Is he still alive?
Author: Mark Twain
?Translator: Zhang Yousong
In March 1892, I was in Mendonne, in the Riviera region ① Play. In this quiet place, you can
alone enjoy all the benefits that Monte Carlo and Nice a few miles away can enjoy with others. That is to say,
there is bright sunshine, fresh air and sparkling blue sea, but there is no noise, hustle and bustle, fancy clothes and glitz that ruin the scenery.
show off. Mendonne is a quiet, simple, leisurely and unostentatious place; the rich and flashy people do not go there. I mean, generally speaking, rich people don't go there.
Occasionally wealthy people would come, and I soon got to know one of them. Let me call him Smith for the time being - this somewhat means keeping secrets for him. One day, when we were having the second breakfast at the England Hotel, he suddenly shouted:
①The Riviera is in southeastern France and northwest Italy. It is a rest and tourist area on the Mediterranean coast; Mendo is one of the resorts there.
②Monte Carlo is a famous gambling city in the Principality of Monaco on the Mediterranean coast in southeastern France; Nice is another resort in the Riviera area
.
"Hurry up! Pay attention to the person coming out of the door. Look at him carefully."
"Why?"
"You know Who is he? "
"I know. He has been living here for several days before you came. I heard that he is a very rich man in Lyon.
The factory owner is old and quits his job now. I think he is very lonely, because he always looks so depressed, listless, and never talks to anyone. His name is Xi. Ophir Magnan"
I thought Smith was going to go on and express his great pleasure for Mr. Magnan.
Come up with an interesting explanation. But he said nothing, and instead fell into deep thought, and after a few minutes he apparently completely forgot about me and everything else. From time to time, he reached out and scratched his soft white hair,
to help his thinking, and at the same time, he didn't care if his breakfast was cold. Later he said:
"Hey, I forgot. I can't remember it."
"Can't remember what happened?"
"I was talking about a wonderful little story by Andersen. But I forgot about it. Part of the story is roughly like this: There was a child who had a baby in a cage. He loved it very much, but he didn't know how to greet it. The bird sang, but no one listened or paid attention. Later, this little trick also failed.
It was hungry and thirsty, so its song became sad and weak, and finally stopped - the bird was dead.
When the child came to see it, he was terribly sad. , regretful; he had no choice but to sigh with sad tears
Call his friends, and with deep sorrow, they held a grand funeral for the little bird, but
These little guys don’t know that it’s not just children who let poets starve to death and then spend a lot of money on their funerals and erecting monuments
if the money had been spent on them during their lifetimes, That's enough to feed them and make them live a comfortable life. Then..." But our conversation was interrupted at this time. About ten o'clock that evening, I met Smith again, and he invited me upstairs to his drawing room to smoke cigarettes and drink hot Scotch with him. That room was a very pleasant place, with comfortable chairs, cheerful lamps, and a friendly fire in the fireplace, burning hard and dry. olive firewood. Coupled with the low surging sound of the waves outside, everything reached a perfect state.
After we had finished our second glass of whiskey and had talked a lot of casual and agreeable gossip, Smith said: "Now that we have had enough of our drink - I will tell you a curious story. Just listen to my story.
This matter has been kept a secret for many years - only me and three other people know it; now I want to reveal it.
Peep show. Are you in a good mood now?"
"Excellent. Go on.
”
Here is the story he told me:
“Many years ago, I was a young painter—a very young painter in fact— I roamed around the French countryside and sketched everywhere, and soon I got together with two lovely French young people, who were doing the same thing as me. Our cheerful energy is like our poor energy, or, you could say, poor energy
It's like our cheerful energy - call it what you like. Claude Freire and Karl Paulin
Ger - these are the names of those two young men; they are really cute two young men, so cute, always happy
The high spirits are just a joke with poverty. No matter the wind, frost, rain or snow, life is always going on with great energy.
"Later we were in a village in Breton, and we were so poor that we had no other options. It happened that a painter who was as poor as us
took us in. Now we were very poor. It simply saved our lives - Fran?ois Millet
①——"
①Francois Millet (1814-1875), a famous French painter, Good at depicting rural life.
"What! Is it the great Fran?ois Millet?"
"Great? He was not necessarily much greater than us at that time. Even He was not well-known in his own village. He was so poor that he had nothing to give us except radishes, and he didn't even have radishes. There are also times when we can’t catch our breath. The four of us have become loyal, reliable friends who love each other.
We are inseparable from each other. We paint and paint together, and the works pile up. , more and more, but it is difficult to sell one piece. We all live a very happy life; but we are also really pitiful sometimes! It was a torture!
