名人家书：兰德尔加雷尔致妻子麦凯贾雷尔

you should see me sorting the mail at Ⅱ and 4;i stand in front of an enormous box with about twenty sub-divisions，and flip the letters in，just as if i were hitting a ping-pong backhand.the turnover of labor in the mail room is enormous;about half the ones who were working when i began have been shipped away，and i was glad tosee them go.the head of the mail room，a firstclass private，cares passionately about the mailroom and is always worrying and exhorting;he isvery stupid and rarely can understand anything thefirst time.all the replacements are dumb drivencattle，who don't talk at all compared to the oldgang，and that's a gift from god.

some parts of the work are moderately pleasant;the names，a tenth of them，are queerbeyond belief.then the places they're beingshipped to work on me powerfully，like the christmas store window and the poor child.andsome are very odd：the sea searcb attack group and the prov.engr.airborne regiment，sedalia，knobnoster，mo.ask me no questions for fear ishould reply.one of the funniest forwarding addresses was corporal so-and-so，anti- submarine detachment，exeter apartments，galveston.i suppose he sits on the roof of theapartment with field glasses and a rifle.

the best thing about the mail room is that it'srelatively off to itself and unmilitary.we're littlebothered by officers and non-commissioned officers，both of whom i'm growing to dislikemore and more.this is an illustrative incident：i got paid for the first time yesterday ——it wasobviously my first time.i was supposed to salutethe lieutenant sitting at the table and say，“private jarrell，randall，sir.”i didn't know thatand left off the private;the officer corrected mevery unpleasantly and acted as if i'd committed acrime.

writing the addresses on the envelopes stirsmuch envy in me;peabody college，nashville，andothers to san marcos and all sorts of charming colleges——lucky cadets!what funny names people have：they're a great pleasure to the postalemployee.i'm afraid that as long as i have this job，my letters will suffer.letters about letters(andthe outside of letters at that)aren't a rewarding genre.

how i wish i could see kitten drinking out of the bathtub.i was as surprised as if you'd told mehe'd taken to walking on the ceiling.

we had spareribs for lunch，and i was givensix——and the smallest was about eleven incheslong.there was so much bone i couldn't helpthinking of the boy's remark about education——to have gained so little and have gone through somuch;except i've forgotten how it went.

i think perhaps if i ever have time i can writesome good dreary poems about the army，and thewar;but they won't be printable while i'm in thearmy，and they won't be liked by anybody until the20's——when those return.

even though my job is hard and long，it's stillwonderful not to have the rollcalls，the drill，theaimless waiting and waiting，and all the rest.

i'll write to lambert davis and ask himwhether harcourt brace minds my using“orestes”and five or six poems for a new directions anthology(they can reprint them in my secondbook with them)。if they don't want me to presumably it'll only be because they want another of mine fairly soon.

my，what fun it'll be to think about articlesand poems and books and things after the war.maybe i'll even get industrious，any industry willseem so mild compared to the wicked army.andwhat a paradise of amusements austin willseem——a perfect coney island.

i love you so much，darling，and miss you.i'llwrite you again tomorrow.you're my darling.ilove you.

你应该看看我在11点钟和4点钟分捡邮件的样子，我站在一个巨大的邮箱前，这个邮箱大约有20个分箱，我迅速地把信投进去，就像我在用反手击球法打乒乓球。邮局的员工调换量很大，我开始工作时的那些员工已被换走了一半，我很高兴看到他们离开这里。邮局的主管，是个陆军一等兵，对邮局非常关心，总在担心，并不停地告诫大家。他非常笨，少有听一次就能明白一件事的时候。所有新替换上的人与过去的那帮人相比，都是不说话的任人驱赶的牲口，他们一句话都不说，这真是上帝赐予的礼物。

这个工作的某些部分令人相当愉快：人名，有十分之一的人名奇怪得难以令人置信。还有一些即将送去邮件的地名也令我感到非常有趣，比如：圣诞节商店的橱窗与穷孩子。还有一些非常古怪：海洋搜索攻击小组，工程空降团省，细达里亚，克诺布诺斯特，密苏里。不要向我提问，我怕回答不了。送达地址中最有趣的一个是某某下士，反潜艇舰队，艾希特部，加耳维斯敦，我猜测他正拿着望远镜和步枪坐在公寓的楼顶上。

邮局的最大优点是这里相对空闲些，并且没有武装。军官和军士们几乎不来找我们的麻烦，我越来越不喜欢这些人。还有一件小事：我昨天第一次得到报酬——这显然是第一次。我本该对坐在桌旁的代理官员行礼并说：“列兵贾雷尔·兰德尔，长官”。但我不知道这个规矩，省略掉了“列兵”;长官很不高兴地纠正了我的错误，好像我犯了罪似的。

往信封上写地址常使我感到非常嫉妒：匹博第学院，纳士维，其他寄往圣玛可斯学院和各种各样的好学院——幸运的军校学员!多么有趣的人名：他们是邮局雇员的极大乐趣。恐怕，只要我干这一行，我写的信就会遭罪。因为关于信(以及信的外部)的信不是一种值得写的作品类型。

我多希望能看到小猫在浴缸外喝水的样子。我感到十分吃惊，犹如你告诉我，他喜欢在天花板上行走一样。

我们中午吃了排骨，给了我六根——最短的一根大约有11英寸长。如此多的骨头，使我不禁想起孩子对教育的评论——得到如此之少，而经历如此之多;除非我忘记这个过程。

我想，如果我有时间，我会写一些很好的关于部队和战争的忧郁诗;但这些诗在我的服役期不能发表，它们要到20年代才会受人喜爱——假若时光倒流。

尽管我的工作既辛苦，时间又长，但优点是没有点名、训练、漫无目的的等待、再等待，以及其他所有的一切。

我将写信给兰伯特·戴维斯，问问他，哈考特·布雷斯是否介意我用《奥列斯特》和五、六首诗编一本《新方向》诗集(他们可以在我的第二部书中与它们一起重印)。若他们不愿我这样，那么只可能是因为他们想要我尽快再写其他的诗。

哎，想一想战后的文章、诗歌、书籍和其他的事多么有趣啊。也许我将会更加勤奋，但无论如何勤奋，与令人厌恶的军队相比都是轻松的。奥斯汀看起来将会像一个多么好的天堂——一个完美无缺的蹄兔岛。

亲爱的，我是如此地爱你、想念你。我明天会再给你写信，你是我心爱的人。我爱你。