Holiday Time At The Old Country Store

古老乡村商店的假期时光

· American Heritage · 原文

Millions of Americans, reared on a farm or in a country village, still treasure the recollection of December shopping expeditions to the old-time general store as one of life’s most permanent and agreeable memories.

数以百万计在农场或乡村长大的美国人仍然珍视十二月去旧日杂货店购物的回忆，认为这是人生中最永久、最愉快的记忆之一。

The crossroads store, around the turn of the century, was still in its full glory.

世纪之交的十字路口商店仍处于鼎盛时期。

A bazaar for all lines of merchandise required by its trade—which meant, in the words of the firm of Merrill & Hinckley, at Blue Hill, Maine, “Almost Everything”—the old store also provided many other services as community message center, parcel room, informal bank, political forum, male club and reading room.

这是一个集市，出售其贸易所需的所有商品——用缅因州蓝山的 Merrill & Hinckley 公司的话来说，这意味着“几乎一切”——这家老商店还提供许多其他服务，如社区信息中心、包裹室、非正式银行、政治论坛、男性俱乐部和阅览室。

It was also a United States Post Office, fourth class.

这也是美国四等邮局。

A door, wall or pillar served as bulletin board.

门、墙或柱子充当公告板。

There were notices about horse thieves, church socials, elections, farm auctions.

有关于偷马贼、教堂社交活动、选举、农场拍卖的通知。

Here handbills announced in wood-block type that a turkey shoot would be held, or that a Hambletonian stallion “will make the season …

这里的传单以木版印刷形式宣布将举行火鸡射击活动，或者汉布尔顿种马“将成为本赛季......

at the home of Frank Varble …

在弗兰克·瓦尔布尔 (Frank Varble) 的家里……

at the modest sum of $10.” The general store was indeed the communication center of the area it served.

10 美元的适度金额。”这家杂货店确实是其所服务区域的通讯中心。

The storekeeper, or “merchant” as he was called in the weekly newspaper, presided over the busy scene from the postoffice window, or a strategic location behind his old roll-top desk.

店主，或者周报中称他为“商人”的人，从邮局的窗口，或者在他旧的卷盖办公桌后面的一个战略位置，主持着繁忙的景象。

The office of the town clerk was, like as not, tucked into a pent-roofed room off the rear warehouse.

镇书记员的办公室就像不是一样，藏在后面仓库旁边的一间单间屋顶的房间里。

The storekeeper himself was clerk of the town, custodian of the land records.

店主本人是镇上的职员，也是土地记录的保管人。

Or perhaps he was justice of the peace, with the power to sit in judgment or perform the marriage ceremony.

或者也许他是太平绅士，有权主持审判或主持婚礼。

A man of many talents, he could also doctor a horse, explain the law of replevin, or draw a viable contract.

作为一个多才多艺的人，他还可以医治一匹马，解释补充法则，或者签订一份可行的合同。

The arrival of fresh merchandise was an event, noticed with keen interest at any time by the whole countryside, but especially so around November and December when the big dray unloaded large wooden packing cases, barrels, bales, boxes of figs, jute bags of coconuts and English walnuts, crates of oranges—never seen at any other season of the year—and wooden pails which almost certainly contained stick candy with barber-pole stripes winding up each stick.

新鲜商品的到来是一件大事，整个乡村随时都会引起浓厚的兴趣，尤其是在 11 月和 12 月前后，大货车卸下了大木包装箱、桶、大捆、无花果箱、装椰子和英国核桃的黄麻袋、橙子箱（一年中任何其他季节都从未见过）和木桶，几乎可以肯定，里面装的是棒状糖果，每根棒子上都缠绕着理发杆上的条纹。

The weekly newspaper over at the county seat look notice of the occasion, commenting editorially on the “large consignment of seasonal goods reasonably priced and well adapted to the local trade, representing one of the finest assortments ever stocked in this part of the state.

县城的周报对此进行了报道，社论评论称“大量季节性商品价格合理，非常适合当地贸易，是该州该地区有史以来库存最好的商品之一。”

See large display advertisement on page four.”

请参阅第四页的大型展示广告。”

About this time every country family decided upon a major expedition to the crossroads to inspect the holiday goods and possibly do a little trading.

大约在这个时候，每个乡村家庭都决定去十字路口进行一次大规模的考察，检查节日用品，并可能进行一些贸易。

The trip would be made on a Saturday.

这次旅行将在星期六进行。

The whole family went along, the youngsters sitting on a bed of wheat or oat straw in the light spring wagon.

全家人一起前行，孩子们坐在轻便的春车里铺有麦秆或燕麦草的床上。

Or, more likely, Father would decide to take the heavier Studebaker or Columbus & Weber farm wagon.

