the complete poetical works-第114部分
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But the foemen fled in the night;
And Rain…in…the…Face; in his flight
Uplifted high in air
As a ghastly trophy; bore
The brave heart; that beat no more;
Of the White Chief with yellow hair。
Whose was the right and the wrong?
Sing it; O funeral song;
With a voice that is full of tears;
And say that our broken faith
Wrought all this ruin and scathe;
In the Year of a Hundred Years。
TO THE RIVER YVETTE
O lovely river of Yvette!
O darling river! like a bride;
Some dimpled; bashful; fair Lisette;
Thou goest to wed the Orge's tide。
Maincourt; and lordly Dampierre;
See and salute thee on thy way;
And; with a blessing and a prayer;
Ring the sweet bells of St。 Forget。
The valley of Chevreuse in vain
Would hold thee in its fond embrace;
Thou glidest from its arms again
And hurriest on with swifter pace。
Thou wilt not stay; with restless feet
Pursuing still thine onward flight;
Thou goest as one in haste to meet
Her sole desire; her head's delight。
O lovely river of Yvette!
O darling stream! on balanced wings
The wood…birds sang the chansonnette
That here a wandering poet sings。
THE EMPEROR'S GLOVE
〃Combien faudrait…il de peaux d'Espagne pour faire un gant de
cette grandeur?〃 A play upon the words gant; a glove; and Gand;
the French for Ghent。
On St。 Baron's tower; commanding
Half of Flanders; his domain;
Charles the Emperor once was standing;
While beneath him on the landing
Stood Duke Alva and his train。
Like a print in books of fables;
Or a model made for show;
With its pointed roofs and gables;
Dormer windows; scrolls and labels;
Lay the city far below。
Through its squares and streets and alleys
Poured the populace of Ghent;
As a routed army rallies;
Or as rivers run through valleys;
Hurrying to their homes they went
〃Nest of Lutheran misbelievers!〃
Cried Duke Alva as he gazed;
〃Haunt of traitors and deceivers;
Stronghold of insurgent weavers;
Let it to the ground be razed!〃
On the Emperor's cap the feather
Nods; as laughing he replies:
〃How many skins of Spanish leather;
Think you; would; if stitched together
Make a glove of such a size?〃
A BALLAD OF THE FRENCH FLEET
OCTOBER; 1746
MR。 THOMAS PRINCE loquitur。
A fleet with flags arrayed
Sailed from the port of Brest;
And the Admiral's ship displayed
The signal: 〃Steer southwest。〃
For this Admiral D'Anville
Had sworn by cross and crown
To ravage with fire and steel
Our helpless Boston Town。
There were rumors in the street;
In the houses there was fear
Of the coming of the fleet;
And the danger hovering near。
And while from mouth to mouth
Spread the tidings of dismay;
I stood in the Old South;
Saying humbly: 〃Let us pray!
〃O Lord! we would not advise;
But if in thy Providence
A tempest should arise
To drive the French fleet hence;
And scatter it far and wide;
Or sink it in the sea;
We should be satisfied;
And thine the glory be。〃
This was the prayer I made;
For my soul was all on flame;
And even as I prayed
The answering tempest came;
It came with a mighty power;
Shaking the windows and walls;
And tolling the bell in the tower;
As it tolls at funerals。
The lightning suddenly
Unsheathed its flaming sword;
And I cried: 〃Stand still; and see
The salvation of the Lord!〃
The heavens were black with cloud;
The sea was white with hail;
And ever more fierce and loud
Blew the October gale。
The fleet it overtook;
And the broad sails in the van
Like the tents of Cushan shook;
Or the curtains of Midian。
Down on the reeling decks
Crashed the o'erwhelming seas;
Ah; never were there wrecks
So pitiful as these!
Like a potter's vessel broke
The great ships of the line;
They were carried away as a smoke;
Or sank like lead in the brine。
O Lord! before thy path
They vanished and ceased to be;
When thou didst walk in wrath
With thine horses through the sea!
