APRIL NEAR NINGPO
Ningpo sights — Wild azaleas — Bamboo rafts — Tea gardens — Women's dress — Temple service — Priests — ^Ta Lang Shan — Old tea bashes — Beautiful ravine— Hair stockings — Beaatiful houses — Birds' nests — ^Snowy Valley travellers* book — Carried in a clothes basket — Unexpectedness — ^Variety of foliage — Chinese hospitality — Women's hairpins — The loveliest valley — Rapids — Hundreds of paddy birds — Lovely River Yung — En route for Tien Dong — Rest houses and free tea — Monks — Different types of Buddha—- Cost of trip ..... 49
四月的寧波近郊
寧波的景點——野生杜鵑花——竹筏——茶園——婦女的服飾——廟宇儀式——僧人——大朗山（Ta Lang Shan）——古老的茶樹叢——美麗的峽谷——毛襪——美麗的房屋——鳥巢——雪谷旅行者的手冊——被抬在衣籃裡——意外之事——多樣的樹葉——中國人的熱情款待——婦女的髮簪——最美麗的山谷——急流——數百隻白鷺——美麗的甬江——前往天童寺的路上——休息站和免費茶水——僧侶——不同類型的佛像——旅行的費用.....49
TWO years before, travelling through the English Lakes in the month of June and rejoicing in the rhododendrons and azaleas, so lovely there, I had read Miss Gordon Cumming's account of the azaleas on the hills behind Ningpo, and thought I must some day come to China just on purpose to see them. But I had no idea then that I should ever really do so. Now one night on board the good boat KioMgteen had brought us from Shanghai to Ningpo, reaching that place in pleasant time for breakfast And next day saw us most comfortably installed in a friend's houseboat en route for Kongkou, where we were to take chairs to proceed to the Snowy Hollow of Shih-to-sze. Ningpo boats are excellent, and the one lent us slipped along like an eel, propelled by two men with yulos at the stem. Though pleasant enough there was little to notice on the way. But before ever packing into the houseboat, we had been to see the various sights of Ningpo: the shops of the famous wood-carving; the grand old Fokien Guild House with its beautiftil dragon-carved stone pillars, and air of departed grandeur; then in the foreign quarter the straight race-course, where no races seem ever run; the chvirch with its excellent memorial window to Bishop Russel, and last, but certainly not least, the new Bund.
Ningpo shops are^rich in fresh, clean-looking matting, and in delightfully fresh-looking contrivances made out of bamboo. I was also gready pleased to find Ningpo sailors walking about in nether garments stitched with the very same smocking stitch our own carter lads have for centuries found so serviceable. It must be something more than fancy, that makes so many of us like to wear smocking now, since Chinese *' water-hands '' and English labourers have alike discovered its uses.
以下是你提供的文本的翻譯：
兩年前，在六月的某一天，我正穿越英國湖區，沉醉於那裡美麗的杜鵑花和映山紅。我讀到了戈登·卡明小姐（Miss Gordon Cumming）對寧波後山杜鵑花的描述，心想總有一天我必須專程來中國看看這些花。但當時我完全沒有想到，我真的會有機會這樣做。如今，我乘坐「康吉廷號」（Kiangteen）船從上海到達寧波，船在早晨愉快地到達，正好趕上早餐。第二天，我們舒適地住在朋友的舢板船上，準備前往空口（Kongkou），在那裡我們將坐轎子前往石頭寺（Shih-to-sze）的雪洞（Snowy Hollow）。寧波的船非常優良，我們乘坐的那艘船如鰻魚般滑行，由船尾的兩個人用搖櫓推動。儘管旅程愉快，但沿途並沒有太多值得注意的景象。但在上船之前，我們已經參觀了寧波的各種景點：著名的木雕店、宏偉的福建會館，這裡有精美的龍雕石柱，處處散發著昔日的輝煌；然後是外國區筆直的賽馬場，那裡似乎從未舉行過賽馬；還有那座教堂，裡面有一扇優秀的拉塞爾主教紀念窗；最後但同樣重要的是，還有新建的外灘。
寧波的商店裡擺滿了新鮮、乾淨的草蓆，還有由竹子製成的各種令人愉快的新鮮物品。我還非常高興地發現寧波的水手們穿著用和我們的農夫男孩們幾個世紀以來一直使用的同樣縫紉工藝——煙管刺繡——縫製的褲子。這絕不僅僅是巧合，因為許多人，包括我自己，現在都喜歡穿這種刺繡，因為無論是中國的「水手」還是英國的勞動者，都發現了它的實用性。
APRIL NEAR NINGPO 51