或者，更有可能的是，父亲会决定乘坐较重的 Studebaker 或 Columbus & Weber 农用马车。

He would throw in a few live chickens, legs tied together, stash away a can of cream, or load in whatever butter they had on hand.

他会扔几只活鸡，把腿绑在一起，藏起一罐奶油，或者加入他们手头上的任何黄油。

The boys would take along their pelts—not many so early in the season—and Mother would be in charge of the eggs.

男孩们会带着他们的毛皮——在这个季节这么早的时候，毛皮并不多——而母亲则负责看管鸡蛋。

This last item was of particular importance to her, since it was a firmly established folkway of farm life that “the Missus” kept the egg money for her own personal use.

最后一项对她来说特别重要，因为“太太”将鸡蛋钱留作个人使用，这是一种根深蒂固的农场生活民俗。

Fortunately, the hens were usually busy by December, after their moulting season.

幸运的是，到了十二月，换羽季节结束后，母鸡通常都很忙。

Egg prices would be on the way up, good for around seventeen cents a dozen in trade, maybe a little less in cash.

鸡蛋价格将会上涨，交易价格约为每打十七美分，现金价格可能会少一些。

A basket lunch of fried chicken for the family and oats for the horses, stowed away at the last minute before the team started up, assured that they would make a day of it.

在球队出发前的最后一刻，我们准备了一篮子午餐，为家人准备了炸鸡，为马匹准备了燕麦，确保他们能够度过愉快的一天。

The store was a two-story building of frame construction, painted white, with gable end facing the road, the store itself on the first floor, the G.A.R.

商店是一栋两层框架结构建筑，漆成白色，山墙端面向马路，商店本身位于一楼，G.A.R.

Hall upstairs.

楼上大厅。

Warehousing for reserve stock, poultry feed and other heavy bulk items was provided for in an extension at the rear.

后方的扩建部分提供了储备库存、家禽饲料和其他大件物品的仓储。

There was commonly a porch or raised platform at the front of the store for convenient loading and unloading of farm wagons, with either a hitching rack or shed shelter nearby for the wagons and bobsleds—an early version of “free parking for customers.” A bench ran along the store front for accommodation of the local philosophers and those who were either temporarily or permanently disengaged from any gainful occupation.

商店前面通常有一个门廊或高架平台，方便农用货车装卸，附近有一个挂车架或棚屋，用于存放货车和雪橇——这是“顾客免费停车”的早期版本。商店前面有一条长凳，供当地哲学家和那些暂时或永久脱离任何有酬职业的人使用。

Here in pleasant weather they sat “from can to can’t” —from the time they could see to the time they couldn’t.

在宜人的天气里，他们“从看得见到看不见”——从看得见的时间到看不见的时间。

They whittled, assessed the political situation, recollected the great comet of 1881, discussed in detail the more comely women customers, and told tall tales of farming, fishing, fighting and hunting.

他们削尖脑袋，评估政治局势，回忆 1881 年的伟大彗星，详细讨论更漂亮的女顾客，讲述农耕、捕鱼、战斗和狩猎的荒诞故事。

They would not be visible, however, to a farm family bent on Christmas shopping.

然而，对于一心想要圣诞购物的农场家庭来说，它们是看不到的。

Come hog-killing time, the regulars moved inside to the comfort of the “captain’s chairs” provided for them around the cherry-red chunk stove, squatting in its bed of sand, with the raised, cast-iron letters on the side “Made by W.

杀猪时间到了，常客们就搬到樱桃红大炉子周围为他们提供的舒适的“船长椅”上，蹲在沙床上，旁边刻着凸起的铸铁字母“W.

P。

Ford & Co., Concord, N.H.”

福特公司，新罕布什尔州康科德市”

“There are more ducks killed around the stoves on the dry goods boxes at the customary haunts of local nimrods every evening between seven and nine-thirty o’clock,” wrote an Illinois country correspondent in a sheaf of news notes to the Carrollton Patriot , “than are slain in twenty-four hours along the Illinois River from source to mouth.

一位伊利诺伊州乡村记者在给卡罗尔顿爱国者报的一叠新闻报道中写道：“每天晚上七点到九点三十分之间，在当地尼姆罗德人常去的地方，干货箱上的炉子周围被宰杀的鸭子数量，比伊利诺伊河从源头到河口二十四小时内被宰杀的鸭子还要多。

Unless the legislature puts some restriction on this method of wholesale slaughter, the time will soon come when there won’t be any duck-shooting stories to tell—that anybody will put any confidence in.”

除非立法机关对这种大规模屠宰方式施加一些限制，否则很快就会出现任何人都不会相信的射鸭故事。”

The double doors opened inward.

双扇门向内打开。

The remainder of the front elevation was thickly covered by tin signs, each a memorial to the industry and aggressiveness of a tobacco drummer with a tack hammer and a line of good five-cent cigars.

