英语 | 丘吉尔:集齐1500个玩具士兵,人生从此转向

Harrow

I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school possessed the biggest swimming-bath I had ever seen. It was more like the bend of a river than a bath, and it had two bridges across it. Thither we used to repair for hours at a time and bask between our dips eating enormous buns on the hot asphalt margin. Naturally it was a good joke to come up behind some naked friend, or even enemy, and push him in. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less. One day when I had been no more than a month in the school, I saw a boy standing in a meditative posture wrapped in a towel on the very brink. He was no bigger than I was; so I thought him fair game. Coming stealthily behind I pushed him in, holding on to his towel out of humanity, so that it should not get wet. I was startled to see a furious face emerge from the foam, and a being evidently of enormous strength making its way by fierce strokes to the shore. I fled, but in vain. Swift as the wind my pursuer overtook me, seized me in a ferocious grip, and hurled me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon scrambled out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by an agitated crowd of younger boys. "You're in for it," they said. "Do you know what you have done? It's Amery, he's in the Sixth Form. He is head of his House; he is champion at gym; he has got his football colors." They continued to recount his many titles to fame and reverence and to dilate upon the awful retribution that would fall upon me. I was convulsed not only with terror, but with the guilt of sacrilege. How could I tell his rank when he was in a bath towel and so small? I determined to apologize immediately. I approached the potentate in lively trepidation. "I am very sorry," I said. "I mistook you for a Fourth Form boy. You are so small." He did not seem at all placated by this; so I added in a most brilliant recovery, "My father, who is a great man, is also small." At this he laughed, and after some general remarks about my "cheek" and how I had better be careful in the future, signified that the incident was closed.

I have been fortunate to see a good deal more of him, in times when three years' difference in age is not so important as it is at school. We were afterwards to be Cabinet colleagues for a good many years.

It was thought incongruous that while I apparently stagnated in the lowest form, I should gain a prize open to the whole school for reciting to the headmaster twelve hundred lines of Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome” without making a single mistake. I also succeeded in passing the preliminary examination for the army while still almost at the bottom of the school. This examination seemed to have called forth a very special effort on my part, for many boys far above me in the school failed in it. I also had a piece of good luck. We knew that among other questions we should be asked to draw from memory a map of some country or other. The night before by way of final preparation I put the names of all the maps in the atlas into a hat and drew out New Zealand. I applied my good memory to the geography of that dominion. Sure enough, the first question in the paper was: "Draw a map of New Zealand." This was what is called at Monte Carlo an en plein, and I ought to have been paid thirty-five times my stake. However, I certainly got paid very high marks for my paper.

I was now embarked on a military career. This orientation was entirely due to my collection of soldiers. I had ultimately nearly fifteen hundred. They were all of one size, all British, and organized as an infantry division with a cavalry brigade. My brother Jack commanded the hostile army. But by a Treaty for the Limitation of Armaments he was only allowed to have colored troops, and they were not allowed to have artillery. Very important! I could muster myself only eighteen field guns – besides fortress pieces. But all the other services were complete – except one. It is what every army is always short of – transport. My father's old friend, Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, admiring my array, noticed this deficiency and provided a fund from which it was to some extent supplied.

The day came when my father himself paid a formal visit of inspection. All the troops were arranged in the correct formation of attack. He spent twenty minutes studying the scene – which was really impressive – with a keen eye and captivating smile. At the end he asked me if I would like to go into the army. I thought it would be splendid to command an army, so I said "Yes" at once: and immediately I was taken at my word. For years I thought my father with his experience and flair had discerned in me the qualities of military genius. But I was told later that he had only come to the conclusion that I was not clever enough to go to the bar. However that may be, the toy soldiers turned the current of my life. Henceforward all my education was directed to passing into Sandhurst, and afterwards to the technical details of the profession of arms. Anything else I had to pick up for myself.

