第 28 节
作者:生在秋天      更新:2023-05-17 13:24      字数:9320
  hidden; marks the spot where Huss and Jerome died burning at the stake。
  History is fond of her little ironies。            In this same Teynkirche lies buried
  Tycho Brahe; the astronomer; who made the common mistake of thinking
  the earth; with its eleven hundred creeds and one humanity; the centre of
  the universe; but who otherwise observed the stars clearly。
  Through       Prague's    dirty;   palace…bordered       alleys   must    have    pressed
  often   in   hot   haste   blind   Ziska   and   open…minded   Wallensteinthey   have
  dubbed   him   〃The   Hero〃   in   Prague;   and   the   town   is   honestly   proud   of
  having   owned   him   for   citizen。       In   his   gloomy   palace   in   the   Waldstein…
  Platz they show as a sacred spot the cabinet where he prayed; and seem to
  have persuaded themselves he really had a soul。 Its steep; winding ways
  must have been choked a dozen times; now by Sigismund's flying legions;
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  followed by fierce…killing Tarborites; and now by pale Protestants pursued
  by the victorious Catholics of Maximilian。              Now Saxons; now Bavarians;
  and now French; now the saints of Gustavus Adolphus; and now the steel
  fighting machines of Frederick the Great; have thundered at its gates and
  fought upon its bridges。
  The     Jews    have     always     been    an   important      feature    of   Prague。
  Occasionally        they    have    assisted    the   Christians      in   their   favourite
  occupation of slaughtering one another; and the great flag suspended from
  the vaulting of the Altneuschule testifies to the courage with which they
  helped Catholic  Ferdinand to   resist   the  Protestant   Swedes。            The  Prague
  Ghetto   was   one   of   the   first   to   be   established   in   Europe;   and   in   the   tiny
  synagogue;   still   standing;   the   Jew   of   Prague   has   worshipped   for   eight
  hundred years; his women folk devoutly listening; without; at the ear holes
  provided   for   them   in   the   massive   walls。     A  Jewish   cemetery   adjacent;
  〃Bethchajim; or the House of Life;〃 seems as though it were bursting with
  its dead。     Within its narrow acre it was the law of centuries that here or
  nowhere       must    the  bones     of  Israel   rest。   So     the  worn     and   broken
  tombstones lie piled in close confusion; as though tossed and tumbled by
  the struggling host beneath。
  The   Ghetto     walls   have    long   been   levelled;   but   the   living  Jews   of
  Prague   still   cling   to   their   foetid   lanes;   though   these   are   being   rapidly
  replaced   by   fine   new   streets   that   promise   to   eventually   transform   this
  quarter into the handsomest part of the town。
  At Dresden they advised us not to talk German in Prague。                    For years
  racial animosity between the German minority and the Czech majority has
  raged   throughout   Bohemia;   and   to   be   mistaken   for   a   German   in   certain
  streets of Prague is inconvenient to a man whose staying powers in a race
  are   not   what   once   they  were。    However;  we   did   talk   German   in   certain
  streets in Prague; it was a case of talking German or nothing。                  The Czech
  dialect is said to be of great antiquity and of highly scientific cultivation。
  Its alphabet contains forty…two letters; suggestive to a stranger of Chinese。
  It is not a language to be picked up in a hurry。               We decided that on the
  whole there would be less risk to our constitution in keeping to German;
  and as a matter of fact no harm came to us。                The explanation I can only
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  surmise。      The Praguer is an exceedingly acute person; some subtle falsity
  of   accent;   some   slight   grammatical   inaccuracy;   may   have   crept   into   our
  German; revealing to him the fact that; in spite of all appearances to the
  contrary;   we   were   no   true…born   Deutscher。        I   do   not   assert this;   I   put   it
  forward as a possibility。
  To avoid unnecessary  danger; however; we   did our sight…seeing   with
  the aid of a guide。        No guide I have ever come across is perfect。 This one
  had   two   distinct   failings。    His   English   was   decidedly  weak。         Indeed;   it
  was not English at all。         I do not know what you would call it。              It was not
  altogether      his   fault;  he    had   learnt    English    from    a   Scotch     lady。    I
  understand Scotch fairly wellto keep abreast of modern English literature
  this is necessary;but to understand broad Scotch talked with a Sclavonic
  accent;      occasionally      relieved     by    German       modifications;       taxes    the
  intelligence。      For   the   first   hour   it   was   difficult   to   rid   one's   self   of   the
  conviction that the man was choking。               Every moment we expected him to
  die on our hands。         In the course of the morning we grew accustomed to
  him; and rid ourselves of the instinct to throw him on his back every time
  he opened his mouth; and tear his clothes from him。                     Later; we came to
  understand   a   part   of   what   he   said;   and   this   led   to   the   discovery   of   his
  second failing。
  It   would   seem   he   had   lately   invented   a   hair…restorer;   which   he   had
  persuaded a local chemist to take up and advertise。                  Half his time he had
  been pointing out to us; not the beauties of Prague; but the benefits likely
  to   accrue   to   the   human   race   from   the   use   of   this   concoction;   and   the
  conventional agreement with which; under the impression he was waxing
  eloquent concerning views and architecture; we had met his enthusiasm he
  had attributed to sympathetic interest in this wretched wash of his。
  The   result   was   that   now   there   was   no   keeping   him   away   from   the
  subject。     Ruined palaces and crumbling churches he dismissed with curt
  reference as mere frivolities; encouraging a morbid taste for the decadent。
  His duty; as he saw it; was not to lead us to dwell upon the ravages of time;
  but rather to direct our attention to the means of repairing them。                       What
  had   we   to   do   with   broken…headed   heroes;   or   bald…headed   saints?           Our
  interest   should   be   surely   in   the   living   world;   in   the   maidens   with   their
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  flowing tresses; or the flowing tresses they might have; by judicious use of
  〃Kophkeo;〃 in the young men with their fierce moustachesas pictured on
  the label。
  Unconsciously;   in   his   own   mind;   he   had   divided   the   world   into   two
  sections。      The     Past    (〃Before    Use〃);     a  sickly;   disagreeable…looking;
  uninteresting   world。       The   Future   (〃After   Use〃)   a   fat;   jolly;   God…   bless…
  everybody   sort   of   world;   and   this   unfitted   him   as   a   guide   to   scenes   of
  mediaeval history。
  He sent us each a bottle of the stuff to our hotel。              It appeared that in
  the early part of our converse with him we had; unwittingly; clamoured for
  it。   Personally; I can neither praise it nor condemn it。               A long series of
  disappointments        has    disheartened     me;    added    to   which    a   permanent
  atmosphere of paraffin; however faint; is apt to cause remark; especially in
  the case of a married man。          Now; I never try even the sample。
  I gave my bottle to George。          He asked for it to send to a man he knew
  in Leeds。      I learnt later that Harris had given him his bottle also; to send
  to the same man。
  A  suggestion   of   onions   has   clung   to   this   tour   since   we   left   Prague。
  George has noticed it himself。           He attributes it to the prevalence of garlic
  in European cooking。
  It   was   in   Prague   that   Harris   and   I   did   a   kind   and   friendly   thing   to
  George。      We had noticed for some time past that George was getting too
  fond of Pilsener beer。        This German beer is an insidious drink; especially
  in hot weather; but it does not do to imbibe too freely of it。                 It does not
  get into your head; but after a time it spoils your waist。                I always say to
  myself on entering Germany:
  〃Now; I will drink no German beer。               The white wine of the country;
  with   a   little   soda…water;   perhaps   occasionally   a   glass   of