第28封信 - 1951.09.10

“细品每一封信，感受日期，感受人类的长情。”

寄语

《84, Charing Cross Road》
从前的日色变得慢
车、马、邮件都慢
一生只够爱一个人

细品每一封信
感受书信的缓慢
感受人类的长情

英文原文

Backstage London

September 10, 1951

Dearheart一

It is the loveliest old shop straight out of Dickens, you would go absolutely out of your mind over it.

There are stalls outside and I stopped and leafed through a few things just to establish myself as a browser before wandering in. It’s dim inside, you smell the shop before you see it , it’s a lovely smell, I can’t articulate it easily, but it combines must and dust and age, and walls of wood and floors of wood . Toward the back of the shop at the left there’s desk with awork-lamp on it, a man was sitting there, he was about fifty with a Hogarth nose, he looked up and said “Good afternoon?” in a North Country accent and I said I just wanted to browse and he said please do.

The shelves go on forever. They go up to the ceiling and they’re very old and kind of grey, like old oak that has absorbed so much dust over the years they no longer are their true color. There’s a print section, or rather a long print table , with Cruikshank and Rackham and Spy and all those old wonderful English caricaturists and illustrators that I’m not smart enough to know a lot about, and there are some lovely old, old illustrated magazines.

I stayed about half an hour hoping your Frank or one of the girls would turn up, but it was one-ish when I went in, I gather they were all out to lunch and I couldn’t stay any longer.

As you see, the notices were not sensational but we’re told they’re good enough to assure us a few months’ run, so I went apartment-hunting yesterday and found a nice little “bed-sitter” in Knightsbridge, I don’t have the address here I’ll send it or you can call my mother.

We have no food problems, we eat in restaurants and hotels, the best places like Claridge’s get all the roast beef and chops they want. The prices are astronomical but the exchange rate is so good we can afford it. Of course if I were the English I would loathe us, instead of which they are absolutely wonderful to us, we’re invited to everybody’s home and everybody’s club.

The only thing we can’t get is sugar or sweets in any form, for which I personally thank God, I intend to lose ten pounds over here.

Write me.

Love,

Maxine

中文翻译

(玛克辛写于后台) 伦敦 1951年9月10日

甜心儿：

这是一间活脱从狄更斯书里头蹦出来的可爱铺子，如果让你见到了，不爱死了才怪。

店门口陈列了几架书，开门进去前，我先站在外头假装随意翻阅几本书，好让自己看起来像是若无其事地逛书店。一走进店内，喧嚣全被关在门外。一阵古书的陈旧气味扑鼻而来。我实在不知道该怎么形容：那是一种混杂着霉味儿、长年积尘的气息，加上墙壁、地板散发的木头香……店内左手边有张书桌，坐着一位年约五十、长着一只贺加斯式鼻子的男士。他站起身来，操着北方口音对我说：“下午好。”我回答说我只是随意逛逛，而他则有礼地说：“请。”

极目所见全是书架——高耸直抵到天花板的深色的古老书架，橡木架面经过漫长岁月的洗礼，虽已褪色仍径放光芒。接着是摆放画片的专区——应该说：一张叠放着许多画片的大桌台。上头有克鲁克香克、拉克姆矠、斯派和许许多多我叫不出名字的英国插画家的美丽画作；另一边还放着几叠迷人的古旧画刊。

我在店内待了约莫半个钟头光景，期待着你的弗兰克或是哪个女孩儿翩翩现身。不过，因为我到达时已过了一点钟，我猜他们全都外出用餐去了，而我又不能待太久。

就是这样咯！新戏的预告并没有造成万人空巷，不过据说对方人蛮好的，排给我们几个月的档期，所以我昨天出门找出租公寓，在骑士桥附近有一间小小的、蛮不错的小套房。现在还没确定，一旦定下来，我会写信告诉你，你也可以再打电话问我妈。

三餐不成问题，我们都在餐厅或旅馆里用餐，像最高级的克拉里兹大饭店就能充分供应烤牛肉、排骨。价钱虽然贵得离谱，不过换算成美金倒是挺划算的，所以我们还吃得起。假使换成我是英国人，瞧见这光景一定会恨得牙痒痒的。但是他们却反而对我们好得不得了，到处都有人邀请我们去家里作客或上馆子。

惟一短缺的东西就是糖。凡是甜的东西，一应俱缺。也许我反该谢天谢地，正好让我在这里瘦它个几磅。

写信给我。

爱你的 玛克辛

原文图片

结尾

二十年间缘悭一面
相隔万里莫逆于心
致敬经典，《查令十字街84号》

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