“Pardon me，” said the counsellor， addressing the landlady， “I do not feel quite well， and I should be much obliged if you will send for a fly to take me to Christians Haven.” The woman stared at him and shook her head. Then she spoke to him in German. The counsellor supposed from this that she did not understand Danish， he therefore repeated his request in German. This， as well as his singular dress， convinced the woman that he was a foreigner. She soon understood， however， that he did not find himself quite well， and therefore brought him a mug of water. It had something of the taste of seawater， certainly， although it had been drawn from the well outside. Then the counsellor leaned his head on his hand， drew a deep breath， and ponderedponder v.沉思， 考虑 over all the strange things that had happened to him.
“请您原谅，”司法官对着向他走来的老板娘说，“我有点不舒服！您能不能替我雇一辆马车，把我送到克利斯仙码头去？”老板娘看了他一眼，摇摇头，然后用德文和他讲话。司法官猜想她大概不会讲丹麦文，因此把他的要求又用德文讲了一遍。不过，他的口音和他的装束使得老板娘相信他是一个外国人。她马上懂得了他有些不舒服，因此倒了一杯水给他喝。水很咸，因为那是从外边井里取来的。 司法官用手支着头，深深地吸了一口气，思索着在他周围所发生的一些怪事情。
“Is that todays number of the Day？” he asked， quite mechanically， as he saw the woman putting by a large piece of paper. She did not understand what he meant， but she handed him the sheet， it was a woodcutwoodcut n.木刻，木刻印版， 木版画， representing a meteormeteor n.流星， 大气现象， which had appeared in the town of Cologne.
“这是今天的日历吗？”当他看到老板娘把一大张纸撕掉的时候，为了要打破沉寂，他说。她不懂得他的意思，不过她把这张纸递给了他。这是一张描绘诃龙城上空所常见的一种幻象的木刻。
“That is very old，” said the counsellor， becoming quite cheerful at the sight of this antiqueantique adj.古时的， 过时的n.古物， 古董 drawing. “Where did you get this singular sheet？ It is very interesting， although the whole affair is a fable. Meteors are easily explained in these days， they are northern lights， which are often seen， and are no doubt caused by electricity.”
“这是一张非常老的东西呀！”司法官说。他看到这件古物，感到非常高兴。“您怎样弄到这张稀有的古画的？虽然它代表一个寓言，但是它是非常有趣的！现在人们把这些常见的幻象解释成为北极光，可能它是由电光所形成的！”
Those who sat near him， and heard what he said， looked at him in great astonishment， and one of them rose， took off his hat respectfully， and said in a very serious manner， “You must certainly be a very learned man， monsieurmonsieur n.先生， 绅士.”
坐在他身旁和听他讲话的人，都莫名其妙地望着他。其中有一位站起来，恭恭敬敬地摘下帽子，做出一种很庄严的表情，说：“先生，足下一定是当代的一位大学者！”
“Oh no，” replied the counsellor， “I can only discourse ondiscourse on (详细地)谈论， 讲述 topics which every one should understand.”
“哦，岂敢！”司法官回答说，“我所了解的只不过是一知半解，事实上这些事情大家都应该知道的！”
“Modestiamodestia (拉丁文)谦虚 is a beautiful virtue，” said the man. “Moreover， I must add to your speech mihi secus videturmihi secus videtur (拉丁文)不以为然， yet in this case I would suspend my judiciumjudicium (拉丁文)判断.”
“谦虚是一种美德！”这人说。“不过我对于您的说法很觉得不以为然，但我很希望能不下这个判断。”
“May I ask to whom I have the pleasure of speaking？”
“请问我现在很荣幸地得以交谈的这位先生是作何贵干？”
“I am a Bachelor of Divinity，” said the man. This answer satisfied the counsellor. The title agreed with the dress.
“敝人是一个神学学士。”这人回答说。这句回答对于司法官说来已经够了，他的头衔与他的服装很相称。
“This is surely，” thought he， “an old village schoolmaster， a perfect original， such as one meets with sometimes even in JutlandJutland n.日德兰半岛(北欧的半岛).”
他想，“这一定是一个老乡村教师——一位像我们在日德兰还能碰得见的怪物。”
“This is not certainly a locus docendilocus docendi (拉丁文)文教地区，” began the man， “still I must beg you to continue the conversation. You must be well read in ancient lorelore n.学问，知识，（动物的）眼光知识.”
