The Moon And Sixpence 53.2

So I went. Ishall never forget the impression my visit made on me. I live on an atoll, alow island, it is a strip of land surrounding a lagoon, and its beauty is thebeauty of the sea and sky and the varied colour of the lagoon and the grace ofthe cocoa-nut trees; but the place where Strickland lived had the beauty of theGarden of Eden. Ah, I wish I could make you see the enchantment of that spot, acorner hidden away from all the world, with the blue sky overhead and the rich,luxuriant trees. It was a feast of colour. And it was fragrant and cool. Wordscannot describe that paradise. And here he lived, unmindful of the world and bythe world forgotten. I suppose to European eyes it would have seemedastonishingly sordid. The house was dilapidated and none too clean. Three orfour natives were lying on the verandah. You know how natives love to herdtogether. There was a young man lying full length, smoking a cigarette, and hewore nothing but a pareo"The pareo is along strip of trade cotton, red or blue, stamped with a white pattern. It isworn round the waist and hangs to the knees."A girl offifteen, perhaps, was plaiting pandanus-leaf to make a hat, and an old womanwas sitting on her haunches smoking a pipe. Then I saw Ata. She was suckling anew-born child, and another child, stark naked, was playing at her feet. Whenshe saw me she called out to Strickland, and he came to the door. He, too, worenothing but a pareo. He was an extraordinary figure, with his red beard andmatted hair, and his great hairy chest. His feet were horny and scarred, sothat I knew he went always bare foot. He had gone native with a vengeance. Heseemed pleased to see me, and told Ata to kill a chicken for our dinner. Hetook me into the house to show me the picture he was at work on when I came in.In one corner of the room was the bed, and in the middle was an easel with thecanvas upon it. Because I was sorry for him, I had bought a couple of hispictures for small sums, and I had sent others to friends of mine in France.And though I had bought them out of compassion, after living with them I beganto like them. Indeed, I found a strange beauty in them. Everyone thought I wasmad, but it turns out that I was right. I was his first admirer in the islands."于是我就去了。我这次去的印象永远也不会忘记。我的住家是在珊瑚岛上，是环抱着咸水湖的一个低矮的环形小岛。那地方的美是海天茫茫的美。是湖水变幻不定的色彩和椰子树的摇曳多姿。而思特里克兰德住的地方却是另一种美，好象是生活在伊甸园里。哎呀，我真希望我能把那迷惑人的地方描摹给你们听。与人寰隔绝的一个幽僻的角落，头顶上是蔚蓝的天空，四围一片郁郁苍苍的树木。那里是观赏不尽的色彩，芬芳馥郁的香气，荫翳凉爽的空气。这个人世乐园是无法用言语形容的。他就住在那里，不关心世界上的事，世界也把他完全遗忘。我想，在欧洲人的眼睛里，那地方也许显得太肮脏了一些；房子破破烂烂，而且收拾得一点儿也不干净。我刚走近那幢房子，就看见凉台上躺着三四个当地人。你知道这里的人总爱凑在一起。我看见一个年轻人摊开了身体在地上躺着，抽着纸烟，身上除了一条帕利欧以外任什么也没有穿。”所谓帕利欧就是一长条印着白色图案的红色或蓝色的棉布，围在腰上，下面搭在膝盖上。“一个女孩子，大概有十五六岁吧，正在用凤梨树叶编草帽，一个老太婆蹲在地上抽烟袋。后来我才看到爱塔，她正在给一个刚出世不久的小孩喂奶，另外一个小孩，光着屁股，在她脚底下玩。爱塔看见我以后，就招呼思特里克兰德。思特里克兰德从屋子里走到门口。他身上同样也只围着一件帕利欧。他留着大红胡子，头发粘成一团，胸上长满了汗毛，样子真是古怪。他的两只脚磨得起了厚茧，还有许多疤痕，我一看就知道他从不穿鞋。说实在的，他简直比当地人更加土化。他看见我好象很高兴，吩咐爱塔杀一只鸡招待我。他把我领进屋子里，给我看我来的时候他正在画的一张画。屋子的一个角落里摆着一张床，当中是一个画架，画架上钉着一块画布。因为我觉得他挺可怜，所以花了不多钱买了他几张画。这些画大多数我都寄给法国的朋友了。虽然我当时买这些画是出于对他的同情，但是时间长了，我还是喜欢上它们了。我发现这些画有一种奇异的美。别人都说我发疯了，但事实证明我是正确的。我是这个地区第一个能鉴赏他的绘画的人。”