in the eye ?" continued Holgrave, so earnestly that it embarrassed Phoebe, as did also the quiet freedom with which he presumed on their so recent acquaintance. "Is there nothing dark or sinister anywhere ? Could you not conceive the original to have been guilty of a great crime ?" -¿Hay un aire de ferocidad en sus ojos ? -continuó Holgrave tan gravemente que Phoebe se turbó, igual que por la amistad que él daba por descontada a pesar de su reciente conocimiento-. ¿Tiene algo de siniestro o duro ? ¿Se imagina, viendo el retrato, que el modelo puede ser culpable de un gran crimen ?
"It is nonsense," said Phoebe a little impatiently, "for us to talk about a picture which you have never seen. You mistake it for some other. A crime, indeed ! Since you are a friend of my cousin Hepzibah′s, you should ask her to show you the picture." -¡Qué tontería ! -repuso Phoebe impaciente-. ¡Hablar de un retrato que usted no ha visto nunca ! Se debe confundir con otro... ¿Un crimen ? Ya que es amigo de mi prima, dígale que le enseñe la miniatura.
"It will suit my purpose still better to see the original," replied the daguerreotypist coolly. "As to his character, we need not discuss its points; they have already been settled by a competent tribunal, or one which called itself competent. But, stay ! Do not go yet, if you please ! I have a proposition to make you." -Me interesa más ver el original -replicó fríamente el daguerrotipista-. Es innecesario discutir su carácter. Ya lo juzgó un tribunal competente, o que por lo menos, lo llamaban así. ¡Por favor, no se vaya todavía ! He de hacerle una proposición
Phoebe was on the point of retreating, but turned back, with some hesitation; for she did not exactly comprehend his manner, although, on better observation, its feature seemed rather to be lack of ceremony than any approach to offensive rudeness. There was an odd kind of authority, too, in what he now proceeded to say, rather as if the garden were his own than a place to which he was admitted merely by Hepzibah′s courtesy. ... Phoebe estaba a punto de entrar en la casa, pero retrocedió vacilante; extrañaba los modales del artista. Observándole bien, le pareció que no eran rudos ni ofensivos, sino singularmente desprovistos de ceremonias. Hablaba Holgrave con cierta autoridad extraña, como si el jardín fuese suyo, en vez de ser un sitio al cual tenía acceso gracias a la cortesía de Hepzibah.
"If agreeable to you," he observed, "it would give me pleasure to turn over these flowers, and those ancient and respectable fowls, to your care. Coming fresh from country air and occupations, you will soon feel the need of some such out-of-door employment. My own sphere does not so much lie among flowers. You can trim and tend them, therefore, as you please; and I will ask only the least trifle of a blossom, now and then, in exchange for all the good, honest kitchen vegetables with which I propose to enrich Miss Hepzibah′s table. So we will be fellow-laborers, somewhat on the community system." -Si le ha de resultar agradable, estoy dispuesto a dejar a su cargo el cuidado de esas flores y de esos respetables animales. Puesto que viene del campo, pronto sentirá la necesidad de alguna ocupación al aire libre. Mi profesión no es precisamente cuidar flores. Puede usted cuidarlas como quiera. Solamente de vez en cuando le pediré algún capullo, a cambio de esos honrados vegetales con que me propongo enriquecer la mesa de miss Hepzibah. Así es que seremos compañeros de trabajo, a la manera del sistema comunitario.
Silently, and rather surprised at her own compliance, Phoebe accordingly betook herself to weeding a flower-bed, but busied herself still more with cogitations respecting this young man, with whom she so unexpectedly found herself on terms approaching to familiarity. She did not altogether like him. His character perplexed the little country-girl, as it might a more practised observer; for, while the tone of his conversation had generally been playful, the impression left on her mind was that of gravity, and, except as his youth modified it, almost sternness. She rebelled, as it were, against a certain magnetic element in the artist′s nature, which he exercised towards her, possibly without being conscious of it. Silenciosamente y hasta sorprendida por su propia complacencia, Phoebe absorta en sus pensamiento, empezó a desyerbar un arriate. Le asombraba el familiarizarse tan pronto con aquel hombre. Además, no le agradaba. Su carácter dejaba perpleja a la muchacha, pues mientras el tono de su charla había sido más bien juguetón, había dejado en el espíritu de Phoebe una impresión de gravedad e incluso de severidad, a pesar de su juventud. La muchacha se rebelaba contra cierta fuerza magnética que el artista, quizá sin darse cuenta, ejercía sobre ella.