“此地的确并不是文教地区，”这人说，“但我希望足下多发表一点意见来启发我们。足下的古典书籍一定读得不少。”
“Oh yes，” replied the counsellor， “I am very fond of reading useful old books， and modern ones as well， with the exception of “Everyday Stories”， of which we really have more than enough.
“唔，不错，”司法官说。“我是喜欢读有用的古典著作的，不过我也喜欢读近代的著作——只是《每日故事集》是一本例外，老实讲，这类书我们太多了。”
“Everyday Stories？” asked the bachelor.
“《每日故事集》？”我们的学士问。
“Yes， I mean the new novels that we have at the present day.”
“是的，我指的是一般的流行小说。”
“Oh，” replied the man， with a smile， “and yet they are very witty， and are much read at Court. The king likes especially the romance of Messeurs Iffven and Gaudian， which describes King Arthur and his knights of the round table. He has joked about it with the gentlemen of his Court.”
“原来如此！”这人微笑了一下，“这些书写得很聪明，宫里的人都喜欢读。皇上特别喜欢读关于伊文及哥甸先生的传奇。这书描写亚瑟王及其圆桌骑士的故事。他常常跟大臣们把这故事作为谈笑的资料。”
“Well， I have certainly not read that，” replied the counsellor. “I suppose it is quite new， and published by Heiberg.”
“这本书我倒还没有读过！”司法官说，“这一定是海贝尔格所出版的一本新书了。”
“No，” answered the man， “it is not by Heiberg， Godfred von Gehman brought it out.”
“不对，”学士说，“这书并不是由海贝尔格出版的，而是由高得夫里·冯·格曼出版的。”
“Oh， is he the publisher？ That is a very old name，” said the counsellor， “was it not the name of the first publisher in Denmark？”
“真的？他就是作者本人吗？”司法官问。“这是一个很老的名字！这不也是丹麦第一个印刷所的名字吗？”
“Yes， and he is our first printer and publisher now.” replied the scholar.
“是的，他是我国印刷业的始祖。” 这人回答说。
So far all had passed off very well， but now one of the citizens began to speak of a terrible pestilencepestilence n.瘟疫 which had been raging a few years before， meaning the plague of 1484. The counsellor thought he referred to the cholera， and they could discuss this without finding out the mistake. The war in 1490 was spoken of as quite recent. The English piratespirate n.海盗， 盗印者， 盗版者vt.盗印， 盗版， 掠夺， 翻印 vi.做海盗 had taken some ships in the Channel in 1801， and the counsellor， supposing they referred to these， agreed with them in finding fault with the English. The rest of the talk， however， was not so agreeable， every moment one contradictedcontradict vt.同……矛盾， 同……抵触 the other. The good bachelor appeared very ignorant， for the simplest remark of the counsellor seemed to him either too bold or too fantastic. They stared at each other， and when it became worse the bachelor spoke in Latin， in the hope of being better understood， but it was all useless.
谈话一直进行得还不坏。这时另外有一位开始谈到从前流行过一两年的瘟疫：他指的是1484年的那次瘟疫。司法官以为他是在谈霍乱病，所以他们的谈话还勉强可以进行下去。1490年的海寇战争离那时还没有多久，因此他们自然也要谈到这个题目。他们说：英国的海盗居然从船坞里把船都抢走了。司法官亲身经历过1801年的事件，因此他也理直气壮地提出反英的意见。除此以外，谈话进行得可不太好：每一分钟总有一次抬杠。那位了不起的学士不禁有些糊涂起来：司法官的最简单的话语在他听来不是显得太粗鲁，就是太荒唐。他们互相呆望着。事情一僵的时候，学士就讲起拉丁文来。他以为这样别人就可以懂得他的话了，不过事实上这一点用也没有。
“How are you now？” asked the landlady， pulling the counsellors sleeve.
“现在您的感觉怎样？”老板娘问，把司法官的袖子拉了一下。
Then his recollection returned to him. In the course of conversation he had forgotten all that had happened previouslypreviously adv.先前， 以前.
现在他恢复了记忆力：在他刚才谈话的时候，他把先前所发生的事情完全忘记了。
“Goodness me！ where am I？” said he. It bewildered him as he thought of it.