LESSON 29 THE TOWN PUMP 小镇水泵

Nathaniel Hawthorne (b.1804, d.1864) was born in Salem, Mass.He graduated at Bowdoin College in 1825.His earliest literary productions, written for periodicals, were published in two volumes—the f irst in 1837, the second in 1842—under the title of “Twice-Told Tales,” “Mosses from an Old Manse,” another series of tales and sketches, was published in 1845.From 1846 to 1850 he was surveyor of the port of Salem.In 1852 he was appointed United States consul for Liverpool.After holding this office four years, he traveled for some time on the continent.His most popular works are “The Scarlet Letter,” a work showing a deep knowledge of human nature,“The House of the Seven Gables,” “The Blithedale Romance,” and “The Marble Faun,” an Italian romance, which is regarded by many as the best of his works.Being of a modest and retiring disposition, Mr.Hawthorne avoided publicity.Most of his works are highly imaginative.As a prose writer he has no superior among American authors.He died at Plymouth, N.H., while on a visit to the White Mountains for his health.

[SCENE.—The corner of two principal streets.The Town Pump talking through its nose.]

1.Noon, by the north clock! Noon, by the east! High noon, too, by those hot sunbeams which fall, scarcely aslope, upon my head, and almost make the water bubble and smoke in the trough under my nose.Truly, we public characters have a tough time of it! And among all the town offi cers, chosen at the yearly meeting, where is he that sustains, for a single year, the burden of such manifold duties as are imposed, in perpetuity^[1], upon the Town Pump?

2.The title of town treasurer is rightfully mine, as guardian of the best treasure the town has.The overseers of the poor ought to make me their chairman, since I provide bountifully for the pauper, without expense to him that pays taxes.I am at the head of the fi re department, and one of the physicians of the board of health.As a keeper of the peace, all water drinkers confess me equal to the constable.I perform some of the duties of the town clerk, by promulgating^[2] public notices, when they are pasted on my front.

3.To speak within bounds, I am chief person of the municipality^[3], and exhibit, moreover, an admirable pattern to my brother offi cers by the cool, steady, upright, downright, and impartial discharge of my business, and the constancy with which I stand to my post.Summer or winter, nobody seeks me in vain; for all day long I am seen at the busiest corner, just above the market, stretching out my arms to rich and poor alike; and at night I hold a lantern over my head, to show where I am, and to keep people out of the gutters.

4.At this sultry noontide, I am cupbearer to the parched populace, for whose benefit an iron goblet is chained to my waist Like a dramseller on the public square, on a muster^[4] day, I cry aloud to all and sundry^[5], in my plainest accents, and at the very tiptop of my voice.“Here it is, gentlemen! Here is the good liquor! Walk up, walk up, gentlemen, walk up, walk up! Here is the superior stuff ! Here is the unadulterated^[6] ale of father Adam! better than Cognac^[7], Hollands, Jamaica, strong beer, or wine of any price; here it is, by the hogshead or the single glass, and not a cent to pay.Walk up, gentlemen, walk up and help yourselves!”

5.It were a pity if all this outcry should draw no customers.Here they come.

A hot day, gentlemen.Quaff and away again, so as to keep yourselves in a nice, cool sweat.You, my friend, will need another cupful to wash the dust out of your throat, if it be as thick there as it is on your cowhide shoes.I see that you have trudged half a score of miles today, and, like a wise man, have passed by the taverns, and stopped at the running brooks and well curbs.Otherwise, betwixt heat without and fi re within, you would have been burnt to a cinder, or melted down to nothing at all—in the fashion of a jellyfi sh.

6.Drink, and make room for that other fellow, who seeks my aid to quench the fi ery fever of last night’s potations^[8], which he drained from no cup of mine.Welcome, most rubicund^[9] sir! You and I have been strangers hitherto; nor, to confess the truth, will my nose be anxious for a closer intimacy, till the fumes of your breath be a little less potent.

7.Mercy on you, man! The water absolutely hisses down your red-hot gullet, and is converted quite into steam in the miniature Tophet^[10], which you mistake for a stomach.Fill again, and tell me, on the word of an honest toper, did you ever, in cellar, tavern, or any other kind of dramshop, spend the price of your children’s food for a swig half so delicious? Now, for the first time these ten years, you know the fl avor of cold water.Goodby; and whenever you are thirsty, recollect that I keep a constant supply at the old stand.