After a little while, the twilight, deepened by the shadows of the fruit-trees and the surrounding buildings, threw an obscurity over the garden. Al cabo de un rato, la luz, disminuida por los muros y los árboles, comenzó a dar paso a la oscuridad.
"There," said Holgrave, "it is time to give over work ! That last stroke of the hoe has cut off a beanstalk. Good-night, Miss Phoebe Pyncheon ! Any bright day, if you will put one of those rosebuds in your hair, and come to my rooms in Central Street, I will seize the purest ray of sunshine, and make a picture of the flower and its wearer." He retired towards his own solitary gable, but turned his head, on reaching the door, and called to Phoebe, with a tone which certainly had laughter in it, yet which seemed to be more than half in earnest. -Ya es hora de dejar el trabajo -dijo Holgrave-. Mi último golpe de azadón ha cortado el tallo de una calabaza... ¡Buenas noches, miss Phoebe Pyncheon ! Si un día quiere ponerse una de esas rosas en el pelo y venir a mi taller de la calle Mayor, cogeré el rayo de sol más puro y retrataré a la flor y y su dueña. Se retiró hacia su solitaria buhardilla, pero de pronto detúvose junto a la puerta y llamó a Phoebe con un tono que ciertamente era risueño, pero que, sin embargo, contenía mucha gravedad.
"Be careful not to drink at Maule′s well !" said he. "Neither drink nor bathe your face in it !" -¡Cuidado con beber en la fuente de Maule ! -dijo-. No beba ni se lave la cara en ella.
"Maule′s well !" answered Phoebe. "Is that it with the rim of mossy stones ? I have no thought of drinking there,--but why not ?" -¿La fuente de Maule ?... -contestó Phoebe-. ¿Es esa rodeada de piedras musgosas ? No pensaba beber en ella, pero ¿por qué no he de hacerlo ?
"Oh," rejoined the daguerreotypist, "because, like an old lady′s cup of tea, it is water bewitched !" -Porque está embrujada igual que las tazas de té de las viejas.
He vanished; and Phoebe, lingering a moment, saw a glimmering light, and then the steady beam of a lamp, in a chamber of the gable. On returning into Hepzibah′s apartment of the house, she found the low-studded parlor so dim and dusky that her eyes could not penetrate the interior. She was indistinctly aware, however, that the gaunt figure of the old gentlewoman was sitting in one of the straight-backed chairs, a little withdrawn from the window, the faint gleam of which showed the blanched paleness of her cheek, turned sideways towards a corner. Desapareció en la obscuridad de la puerta y Phoebe vio, al cabo de un rato, que se encendía una luz en la habitación de la torre. Al entrar en la casa, encontró el salón tan obscuro y tétrico que no lograba distinguir nada. Advirtió, no obstante, que la flaca figura de la vieja señora se hallaba sentada en una de las sillas de recto respaldo, algo apartada de la ventana, con su pálido rostro vuelto hacia un ángulo.
"Shall I light a lamp, Cousin Hepzibah ?" she asked. -¿Enciendo una lámpara, prima Hepzibah ? -preguntó.
"Do, if you please, my dear child," answered Hepzibah. "But put it on the table in the corner of the passage. My eyes are weak; and I can seldom bear the lamplight on them." -Hazlo, si quieres -contestó la anciana-. Pero ponía .en la mesa del rincón del pasillo. Tengo los ojos débiles y no pueden soportar la luz de la lámpara.
What an instrument is the human voice ! How wonderfully responsive to every emotion of the human soul ! In Hepzibah′s tone, at that moment, there was a certain rich depth and moisture, as if the words, commonplace as they were, had been steeped in the warmth of her heart. Again, while lighting the lamp in the kitchen, Phoebe fancied that her cousin spoke to her. ¡Qué maravilloso instrumento es la voz humana ! ¡Qué maravillosamente reacciona a todas las emociones del alma ! En el tono de voz de Hepzibah había algo hondo y húmedo, como si las palabras, por vulgares que fueran, salieran del calor de su corazón. Cuando encendió la luz, Phoebe se imaginó que su prima le hablaba.
"In a moment, cousin !" answered the girl. "These matches just glimmer, and go out." -Un momento -contestó-. Las cerillas no se encienden...
But, instead of a response from Hepzibah, she seemed to hear the murmur of an unknown voice. It was strangely indistinct, however, and less like articulate words than an unshaped sound, such as would be the utterance of feeling and sympathy, rather than of the intellect. So vague was it, that its impression or echo in Phoebe′s mind was that of unreality. She concluded that she must have mistaken some other sound for that of the human voice; or else that it was altogether in her fancy. Pero en vez de la respuesta de Hepzibah, la pareció oír el murmullo de una voz desconocida, una voz extrañamente confusa, que más parecía pronunciar disformes sonidos que palabras articuladas, como si fueran producto de la simpatía y del sentimiento en vez de venir de la inteligencia. Era tan vaga aquella voz, que en el espíritu de Phoebe produjo la impresión de algo irreal. Supuso que había confundido otro sonido con una voz humana o que era un producto de su fantasía.
