How my childish imagination glowed with the splendour of their enterprise! I idealized them as the bravest and most generous men that ever sought a home in a strange land. I thought they desired the freedom of their fellow men as well as their own. I was keenly surprised and disappointed years later to learn of their acts of persecution that make us tingle with shame, even while we glory in the courage and energy that gave us our "Country Beautiful."
我童年的想象力是如此地多姿多彩!我理想化地把先民们视做最勇敢、最有气魄的开拓者,因为他们要在一片陌生的土地上寻找家园。我想,他们不但要为自己争取自由,还要为民族利益争取自由。多年后,我才了解到他们的出走是由于受到了迫害,这让我深感震惊和失望,我为人类的非理性行为感到羞愧,尤其是当我们以先辈们建立的“美丽新世界”引以为豪的时候。
Among
the
many
friends
I
made
in
Boston
were
Mr.
William
Endicott
and
his
daughter.
Their
kindness
to
me
was
the
seed
from
which
many
pleasant
memories
have
since
grown.
One
day
we
visited
their
beautiful
home
at
Beverly
Farms.
I
remember
with
delight
how
I
went
through
their
rose-
garden,
how
their
dogs,
big
Leo
and
little
curly-
haired
Fritz
with
long
ears,
came
to
meet
me,
and
how
Nimrod,
the
swiftest
of
the
horses,
poked
his
nose
into
my
hands
for
a
pat
and
a
lump
of
sugar.
I
also
remember
the
beach,
where
for
the
first
time
I
played
in
the
sand.
It
was
hard,
smooth
sand,
very
different
from
the
loose,
sharp
sand,
mingled
with
kelp
and
shells,
at
Brewster.
Mr.
Endicott
told
me
about
the
great
ships
that
came
sailing
by
from
Boston,
bound
for
Europe.
I
saw
him
many
times
after
that,
and
he
was
always
a
good
friend
to
me;
indeed,
I
was
thinking
of
him
when
I
called
Boston
"
the
City
of
Kind
Hearts."
威廉·恩迪考特先生和他的女儿也是我在波士顿结交的朋友。他们的友善如同播撒在我心底的种子,随着时光的流逝,许多美好的回忆也慢慢开花结果。有一天,我们去贝弗利农庄拜访他们美丽的家。我依然记得当时的情景:我如何兴高采烈地穿过他们家的玫瑰花园;如何遇到了他们家的大狗利奥,还有卷毛长耳小狗弗里茨;行动敏捷的大马宁录又如何伸着鼻子吃我手里的黄油和糖块。我还记得那片海滩,我就是在那里第一次玩沙子的。那是一种质地坚硬、手感爽滑的沙子,同布鲁斯特的掺杂着海藻和贝壳,松软扎手的沙子截然不同。恩迪考特先生还跟我讲了有关巨轮从波士顿起航驶往欧洲的事。后来我又见过他许多次,他一直是我的好朋友。事实上,每当我把波士顿叫做“慈爱之城”的时候,我就会想起他。
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