国外英文文学系列 Real Life In London.docx

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1、国外英文文学系列 Real Life In LondonTitle: Real Life In London, Volumes I. and II. Or, The Rambles And Adventures Of Bob Tallyho, Esq., And His Cousin, The Hon. Tom Dashall, Through The Metropolis; Exhibiting A Living Picture Of Fashionable Characters, Manners, And Amusements In High And Low Life (1821)Auth

2、or: Pierce EganREAL LIFE IN LONDONCHAPTER ITriumphant returning at night with the spoil,Like Bachanals, shouting and gay:How sweet with a bottle and song to refresh,And lose the fatigues of the day.With sport, wit, and wine, fickle fortune defy,Dull wisdom all happiness sours;Since Life is no more t

3、han a passage at best,Lets strew the way over with flowers.1THEY order these things better in London,” replied the Hon. Tom Dashall, to an old weather-beaten sportsman, who would fain have made a convert of our London Sprig of Fashion to the sports and delights of rural life. The party were regaling

4、 themselves after the dangers and fatigues of a very hard days fox-chace; and, while the sparkling glass circulated, each, anxious to impress on the minds of the company the value of the exploits and amusements in which he felt most delight, became more animated and boisterous in his oratoryforgetti

5、ng that excellent regulation which forms an article in some of the rules and orders of our “Free and Easies” in London, “that no more than three gentlemen shall be allowed to speak at the same time.” The whole party, consisting of fourteen, like a pack in full cry, had, with the kind assistance of t

6、he “rosy god,” become at the same moment most animated, not to say vociferous, orators. The young squire, Bob Tally ho, (as he was called) of Belville Hall, who had recently come into possession of this fine and extensive domain, was far from feeling indifferent to the pleasures of a sporting life,

7、and, in the chace, had even acquired the reputation of being a “keen sportsman:” but the regular intercourse which took place between him and his cousin, the Hon. Tom Dashall, of Bond Street notoriety, had in 2some measure led to an indecision of character, and often when perusing the lively and fas

8、cinating descriptions which the latter drew of the passing scenes in the gay metropolis, Bob would break out into an involuntary exclamation of“Curse me, but after all, this only is Real Life; “while, for the moment, horses, dogs, and gun, with the whole paraphernalia of sporting, were annihilated.

9、Indeed, to do justice to his elegant and highly-finished friend, these pictures were the production of a master-hand, and might have made a dangerous impression on minds more stoical and determined than that of Bobs. The opera, theatres, fashionable pursuits, characters, objects, &c. all became in s

10、uccession the subjects of his pen; and if lively description, blended with irresistible humour and sarcastic wit, possessed any power of seduction, these certainly belonged to Bobs honourable friend and relative, as an epistolary correspondent. The following Stanzas were often recited by him with gr

11、eat feeling and animation:Parent of Pleasure and of many a groan,I should be loath to part with thee, I own,Dear Life!To tell the truth, Id rather lose a wife,Should Heavn eer deem me worthy of possessingThat best, that most invaluable blessing.I thank thee, that thou broughtst me into being;The thi

12、ngs of this our world are well worth seeing;And let me add, moreover, well worth feeling;Then what the Devil would people have?These gloomy hunters of the grave,For ever sighing, groaning, canting, kneeling.Some wish they never had been born, how odd!To see the handy works of God,In sun and moon, an

13、d starry sky;Though last, not least, to see sweet Womans charms,Nay, more, to clasp them in our arms,And pour the soul in loves delicious sigh,Is well worth coming for, Im sure,Supposing that thou gavst us nothing more.Yet, thus surrounded, Life, dear Life, Im thine,And, could I always call thee min

14、e,I would not quickly bid this world farewell;But whether here, or long or short my stay,Ill keep in mind for evry dayAn old French motto, “Vive la bagatelle!” Misfortunes are this lottery-worlds sad blanks;Presents, in my opinion, not worth thanks.The pleasures are the twenty thousand prizes,Which

15、nothing but a downright ass despises.It was not, however, the mere representations of Bobs friend, with which, (in consequence of the important result,) we commenced our chapter, that produced the powerful effect of fixing the wavering mind of BobNo, it was the airthe mannerthe je ne sais quoi, by w

