The morning twilight even then was breaking; and, by the dusky revelations which it spread, I saw a girl, adorned with a garland of white roses about her head for some great festival, running along the solitarystrand in extremity of haste. Her running was the running of panic; and often she looked back as to some dreadful enemy in the rear. But when I leaped ashore, and followed in her steps to warn her of a peril in front, alas! from me she fled as from another peril, and vainly I shouted to her of quicksands that lay ahead. Faster and faster she ran; round a promontory of rocks she wheeled out of sight; in an instant I also wheeled round it, but only to see the treacherous sands gathering above her head. Already her person was buried; only the fair young head and the diadem of white roses around it were still visible to the pitying heavens; and, last of all, was visible one white marble arm. I saw by the early twilight this fair young head, as it was sinking down to darkness—saw this marble arm, as it rose above her head and her treacherous grave, tossing, faltering, rising, clutching, as at some false deceiving hand stretched out from the clouds—saw this marble arm uttering her dying hope, and then uttering her dying despair. The head, the diadem, the arm, —these all had sunk; at last over these also the cruel quicksand had closed; and no memorial of the fair young girl remained on earth, except my own solitary tears, and the funeral bells from the desert seas that, rising again more softly, sang a requiem over the grave of the buried child, and over her blighted dawn.
借拂晓冥暗的晨光，朦胧中，我依稀看见一位姑娘，头戴节日的白玫瑰光环，飞奔在孤寂的海岸上。她跑得慌张，还不停回头，仿佛被坏人追上。我于是跳上岸，追向前，警告她前方危险，但可叹，她却避我而逃，好像我也是坏人。我高声呼喊前方有流沙。可她却跑得越发飞快，绕过海岬，消失在前方。转瞬间，我也绕过了海岬，但见到的却是那险恶的流沙正将她埋葬。她身躯已被掩没，只有少女满是秀发的头和那玫瑰花冠任由怜悯的苍天俯视，最后就只剩下一只玉臂。借着清晨的微光，我看见那姑娘的头正沉入黑暗，看见那玉臂仍举在头上，举在那险恶的墓地上，无望地摆动着，摇晃着、伸展着，仿佛要拼命抓住云端伸出的一只欺人的手；我看见那玉臂呼喊着垂死的希望，然后是垂死的绝望。头颅、花环、玉臂——都已沉了下去，最后那无情的流沙将女孩完全埋葬；这位美丽的姑娘没有在大地上留下任何可供追忆的痕迹，只有我孤独的眼泪和丧钟的回响。那丧钟声从苍凉的海上又一次更轻柔地响起，在女孩的孤坟上回荡，在她早逝的黎明间回荡，将一支挽歌吟唱。
|