“We spent more than two years like this. Finally one day, Claude said:
"'Guys, we are at the end of our rope. Do you understand? - completely at the end of our rope.
No one can do it anymore② ——Everyone joined forces to make it difficult for us. I went all over the village, and it turned out that they didn’t want to give us any more money on credit. We have to pay off the old debt first. '"
②The original word "struck" means "to strike" or "to strike". It means that no one is willing to pay on credit.
"This really makes us dejected. Everyone's face is pale and looking embarrassed. Now we know
that our situation is really terrible. Everyone There was no sound for a long time. Finally, Miller sighed and said: "'I can't think of any ideas - I'm at a loss. Guys, figure it out. ’”
“There is no answer, unless miserable silence can also be called an answer. Karl stood up, walked back and forth nervously for a while, and then said: "'What a shame! Look at these paintings: piles and piles, they are all good paintings. , comparable to the work of anyone in Europe - no matter who he is, yes, and there are many strangers who are wandering around saying so - anyway.
It means. That's pretty much it. '"
"'Not buying it,' said Miller. "'That's okay, they say it anyway; and it's true. Just look at your painting "Vespers" ①
How could anyone say to me...'" ① "Vespers" is one of Miller's famous paintings .
"'Huh, Karl - my Vespers! Someone offered five francs for it.'"
"'When?'"
"'Who paid the price?'"
"'Where is he?'"
"'Why didn't you agree to him?'"
< p> "'Come on - don't talk to everyone like this. I thought he would pay a little more - I feel very sure - judging by his air, he will pay more - - So I bargained for eight francs.'""'Well - what happened next'"
"'He said he'd come back to me.'"
"'That's terrible! Oh, Francesco—'"
"'Ah, I know—I know! I shouldn't have done that, I'm such a fool. Guys, I The intention
is very good, you will also admit this, I...'"
"'Well, of course, we also understand that God bless you so well A kind-hearted person; but next time you
don't be so stupid again.
’”
“‘Me? I wish someone would come and give us a cabbage instead - just watch! ’”
“‘Chinese cabbage! Oh, don't mention that - it makes my mouth water just to mention it. Let's talk about something else that's less painful. ’”
“‘Guys,’ said Karl, ‘aren’t these paintings valuable? You say it. ’”
“‘Who says it’s worthless! ’”
“‘Isn’t it of great and high value? Just tell me. ’”
“‘Yes. ’”
“‘The value is indeed very great and very high. If a famous author can be assigned to them, then
they will definitely be sold at a very high price. Is that what happened? ’”
“‘Of course it is. No one will doubt your statement. ’”
“‘But—I’m not kidding—am I right? ’”
“‘Well, of course that’s cool—we’re not kidding. But so what? So what?
What? What does that have to do with us? ’”
“‘What I want to do, guys—we’ll give these paintings the name of a famous painter
! ’”
“Lively conversation ceased. Everyone turned to look at Karl suspiciously. What kind of medicine is he selling in his gourd? Where can I borrow a famous name? Who can I ask to borrow it? "
Karl sat down and said:
"'Now I am going to come up with a serious solution. I think that if we want to avoid entering homeless shelters,
the only way is to take this route, and I also believe that this is a very reliable method. My opinion is based on various facts in human history that have long been recognized by everyone. I believe that my plan will definitely make us all rich. ’”
“‘Get rich! You are simply insane. ’”
“‘No, I’m not crazy. ’”
“‘Humph, you still said no! ——You are obviously crazy. What do you mean by getting rich? ’”
“‘One hundred thousand francs each. ’”
“‘He is indeed mentally ill, I’ve known that for a long time. ’”
“‘Yes, he is mentally ill. Karl, it is really hard for you to be poor, so...'"
"'Karl, you should take a pill and go to bed immediately. '"
"'Tie him with a bandage first - tie his head, and then...'"
"'No, just tie his heels. ; In the past few weeks, his mind has been sinking to the bottom of his feet, and he has been thinking about deserting - I can already see it. ’”
“‘Shut up! ’ Miller pretended to be solemn and said, ‘Let the kid finish his sentence. So
Well, okay - Carl, tell me your plan. What kind of clever idea is this? '"
"'Okay, then, let me make an opening remark first. Please pay attention to this fact in human history: that
There are many artists whose talents have been until They were not appreciated until they starved to death. This happens
so often that I would dare to create a law based on it. This law is: Every unknown,
artist that no one cares about will always be appreciated after his death, and it must wait until he dies. At that time, his
< p>The painting is a hundred times more expensive. My plan is this: We must draw lots - one of several people must dieto go. ’”
“His words were so nonchalant and so unexpected that we almost forgot to jump.