前立面的其余部分厚厚地覆盖着锡制标志，每个标志都是对烟草业和拿着大头钉锤和一排优质五美分雪茄的烟草鼓手的侵略性的纪念。

In the windows were a jumble of spectacles, notions, gilt jewelry, fine and coarse combs.

窗户里堆满了眼镜、观念、镀金珠宝、精致和粗糙的梳子。

They were just stored there, rather than displayed; but this was not too serious a lapse from alert merchandising, since there was no pedestrian traffic to speak of, no strangers to attract, and usually no other store to visit.

它们只是存放在那里，而不是展示；但这并不是严重的商品销售失误，因为没有行人交通可言，没有陌生人可以吸引，通常也没有其他商店可以参观。

Inside, while one adjusted to the change in light, there was a sense of the world’s good things in limitless profusion, long counters down either side, with rounded glass show cases spaced along on top of the counters, the whole length of the side walls lined with drawers, bins and shelves.

在里面，当人们适应光线的变化时，有一种世界上的好东西无限丰富的感觉，两边长长的柜台，圆形玻璃展示柜沿着柜台顶部间隔开，整个侧壁都排列着抽屉、垃圾箱和架子。

Heavy hardware stood at the rear: rakes, hayforks, adzes, scythes.

后面有重型硬件：耙子、干草叉、锛子、镰刀。

Buggy whips hung from the ceiling by a thread.

越野车鞭子用一根线挂在天花板上。

The buyer made a careful selection, jerked his whip free, and it was his.

买主仔细挑选了一下，一甩鞭子，这就是他的了。

The ceiling was largely used for display, or at least storage.

天花板主要用于展示，或者至少是存储。

Corn poppers, lanterns, pails and kitchen ware dangled from hooks and wires.

爆米花、灯笼、桶和厨具挂在钩子和电线上。

Lamp chimneys were racked up on wooden pegs.

灯罩挂在木桩上。

Festoons of dried apples, harness and horse collars all crowded in between the big oil lamps which went up and down on their chains and balances when it was necessary to light up the store or put out the lamps.

干苹果、马具和马项圈等彩饰都挤在大油灯之间，当需要照亮商店或熄灭灯时，大油灯在链条和天平上上下移动。

The whole effect was rather on the dark side.

整个效果相当阴暗。

There were no side windows, which increased the uncertainty of the customer and his sense of confusion.

没有侧窗，增加了顾客的不确定性和困惑感。

In general, the right side of the store might be called the ladies’ department.

一般来说，商店的右侧可能被称为女装部。

Here, toward the front, were ribbons, buttons, braids and fringes.

前面是丝带、纽扣、辫子和流苏。

On the shelves, piece goods by the bolt.

货架上的货物由螺栓固定。

Brass tacks were driven into the time-smoothed counter to mark an exact yard.

将黄铜钉钉入经过时间平滑的计数器中以标记精确的码数。

(“Don’t hold it tip and guess.

（“不要拿着笔尖猜测。

Get down to brass tacks.”) Here too were hooks and eyes, thread, and long black or white women’s hose, the two fashionable colors, year in and year out.

开始吧。”）这里也有钩子、孔眼、线，以及长长的黑色或白色女式长筒袜，这两种时尚颜色，年复一年。

Farther back came the men’s wear: jeans, shirts, shoes, celluloid collars, suspenders and red flannel underwear.

再往后是男装：牛仔裤、衬衫、鞋子、赛璐珞衣领、吊带和红色法兰绒内衣。

At the front, to the left side of the double doors, were the drugs and patent medicines, pipes, tobacco, and the knife for cutting off “eating” tobacco.

前面，双扇门的左侧，放着药品和成药、烟斗、烟草和用来割断“吃”烟草的小刀。

(“Want a five-cent slice, or a ten-cent slice”) Groceries followed in the middle section, with the great wheel of Herkimer County cheese under its wire screen cage, the store fly trap, the kerosene peanut roaster and the coffee grinder.

（“想要一块五美分的切片，或者一块十美分的切片”）中间部分是杂货，铁丝网笼下有赫基默县奶酪的大轮、商店的捕蝇器、煤油花生烘焙机和咖啡研磨机。

Then came china, crockery, the spice cabinets —with soaps, cartridges and shells, shoe blacking and horse medicine tucked into odd corners and wooden drawers.

然后是瓷器、陶器、香料柜——里面有肥皂、墨盒和贝壳、鞋油和马药，塞在奇怪的角落和木抽屉里。

Often the customers could go more directly to a wanted item than the merchant himself, a first faint suggestion of the future opportunities for the self-service store!

