i did not want merrick to live by himself, like a man in a lighthouse. he read his books, and talked to me, but i wanted him to talk to more people. and i wanted him to talk to women.
merrick read about women in his books, but he did not often talk to women. he met the nurses every day, but they did not talk to him very much. for them, he was always a creature, not a man.
one day, one of my friends, a beautiful young woman, came to the hospital. i told her about merrick, and took her to his room. she opened the door, and smiled at him.
‘good morning, mr merrick, ’she said. then she shook his hand.
merrick looked at her for a minute with his mouth open. then he sat down on his bed, with his head in his hand, and cried. he cried for nearly five minutes. the tears ran down his face, between his fingers, and onto the floor.
my friend sat on the bed beside him and put her hand on his arm. she said nothing, but she smiled at him and shookhis hand again before she left.
‘dr treves, ’he said to me that night. ‘that lady was wonderful! my mother smiled at me once, many years ago, but no women smile at me now. but this lady smiled at me too, and she shook my hand! a beautiful lady smiled at me and shook my hand! ’
my young lady friend came again the next week, and talked to merrick for half an hour. the week after that, she came again with a friend. they gave him some books, and had a cup of tea with him. it was wonderful for him. for the first time in his life, he had some friends. he was a very happy man. he sat in his room, and read his books, and said no more about living on a lighthouse.
people began to read about merrick in the newspapers, sohe had a lot of visitors. everybody wanted to see him. a lot of important ladies and gentlemen visited him. they smiled at him, shook his hand, and gave him books. merrick liked talk-ing to these people, and he began to forget about his uglybody. his visitors never laughed at him. he began to feel like a man, not a creature.
one wonderful day, a very important lady came to the hospital to visit him. i met the lady, and took her to his room. then i opened the door, and smiled at him.
‘good morning, joseph, ’i said. ‘there is a new visitor to see you today. a very famous lady. ’
merrick stood up beside his table. he did not smile, because his face could not smile, but his eyes looked happy.
‘that's good, ’he said. ‘who is it？’
i moved away from the door, and the visitor walked in. ‘your majesty, this is joseph merrick, ’i said. ‘joseph, this is her majesty, queen alexandra, the queen of england. ’
queen alexandra smiled at him. ‘how do you do, mr merrick, ’she said. ‘i'm very pleased to meet you. ’then she shook his hand.
merrick did not move. for nearly half a minute he stood and looked at her with his mouth open. then he spoke, in his strange, slow voice.
‘how… how do you do, your majesty, ’he said. but i don't think the queen understood him, because he tried to get down on his knees at the same time. it was very difficult for him, because of his enormous legs.
‘no, please, mr merrick, do get up, ’said the queen. ‘i would like to talk to you. can we sit at your table？’
‘yes…yes, of course, ’he said. they sat at the table. she took his left hand, the good hand, in hers. she looked at the hand carefully, and then smiled at merrick again.
‘i often read about you in the newspapers, ’she said. ‘you are a very interesting man, mr merrick. you have a very difficult life, but people say you're happy. is it true？ are you happy now？’
‘oh, yes, your majesty, yes! ’said merrick. ‘i'm a very happy man! i have a home here now, and friends, and my books. i'm happy every hour of the day! ’
‘what a wonderful story! ’she said. ‘i'm very pleasedto hear it now, tell me about your reading. i see you have a lot of books here. ’
‘oh, yes, your majesty. i love my books, ’said merrick. and for nearly half an hour they sat and talked about books. the queen gave him a little book, and some red flowers, before she left.
after her visit, merrick began to sing. he could not sing easily, of course, because of his mouth, but all that day there was a strange, happy noise in his room. he looked at the flowers carefully, and put them on his table.
he had many visits from the queen, and at christmas she sent him a christmas card.
windsor castle
20th december 1888
dear joseph,
here is a small christmas present for you. i think it looks like me, doesn't it？i do like visiting you very much, and i am going to come to the hospital again in the new year.
happy christmas!
your friend
alexandra
the present was a picture of queen alexandra, with her name on it. merrick cried over it, and put it carefully by the bed in his room. then he sat down and wrote a letter to the queen. it was the first letter of his life.
the london hospital
23rd december 1888
my dear queen,
thank you very, very, much for your wonderful card and the beautiful picture. it is the best thing in my room, the very best, the most beautiful thing i have. this is the first christmas in my life, and my first christmas present. perhaps i had a christmas with my mother once, but i do not remember it. i have my mother's picture too, and she is beautiful, like you. but now i know many famous ladies and kind people like dr treves, and i am a very happy man. i am happy too because i am going to see you in the new year.
