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the wind in the willows(柳间风)-第27部分
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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 silent for a time; and the Water Rat; silent too and enthralled;
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floated on dream…canals and heard a phantom song pealing high between
vaporous grey wave…lapped walls。
‘Southwards we sailed again at last;' continued the Sea Rat; ‘coasting
down the Italian shore; till finally we made Palermo; and there I quitted
for a long; happy spell on shore。 I never stick too long to one ship; one
gets narrow…minded and prejudiced。 Besides; Sicily is one of my happy
hunting…grounds。 I know everybody there; and their ways just suit me。 I
spent many jolly weeks in the island; staying with friends up country。
When I grew restless again I took advantage of a ship that was trading to
Sardinia and Corsica; and very glad I was to feel the fresh breeze and the
sea…spray in my face once more。'
‘But isn't it very hot and stuffy; down in thehold; I think you call it?'
asked the Water Rat。
The seafarer looked at him with the suspicion go a wink。 ‘I'm an old
hand;' he remarked with much simplicity。 ‘The captain's cabin's good
enough for me。'
‘It's a hard life; by all accounts;' murmured the Rat; sunk in deep
thought。
‘For the crew it is;' replied the seafarer gravely; again with the ghost of
a wink。
‘From Corsica;' he went on; ‘I made use of a ship that was taking wine
to the mainland。 We made Alassio in the evening; lay to; hauled up our
wine…casks; and hove them overboard; tied one to the other by a long line。
Then the crew took to the boats and rowed shorewards; singing as they
went; and drawing after them the long bobbing procession of casks; like a
mile of porpoises。 On the sands they had horses waiting; which dragged
the casks up the steep street of the little town with a fine rush and clatter
and scramble。 When the last cask was in; we went and refreshed and rested;
and sat late into the night; drinking with our friends; and next morning I
took to the great olive…woods for a spell and a rest。 For now I had done
with islands for the time; and ports and shipping were plentiful; so I led a
lazy life among the peasants; lying and watching them work; or stretched
high on the hillside with the blue Mediterranean far below me。 And so at
length; by easy stages; and partly on foot; partly by sea; to Marseilles; and
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the meeting of old shipmates; and the visiting of great ocean…bound
vessels; and feasting once more。 Talk of shell…fish! Why; sometimes I
dream of the shell…fish of Marseilles; and wake up crying!'
‘That reminds me;' said the polite Water Rat; ‘you happened to
mention that you were hungry; and I ought to have spoken earlier。 Of
course; you will stop and take your midday meal with me? My hole is
close by; it is some time past noon; and you are very welcome to whatever
there is。'
‘Now I call that kind and brotherly of you;' said the Sea Rat。 ‘I was
indeed hungry when I sat down; and ever since I inadvertently happened
to mention shell…fish; my pangs have been extreme。 But couldn't you fetch
it along out here? I am none too fond of going under hatches; unless I'm
obliged to; and then; while we eat; I could tell you more concerning my
voyages and the pleasant life I leadat least; it is very pleasant to me; and
by your attention I judge it commends itself to you; whereas if we go
indoors it is a hundred to one that I shall presently fall asleep。'
‘That is indeed an excellent suggestion;' said the Water Rat; and
hurried off home。 There he got out the luncheon…basket and packed a
simple meal; in which; remembering the stranger's origin and preferences;
he took care to include a yard of long French bread; a sausage out of
which the garlic sang; some cheese which lay down and cried; and a long…
necked straw…covered flask wherein lay bottled sunshine shed and
garnered on far Southern slopes。 Thus laden; he returned with all speed;
and blushed for pleasure at the old seaman's commendations of his taste
and judgment; as together they unpacked the basket and laid out the
contents on the grass by the roadside。
The Sea Rat; as soon as his hunger was somewhat assuaged; continued
the history of his latest voyage; conducting his simple hearer from port to
port of Spain; landing him at Lisbon; Oporto; and Bordeaux; introducing
him to the pleasant harbours of Cornwall and Devon; and so up the
Channel to that final quayside; where; landing after winds long contrary;
storm…driven and weather…beaten; he had caught the first magical hints and
heraldings of another Spring; and; fired by these; had sped on a long tramp
inland; hungry for the experiment of life on some quiet farmstead; very far
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from the weary beating of any sea。
Spell…bound and quivering with excitement; the Water Rat followed
the Adventurer league by league; over stormy bays; through crowded
roadsteads; across harbour bars on a racing tide; up winding rivers that hid
their busy little towns round a sudden turn; and left him with a regretful
sigh planted at his dull inland farm; about which he desired to hear
nothing。
By this time their meal was over; and the Seafarer; refreshed and
strengthened; his voice more vibrant; his eye lit with a brightness that
seemed caught from some far…away sea…beacon; filled his glass with the
red and glowing vintage of the South; and; leaning towards the Water Rat;
compelled his gaze and held him; body and soul; while he talked。 Those
eyes were of the changing foam…streaked grey…green of leaping Northern
seas; in the glass shone a hot ruby that seemed the very heart of the South;
beating for him who had courage to respond to its pulsation。 The twin
lights; the shifting grey and the steadfast red; mastered the Water Rat and
held him bound; fascinated; powerless。 The quiet world outside their rays
receded far away and ceased to be。 And the talk; the wonderful talk flowed
onor was it speech entirely; or did it pass at times into songchanty of
the sailors weighing the dripping anchor; sonorous hum of the shrouds in a
tearing North…Easter; ballad of the fisherman hauling his nets at sundown
against an apricot sky; chords of guitar and mandoline from gondola or
caique? Did it change into the cry of the wind; plaintive at first; angrily
shrill as it freshened; rising to a tearing whistle; sinking to a musical
trickle of air from the leech of the bellying sail? All these sounds the spell…
bound listener seemed to hear; and with them the hungry complaint of the
gulls and the sea…mews; the soft thunder of the breaking wave; the cry of
the protesting shingle。 Back into speech again it passed; and with beating
heart he was following the adventures of a dozen seaports; the fights; the
escapes; the rallies; the comradeships; the gallant undertakings; or he
searched islands for treasure; fished in still lagoons and dozed day…long on
warm white sand。 Of deep…sea fishings he heard tell; and mighty silver
gatherings of the mile… long net; of sudden perils; noise of breakers on a
moonless night; or the tall bows of the great liner taking shape overhead
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through the fog; of the merry home…coming; the headland rounded; the
harbour lights opened out; the groups seen dimly on the quay; the cheery
hail; the splash of the hawser; the trudge up the steep little street towards
the comforting glow of red…curtained windows。
Lastly; in his waking dream it seemed to him that the Adventurer had
risen to his feet; but was still speaking; still holding him fast with his sea…
grey eyes。
‘And now;' he was softly saying; ‘I take to the road again; holding on
southwestwards for many a long and dusty day;
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