通常，顾客可以比商家本人更直接地找到想要的商品，这是自助商店未来机会的第一个模糊暗示！

The tiny facade of the little post office squeezed in as best it could at front or rear, a source of modest revenue but great personal prestige to the storekeeper.

这家小邮局的门面很小，无论是前面还是后面，都尽可能地挤进去，虽然收入不多，但对店主来说却享有很高的个人威望。

It was also a convenient means for checking up on wayward customers who might be tempted by the catalogue “wish books” (“I wish I had a Daisy Air Rifle”) to send a money order off to one of the Chicago mail-order houses.

这也是一种方便的方式来检查那些可能被目录“愿望书”（“我希望我有一把黛西气步枪”）诱惑的任性顾客，将汇票寄到芝加哥的一家邮购公司。

The first and, over the year, the most lasting impression upon the rural family as it entered the store came through the olfactory nerve.

当这个农村家庭走进商店时，这一年来最持久的第一印象来自于嗅觉神经。

There was a fragrance which still stands out in memory above all else.

有一种香味至今仍记忆犹新。

Perhaps it was not exactly a fragrance, but more of an aroma, mellow and substantial.

或许它并不完全是一种香，更多的是一种香气，醇厚而浓郁。

Considering some of its constituent parts, perhaps it was not much an aroma as a smell, the general store smell.

考虑到它的某些组成部分，也许它不是一种香气，而是一种气味，一般商店的气味。

All diarists and oldtimers agree that it was a well-dug-in odor, with lots of authority, a blend made up of the store’s inventory, the customers and the cat.

所有的日记作者和老朋友都同意，这是一种深藏不露的气味，具有很强的权威性，是商店库存、顾客和猫的混合体。

Identifiable still, down memory’s lane, are the contributions of ripe cheese and sauerkraut, sweet pickles, the smell of bright paint on new toys, kerosene, lard and molasses, old onions and potatoes, poultry feed, gun oil, rubber boots, calico, dried fish, coffee, and “kept” eggs.

在记忆中，仍然可以辨认出成熟的奶酪和泡菜、甜泡菜、新玩具上鲜艳的油漆味、煤油、猪油和糖蜜、老洋葱和土豆、家禽饲料、枪油、橡胶靴、印花布、鱼干、咖啡和“保存”的鸡蛋的贡献。

Kept eggs meant—well, it was sort of a technical term.

保留鸡蛋的意思是——嗯，这是一个技术术语。

It meant eggs that should have been shipped off to the city some time ago but weren’t.

这意味着鸡蛋早就应该运到城市了，但没有运到。

Tobacco smoke floated through the store in lazy layers.

烟草烟雾慵懒地层层飘过商店。

A suspicion of corn whiskey rose from among the gentry sitting stove-side.

坐在炉边的绅士们对玉米威士忌产生了怀疑。

Or maybe it was just Hood’s Sarsaparilla.

或者也许只是胡德的菝葜。

Taken daily in generous amounts, either before or alter meals, sarsaparilla enjoyed a great reputation as a tonic and body-builder.

每天在饭前或饭后大量服用，菝葜作为补品和健美剂享有盛誉。

Since it contained sixteen and one-half per cent alcohol, the properties of the medicine were certain to make themselves felt if the patient followed the directions with enough enthusiasm.

由于它含有百分之十六又二分之一的酒精，如果病人以足够的热情遵循指示，那么药物的特性肯定会显现出来。

Only the “general line” store of years ago could have produced so cosmopolitan an odor, permanent the year ‘round, yet accented at Christmas time with spicy winter apples, the smell of oranges and toy paint.

只有多年前的“综合线”商店才能产生如此国际化的气味，全年持续存在，但在圣诞节时会散发出辛辣的冬季苹果、橙子和玩具油漆的气味。

All “boughten” things were fascinating to a rural people who saw but little cash money after they had paid their taxes.

所有“买来”的东西对于农村人来说都是令人着迷的，因为他们在纳税后看到的现金很少。

But surely December was not the month for staples and necessities.

但十二月肯定不是主食和必需品的月份。

There were eleven other months of the year in which to trade for Macbeth Pearl Glass Lamp Chimneys, axle grease.

一年中还有十一个月可以交易麦克白珍珠玻璃灯罩和车轴润滑油。

Dr. Price’s Baking Powder, wash boards, stove polish, J.

Dr. Price 的泡打粉、洗衣板、炉灶抛光剂、J.

& P.

＆P。

Coats’ Spool Cotton Thread, an ax helve, or Pearline (“Pearline is never peddled”).

高士的线轴棉线、斧头或珍珠线（“珍珠线从不兜售”）。

This was not even the time for case-lot purchases of those crispy food novelties—the new patented breakfast foods like Egg-O-See or the Shredded Wheat biscuits that came from the sunlit factory at Niagara Falls.

