Many a traveller came out of his way to see me and the inside of my house， and， as an excuse for calling， asked for a glass of water. I told them that I drank at the pond， and pointed thither， offering to lend them a dipper.  Far off as I lived， I was not exempted from the annual visitation which occurs， methinks， about the first of April， when everybody is on the move； and I had my share of good luck， though there were some curious specimens among my visitors. Half-witted men from the almshouse and elsewhere came to see me； but I endeavored to make them exercise all the wit they had， and make their confessions to me； in such cases making wit the theme of our conversation； and so was compensated.  Indeed， I found some of them to be wiser than the so-called overseers of the poor and selectmen of the town， and thought it was time that the tables were turned. With respect to wit， I learned that there was not much difference between the half and the whole.  One day， in particular， an inoffensive， simple-minded pauper， whom with others I had often seen used as fencing stuff， standing or sitting on a bushel in the fields to keep cattle and himself from straying， visited me， and expressed a wish to live as I did.  He told me， with the utmost simplicity and truth， quite superior， or rather inferior， to anything that is called humility， that he was "deficient in intellect."  These were his words.  The Lord had made him so， yet he supposed the Lord cared as much for him as for another.  "I have always been so，" said he，"from my childhood； I never had much mind； I was not like other children； I am weak in the head.  It was the Lord's will， I suppose."  And there he was to prove the truth of his words.  He was a metaphysical puzzle to me.  I have rarely met a fellowman on such promising ground ―― it was so simple and sincere and so true all that he said.  And， true enough， in proportion as he appeared to humble himself was he exalted.  I did not know at first but it was the result of a wise policy.  It seemed that from such a basis of truth and frankness as the poor weak-headed pauper had laid， our intercourse might go forward to something better than the intercourse of sages.

　　I had some guests from those not reckoned commonly among the town's poor， but who should be； who are among the world's poor， at any rate； guests who appeal， not to your hospitality， but to your hospitalality； who earnestly wish to be helped， and preface their appeal with the information that they are resolved， for one thing，never to help themselves.  I require of a visitor that he be not actually starving， though he may have the very best appetite in the world， however he got it.  Objects of charity are not guests.  Men who did not know when their visit had terminated， though I went about my business again， answering them from greater and greater remoteness.  Men of almost every degree of wit called on me in the migrating season.  Some who had more wits than they knew what to do with； runaway slaves with plantation manners， who listened from time to time， like the fox in the fable， as if they heard the hounds a-baying on their track， and looked at me beseechingly， as much as to say， ――

　　"O Christian， will you send me back？

　　One real runaway slave， among the rest， whom I helped to forward toward the north star.  Men of one idea， like a hen with one chicken， and that a duckling； men of a thousand ideas， and unkempt heads， like those hens which are made to take charge of a hundred chickens， all in pursuit of one bug， a score of them lost in every morning's dew ―― and become frizzled and mangy in consequence； men of ideas instead of legs， a sort of intellectual centipede that made you crawl all over.  One man proposed a book in which visitors should write their names， as at the White Mountains； but， alas！ I have too good a memory to make that necessary.

　　I could not but notice some of the peculiarities of my visitors. Girls and boys and young women generally seemed glad to be in the woods.  They looked in the pond and at the flowers， and improved their time.  Men of business， even farmers， thought only of solitude and employment， and of the great distance at which I dwelt from something or other； and though they said that they loved a ramble in the woods occasionally， it was obvious that they did not.  Restless committed men， whose time was an taken up in getting a living or keeping it； ministers who spoke of God as if they enjoyed a monopoly of the subject， who could not bear all kinds of opinions； doctors，lawyers， uneasy housekeepers who pried into my cupboard and bed when I was out ―― how came Mrs. ―― to know that my sheets were not as clean as hers？ ―― young men who had ceased to be young， and had concluded that it was safest to follow the beaten track of the professions ―― all these generally said that it was not possible to do so much good in my position.  Ay！ there was the rub.  The old and infirm and the timid， of whatever age or sex， thought most of sickness， and sudden accident and death； to them life seemed full of danger ―― what danger is there if you don't think of any？ ―― and they thought that a prudent man would carefully select the safest position， where Dr. B. might be on hand at a moment's warning.  To them the village was literally a community， a league for mutual defence， and you would suppose that they would not go a-huckleberrying without a medicine chest.  The amount of it is， if a man is alive， there is always danger that he may die， though the danger must be allowed to be less in proportion as he is dead-and-alive to begin with.  A man sits as many risks as he runs. Finally， there were the self-styled reformers， the greatest bores of all， who thought that I was forever singing，――

　　This is the house that I built；This is the man that lives in the house that I built；

　　but they did not know that the third line was，

　　These are the folks that worry the man That lives in the house that I built.

　　I did not fear the hen-harriers， for I kept no chickens； but I feared the men-harriers rather. I had more cheering visitors than the last.  Children come a-berrying， railroad men taking a Sunday morning walk in clean shirts， fishermen and hunters， poets and philosophers； in short， all honest pilgrims， who came out to the woods for freedom's sake， and really left the village behind， I was ready to greet with ――"Welcome， Englishmen！ welcome， Englishmen！" for I had had communication with that race.

