Notes on Dickens' visit to the United States (excerpt)

Huste, Connecticut River, Newport, Hadford to new york.

We left Boston on February 5th (Friday) and took another train to a this beautiful city Huste in New England. My plan is to stay there until Monday and stay at the hospitable governor's house.

These towns in New England (many of which can only be regarded as villages in old England) make people feel good about the American countryside, just as people in these places feel good about the American countryside when they are seen. The manicured lawns and green pastures seen in Britain are not seen here. Compared with Odano and Ranch designed for beauty in Britain, the grass here is too lush, too vague and too barren. But beautiful Toby, winding hills, shady valleys of lush forests and the trickle of clear streams can be seen everywhere. There is a church and a school in the middle of every cluster of houses where neighbors live. No matter how many people there are, half of them are exposed through white roofs and sparse trees. The color of every house is the whitest of white, the color of every shutter is the greenest of green, and the color of every clear sky is the bluest of blue. When we got off at Huste, the sharp dry wind and slightly frozen frost made the road hard, so the ruts on the road were like grooves made of granite. Of course, everything has an unusual freshness. All the houses looked as if they had just been built and painted that morning, and they all seemed to be torn down on Monday without any effort. In the fresh air that night, every already clear line was a hundred times clearer than usual. The bright veranda, like a paper shell, can't see far or near, like the China Bridge painted on a teacup. It seems that it was not intended to be used when it was built. In a single-family house, the corners are as sharp as razors. It seems that the whistling wind above was cut off, and it was very painful. The pain was sharper than the original shout and it flew away. Those lightly built wooden houses make the sunset shine in the west. They only look like glittering Ming Che, and they can see that side from one side, so it's hard to imagine for an instant. People living in the room can avoid the public's eyes and keep the secret of fear. In a distant house, sometimes a fire comes out of a window without curtains. Even a raging fire looks like it has just been born, and there is no heat. What reminds people of this scene is not a comfortable and elegant new house. The person who saw the fire for the first time has a red face, which makes the room bright. Curtains are hung everywhere, which is warm and fills the room with the breath of spring. It reminds people of the smell of fresh lime and wet walls.

At least that's what I thought that night. The next morning, the sun was shining in the sky, the church bells were ringing loudly, and the quiet people wore their best clothes. Some walked on the sidewalk nearby, while others walked on the road as thin as silk in the distance. At that time, everything was well adapted to the quiet atmosphere of the Sabbath. That kind of atmosphere is better with the old church and the ancient grave. But at that time, it made people feel comfortable and calm, enveloped everything, and made a person who had just crossed the turbulent ocean by boat and just swam through the bustling city feel twice as happy mentally.

The next morning, we still go by train, first to Springfield, from where we will go to our destination, Hadford. It's only 25 miles from Springfield to Hadford; But in that season, because of the poor road conditions, it took 12 hours to walk by land. Fortunately, it was particularly warm that winter, and the Connecticut River was not "frozen", which means it was not completely frozen. At the same time, there happened to be a small steamboat. On that day, the captain was about to make his first voyage of the season (the first February voyage in human memory), and he was waiting for us to get up and set sail. We had this opportunity and got on the boat quickly without delay. Hardly had we boarded the ship when the captain kept his promise and set sail at once.

This ship is called a small steamboat for a reason. I didn't ask how powerful its machine is, but I think it's only half as big as a pony at most. Mr PAPP, a famous dwarf, can live happily in his room all his life until he dies. This kind of room has panes that push up and down, just like an ordinary house. There are bright red curtains hanging on the window, and a loose rope is pulled on the lower pane to hang the curtains on it. So this kind of room looks very much like the living room where Lilliputian hotels entertain customers, but I don't know where it has drifted because of floods or other floods. But even in this room, there is a rocking chair. In America, you can't go anywhere without a rocking chair.

I dare not tell you how short and narrow the ship is: to measure the ship with words such as width and length is tantamount to using contradictory words. However, I can say that all of us are afraid that the ship will suddenly capsize, so we all stay in the middle of the deck; The ship's machines, through amazing shrinking procedures, move between the ship and the keel, all like a hot sandwich with a thickness of 3 feet.