哈罗公学

我是在夏季学期在哈罗公学入学的。学校有我所曾见到最大的公共游泳池。它更像一条河流的弯曲处，而不是游泳池，上面还横跨着两座桥。我们经常到那里去，一呆就是几个小时，在游水的间隔坐在沥青池边上晒太阳，把小圆甜饼大吃上一通。来到某个赤身的朋友的身后，甚至一个敌人的身后，把他推到池子里去，自然是一个不错的玩笑。对个头和我一样或者小一点的男孩子们，这样做已经成了我的一个习惯。一天，我只不过在学校里有一个月的时间，我看见有一个男孩，裹着一条毛巾，就站在池子边缘上，一副沉思的样子。他个子不比我大，因而我认为他是合适的猎物。我悄悄地来到他的身后，把他推了进去，出于人道而抓住他的毛巾，这样它就不会湿掉。我惊吓地看到，一张狂怒的脸从池水的泡沫中露了出来，一个显然力气巨大的人双臂凶猛地划着水，朝岸边游来。我逃跑了，但无济于事。我的追逐者就像风一样迅速追上我，凶猛地一把抓住我，把我扔进游泳池的最深的地方。我很快就在另外一边爬了出来，发现自己被一群激动的小一些的男孩子们围着。“你肯定要倒霉了，”他们说道。“你知道你做了什么？那是埃默里：他是六年级的。他是他的宿舍的头，是体操冠军，还入选了足球队。”他们继续讲述他的许多声名显赫的头衔，详述那些将会落在我身上的可怕的惩罚。我抽搐起来，这不仅是因为害怕，而且也是为亵渎神圣而感到内疚。他裹着浴巾而且个子又这么小，我又怎么能知道他的显赫的地位？我决定立即道歉。我紧张而又惴惴不安地靠近这位有权势的人。“非常对不起，”我说道。“我把你当成四年级生了。你个子太小了。”这似乎根本就没有使他息怒；因而我技艺高超地恢复了常态，又说，“我父亲，是一个伟人，他也是小个子。”听到这话他大笑了起来，他说了一些笼统的话，说我“脸皮厚”，我将来最好还是小心点，然后示意这件事情结束了。

我很幸运，以后又多次见到他，那时在年龄上的三年的差距就不像在学校时那么重要了。后来我们又多年是内阁的同事。

虽然我明显是在最低的年级里过着死气沉沉的日子，但我居然赢得了一个面向全校的奖，我为校长背诵了麦考利的1200行的长诗《古罗马之歌》，而又没有出一个错，这个事情被认为是实在不相称。。这个考试似乎让我作出了一种非常特殊的努力，因为学校里的许多排名远在我之上的男孩子们在这次考试中不及格。我还非常走运。我们知道，其中的一道题就是凭记忆画出某个国家的地图。在考试前的那天晚上，在作最后的准备的时候，我把地图册里的所有地图的名字放进一顶帽子里面，在里面抽出了新西兰。我把我的善于记忆用在记那个英联邦自治领的地理上了。果然试卷上的第一道题就是：“画出一幅新西兰地图。”在赌城蒙特卡洛这被称之为“把赌注押在一个数上而不是几个连续的数上”，应该赔付我的赌注的35倍才是。然而，我自然是因为我的卷子而得了非常高的分数。

我现在开始生涯了。这个方向完全是我收集玩具士兵模型的结果。我最终收集了几乎1500个。他们全都是同样大小，全都是兵，组织成了一个步兵师，外带一个骑兵旅。我弟弟杰克指挥着敌军。不过根据限制军备条约，只允许他拥有黑人组成的部队，而且那些黑人也不许拥有大炮。非常重要！除了要塞大炮之外，我本人只能聚集起18门野战炮。但别的军种一应俱全——只有一种除外。那是每一支军队都始终短缺的——运输部队。我父亲的老朋友亨利.德拉蒙德.沃尔夫爵士赞赏我的编队，他注意到了这个欠缺，于是提供了一笔专款，那个欠缺由此就在某种程度上得到了满足。

我父亲亲自前来正式视察的日子到了。所有的部队都安排成正确的编队准备进攻。他花了20分钟的时间研究这个场面——那确实是令人难忘的——他目光敏锐，露出了迷人的笑容。结束的时候他问我，。，那会是极佳的，因而我立即说“是的”：我的话立即被当真了。多年以来我以为，我父亲由于具有经验和眼光，而在我的身上看出了天才的品质。但后来我被告知，他之所以得出这个结论，只是因为我不够聪明，当不了律师。尽管可能是如此，但那些玩具士兵却改变了我的生活方向。从那以后，，继而学习战争的技术细节。别的任何东西我都得自己去学会。