The River Thames泰晤士河

【导读】泰晤士河发源于英格兰西南部的科茨沃尔德山，全长346公里，横贯英国首都伦敦，在伦敦下游注入北海。泰晤士河尽管不如长江之滚滚滔滔，但它哺育了英国的灿烂文化，是英国人的母亲河。河的两岸有许多著名建筑，如宏伟的威斯敏斯特大教堂、标志着英国黑暗时期的伦敦塔、可以升降的塔桥等。伊顿、牛津等文化场所亦闻名于世。英国历代文人都有对它的礼赞。本篇译自《狄更斯笔下的伦敦》（Dickens’ London）之“泰晤士河”（The River Thames），有删节。

Ever present in the minds and hearts of the true Londoner is the “majestic Thames;” though， in truth， while it is a noble stream， it is not so all-powerful and mighty a river as romance would have us believe.

From its source， down through the Shires， past Oxford， Berks， and Bucks， and finally between Middlesex， Surrey， and Essex， it ambles slowly but with dignity. From Oxford to Henley and Cookham， it is at its best and most charming stage. Passing Maidenhead， Windsor， Stains， Richmond， Twickenham， and Hammersmith， and reaching Putney Bridge， it comes into London proper， after having journeyed on its gladsome way through green fields and sylvan banks for a matter of some hundred and thirty miles.

Poets have sung its praises， and painters extolled its charms. To cite Richmond1 alone， as a locality， is to call up memories of Sir Joshua Reynolds2， Walpole3， Pope4， Thomson5， and many others whose names are known and famed of letters and art.

If swans are characteristic of the upper reaches， the waterman or the bargeman， assuredly， is of the lower. With the advent of the railway， —which came into general use and effective development during Dickens’ day， —it was popularly supposed that the traffic of the “silent highway”6 would be immeasurably curtailed.

Coming to London proper， from “Westminster” to the “Tower，” there is practically an inexhaustible store of reminiscence to be called upon， if one would seek to enumerate or picture the sights， scenes， and localities immortalized by even the authors contemporary with Dickens.

In Dickens’ time， that glorious thoroughfare， known of all present-day visitors to London， the Victoria Embankment7， was in a way non-existent. In the forties there was some agitation for a new thoroughfare leading between the western and the eastern cities.

The Thames in London proper was， in 1850， crossed by but six bridges. Blackfriars Railway Bridge， Charing Cross Railway Bridge， and the Tower Bridge did not come into the ensemble till later， though the two former were built during Dickens’ lifetime.

Westminster Bridge， from whence the Embankment starts， was the second erected across the Thames. It appears that attempts were made to obtain another bridge over the Thames besides that known as “London Bridge，” in the several reigns of Elizabeth， James I.， Charles I. and II.， and George I.; but it was not until the year 1736 that Parliament authorized the building of a second bridge， namely， that at Westminster. Prior to this date， the only communication between Lambeth and Westminster was by ferry-boat.

On the 1st of May， 1845， Hungerford Suspension Bridge was opened to the public without ceremony， but with much interest and curiosity， for between noon and midnight 36，254 persons passed over it. Hungerford was at that time the great focus of the Thames Steam Navigation， the embarkation and landing exceeding two millions per annum. The bridge was the work of Sir I. K. Brunel， and was a fine specimen of engineering skill. It was built without any scaffolding， with only a few ropes， and without any impediment to the navigation of the river. The entire cost of the bridge was £110，000， raised by a public company.

“Billingsgate” was one of the earliest water-gates of London， the first on the site having been built in the year 400 B. C.， and named after Belin， King of the Britons. The present “Billingsgate Market” is a structure completed in 1870.

Below the metropolis of docks and moorings the river widens to meet the sea， so that any journey of observation must perforce be made upon its bosom rather than as a ramble along its banks.

Opposite Gravesend， from where Dickens first set sail for America， is Tilbury Fort， a reminder of the glories of England’s arms in the days of Elizabeth. It may be said to be the real outpost of London. Here passing from the “Lower Hope” into “Sea Reach，” we fairly enter upon the estuary of the Thames. Here the river has rapidly expanded into an arm of the sea， having widened from two hundred and ninety yards at London Bridge to perhaps four and a half miles at the “London Stone” by Yantlet Creek， where the jurisdiction of the Corporation of London ends.

To the north the Essex shore trends rapidly away toward Yarmouth; to the south straight to the eastern end of the English Channel， past the historic Medway， with Gad’s Hill Place and Higham.

Beyond is Strood， Rochester， Chatham， Maidstone， Canterbury， and Broadstairs， and with the latter place one takes leave， as it were， of England， Dickens， and his personal and literary associations therewith.

萦绕在真正的伦敦人脑海里、心坎上的，莫过于那条“威严的泰晤士河”了。实际上，说它是一条高贵的溪流倒也没错，说它像传奇故事里让我们相信的那样波澜壮阔，则满不是那么回事。

泰晤士河由源头顺诸郡而下，流经牛津、伯克和白金汉，最后穿过米德尔赛克斯、萨里和埃塞克斯，一路悠然而威严地流淌。从牛津到亨利镇和库克汉姆这一段是最壮观、最美丽的。经梅登黑德、温莎、斯特恩斯、里士满、特维克纳姆和汉默史密斯到普特尼桥，就到了伦敦市区。一路流来，长约130英里，两岸绿满田畴，树木森森，令人心旷神怡。

诗人们写诗歌颂它，画家们以画笔赞颂它的妩媚。只说里士满这个地方，就唤起人们对乔舒亚·雷诺兹、沃尔波尔、蒲柏、汤姆森等诸多因文学艺术而名传遐迩的大家们的记忆。

假若上游的特色是天鹅的话，那么下游的特色定然就是船工和驳船船员了。自从有了铁路（狄更斯的时代，铁路已广泛使用、有效开发），人们就普遍认为“安静公路”上的交通运输会大大减少。

来到伦敦市区，如果有人要历数或描绘因狄更斯那一辈的作家而变得不朽的地方或景观，从威斯敏斯特大教堂到伦敦塔，几乎有说不尽道不完的记忆。