A Summer Day in Dublin (Excerpt)都柏林的一个夏日(节选)

【导读】1801年，爱尔兰并入英国，成了“大不列颠及爱尔兰联合王国”的一部分。1842年，英国著名小说家威廉·梅克比斯·萨克雷（William Makepeace Thackeray，1811—1863）前往爱尔兰旅行。他在《爱尔兰札记》（The Irish Sketch-book，1844）中记录了这次旅行中的见闻。本文选自该书第一章，萨克雷以他惯用的幽默笔触和辛辣讽刺，描绘了夏日都柏林的景色。

The entrance to the capital is very handsome. There is no bustle and throng of carriages， as in London; but you pass by numerous rows of neat houses， fronted with gardens， and adorned with all sorts of gay-looking creepers. Pretty market-gardens， with trim beds of plants， and shining’ glass-houses， give the suburbs a riante and cheerful look; and， passing under the arch of the railway， we are in the city itself. Hence you come upon several old-fashioned， well-built， airy， stately streets， and through Fitzwilliam square， a noble place， the garden of which is full of flowers and foliage. The leaves are green， and not black as in similar places in London; the red-brick houses tall and handsome. Presently the car stops before an extremely big red house， in that extremely large Square， Stephen’s Green， where Mr. O’Connell says there is one day or other to be a Parliament. There is room enough for that， or for any other edifice which fancy or patriotism may have a mind to erect， for part of one of the sides of the square is not yet built， and you see the fields and the country beyond.

进入首府的道路令人赏心悦目。这里没有伦敦那种熙熙攘攘、车水马龙的景象，目之所及是一排排整洁的房屋，屋前有花园，点缀着各种漂亮的藤蔓植物。精致的果菜园，园圃打理得整整齐齐，还有熠熠生辉的玻璃温室，使城郊显得轻松愉快。穿过铁路拱桥，就到了城里。再经过几条古香古色、建筑精良、空气通畅、富丽堂皇的街道，便来到了宏伟壮观的菲茨威廉广场。广场的花园里鲜花盛开，绿树繁茂。这边的树叶青翠欲滴，不像伦敦的广场花园那样，树叶都是薰黑的。广场周边的红砖房屋也都高大气派。不一会儿，马车就停在一座非常高大的红房子前面，房子坐落在格外宽阔的圣斯蒂芬绿地广场上——奥康奈尔先生说，那里迟早会建一座议会大厦。其实，不管是议会大厦，还是出于想象或爱国情感的其他建筑，地方都是够用的，因为广场的一侧还空着，从那里能够看到远处的田野和乡村。

This then is the chief city of the aliens. —The hotel to which I had been directed is a respectable old edifice， much frequented by families from the country， and where the solitary traveller may likewise find society. For he may either use the Shelbourne as a hotel or a boarding-house， in which latter case he is comfortably accommodated at the very moderate daily charge of six-and-eight pence. For this charge a copious breakfast is provided for him in the coffee-room， a perpetual luncheon is likewise there spread， a plentiful dinner is ready at six o’clock; after which， there is a drawing-room and a rubber of whist， with tay and coffee and cakes in plenty to satisfy the largest appetite. The hotel is majestically conducted by clerks and other officers; the landlord himself does not appear after the honest comfortable English fashion， but lives in a private mansion hard by， where his name may be read inscribed on a brass-plate， like that of any other private gentleman.

这片城区是外来人最常光顾的地方。我要住的这家旅馆是一座看上去还不错的老房子，很多从乡下来的家庭喜欢住这里。孤独的旅客也能在这里找到同伴。他可以将谢尔伯恩当成旅馆或长住公寓，如果是后一种情况，他每天只需要花六先令八便士，就可以住得很舒服了。花这点儿钱，可以在咖啡厅吃一顿饱饱的早餐，一份不断供的午餐，外加下午六点丰盛的晚餐；晚饭后还可以到休息厅打一盘惠斯特牌，胃口够大的话，还可以继续享用茶水、咖啡和蛋糕。服务生和管事的人把旅馆打理得井井有条。老板本人不会像英格兰人那样诚挚地出来待客，他会住在附近的私宅里，大门的铜牌上或许刻着他的名字，跟其他低调的绅士一样。

A woman melodiously crying “Dublin Bay herrings，” passed just as we came up to the door， and as that fish is famous throughout Europe， I seized the earliest opportunity and ordered a broiled one for breakfast. It merits all its reputation： and in this respect， I should think the Bay of Dublin is far superior to its rival of Naples—are there any herrings in Naples Bay？ Dolphins there may be， and Mount Vesuvius to be sure is bigger than even the hill of Howth， but a dolphin is better in a sonnet than at a breakfast， and what poet is there that， at certain periods of the day， would hesitate in his choice between the two？

我们刚走到旅馆门口，就听到一个女人悠扬的叫卖声：“都柏林湾的鲱鱼！”她也刚好打旅馆门前经过。这种鲱鱼可是名震全欧。机不可失，我赶紧点了一份烤鲱鱼作为早餐。果然名不虚传。在这一点上，我觉得都柏林湾可比它的竞争对手那不勒斯湾要强很多——那不勒斯湾有鲱鱼吗？或许有海豚，维苏威火山当然比霍斯山高大，但海豚更适合出现在十四行诗里，而不是早餐桌上——在一天中的某些时刻，有哪个诗人会在这两者之间犹豫不决呢？

With this famous broiled herring the morning papers are served up， and a great part of these， too， gives opportunity of reflection to the new-comer， and shows him how different this country is from his own…

在我品尝这道著名的烤鲱鱼的时候，服务生送来了晨报。报纸上的大部分内容同样会令新来都柏林的人陷入沉思，向他展示这片土地与他的祖国有多么不同……

The papers being read， it became my duty to discover the town; and a handsomer town with fewer people in it， it is impossible to see on a summer’s day. In the whole wide square of Stephen’s Green， I think there were not more than two nursery-maids， to keep company with the statue of George I.， who rides on horseback in the middle of the garden， the horse having his foot up to trot， as if he wanted to go out of town too. Small troops of dirty children （too poor and dirty to have lodgings at Kingstown） were squatting here and there upon the sunshiny steps， the only clients at the thresholds of the professional gentlemen1， whose names figure on brass plates on the doors. A stand of lazy carmen， a policeman or two with clinking boot-heels， a couple of moaning beggars leaning against the rails， and calling upon the Lord， and a fellow with a toy and book stall， where the lives of St. Patrick， Robert Emmett， and Lord Edward Fitzgerald， may be bought for double their value， were all the population of the Green…

读完晨报，我该探索一下这座城市了。城中人少一些会更美观，不过大夏天的，一般不大可能看到如此景象。偌大的圣斯蒂芬绿地广场上，我感觉只有两个保姆陪伴着乔治一世的雕像。广场花园中央，乔治一世骑在马上，一只马蹄腾空，好像它也要出城转转。阳光照在屋前的台阶上，脏兮兮的孩子（他们又穷又脏，金斯顿不可能有他们落脚的地方）三两成群地蹲在那里。房门的铜牌上，刻着那些有职业的绅士们的名字，而这些孩子是他们门口仅有的客户。一群懒散的车夫；一两个走起路皮靴咔咔作响的警察；几个斜倚着栏杆的乞丐，嘟嘟囔囔，向老天祈祷着；还有一个摆摊的小贩，卖玩具和书，可以花双倍价钱从他那里买到圣帕特里克、罗伯特·埃米特和爱德华·菲茨杰拉德勋爵的传记——这些就是斯蒂芬绿地全部的人口了……