the home book of verse-4-第22部分
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It's a horror to think of。 And so; the villa for me; not the city!
Beggars can scarcely be choosers: but still … ah; the pity; the pity!
Look; two and two go the priests; then the monks with cowls and sandals;
And the penitents dressed in white skirts; a…holding the yellow candles;
One; he carries a flag up straight; and another a cross with handles;
And the Duke's guard brings up the rear; for the better prevention
of scandals。
Bang…whang…whang; goes the drum; tootle…te…tootle the fife。
Oh; a day in the city…square; there is no such pleasure in life!
Robert Browning '1812…1889'
ALL SAINTS'
In a church which is furnished with mullion and gable;
With altar and reredos; with gargoyle and groin;
The penitents' dresses are sealskin and sable;
The odor of sanctity's eau…de…cologne。
But only could Lucifer; flying from Hades;
Gaze down on this crowd with its paniers and paints;
He would say; as he looked at the lords and the ladies;
〃Oh; where is All Sinners' if this is All Saints'?〃
Edmund Yates '1831…1894'
AN ADDRESS TO THE UNCO GUID; OR THE RIGIDLY RIGHTEOUS
My son; these maxims make a rule;
And lump them aye thegither:
The Rigid Righteous is a fool
The Rigid Wise anither:
The cleanest corn that e'er was dight
May hae some pyles o' caff in;
Sae ne'er a fellow…creature slight
For random fits o' daffin。
Solomon … Eccles。 vii。 16。
Oh ye wha are sae guid yoursel';
Sae pious and sae holy;
Ye've naught to do but mark and tell
Your neebor's fauts and folly: …
Whase life is like a weel…gaun mill;
Supplied wi' store o' water;
The heaped happer's ebbing still;
And still the clap plays clatter。
Hear me; ye venerable core;
As counsel for poor mortals
That frequent pass douce Wisdom's door;
For glaikit Folly's portals!
I; for their thoughtless; careless sakes;
Would here propone defences;
Their donsie tricks; their black mistakes;
Their failings and mischances。
Ye see your state wi' theirs compared;
And shudder at the niffer;
But cast a moment's fair regard;
What maks the mighty differ?
Discount what scant occasion gave
That purity ye pride in;
And (what's aft mair than a' the lave)
Your better art o' hidin'。
Think; when your castigated pulse
Gies now and then a wallop;
What ragings must his veins convulse;
That still eternal gallop:
Wi' wind and tide fair i' your tail;
Right on ye scud your sea…way; …
But in the teeth o' baith to sail;
It makes an unco lee…way。
See Social Life and Glee sit down;
All joyous and unthinking;
Till; quite transmugrified; they've grown
Debauchery and Drinking:
Oh; would they stay to calculate
The eternal consequences;
Or your more dreaded hell to state;
Damnation of expenses!
Ye high; exalted; virtuous dames;
Tied up in godly laces;
Before ye gie poor Frailty names;
Suppose a change o' cases;
A dear…loved lad; convenience snug;
A treacherous inclination; …
But; let me whisper i' your lug;
Ye're aiblins nae temptation。
Then gently scan your brother man;
Still gentler sister woman;
Though they may gang a kennin' wrang;
To step aside is human:
One point must still be greatly dark;
The moving why they do it;
And just as lamely can ye mark
How far perhaps they rue it。
Who made the heart; 'tis He alone
Decidedly can try us;
He knows each chord; … its various tone;
Each spring; … its various bias:
Then at the balance let's be mute;
We never can adjust it;
What's done we partly may compute;
But know not what's resisted。
Robert Burns '1759…1796'
THE DEACON'S MASTERPIECE; OR THE WONDERFUL 〃ONE…HOSS SHAY〃
A Logical Story
Have you heard of the wonderful one…hoss shay;
That was built in such a logical way
It ran a hundred years to a day;
And then; of a sudden; it … ah; but stay;
I'll tell you what happened without delay;
Scaring the parson into fits;
Frightening people out of their wits; …
Have you ever heard of that; I say?
