瓦爾登湖:The Ponds4

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　　Yet perchance the first who came to this well have left some trace of their footsteps. I have been surprised to detect encircling the pond， even where a thick wood has just been cut down on the shore， a narrow shelf-like path in the steep hillside，alternately rising and falling， approaching and receding from the water's edge， as old probably as the race of man here， worn by the feet of aboriginal hunters， and still from time to time unwittingly trodden by the present occupants of the land. This is particularly distinct to one standing on the middle of the pond in winter， just after a light snow has fallen， appearing as a clear undulating white line， unobscured by weeds and twigs， and very obvious a quarter of a mile off in many places where in summer it is hardly distinguishable close at hand. The snow reprints it， as it were， in clear white type alto-relievo. The ornamented grounds of villas which will one day be built here may still preserve some trace of this.

　　The pond rises and falls， but whether regularly or not， and within what period， nobody knows， though， as usual， many pretend to know. It is commonly higher in the winter and lower in the summer，though not corresponding to the general wet and dryness. I can remember when it was a foot or two lower， and also when it was at least five feet higher， than when I lived by it. There is a narrow sand-bar running into it， with very deep water on one side， on which I helped boil a kettle of chowder， some six rods from the main shore， about the year 1824， which it has not been possible to do for twenty-five years； and， on the other hand， my friends used to listen with incredulity when I told them， that a few years later I was accustomed to fish from a boat in a secluded cove in the woods，fifteen rods from the only shore they knew， which place was long since converted into a meadow. But the pond has risen steadily for two years， and now， in the summer of '52， is just five feet higher than when I lived there， or as high as it was thirty years ago， and fishing goes on again in the meadow. This makes a difference of level， at the outside， of six or seven feet； and yet the water shed by the surrounding hills is insignificant in amount， and this overflow must be referred to causes which affect the deep springs. This same summer the pond has begun to fall again. It is remarkable that this fluctuation， whether periodical or not， appears thus to require many years for its accomplishment. I have observed one rise and a part of two falls， and I expect that a dozen or fifteen years hence the water will again be as low as I have ever known it. Flint's Pond， a mile eastward， allowing for the disturbance occasioned by its inlets and outlets， and the smaller intermediate ponds also， sympathize with Walden， and recently attained their greatest height at the same time with the latter. The same is true，as far as my observation goes， of White Pond.

　　This rise and fall of Walden at long intervals serves this use at least； the water standing at this great height for a year or more， though it makes it difficult to walk round it， kills the shrubs and trees which have sprung up about its edge since the last rise ―― pitch pines， birches， alders， aspens， and others ―― and，falling again， leaves an unobstructed shore； for， unlike many ponds and all waters which are subject to a daily tide， its shore is cleanest when the water is lowest. On the side of the pond next my house a row of pitch pines， fifteen feet high， has been killed and tipped over as if by a lever， and thus a stop put to their encroachments； and their size indicates how many years have elapsed since the last rise to this height. By this fluctuation the pond asserts its title to a shore， and thus the shore is shorn， and the trees cannot hold it by right of possession. These are the lips of the lake， on which no beard grows. It licks its chaps from time to time. When the water is at its height， the alders， willows， and maples send forth a mass of fibrous red roots several feet long from all sides of their stems in the water， and to the height of three or four feet from the ground， in the effort to maintain themselves； and I have known the high blueberry bushes about the shore， which commonly produce no fruit， bear an abundant crop under these circumstances.

　　第一個到這個湖邊來的人們可能留下過他們的足跡。我曾經(jīng)很驚異地發(fā)現(xiàn)，就在沿湖被砍伐了的一個濃密的森林那兒，峻削的山崖中，有一條繞湖一匝的狹窄的高架的小徑，一會兒上，一忽兒下，一會兒接近湖，一忽兒又離遠了一些，它或許和人類同年，土著的獵者，用腳步走出了這條路來，以后世世代代都有這片土地上的居住者不知不覺地用腳走過去。冬天，站在湖中央，看起來這就更加清楚，特別在下了一陣小雪之后，它就成了連綿起伏的一條白線，敗草和枯枝都不能夠掩蔽它，許多地點，在四分之一英里以外看起來還格外清楚，但是夏天里，便是走近去看，也還是看不出來。可以說，雪花用清楚的白色的浮雕又把它印刷出來了。但愿到了將來，人們在這里建造一些別墅的裝飾庭園時，還能保留這一殘跡。

　　湖水時漲時落，但是有沒有規(guī)律，如有規(guī)律，又是怎樣的周期，誰也不知道，雖然有不少人，照常要裝作是知道的。冬天的水位通常要高一些，夏天的總低一些，但水位與天氣的干燥潮濕卻沒有關(guān)系。我還記得，何時水退到比我住在那兒的時候低了一兩英尺，何時又漲高了至少有五英尺。有一個狹長的沙洲伸展到湖中，它的一面是深水，離主岸約六桿，那大約是一八二四年，我曾在上面煮開過一壺雜燴，可是一連二十五年水淹沒了它，我無法再去煮什么了；另一方面，當我告訴我的朋友們說，數(shù)年之后，我會經(jīng)常垂鈞在森林中的那個僻隱的山凹里，駕一葉扁舟，在離開他們現(xiàn)在看得見的湖岸約十五桿的地方，那里早已成為一片草地了，他們常常聽得將信將疑。可是，兩年來，湖一直在漲高，現(xiàn)在，一八五二年的夏天，比我居住那兒的時候已經(jīng)高出五英尺，相當于三十年之前的高度，在那片草地上又可以垂釣了。從外表看，水位已漲了六七英尺，但是從周圍的山上流下來的水量實際上不多，漲水一定是由于影響它深處泉源的一些原因。

　　同一個夏天里水又退了。驚人的是這種漲落，不管它有否周期，卻需要好幾年才能夠完成。我觀察到一次漲，又部分地觀察了兩次退，我想在十二或十五年后，水位又要降落到我以前知道的地方。偏東一英里，

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瓦爾登湖:The Ponds4