Chapter 7
Six months later,
in April 1890, I found him dead in bed. He was on his back in bed, so at first
I thought he was asleep. I talked to him, but he did not move. Then I saw that
the skin on his face was blue, so I knew he was dead.
He did not usually
sleep on his back. His enormous head was very heavy, so he usually sat up in
bed with his arms round his legs, and his head on his knees. He could sleep
well like this.
But he wanted to
sleep on his back like you and me. He tried to sleep on his back that night,
but his heavy head came off the bed, and he broke his neck. He died very
quickly.
Next day, the
Chairman of the London
Hospital, Mr. Carr Gomm,
wrote to the editor of The Times again.
The Times, April
16th, 1890
Dear Sir,
Three and a half
years ago I wrote to you about a man called Joseph Merrick. This man was called
‘The Elephant Man' because he was born with a very ugly body. Merrick
was not ill, but he could not work, and he had no money.
The readers of The
Times felt sorry for him, and they gave me a lot of money for Merrick.
Because of this money, we could give Merrick a home in the Lon-don Hospital.
It was his first good home, and for three and a half years he lived here
happily. The doctors and nurses of the hospital helped him, and many important
people visited him. He read many books, he went to the theatre, and in the
summer he stayed in the country for six weeks. Because of your readers’ money,
we could give him a happy life.
Last night Joseph
Merrick died quietly in his bed. He was a man with a very ugly body, but he was
a good, kind man, and he had a lot of friends. We liked to talk to him, and we
are all very sorry because he is dead. A lot of people are going to remember
him for a longtime.
There is some
money left, so I am going to give it to the hospital. Thank you, sir, for your
help.
Yours faithfully
F. C. Carr Gomm
Chairman of The London Hospital
第七章
半年後，也就是一八九○年四月，我發現他死在床上。他是仰面躺在床上，所以一開始我以為他睡著了。我跟他說話，但他始終不動。然後，我看見他臉上皮膚發青，所以我知道他已經死了。
他通常不能躺著睡覺。他巨大的腦袋是非常重的，所以他通常是坐在床上，用手抱著他的雙腿，頭靠在膝蓋上。這樣他可以睡得很好。
但他想要像你我一樣躺在床上睡覺。那天晚上他想試著躺在床上睡覺，但沉重的頭摔下了床，折斷了脖子。他很快就死了。
第二天，倫敦醫院的院長卡爾．戈姆先生，再次寫了封信給《泰晤士報》的編輯。
摘自一八九○年四月十六日的《泰晤士報》
親愛的先生：
三年半以前我寫信給你介紹一位名叫約瑟夫．梅里克的人。這個人被稱為「象人
」，因為他天生就有一副很醜陋的身體。梅里克沒有生病，但他無法工作，也沒有錢。
《泰晤士報》的讀者們很同情他，給了梅里克很多錢。也因為有了這些錢，我們才可以在倫敦醫院裡給梅里克一個家。這是他第一個家，在這三年半的時間裡，他在此過得很幸福。醫院裡的醫生護士們很幫忙他，也有許多重要的人士來探望他。他讀了很多書，也去了劇院，而在夏天，他在鄉村待了六個星期。因為有了讀者們給的錢，我們才可以給他一個幸福的生活。
昨晚約瑟夫．梅里克在床上靜靜地死去。他是一個身體非常難看的人，但他很好、很善良，他有很多的朋友。我們都喜歡跟他說話，我們很遺憾，因為他死了。許多人會永遠記得他的。
這裡還有剩下一些錢，所以我打算捐給醫院。謝謝你，先生，感謝你的幫助。
此致
倫敦醫院院長F. C.卡爾．戈姆
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