瓦尔登湖:House-Warming4

　　I did not plaster till it was freezing weather.  I brought over some whiter and cleaner sand for this purpose from the opposite shore of the pond in a boat， a sort of conveyance which would have tempted me to go much farther if necessary.  My house had in the meanwhile been shingled down to the ground on every side.  In lathing I was pleased to be able to send home each nail with a single blow of the hammer， and it was my ambition to transfer the plaster from the board to the wall neatly and rapidly.  I remembered the story of a conceited fellow， who， in fine clothes， was wont to lounge about the village once， giving advice to workmen.  Venturing one day to substitute deeds for words， he turned up his cuffs，seized a plasterer's board， and having loaded his trowel without mishap， with a complacent look toward the lathing overhead， made a bold gesture thitherward； and straightway， to his complete discomfiture， received the whole contents in his ruffled bosom.  I admired anew the economy and convenience of plastering， which so effectually shuts out the cold and takes a handsome finish， and I learned the various casualties to which the plasterer is liable.  I was surprised to see how thirsty the bricks were which drank up all the moisture in my plaster before I had smoothed it， and how many pailfuls of water it takes to christen a new hearth.  I had the previous winter made a small quantity of lime by burning the shells of the Unio fluviatilis， which our river affords， for the sake of the experiment； so that I knew where my materials came from.  I might have got good limestone within a mile or two and burned it myself， if I had cared to do so.

　　The pond had in the meanwhile skimmed over in the shadiest and shallowest coves， some days or even weeks before the general freezing.  The first ice is especially interesting and perfect，being hard， dark， and transparent， and affords the best opportunity that ever offers for examining the bottom where it is shallow； for you can lie at your length on ice only an inch thick， like a skater insect on the surface of the water， and study the bottom at your leisure， only two or three inches distant， like a picture behind a glass， and the water is necessarily always smooth then.  There are many furrows in the sand where some creature has travelled about and doubled on its tracks； and， for wrecks， it is strewn with the cases of caddis-worms made of minute grains of white quartz.  Perhaps these have creased it， for you find some of their cases in the furrows， though they are deep and broad for them to make.  But the ice itself is the object of most interest， though you must improve the earliest opportunity to study it.  If you examine it closely the morning after it freezes， you find that the greater part of the bubbles， which at first appeared to be within it， are against its under surface， and that more are continually rising from the bottom；while the ice is as yet comparatively solid and dark， that is， you see the water through it.  These bubbles are from an eightieth to an eighth of an inch in diameter， very clear and beautiful， and you see your face reflected in them through the ice.  There may be thirty or forty of them to a square inch.  There are also already within the ice narrow oblong perpendicular bubbles about half an inch long，sharp cones with the apex upward； or oftener， if the ice is quite fresh， minute spherical bubbles one directly above another， like a string of beads.  But these within the ice are not so numerous nor obvious as those beneath.  I sometimes used to cast on stones to try the strength of the ice， and those which broke through carried in air with them， which formed very large and conspicuous white bubbles beneath.  One day when I came to the same place forty-eight hours afterward， I found that those large bubbles were still perfect，though an inch more of ice had formed， as I could see distinctly by the seam in the edge of a cake.  But as the last two days had been very warm， like an Indian summer， the ice was not now transparent，showing the dark green color of the water， and the bottom， but opaque and whitish or gray， and though twice as thick was hardly stronger than before， for the air bubbles had greatly expanded under this heat and run together， and lost their regularity； they were no longer one directly over another， but often like silvery coins poured from a bag， one overlapping another， or in thin flakes， as if occupying slight cleavages.  The beauty of the ice was gone， and it was too late to study the bottom.  Being curious to know what position my great bubbles occupied with regard to the new ice， I broke out a cake containing a middling sized one， and turned it bottom upward.  The new ice had formed around and under the bubble，so that it was included between the two ices.  It was wholly in the lower ice， but close against the upper， and was flattish， or perhaps slightly lenticular， with a rounded edge， a quarter of an inch deep by four inches in diameter； and I was surprised to find that directly under the bubble the ice was melted with great regularity in the form of a saucer reversed， to the height of five eighths of an inch in the middle， leaving a thin partition there between the water and the bubble， hardly an eighth of an inch thick； and in many places the small bubbles in this partition had burst out downward，and probably there was no ice at all under the largest bubbles，which were a foot in diameter.  I inferred that the infinite number of minute bubbles which I had first seen against the under surface of the ice were now frozen in likewise， and that each， in its degree， had operated like a burning-glass on the ice beneath to melt and rot it.  These are the little air-guns which contribute to make the ice crack and whoop.

