《安徒生童话英文版》第174章

　　He foresaw that he should have to stay there till morning, and thenthey must send for a smith to file away the iron bars, and thatwould be a work of time. All the charity children would just begoing to school: and all the sailors who inhabited that quarter of thetown would be there to see him standing in the pillory. What a crowdthere would be. "Ha," he cried, "the blood is rushing to my head,and I shall go mad. I believe I am crazy already; oh, I wish I werefree, then all these sensations would pass off." This is just whathe ought to have said at first. The moment he had expressed thethought his head was free. He started back, quite bewildered withthe fright which the goloshes of Fortune had caused him. But we mustnot suppose it was all over; no, indeed, there was worse to comeyet. The night passed, and the whole of the following day; but noone sent for the goloshes. In the evening a declamatory performancewas to take place at the amateur theatre in a distant street. Thehouse was crowded; among the audience was the young volunteer from thehospital, who seemed to have quite forgotten his adventures of theprevious evening. He had on the goloshes; they had not been sentfor, and as the streets were still very dirty, they were of greatservice to him. A new poem, entitled "My Aunt's Spectacles," was beingrecited. It described these spectacles as possessing a wonderfulpower; if any one put them on in a large assembly the peopleappeared like cards, and the future events of ensuing years could beeasily foretold by them. The idea struck him that he should verymuch like to have such a pair of spectacles; for, if used rightly,they would perhaps enable him to see into the hearts of people,which he thought would be more interesting than to know what was goingto happen next year; for future events would be sure to showthemselves, but the hearts of people never. "I can fancy what I shouldsee in the whole row of ladies and gentlemen on the first seat, if Icould only look into their hearts; that lady, I imagine, keeps a storefor things of all descriptions; how my eyes would wander about in thatcollection; with many ladies I should no doubt find a largemillinery establishment. There is another that is perhaps empty, andwould be all the better for cleaning out. There may be some wellstored with good articles. Ah, yes," he sighed, "I know one, inwhich everything is solid, but a servant is there already, and that isthe only thing against it. I dare say from many I should hear thewords, 'Please to walk in.' I only wish I could slip into the heartslike a little tiny thought." This was the word of command for thegoloshes. The volunteer shrunk up together, and commenced a mostunusual journey through the hearts of the spectators in the first row.The first heart he entered was that of a lady, but he thought hemust have got into one of the rooms of an orthopedic institution whereplaster casts of deformed limbs were hanging on the walls, with thisdifference, that the casts in the institution are formed when thepatient enters, but here they were formed and preserved after the goodpeople had left. These were casts of the bodily and mental deformitiesof the lady's female friends carefully preserved. Quickly he passedinto another heart, which had the appearance of a spacious, holychurch, with the white dove of innocence fluttering over the altar.Gladly would he have fallen on his knees in such a sacred place; buthe was carried on to another heart, still, however, listening to thetones of the organ, and feeling himself that he had become another anda better man. The next heart was also a sanctuary, which he feltalmost unworthy to enter; it represented a mean garret, in which lay asick mother; but the warm sunshine streamed through the window, lovelyroses bloomed in a little flowerbox on the roof, two blue birds sangof childlike joys, and the sick mother prayed for a blessing on herdaughter. Next he crept on his hands and knees through an overfilledbutcher's shop; there was meat, nothing but meat, wherever he stepped;this was the heart of a rich, respectable man, whose name is doubtlessin the directory. Then he entered the heart of this man's wife; it wasan old, tumble-down pigeon-house; the husband's portrait served as aweather-cock; it was connected with all the doors, which opened andshut just as the husband's decision turned. The next heart was acomplete cabinet of mirrors, such as can be seen in the Castle ofRosenberg. But these mirrors magnified in an astonishing degree; inthe middle of the floor sat, like the Grand Lama, the insignificantI of the owner, astonished at the contemplation of his own features.At his next visit he fancied he must have got into a narrowneedlecase, full of sharp needles: "Oh," thought he, "this must be theheart of an old maid;" but such was not the fact; it belonged to ayoung officer, who wore several orders, and was said to be a man ofintellect and heart.

　　The poor volunteer came out of the last heart in the row quitebewildered. He could not collect his thoughts, and imagined hisfoolish fancies had carried him away. "Good gracious!"