Arrived at Kongkou, some twenty or thirty men turned out at once and waited patiently for an hour or two to compete for the job of carrying our baggage. It was rather difficult to get through them. But at last at nine we were off, and between four and five reached Shihto-sze. The road was at first rather monotonous, and the heat all the way very oppressive. But there came a moment of intense excitement， when we first caught sight of azaleas, pink beneath the fir trees. Then there was a hillside or two in the distance all ruddy with them. At last we were carried over such a hill, and . sprang out and gathered our hands full of pale pink, of rosy red, of mauve and again of purple reddish azaleas. They were quite as lovely as in English gardens. The bushes were covered with flowers. But somehow I am not sure that when wild they give quite the same satisfaction as do the fields waving yellow with rape flower, and scenting all the air with their sweetness. Whether from association azaleas look too fine for wildness. We lunched by a swift stream, on whose banks grew what looked like violet flowers, but with leaves most unlike violets. And there we sat and watched the rafts go by ; five or seven bamboo-tree stems loosely tied together so that the water could come up between the stems, and with the ends somewhat curved upwards at one end like a prow. On a fdatform upon the stems would sometimes sit a party of women with their graceful style of hair dressing, a large chignon not hanging down the back, but sticking out very far behind, and giving the face a dreamy, poetic air, altogether unusual in China. Sometimes all sorts of market produce would be piled up on the platform. The rafts always shot by quickly, and I wondered how I should like sitting on one of them, knowing it was soon to be our mode of conveyance.
After luncheon the scenery grew gready in interest, recalling Monte Generoso and North Italian scenes. But all on a sudden my eyes rested on a shabby shrub by the wayside. I was sure I knew something about that dull-looking shrub, something like a very forlorn camellia, recalling from a litde distance a holly bush but without the prickles. It was only next day, however, I was able to assure myself I was right We passed then by many tea gardens. We were told some were for tea and some for oil produced from the tea seeds. All looked alike neglected.
翻譯：
我們抵達空口時，有二三十個人立刻出現，耐心地等待了一兩個小時，競爭搬運我們行李的工作。要從他們中間穿過有點困難。不過，最後我們在九點啟程，在下午四五點之間抵達了石頭寺。起初，路途有些單調，沿途的酷熱非常壓抑。然而，在我們第一次看到杜鵑花時，出現了一個激動人心的時刻——粉色的杜鵑花在松樹下綻放。隨後，我們遠遠望見了幾個山坡，覆滿了這些紅色的花朵。最終，我們被抬過了這樣一座山，跳下來，雙手捧滿了淡粉色、玫紅色、淡紫色以及紫紅色的杜鵑花。它們就像英國花園裡的花朵一樣美麗。灌木叢上滿是花朵。但是，不知怎的，我並不確定這些野生的杜鵑花是否能帶來像田野裡金黃的油菜花那樣的滿足感，油菜花將整個空氣都染上了它們的甜香。或許是因為聯想，杜鵑花看起來過於精緻，不像是野生的。
我們在一條湍急的溪流旁吃午餐，溪岸上長著看起來像紫羅蘭的花，但葉子卻完全不像紫羅蘭。我們坐在那裡，看著竹筏漂過；五到七根竹子鬆散地綁在一起，水可以從竹子之間滲進來，筏子的一端稍微向上翹起，像船首一樣。有時在竹筏上的平台上會坐著一群女人，她們的髮型優雅，梳著一個大髻，不是垂在背後，而是高高地翹在後面，給她們的面容增添了一種中國罕見的夢幻詩意的氣質。有時，平台上會堆滿各種各樣的市集貨品。竹筏總是快速滑過，我不禁想像自己坐在其中一個上面的感受，因為我知道不久後這將是我們的交通工具。
午餐後，景色變得更加有趣，讓人想起蒙特杰內羅索（Monte Generoso）和意大利北部的風景。但突然間，我的目光落在路邊的一株破舊的灌木上。我確信對這株毫不起眼的灌木有些印象，它有些像一株非常憔悴的山茶花，從遠處看起來有些像冬青樹，但沒有刺。不過直到第二天，我才確定自己是對的。之後，我們經過了許多茶園。據說有些是用來種茶的，有些則是用來從茶籽中提取油的。但它們看起來都一樣地被忽視了。