现在甚至还不是成箱购买那些脆皮新奇食品的时候——新的专利早餐食品，如来自尼亚加拉瀑布阳光明媚的工厂的 Egg-O-See 或碎小麦饼干。

Piper Heidsick Plug Tobacco (“Champagne Flavor”) might be considered by Father; or the oyster crackers left by the new “cracker man” to go with the Chesapeake oysters, seasonally displayed with the head off the barrel.

父亲可能会考虑 Piper Heidick 插塞烟草（“香槟味”）；或者新“饼干人”留下的与切萨皮克牡蛎搭配的牡蛎饼干，季节性地把头从桶中取出来展示。

Peeking in you could actually see the big succulent oysters, shipped in salt water from the distant port of Baltimore.

往里看，你实际上可以看到大而多汁的牡蛎，它们是从遥远的巴尔的摩港口用盐水运来的。

Jelly by the pail would be a good buy that an indulgent father might consider.

对于一个溺爱的父亲来说，桶装果冻可能是一个不错的选择。

A treat for himself would be the popular tie of the year—if the year were 1901, the “King Edward.” He would never buy a moustache cup for himself, but he might like to have one if it appeared on Christmas morning, or even a shaving mug, handsomely embelished with an illustration on its side depicting the life of the farmer.

为自己犒劳一下自己将是今年流行的领带——如果是 1901 年，那就是“爱德华国王”。他永远不会给自己买一个小胡子杯，但如果圣诞节早上出现的话，他可能会想买一个，甚至是一个剃须杯，侧面装饰着一幅描绘农民生活的精美插图。

For Mother there were new dimities, delaines, madras, ginghams and calicoes to be seen, with braids, gimps and passementeries to go with her new Russian-style shirtwaist.

对于母亲来说，有新的装饰，德莱恩、马德拉斯、方格布和印花布，还有辫子、镶边和金边饰物来搭配她新的俄罗斯风格衬衫。

A set of china bedroom crockery would fit out the “spare room” so nicely, particularly if Grandma were to come to live with them.

一套卧室瓷器可以很好地装饰“备用房间”，特别是如果奶奶要来和他们住在一起的话。

It was a day of rich adventure.

这是充满冒险的一天。

Let imagination soar with horn tombs for wings, and a set of yellow nappies for ballast—those cunning little dessert dishes with sloping sides that were all the rage among the polished hostesses of Boston, Cincinnati and St. Louis.

让想象力尽情翱翔，用角墓做翅膀，用一套黄色尿布做压载物——这些巧妙的斜边小甜点盘在波士顿、辛辛那提和圣路易斯的优雅女主人中风靡一时。

It was a big responsibility to raise a daughter who had already showed a strong bent for the decorative arts in saving her father’s cigar bands for a whole year—enough to cover a card tray completely with these colorful examples of tobacco lithography.

养育一个已经对装饰艺术表现出强烈兴趣的女儿是一项重大责任，她花了整整一年的时间保存了父亲的雪茄带——这些彩色的烟草平版画足以将卡片托盘完全覆盖。

Christmas morning must bring more buttons for her “charm string,” already a wondrous long necklace of jet, mother-of-pearl, brass, wooden blanks covered with cloth, enamel buttons with a tiny inset of velvet, and ingenious rakings from the sewing box.

圣诞节早上必须为她的“魅力绳”带来更多纽扣，这条项链已经是一条奇妙的长项链，由黑玉、珍珠母、黄铜、布覆盖的木坯、嵌有小天鹅绒的珐琅纽扣以及缝纫盒中巧妙的耙子组成。

Such a daughter could be counted on to pop the Christmas corn and thread it, until the fluffy white garlands were long enough to drape the tree generously with edible snow.

这样的女儿可以指望爆开圣诞玉米并把它串起来，直到蓬松的白色花环足够长，可以在圣诞树上慷慨地覆盖上可食用的雪。

She always placed the little wax candles on the tree so that they burned with the prettiest effect.

她总是把小蜡烛放在树上，这样它们燃烧起来就会有最漂亮的效果。

Perhaps a mother with such an artistic daughter would be wise to settle upon the pyrography set, and end all indecision.

也许一位拥有如此艺术女儿的母亲会明智地选择烙画套装，从而结束所有的优柔寡断。

Thinking of the younger children, she might use some of the egg money then and there to buy a sack of ginger snaps, or hot peanuts from the fragrant roaster over there.

考虑到年幼的孩子，她可能会用一些鸡蛋钱当场买一袋姜片，或者从那边香喷喷的烤炉里买热花生。

Where, by the way, are the children?

顺便问一下，孩子们在哪里？

Looking at the candy display, of course!

当然是看糖果展示！

Pressing against the counter.

