| On this occasion the poor girl was submissive to her training, and she turned to that well known part of the sacred volume, with the readiness with which the practised counsel would cite his authorities from the stores of legal wisdom. In selecting the particular chapter, she was influenced by the caption, and she chose that which stands in our English version as "Job excuseth his desire of death." This she read steadily, from beginning to end, in a sweet, low and plaintive voice; hoping devoutly that the allegorical and abstruse sentences might convey to the heart of the sufferer the consolation he needed. It is another peculiarity of the comprehensive wisdom of the Bible that scarce a chapter, unless it be strictly narration, can be turned to, that does not contain some searching truth that is applicable to the condition of every human heart, as well as to the temporal state of its owner, either through the workings of that heart, or even in a still more direct form. In this instance, the very opening sentence - "Is there not an appointed time to man on earth?" was startling, and as Hetty proceeded, Hutter applied, or fancied he could apply many aphorisms and figures to his own worldly and mental condition. As life is ebbing fast, the mind clings eagerly to hope when it is not absolutely crushed by despair. The solemn words "I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself," struck Hutter more perceptibly than the others, and, though too obscure for one of his blunted feelings and obtuse mind either to feel or to comprehend in their fullest extent, they had a directness of application to his own state that caused him to wince under them. | - "Погибни день, в который родился я, и ночь, которая сказала: зачался человек. Ночь та будет тьмою, и..." Тут болезненные стоны умирающего на минуту прервали чтение. Хаттер бросил вокруг себя беспокойный, блуждающий взгляд, но вскоре нетерпеливым движением руки подал знак, чтобы чтение продолжалось. Исполненная необыкновенного одушевления, Хетти громким и твердым голосом прочла все те главы, где страдалец Иов, проклявший день своего рождения, примиряется наконец со своей совестью. |
| "Don't you feel better now, father?" asked Hetty, closing the volume. "Mother was always better when she had read the Bible." | - Вы теперь чувствуете себя лучше, батюшка? -спросила Хетти, закрывая книгу. - Матушке всегда было лучше, когда она читала библию... |
| "Water," returned Hutter - "give me water, Judith. | -Воды... - перебил Хаттер. - Дай мне воды, Джудит. |
| I wonder if my tongue will always be so hot! | Неужели мой язык всегда будет так гореть? |
| Hetty, isn't there something in the Bible about cooling the tongue of a man who was burning in Hell fire?" | Хетти, в библии, кажется, есть рассказ о человеке, который просил остудить ему язык, в то время как сам он жарился на адском огне. |
| Judith turned away shocked, but Hetty eagerly sought the passage, which she read aloud to the conscience stricken victim of his own avaricious longings. | Джудит, потрясенная, отвернулась, а Хетти поспешила отыскать это место и громко прочитала его несчастной жертве собственной алчности. |
| "That's it, poor Hetty; yes, that's it. | - Это то самое, бедная Хетти, да, это то самое. |
| My tongue wants cooling, now -what will it be hereafter?" | Теперь мой язык остудился, но что будет потом? |
