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第2章

the celeatial railroad-第2章

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a laudable contrivance for smoothing our way to the Celestial

City。 On its top sat a personage almost enveloped in smoke and

flame; which; not to startle the reader; appeared to gush from

his own mouth and stomach as well as from the engine's brazen

abdomen。



〃Do my eyes deceive me?〃 cried I。 〃What on earth is this! A

living creature? If so; he is own brother to the engine he rides

upon!〃



〃Poh; poh; you are obtuse!〃 said Mr。 Smooth…it…away; with a

hearty laugh。 〃Don't you know Apollyon; Christian's old enemy;

with whom he fought so fierce a battle in the Valley of

Humiliation? He was the very fellow to manage the engine; and so

we have reconciled him to the custom of going on pilgrimage; and

engaged him as chief engineer。〃



〃Bravo; bravo!〃 exclaimed I; with irrepressible enthusiasm; 〃this

shows the liberality of the age; this proves; if anything can;

that all musty prejudices are in a fair way to be obliterated。

And how will Christian rejoice to hear of this happy

transformation of his old antagonist! I promise myself great

pleasure in informing him of it when we reach the Celestial

City。〃



The passengers being all comfortably seated; we now rattled away

merrily; accomplishing a greater distance in ten minutes than

Christian probably trudged over in a day。 It was laughable; while

we glanced along; as it were; at the tail of a thunderbolt; to

observe two dusty foot travellers in the old pilgrim guise; with

cockle shell and staff; their mystic rolls of parchment in their

hands and their intolerable burdens on their backs。 The

preposterous obstinacy of these honest people in persisting to

groan and stumble along the difficult pathway rather than take

advantage of modern improvements; excited great mirth among our

wiser brotherhood。 We greeted the two pilgrims with many pleasant

gibes and a roar of laughter; whereupon they gazed at us with

such woful and absurdly compassionate visages that our merriment

grew tenfold more obstreperous。 Apollyon also entered heartily

into the fun; and contrived to flirt the smoke and flame of the

engine; or of his own breath; into their faces; and envelop them

in an atmosphere of scalding steam。 These little practical jokes

amused us mightily; and doubtless afforded the pilgrims the

gratification of considering themselves martyrs。



At some distance from the railroad Mr。 Smooth…it…away pointed to

a large; antique edifice; which; he observed; was a tavern of

long standing; and had formerly been a noted stopping…place for

pilgrims。 In Bunyan's road…book it is mentioned as the

Interpreter's House。



〃I have long had a curiosity to visit that old mansion;〃 remarked

I。



〃It is not one of our stations; as you perceive;〃 said my

companion 〃The keeper was violently opposed to the railroad; and

well he might be; as the track left his house of entertainment on

one side; and thus was pretty certain to deprive him of all his

reputable customers。 But the footpath still passes his door; and

the old gentleman now and then receives a call from some simple

traveller; and entertains him with fare as old…fashioned as

himself。〃



Before our talk on this subject came to a conclusion we were

rushing by the place where Christian's burden fell from his

shoulders at the sight of the Cross。 This served as a theme for

Mr。 Smooth…it…away; Mr。 Livefor…the…world; Mr。

Hide…sin…in…the…heart; Mr。 Scaly…conscience; and a knot of

gentlemen from the town of Shun…repentance; to descant upon the

inestimable advantages resulting from the safety of our baggage。

Myself; and all the passengers indeed; joined with great

unanimity in this view of the matter; for our burdens were rich

in many things esteemed precious throughout the world; and;

especially; we each of us possessed a great variety of favorite

Habits; which we trusted would not be out of fashion even in the

polite circles of the Celestial City。 It would have been a sad

spectacle to see such an assortment of valuable articles tumbling

into the sepulchre。 Thus pleasantly conversing on the favorable

circumstances of our position as compared with those of past

pilgrims and of narrow…minded ones at the present day; we soon

found ourselves at the foot of the Hill Difficulty。 Through the

very heart of this rocky mountain a tunnel has been constructed

of most admirable architecture; with a lofty arch and a spacious

double track; so that; unless the earth and rocks should chance

to crumble down; it will remain an eternal monument of the

builder's skill and enterprise。 It is a great though incidental

advantage that the materials from the heart of the Hill

Difficulty have been employed in filling up the Valley of

Humiliation; thus obviating the necessity of descending into that

disagreeable and unwholesome hollow。



〃This is a wonderful improvement; indeed;〃 said I。 〃Yet I should

have been glad of an opportunity to visit the Palace Beautiful

and be introduced to the charming young ladiesMiss Prudence;

Miss Piety; Miss Charity; and the restwho have the kindness to

entertain pilgrims there。〃



〃Young ladies!〃 cried Mr。 Smooth…it…away; as soon as he could

speak for laughing。 〃And charming young ladies! Why; my dear

fellow; they are old maids; every soul of themprim; starched;

dry; and angular; and not one of them; I will venture to say; has

altered so much as the fashion of her gown since the days of

Christian's pilgrimage。〃



〃Ah; well;〃 said I; much comforted; 〃then I can very readily

dispense with their acquaintance。〃



The respectable Apollyon was now putting on the steam at a

prodigious rate; anxious; perhaps; to get rid of the unpleasant

reminiscences connected with the spot where he had so

disastrously encountered Christian。 Consulting Mr。 Bunyan's

road…book; I perceived that we must now be within a few miles of

the Valley of the Shadow of Death; into which doleful region; at

our present speed; we should plunge much sooner than seemed at

all desirable。 In truth; I expected nothing better than to find

myself in the ditch on one side or the Quag on the other; but on

communicating my apprehensions to Mr。 Smooth…it…away; he assured

me that the difficulties of this passage; even in its worst

condition; had been vastly exaggerated; and that; in its present

state of improvement; I might consider myself as safe as on any

railroad in Christendom。



Even while we were speaking the train shot into the entrance of

this dreaded Valley。 Though I plead guilty to some foolish

palpitations of the heart during our headlong rush over the

causeway here constructed; yet it were unjust to withhold the

highest encomiums on the boldness of its original conception and

the ingenuity of those who executed it。 It was gratifying;

likewise; to observe how much care had been taken to dispel the

everlasting gloom and supply the defect of cheerful sunshine; not

a ray of which has ever penetrated among these awful shadows。 For

this purpose; the inflammable gas which exudes plentifully from

the soil is collected by means of pipes; and thence communicated

to a quadruple row of lamps along the whole extent of the

passage。 Thus a radiance has been created even out of the fiery

and sulphurous curse that rests forever upon the valleya

radiance hurtful; however; to the eyes; and somewhat bewildering;

as I discovered by the changes which it wrought in the visages of

my companions。 In this respect; as compared with natural

daylight; there is the same difference as between truth and

falsehood; but if the reader have ever travelled through the dark

Valley; he will have learned to be thankful for any light that he

could getif not from the sky above; then from the blasted soil

beneath。 Such was the red brilliancy of these lamps that they

appeared to build walls of fire on both sides of the track;

between which we held our course at lightning speed; while a

reverberating thunder filled the Valley with its echoes。 Had 

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