压在柜台上。

Numbering every jar, each safely established on the shelf back against the wall.

对每个罐子进行编号，每个罐子都安全地放在靠墙的架子上。

Each top was a stately pleasure dome sheltering peppermint sticks; or horehound; or rock candy, the crystal clear and the pink kind, each on cotton strings; common and “French” kisses; cigars molded in chocolate or maple sugar; lemon drops, the hard kind, good for sucking; mottoes; jawbreakers; cinnamon red hots; “lickerish” shoe strings; bellyburners, one cent each; and glorious Zanzibars, either lemon or peppermint-flavored, that kept fresh through all weather and in all climates.

每个顶部都是一个庄严的圆顶，里面藏着薄荷棒。或苦薄荷；或者冰糖，晶莹剔透的粉红色的，每颗都挂在棉绳上；常见的“法式”接吻；用巧克力或枫糖模制的雪茄；柠檬滴，硬的，适合吮吸；座右铭；下巴破碎者；肉桂红辣味； “舔舐”鞋带；胃灼热者，每人一分钱；还有美味的桑给巴尔酒，无论是柠檬味还是薄荷味，在任何天气和气候下都能保持新鲜。

Chewing gum?

口香糖？

Step up and name your brand.

站出来为你的品牌命名。

Yucatan, Red Beauty, Mint Julep and Red Star were great favorites.

尤卡坦半岛、红美人、薄荷冰镇酒和红星是最受欢迎的。

But this was only the beginning.

但这只是开始。

When the holiday time approached, more room had to be made by drastic means.

当假期临近时，必须采取激烈手段腾出更多空间。

Carriage bolts, nail kegs and egg crates were pushed aside.

马车螺栓、钉子桶和蛋箱都被推到一边。

The oatmeal barrel was rolled into the back room, without regard for the wishes or comfort of the store cat.

燕麦桶被滚进了后面的房间，不顾店里猫的意愿或舒适度。

They just had to make more room—for toys, watches, tiny knives and forks, wooden soldiers, dolls with china heads and kidskin bodies, linen dogs and cats, to be stuffed and sewed up at home.

他们只需要腾出更多空间来放置玩具、手表、小刀叉、木兵、瓷头娃娃、小羊皮娃娃、亚麻狗和猫，这些东西都可以在家里塞满和缝制。

Tiddledy-winks were tumbled in alongside the new game of Lotto.

与新的乐透游戏一起，眨眼的动作也随之而来。

Articles of the omnipresent “tin” made a brave show.

无所不在的“锡”的文章进行了勇敢的表演。

It was sheet iron, really, brightly plated and painted, fabricated cheaply into millions of horses, rattles, trumpets and trains.

它实际上是一块铁板，镀有明亮的镀层和油漆，廉价地制成了数百万匹马、拨浪鼓、喇叭和火车。

If you were a boy, and older, there were Barlow knives, under glass, unfortunately, with bone handles and two blades, good for mumblety-peg.

如果你是个男孩，或者年龄更大一些，你会发现巴洛刀，不幸的是，在玻璃下面，有骨柄和两个刀片，适合用来做小钉子。

For young hunters, a Stevens single-shot .22 calibre rifle.

对于年轻猎人来说，史蒂文斯单发 0.22 口径步枪。

For wintering pleasantly in the country there were Winslow’s skates, and the light No. 2 steel traps a boy needed to set up his own trap line and grow wealthy.

为了在乡村愉快地过冬，有温斯洛的溜冰鞋，还有男孩需要的轻型 2 号钢陷阱，以建立自己的陷阱线并致富。

For the musically inclined, the stock offered the simple Jew’s harp, harmonicas, or a resplendent guitar.

对于音乐爱好者来说，库存提供简单的犹太竖琴、口琴或华丽的吉他。

While Mother feasted her eyes on gay colors, and ran a rough hand shyly over a modish fascinator that she might look at but hardly possess, Father was engaged with the possibilities of Christmas giving for his wife.

当母亲大饱眼福地欣赏着绚丽的色彩，羞涩地用粗糙的手抚摸她可能会看但几乎没有的时髦头饰时，父亲正忙着为他的妻子提供圣诞礼物。

There was “Hallowed Hymns,” a sound choice, to balance against the scrapbook she needed for her greeting cards, visiting cards, and her growing collection of trade cards, brightly-colored bits of lithographed cardboard which she pored over on the long winter evenings.

《神圣的赞美诗》是一个不错的选择，它可以与她需要的剪贴簿相平衡，这些剪贴簿用于贺卡、名片和她不断增加的贸易卡片收藏，以及她在漫长的冬夜里仔细阅读的色彩鲜艳的平版纸板。

Color printing was a novelty.

彩色印刷是一种新奇事物。

The cards were infinitely desirable, even when frankly commercial.