happy christmas to you, my dear friend,
with all my love,
joseph merrick
我不愿麦里克独自居住，就像一个灯塔守望人那样。他看书，也和我聊天，但我却想让他与更多的人甚至妇女们交谈。麦里克在书中读到过有关妇女的事，可他不常与妇女们说话。他每天都与护士接触，可她们不常与他说话，在她们的眼里，他始终是一个怪物而不是一个男人。
有一天，我的一位朋友，一位年轻漂亮的女子来到了医院，我告诉她有关麦里克的全部情况，并把她领到他的房间。她朝他微笑着问候：“早上好，麦里克先生。”她走上前握住他的手。麦里克张着嘴朝她看着，然后坐到床上捂着头哭了起来。他哭了近五分钟时间，泪水从指缝里滚落到地上。
我的这位朋友靠近他坐在他的床上，把手放在他的手臂上，什么也没说，只是朝他微笑，离开前又与他握手道别。
那天晚上他对我说：“特里维斯博士，那位女士漂亮极了，我的母亲曾经朝我微笑过，那是很多年以前的事了。直到现在没有一个女人朝我笑过，可是这位女士朝我微笑，还握了我的手！一个漂亮的女士朝我微笑，握着我的手！”
第二个星期，我的那位年轻的朋友又来了，与麦里克谈了半个小时。在这个星期以后她又与另一个朋友一道来，她们送给他一些书，和他一起喝了茶。对他来说这比什么都好，人生中第一次有了一些朋友。他很高兴，坐在屋子里看书，再也不提诸如生活在灯塔里之类的事了。
人们开始从报纸上看到有关麦里克的报道，所以他有许多来访者。每个人都想去看他，许多有身份的女士和绅士们访问了他，他们朝他微笑，和他握手，送给他许多书。麦里克喜欢与这些人交谈，渐渐忘了自己那丑陋的样子。他的来访者从不嘲笑他，他开始觉得自己像个男人了。
一天，天气非常宜人，一位很有身份的女士来到医院拜访他。我遇到这位女士，把她带到他的房间。我打开门，冲他笑着说：“约瑟夫，早上好！今天有一位新客人来拜访你，是一位名人！”
麦里克从桌子旁站了起来。他没有笑，因为他的脸不会笑，但从他的眼睛里能看出他很高兴。他说：“太好了，是谁？”我将来访者引进来给他们介绍说：“陛下，这是约瑟夫.麦里克。约瑟夫，这是陛下，亚历山德拉王后，当今英国女王。”
亚历山德拉王后与他握着手，朝他笑着说：“麦里克先生，你好。见到你非常高兴。”
麦里克没有移动，站在那里张着嘴朝她看了约半分钟之久，然后用一种奇怪的声音缓缓说道：“噢……陛下，您好！”也不知王后是否听清了他的话，因为与此同时他想要跪下，给王后请安，但由于他那两条腿太粗了，他很难跪下。
王后说：“麦里克先生，请不必这样，起来吧。我想与你说说话，我们可以在你的桌旁坐坐吗？”他回答着：“好的，当然可以。”他们都在桌子旁坐下，她拉着他的左手——那只好手放在她的手里。她仔细看了看他的手后又朝麦里克笑笑说：“我常在报纸上看到有关你的情况，你是一个很有趣的人，你生活虽难以自理，但人们说你很幸福，是真的吗？你现在很幸福吗？”麦里克回答说：“嗯，陛下，是的，我是一个很幸福的人，现在我有一个家，有许多朋友，还有许多书。我每时每刻都很愉快。”
她说：“多么精彩的故事，我非常想听，请把你读到的讲给我听，我发现你这儿有许多书。”
他说：“哦，陛下，是的，我喜欢这些书。”他们在那儿就书上的事谈了近半个小时。王后离开时送给了他一本小书和一些红花。
在她来访以后，麦里克开始唱歌。尽管他的嘴不能自如地歌唱，但那些日子里他的房间里总是回荡着一种奇怪、幸福的歌声。他仔细看了看这些花，将它们摆在桌子上。
王后多次拜访他，圣诞节那天她送给他一张圣诞卡片：
亲爱的约瑟夫：
给你一个小小的圣诞礼物，我想你见到这就如同见到我一样，是吗？我很喜欢拜访你，我将在新年那天去医院看你。
祝圣诞快乐！
你的朋友亚历山德拉
1888年12月 20日于温莎城堡
这份礼物是亚历山德拉王后的一张照片，上面有她的名字。麦里克喜不自禁，把它放在房间里他的床边，然后坐下来给王后写信。这是他有生以来写的第一封信：
亲爱的王后：
您好！
非常感谢您给我精美的卡片和漂亮的照片，这是我房间里最好的东西，也是我所拥有的最好最漂亮的东西。我有生以来过第一个圣诞节，这是我的第一个圣诞节礼物。也许我曾与母亲一起度过一个圣诞节，但我已记不住了。我也有一张母亲的照片，她很漂亮，像你一样。现在我认识许多有名望的女士和好心肠的人们，他们都像特里维斯博士一样，我是一个很幸福的人。我很高兴将在新年里再次见到你。
祝我亲爱的朋友圣诞节愉快！
你的朋友约瑟夫.麦里克
1888年12月 23日于伦敦医院
