第 1 节
作者:连过十一人      更新:2021-02-27 02:16      字数:9321
  The Voice of the City
  by O Henry
  THE VOICE OF THE CITY
  Twenty…five years ago the school children used
  to chant their lessons。  The manner of their delivery
  was a singsong recitative between the utterance of an
  Episcopal minister and the drone of a tired sawmill。
  I mean no disrespect。  We must have lumber and
  sawdust。
  I remember one beautiful and instructive little
  lyric that emanated from the physiology class。 The
  most striking line of it was this:
  〃The shin…bone is the long…est bone in the hu…man
  bod…y。〃
  What an inestimable boon it would have been if
  all the corporeal and spiritual facts pertaining to
  man bad thus been tunefully and logically inculcated
  in our youthful minds!  But what we gained in
  anatomy; music and philosophy was meagre。
  The other day I became confused。  I needed a
  ray of light。  I turned back to those school days for
  aid。  But in all the nasal harmonies we whined forth
  from those bard benches I could not recall one that
  treated of the voice of agglomerated mankind。
  In other words; of the composite vocal message of
  massed humanity。
  In other words; of the Voice of a Big City。
  Now; the individual voice is not lacking。  We can
  understand the song of the poet; the ripple of the
  brook; the meaning of the man who wants 5 until
  next Monday; the inscriptions on the tombs of the
  Pharaohs; the language of flowers; the 〃step lively〃
  of the conductor; and the prelude of the milk cans  at
  4 A。 M。 Certain large…eared ones even assert that
  they are wise to the vibrations of the tympanum pro…
  need by concussion of the air emanating from Mr。
  H。 James。  But who can comprehend the meaning
  of the voice of the city?
  I went out for to see。
  First; I asked Aurelia。  She wore white Swiss and a
  bat with flowers on it; and ribbons and ends of things
  fluttered here and there。
  〃Tell me;〃 I said; stammeringly; for I have no
  voice of my own; 〃what does this big … er …
  enormous … er … whopping city say?  It must have
  a voice of some kind。  Does it ever speak to you?
  How do you interpret its meaning?  It is a tremen…
  dous mass; but it must have a key:'
  〃Like a Saratoga trunk?〃 asked Aurelia。
  〃No;〃 said I。 〃Please do not refer to the lid。 I
  have a fancy that every city has a voice。  Each one
  has something to say to the one who can hear it。
  What does the big one say to you?  〃
  〃All cities;〃 said Aurelia; judicially; 〃say the
  same thing。 When they get through saying it
  there is an echo from Philadelphia。 So; they are
  unanimous。〃
  〃Here are 4;000;000 people;〃 said I; scholastic…
  ally; 〃compressed upon an island; which is mostly
  lamb surrounded by Wall Street water。  The conjunc…
  tion of so many units into so small a space must
  result in an identity … or; or rather a homogeneity
  that finds its oral expression through a common chan…
  nel。  It is; as you might say; a consensus of transla…
  tion; concentrating in a crystallized; general idea
  which reveals itself in what may be termed the Voice
  of the City。  Can you tell me what it is?
  Aurelia smiled wonderfully。 She sat on the high
  stoop。  A spray of insolent ivy bobbed against her
  right ear。  A ray of impudent moonlight flickered
  upon her nose。  But I was adamant; nickel…
  plated。
  〃I must go and find out;〃 I said; 〃what is the
  Voice of this city。  Other cities have voices。  It is an
  assignment。  I must have it。  New York;〃 I con…
  tinned; in a rising tone; 〃had better not hand me a
  cigar and say: ' Old man; I can't talk for publication。'
  No other city acts in that way。  Chicago says; unhes…
  itatingly; 'I will;' I Philadelphia says; 'I should;'
  New Orleans says; ' I used to;' Louisville says;
  'Don't care if I do;' St。 Louis says; 'Excuse me;'
  Pittsburg says; 'Smoke up。' Now; New York … 〃
  Aurelia smiled。
  〃Very well;〃 said I; 〃I must go elsewhere and find
  out。〃
  I went into a palace; tile…floored; cherub…ceilinged
  and square with the cop。  I put my foot on the brass
  rail and said to Billy Magnus; the best bartender in
  the diocese:
  Billy; you've lived in New York a long time
  what kind of a song…and…dance does this old town give
  you?  What I mean is; doesn't the gab of it seem to
  kind of bunch up and slide over the bar to you in a
  sort of amalgamated tip that bits off the burg in a
  kind of an epigram with a dash of bitters and a slice
  of … 〃
  〃Excuse me a minute;〃 said Billy; 〃somebody's
  punching the button at the side door。〃
  He went away; came back with an empty tin
  bucket; again vanished with it full; returned and
  said to me:
  〃That was Mame。  She rings twice。  She likes a
  glass of beer for supper。  Her and the kid。  If you
  ever saw that little skeesicks of mine brace up in his
  high chair and take his beer and … But; say; what
  was yours?  I get kind of excited when I bear them
  two rings …was it the baseball score or gin fizz you
  asked for?〃
  〃Ginger ale;〃 I answered。
  I walked up to Broadway。  I saw a cop on the cor…
  ner。  The cops take kids up; women across; and men
  in。 I went up to him。
  If I'm not exceeding the spiel limit;〃 I said; 〃let
  me ask you。  You see New York during its vocative
  hours。  It is the function of you and your brother
  cops to preserve the acoustics of the city。  There must
  be a civic voice that is intelligible to you。  At night
  during your lonely rounds you must have beard it。
  What is the epitome of its turmoil and shouting?