8.Who next? Oh, my little friend, you are just let loose from school, and come hither to scrub your blooming face, and drown the memory of certain taps of the ferule, and other schoolboy troubles, in a draught from the Town Pump.Take it, pure as the current of your young life; take it, and may your heart and tongue never be scorched with a fi ercer thirst than now.

9.There, my dear child, put down the cup, and yield your place to this elderly gentleman, who treads so tenderly over the paving stones that I suspect he is afraid of breaking them.What! he limps by without so much as thanking me, as if my hospitable off ers were meant only for people who have no wine cellars.

10.Well, well, sir, no harm done, I hope! Go, draw the cork, tip the decanter; but when your great toe shall set you a-roaring, it will be no affair of mine.If gentlemen love the pleasant titillation^[11] of the gout, it is all one to the Town Pump.This thirsty dog, with his red tongue lolling out, does not scorn my hospitality, but stands on his hind legs, and laps eagerly out of the trough.See how lightly he capers away again! Jowler, did your worship ever have the gout?

11.Your pardon, good people! I must interrupt my stream of eloquence, and spout forth a stream of water to replenish^[12] the trough for this teamster and his two yoke of oxen, who have come all the way from Staunton, or somewhere along that way.No part of my business gives me more pleasure than the watering of cattle.Look! how rapidly they lower the watermark on the sides of the trough, till their capacious stomachs are moistened with a gallon or two apiece, and they can aff ord time to breathe, with sighs of calm enjoyment! Now they roll their quiet eyes around the brim of their monstrous drinking vessel.An ox is your true toper.

12.I hold myself the grand reformer of the age.From my spout, and such

spouts as mine, must fl ow the stream that shall cleanse our earth of a vast portion of its crime and anguish, which have gushed from the fi ery fountains of the still.In this mighty enterprise, the cow shall be my great confederate.Milk and water!

13.Ahem! Dry work this speechifying, especially to all unpracticed orators.I never conceived till now what toil the temperance lecturers undergo for my sake.Do, some kind Christian, pump a stroke or two, just to wet my whistle.Thank you, sir.But to proceed.

14.The Town Pump and the Cow! Such is the glorious partnership that shall finally monopolize^[13] the whole business of quenching thirst.Blessed consummation^[14]! Then Poverty shall pass away from the land, fi nding no hovel so wretched where her squalid^[15] form may shelter itself.Then Disease, for lack of other victims, shall gnaw his own heart and die.Then Sin if she do not die, shall lose half her strength.

15.Then there will be no war of households.The husband and the wife, drinking deep of peaceful joy, a calm bliss of temperate affections, shall pass hand in hand through life, and lie down, not reluctantly, at its protracted^[16] close.To them the past will be no turmoil of mad dreams, nor the future an eternity of such moments as follow the delirium of a drunkard.Their dead faces shall express what their spirits were, and are to be, by a lingering smile of memory and hope.

16.Drink, then, and be refreshed! The water is as pure and cold as when it slaked^[17] the thirst of the red hunter, and fl owed beneath the aged bough, though now this gem of the wilderness is treasured under these hot stones, where no shadow falls, but from the brick buildings.But, still is this fountain the source of health, peace, and happiness, and I behold, with certainty and joy, the approach of the period when the virtues of cold water, too little valued since our father’s days, will be fully appreciated and recognized by all.

【中文阅读】

纳撒尼尔·霍桑（1804—1864）出生于美国马萨诸塞州塞勒姆。1825年，他毕业于鲍登学院。他早期为期刊所写的文学作品分两卷结集出版，分别于1837年和1842年问世，题名为《老生常谈的故事》和《老迈牧师的古宅青苔》。1845年，他又出版了一系列故事和短篇作品集。从1846年到1850年，他担任塞利姆港口的勘测师。1852年，他被任命为美国政府驻英国利物浦领事，并任职四年。随后，他一度在欧洲大陆游历考察。霍桑最受追捧的《红字》为一部深刻揭示人性的上乘之作，以及《七座尖阁的房屋》、《布里斯戴尔的罗曼史》和《大理石的农神雕像》，后者是一本关于意大利人的爱情小说。大多数人公认《大理石的农神雕像》为他的巅峰之作。由于生性谦虚，不善社交，霍桑先生向来避免抛头露面。他的大部分作品都极富想象力。就散文写作而言，他在美国作家群中并非出类拔萃。霍桑

