I had the good or ill luck (as the case may be) to be the only member of the Committee whose way of life had led him into the perilous3 paths of literature; so the task of compiling and editing our little book was laid on my shoulders.
Installed as chronicler to the White Horse, I entered with no ill will on my office, having been all my life possessed4, as is the case with so many Englishmen, by intense local attachment5, love for every stone and turf of the country where I was[viii] born and bred. But it is one thing to have zeal6, and another to have discretion7; and when I came to consider my materials, I found that the latter quality would be greatly needed. For, what were they? One short bright gleam of history from the writings of old monks8 a thousand years ago; traditions and dim legends, which I and most Berkshire men have always faithfully believed from our youth up, and shall go on believing to our dying day, but which we could hardly put before general readers in serious narrative9; a dry notice here and there by some old antiquary of the seventeenth or eighteenth century; stories floating in the memories of old men still living; small broad-sheets from country town presses, with lists of the competitors for prizes at rustic10 games, newspaper articles, remarks by Committee-men and umpires, scraps11 of antiquarian lore12; abuse of the Great Western Railway for not allowing the trains to stop, bits of vernacular13 dialogue, and odd rhymes. What could be done with them all? How out of the mass could a shapely book be called out, fit to be laid before a fastidious British public, not born in Berkshire?
Not exactly seeing how this was to be done, the only honest course which remained, was to follow the example of a good housewife in the composition of that excellent food called “stir-about”—throw them altogether into the pot, stir them round and round with a great spoon, and trust that the look of the few great raisins14, and the flavour of the allspice,[ix] may leaven15 the mass, and make it pleasing to the eye and palate; and so, though the stir-about will never stand up in a china dish by itself, it may, we hope, make a savoury and pleasant side dish, in a common soup tureen.
The raisins, and those of the best quality, have been furnished by the great artist[1] who has kindly16 undertaken to give us pictures; the allspice has been contributed by the Committee and other kind friends, and I have done the milk and meal, and the stirring. The responsibility therefore rests with me, though the credit, whatever it may be, rests with others. But let me insist here, at once, that if there be any failure in the dish, it is the fault of the dresser and not of the subject-matter.
For, suppose an intelligent Englishman to be travelling in France, and to find the whole population in the neighbourhood of Tours turning out in their best clothes for a two days’ holiday on a high hill, upon which the rude figure of a huge hammer is roughly sculptured. On inquiry17, he finds that the figure has been there long before the memory of the oldest man living, but that it has always been carefully preserved and kept fresh; and although there is no printed history of how it came there, yet that all neighbouring men, of whatever degree, associate it with the name of Charles Martel and his great victory over the Saracens, and are ready one and all to rejoice over it, and to work and pay that it may go down to their children looking as it does now. Or,[x] to come to much later times, let our traveller find an eagle cut out on a hill in Hungary, similarly honoured, and associated with the name of Eugene, and the memory of the day
“When, the old black eagle flying,
All the Paynim powers defying,
On we marched, and stormed Belgrade.”
Should we not all thank him for giving us the best account he could of the figure, the festival, and all traditions connected with them; and think he had fallen on a very noteworthy matter, and well worth the telling when he got back to England?
Well, here we have the same thing at our own doors; a rude colossal18 figure cut out in the turf, and giving the name to a whole district; legends connecting it with the name of our greatest king, and with his great victory over the Pagans, and a festival which has been held at very short intervals19 ever since the ninth century. Rich as our land is in historical monuments, there is none more remarkable20 than the White Horse; and in this belief we put forth21 this little book in his honour, hoping that it may perhaps fix upon him, and the other antiquities22 which surround him, the attention of some one who can bring science and knowledge to bear upon the task to which we can only bring good will.
For, alas23! let me confess at once, that in these qualities our book is like to be sadly deficient24. The compiler has no knowledge whatever of the Anglo-Saxon tongue, or of Saxon or other antiquities.[xi] There is indeed of necessity a semblance25 of learning and research about the chapter which tells the history of the battle of Ashdown, because the materials for it had to be collected from a number of old chroniclers, whose names will be found in the foot-notes. But any fifth-form boy, with industry enough to read about 200 small pages of monkish26 Latin, may master the whole for himself in the originals in a week; and for those who cannot do this, there is the jubilee27 edition of the chroniclers, put forth by the Alfred Committee in 1852, where a translation of the old fellows will be found in parallel columns, together with much learning concerning them and their times, in foot-note, preface, and appendix. This translation I have followed in all but a few passages, in which the text used by the translators has probably differed from the one which I have seen. For the Saxon Chronicle, I have used Ingram’s translation.
But while we do not pretend to be antiquaries, or historians, or learned men, we do claim to be honest average Englishmen, and will yield to no man in our love for our own quiet corner of the land of our birth. We do think, that whatever deeply interests us cannot fail in a degree to interest our countrymen. We are sure that reverence28 for all great Englishmen, and a loving remembrance of the great deeds done by them in old times, will help to bring to life in us the feeling that we are a family, bound together to work out God’s purposes in this little island, and in the uttermost parts of the[xii] earth; to make clear to us the noble inheritance which we have in common; and to sink into their proper place the miserable29 trifles, and odds30 and ends, over which we are so apt to wrangle31. We do hope that our example will lead Englishmen of other counties, to cherish every legend and story which hangs round any nook of their neighbourhood, connecting it with the times and the men who have gone before; to let no old custom, which has a meaning, however rude, die out, if it can be kept alive; and not to keep either legend or custom to themselves, but (like us) to put them in the best shape they can, and publish them for the benefit of their countrymen; we of the White Horse Committee, at any rate, hereby pledging ourselves to read all such publications.
I must here take the opportunity of specially32 thanking three of my fellow Committee-men, and two other friends, for the trouble they have taken in various ways to lighten my work. If this book at all fulfils the objects for which it has been written, the thanks of my readers, as well as my own, will be due to
E. M. Atkins, Esq., of Kingstone Lisle.
Mr. William Whitfield of Uffington.
Mr. Heber Humfrey of Kingstone Farm; and to
John Y. Akerman, Esq., Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries; and
Mr. Luke Lonsley, of Hampsted Norris, Berks.
And now, without further preface, we commend our “stir-about” to Englishmen in general, and west-countrymen in particular.
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收听单词发音
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1
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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12
lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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13
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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raisins
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| n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 ) | |
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15
leaven
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| v.使发酵；n.酵母；影响 | |
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16
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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antiquities
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| n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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monkish
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| adj.僧侣的，修道士的，禁欲的 | |
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jubilee
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| n.周年纪念；欢乐 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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wrangle
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| vi.争吵 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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