16、hich these representations were accompanied: the curled lip of contempt, and the eye, measuring as he spoke, from top to toe, his companions, with the cool elegant sang froid and self-possession displayed in his own person and manner, which became a fiat with Bob, and which effected the object so lo

17、ng courted by his cousin.After the manner of Yorick (though, by the bye, no sentimentalist) Bob thus reasoned with himself:“If an acquaintance with London is to give a man these airs of superioritythis ascendancyelegance of manners, and command of enjoymentswhy, London for me; and if pleasure is the

18、 game in view, there will I instantly pursue the sport.”3The song and toast, in unison with the sparkling glass, followed each other in rapid succession. During which, our elegant London visitor favoured the company with the following effusion, sung in a style equal to (though unaccompanied with the

19、 affected airs and self-importance of) a first-rate professor:SONG.If to form and distinction, in town you would bow,Let appearance of wealth be your care:If your friends see you live, not a creature cares how,The question will only be, Where?A circus, a polygon, crescent, or place,With ideas of mag

20、nificence tally;Squares are common, streets queer, but a lanes a disgrace;And weve no such thing as an alley.A first floors pretty well, and a parlour so so;But, pray, who can give themselves airs,Or mix with high folks, if so vulgarly lowTo live up in a two pair of stairs?The garret, excuse me, I m

21、ean attic floor,(Thats the name, and its right you should know it,)Would he tenantless often; but genius will soar,And it does very well for a poet.These amusements of the table were succeeded by a most stormy and lengthened debate, (to use a parliamentary phrase) during which, Bobs London friend ha

22、d with daring heroism opposed the whole of the party, in supporting the superiority of Life in London over every pleasure the country could afford. After copious libations to Bacchus, whose influence at length effected what oratory had in vain essayed, and silenced these contending and jarring eleme

23、nts, “grey-eyed Morn” peeped intrusively amid the jovial crew, and Somnus, (with the cart before the horse) stepping softly on tip-toe after his companion, led, if not by, at least accompanied with, the music of the nose, each to his snoring pillow.4“Glorious resolve!” exclaimed Tom, as soon as his

24、friend had next morning intimated his intention,“nobly resolved indeed!“What! shall he whom Nature has formed to shine in the dance and sparkle in the ringto fascinate the fairlead and control the fashionsattract the gaze and admiration of the surrounding crowd!shall he pass a life, or rather a torp

25、id existence, amid country bumpkins and Johnny-raws? Forbid it all ye powers that rule with despotic sway where Life alone is to be found,forbid it cardsdiceballsfashion, and ye gay et coteras,forbid”“Pon my soul,” interrupted Bob, “you have frightened me to death! I thought you were beginning an Ep

26、ic,a thing I abominate of all others. I had rather at any time follow the pack on a foundered horse than read ten lines of Homer; so, my dear fellow, descend for Gods sake from the Heroics.”Calmly let me, at least, begin Lifes chapter,Not panting for a hurricane of rapture;Calm let me stepnot riotou

27、s and jumping:With due decorum, let my heartTry to perform a sober part,Not at the ribs be ever bumpingbumping.Raptures a chargeroften breaks his girt,Runs oft”, and flings his rider in the dirt.5However, it shall be so: adieu, my dear little roan filly,Snow-ball, good by,my new patent double-barrel

28、led percussionah, I give you all up!Order the tandem, my dear Tom, whenever you please; whisk me up to the fairy scenes you have so often and admirably described; and, above all things, take me as an humble and docile pupil under your august auspices and tuition.” Says Tom, “thou reasonest well.”The

29、 rapidity with which great characters execute their determinations has been often remarked by authors. The dashing tandem, with its beautiful high-bred bits of blood, accompanied by two grooms on horsebaek in splendid liveries, stood at the lodge-gate, and our heroes had only to bid adieu to relativ

30、es and friends, and commence their rapid career.Before we start on this long journey of one hundred and eighty miles, with the celerity which is unavoidable in modern travelling, it may be prudent to ascertain that our readers are still in company, and that we all start fairly together; otherwise, t

31、here is but little probability of our ever meeting again on the journey;so now to satisfy queries, remarks, and animadversions.“Why, Sir, I must say it is a new way of introducing a story, and appears to me very irregular.What! tumble your hero neck and heels into the midst of a drunken fox-hunting