It rained all day; I used to think that this practice would not happen anywhere except in the Scottish Highlands, but now I have met it here. I saw ice floating everywhere in the river, creaking under our boat; Large chunks of ice were forced to the middle of the river by the current, and our ship had to avoid them. The waterway was only a few inches deep. Nevertheless, we sailed forward skillfully; Because we are wearing thick clothes, no matter how cold it is, we stand outside and watch the scenery. The Connecticut River is a magnificent water flow, and its banks are undoubtedly beautiful in summer. Anyway, a young lady in the ladies' room told me; If a person has an appreciation of what kind of qualities he has, then that female guest must have the ability to distinguish beauty, because I have never seen such a beautiful woman as her.

We walked strangely for two and a half hours (stopped at the edge of a small town, where there was a welcome gun, which was bigger than our chimney), and arrived in Hadford, where we went straight to a particularly comfortable hotel-everything was comfortable, except the bedroom, which was as uncomfortable as ordinary hotels; This kind of dormitory is found in almost all the places we have been, which is very helpful for people to get up early.

We stayed in Hadford for four days. The city has beautiful terrain. It is located in a basin, surrounded by mountains. The land is fertile, the trees are shaded, the business is handmade, and the state legislature in Connecticut is located there. The famous "Blue Bill" was made by the legislative sage of our state in the past. These bills make many enlightened provisions, one of which, I believe, is this: any citizen who proves that he kissed his wife on Sunday will be punished with flail feet. Until now, the puritanical spirit of the past is still preserved in great quantities. However, this spirit does not make people take advantage of less when doing business, nor does it make people talk more about fairness when dealing with people. Since I have never heard that this spirit has played that role anywhere else, I can conclude that it is here and will never play that role. To tell the truth, I am full of benevolence and morality, and my face is severe. Whether he sells goods in the afterlife or goods in this life, I treat them equally. So whenever I see the goods in the window look too conspicuous, I wonder if I'm selling dog meat by hanging sheep's head.

There is that famous oak tree in Hadford, and the Charter of King Curry was hidden in that tree. The tree is now enclosed in a gentleman's garden. The charter is now hidden in the state legislature. I see the court here is the same as that in Boston; Institutions that serve the public are almost equally perfect. The madhouse is well run, and so is the hospital for the blind and dumb.

When I visited the madhouse, I asked myself, which is the waiter and which is the madman? At first I couldn't tell the difference between the two; Later, I heard the waiter report to the doctor about the patient they were looking after, only to know that it was a waiter. My words, of course, are limited to this point on the face. Because when a madman opens his mouth, of course he has to say something crazy.

A neat and serious little old lady came to me sideways from one end of the long corridor, smiling and amiable, bowed to me with an indescribable condescension and asked me the following puzzling words:

"Pontefleur is still in England, safe and sound, sir?"

"Yes, madam." I replied.

"The last time you saw him, sir, he was ..."

"Still very strong, madam," I said, "very strong. He asked me to say hello to you for him. I have never seen him look so good. "

The old lady seemed to like my words. She squinted at me for a while, as if to see if I was sincere in this respectful way. After reading it, she stepped back a few steps sideways, then took a few steps sideways, and suddenly jumped up on one foot (she jumped up and scared me back a step or two) and said:

"Sir, before the flood, I was alone."

At that time, I'd better follow her train of thought. I guessed from the beginning that she was from before the flood, so I told her that.

"Being a person before the flood makes people proud and happy." The old lady said.

"I think so, madam." I replied.

The old lady kissed her hand and jumped up with one foot. With a strange expression on her face, she leaned over giggling and walked to the other end of the corridor, followed by elegant manners, and slowly walked into her room.

In another part of the building, there is a madman lying in bed, flushed and feverish.

"Well," he said, suddenly sat up and took off his nightcap. "Everything is normal. I have arranged with Queen Victoria. "

"Is everything arranged?" The doctor asked.

"Look, that's it," he said, looking tired and wiping his forehead with his hand. "Arrange to surround new york"

"Oh!" I pretended to have an epiphany because he looked at my face and asked me to answer him.

"Yes, everyone, who has no flag, British soldiers will shoot. Never hurt anyone, not one. Anyone who wants to avoid disaster must fly the national flag. They don't need to do anything else They just hang the national flag. "

Even when he spoke, I felt that he seemed to feel what he said, and the preface was irrelevant. No sooner had he said these words than he lay down again, like * * * and not like * * * with a snort, and covered his feverish head with a blanket.

Another madman, a young man, is crazy because of love and obsession with music. After playing a March composed by himself on the accordion, he couldn't wait to invite me to his room. I'll go right away.

I want to try my best to stay alert, and at the same time I want to try my best to make him like it according to his mind, so I went to the window (looking out of the window, the scenery is beautiful) and said to him with my proud excuse:

"The scenery around this place where you live is really beautiful!"