　　我是直到气候真的很冷了，才开始泥墙的，为了这个缘故，我驾了一叶扁舟到湖对岸去取来更洁白的细沙。有了这样的交通工具，必要的话，就是旅行得更远我也是高兴的。在这期间，我的屋子已经四面都钉满了薄薄的木板条子。在钉这些板条的时候，我很高兴，我能够一锤就钉好一只钉子。我更野心勃勃，要迅速而漂亮地把灰浆从木板上涂到墙上。我记起了讲一个自负的家伙的那个故事。他穿了很好的衣服，常常在村里走来走去，指点工人。有一天他忽然想用实践来代替他的理论了，他卷起了袖子，拿了一块泥水工用的木板，放上灰浆，总算没出岔子，于是得意洋洋地望了望头顶上的板条，用了一个勇敢的动作把灰浆糊上去，马上出丑，全部灰浆掉回到他那傲慢的胸口。我再次欣赏灰浆，它能这样经济，这样便利地击退了寒冷，它平滑又漂亮，我懂得了一个泥水匠会碰到怎样一些事故。使我惊奇的是，在我泥平以前，砖头如何饥渴地吸人了灰浆中的全部水分，为了造一个新的壁炉，我用了多少桶水。前一个冬天，我就曾经试验过，用我们的河流中学名Unio fluviatilis的一种介壳烧制成少量的石灰；所以我已知道从什么地方去取得材料了。如果我高兴的话，也许我会走一两英里路，找到很好的石灰石，自己动手来烧石灰。

　　这时候，最照不到阳光和最浅的湖凹中已经结起了薄冰，比整个湖结冰早了几天，有些地方早了几星期。第一块冰特别有趣，特别美满，因为它坚硬，黝黑，透明，借以观察浅水地方的水，机会更好；因为在一英寸厚薄的冰上你已经可以躺下来，像水上的掠水虫，然后惬惬意意地研究湖底，距离你不过两三英寸，好像玻璃后面的画片，那时的水当然一直是平静的。沙上有许多沟槽，若干生物曾经爬过去，又从原路爬口来：至于残骸，那儿到处是白石英细粒形成的石蚕壳。也许是它们形成沟槽的吧，因为石蚕就在沟槽之中，虽然由它们来形成，而那些沟槽却又显得太宽阔而大。不过，冰本身是最有趣的东西，你得利用最早的机会来研究它。如果你就在冻冰以后的那天早晨仔细观看它，你可以发现那些仿佛是在冰层中间的气泡，实际上却是附在冰下面的表层的，还有好些气泡正从水底升上来；因为冰块还是比较结实，比较黝黑的，所以你可以穿过它看到水。这些气泡的直径大约从一英寸的八十分之一到八分之一，非常清晰而又非常美丽，你能看到你自己的脸反映在冰下面的这些气泡上。一平方英寸内可以数出三四十个气泡来。也有一些是在冰层之内的，狭小的，椭圆的，垂直的，约半英寸长，还有圆锥形的，顶朝上面，如果是刚刚冻结的冰，常常有一串珠子似的圆形气泡，一个顶在另一个的上面。但在冰层中间的这些气泡并没有附在冰下面的那么多，也没那么明显。我常常投掷些石子去试试冰的力量，那些穿冰而过的石子带了空气下去，就在下面形成了很大的很明显的白气泡。有一天，我过了四十八小时之后再去老地方看看，虽然那窟窿里已经又结了一英寸厚的冰了，但是我看到那些大气泡还很美好，我从一块冰边上的裂缝里看得很清楚。可是由于前两天温暖得仿佛小阳春，现在冰不再是透明的，透山水的暗绿色，看得到水底，而是不透明的，呈现灰白色，冰层已经比以前厚了一倍了，却不比以前坚固。热量使气泡大大扩展，凝集在一块，却变得不规则了，不再一个顶着一个，往往像一只袋子里倒出来的银币，堆积在一起，有的成了薄片，仿佛只占了一个细小的裂隙。

　　冰的美感已经消失，再要研究水底已经来不及了。我很好奇，想知道我那个大气泡在新冰那儿占了什么位置，我挖起了一块有中型气泡的冰块来，把它的底朝了天。在气泡之下和周围已经结了一层新的冰，所以气泡是在两片冰的中间；它全部是在下层中间的，却又贴近上层，扁平的，也许有点像扁豆形，圆边，深四分之一英寸，直径四英寸；我惊奇地发现，就在气泡的下面，冰溶化得很有规则，像一只倒置的茶托，在中央八分之五英寸的高度，水和气泡之间有着一个薄薄的分界线，薄得还不到一英寸的八分之一，在许多地方，这分界线中的小气泡向下爆裂，也许在最大的直径一英尺的气泡底下完全是没有冰的。我恍然大悟了，我第一次看到的附在冰下面的小气泡现在也给冻入了冰块中，它们每一个都以不同程度在下面对冰块起了取火镜的作用，要溶化冰块。溶冰爆裂有声，全是这些小气泡干的花样。

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