The Silent Traveller in Dublin都柏林的静默行者

蒋彝　罗怀宇/译介

【导读】蒋彝先生（1903—1977）一生极富传奇色彩。他曾于上世纪二三十年代在国内执教、从戎、出仕。而立之年，自费赴英游学，先后任教于英国的伦敦大学东方学院和美国的哥伦比亚大学、哈佛大学等。他曾自号“The Silent Traveller”，撰写了一系列英文游记，在英语世界的游记文学中享有盛誉。蒋彝先生才高德馨，毕生以在国际间传播弘扬中华文化为己任，晚年叶落归根，回到中国。2019年6月，牛津南荒原路（Southmoor Road）28号立起一块“蓝色牌匾”（Blue Plaque），以纪念他对中英两国文化的贡献，这使他成为继老舍、孙中山之后第三个获此殊荣的华人。

The Silent Traveller in Dublin是1953年在伦敦出版的一部游记，封面有蒋彝先生本人题写的“都百灵画记”字样。作为选篇标题，译者并未采用“都百灵画记”或“都柏林画记”的译法，也没有将“The Silent Traveller”译为“哑行者”（蒋彝先生字仲雅，又作重哑，笔名哑行者），而是译为“都柏林的静默行者”，目的是为了更恰当地与选篇的内容和气质相匹配。

选篇以《都柏林晚邮报》上的一则报道为引，记叙了作者寻访都柏林鸟市的过程。篇幅不长，却十分自然地糅合了写景、状物、议论、抒情多种手法，生动刻画出文化名城都柏林的风土人情。尤其最后一节的鸟市见闻，更是惟妙惟肖地表现出那个特定时空场景中跨文化交流的独特趣味。

“An old lady，” wrote a correspondent of the Dublin Evening Mail， “who lives alone on a very minute income， lost a goldfinch some months ago. She was very fond of it， and still misses its company. I wonder if anyone would be kind enough to give her one to replace it？ She has a cage…” Someone， I recalled， had told me that there is a bird market in Dublin， open only at week-ends， situated somewhere in the old part of the city. Immediately I decided to visit it. But I had better confess that my motive was not to buy a goldfinch for the old lady， or even for myself; her wish would doubtless be fulfilled by one of her compatriots： I am but a silent traveler.

“一位老太太，”《都柏林晚郵报》的记者写道，“数月前失去一只金翅雀。她独自生活，仅靠一份极微薄的收入。她很爱那只鸟，到现在仍想念它的陪伴。不知有没有好心人能送一只给她充作替代？她有笼子……”我想起曾有人告诉过我，都柏林有家鸟市，在老城某个地方，仅周末营业。我当即决定去看看。但我须得先坦白，我的目的不是给老太太买金翅雀，甚至也不是给自己买；她的心愿自有她的同胞为她实现：而我不过是一个静默的行者。

In China the love of birds is innate， and there is a bird market in almost every city or large town. The Chinese love birds as the British love horses and dogs. Not that the British do not love birds， but it is a different kind of affection， one which seldom lends them to buy birds to keep as pets; and on the overcast Saturday morning my chief difficulty， I perceived， was going to be to find the Dublin bird market at all. Neither my host nor my hostess knew where it was. The maid suggested that it must be near Bride Street， but as she had never been there she could not be certain. I decided to follow this clue， and set off.

爱鸟是中国人的天性，几乎每个城市或大一点的市镇都有鸟市。中国人爱鸟就像英国人爱马和狗。这并非说英国人不爱鸟，而是说那是一种不同的情感，不同就在于英国人极少买鸟养作宠物。在这样一个阴沉的周六早晨，我感觉最大的困难是如何找到这家都柏林鸟市。房东夫妇俩都不清楚它在哪儿。女佣说应该离新娘街不远，但也说不准，因为她从没去过。我决定跟从这条线索，于是便动身前往了。

As I approached St Stephens Green I noticed that the morning mist had fused the leaves and twigs of the trees which line the boundaries of the Green in a mysterious pale green mass. Between the trunks and railings， red and yellow dots of flowers appeared， but the much-too-grey sky did not allow the sun to touch them to gaiety. They wore a wan rather than a brilliant smile. Dublin is no great distance from London， and its climate， and therefore its light， cannot be very different. Yet Dublin buildings look cleaner and brighter than Londons， even on a dull morning， chiefly perhaps because they are not shadowed with soot.

