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第4部分

红字-the scarlet letter(英文版)-第4部分

小说: 红字-the scarlet letter(英文版) 字数: 每页4000字

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t together; that there wasno painful perception of deficiency; but; on my part; an entirecontentment with what I found in him。 It might be difficult… and itwas so… to conceive how he should exist hereafter; so earthly andsensuous did he seem; but surely his existence here; admitting that itwas to terminate with his last breath; had been not unkindly given;with no higher moral responsibilities than the beasts of the field;but with a larger scope of enjoyment than theirs; and with all theirblessed immunity from the dreariness and duskiness of age。  One point; in which he had vastly the advantage over his four…footedbrethren; was his ability to recollect the good dinners which it hadmade no small portion of the happiness of his life to eat。 Hisgourmandism was a highly agreeable trait; and to hear him talk ofroast…meat was as appetising as a pickle or an oyster。 As he possessedno higher attribute; and neither sacrificed nor vitiated any spiritualendowment by devoting all his energies and ingenuities to subserve thedelight and profit of his maw; it always pleased and satisfied me tohear him expatiate on fish; poultry; and butcher's meat; and themost eligible methods of preparing them for the table。 Hisreminiscences of good cheer; however ancient the date of the actualbanquet; seemed to bring the savour of pig or turkey under one'svery nostrils。 There were flavours on his palate; that had lingeredthere not less than sixty or seventy years; and were stillapparently as fresh as that of the mutton…chop which he had justdevoured for his breakfast。 I have heard him smack his lips overdinners; every guest at which; except himself; had long been foodfor worms。 It was marvellous to observe how the ghosts of bygone mealswere continually rising up before him; not in anger or retribution;but as if grateful for his former appreciation; and seeking torepudiate an endless series of enjoyment; at once shadowy and sensual。A tenderloin of beef; a hind…quarter of veal; a spare…rib of pork; aparticular chicken; or a remarkably praiseworthy turkey; which hadperhaps adorned his board in the days of the elder Adams; would beremembered; while all the subsequent experience of our race; and allthe events that brightened or darkened his individual career; had goneover him with as little permanent effect as the passing breeze。 Thechief tragic event of the old man's life; so far as I could judge; washis mishap with a certain goose; which lived and died some twenty orforty years ago; a goose of most promising figure; but which; attable; proved so inveterately tough that the carving…knife wouldmake no impression on its carcass; and it could only be divided withan axe and handsaw。  But it is time to quit this sketch; on which; however; I should beglad to dwell at considerably more length; because; of all men whomI have ever known; this individual was fittest to be a Custom…Houseofficer。 Most persons; owing to causes which I may not have space tohint at; suffer moral detriment from this peculiar mode of life。 Theold Inspector was incapable of it; and; were he to continue inoffice to the end of time; would be just as good as he was then; andsit down to dinner with just as good an appetite。  There is one likeness; without which my gallery of Custom…Houseportraits would be strangely inplete; but which my parativelyfew opportunities for observation enable me to sketch only in themerest outline。 It is that of the Collector; our gallant oldGeneral; who; after his brilliant military service; subsequently towhich he had ruled over a wild Western territory; had e hither;twenty years before; to spend the decline of his varied and honourablelife。 The brave soldier had already numbered; nearly or quite; histhreescore years and ten; and was pursuing the remainder of hisearthly march; burdened with infirmities which even the martialmusic of his own spirit…stirring recollections could do little towardslightening。 The step was palsied now; that had been foremost in thecharge。 It was only with the assistance of a servant; and by leaninghis hand heavily on the iron balustrade; that he could slowly andpainfully ascend the Custom…House steps; and; with a toilsome progressacross the floor; attain his customary chair beside the fireplace。There he used to sit; gazing with a somewhat dim serenity of aspect atthe figures that came and went; amid the rustle of papers; theadministering of oaths; the discussion of business; and the casualtalk of the office; all which sounds and circumstances seemed butindistinctly to impress his senses; and hardly to make their wayinto his inner sphere of contemplation。 His countenance; in thisrepose; was mild and kindly。 If his notice was sought; an expressionof courtesy and interest gleamed out upon his features; proving thatthere was light within him; and that it was only the outward medium ofthe intellectual lamp that obstructed the rays in their passage。 Thecloser you perated to the substance of his mind; the sounder itappeared。 When no longer called upon to speak; or listen; either ofwhich operations cost him an evident effort; his face would brieflysubside into its former not uncheerful quietude。 