Chapter 1 I Meet Sir Henry Curtis
It was a curious thing that at my age—fifty-five last birthday—I shouldfind myself taking up a pen to try and write a history. I wonder what sort ofa history it will be when I have done a good many things in my life, whichseems a long one to me, owing to my having begun so young, perhaps. At anage when other boys are at school, I was earning my living as a trader in theold Colony. I have been trading, hunting, fighting, or mining ever since. Andyet it is only eight months ago that I made my pile. It is a big pile now Ihave got it—I dont yet know how big—but I dont think I would gothrough the last fifteen or sixteen months again for it; no, not if I knew that Ishould come out safe at the end, pile and all. But then I am a timid man, anddont like violence, and am pretty sick of adventure. I wonder why I amgoing to write this book: it is not in my line. I am not a literary man, thoughvery devoted to the Old Testament and also to the lngoldsby Legends. Letme try and set down my reasons.
First reason: Because Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good askedme to.
Second reason: Because I am laid up here at Durban with the pain andtrouble in my left leg. Ever since that confounded lion got hold of me I havebeen liable to it, and its being rather bad just now makes me limp more thanever. There must be some poison in a lions teeth, otherwise how is it thatwhen your wounds are healed they break out again. It is a hard thing thatwhen one has shot sixty-five lions as I have in the course of my life, that thesixty-sixth should chew your leg like a quid of tobacco. It breaks the routineof the thing, and putting other considerations aside, I am an orderly man anddont like that.
第一章 初会亨利-柯蒂斯
去年我已过了55岁生日，对我这个年龄的人来说，这是一件新奇事儿。我发现自己应该拿起笔尝试着写一段历史。我不知道自己写完时它将是一段什么样的历史，尽管我一生中做过很多很多的事儿。在我看来，一生似乎很长，也许是由于我开始时非常年轻吧。别的孩子还在上学时，我便在旧殖民地做买卖来养活自己。从那以后，我一直经商、打猎、打仗或开矿。可是，八个月前，我才有了财富。现在我拥有的是一大堆钱财——我还不知道有多大——但我想我不会为此再去经历过去那十五六个月的遭遇了；不，即使我知道最终会带着一大堆钱财和所有的一切安然走出，也不会。但另一方面我又是一个胆小鬼，不喜欢暴力，非常讨厌冒险。我不知道为什么要写这本书：这不是我份内的事儿。我不是搞文学的，尽管我对《旧约全书》和《英格尔兹比传奇》情有独钟。让我试着写下自己的理由。
第一个理由：因为亨利·柯蒂斯爵士和约翰·古德上尉要求我这样做。
第二个理由：因为我现在躺在德班忍受着左腿的病痛。自从那头该死的狮子咬过我后，我就留下了病根，而且眼下情况相当糟，我瘸得比以往更厉害了。狮子的牙一定有毒，不然伤口痊愈后怎么又会复发呢?这真让人难过，像我这样一个曾打死过65头狮子的人竞被第66头狮子像嚼烟叶似的嚼伤了我的腿。这违背了事情的常理，除此之外，我是一个规矩人，不喜欢做那样的事情。 P2-3
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