第12章 The Town Pump 镇上的水泵

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 first 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.]

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 officers, 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, upon the Town Pump?

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 fire department, and one of the physicians of the board of health. As a keeper or the peace, all water drinkers confess me equal to the constable. I perform some of the duties of the town clerk, by promulgating public notices, when they are pasted on my front.

To speak within bounds, I am chief person of the municipality, and exhibit, moreover, an admirable pattern to my brother officers 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.

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 day, I cry aloud to all and sundry, 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 ale of father Adam! better than Cognac, 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!"

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 to-day, and, like a wise man, have passed by the taverns, and stopped at the running brooks and well curbs. Otherwise, betwixt heat without and fire within, you would have been burnt to a cinder, or melted down to nothing at all—in the fashion of a jellyfish.

Drink, and make room for that other fellow, who seeks my aid to quench the fiery fever of last night's potations, which he drained from no cup of mine. Welcome, most rubicund 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.

Mercy on you, man! The water absolutely hisses down your red-hot gullet, and is converted quite into steam in the miniature Tophet, 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 flavor of cold water. Good-by; and whenever you are thirsty, recollect that I keep a constant supply at the old stand.

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 fiercer thirst than now.

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 offers were meant only for people who have no wine cellars.

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 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?

Your pardon, good people! I must interrupt my stream of eloquence, and spout forth a stream of water to replenish 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 afford 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.

I hold myself the grand reformer of the age. From my spout, and such spouts as mine, must flow the stream that shall cleanse our earth of a vast portion of its crime and anguish, which have gushed from the fiery fountains of the still. In this mighty enterprise, the cow shall be my great confederate. Milk and water!

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.

The Town Pump and the Cow! Such is the glorious partnership that shall finally monopolize the whole business of quenching thirst. Blessed consummation! Then Poverty shall pass away from the land, finding no hovel so wretched where her squalid 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.

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 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.

Drink, then, and be refreshed! The water is as pure and cold as when it slaked the thirst of the red hunter, and flowed 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.

纳撒尼尔·霍桑（1804～1864年），出身于马萨诸塞州的萨勒姆。1825年，他毕业于堡多因学院。他最早的文学作品是为期刊写的，出版了两册，第一册在1837年出版，第二册在1842年出版，题目是《陈腐的语言》。他的另一部寓言和小品集《牧师家的苔藓》于1845年出版。1846年到1850年，他担任萨勒姆港口的检查员。1852年，他被任命为利物浦美国领事。任职四年后，他在美洲旅游了一段时间。他最著名的作品有《红字》，这一部作品深刻展现了人的本性。还有《七山墙的房子》、《布里瑟戴尔传奇》和《大理石牧羊人》——意大利言情小说，很多人认为这是霍桑最好的一部作品。为人谦逊、不善言辞的霍桑先生不喜欢抛头露面。他的大部分作品极具想象力，作为一位散文作家，他在美国作家中享有盛誉。在访问白山时，他于新罕布什尔州的普雷毛斯逝世。

（场景——在两条主街道的街角，镇上的水泵说着话。）

北边的时钟敲响了12声，东边的时钟也敲响了12声！到正午了，炎热的阳光几乎从我的头顶直射下来，鼻子下边水槽里的水冒起了烟，都快被骄阳煮沸冒泡了。真是的，我们这些公众人物的日子真不好过。每年的会议中选出的城镇官员中，有谁能像我这个水泵一样，在这里肩负重任，哪怕坚持一年时间！

“镇财务保管员”这一职位理所当然应该属于我。监督穷人的人应该选我做他们的主席，因为我免费为穷人供应物品。我应该是消防部门的负责人，是卫生所的主治医师之一。作为和平的守护者，所有饮水的人都应该承认我与警员的地位是平等的。当政府颁布的公共启示贴在我的面前时，我在执行政府官员的职责。

保守地说，我是镇上的主要人物，我的冷静、稳重、正直、坦率、公正为镇上的官员树立了好榜样。无论是酷夏还是寒冬，我都不会拒绝人们的请求。白天，我站在商场边繁忙的街角处，伸出自己的胳膊，对穷人和富人一视同仁。晚上，我头顶着电灯，时刻提醒人们我的位置，免得他们掉进水槽。

在这个闷热的正午，我为干渴的人们斟满一杯杯甘露，我的腰间挂着一只铁杯，就像在公共场所的卖酒郎一样，我用自己朴实的声音冲着熙熙攘攘的人群高声叫卖：“喂，先生们，这里有好酒，过来，先生，过来，这里有上等的好酒，天父亚当没有在里边掺杂任何杂物！比白兰地、杜松子、牙买加甜酒还要好，比任何价钱的葡萄酒都好。这里有一大桶，先生们，来享用吧，一分钱都不收！”

