三代緣

第一章:我與英千里

一、義父英伯

   

     1949年,我隨父母由大陸遷居台灣,遇到英伯伯時,我們都住在台大校園內臨時宿舍。天真無邪的我,特受英伯伯的寵愛。我也只覺得英伯伯好,喜歡往他房間裡跑。起初我並不知道英伯伯是何許人物,聽人說他很有學問,是偉大的教育家,是轟轟烈烈的抗日英雄,但這些對稚齡的我並不重要,重要的是,英伯伯總是為我留著我喜愛的三貓牌香煙盒的圖片。


拿著英伯伯的煙盒 

英伯伯最喜歡小孩,小孩也都喜歡和他親近。每天從外面回到宿舍,四鄰的孩子們,不論是教授的或是車夫的,一擁而上;一把鼻涕,一把泥巴,圍住英伯伯,你一聲「爺爺」他一聲「公公」,英伯伯總是像聖誕老人那樣慈祥,「好孩,好孩」的應著叫個不停。

 

記得臺灣初有電視時,英伯伯就以分期付款的方式,買了一臺電視機,但除國劇外,他很少看其他節目,可是每天晚上,他客廳地板上,卻擠滿了街坊鄰居的小孩,圍著看電視,時而嘻嘻哈哈,時而哭哭啼啼。在一旁的大人們,偶爾看不過去,就說:「英爺爺要看書,寫作,身體又不好,他要安靜,你們不許吵鬧,吵鬧的出去!」英伯伯卻說:「沒關係,我照吃!照睡!照看書,讓他們看好了,孩子們看電視多好啊!」這種喜愛小孩子的情懷,不但是出於他純誠摯愛的天性,也發於他「幼吾幼以及人之幼」的德行。

 

我不知道他為何特別喜愛我?是「緣分」?還是上帝的安排?是他想念淪陷在大陸的女兒?現在自己身為祖母級了,看孫輩們都好可愛,沒有半點虛偽客套,想想當年的我,大概也這樣惹英伯伯喜歡。只要爸爸媽媽一罵我,我就找英伯伯做擋箭牌,作避難所,無論何時受了委屈,我就找他訴苦,他總是給我無限的憐愛和溫情,拉拉我粗黑辮子,拍拍我說:「妞妞,別難過了,週末帶你去下小館,看電影」。他可是一諾千金,說話算話的大人,我帶著那一抹溫馨的親情滿意的離去

 

因為英伯伯常帶我外出,別人老問他,我是誰,他為免麻煩,就說我是他的乾女兒。實際上,我一直像親女兒一樣在他身邊,也可以說我是在英伯伯的關照和呵護下長大的。可是我還是一直叫他英伯伯,他叫我「妞妞」!「小韓」!「拱辰」!小時候跟著他吃吃玩玩,稍長,聽他講故事,再大些又加上聽他講書,由「圓桌武士」到「荷馬史詩」….

 

  小時候,我總是感冒,媽媽決定把我扁桃腺割掉。開刀後,又悶又痛地躺在床上,突然英伯伯出現在床頭,「妞妞,痛嗎?看!我給你帶什麼好吃的來了?」 「冰淇淋!」我邊吃邊很認真、很擔心的問:「您什麼時候要回北平?」他知道我總怕他想家,隨時會要回北平,他笑笑,輕緩的說,「你放心,我走時一定會帶妳走的。」我接著問 :「可是你已經有七個小孩了,英伯母會喜歡我嗎?其他的兄弟姐妹都那麼聰明,我那麼笨,怎麼辦?」英伯伯笑端詳我說:「你英伯母氣度最大,心最好。放心吧,每個人都會喜歡妳的。」後來我發現雖然他們已經有這麼多小孩了,還會收養成雙成對的孤兒 ,因為英伯母是主管香山孤兒院的,不知當時的日子是怎麼過的?他們一定有很多的幫手,否則怎麼照顧得過來?

那天英伯伯接著興奮的告訴我:「你可知道強麗要有小狗了,生了小狗,你可抱一個回來。開心嗎?」當然開心了,我就想要個狗。小狗取名叫Johnny。好可愛,好聰明,是真的很聰明。它聽得懂我們的話。記得我只跟媽媽輕聲說了要給它洗個澡,根本沒提名字,它馬上就躲起來了。我問它要不要到英伯伯家去看它的媽媽,它會很高興的直搖尾巴,急著往外走,去它溫州街的娘家。它一直陪著我長大...