走到圣斯蒂芬绿地附近时，我看见绿地周缘的树木枝叶间晨雾弥漫，将这片区域笼罩在一团神秘的淡绿色中。在那些树干和栅栏之间，点缀着红色和黄色的花朵，惜乎天空过于灰暗，不容许阳光触摸她们，带给她们欢乐。她们笑容惨淡，全然不见明艳笑靥。都柏林距离伦敦并不遥远，气候不可能殊异，按说光照也应如此。然而，都柏林的建筑看上去却比伦敦的更清净、明亮，即便在这样一个阴郁的早晨，大概主要是因為没有被煤灰遮蔽。

Presently I came into York Street， where my feet， as on former occasions when I had walked there， refused to carry me quickly. The elegant if not always well-preserved doorways of the houses on one side of the street made me dawdle. There are many attractions in Dublin， but I found the variety of doorways all over the city appealed to me more than anything. It is said that Dublin has more Georgian houses than any other city in the British Isles. A friend of mine who lives in Bath disputes this， and I know no way of resolving this point; I am no student of architecture and can discuss neither the number of Georgian buildings nor the merits of their style. I will only make the comment that to me it seems that the Georgian architects were the pioneers of town-planning. Before the eighteenth century no one planned streets. Houses， mansions， churches， yes： but not streets. There is a lot to be said for the neatness and order of some parts of Dublin. The doorways along York Street， however， varied though they are， have not been uniformly kept in condition. How so many of them came to lose their distinction I do not know. Many doors stood wide open and I wanted to look inside， but when， having selected one house， I set foot on the step， I was driven away again by the formidable chatter and laughter of some women leaning on the railing. One of them was holding a baby， whose crying did not interrupt her gossip， and I could not bring myself to interrupt it either.

不一会儿我便来到了约克街。我的双脚不愿再助我快步前行，以往走路来这里也是如此。街道一侧的房屋多见雅致的门廊，虽然有的保存不善，仍引得我驻足流连。都柏林名胜众多，但我发现最让我心动的还是遍布全城的各类门廊。据说都柏林乔治时代的房屋是英伦三岛城市中最多的。一位住巴斯的朋友不同意这观点，对此我也无以应对。我对建筑没有研究，无法讨论乔治时代建筑的具体数量或风格妙处。我只想评论一点，那就是，我认为乔治时代的建筑师是城市规划的先行者。18世纪以前还没有人规划街道。房屋、公寓、教堂，都有规划；街道可没有。都柏林的一些区域干净齐整，秩序井然，可圈可点。然而，约克街上的门廊尽管千差万别，却并未尽数保存完好。那么多的门廊何以失去往日的风貌，我不得而知。许多房子大门洞开，我不禁想看看里面的样子，但就在我选定一座房子、拾级而上时，倚在栏杆上的女人们震天的话声和笑声不由使我退避三舍。其中一个女人还抱着婴儿，婴儿的啼哭也没能打断她的闲言碎语，我当然也不可能上去打断。

I moved on into Aungier Street， where I enquired for Bride Street. An elderly gentleman whose red face and white hair suggested liveliness and good humour answered me jovially： “Oi doant know what yre going to Bride Street for—there is no bride for ye， young man. But just look at that house！ Its the house where the Irish poet and song-writer Thomas Moore was born in 1779. He wrote and published his first sonnet in his fourteenth year， addressed to his schoolmaster， Mr Samuel White. His book Irish Melodies is very well known. Ave coorse， ye may know it already. Oi thought Id tell ye. Bride Street？ Ah， ha. Ye just walk along this street towards the east and then turn to the right， pass through to the end and there ye will find Bride Street. Oho， ‘Bless the Bride. Goodbye. Good marnin….” Many people have helped me to find my way during my silent travels， but none have been so humorously amiable as this one.

我继续前行，来到昂吉尔街，在那儿我向人打听新娘街。一位老先生鹤发童颜，看得出来的活泼风趣，他用欢快的语气回答我：“我不知道你去新娘街做什么——那儿可没有你的新娘，年轻人。不如你看看那座房子！那是爱尔兰诗人和词作家托马斯·摩尔的故居，1779年他在这里出生。14岁就写作并发表了他的第一首十四行诗，写给他的校长塞缪尔·怀特先生的。他的《爱尔兰旋律》一书很有名。当然，你可能已经知道了。不过我觉得还是得和你说。新娘街？啊哈！你只需沿这条街往东走，然后右拐，走到头，就能找到新娘街啦。哦嗬！‘求主保佑新娘。再見。早安……”在我静默的游历生涯中，帮我指路的人很多，但从来没有人像这位老先生这样和蔼可亲又幽默风趣。

Following his direction， I presently found myself in Bride Street. It appeared to be a purely residential quarter. Not a single shop could I see. Wherever could be bird market lie？ Hardly anyone was about—just one elderly woman trying to carry a big dustbin into a house. There were no elegant Georgian doorways， but the street was clean and quiet. I trotted on， looking vaguely from side to side. At the corner of the Upper Kevin Street a man lurched out of a building which the strong scent from his nostrils identified as a public-house. Another man， with a pipe， stood idly by the kerb. He knew what I was after and directed me to one of a row of small houses on the other side of Bride Street. I crossed and entered the wrong house. It was rather dark and there was a spiral staircase against the wall not unlike an Edinburgh close. While I paused， baffled， my informant reappeared and conducted me to the right place.