在新罕布什尔州的普利茅斯与世长辞，当时他正因健康问题去怀特山观光游览。

（场景：镇上的两条主干道的交叉口，小镇水泵正通过它的鼻子说话。）

1.北方时钟报时：正午！东方时钟报时：正午！这炙热的阳光近乎垂直地射在我头上，几乎快让我身体里的水沸腾起来，从鼻子里冒出蒸汽。坦率地说，我们这些公众人物的日子可不好过！所有这些每年选举出的小镇官员们，在他们任职的一年中，有谁身上负担的职责能有我小镇水泵承担的这么重呢？我的工作可是永久性的。

2.我是当之无愧的小镇财政主管，守护着镇上最珍贵的财产。工会真该提名我做他们的主席，因为我为穷人们慷慨地提供我所守护的财产，分文不取。我是小镇消防部门当仁不让的主管，同时行驶镇上卫生理事会医生的崇高职责。我是安宁生活的守护者，所有饮水居民无不承认我的作用好比治安巡警。有些时候，我还担任小镇书记官的职责，在我身上张贴公告，昭告居民。

3.从某种程度上说，我就是这个小镇上最重要的人物，鉴于我的冷静稳定、正直无误以及公正地胜任工作，坚持履行职责，在我的小镇官员同行们面前展示出一个令人钦佩的光辉形象。无论寒冬酷暑，无论什么人求助于我，我一概有求必应。从早到晚，我成天站在这镇上最繁华的角落，就在市场旁边，向人们伸出双手，无论贫富都一视同仁。到了夜晚，我会在头顶高举一盏灯笼，表明我的方位，提醒镇上居民小心沟坎。

4.在这个闷热难当的正午，我为这些干渴的人们倒上凉水，腰上别挂个铁质酒杯，尽心为他们服务。就像一个在广场上卖酒的小贩，对那些南来北往的人，我用最大的声音朝他们叫卖：“过来看看吧，先生们！清爽甘甜的饮料！过来吧，过来吧，先生们，都过来看看！这可是上等的饮料，货真价实的天父所赐的最纯正的麦芽饮料！比所有的白兰地、杜松子酒、牙买加甜酒、黄酒或任何葡萄酒都更美味。过来看看吧，不管你是就着水泵管子直接喝，还是用杯子装着喝，统统无须付一个子儿。过来吧，先生们，都过来看看，放手畅饮吧！”

5.如果这样的叫卖声都招揽不到顾客，那可就太遗憾了。瞧，他们来了。这可真是炎热的一天啊，先生们。大口痛饮吧，然后再离开，好让你身上痛快地流出凉爽的汗水。这位朋友，再来一杯吧，好好漱漱你喉咙口的灰尘，它们厚得像是你皮鞋上沾满的尘土一样。能看得出，你今天已经跋涉了二十多里路。你可真是个聪明人，路上经过许多小酒馆，却只在小溪和井边停下来喝水。要不然，面对外面的炙热天气和体内的烈酒烧腹的里外夹攻，你早就被烧成灰烬了，或是像只水母那样，被热浪融化得一点不剩。

6.喝吧，再给那家伙腾出点儿地方，他来找我清醒一下昨晚的醉酒，那可不是从我的水管中倒给他的。欢迎，这位满面红光的先生！别急别急，我们在此之前素不相识，老实说，你满口的酒气太浓烈了，我的鼻子可不着急和你做这种亲密的近距离接触。

7.愿主怜悯你，先生！清水顺着你炽热的食道嘶嘶地流下，很快便转换成蒸汽，进入一个小小的灼热地狱，瞧你把自己的胃折腾成什么样了。再喝一口，然后像一名诚实的酒鬼那样告诉我，你可曾在任何一家小酒吧、酒馆或酒贩子那里，挥霍花尽你家孩子的伙食费，买到过这么好喝的饮料？现在，这十年来第一次，你尝到了清凉冷水的滋味。再见了，无论什么时候，当你渴了，别忘了我永远站在这个老地方，为你供应清水。