"Hum," he said, casually pressing his finger on the keys of the organ. "Not bad for such an organ!"

I don't remember feeling so abrupt in my life.

"I came here on a whim," he said quietly. "Nothing else."

"Oh, nothing else." I said.

"Yes, nothing else. Doctors are very clever. He can fully understand me. I was totally joking. I still liked this music for a while, but I think I will leave here next Tuesday. You don't have to say this to others. "

I promised him that I would keep my meeting and conversation with him absolutely confidential; After that, I went to see a doctor. When the doctor and I came out along the corridor, I saw a well-dressed woman coming to us calmly and peacefully, and handed me a note and a pen to sign for her. I signed her name and said goodbye to her.

"I think I remember when I didn't take the door, there were several women who asked me to sign it. I hope this woman is not crazy? "

"It's a madman."

"How is she crazy? Is it autographed by fans? "

"It's not like that. She always hears someone talking in the air. "

"Ah," I thought at that time, "in this era of evolution, there are still people who want to make predictions and lie about hearing someone talking in the air. It is best to lock up a few of these people, starting with one or two Mormons, and give it a try. "

In this place, there are the best prisons in the world for prisoners awaiting trial, and there are well-managed state prisons. Everything is the same as Boston except one difference. On the wall stood a watchman with a loaded gun in his hand. When I got there, there were about 200 prisoners in that prison. They pointed out a place in my cell bedroom and said it was there. A few years ago, a guard was killed late at night. It was a prisoner who escaped from his room because he desperately wanted to escape from prison. They also showed me a female prisoner, saying that she had murdered her husband and had been banned from going out 16 years.

"Do you think," I asked the man who showed me around, "that after being imprisoned for so many years, she would still doubt that she would hope that one day she would be free again?"

"Oh, thinking and hope," he said. "Exactly. That's what she thinks, that's what she hopes. "

"I don't think she has any chance, despite her thinking and hope?"

"Oh, I don't know." By the way, this sentence is very popular in America. Her friends don't trust her.

"What does her friend have to do with her case?" I naturally want to ask.

"They refused to appeal on her behalf."

"But I think even if they appeal for her, they still can't get her out?"

"Appeal once, maybe not, so you can't appeal twice. However, if you complain for a few more years and annoy people to death, maybe you can get her out. "

"Has this happened before?"

"Oh, yes, sometimes, that way, can also take effect. Political friends can sometimes pull people out. Or complaining, or political friends, can often get people out. "

In my mind, Hadford will always make me extremely happy and miss. This is a lovely place. I made many friends there, and they made me reluctant to leave. We left there on Friday, 1 1, and we were very sad. That night, we went to Xingang by train. On the way, Che Shou and I talked a lot after the formal introduction (in this case, we always formally introduce each other). We walked for about 3 hours, arrived in Xingang at 8 o'clock and stayed in a top hotel.

Xingang, also known as Yucheng, is a very beautiful town. There, many streets are lined with ancient and tall elms, as you can imagine from its alias. At Yale University, there are the same natural decorations around. Yale University is very famous and has a high status. All the departments of that university are located in parks or public lawns in the center of the city, and the buildings are looming among the trees. In this way, the overall impression of this university is very similar to the courtyard of an ancient English cathedral. This place must be very picturesque when the trees are sparse and the green leaves are shaded. Even in winter, this clump of leafy trees, living together in the middle of noisy streets and crowded cities, looks quaint and elegant, making people feel that the city and the countryside seem to be reconciled because of them-as if they met halfway and shook hands with each other and talked happily. This situation makes people feel fresh and happy.

We had a night's rest, got up early the next morning, leisurely rushed to the dock, boarded the "new york" and set out for new york. This ship is one of the larger American steamboats I have ever seen, but according to an Englishman, it is definitely not like a steamboat, but like a huge bath floating on the water. I always thought that the bathhouse not far from Westminster Bridge was a baby when I left, but after I left, it suddenly grew very big, ran out of England, went to a foreign country and started a steamboat business-it is almost impossible for me not to think so. In this country, the United States, especially the places where the unemployed in Britain especially like to go, it seems very likely that this will happen.

