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第1章
It
is
with
a
kind
of
fear
that
I
begin
to
write
the
history
of
my
life.
I
have,
as
it
were,
a
superstitious
hesitation
in
lifting
the
veil
that
clings
about
my
childhood
like
a
golden
mist.
The
task
of
writing
an
autobiography
is
a
difficult
one.
When
I
try
to
classify
my
earliest
impressions,
I
find
that
fact
and
fancy
look
alike
across
the
years
that
link
the
past
with
the
present.
The
woman
paints
the
child's
experiences
in
her
own
fantasy.
A
few
impressions
stand
out
vividly
from
the
first
years
of
my
life;
but
"
the
shadows
of
the
prison-
house
are
on
the
rest."
Besides,
many
of
the
joys
and
sorrows
of
childhood
have
lost
their
poignancy;
and
many
incidents
of
vital
importance
in
my
early
education
have
been
forgotten
in
the
excitement
of
great
discoveries.
In
order,
therefore,
not
to
be
tedious
I
shall
try
to
present
in
a
series
of
sketches
only
the
episodes
that
seem
to
me
to
be
the
most
interesting
and
important.
我是怀着惴惴不安的心情书写我生活的历史的。在我整个的童年时代，生活犹如笼罩在我身边的一团金色雾霭。冥冥之中，我是懵懂而迟疑地揭开生活的迷帐的。每当我试图分辨孩童时期记忆的时候，我就会发现，往昔的时光美好而真实，它如同一条纽带，同此时此刻的我紧紧相连。女人们通常会以富于想象力的方式来描述自己的童年经历。虽然，那些鲜活而生动的记忆来自我生命的最初时光，但是，“牢房一般的阴暗将伴随着我的余生”。此外，童年时代的欢乐和悲伤大都成为往事前尘，它们已然失去了当时的锋芒；在我接受早期教育过程中的那些重大事件，已经随着更加激动人心的伟大发现而被淡忘。因此，从这个意义上来说，将我生活中那些至关重要的章节做一个全盘性的勾勒，于我倒并不是一件枯燥乏味的工作。
I
was
born
on
June
27, 1880,
in
Tuscumbia,
a
little
town
of
northern
Alabama.
我于1880年6月27日出生在亚拉巴马州北部的一个叫做图斯康比亚的小镇。
The
family
on
my
father's
side
is
descended
from
Caspar
Keller,
a
native
of
Switzerland,
who
settled
in
Maryland.
One
of
my
Swiss
ancestors
was
the
first
teacher
of
the
deaf
in
Zurich
and
wrote
a
book
on
the
subject
of
their
education—
rather
a
singular
coincidence;
though
it
is
true
that
there
is
no
king
who
has
not
had
a
slave
among
his
ancestors,
and
no
slave
who
has
not
had
a
king
among
his.
我父亲家的先人是来自瑞士的卡斯帕·凯勒家族，他们最初定居在马里兰州。在我的瑞士祖先中，有一个人曾是苏黎世聋哑学校的首位教师，他曾写过一本有关教学生涯的书——这似乎具有某种一脉相承的偶然性；尽管在他的祖先中没有王者，也不曾豢养过一个奴隶，而且，在早期先民之中，也没有奴隶曾隶属于一位王者。
My
grandfather,
Caspar
Keller's
son, "
entered"
large
tracts
of
land
in
Alabama
and
finally
settled
there.
I
have
been
told
that
once
a
year
he
went
from
Tuscumbia
to
Philadelphia
on
horseback
to
purchase
supplies
for
the
plantation,
and
my
aunt
has
in
her
possession
many
of
the
letters
to
his
family,
which
give
charming
and
vivid
accounts
of
these
trips.
我的祖父，卡斯帕·凯勒家族之子，“进入”了亚拉巴马州这片广袤的土地并最终在此定居。我后来得知，曾经有那么一年，祖父骑马从图斯康比亚前往费城，为的是给种植园添置一些耕作用具。在我姑妈寄来的许多家信中，曾对祖父的这些旅行有过生动而清晰的记述。
My
Grandmother
Keller
was
a
daughter
of
one
of
Lafayette's
aides,
Alexander
Moore,
and
granddaughter
of
Alexander
Spotswood,
an
early
Colonial
Governor
of
Virginia.
She
was
also
second
cousin
to
Robert
E.
Lee.
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