THE BROWNIES IN THE ACADEMY.

 The Brownies once with capers¹ spry

To an Academy drew nigh,

Which, founded by a generous hand,

Spread light and learning through the land.

The students, by ambition fired,

And men of science had retired²;

So Brownies, through their mystic power,

Now took advantage of the hour.

A battery was soon displayed,

And strange experiments were made;

Electric currents were applied³

 

To meadow-frogs they found inside,

Which sage⁴ professors, nights and days,

Had gathered up, in various ways.

To making pills some turned the mind,

While some to Dentistry inclined,

And aching teeth, both small and large,

Were there extracted free of charge.

 

More gazed where phrenologic charts

Showed heads partitioned off in parts.

Said one: "Let others knowledge gain

Through which to conquer ache and pain,

But by these charts I'll do my best

To learn where Fancy makes her nest."

Another cried, as he surveyed

The bumps that were so well arrayed:

"These heads exhibit, full and clear,

 

Which one to love and whom to fear;

Who is with noble thoughts inspired,

And who with hate or envy fired;

The man as timid as the hare,

The man destructive as the bear.

While choosing partners, one may find

It well to keep these charts in mind."

 

A microscope at length, they found;

And next, the Brownies gathered round

A stereopticon machine

That cast its rays upon a screen.

A thousand times it magnified,

Till, stretching out on every side,

 

An object large and larger spread,

And filled the gazing group with dread⁶.

The locust⁷, beetle⁸, and the bee

Soon gained proportions strange to see,

And seemed like monsters close at hand

To put an end to all the band.

 

Ere long a door was open swung,

To show some skeletons that hung

From hook and peg⁹, which caused a shout

Of fear to rise from those about.

Said one: "Thus Science works its way

Through old remains¹⁰ from day to day;

And those who during life could find

No time, perhaps, to aid mankind,

May, after all, in some such place

For years assist the human race

By giving students, as you see,

Some knowledge of Anatomy¹¹."

At other times, all breathless grouped

O'er crucibles¹², the Brownies stooped

 

To separate, with greatest skill,

The grains which cure from those that kill;

While burning acids, blazes blue,

And odors strong confused the crew.

Cried one: "Through trials hard to bear,

The student must himself prepare,

Though mixing paint, or mixing pill—

Or mixing phrases, if you will—

No careless study satisfies

 

If one would to distinction rise;

The minds that shed from pole to pole

The light of years, as round we roll,

Are first enriched through patient toil¹³,

And kindled¹⁴ by the midnight oil."

 

Thus, spicing logic⁵ with a joke,

They chatted on till morning broke;

And then with wild and rapid race

The Brownie band forsook¹⁵ the place.

1 capers   

n.开玩笑( caper的名词复数 )；刺山柑v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I like to fly about and cut capers. 我喜欢跳跳蹦蹦闹着玩儿。 来自辞典例句
• He always leads in pranks and capers. 他老是带头胡闹和开玩笑。 来自辞典例句

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

5 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

6 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

7 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

8 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

9 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

12 crucibles   

n.坩埚，严酷的考验（ crucible的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Gooch crucibles or similar filters are used for such measurements. 在这样的测定中，采用Gooch坩埚或类似的过滤器。 来自辞典例句
• Have you really measured the world by scrutinies, or through alembics and crucibles? 那么，这是否因为您是从蒸馏器和坩埚上来研究人类的呢？ 来自互联网

13 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

14 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

15 forsook   

forsake的过去式

参考例句：

• He faithlessly forsook his friends in their hour of need. 在最需要的时刻他背信弃义地抛弃朋友。
• She forsook her worldly possessions to devote herself to the church. 她抛弃世上的财物而献身教会。