THE LEAP OF ROUSHAN BEG
Mounted on Kyrat strong and fleet;
His chestnut steed with four white feet;
Roushan Beg; called Kurroglou;
Son of the road and bandit chief;
Seeking refuge and relief;
Up the mountain pathway flew。
Such was Kyrat's wondrous speed;
Never yet could any steed
Reach the dust…cloud in his course。
More than maiden; more than wife;
More than gold and next to life
Roushan the Robber loved his horse。
In the land that lies beyond
Erzeroum and Trebizond;
Garden…girt his fortress stood;
Plundered khan; or caravan
Journeying north from Koordistan;
Gave him wealth and wine and food。
Seven hundred and fourscore
Men at arms his livery wore;
Did his bidding night and day。
Now; through regions all unknown;
He was wandering; lost; alone;
Seeking without guide his way。
Suddenly the pathway ends;
Sheer the precipice descends;
Loud the torrent roars unseen;
Thirty feet from side to side
Yawns the chasm; on air must ride
He who crosses this ravine。
Following close in his pursuit;
At the precipice's foot;
Reyhan the Arab of Orfah
Halted with his hundred men;
Shouting upward from the glen;
〃La Illah illa Allah!〃
Gently Roushan Beg caressed
Kyrat's forehead; neck; and breast;
Kissed him upon both his eyes;
Sang to him in his wild way;
As upon the topmost spray
Sings a bird before it flies。
〃O my Kyrat; O my steed;
Round and slender as a reed;
Carry me this peril through!
Satin housings shall be thine;
Shoes of gold; O Kyrat mine;
O thou soul of Kurroglou!
〃Soft thy skin as silken skein;
Soft as woman's hair thy mane;
Tender are thine eyes and true;
All thy hoofs like ivory shine;
Polished bright; O; life of mine;
Leap; and rescue Kurroglou!〃
Kyrat; then; the strong and fleet;
Drew together his four white feet;
Paused a moment on the verge;
Measured with his eye the space;
And into the air's embrace
Leaped as leaps the ocean surge。
As the ocean surge o'er sand
Bears a swimmer safe to land;
Kyrat safe his rider bore;
Rattling down the deep abyss
Fragments of the precipice
Rolled like pebbles on a shore。
Roushan's tasselled cap of red
Trembled not upon his head;
Careless sat he and upright;
Neither hand nor bridle shook;
Nor his head he turned to look;
As he galloped out of sight。
Flash of harness in the air;
Seen a moment like the glare
Of a sword drawn from its sheath;
Thus the phantom horseman passed;
And the shadow that he cast
Leaped the cataract underneath。
Reyhan the Arab held his breath
While this vision of life and death
Passed above him。 〃Allahu!〃
Cried he。 〃In all Koordistan
Lives there not so brave a man
As this Robber Kurroglou!〃
HAROUN AL RASCHID
One day; Haroun Al Raschid read
A book wherein the poet said:
〃Where are the kings; and where the rest
Of those who once the world possessed?
〃They're gone with all their pomp and show;
They're gone the way that thou shalt go。
〃O thou who choosest for thy share
The world; and what the world calls fair;
〃Take all that it can give or lend;
But know that death is at the end!〃
Haroun Al Raschid bowed his head:
Tears fell upon the page he read。
KING TRISANKU
Viswamitra the Magician;
By his spells and incantations;
Up to Indra's realms elysian
Raised Trisanku; king of nations。
Indra and the gods offended
Hurled him downward; and descending
In the air he hung suspended;
With these equal powers contending。
Thus by aspirations lifted;
By misgivings downward driven;
Human hearts are tossed and drifted
Midway between earth and heaven。
A WRAITH IN THE MIST
〃Sir; I should build me a fortification; if I
came to live here。〃 BOSWELL'S Johnson。
On the green little isle of Inchkenneth;
Who is it that walks by the shore;
So gay with his Highland blue bonnet;
So brave with his targe and claymore?
His form is the form of a giant;
But his face wears an aspect of pain;
Can this be the Laird of Inchkenneth?
Can this be Sir Allan McLean?
Ah; no! It is only the Rambler;
The Idler; who lives in Bolt Court;
And who says; were he Laird of Inchkenneth;
He would wall himself round with a fort。
THE THREE KINGS
Three Kings came riding from far away;
Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar;
Three Wise Men out of the East were they;
And they travelled by night and they slept by day;
For their guide was a beautiful; wonderful star。
The star was so beautiful; large; and clear;
That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere;
And by this they knew that the coming was near
Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy。
Three caskets they bore on their saddle…bows;
Three caskets of gold with golden keys;
Their robes were of crimson silk with rows
Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows;
Their turbans like blossoming almond…trees。
And so the Three Kings rode into the West;
Through the dusk of night; over hill and dell;
And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast
And sometimes talked; as they paused to rest;
With the people they met at some wayside well。
〃Of the child that is born;〃 said Baltasar;
〃Good people; I pray you; tell us the news;
For we in the East have seen his star;
And have ridden fast; and have ridden far;
To find and worship the King of the Jews。〃
And the people answered; 〃You ask in vain;
We know of no king but Herod the Great!〃
They thought the Wise Men were men insane;
As they spurred their horses