Seventeen hundred and fifty…five。
Georgius Secundus was then alive; …
Snuffy old drone from the German hive。
That was the year when Lisbon…town
Saw the earth open and gulp her down;
And Braddock's army was done so brown;
Left without a scalp to its crown。
It was on the terrible Earthquake…day
That the Deacon finished the one…hoss shay。
Now in building of chaises; I tell you what;
There is always somewhere a weakest spot; …
In hub; tire; felloe; in spring or thill;
In panel; or crossbar; or floor; or sill;
In screw; bolt; thoroughbrace; … lurking still;
Find it somewhere you must and will; …
Above or below; or within or without; …
And that's the reason; beyond a doubt;
That a chaise breaks down; but doesn't wear out。
But the Deacon swore (as Deacons do;
With an 〃I dew vum;〃 or an 〃I tell yeou;〃)
He would build one shay to beat the taown
'N' the keounty 'n' all the kentry raoun';
It should be so built that it couldn' break daown:
〃Fur;〃 said the Deacon; 〃't's mighty plain
Thut the weakes' place mus' stan' the strain;
'N' the way t' fix it; uz I maintain;
Is only jest
T' make that place uz strong uz the rest。〃
So the Deacon inquired of the village folk
Where he could find the strongest oak;
That couldn't be split nor bent nor broke; …
That was for spokes and floor and sills;
He sent for lancewood to make the thills;
The crossbars were ash; from the straightest trees;
The panels of white…wood; that cuts like cheese;
But lasts like iron for things like these;
The hubs of logs from the 〃Settler's ellum;〃 …
Last of its timber; … they couldn't sell 'em;
Never an axe had seen their chips;
And the wedges flew from between their lips;
Their blunt ends frizzled like celery…tips;
Step and prop…iron; bolt and screw;
Spring; tire; axle; and linchpin too;
Steel of the finest; bright and blue;
Thoroughbrace bison…skin; thick and wide;
Boot; top; dasher; from tough old hide
Found in the pit when the tanner died。
That was the way he 〃put her through。〃
There! said the Deacon; 〃naow she'll dew!〃
Do! I tell you; I rather guess
She was a wonder; and nothing less!
Colts grew horses; beards turned gray;
Deacon and deaconess dropped away;
Children and grandchildren … where were they?
But there stood the stout old one…hoss shay
As fresh as on Lisbon…earthquake…day!
EIGHTEEN HUNDRED; … it came and found
The Deacon's masterpiece strong and sound。
Eighteen hundred increased by ten;
〃Hahnsum kerridge〃 they called it then。
Eighteen hundred and twenty came; …
Running as usual; much the same。
Thirty and Forty at last arrive;
And then come Fifty; and Fifty…Five。
Little of all we value here
Wakes on the morn of its hundredth year
Without both feeling and looking queer。
In fact; there's nothing that keeps its youth;
So far as I know; but a tree and truth。
(This is a moral that runs at large;
Take it。 … You're welcome。 … No extra charge。)
FIRST OF November; … the Earthquake…day; …
There are traces of age in the one…hoss shay。
A general flavor of mild decay;
But nothing local; as one may say。
There couldn't be; … for the Deacon's art
Had made it so like in every part
That there wasn't a chance for one to start。
For the wheels were just as strong as the thills;
And the floor was just as strong as the sills;
And the panels just as strong as the floor;
And the whipple…tree neither less nor more;
And the back…crossbar as strong as the fore;
And spring and axle and hub encore。
And yet; as a whole; it is past a doubt
In another hour it will be worn out!
First of November; Fifty…five!
This morning the parson takes a drive。
Now; small boys; get out of the way!
Here comes the wonderful one…hoss shay;
Drawn by a rat…railed; ewe…necked bay。
〃Huddup!〃 said the parson。 … Off went they。
The parson was working his Sunday's text;…
Had got to fifthly; and stopped perplexed
At what the … Moses … was coming next。
All at once the horse stood still;
Close by the meet'n'…house on the hill。
First a shiver; and then a thrill;
Then something decidedly like a spill; …
And the parson was sitting upon a rock;
At half past nine by the meet'n'…house clock; …
Just the hour of the Earthquake shock!
What do you think the parson found;
When he got up and stared around?
The poor old chaise in a heap or mound;
As if it had been to the mill and ground!
You see; of course; if you're not a dunce;
How it went to pieces all at once; …
All at once; and nothing first; …
Just as bubbles do when they burst。
End of the wonderful one…hoss shay。
Logic is logic。 That's all I say。
Oliver Wendell Holmes '1809…1894'
BALLADE OF A FRIAR
After Clement Marot
Some ten or twenty times a day;
To bustle to the town with speed;
To dabble in what dirt he may; …
Le Frere Lubin's the man you need!
But any sober life to lead
Upon an exemplary plan;
Requires a Christian indeed; …
Le Frere Lubin is not the man!
Another's wealth on his to lay;
With all the craft of guile and greed;
To leave you bare of pence or pay; …
Le Frere Lubin's the man you need!
But watch him with the closest heed;
And dun him with what force you can; …
He'll not refund; howe'er you plead; …
Le Frere Lubin is not the man …
An honest girl to lead astray;
With subtle saw and promised meed;
Requires no cunning crone and gray; …
Le Frere Lubin's the man you need!
He preaches an ascetic creed;
But; … try him with the water can …
A dog will drink; whate'er his breed; …
Le Frere Lubin is not the man!
ENVOY
In good to fail; in ill succeed;
Le Frere Lubin's the man you need!
In honest works to lead the van;
Le Frere Lubin is not the man!
Andrew Lang '1844…1912'
THE CHAMELEON
Oft has it been my lot to mark
A proud; conceited; talking spark;