It was not painful tobehold this look; for though dim; it had not the imbecility ofdecaying age。 The framework of his nature; originally strong andmassive; was not yet crumbled into ruin。  To observe and define his character; however; under suchdisadvantages; was as difficult a task as to trace out and build upanew; in imagination; an old fortress; like Ticonderoga; from a viewof its grey and broken ruins。 Here and there; perchance; the walls mayremain almost plete; but elsewhere may be only a shapeless mound;cumbrous with its very strength; and overgrown; through long yearsof peace and neglect; with grass and alien weeds。  Nevertheless; looking at the old warrior with affection… for; slightas was the munication between us; my feeling towards him; like thatof all bipeds and quadrupeds who knew him; might not improperly betermed so… I could discern the main points of his portrait。 It wasmarked with the noble and heroic qualities which showed it to be notby a mere accident; but of good right; that he had won a distinguishedname。 His spirit could never; I conceive; have been characterised byan uneasy activity; it must; at any period of his life; haverequired an impulse to set him in motion; but; once stirred up; withobstacles to overe; and an adequate object to be attained; it wasnot in the man to give out or fail。 The beat that had formerlypervaded his nature; and which was not yet extinct; was never of thekind that flashes and flickers in a blaze; but; rather; a deep; redglow; as of iron in a furnace。 Weight; solidity; firmness; this wasthe expression of his repose; even in such decay as had crept untimelyover him; at the period of which I speak。 But I could imagine; eventhen; that; under some excitement which should go deeply into hisconsciousness… roused by a trumpet…peal; loud enough to awaken allof his energies that were not dead; but only slumbering… he was yetcapable of flinging off his infirmities like a sick man's gown;dropping the staff of age to seize a battle…sword; and starting uponce more a warrior。 And; in so intense a moment; his demeanourwould have still been calm。 Such an exhibition; however; was but to bepictured in fancy; not to be anticipated; nor desired。 What I saw inhim… as evidently as the indestructible ramparts of; OldTiconderoga; already cited as the most appropriate simile… were thefeatures of stubborn and ponderous endurance; which might well haveamounted to obstinacy in his earlier days; of integrity; that; likemost of his other endowments; lay in a somewhat heavy mass; and wasjust as unmalleable and unmanageable as a ton of iron ore; and ofbenevolence; which; fiercely as he led the bayos on at Chippewaor Fort Erie; I take to be of quite as genuine a stamp as whatactuates any or all the polemical philanthropists of the age。 He hadslain men with his own hand; for aught I know… certainly; they hadfallen; like blades of grass at the sweep of the scythe; before thecharge to which his spirit imparted its triumphant energy… but; bethat as it might; there was never in his heart so much cruelty aswould have brushed the down off a butterfly's wing。 I have not knownthe man; to whose innate kindliness I would more confidently make anappeal。  Many characteristics… and those; too; which contribute not the leastforcibly to impart resemblance in a sketch… must have vanished; orbeen obscured; before I met the General。 All merely gracefulattributes are usually the most evanescent; nor does Nature adornthe human ruin with blossoms of new beauty; that have their rootsand proper nutriment only in the chinks and crevices of decay; asshe sows wall…flowers over the ruined fortress of Ticonderoga。Still; even in respect of grace and beauty; there were points wellworth noting。 A ray of humour; now and then; would make its waythrough the veil of dim obstruction; and glimmer pleasantly upon ourfaces。 A trait of native elegance; seldom seen in the masculinecharacter after childhood or early youth; was shown in the General'sfondness for the sight and fragrance of flowers。 An old soldiermight be supposed to prize only the bloody laurel on his brow; buthere was one; who seemed to have a young girl's appreciation of thefloral tribe。  There; beside the fireplace; the brave old General used to sit;while the Surveyor… though seldom; when it could be avoided; takingupon himself the difficult task of engaging him in conversation… wasfond of standing at a distance; and berous countenance。 He seemed away from us; although we saw himbut a few yards off; remote; though we passed close beside hischair; unattainable; though we might have stretched forth our handsand touched his own。 It might be that he lived a more real life withinhis thoughts; than amid the unappropriate environment of theCollector's office。 The evolutions of the parade; the tumult of thebattle; the flourish of old; heroic music; heard thirty years before;…such scenes and sounds; perhaps; were all alive before hisintellectual sense。 Meanwhile; the merchants and shipmasters; thespruce clerks and uncouth sailors; entered and departed; the bustle ofthis mercial and Custom…House life kept up its little murmurround about him; 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