She set the lighted lamp in the passage, and again entered the parlor. Hepzibah′s form, though its sable outline mingled with the dusk, was now less imperfectly visible. In the remoter parts of the room, however, its walls being so ill adapted to reflect light, there was nearly the same obscurity as before. Colocó la lámpara encendida en la mesa del pasillo y entró en el salón. La figura de Hepzibah, aunque su perfil negro se mezclaba con la obscuridad, percibíase menos imperfectamente. En los extremos de la estancia, cuyas paredes eran tan poco apropiadas para reflejar la luz, reinaba la noche.
"Cousin," said Phoebe, "did you speak to me just now ?" -¿Me decías algo, prima ?- preguntó Phoebe.
"No, child !" replied Hepzibah. -No, muchacha- replicó Hepzibah.
Fewer words than before, but with the same mysterious music in them ! Mellow, melancholy, yet not mournful, the tone seemed to gush up out of the deep well of Hepzibah′s heart, all steeped in its profoundest emotion. There was a tremor in it, too, that--as all strong feeling is electric--partly communicated itself to Phoebe. The girl sat silently for a moment. But soon, her senses being very acute, she became conscious of an irregular respiration in an obscure corner of the room. Her physical organization, moreover, being at once delicate and healthy, gave her a perception, operating with almost the effect of a spiritual medium, that somebody was near at hand. Menos palabras que antes, pero con la misma exquisita melodía. Triste, melancólica, pero no dolorosa, parecía salir de la honda fuente del corazón de Hepzibah, envuelta en profunda emoción. Había en ella una especie de temblor que se comunicó a Phoebe, pues todo sentimiento tiene algo de contagioso. La chica se sentó silenciosamente, pero pronto sus agudos sentidos le hicieron percibir una respiración irregular en un rincón de la estancia. Su fina sensibilidad percibía la presencia, muy cercana, de alguien.
"My dear cousin," asked she, overcoming an indefinable reluctance, "is there not some one in the room with us ?" -Querida prima -preguntó-. ¿Hay alguien con nosotras en el salón ?
"Phoebe, my dear little girl," said Hepzibah, after a moment′s pause, "you were up betimes, and have been busy all day. Pray go to bed; for I am sure you must need rest. I will sit in the parlor awhile, and collect my thoughts. It has been my custom for more years, child, than you have lived !" While thus dismissing her, the maiden lady stept forward, kissed Phoebe, and pressed her to her heart, which beat against the girl′s bosom with a strong, high, and tumultuous swell. How came there to be so much love in this desolate old heart, that it could afford to well over thus abundantly ? -Phoebe -repuso Hepzibah tras una pausa-, te has levantado temprano y has estado ocupada todo el día. Vete a la cama, pequeña, porque necesitas descansar. Yo me quedaré aquí, en el salón, a pasar un rato, como lo he hecho durante más años que los que tú llevas en el mundo. Besó a Phoebe y la abrazó. La muchacha sintió el corazón de la vieja latir contra su pecho tumultuosamente. ¿Cómo era posible que aquel desolado corazón pudiera contener un amor capaz de manifestarse con tanta energía ?
"Goodnight, cousin," said Phoebe, strangely affected by Hepzibah′s manner. "If you begin to love me, I am glad !" -Buenas noches, prima -dijo Phoebe conmovida-. Si empiezas a quererme, me alegro mucho, mucho...
She retired to her chamber, but did not soon fall asleep, nor then very profoundly. At some uncertain period in the depths of night, and, as it were, through the thin veil of a dream, she was conscious of a footstep mounting the stairs heavily, but not with force and decision. The voice of Hepzibah, with a hush through it, was going up along with the footsteps; and, again, responsive to her cousin′s voice, Phoebe heard that strange, vague murmur, which might be likened to an indistinct shadow of human utterance. Se retiró a su cuarto, pero tardó en dormirse y eso aun con escasa profundidad. En algún incierto momento de su sueño, en plena noche, oyó unas pisadas que subían las escaleras pesadamente, pero sin fuerza y sin decisión. La voz de Hepzibah acompañaba aquellos pasos con un ¡pst ! y una vez más Phoebe oyó el extraño y vago murmullo que parecía una sombra de voz humana.