32、party, and then carry him off from his paternal estate, without even noticing his ancestors, relatives, friends, connexions, or prospectswithout any description of romantic scenery on the estatewithout so much as an allusion to the female who first kindled in his breast the tender passion, or a deta

33、il of those incidents with which it is usually connected!a strange, very strange way indeed this of commencing.”“My dear Sir, I agree with you as to the deviation from customary rules: but allow me to ask,is not one common objectamusement, all we have in view? Suppose then, by way of illustration, y

34、ou were desirous of arriving at a given place or object, to which there were several roads, and having traversed one of these till the monotony of the scene had rendered every object upon it dull and wearisome, would you quarrel with the traveller who pointed out another road, merely because it was

35、a new one? Considering the impatience of our young friends, the one to return to scenes in which alone he can 6live, and the other to realize ideal dreams of happiness, painted in all the glowing tints that a warm imagination and youthful fancy can pourtray, it will be impossible longer to continue

36、the argument. Let me, therefore, entreat you to cut it shortaccompany us in our rapid pursuit after Life in London; nor risk for the sake of a little peevish criticism, the cruel reflection, that by a refusal, you would, probably, be in at the death of the Authorby Starvation.”CHAPTER II“The panting

37、 steed the heros empire feel,Who sits triumphant oer the flying wheel,And as he guides it through th admiring throng,With what an air he holds the reins, and smacks the silken thong!” ORDINARY minds, in viewing distant objects, first see the obstacles that intervene, magnify the difficulty of surmou

38、nting them, and sit down in despair. The man of genius with his minds-eye pointed steadfastly, like the needle towards the pole, on the object of his ambition, meets and conquers every difficulty in detail, and the mass dissolves before him as the mountain snow yields, drop by drop, to the progressi

39、ve but invincible operation of the solar beam. Our honourable friend was well aware that a perfect knowledge of the art of driving, and the character of a “first-rate whip,” were objects worthy his ambition; and that, to hold four-in-handturn a corner in stylehandle the reins in formtake a fly off t

40、he tip of his leaders earsquare the elbows, and keep the wrists pliant, were matters as essential to the formation of a man of fashion as dice or milling: it was a principle he had long laid down and strictly adhered to, that whatever tended to the completion of that character, should be acquired to

41、 the very acm of perfection, without regard to ulterior consequences, or minor pursuits.In an early stage, therefore, of his fashionable course of studies, the whip became an object of careful solicitude; and after some private tuition, he first exhibited his prowess about twice a week, on the box o

42、f a Windsor stage, tipping coachy a crown for the indulgence and improvement it afforded. Few could boast of being more fortunate during a noviciate: two overturns only occurred in the whole course of practice, and except the trifling accident of an old lady being killed, a shoulder or two dislocate

43、d, and about half a dozen legs and arms 8broken, belonging to people who were not at all known in high life, nothing worthy of notice may be said to have happened on these occasions. Tis true, some ill-natured remarks appeared in one of the public papers, on the “conduct of coachmen entrusting the r

44、eins to young practitioners, and thus endangering the lives of his majestys subjects;” but these passed off like other philanthropic suggestions of the day, unheeded and forgotten.The next advance of our hero was an important step. The mail-coach is considered the school; its driver, the great maste

45、r of the artthe Phidias of the statuarythe Claude of the landscape-painter. To approach him without preparatory instruction and study, would be like an attempt to copy the former without a knowledge of anatomy, or the latter, while ignorant of perspective. The standard of excellencethe model of perf

46、ection, all that the highest ambition can attain, is to approach as near as possible the original; to attempt a deviation, would be to bolt out of the course, snap the curb, and run riot. Sensible of the importance of his character, accustomed to hold the reins of arbitrary power; and seated where w

47、ill is law, the mail-whip carries in his appearance all that may be expected from his elevated situation. Stern and sedate in his manner, and given to taciturnity, he speaks sententiously, or in monosyllables. If he passes on the road even an humble follower of the profession, with four tidy ones in

48、 hand, he views him with ineffable contempt, and would consider it an irreparable disgrace to appear conscious of the proximity. Should it be a country gentleman of large property and influence, and he held the reins, and handled the whip with a knowledge of the art, so to “get over the ground,” coachy might, perhaps, notice him “en passant,” by a slight and familiar nod; but it is only the peer, or man of first-rate sporting celebrity, that is honoured with any thing like a familiar mark of approbation and acquaintanc