 

高中穿軍服和英伯伯合影 

英伯伯喜歡教我唱歌,在公園裏, 樹蔭下,唱那些當年愛爾蘭民謠古調。其中有一首愛爾蘭歌叫《Galway Bay》(戈爾韋灣) 歌詞大意是寫一個年輕人,小時候從愛爾蘭移民到芝加哥,當他老了,想家時的心情。 唱出了當年妻離子散,有家歸不得的孤淒與無奈。

 

Galway Bay (Irish)

 

It’s far away, where I am today,

From since I roamed a boy,

Long ago, the time I know, when I first saw Illinois,

But no time nor tide nor water wide,

Can take my heart away---

For ever true, it remains to you---

My own dear Galway Bay,

Had I blood, and youthful mood, and heart on fire once more,

For all the gold, the world might hold,

I’d never quit your shore,

I’d live content with whatever god sent

Amongst neighbors old and gray---

And lay my bone near the churchyard stone

Beside your galway bay.

 

當他唱《在黃昏中漫步》時他的聲音裡有舊日時光的味道。我從英伯伯那茫然的眼神裡,知道他又神遊到那遙遠的愛爾蘭,那裡曾經有一位很可愛的愛爾蘭姑娘,那是他的初戀。

 

Roamin' in the Gloamin’ (Irish)

 

       Roaming in the gloaming on the bonnie banks o’ Clyde,

Roaming in the gloaming with a lassie by your side,

When the sun goes down west that’s the moment we love best,

Roaming in the gloaming…

In the gloaming

 

      英伯伯教我英文文法假設語時subjunctive mood),教我了一首歌《If you were the only girl in the world, and I am the only boy假如妳是世界上唯一的女孩, 我是世界上唯一個男孩這是不可能的事不就是假設語嗎我學會了這首歌也理解了假設語。這首歌是這樣唱的:

 

If you were the only girl in the world

 

If you were the only girl in the world

And you were the only boy

Nothing else would matter in this world today

We could go on loving in the same old way

A Garden of Eden just made for two

With nothing to mar our joy

I could say such wonderful things to you

There would be such wonderful things to do

If you were the only girl in the world

And you were the only boy

 

Bantry Bay (Irish)

 

As I'm sitting all alone in the gloaming,

It might have been but yesterday

That we watched the fisher sails all homing

Till the little herring fleet at anchor lay.

Then the fisher girls with baskets a swinging,

Came running down the old stone way.

Every lassie to her sailor lad was singing

A welcome to Bantry Bay

 

One Day When We Were Young 

 

One day when we were young,

One wonderful morning in May,

You told me, you loved me,

When we were young one day,

You told me ,you loved me,

And held me close to your heart,

We laughed then ,we cried then,

Then came the time to part,

When songs of spring are sung,

Remenber that morning in May,

Remember- you loved me

When we were young one day.

 

還有一首美麗幽怨的蘇格蘭民謠是詩人羅伯特奔士(Robert Burns)寫的《友誼地久天長》Auld Lang Syne)成了流傳在世界無數人的腦海裡的「驪歌」。不論畢業典禮到喪禮都聽得到。也成了《魂斷藍橋》中的經典歌曲。到美後,每到歲尾年終時,在電視前看着纽约《時代廣場》倒數計時的水晶球往下掉,隨著喝采聲,飄逸出第一個優美的旋律,Should auld acquaintance be forgot /And never brought to mind ,舊日朋友豈能相忘,友誼地久天長...彷彿心靈深深地被拖進那遙遠的童年,又讓我聽到英伯伯那略帶沙啞的聲音,耐心的,一個字一個字,不厭其煩的解釋給我聽。我記憶力很糟,可是小時候他教我的幾隻歌,卻永生難忘。每當我開心的時候,每當我難過的時候,每當我催孩子睡覺的時候, 我都會不由己的哼著這些老歌,有種貼心貼肺的親切!      

 

Auld Lang Syne  (Scottish)

    Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld langsyne!

For auld langsyne, my dear,

For auld langsyne,

We’ll take a cup of kindness yet

For auld langsyne,

We two have paddled in the brook

From morning sun till dine,

But seas between us broad have roar’d

Since auld lang syn.

Tags: 英千里,義父,韓拱辰,台大宿舍,One Day When We Were Young,在黃昏中漫步