这些卡片非常令人向往，即使是坦白说是商业性的。

He remembered the one of the Estey Organ Company, showing an angelic but hearty girl-child strumming a harp in a setting not immediately identifiable; but it must have been either Heaven or Brattleboro, Vt.

他记得埃斯蒂管风琴公司的那幅作品，画中一个天使般但热情的女孩在无法立即辨认的环境中弹奏竖琴。但它一定是天堂或佛蒙特州布拉特尔伯勒。

The Estey card was a particular prize because of the Estey reed organ that stood in their own parlor.

埃斯蒂卡是一个特别的奖品，因为他们自己的客厅里有埃斯蒂簧风琴。

She had also a choice series of “girls of all nations” put out by Walter A.

她还选择了 Walter A. 推出的“各国女孩”系列。

Wood, who manufactured reapers at Hoosick Falls, New York.

伍德在纽约胡西克瀑布制造收割机。

Trade cards were all the rage.

贸易卡风靡一时。

Willimantic Thread, B.

意志力线程，B.

T。

Babbitt, J.

巴比特，J.

D .

Larkin & Co., of Buffalo—to name just three from among thousands—contributed to this collecting vogue for popular art blended with commercial puffery.

布法罗的拉金公司（Larkin & Co.，仅举三家）促成了流行艺术与商业吹捧相结合的收藏风潮。

There was a beautiful picture card in every package of McLaughlin’s XXXX Glazed Coffee.

McLaughlin's XXXX Glazed Coffee 的每个包装中都附有一张精美的图卡。

Since there were eighteen designs in the set, the purchase of seventeen more packages of McLaughlin’s was a practical certainty.

由于该系列中有 18 种设计，因此再购买 17 包 McLaughlin 是板上钉钉的事情。

An album was nice for pasting up newspaper poetry if you had enough.

如果你有足够的钱的话，相册很适合用来粘贴报纸上的诗歌。

And Mother had enough.

母亲受够了。

Columns and pages of it, such as the favorite about the old tramp, haled into court and addressing the judge:

其中的专栏和页面，比如最喜欢的关于老流浪汉的文章，猛地走进法庭，向法官讲话：

Whar did I lose my leg?

我怎么失去了一条腿？

At Spottsylvania.

在斯波茨瓦尼亚。

Perhaps you’ve read about that bloody fight.

也许您读过那场血腥的战斗。

But then I guess the story won’t restrain you From doin’ what the laws sets down as right.

但我想这个故事不会阻止你做法律规定的正确的事情。

The sentences is that all your life your camp’ll Be in the best room in my humble home!

这句话是，你的营地将永远在我简陋的家里最好的房间里！

The judge was, inevitably, the crusty old colonel whose life the soldier had saved at Spottsylvania.

法官必然是一位脾气暴躁的老上校，士兵在斯波茨瓦尼亚救了他的命。

Yes, it was a sentimental age, and Mother did not lag behind her times!

是的，那是一个多愁善感的时代，母亲并没有落后于时代！

Since this was a day of reconnaissance.

因为这是侦察的一天。

Father did not make final decisions on major matters.

重大事情父亲并没有做出最终决定。

Just to cover the situation to a degree, he purchased a match safe for the kitchen wall, an almanac for the New Year, and a “dressy comb.” Such slight purchases did not call for unrolling the heavy brown straw wrapping paper, mounted like a roller towel, with a stationary blade that sheared the paper off in the length wanted.

为了在一定程度上弥补这种情况，他买了一个放在厨房墙上的火柴保险箱、一本新年年历和一把“考究的梳子”。购买这些小东西并不需要展开厚重的棕色稻草包装纸，它像毛巾卷一样安装，用固定刀片将纸剪成所需的长度。

There were bags for small articles, with red and blue stripes on them, magazine in a rack overhead.

有一些装小物品的袋子，上面有红蓝条纹，头顶的架子上放着杂志。

The clerk reached them down in a single sweeping motion of the arm and tied them up beside the beehive twine-holder, filled with “Tea Twine,” a nice handy cotton twine.

店员用手臂轻轻一挥，就把它们放下来，把它们绑在蜂箱线架旁边，线架里装满了“茶线”，这是一种很方便的棉线。

Let the eagle scream And buy your goods of F.

让老鹰尖叫并购买你的 F 商品。

Dean Honest Weight And Honest Merchandise.

Dean 诚实的重量和诚实的商品。

Being a man of rectitude in financial matters, and having shared substantially during the crop year in the McKinley Prosperity he had voted for, Father look the occasion to settle his account.

作为一个在财务问题上正直的人，并且在他所投票支持的麦金利繁荣的作物年度中分享了很多，父亲希望有机会结账。

He remembered how he had read in Willard’s Almanac as a boy the advice to the farmer for December: “Settle all your accounts this month; collect what’s due you, if you can; and pay what you owe, which will not be difficult if you have the money.