要是这么大声吆喝都没吸引来一个顾客，那可就太遗憾了。今天真是一个大热天，他们来了。先生，畅饮之后再走，那样可以让你出一身爽快的汗。你呀，我的朋友，你需要再来一杯，冲洗一下满是灰尘的喉咙，它好像比你的鞋还脏。我看今天你已经走了六七里地了，你是个聪明的人，没有去酒馆，而是停在了路边的水槽旁。否则，你早就被烤成了煤渣，或是像水母一样化掉。

喝吧，给别人也留点地方，他需要我的帮忙，帮他平息昨晚酒精在体内点燃的火。先生，欢迎您，您看起来红光满面，虽然我们素昧平生，但您慢慢喝吧，直到您的呼吸平静一些。

可怜的人，我同情你。水在你燥热的喉咙里流下时发出嘶嘶的响声，似乎瞬间变成了蒸汽，你的胃太受委屈了。再喝一点吧，然后，像诚实的嗜酒徒一样，把你的一切告诉我吧，你曾经是否在地窖、酒馆或是其他什么卖酒的地方，用本来要给孩子买食物的钱换了一口美酒喝？现在，应该是你十年来第一次尝到水的甘甜吧！再见，无论什么时候，只要你感到口渴，别忘了，我会一直在原地等你。

下一个是谁呢？哦，我的小朋友，你刚刚放学，来镇里的水泵边擦擦你粉红的脸蛋吧，忘掉学校的教鞭和其他同学带给你的烦恼吧。喝吧，它就像你年轻的生命一样纯净。喝吧，让你的心灵和舌头不再受到干燥的折磨。

亲爱的孩子，放下你的水杯，给那位老人让一点位置吧，看，他小心翼翼地从那边的台阶上走下来，我猜他是害怕踩坏了铺路石吧！什么！他那么轻蔑地从我的身边走过，就好像我那么热情的邀请只是对没有酒窖的人有意义一样。

好吧！好吧！先生，没什么，我希望。去吧，拔掉木塞，举起酒瓶！但如果你的大脚趾疼痛难忍的时候，那可跟我没关系。如果先生们喜欢用水珠挠痒，那么镇子里的水泵都是一样的。这只口渴的狗，伸出了它那红通通的舌头，它没有蔑视我热情的邀请，急切地用后腿将水槽中的水拨起层层水花。看，它轻快地跳着走了。

善良的人们，请你们原谅，我得断流一会儿了，我要为这位赶车人和他的两头牛喷出一个水柱来。他们从斯道恩顿或是别的什么地方赶过来，我最喜欢做的就是饮牛了。看，它们喝得多快，水槽的底都露出来了。直到胃里大概装了两加仑的水，它们才有工夫呼吸，它们高兴地叹着气。这会儿，它们的眼睛安静地巡视着水槽四周，原来，牛才是真正的饮水者。

我认为自己是这个时代伟大的改革者，水龙头——像我这样的水龙头，才能流出可以洗涤世界上罪恶和苦难的清水。在这一方面，只有奶牛和我才是同盟者，牛奶和水。

哎，这样高谈阔论的演说让我口干舌燥，尤其我还算不上一个熟练的演说家。我从未想到，做这样的演讲不喝水会如此难受。有哪位好心的人，帮我按一下泵，我只要润润喉就行。先生，谢谢您，但请不要停下来。

镇上的水泵和奶牛，这是个光荣的联盟，他们驱赶走了人们的干渴，这是多么神圣的成就！贫穷从世界上消失，它再也找不到一个简陋的容身之地；疾病，再也找不到受害者，它不断折磨着自己的心智，直到死去；罪恶，即使没有死，它也失去了一半的力量。

家庭不再有战争，丈夫和妻子心平气和地享受着宁静的生活，他们平静、幸福地爱恋着对方，携手共度一生，最后心满意足地躺下，继续享受二人之间的甜蜜。对他们来说，过去的梦并不是夹杂着暴风雨的噩梦，而将来也不会有像醉汉酒醒一样的时刻。死去之后，他们的脸上带着挥之不去并且充满希望和记忆的笑容。

喝吧，尽情地喝吧！水是那么纯净冰凉，就像它刚刚流过红色猎人的喉咙，从苍老的树枝上流下，可是现在，这种原始的野性只能在红热的石头下感受到了，这里只有石头建筑投下的影子。但这里仍然是健康、和平、幸福的源泉，尽管从我们的父辈开始，水已经开始不受重视，但我能乐观地肯定，冰凉的水会永远受到人们的赞叹和珍惜的。