按照他的指引，我很快就来到了新娘街。这里看上去像是一个单纯的住宅区，连家商店也见不着。鸟市能在哪儿呢？周遭几乎没人——只有一个老妇费力地往屋内搬一个大垃圾桶。街边看不到精美的乔治时代门廊，但街道本身十分干净、宁静。我快步向前，泛泛地往两旁搜寻。在凯文街上段，一个男人踉踉跄跄走出一栋建筑，鼻孔散发的浓烈气味表明那是家酒馆。还有个人持着烟斗，优哉游哉地站在路缘上。他知道我在找什么，于是指给我新娘街另一侧一排小房屋中的一座。我穿过马路，进错了房子。屋内很暗，靠墙有一座螺旋式楼梯，像极了爱丁堡的小陡街。就在我踟躇、疑惑之际，我的指路人竟再次出现，把我领到了对的地方。

I found myself outside a house very similar to the one I had entered by mistake. But there was no staircase inside， only a narrow corridor blocked with people. A boy shook a box at me and said： “Penny for admission.” I dropped a coin in the box and was allowed to pass through the corridor into a small courtyard. It was oblong in shape and big enough for more than twenty of us to stand in it though at pretty close quarters. There was only one woman in the little crowd， but many boys and girls. My flat face caused a stir and I felt that all eyes were turned on me. One elderly fellow with a shock of white hair and a massive moustache remained unmoved; he was too interested in a healthy-looking male chaffinch in one of the seven cages hanging along the high wall on one side of the courtyard. He smiled， laughed and even made a faint noise as if joyously whispering some words to the bird. Presently the interest in my face waned and attention was once more turned upon the activities of the birds in the cages. The old folk were the most excited. The birds consisted of three chaffinches， two goldfinches， five canaries and two blackbirds. Of the crowd， I could not distinguish which were buyers and which sellers. It seemed to me to be a cage-bird show rather than a market. Then I overheard two men discussing the price of a chaffinch and a goldfinch. I had not known that chaffinches and goldfinches were ever kept as cage-birds. Doubtless their beautiful plumage is the reason. The attention of a few of the younger spectators was not fixed continuously on the birds： first furtively， then openly， they were staring at me， as if I were a bird. The thought of being a bird appealed to me and I giggled. Then youngsters responded with broad laughter， in which the elder folk joined. It was a delightful moment.

我发现自己来到一座屋前，和先前误入的房子非常相似。但是屋内没有楼梯，只有一条挤满人的狭窄过道。一个男孩冲我摇摇手里的盒子，说：“入场费一便士。”我投了一枚硬币后就被允许穿过过道，进到一个小庭院里。这是一个长方形的庭院，大小能容纳二十几人近身站立。这一小群人中除了一个妇人外，其余多是些青年男女。我这张扁平的脸在人群中引起一阵骚动，感觉所有目光都投向我一人。一个白发浓密、髭须甚伟的老者却不为所动；他的所有兴趣都放在一只看起来很健康的雄性苍头燕雀上。沿庭院的一面高墙上挂了七只鸟笼，这只鸟就在其中一个笼子里。他时而面露微笑，时而笑出声来，甚至发出一种微弱的声响，就像是在对着这只鸟儿愉快地低语。人们对我脸孔的兴趣很快就减退了，注意力重新回到笼中鸟儿的活动。老年人最是兴致勃勃。鸟儿中有三只苍头燕雀、两只金翅雀、五只金丝雀和两只乌鸫。人群中，我也分不出谁是买家谁是卖家。在我看来，那更像是一个笼鸟展，而不像是个市场。然后，无意间，我听到两个人在谈论一只苍头燕雀和一只金翅雀的价格。在那之前，我还不知道苍头燕雀和金翅雀可以被养作笼鸟。个中缘由无疑是它们那身漂亮的羽毛。有几个年轻的观看者并没有一直在看鸟：他们盯着我看，刚开始只是偷瞄，然后公然盯着瞧，仿佛我也是只鸟。一想到自己是只鸟，我也觉得颇有趣味，忍不住咯咯笑起来。那几个年轻人见状，也放声大笑，就连年长些的人也未能免俗。那一瞬间，妙不可言。

（译者单位：北京语言大学）