There was a little house at the end with everything shut against the blinding sun, but the main door of it wide open. I walked in there too and heard no noise of men, and my curiosity took me up the stairs until I came out quite unexpectedly upon another little garden built on the flat roof of this dwelling3 and on its shady side. And there I saw a man sitting and looking dreamily towards the mountains.
He did not ask me how I came there, but I desired to tell him, for it was evidently his roof.
We spoke4 a little together until I asked him why he watched the mountains and why his gaze was[Pg 2] towards Spain; then at great length he spoke to me, but dreamily still.
"Long before I knew that the speech of men was misused5 by them and that they lied in the hearing of the gods perpetually—in those early days through which all men have passed, during which one believes what one is told, an old and crusty woman of great wealth, to whom I was describing what I intended to do with life (which in those days seemed to me of infinite duration), said to me, 'You are building castles in Spain.' I was too much in awe6 of this woman—not on account of the wealth, but on account of the crust—to go further into the matter, but it seemed to me a very foolish thing to say, for I had never been to Spain, and I had nothing wherewith to build a castle—and indeed such a project had never passed through my head.
"For many years I returned to this phrase. I heard it upon several occasions. And in those years through which a man approaches maturity7 it still remained in my mind, possessing a singular fascination8. Though I had found long since that phrases mean at the best something different from their words, and often something exactly opposite to them, yet this phrase kept about it something mystical and sincere; and I never read of Spain nor saw a map of Spain without thinking of the castles in that land, and wondering whether, as that ancient sybil had prophesied9 to me, I should come to build them there or no.
[Pg 3]
"It so happened that the feeling grew upon me until, in my thirtieth year, I determined10 to travel in that country, and I did so, arriving at one of the Spanish ports by sea; and the first thing I did when I had landed was to ask in my own tongue whether there were any castles in the neighbourhood, and especially whether any of them were at that moment in process of being built. Hearing which, the gentleman whom I had addressed bade me stay a moment where I was, upon the quay12, and returned with a policeman who wore a helmet in the English manner, but whose face betrayed him. This official beckoned13 me to follow him; I was closely interrogated14 by a member of the superior or educated classes who was also a magistrate15, and after some deliberation as to whether I should not be imprisoned16, I was escorted to the frontier between two armed men. Nor in the course of my journey, which was hot and uncomfortable, did I see any one building castles, so I returned as wise as I had come, but, I am glad to say, not any the poorer, for the Spanish State had taken charge of me and had paid for all that part of my journey which had taken place upon Spanish soil.
"Coming, therefore, into the Roussillon by way of the pass in the mountains, I went very sadly, but a free man, in by the Gypsies' Gate at Perpignan, and ate by myself at the Red Lion. Then, saying nothing to any one, I went over the mountains in another manner, with nothing to carry but a sack, and determined to trust only to a considerable sum[Pg 4] of money which I carried in my pocket. So I came down into Aragon, and when I got there I found it very unsuitable for the building of castles. For you must know that Aragon is almost completely composed of mud, so that any very large building, at least in the northern part, would very probably sink. Moreover, those rare rocks on which anything enduring can be founded are already occupied in that country by the priests, who have for ages forbidden the building of castles in any form, and that under the most dreadful penalties. But I found a man in Huesca who told me that, though he himself had never seen such a thing, I would no doubt find it in Saragossa, which was a capital city of enormous dimensions, and one that contained every human thing. So then I went on down the valley of the river Gallego (which was full of mud, as everything is in that district), and at last I saw before me the towers and the spires17 of Saragossa. But before I went into the town I thought I would first ask for information, and save myself the trouble of further walking. There was sitting with his back against a very dirty and ancient wall a man much dirtier than the wall and almost as old. Round his head was a handkerchief, and in his eyes was the stern pride of Aragon, which, though it be made out of mud, is full of courage, and breeds men who will kill you for nothing. Remembering this, and knowing that in their contempt for wealth the Aragonese will often unite good blood with poverty, I took off my hat and[Pg 5] swept it about, and asked him whether his family motto were not 'Prince ne daigne,' to which he replied only by shaking his head in a decisive way. I then asked him whether I should find them building a castle in Saragossa, to which he said very sharply, 'No!' for the Aragonese are as terse18 as they are courageous19. Then I said to him, 'Days, knight20!' (for in this manner does one take leave in Aragon), and he replied, 'Go with God,' which is their common salutation, even to duns.
"When I had gone a little way on to the bridge which here crosses the muddy Ebro, whether there is water in the river or not, I saw a man riding on a mule21 who seemed to me more promising22, for he was singing a song in quarter notes, which is the Spanish way. I asked him whether they were building castles in Saragossa, at which he laughed heartily23, and said, 'No. Believe me, if we have any (which I doubt) it is more in our line to let them fall down than to build them.' And with these words he spoke affectionately to his mule and went his way, and I, knowing I should get no luck after such an omen11, turned back and took the train into my own country."
"Did you not then," said I, "ever see building a castle in Spain?"
"Yes," said he very sadly; "it was in this way: there are parts of Spain which are included by mistake upon our side of the mountains, so that they have French water and forests, and one can live decently[Pg 6] there; and going in to one of these valleys upon business one day, I saw before me a very hideous24 thing—but there was no mistaking it: it was a castle! It was built—or rather building—of very glaring white stone; it had four turrets25 with very staring red tiles, half a hundred false Gothic windows, and at least twenty gargoyles26, each one of which exactly resembled its neighbour, and all of which had been done by contract in Toulouse. Two statues of an offensive kind guarded the entrance to the place, and the main door of it was one of those that turn round like a turnstile so as to keep out the air; and in front of this thing was a lawn with a net. There were two trees just planted and looking as though they would rather die than live, and a little further off the workmen were digging for a fountain. It was a very saddening sight. I went up to the foreman, who by his dress seemed to be a countryman of my own, and I said, 'This is a castle that you are building, is it not?' He stared at me and said yes, wondering why I asked. 'And I think,' I went on, 'that I am in Spain, am I not?' 'Yes,' said he, wondering still more, 'the frontier lies there'—and he pointed27 to a little stream in the grounds. 'I thought as much,' I said, sighing profoundly. 'At last I have come upon a man building a castle in Spain.'
"Since then I have seen no other such sight, nor do I wish to see one. And ever since then I have made it my business, when I had need to build[Pg 7] castles in Spain (the appetite for which comes upon me at least twice a week), to come up here on to this roof and survey the Roussillon, the Canigou and the Mediterranean28 Sea, and build castles in my head, for I have discovered realities to be appalling29."
With these words he begged me to leave him.
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1
poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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2
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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3
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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4
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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5
misused
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| v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用 | |
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6
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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7
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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8
fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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9
prophesied
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| v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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11
omen
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| n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示 | |
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12
quay
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| n.码头，靠岸处 | |
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13
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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15
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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16
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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18
terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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19
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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20
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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21
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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22
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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23
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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24
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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25
turrets
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| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
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26
gargoyles
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| n.怪兽状滴水嘴( gargoyle的名词复数 ) | |
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27
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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28
Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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29
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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