From the appearance, the biggest difference between the American mail ship and the British mail ship is that the part of the American mail ship exposed to the water is particularly large. In that part, the main deck is blocked on all sides, which contains barrels of wine and other goods, just like the first or second floor in the cargo hold; Above the main deck, there is another deck, called the upper deck or the walking deck; There are always some machines on this; I saw there that the connecting rod connecting the piston and the crankshaft was installed in a tall and solid shell, and the activity was the same as that of a person pulling a two-person saw (but it was made of iron); There is no mast or other equipment on board, and there is nothing on board except two tall chimneys. The helmsman sits in a small room at the front of the ship (the rudder is connected by chains, which lead to the whole body of the ship). Passengers gather under the deck except when the weather is particularly good. At that time, as soon as the ship left the dock, the noisy, chaotic and hurried situation on the original mail ship suddenly stopped. You have to be bored for a long time and don't know how the ship goes forward, because it seems that no one cares about it; When there are other steamboats that are equally boring, you should be angry with it, because it is a big monster with a depressed temper, heavy manners and no elegance, unlike a big ship; At that time, you forgot that the ship you were on was exactly the same as it.

The ship's finance room is always located on the lower deck, where you pay the freight; There are also women's rooms, storage rooms, luggage rooms and computer rooms. In short, there are so many beautiful things there that it is difficult to find a male room. Men's toilets often occupy both sides of the whole ship (as this ship does now), and each side has three or four floors of hanging shops. When I first walked into the men's room of new york, it seemed to me as long as Burlington Corridor, and I was not used to this place.

From Xingang to new york, you must pass through the Strait. Traveling by boat in this strait is not always safe and pleasant. There were several unfortunate accidents there. That morning, the rain was wet and foggy, and after a while we couldn't see the land; But it was calm, and it cleared up towards noon. After I (and a friend helped me) ate all the things in the cupboard and the original cooked beer, I lay down and slept, because I was very tired after a busy day yesterday. Fortunately, I didn't take a long nap, but I was able to run to the upper deck and see the Hell's Gate, the boar's back, the frying pan and other notorious places, because these places are of interest to people who have read the famous biography of Diderot Nikbak. We are now walking in a narrow river, with sloping banks on both sides, elegant villas dotted everywhere, and pleasant grasslands and trees. We then left lighthouses, madhouses (those lunatics were in high spirits when they saw steamboats and surging tides, throwing hats and shouting loudly), prisons and other buildings one after another in a short time; Then we sailed into a vast bay. There was light flashing under the cloudless sky in Wan Li, looking up at the sky like a big eye of nature.

With the chaotic houses, clusters are scattered on our right, and occasionally in some places, there will be a steeple or high shelf overlooking the ordinary houses below; Occasionally, in some places, there will be a hazy smoke: in the close-up of this scene, there are a lot of masts, sails hunting in the wind, and flags flying in the wind. Passing through this forest and heading for the other side, there are turbo ferries carrying people, horses, carriages, carriages, baskets and boxes; At the same time, there are other ferries that pass by again and again, coming and going, and there is no free time. Among the small boats that these insects usually come and go, two or three big boats walk with great dignity, solemnly and slowly, strutting like great men, full of contempt for the short journey of those boats and their journey to the vast ocean. Sunny mountains appear farther away, and sparkling rivers surround the island, creating a vision. It is so clear and blue that it is almost equal to the sky that seems to be connected with it. The hum of city camps, the sound of winches, the barking of dogs, the jingle of bells and the rattle of wheels all go straight to your ears. All these activities come from the bustling shore across the turbulent sea. At that time, they gained new life and aroused new interest from the free exchange of seawater. At the same time, because they share the same interests with the lightness and agility of the sea water, they shine on the water like a game, wrap around the steamboat, splash the sea water beside the boat, send the steamboat to the dock and gallop away.

(translated by Zhang Guruo)

Precautions:

Worcester: A county in Worcestershire, Massachusetts, USA, with industries such as steel, machinery, wool and shoemaking.

Springfield: A county in Hamilton County, Massachusetts, USA. On the Connecticut River, there are all kinds of industries. Hartford: Connecticut and Hartford County, a state and county, are industrial cities in publishing and arms manufacturing.

Pappu: A short man in Holland, 2 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 27 pounds. 18 15 exhibited in London.

Dickens traveled to Scotland in 184 1 and wrote to his friends: it always rains here, and that kind of effort has never been seen anywhere else except here. He also said: The sky here is a sprinkler pipe, which never stops spraying water. Scotland is divided into two parts: lowlands in the southeast and highlands in the northwest. Highland mountains are more, higher, more desolate and rugged, so they are very popular with tourists.

Rambill: American or British colonial laws, especially those in New England, made many provisions on private life, such as prohibiting playing games on the Sabbath and forcing people to go to church.