  What does the city say to you?
  〃Friend;〃 said the policeman; spinning his club;
  〃it don't say nothing。  I get my orders from the
  man higher up。  Say; I guess you're all right。  Stand
  here for a few minutes and keep an eye open for the
  roundsman。〃
  The cop melted into the darkness of the side street。
  In ten minutes be had returned。
  〃Married last Tuesday;〃 be said; half gruffly。
  〃You know bow they are。  She comes to that corner
  at nine every night for a … comes to say ' hello! ' I
  generally manage to be there。  Say; what was it you
  asked me a bit ago … what's doing in the city?  Oh;
  there's a roof…garden or two just opened; twelve
  blocks up。〃
  I crossed a crow's…foot of street…car tracks; and
  skirted the edge of an umbrageous park。  An
  artificial Diana; gilded; heroic; poised; wind…ruled;
  on the tower; shimmered in the clear light of her
  namesake in the sky。  Along came my poet; hurry…
  ing; hatted; haired; emitting dactyls; spondees and
  dactylis。  I seized him。
  〃Bill;〃 said I (in the magazine he is Cleon); 〃give
  me a lift。  I am on an assignment to find out the
  Voice of the city。  You see; it's a special order。  Ordi…
  narily a symposium comprising the views of Henry
  Clews; John L。 Sullivan; Edwin Markham; May Ir…
  win and Charles Schwab would be about all。  But this
  is a different matter。  We want a broad; poetic;
  mystic vocalization of the city's soul and meaning。
  You are the very chap to give me a hint。  Some years
  ago a man got at the Niagara Falls and gave us its
  pitch。  The note was about two feet below the lowest
  G on the piano。  Now; you can't put New York into
  a note unless it's better indorsed than that。  But give
  me an idea of what it would say if it should speak。  It
  is bound to be a mighty and far…reaching utterance。
  To arrive at it we must take the tremendous crash of
  the chords of the day's traffic; the laughter and music
  of the night; the solemn tones of Dr。 Parkhurst; the
  rag…time; the weeping; the stealthy bum of cab…wbeels;
  the shout of the press agent; the tinkle of fountains
  on the roof gardens; the hullabaloo of the strawberry
  vender and the covers of Everybody's Magazine; the
  whispers of the lovers in the parks … all these sounds;
  must go into your Voice … not combined; but mixed;
  and of the mixture an essence made; and of the es…
  sence an extract … an audible extract; of which one
  drop shall form the thing we seek。〃
  〃Do you remember;〃 asked the poet; with a
  chuckle; 〃that California girl we met at Stiver's
  studio last week?  Well; I'm on my way to see her。
  She repeated that poem of mine; ' The Tribute of
  Spring;' word for word。  She's the smartest proposi…
  tion in this town just at present。  Say; how does this
  confounded tie look?  I spoiled four before I got one
  to set right。〃
  〃And the Voice that I asked you about?〃 I in…
  quired。
  〃Oh; she doesn't sing;〃 said Cleon。  〃But you
  ought to bear her recite my 'Angel of the Inshore
  Wind。'〃
  I passed on。  I cornered a newsboy and be flashed
  at me prophetic pink papers that outstripped the
  news by two revolutions of the clock's longest hand。
  〃Son;〃 I said; while I pretended to chase coins in
  my penny pocket; 〃doesn't it sometimes seem to you
  as if the city ought to be able to talk?  All these ups
  and downs and funny business and queer things hap…
  pening every daywhat would it say; do yo