Imagine hearing only the clip of your heels on the squares of Covent Garden2. If Charles Babbage3 had had his way in 1864 then a walk through town might have been eerily quiet today.
　　Babbage， the philosopher and mathematician credited with inventing the first design for a mechanical computer， was extremely averse4 to street music. At the time the streets were， he said， wrought with “the most discordant noises.”5 He dedicated an entire chapter of a book to his thoughts on these“instruments of torture，” describing the detrimental6 effects of buskers on the inhabitants of London. Busking， he said， “robs the industrious man of his time； it annoys the musical man by its intolerable badness； it irritates the invalid.”7
　　He appeared in court to make noise about noise and wrote several letters to The Times expressing his contempt of street music. He was already well-known for being fastidious8. Seven years before his attack on the sounds from the street， he launched an in-depth investigation into the way each of one factory’s 464 panes9 of glass came to be broken.
　　It may come as no surprise to learn that his impassioned musings on street music were met with musicians “of various tastes” playing “worn-out or damaged wind instruments” at his window under the instructions of his revenge-seeking neighbours.10
　　Babbage’s attempt was one of two significant movements against street music in 1864. The second was put forward by the aptly named Michael Thomas Bass， MP11. He tried to put his “Act for the Better Regulation of Street Music in the Metropolis” through parliament and rallied support from influential figures including Alfred Tennyson， John Everett Millais， Wilkie Collins and，12 notably， Charles Dickens， who penned the letter that led the signatures of objection to street music.
　　Dickens’ objections to public performance did not however extend to readings of his own work. A year before his letter to parliament， Dickens read A Christmas Carol to a crowd of 2000 working-class people in a town hall in Birmingham. He was a great performer who relished13 every moment on stage. His readings created mass hysteria14 with audience members reportedly fainting during his shows. He described the thrill of reading before an audience and said it made him feel like “a giant refreshed.”
　　The power of an appreciative audience is one that has continued over the years. It is a symbiotic15 relationship， as musician Leo Humphries tells me： “I found busking to be quite scary at first. It feels like you’re breaking an unwritten rule of society. But as soon as someone gives you 20 pence， it vindicates16 you. You feel you’re supposed to be there， and it becomes incredibly fun. It’s very nice to be playing a song and see enjoyment on the faces of people you don’t know. The feeling of connection you get with strangers is not something you get in everyday life—especially in London， where eye contact with strangers feels like a transgression17.” And musical talent is richly rewarded： “Someone once gave me ￡20 for playing ‘Lola’by The Kinks18.” 　　但是，下面这话，或许巴贝奇、巴斯和狄更斯听到会倍感欣慰：如今要想在伦敦地铁站当个艺人，得先通过一场严格的试演。经过激烈的竞争后，才能获得执照。伦敦交通局规定：“进入候选阶段后，每位街头艺人都得在某个地铁站台里，面对由三人组成的评审团进行现场演出。表演曲目有两首（一首自选，另一首由评审团从规定曲目中抽取）。评审员主要从表演曲目、音乐才能、专业技巧和演出表现四个方面评分。一旦通过，即可获得为期12个月的地铁表演许可。”
　　去年有超过600位音乐人士参加了试演，只有70人获得了执照。所以不必怀疑，在地铁里演奏可比跟着手风琴的节拍跺跺脚难多了。
　　给街头艺人小费的方式也在改变。伦敦是世界上第一个引入非接触式磁卡支付方案的城市。此举是否会影响给现金的小费呢？在科文特加登表演的女高音歌唱家塞亚·奈特告诉我：“年轻人更愿意用刷卡机刷掉几镑，但是老年人觉得这样有点侮辱人，所以更愿意给现金。”
　　当然，不管你是愿意听硬币碰到吉他盒的脆响，还是刷卡机的滴滴声，真正重要的还是在一旁响起的美好音乐。
　　1. Charles Dickens： 查尔斯·狄更斯（1812—1870），英国批判现实主义小说家；busker： 街头艺人。
　　2. Covent Garden： 科文特加登，伦敦的一处广场，以经营历三个世纪之久的水果蔬菜市场而闻名，如今已成为剧院、酒吧、咖啡馆、手工艺品市场、服装店的汇集之地，也是一个著名的街头表演地点。
　　3. Charles Babbage： 查尔斯·巴贝奇（1792—1871），英国数学家和发明家，现代自动计算机的创始人。
　　4. averse： 反对的，嫌恶的。
　　5. wreak： 造成严重破坏；discordent：（声音）刺耳的，不和谐的。
　　6. detrimental： 有危害的。
　　7. industrious： 勤劳的，勤奋的；invalid：病人，伤残者。
　　8. fastidious： 挑剔的，过分讲究的。
　　9. pane： （窗户或门上的）一块玻璃。
　　10. impassioned： 充满激情的；musing：沉思，冥想；wind instrument： 管乐器。
　　11. MP： Member of Parliament，议员。
　　12. Alfred Tennyson： 艾尔弗雷德·丁尼生（1809—1892），英国维多利亚时代的杰出诗人；John Everett Millais：约翰·埃弗里特·密莱司（1829—1896），英国画家；Wilkie Collins：威尔基·科林斯（1824—1889），英国小说家，著名神秘故事作家。
　　13. relish： 享受，喜欢。
　　14. hysteria： 歇斯底里。
　　15. symbiotic： 共生的。
　　16. vindicate： 证明……正确。
　　17. transgression： 违法，罪过。
　　18. The Kinks： 奇想乐队，是活跃于20世纪六七十年代的英国摇滚乐队。
　　19. attest： 表明，证明。
　　20. repertoire： 全部曲目。
　　21. accordion： 手風琴。
　　22. soprano： 女高音；quid： 一英镑。
　　23. percussive： 敲击的，撞击的；chink：叮当声；beep： 嘟嘟声，滴滴声。