Afterwards, everyone yelled loudly again, and came up with ways - cures - to help Carl cure his brain; but he waited patiently
for everyone to be in trouble. Happy calmed down, and then continued to talk about his plan:
"'Yeah, one of us has to die anyway, in order to save the rest - and save himself. We
You can draw lots. The one who wins will become famous in one fell swoop, and we will all get rich. Listen well, hello--
Listen well; don't interrupt--I dare say. I'm not talking nonsense here.
My idea is this:
In the next three months, the person chosen to die will draw hard and try to accumulate drawings - and don't do it right
Style painting, no need! Just draw some rough sketches, and do some random exercises, unfinished exercises, just a few strokes of outlines. Use a colored brush to paint it a few times on each piece - of course not a hair. It's meaningless, anyway
It was painted by him, and it must be inscribed with the author's name; he painted fifty or so pictures every day, and each one was given some special features
Or the style, which makes it easy for people to recognize that it is his work... You all know that these are the things that sell the most money.
After the death of this great painter, people will pay unbelievable prices to buy these masterpieces for museums around the world
; we have prepared a Lots of them—lots of them! During this time, the rest of us will be busy advocating for the dying painter and working hard in Paris and those businessmen. ——This is preparation for that future event, you know; when everything is arranged,
while it is in full swing, we will suddenly announce the death of the painter to them and hold a lively ceremony 's funeral.
Do you understand the idea? ’”
“‘I don’t quite understand; at least not quite…’”
“‘Not quite yet? Don’t you understand this? That person doesn’t really want to die; he just needs to change his name and disappear
and disappear; we make a dummy and bury it, and everyone pretends to cry, and everyone in the world can cry with them. Bar.
I...'"
"But no one allowed him to finish his sentence at all. Everyone burst into cheers and exclaimed wonderful things; everyone jumped up and jumped around the room, embracing each other in joyful expressions of gratitude and joy. We
we talked about this great plan for several hours, and we hardly felt hungry anymore. Finally, when everything was satisfactorily arranged, we drew lots, and Miller was chosen - he was chosen to die. This was according to our wishes. statement. So we all put together those little things that we were reluctant to take out until the last moment
—small souvenir decorations and the like. Only one of us had no choice but to do anything about these things.
Only when the time comes, he is willing to use it as a bet, hoping to make a fortune with a huge profit. We pawned them, and the money we got was barely enough for us to have a frugal farewell dinner and breakfast, leaving only a few francs to pay for the trip and return the rice.
Le bought some radishes and the like, enough for him to eat for a few days.
"Early the next morning, the three of us set off as soon as we had breakfast - on two legs, of course.
Each of us carried more than a dozen pieces of rice. Karl was walking towards Paris, where he wanted to start working hard to promote Miller's reputation for future generations. Get ready for that great day. Claude and I decided to go our own way and run around France."
"After this, our The smoothness and joy of the encounter will really surprise you. I walked for two days before I started sketching a villa on the outskirts of a big city - because I saw the villa.
The master was standing on the balcony upstairs, so he came down to watch my painting - I also expected that he would come, and I painted quickly,
I deliberately attracted him. Interested. He occasionally said a compliment or two involuntarily, and then he said it more and more enthusiastically.
He simply said that I was a great painter!"
I put down the brush! Next, he reached into his bag and took out a piece of Miller's work, pointed to the signature on the corner, and said strangely:
"'Of course you know this, I think. ? Hey, he is my teacher! So you should know this business! '"
This gentleman seemed to be embarrassed and uneasy. make a sound. I said with regret:
"'You must be saying that you can't even recognize Fran?ois Miller's signature!'"
"Of course he doesn't recognize that Signed; but no matter what, he was in such an embarrassing situation and actually let me let him go so lightly. He was very grateful. He said:
" 'How could you not recognize it! Hey, it’s indeed Miller’s, not bad at all! I didn't know what to think just now.
Of course I recognize it now. ’”
“Then he wanted to buy this painting; but I said that although I was not very rich, I was not that poor.
But later I asked him to buy it for 800 francs. "
"Eight hundred francs! ”
“Yes. Miller would have traded it for a pork chop. Yes, I exchanged that little thing for eight hundred francs.
Now if I could buy it back for 80,000 francs, that would be my dream. But this period
has long passed. I painted a very beautiful painting for that gentleman’s house, and I wanted to sell it to him for ten francs.
But because I am a student of such a great painter, it would not be expensive to sell it for such a low price. So I sold him this painting for one hundred francs. I immediately remitted eight hundred francs to Miller from that town, and set out again the next day. "
But I don't have to walk anymore - no. I ride a horse. From then on, I have always been a horse rider. I only sell one painting a day, and I never intend to Sell ??two. I always say to buyers:
"'I am a fool to sell Miller's painting, because this painter may not live for another three years.