　　許多旅行家離開了他們的路線，來看我和我屋子的內部，他們的托辭往往是要一杯水喝。我告訴他們，我是從湖里喝水的，手指著湖，愿意借一個水勺給他們。住得雖然遠僻，每年，我想，四月一日左右，人人都來踏青，我也免不了受到訪問；我就鴻運高照了，雖然其中有一些古怪人物的標本。從濟貧院或別處出來的傻瓜也來看我；我就盡量讓他們施展出他們的全部機智，讓他們對我暢談一番；在這種場合，機智常常成了我們談話的話題；這樣我大有收獲了。真的，我覺得他們比貧民的管理者，甚至比市里行政管理委員會的委員要聰明得多，認為大翻身的時期已差不多了。關于智慧，我覺得愚昧和大智之間沒有多少分別。特別有一天，有一個并不討厭的頭腦單純的貧民來看我，還表示愿意跟我一樣地生活。以前我常?？吹剿蛣e人一起好像籬笆一樣，在田野中站著，或坐在一個籮斗上看守著牛和他自己，以免走散。他懷著極大的純樸和真誠，超出或毋寧說低于一般的所謂的自卑，告訴我說他“在智力上非常之低”。這是他的原話。

　　上帝把他造成這個樣子，可是，他認為，上帝關心他，正如關心旁人一樣?！皬奈业耐陼r代起，”他說，“我就一向如此，我腦筋就不大靈；我跟別的小孩子不同；我在智力方面很薄弱。我想，這是神的意志吧?！倍驮谀抢?，證實了他自己的話。他對我是一個形而上學的謎語。我難得碰到一個人是這樣有希望的――他說的話全都這樣單純誠懇，這樣真實。他越是自卑之至，他卻真的越是高貴。起先我還不知道，可是這是一個聰明辦法取得的效果。在這個智力不足的貧民所建立的真實而坦率的基礎上，我們的談話反倒可以達到比和智者談話更深的程度。還有一些客人，一般不算城市貧民，實際上他們應該算是城市貧民；無論如何可以說是世界貧民；這些客人無求于你的好客，而有求于你的大大的殷勤。他們急于得到你的幫助，卻開口就說，他們下決心了，就是說，他們不想幫助自己了。我要求訪客不能餓著肚子來看我，雖然也許他們有世上最好的胃口，不管他們是怎么養成這樣好的胃口的。慈善事業的對象，不得稱為客人。有些客人，不知道他們的訪問早該結束了，我已經在料理我自己的事務，回答他們的話就愈來愈怠慢了。幾乎各種智能的人在候鳥遷移的時節都來訪問過我。有些人的智能是超過了他們能運用的范圍的；一些逃亡的奴隸，帶著種植園里的神情，不時尖起耳朵來聽，好像寓言中的狐貍時時聽到獵大在追蹤它們，用懇求的目光看著我，好像在說，――“啊，基督教徒，你會把我送回去嗎？”其中有一個真正的逃亡者，我幫他朝北極星的那個方向逃去。有人只有一個心眼兒，像只有一只小雞的母雞，有人卻像只有一只小鴨的母鴨；有些人千頭萬緒，腦子里雜亂無章，像那些要照料一百只小雞的老母雞，都在追逐一只小蟲，每天在黎明的露水中總要丟失一二十只小雞，――而爭得它們羽毛蓬亂、污穢不堪了；此外還有一些不是用腿而是用智力走路的人，像一條智力的蜈蚣，使得你周身都發抖。有人建議我用一本簽名簿來保留訪客的名字，像白山那里的情形；可惜，啊！我的記憶力太好了，不需要這種東西。

　　我不能不發現我的訪客的若干特點。女孩子，男孩子，少婦，一到森林中就很快活。

　　他們看著湖水，看著花，覺得時間過得很愉快。一些生意人，卻只感到寂寞，只想著生意經，只覺得我住得不是離這太遠就是離那太遠，甚至有些農民也如此，雖然他們說，他們偶爾也愛作林中閑游，其實很明顯，他們并不愛好。這些焦灼安的人啊，他們的時間都花在謀生或者維持生活上了；一些牧師，開口閉口說上帝，好像這題目是他們的專利品，他們也聽不見各種不同的意見；醫生，律師，忙碌的管家婦則趁我不在家的時候審察我的碗櫥和床鋪，――不然某夫人怎樣知道我的床單沒有她的干凈？――有些已經不再年輕的年輕人，以為跟著職業界的老路走，是最安全的辦法了，――這些人一般都說我這種生活沒有好處。啊，問題就在這里！那些衰老的，有病的，膽怯的人，不管他們的年齡性別，想得最多的是疾病、意外和死亡；在他們看來，生命是充滿了危險的，――可如果你不去想它，那又有什么危險呢？――他們覺得，謹慎的人應當小心地挑選個最安全的地區，在那里的醫生可以隨喚隨到。在他們看來，村子真是一個com一Munit y，一個共同防護的聯盟，你可以想象的，他們連采集越橘時也要帶藥箱去呢。這就是說，一個人如果是活著的，他就隨時隨地有死亡的危險，其實這樣的死亡危險，由于他已經是一個活著的死人而相對地減少了。一個人閉門家中坐，跟他出外奔跑是一樣危險的。

　　最后，還有一種人，自名為改革家的，所有訪客中要算他們最討厭了，他們以為我是一直在歌唱著，――這是我所造的屋子；這是在我所造的屋子中生活的人；可是他們不知道接下來的兩行正是，――而正是這些人，煩死了住在我所造之屋中的人。我并不怕捉小雞的老鷹，因為我沒有養小雞，可是我最怕捉人的鷲鳥。

　　“除開最后一種人，我還有一些更令人愉快的訪客。小孩子來采漿果，鐵路上的工人們穿著干凈的襯衣來散步，漁人、獵戶、詩人和哲學家；總之，一切老老實實的朝圣者，為了自由的緣故而到森林中來，他們真的把村子拋在后面了，我很喜歡向他們說，”歡迎啊，英國人！歡迎啊，英國人！“因為我曾經和這一個民族往來過。

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