第 29 节
作者:怀疑一切      更新:2021-02-24 23:08      字数:9322
  nothing he had cared to see or to know。 To…day; to him gazing South with a
  new…born   need   stirring   in   his   heart;   the   clear   sky   over   their   long   low
  outline seemed to pulsate with promise; to…day; the unseen was everything;
  the unknown the only real fact of life。 On this side of the hills was now the
  real blank; on the other lay the crowded and coloured panorama that his
  inner eye was seeing so clearly。 What seas lay beyond; green; leaping; and
  crested!   What   sun…bathed   coasts;   along   which   the   white   villas   glittered
  against     the  olive   woods!     What    quiet   harbours;    thronged     with   gallant
  shipping   bound   for   purple   islands   of   wine   and   spice;   islands   set   low   in
  languorous waters!
  He rose and descended river…wards once more; then changed his mind
  and sought the side of the dusty lane。 There; lying half… buried in the thick;
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  cool under…hedge tangle that bordered it; he could muse on the metalled
  road and all the wondrous world that it led to; on all the wayfarers; too;
  that might have trodden it; and the fortunes and adventures they had gone
  to seek or found unseekingout there; beyondbeyond!
  Footsteps fell on his ear; and the figure of one that walked somewhat
  wearily came into view; and he saw that it was a Rat; and a very dusty one。
  The wayfarer; as he reached him; saluted with a gesture of courtesy that
  had something foreign about it hesitated a momentthen with a pleasant
  smile turned from the track and sat down by his side in the cool herbage。
  He   seemed   tired;   and   the   Rat   let   him   rest   unquestioned;   understanding
  something of what was in his thoughts; knowing; too; the value all animals
  attach   at   times   to   mere   silent   companionship;   when   the   weary   muscles
  slacken and the mind marks time。
  The wayfarer was lean and keen…featured; and somewhat bowed at the
  shoulders;   his   paws   were   thin   and   long;   his   eyes   much   wrinkled   at   the
  corners;   and   he   wore   small   gold   ear   rings   in   his   neatly…set   well…shaped
  ears。   His   knitted   jersey   was   of   a   faded   blue;   his   breeches;   patched   and
  stained; were based on a blue foundation; and his small belongings that he
  carried were tied up in a blue cotton handkerchief。
  When   he   had   rested   awhile   the   stranger   sighed;   snuffed   the   air;   and
  looked about him。
  ‘That was clover; that warm whiff   on the breeze;' he remarked;   ‘and
  those are cows we hear cropping the grass behind us and blowing softly
  between mouthfuls。 There is a sound of distant reapers; and yonder rises a
  blue     line  of   cottage    smoke      against    the   woodland。      The    river   runs
  somewhere close by; for I hear the call of a moorhen; and I see by your
  build that you're a freshwater mariner。 Everything seems asleep; and   yet
  going on all the time。 It is a goodly life that you lead; friend; no doubt the
  best in the world; if only you are strong enough to lead it!'
  ‘Yes;   it's   THE   life;   the   only   life;   to   live;'   responded   the   Water   Rat
  dreamily; and without his usual whole…hearted conviction。
  ‘I   did   not   say   exactly   that;'   replied   the   stranger   cautiously;   ‘but   no
  doubt it's the best。 I've tried it; and I know。 And because I've just tried it
  six months of itand know it's the best; here am I; footsore and hungry;
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  tramping away from it; tramping southward; following the old call; back to
  the old life; THE life which is mine and which will not let me go。'
  ‘Is this; then; yet another of them?' mused the Rat。 ‘And where have
  you   just   come   from?'   he   asked。   He   hardly   dared   to   ask   where   he   was
  bound for; he seemed to know the answer only too well。
  ‘Nice     little  farm;'  replied    the   wayfarer;    briefly。   ‘Upalong      in  that
  direction'he nodded northwards。 ‘Never mind about it。 I had everything I
  could   wanteverything   I   had   any   right   to   expect   of   life;   and   more;   and
  here I am! Glad to be here all the same; though; glad to be here! So many
  miles further on the road; so many hours nearer to my heart's desire!'