< p> Months later, after he dies, you won’t be able to buy his paintings even if you pay an exorbitant price. ’”“I tried every means to spread the news as far as possible, and made preparations in advance so that everyone would pay attention to this big event.
"
"Our plan to sell paintings should be attributed to me - it was my idea. When we discussed
our publicity campaign that night, I proposed this method, and all three of us agreed to give it a try first and never give up on it easily.
Idea, try other methods. It turned out that all three of us were very successful. I only walked for two days
Claude also walked for two days - neither of us wanted to make Miller famous too close to home for fear
Showing off the truth - but Karl was only gone for half a day, this elf. Heartless villain! From then on, he traveled everywhere with the style of a duke.
"We always establish relationships with local newspaper reporters everywhere and publish news in newspapers; but the news we publish is not to announce the discovery of a new painter, but to announce the discovery of a new painter. We deliberately pretended that everyone knew Fran?ois Mille
; we did not say anything about praising him at all, but simply reported a little about the current situation of this 'famous'
News—sometimes saying that his condition is getting better, sometimes saying that there is no hope, but always with the implication that the odds are stacked against him
We always post this kind of news. For those who bought paintings."
"Karl arrived in Paris soon, and he started working in style. He made friends with reporters from various newspapers. Miller's situation was reported everywhere in the UK and Europe, as well as in the United States and around the world."
"Six weeks later, the three of us were in Paris. After the meeting, we decided to stop publicity and stop writing letters to Miller
By this time he had become a sensation and everything was fully mature, so we thought we should take advantage of this
p>
We started immediately to avoid missing the opportunity, so we wrote to Miller and asked him to lie down on the bed and lose weight quickly
because we wanted him to die within ten days. 'Death', if it's too late."
"We calculated and the results were very good. Three people sold eighty-five paintings and studies in one day, and got six
Nineteen thousand francs. The last painting was sold by Carl for the highest price. He sold "Vespers" for two thousand francs. We praised him very much. Yeah - I didn't expect that one day, the whole of France would be scrambling
to take possession of this painting, and an unknown person would actually spend 550,000 francs in cash to acquire it. The rush went
"
"We prepared champagne that night and held a dinner to celebrate the victory. The next day Claude and I. He packed up his luggage and went back to greet Miller during his final days. At the same time, he declined those idlers who wanted to inquire about the news. At the same time, he sent out reports on his condition every day and sent them to Paris for Karl to publish in newspapers on several continents. Publish and report the news to caring people all over the world. Finally, the bad news was announced, and Carl came back in time to help with the final funeral arrangements.
"You must still remember," The funeral was an unprecedented event and caused a sensation all over the world. The elite of the new and old worlds came to attend, and everyone expressed their condolences. The four of us - still so inseparable - carried the coffin and refused to let anyone else help. We were right to do this, because the coffin only contained a wax dummy
If others were to lift it, the weight would be an issue and the coffin would inevitably be exposed. Yes, we once loved each other
The four old friends who lived together in love and endured adversity carried the coffin..."
①The New World at that time referred to America. The Old World refers to Europe, Asia and other continents.
“Which four people? "
"There are four of us - Miller also helped carry his own coffin. Needless to say, it was in disguise. Disguise
Disguise yourself as a relative - a distant relative.
”
“Wonderful! "
"I told the truth, isn't that the same thing? Hey, you still remember how the selling prices of his paintings went up.
Money? We simply don’t know what to do with it, and there is still a man in Paris who has seventy Millet paintings in his collection.
He gave us two million francs to buy it. As for the many sketches and exercises that Miller produced during the six weeks we were on the road, ha, you will be surprised to hear the price we are selling them for now - and
p>That will only happen if we are willing to sell! "
"This is really a strange story, simply strange! "
"Yes - you can say that. "
"What happened to Miller? "
"Can you keep a secret? ”
“Okay.
"Do you remember that person I told you to look at in the restaurant today? That was Fran?ois Miller."
"'Oh my God, it turns out— —'"
"That's right! Finally, this time they didn't starve a genius to death and put his deserved reward into someone else's pocket. A singing bird doesn't sing in vain. No one listens to it, and it ends up in a meaningless funeral. This is the fate we were waiting for.
"
Mark Twain's famous short story "Is He Still Living" shows his unique writing technique - black humor, which combines humor and satire organically and skillfully, allowing readers to learn from the dramatic humorous plot. to explore its profound practical significance.