8.接下来是谁？哦，我的小朋友，你刚放了学，便跑来小镇水泵这里来喝口水，擦洗你年轻的小脸，遗忘掉被戒尺责打的记忆，和其他男孩带给你的麻烦。拿去吧，这水纯净得像是你年轻的生命，愿你的身心永远不会像现在这样受尽饥渴的折磨。

9.往旁边让让，我亲爱的孩子，放下杯子，给走过来的这位老先生让条路来。他踩在石板路上，脚步如此温柔迟缓，我几乎怀疑他是怕踏破这些石子。天哪！他竟然一瘸一拐就这么走过，压根没想到对我心存感激，难道我热情的款待好客就只是提供给那些没有酒窖的穷人吗？

10.算了，算了，先生，这也没什么！去吧，去拔出酒瓶上的软木塞，去往玻璃酒杯里倒上酒。但是，到时候你要是醉得跌了个狗啃泥，那可不关我的事。如果你们这些先生们喜好杯中之物，那我也管不着。瞧，这里有条饥渴的狗，正伸着它鲜红的舌头，它可不轻视我的殷勤好客。它用后腿直立着，热切 趴在水槽旁边。瞧它离开的时候，脚步多欢快啊，你们就不羡慕这么畅快的痛饮吗？

11.请原谅我，善良的人们！我得打断一下我的连珠妙语，为这位从斯丹顿或沿着这条路的其他地方远道而来的赶车人和他的两头牛灌满水槽了。在我的工作中，再没有什么比为畜群提供饮水更快乐的事了。瞧！水槽上的水位降得多快啊，这两头牛咕咚咕咚地将水吞进它们庞大的胃里，很快就喝得肚鼓腰圆，不时地打上几声响嚏，发出快乐的喘息。现在，它们只是安静地环视着面前这庞大的饮水槽。牛才是真正的豪饮者。

12.我一向把自己看成时代的伟大改革家。从我的泵嘴里，以及成千上万像我这样的泵嘴里所吐出的涓流，能净化这世界上许多从炙热暴躁的心里所喷涌出的犯罪与痛苦。在这项伟大的事业中，奶牛是我的坚实同盟：我喷出的是水，它喷出的是奶！

13.咳，咳！发表演说还真是一件口干舌燥的事情，尤其是对我们这种初出茅庐的演说家而言。在此之前，我还从来不知道这些演讲者们所经历的辛劳。这位善良的基督徒，请帮忙压一两下泵好吗，好让我清凉一下喉咙。谢谢你，先生，我们继续吧。

14.小镇水泵和奶牛！这对光荣的合作伙伴，最终将垄断整个解渴行业。这一上帝佑福的完美组合！贫困终将从这片土地上消失，再也找不到一个悲惨的棚屋可以供她肮脏的躯体容身。没有人会再患病，因此疾病也将啃噬着自己，然后消亡。至于罪恶，哪怕不能完全泯灭，亦会苟存不多。

15.就这样，将不会有家庭战争。夫妻一起静静享受岁月姝好，携手走过温馨一生，面对死亡安详躺下，无怨无悔。在他们眼里，过去的生活并不是疯狂的暴风骤雨，未来也并不是一场醉酒后的谵热狂乱。他们死去的面容将反映出他们心灵的模样，那种回忆与希冀的微笑难以消逝。

16.喝吧，先生们，接下来你们会焕然一新！这水纯净而清凉，正如山间为饥渴的猎人解渴、在老树下潺潺流过的溪流一样。现在，这山林间的宝石被贮藏在这火热的石槽中，小镇上砖墙林立，看不到树荫。但是，这水仍然是健康、和平与幸福的源泉。尽管在我们父辈那一代，人们忽视了这捧清水的价值，但我仍坚定而喜悦地相信，总有一天，所有人会充分认同并赞赏它。

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【注释】

[1] Perpetuity, endless duration.

[2] Promulgating, announcing.

[3] Municipality, a division of a country or of a city.

[4] Muster day, parade day.

[5] Sundry, several.

[6] Unadulterated, pure, unmixed.

[7] Cognac, a French brandy.

[8] Potations, drinkings.

[9] Rubicund, inclining to redness.

[10] Tophet, the infernal regions.

[11] Titillation, tickling.

[12] Replenish, to f ill again.

[13] Monopolize, to obtain the whole.

[14] Consummation, completion, termination.

[15] Squalid, f ilthy.

[16] Protracted, delayed.

[17] Slaked, quenched.