18 A Letter from Dr. Jekyll

CHAPTER 18 A Letter from Dr. Jekyll Utterson took the envelope out of his safe. He sat down heavily and began to read Dr. Lanyon's story. "Four days ago, on January 9th, I received an evening delivery of a registered envelope. It was from my old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll. I was very surprised by this, as we had never exchanged letters before. I had seen him the

第十八章约翰博士的来信。 杰基尔·厄特森从保险柜里拿出信封。 他沉重地坐下来，开始读《博士》。 Lanyon的故事。“四天前，1月9日晚上，我收到了一封挂号信封。 是我的老朋友。 亨利·哲基尔。我对此感到非常惊讶，因为我们以前从未交换过信件。 我见过他

night before and did not expect contact so soon. I could not imagine what could be so important. My curiosity grew after reading the letter. It ran as follows: Dear Lanyon, You are one of my oldest friends. Although we have had our differences of late on scientific matters, I cannot remember any break in our affection. I am certain that you know I would never think twice about coming to your rescue. At a moment's notice I would be at your side. Lanyon, my life, my honor, and my reason are all at your mercy. If you fail me tonight, I am lost. You might suspect that I am about to ask you to do something shameful. Judge for yourself. I ask that you put everything aside tonight—even if an emergency should

前一天晚上，没想到这么快就联系上了。 我无法想象有什么事情会如此重要。 读完这封信后，我的好奇心增强了。 信是这样写的：亲爱的兰宁，你是我最老的朋友之一。 虽然我们最近在科学问题上有过分歧，但我不记得我们的感情有过任何破裂。 我确信你知道我会毫不犹豫地来救你。 只要一接到通知，我就会在你身边。 兰宁，我的生命，我的荣誉，我的理智都在你的摆布之下。 如果你今晚让我失望，我就完了。 你可能会怀疑我要让你做一件可耻的事。 你自己判断吧。我要求你今晚把一切放在一边——即使有紧急情况

arise—and bring this letter to my house. My butler has his orders. You will find him waiting with a locksmith. I need you to break into my office. Once the door is open, you should enter alone. Remove the far left drawer of the medicine cabinet. You will find it filled with some powders and vials. I am in such a state of panic and worry that I may misdirect you in some way. Therefore, please take the entire drawer and all its contents with you. Take it back to your home. I will send someone to get it. I am concerned about timing. If you leave for my home immediately after receiving this letter, then you should be home well before midnight. There is also the chance that you will be delayed in some way, so allowing you this extra time is best. I ask that you please be

起来——把这封信带到我家来。 我的管家有他的命令你会发现他和一个锁匠在一起等着。 我要你闯进我的办公室。 门一开，你就应该一个人进去。 把药柜最左边的抽屉拿开。 你会发现里面装满了粉末和小瓶。 我现在处于一种恐慌和担心的状态，我可能会在某些方面误导你。 因此，请把整个抽屉和里面所有的东西都带走。 把它带回你的家。 我会派人去取。 我担心的是时机。 如果你收到这封信后立即去我家，那么你应该在午夜之前到家。 也有可能你会以某种方式被耽搁，所以给你额外的时间是最好的。 我请求你

alone at midnight. No servants can be nearby. At midnight, then, I ask that you admit a man who will present himself in my name. Please give him the drawer that you have removed from my office. Your work will be done at this point. If you choose to have further explanation, all will be revealed in the next five minutes. The mere thought of you refusing my request is too much to bear. My mind reels and I'm thrown into fits of panic. Think of me in this hour, in a strange place, full of despair. I know that I am asking a lot of you, but your willingness to help has done wonders for my spirits. Your friend, Henry

午夜独自一人。附近不能有仆人。 那么，午夜时分，我请求您允许一个人以我的名义前来。 请把你从我办公室拿走的抽屉给他。 你的工作到这里就完成了。 如果你选择进一步解释，在接下来的五分钟内，一切都会揭晓。 一想到你拒绝我的要求，我就受不了。 我的头脑一片混乱，我陷入了一阵恐慌。 想想我在这个时刻，在一个陌生的地方，充满了绝望。 我知道我对你们的要求很多，但是你们愿意帮助我，对我的精神产生了奇妙的作用。 你的朋友亨利

"This letter convinced me that Dr. Jekyll was insane. However, I could take no chances. I knew that I must fulfill his wishes. I was not in a position to judge, since I did not know all of the details. And, in the end, the most important fact was that a friend was in great need. Therefore, I did as the letter asked and went directly to Jekyll's home. His butler was waiting for me with a locksmith. He had also received a letter by registered mail from Jekyll. We immediately went to work. It took some time, but the locksmith was at long last successful. The door to the office swung open. I pulled the second drawer from the left, as Jekyll requested. "Once I had returned home I examined the drawer's contents. It was full of powders and vials just as he had said it would be. It was plain to me that these chemicals were of Jekyll's own making. I recognized none of

“这封信使我确信。 杰基尔疯了。然而，我不能冒险。 我知道我必须满足他的愿望。 我无法作出判断，因为我不知道所有的细节。 最后，最重要的事实是，这位朋友非常需要帮助。 因此，我按照信上的要求，直接去了杰基尔的家。 他的管家带着一个锁匠在等我。 他还收到了一封杰基尔寄来的挂号信。 我们立即开始工作。 花了一些时间，但锁匠终于成功了。 办公室的门突然开了。 我按照杰基尔的要求，从左边拉开了第二个抽屉。 一回到家，我就检查了抽屉里的东西。 正如他所说的那样，箱子里装满了药粉和药瓶。 我很清楚，这些化学药品是杰基尔自己制造的。 我一个也不认识

them. The powder appeared to be some form of salt. The vials were full of a red liquid. It had a very strong odor, almost sickly sweet. I could make no guess at the name of the other chemicals. It was all very strange. The only thing to do now was wait. Eventually this man would come to pick up the drawer. I could not understand what these chemicals had to do with the safety and sanity of Jekyll. All of this convinced me more than ever that Jekyll was insane. I sent my servants to bed and waited in my lab for my midnight visitor."

他们。这种粉末似乎是某种盐。 小瓶里装满了一种红色液体。 它有一种非常强烈的气味，几乎是病态的甜。 我猜不出其他化学品的名称。 这一切都很奇怪。现在唯一能做的就是等待。 最后这个人会来拿起抽屉。 我不明白这些化学物质与杰基尔的安全和神志清醒有什么关系。 这一切使我更加确信杰基尔是个疯子。 我让仆人们上床睡觉，在实验室里等着午夜的来访者。”