Flail foot: An instrument of torture used in Britain and the United States to whip people's feet.

Puritanism spirit: refers to the moral severity of Puritanism to the point where people can't tolerate it. The original colonists in New England were Puritans.

According to legend, at the end of 17, the British king wanted to cancel the American colonial concession, and the British chief executive Andrias wanted to seize the concession of 1688, and the colonists hid it in the hollow trunk of this oak tree. This oak tree, called Charter Oak, was blown down by the storm at 1856.

According to the Bible, people had lived for a long time before the flood.

Mormonism: A sect of American religion. Believers in this Sect believe in the Book of Mormon, that the leader has divine power, and that the dead can really be resurrected.

Newport: A county in Newport County, Connecticut, USA.

When two people pull a saw, they dig a saw pit in the ground, put the wood across the pit, one in the pit and the other on the wood, and so on.

Burlington promenade: A passage with a roof and shops on both sides, next to Piccadilly Circus in London.

Strait: the original sound means the strait. This strait should be the Long Island Strait, the narrow strait behind it should be the East River, and the vast bay should be the new york Bay. The East River is a narrow strait.

Biography of Dedrich Nickbuck: Irving's satire on the history books at that time. For names such as "Hell's Gate", see the end of Chapter 4 of this book.

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Notes on Visiting the United States was written by Dickens after his visit to the United States in 1842. It recorded what he saw and heard in the United States in the form of features and essays, satirized and attacked the dark phenomena in American society, such as false democracy, the gap between the rich and the poor, the corruption of the * * * organs and cruel slavery. This article is an excerpt from his experiences from Huste, Connecticut River, Newport in Hadford and new york.

Dickens, who came to the United States for the first time, first noticed the natural features of the United States, so he used a lot of space to describe the scenery of the United States different from that of Britain, showing Dickens' meticulous and keen observation of nature. For example, in Worcester, Dickens compared the grasslands of the United States and Britain. "The manicured lawns and green pastures you see in Britain are invisible here. The grass here is too lush, too vague and too barren compared with Odano and pastures designed for beauty in Britain. But beautiful tuo, winding hills, shady valleys of Maolin and the trickle of Qingxi are everywhere. " Dickens is good at describing beautiful scenery with rich and accurate language, which makes people have endless reverie. He used a wonderful pen to show the scenery he saw on the ship from Xingang to new york: "In the close-up of this scene, there are many masts ... passing through this forest and heading for the other side, there are turbo ferries carrying people, horses, carriages, baskets and boxes ... colorful mountains appear in the distance, and sparkling rivers are on the island. From near to far, a three-dimensional landscape painting of ship and people, mountain and water slowly appears in front of readers. However, Dickens was not satisfied with this. In order to make readers feel immersive, a voice is added: "The hum of the city camp, the winch sound of Karl Taccard Tower, the barking of barking dogs, the sound of bells and rattled wheels all go straight to your ears. "This will bring readers a full range of visual and auditory feelings. Dickens was once praised as a "master of language landscape painting" by British literary historians, which can be seen from these landscape descriptions.

Dickens' visit to the United States is not only for sightseeing, but also for examining the American social system. Every time he goes to a city, he almost visits the administrative, legislative and judicial institutions there, as well as various public facilities and charities to learn about the lives of ordinary people. /kloc-America in the 0/9th century is a new country for Europeans, especially the British. At that time, people of insight were enthusiastic about this "new country without monarch, feudalism and state religion", and so was Dickens. However, the American society he saw was not as beautiful as he imagined. Therefore, Dickens' record of American society in Notes on Visiting the United States can be described as positive and negative, true and objective. In the excerpts, Dickens mainly wrote about two American public institutions, the madhouse and the prison. Dickens affirmed the madhouse in Hadford. He also wrote in detail about his contact with some of these lunatics. In his early years, he gave full play to his talent as a journalist, and accurately and vividly described their living state and psychological state from the aspects of dialogue, expression and action. When he visited the prison, he not only objectively described the situation in the prison, but also learned the "inside story" from the people who led him to visit. It turns out that "political friends" can often get prisoners out. Dickens exposed the confusion and corruption in the United States and the judiciary through such a trivial matter.

Dickens tried to be accurate, objective and vivid in his description of scenery and in his record of social system and local customs. Because what he wants to show readers is not the ideal America, but a real America. He wrote in the conclusion of "Notes on Traveling to America": "At the beginning, I took the latter sentence as my only goal: I should honestly take readers wherever I go; This goal can be said to have been achieved. "

(Zhang Li)