他记得小时候，他在威拉德年鉴中读到了十二月给农民的建议：“这个月结清你所有的账目；如果可以的话，收回你所欠的钱；并支付你所欠的钱，如果你有钱的话，这并不困难。

Short settlements, it is said, make long friends, and there is nothing like a good start with the year.”

据说，短暂的解决会结交长久的朋友，没有什么比新年的良好开端更好的了。”

It was a deep satisfaction to see written in the store’s great ledger in Father’s own handwriting, the words: “Settled and made even all Book accounts to this date ” followed by the formal ink signatures, the merchant’s and his own.

看到商店的大账本上写着父亲亲笔写下的字样，我感到深深的满足：“迄今为止，所有的帐目都已经结算并记下了”，后面是商人和他自己的正式墨水签名。

Now the new year would begin properly.

现在新的一年就要正式开始了。

By an ancient tradition, it was up to the storekeeper to show his application.

按照古老的传统，由店主展示他的申请。

He scurried jovially.

他兴高采烈地跑来跑去。

Jellybeans for children.

儿童用的软心豆粒糖。

A length ribbon for Mother.

献给母亲的长丝带。

A cigar for the valued customer who was now in the clear, with no debit balance against his name.

为这位尊贵客户提供的雪茄现在已经清清白白，他的名下没有任何借方余额。

A sign over the cigars said “Nine Good Cigars for 25 ¢ ” and Father was duly appreciative.

雪茄上有一个牌子，上面写着“九支好雪茄，25 美分”，父亲对此表示赞赏。

In the simpler country store days, presents ran to something useful, like a pair of warm mittens, or to something catable—candies, nuts, apples, or an orange.

在简单的乡村商店时代，礼物通常是一些有用的东西，比如一双温暖的手套，或者是一些可以吃的东西——糖果、坚果、苹果或橙子。

Yes, an orange.

是的，一个橙子。

Family funds were limited, and so were the stocks at the four-corners store.

家庭资金有限，四角店里的库存也有限。

But all the thrill and magic of Christmas were there, in the planning and choosing, and the giving and receiving.

但圣诞节的所有兴奋和魔力都存在于计划和选择、给予和接受中。

There came a day when the life of each township and hamlet took on a quicker rhythm, and the reason was spelled a-u-t-o.

有一天，每个乡镇和村庄的生活节奏都加快了，原因是“a-u-t-o”。

The car brought the city and the farm so close together there was no room left in between for the old-time country store.

汽车将城市和农场拉得很近，中间没有空间容纳老式的乡村商店。

Small stocks of gift goods grew smaller still, gathering the dust of the passing seasons like Eugene Field’s little tin soldier.

少量的礼品库存变得越来越少，像尤金·菲尔德的小锡兵一样，积满了岁月流逝的灰尘。

There are still stores in the country, of course.

当然，国内还是有商店的。

Groceries, drugs, hardware and the like can still be bought locally, and in very small towns the postoffice may still be tucked away in a store corner, while nostalgic traces of the old regime linger along counters and shelves held over from an earlier day.

杂货、药品、硬件等仍然可以在当地购买，在非常小的城镇中，邮局可能仍然藏在商店的角落里，而旧政权的怀旧痕迹则残留在柜台和货架上。

Yet the store is no longer the self-sufficient center of social and commercial life for an isolated community.

然而，商店不再是一个孤立社区的自给自足的社交和商业生活中心。

But the memory of holiday time at the general store lingers on in fond recollection.

但在杂货店度过的假期时光仍留在美好的回忆中。

To some it is still a warm personal memory.

对于一些人来说，这仍然是一个温暖的个人记忆。

To the rest of us, it is a heritage and a tradition of life in December as it was lived by a majority of Americans before the customers of the general stores had disappeared down the concrete slab that sped like an arrow to the Big Town.

对于我们其他人来说，这是十二月生活的一种遗产和传统，因为在杂货店的顾客消失在像箭一样飞向大城市的混凝土板之前，大多数美国人都过着这种生活。

For over 75 years, American Heritage has chronicled our nation's history like no other publication.

75 年来，《美国遗产》以无与伦比的方式记录了我们国家的历史。

Please support our trusted, non-partisan historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it by donating today.

请通过今天的捐赠来支持我们值得信赖的、无党派的历史写作以及维持它的志愿者。

We rely on contributions from readers like you to survive.

我们依靠像您这样的读者的贡献才能生存。

Donate

捐赠

For 75 years, American Heritage has been the leading magazine of U.S. history, politics, and culture.

75 年来，《美国遗产》一直是美国历史、政治和文化的领先杂志。