Ere long we discern the promontory of Trafalgar stretching into the Atlantic—a spot hallowed by what, in the estimation of Englishmen, is certainly the most of all the events which have made this corner of Europe famous in ancient and in modem story.
不久后我們就看到了一直延伸到大西洋的特拉法加海角，據(jù)英國(guó)人猜測(cè)，毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)正是這些使得歐洲這一小小的角落成為從古至今的著名之地的事件讓其變得神圣。
On the south, the lonely headland of Cape Spartel rises from the African coast above the Atlantic waters; and to the east of it may be seen the white buildings of Tangier, a city of Phoenician origin, and of note in the times of the Romans. Seized in 1457 by the Portuguese, Tangier was by them ceded to England in 1662, along with Bombay, as part of the dower of Catherine of Braganza, when she became queen of Charles II. It proved so useless and so expensive a possession, however, owing to the constant attacks of the Moons, that it was very soon abandoned to them, and they at once set about repairing the costly works which the English had dismantled at their departure. In this region, according to ancient fable, the Hesperides—daughters of the evening star—had their famous gardens, whose golden apples Hercules ruthlessly carried off.
南邊，斯帕特爾那孤獨(dú)的海角從非洲海岸升起高出大西洋水面，東邊，可以看到丹吉爾的白色建筑，那里是腓尼基人的起源地，而那種白色建筑在羅馬時(shí)代享有盛譽(yù)。丹吉爾于1457年被葡萄牙人占領(lǐng)，后又于1662年被葡萄牙人割讓給英國(guó)，連同孟買一起，作為凱瑟琳成為查理二世的王后時(shí)布拉干薩王朝的部分陪嫁。但是由于受到穆恩思的不斷攻擊，丹吉爾被證明是無(wú)用且昂貴的財(cái)產(chǎn)，所以很快又被遺棄給他們，他們則立即著手修理英國(guó)人離開(kāi)時(shí)拆除的那些昂貴的工程。根據(jù)古老的傳說(shuō)，在這里，赫斯珀里得斯——長(zhǎng)庚星的女兒們，有著自己著名的花園，而花園里的金蘋果被赫拉克勒斯無(wú)情地帶走了。
We are now fairly within the renowned strait which was regarded by the ancients with so much awe as the remote boundary of their world, beyond which all was mystery and fable. On our left are the green hills of Spain, swelling into lofty mountains not far from the shore, with here and there a white village or a picturesque watch-tower. By-and-by we get a glimpse of the mouldering and forlorn ramparts of Tarifa, the most thoroughly Moorish town in Spain, and the most southern in Europe. From this point the Vandals were driven across to Africa by the Goths in 417 A. D. At this point Tarif, a great Moorish general, after whom Tarifa is named, landed with his army in 711, when he came to conquer the Goths and establish the Moorish kingdom in Spain. Here, finally, Alfonzo XI. overthrew the Moors in a decisive action in 1340. Tarifa is a quaint old town, with its island fortress and lighthouse—fitting memento of the fierce struggles in which the inhabitants of the opposing shores engaged.
我們此時(shí)還算處在這片著名的海峽之中，古人十分敬重這片海峽，因?yàn)樗麄冋J(rèn)為這里是世界的遙遠(yuǎn)邊界，而邊界之外的一切都是神秘的、夢(mèng)幻的。我們的左邊是西班牙郁郁蔥蔥的山丘，山丘綿延不絕，直至涌入海岸不遠(yuǎn)處那片高聳的群山。此外，這里到處都是白色的村莊或者風(fēng)景如畫的瞭望塔。之后，我們又瞥到了塔里法的那些被遺棄的破敗的城墻，塔里法是西班牙摩爾人居住最多的一個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)，位于歐洲最南邊。公元417年，汪達(dá)爾人被哥特人驅(qū)趕到非洲。而塔利夫，一位偉大的摩爾將軍，塔里法便是以他的名字命名，他于711年帶著軍隊(duì)來(lái)到這里，征服了哥特人并在西班牙建立了摩爾王國(guó)。最后，阿方索十一于1340年又一舉推翻了摩爾人。塔里法是一個(gè)古色古香的古老城鎮(zhèn)，島上的堡壘和燈塔則是海岸兩邊居民進(jìn)行過(guò)的激烈斗爭(zhēng)的見(jiàn)證。
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