第 41 节
作者:生在秋天      更新:2023-05-17 13:24      字数:9322
  puts    it  on   slightly;   so   that  it  only    scrapes    the   wheel;    producing     a
  continuous sound as of the sharpening of a saw; for four miles an hour he
  screws it down harder; and you travel to an accompaniment of groans and
  shrieks;   suggestive   of   a   symphony   of   dying   pigs。      When   he   desires   to
  come to a full stop; he puts it on to its full。          If his brake be a good one; he
  calculates he can stop his carriage; unless the horse be an extra powerful
  animal; in less than twice its own length。             Neither the German driver nor
  the German horse knows; apparently; that you can stop a carriage by any
  other method。        The German horse continues to pull with his full strength
  until he finds it impossible to move the vehicle another inch; then he rests。
  Horses     of   other   countries    are  quite   willing    to  stop   when    the   idea   is
  suggested to them。         I have known horses content to go even quite slowly。
  But your German horse; seemingly; is built for one particular speed; and is
  unable to depart from it。          I am stating nothing but the literal; unadorned
  truth;   when   I   say  I   have   seen   a   German   coachman;   with   the   reins   lying
  loose over the splash…board; working his brake with both hands; in terror
  lest he would not be in time to avoid a collision。
  At Waldshut; one of those little sixteenth…century towns through which
  the Rhine flows during its earlier course; we came across that exceedingly
  common        object   of   the  Continent:      the    travelling   Briton    grieved    and
  surprised at the unacquaintance of the foreigner with the subtleties of the
  English   language。        When   we   entered   the   station   he   was;   in   very   fair
  English; though with a slight Somersetshire accent; explaining to a porter
  for   the   tenth   time;   as   he   informed   us;   the   simple   fact   that   though   he
  himself      had    a   ticket   for   Donaueschingen;         and    wanted      to   go   to
  Donaueschingen;   to   see   the   source   of   the   Danube;   which   is   not   there;
  though they tell you it is; he wished his bicycle to be sent on to Engen and
  his bag to   Constance; there   to   await his arrival。          He   was hot   and   angry
  with the effort of the thing。         The porter was a young man in years; but at
  the   moment   looked   old   and   miserable。       I   offered   my   services。     I   wish
  now I had notthough not so fervently; I expect; as he; the speechless one;
  came subsequently to wish this。            All three routes; so the porter explained
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  to us; were complicated; necessitating changing and re…changing。                     There
  was not much time for calm elucidation; as our own train was starting in a
  few    minutes。     The    man    himself    was   volublealways      a  mistake    when
  anything   entangled   has   to   be   made   clear;   while   the   porter   was   only   too
  eager to get the job done with and so breathe again。                It dawned upon me
  ten minutes later; when thinking the matter over in the train; that though I
  had agreed with the porter that it would be best for the bicycle to go by
  way of Immendingen; and had agreed to his booking it to Immendingen; I
  had   neglected   to   give   instructions   for   its   departure   from   Immendingen。
  Were I of a despondent temperament I should be worrying myself at the
  present   moment   with   the   reflection   that   in   all   probability  that   bicycle   is
  still at Immendingen to this day。           But I regard it as good philosophy to
  endeavour always to see the brighter side of things。                Possibly the porter
  corrected my omission on his own account; or some simple miracle may
  have happened   to restore  that bicycle  to   its owner  some time  before  the
  end   of   his   tour。  The   bag   we   sent   to   Radolfzell:    but   here   I   console
  myself with the recollection that it was labelled Constance; and no doubt
  after   a   while   the   railway   authorities;   finding   it   unclaimed   at   Radolfzell;
  forwarded it on to Constance。
  But all this is apart from the moral I wished to draw from the incident。
  The true inwardness of the situation lay in the indignation of this Britisher
  at finding a German railway porter unable to comprehend English。                       The
  moment   we   spoke   to   him   he   expressed   this   indignation   in   no   measured
  terms。
  〃Thank you very much indeed;〃 he said; 〃it's simple enough。                    I want
  to   go   to   Donaueschingen   myself   by   train;   from   Donaueschingen   I   am
  going to walk to Geisengen; from Geisengen I am going to take the train
  to Engen; and from Engen I am going to bicycle to Constance。 But I don't
  want to take my bag with me; I want to find it at Constance when I get
  there。    I have been trying to explain the thing to this fool for the last ten
  minutes; but I can't get it into him。〃
  〃It is very disgraceful;〃 I agreed。         〃Some of these German workmen
  know hardly any other language than their own。〃
  〃I have gone over it with him;〃 continued the man; 〃on the time table;
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  and   explained   it   by   pantomime。        Even   then   I   could   not   knock   it   into
  him。〃
  〃I   can   hardly   believe   you;〃   I   again   remarked;   〃you   would   think   the
  thing explained itself。〃
  Harris was angry with the man; he wished to reprove him for his folly
  in journeying through the outlying portions of a foreign clime; and seeking
  in such to accomplish complicated railway tricks without knowing a word
  of the language of the country。           But I checked the impulsiveness of Harris;
  and   pointed   out   to   him   the   great   and   good   work   at   which   the   man   was
  unconsciously assisting。
  Shakespeare       and    Milton    may   have     done   their   little  best  to  spread
  acquaintance with the English tongue among the less favoured inhabitants
  of   Europe。     Newton   and   Darwin   may   have   rendered   their   language   a
  necessity among educated and thoughtful foreigners。 Dickens and   Ouida
  (for   your   folk   who   imagine   that   the   literary   world   is   bounded   by   the
  prejudices   of   New   Grub   Street;   would   be   surprised   and   grieved   at   the
  position     occupied     abroad    by   this  at…  home…sneered…at        lady)   may   have
  helped   still   further   to   popularise   it。   But   the   man   who   has   spread   the
  knowledge of English from Cape St。 Vincent to the Ural Mountains is the
  Englishman        who;    unable    or  unwilling     to   learn   a  single   word    of   any
  language   but   his   own;      travels   purse   in   hand   into   every   corner   of   the
  Continent。       One      may    be   shocked     at   his  ignorance;      annoyed     at   his
  stupidity; angry at his presumption。             But the practical fact remains; he it
  is that is anglicising Europe。          For him the Swiss peasant tramps through
  the   snow   on   winter   evenings   to   attend   the   English   class   open   in   every
  village。     For him the coachman and the guard; the chambermaid and the
  laundress; pore over their English grammars and colloquial phrase books。
  For    him    the   foreign    shopkeeper       and   merchant      send    their   sons    and
  daughters in their thousands to study in every English town。                    For him it is
  that every foreign hotel… and restaurant…keeper adds to his advertisement:
  〃Only those with fair knowledge of English need apply。〃
  Did   the   English…speaking   races   make   it   their   rule   to   speak   anything
  else    than    English;     the   marvellous      progress     of   the    English     tongue
  throughout       the  world    would     stop。    The    English…speaking        man    stands
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  amid the strangers and jingles his gold。
  〃Here;〃 cries; 〃is payment for all such as can speak English。〃
  He it is who is the great educator。     Theoretically we may scold him;
  practically we should take our hats off to him。      He is the missionary of
  the English tongue。
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  CHAPTER XII
  We are grieved at the earthly instincts of the GermanA superb view;