He told us all about the Heidelberg road, and which were the best places to avoid and which the best ones to tarry at; he charged me less than cost for the things I broke in the night; he put up a fine luncheon2 for us and added to it a quantity of great light-green plums, the pleasantest fruit in Germany; he was so anxious to do us honor that he would not allow us to walk out of Heilbronn, but called up Goetz von Berlichingen’s horse and cab and made us ride.
I made a sketch3 of the turnout. It is not a Work, it is only what artists call a “study”—a thing to make a finished picture from. This sketch has several blemishes4 in it; for instance, the wagon5 is not traveling as fast as the horse is. This is wrong. Again, the person trying to get out of the way is too small; he is out of perspective, as we say. The two upper lines are not the horse’s back, they are the reigns6; there seems to be a wheel missing—this would be corrected in a finished Work, of course. This thing flying out behind is not a flag, it is a curtain. That other thing up there is the sun, but I didn’t get enough distance on it. I do not remember, now, what that thing is that is in front of the man who is running, but I think it is a haystack or a woman. This study was exhibited in the Paris Salon7 of 1879, but did not take any medal; they do not give medals for studies.
We discharged the carriage at the bridge. The river was full of logs—long, slender, barkless pine logs—and we leaned on the rails of the bridge, and watched the men put them together into rafts. These rafts were of a shape and construction to suit the crookedness8 and extreme narrowness of the Neckar. They were from fifty to one hundred yards long, and they gradually tapered9 from a nine-log breadth at their sterns, to a three-log breadth at their bow-ends. The main part of the steering10 is done at the bow, with a pole; the three-log breadth there furnishes room for only the steersman, for these little logs are not larger around than an average young lady’s waist. The connections of the several sections of the raft are slack and pliant11, so that the raft may be readily bent12 into any sort of curve required by the shape of the river.
The Neckar is in many places so narrow that a person can throw a dog across it, if he has one; when it is also sharply curved in such places, the raftsman has to do some pretty nice snug13 piloting to make the turns. The river is not always allowed to spread over its whole bed—which is as much as thirty, and sometimes forty yards wide—but is split into three equal bodies of water, by stone dikes which throw the main volume, depth, and current into the central one. In low water these neat narrow-edged dikes project four or five inches above the surface, like the comb of a submerged roof, but in high water they are overflowed15. A hatful of rain makes high water in the Neckar, and a basketful produces an overflow16.
There are dikes abreast17 the Schloss Hotel, and the current is violently swift at that point. I used to sit for hours in my glass cage, watching the long, narrow rafts slip along through the central channel, grazing the right-bank dike14 and aiming carefully for the middle arch of the stone bridge below; I watched them in this way, and lost all this time hoping to see one of them hit the bridge-pier and wreck18 itself sometime or other, but was always disappointed. One was smashed there one morning, but I had just stepped into my room a moment to light a pipe, so I lost it.
While I was looking down upon the rafts that morning in Heilbronn, the daredevil spirit of adventure came suddenly upon me, and I said to my comrades:
“I am going to Heidelberg on a raft. Will you venture with me?”
Their faces paled a little, but they assented19 with as good a grace as they could. Harris wanted to cable his mother—thought it his duty to do that, as he was all she had in this world—so, while he attended to this, I went down to the longest and finest raft and hailed the captain with a hearty20 “Ahoy, shipmate!” which put us upon pleasant terms at once, and we entered upon business. I said we were on a pedestrian tour to Heidelberg, and would like to take passage with him. I said this partly through young Z, who spoke21 German very well, and partly through Mr. X, who spoke it peculiarly. I can understand German as well as the maniac22 that invented it, but I talk it best through an interpreter.
The captain hitched23 up his trousers, then shifted his quid thoughtfully. Presently he said just what I was expecting he would say—that he had no license24 to carry passengers, and therefore was afraid the law would be after him in case the matter got noised about or any accident happened. So I chartered the raft and the crew and took all the responsibilities on myself.
With a rattling25 song the starboard watch bent to their work and hove the cable short, then got the anchor home, and our bark moved off with a stately stride, and soon was bowling26 along at about two knots an hour.
Our party were grouped amidships. At first the talk was a little gloomy, and ran mainly upon the shortness of life, the uncertainty27 of it, the perils28 which beset29 it, and the need and wisdom of being always prepared for the worst; this shaded off into low-voiced references to the dangers of the deep, and kindred matters; but as the gray east began to redden and the mysterious solemnity and silence of the dawn to give place to the joy-songs of the birds, the talk took a cheerier tone, and our spirits began to rise steadily30.
Germany, in the summer, is the perfection of the beautiful, but nobody has understood, and realized, and enjoyed the utmost possibilities of this soft and peaceful beauty unless he has voyaged down the Neckar on a raft. The motion of a raft is the needful motion; it is gentle, and gliding31, and smooth, and noiseless; it calms down all feverish32 activities, it soothes33 to sleep all nervous hurry and impatience34; under its restful influence all the troubles and vexations and sorrows that harass35 the mind vanish away, and existence becomes a dream, a charm, a deep and tranquil36 ecstasy37. How it contrasts with hot and perspiring38 pedestrianism, and dusty and deafening39 railroad rush, and tedious jolting40 behind tired horses over blinding white roads!
We went slipping silently along, between the green and fragrant41 banks, with a sense of pleasure and contentment that grew, and grew, all the time. Sometimes the banks were overhung with thick masses of willows42 that wholly hid the ground behind; sometimes we had noble hills on one hand, clothed densely43 with foliage44 to their tops, and on the other hand open levels blazing with poppies, or clothed in the rich blue of the corn-flower; sometimes we drifted in the shadow of forests, and sometimes along the margin45 of long stretches of velvety46 grass, fresh and green and bright, a tireless charm to the eye. And the birds!—they were everywhere; they swept back and forth47 across the river constantly, and their jubilant music was never stilled.
It was a deep and satisfying pleasure to see the sun create the new morning, and gradually, patiently, lovingly, clothe it on with splendor48 after splendor, and glory after glory, till the miracle was complete. How different is this marvel49 observed from a raft, from what it is when one observes it through the dingy50 windows of a railway-station in some wretched village while he munches51 a petrified52 sandwich and waits for the train.
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1
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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2
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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3
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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4
blemishes
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| n.（身体的）瘢点( blemish的名词复数 )；伤疤；瑕疵；污点 | |
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5
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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6
reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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7
salon
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| n.[法]沙龙；客厅；营业性的高级服务室 | |
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crookedness
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| [医]弯曲 | |
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9
tapered
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| adj. 锥形的，尖削的，楔形的，渐缩的，斜的 动词taper的过去式和过去分词 | |
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10
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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11
pliant
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| adj.顺从的；可弯曲的 | |
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12
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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13
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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14
dike
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| n.堤，沟；v.开沟排水 | |
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15
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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16
overflow
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| v.(使)外溢，(使)溢出；溢出，流出，漫出 | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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18
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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19
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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21
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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22
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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23
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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24
license
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| n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许 | |
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25
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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26
bowling
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| n.保龄球运动 | |
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27
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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28
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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29
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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30
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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31
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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32
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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33
soothes
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| v.安慰( soothe的第三人称单数 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦 | |
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34
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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35
harass
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| vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰 | |
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36
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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37
ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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38
perspiring
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| v.出汗，流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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39
deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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40
jolting
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| adj.令人震惊的 | |
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41
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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42
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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43
densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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44
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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45
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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46
velvety
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| adj. 像天鹅绒的, 轻软光滑的, 柔软的 | |
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47
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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48
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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49
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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50
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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51
munches
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的第三人称单数 ) | |
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52
petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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