  His shining eyes held fast to the horizon; and he seemed to be listening
  for some sound that was wanting from that inland acreage; vocal as it was
  with the cheerful music of pasturage and farmyard。
  ‘You   are   not   one   of   US;'   said   the   Water   Rat;   ‘nor   yet   a   farmer;   nor
  even; I should judge; of this country。'
  ‘Right;' replied the stranger。 ‘I'm a seafaring rat; I am; and the port I
  originally   hail   from   is   Constantinople;   though   I'm   a   sort   of   a   foreigner
  there too; in a manner of speaking。 You will have heard of Constantinople;
  friend? A  fair   city;   and   an   ancient   and   glorious one。 And   you   may   have
  heard;   too;   of   Sigurd;   King   of   Norway;   and   how   he   sailed   thither   with
  sixty ships; and how he and his men rode up through streets all canopied
  in their honour with purple and gold; and how the Emperor and Empress
  came   down   and   banqueted   with   him   on   board   his   ship。   When   Sigurd
  returned home;   many  of   his   Northmen   remained   behind   and   entered   the
  Emperor's body…guard; and my ancestor; a Norwegian born; stayed behind
  too; with the ships that Sigurd gave the Emperor。 Seafarers we have ever
  been; and no wonder; as for me; the city of my birth is no more my home
  than any pleasant port between there and the London River。 I know them
  all; and they know me。 Set me down on any of their quays or foreshores;
  and I am home again。'
  ‘I   suppose   you   go   great   voyages;'   said   the   Water   Rat   with   growing
  interest。 ‘Months and months out of sight of land; and provisions running
  short;   and   allowanced   as   to   water;   and   your   mind   communing   with   the
  mighty ocean; and all that sort of thing?'
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  ‘By no means;' said the Sea Rat frankly。 ‘Such a life as you describe
  would not suit me at all。 I'm in the coasting trade; and rarely out of sight of
  land。   It's   the   jolly   times   on   shore   that   appeal   to   me;   as   much   as   any
  seafaring。 O; those southern seaports! The smell of them; the riding…lights
  at night; the glamour!'
  ‘Well; perhaps you have chosen the better way;' said the Water Rat; but
  rather doubtfully。 ‘Tell me something of your coasting; then; if you have a
  mind to; and what sort of harvest an animal of spirit might hope to bring
  home from it to warm his latter days with gallant memories by the fireside;
  for   my   life;   I   confess   to   you;   feels   to   me   to…day   somewhat   narrow   and
  circumscribed。'
  ‘My last voyage;' began the Sea Rat; ‘that landed me eventually in this
  country; bound with high hopes for my inland farm; will serve as a good
  example of any of them; and; indeed; as an epitome of my highly…coloured
  life。   Family   troubles;   as   usual;   began   it。   The   domestic   storm…cone   was
  hoisted; and I shipped myself on board a small trading vessel bound from
  Constantinople; by classic seas whose every wave throbs with a deathless
  memory; to the Grecian Islands and the Levant。 Those were golden days
  and     balmy    nights!    In  and    out   of  harbour     all  the   timeold    friends
  everywheresleeping   in   some   cool   temple   or   ruined   cistern   during   the
  heat of the dayfeasting and song after sundown; under great stars set in a
  velvet   sky!   Thence   we   turned      and   coasted   up   the   Adriatic;   its   shores
  swimming   in   an   atmosphere   of   amber;   rose;   and   aquamarine;   we   lay   in
  wide land…locked harbours;  we  roamed through   ancient   and   noble  cities;
  until at last one morning; as the sun rose royally behind us; we rode into
  Venice   down   a   path   of   gold。   O;   Venice   is   a   fine   city;   wherein   a   rat   can
  wander at his ease and take his pleasure! Or; when weary of wandering;
  can sit at the edge of the Grand Canal at night; feasting with his friends;
  when the air is full of music and the sky full of stars; and the lights flash
  and shimmer on the polished steel prows of the swaying gondolas; packed
  so that you could walk across the canal on them from side to side! And
  then the fooddo you like shellfish? Well; well; we won't linger over that
  now。'
  He was silen