FANNY WILLOUGHBY.

 “I love thee, Fanny Willoughby,

And that’s the why, ye see,

I woo thee, Fanny Willoughby,

And cannot let thee be,—

I sing for thee, I sigh for thee,

And O! you may depend on’t,

I’ll weep for thee, I’ll die for thee,

And that will be the end on’t.

“I love thy form so tall and straight,

To me it always seems,

As if it were the counterfeit¹

Of some I’ve seen in dreams,—

It makes me feel as if I had

An angel by my side,

And then I think I am so bad,

You will not be my bride.

“I love thy clear and hazel eye—

They say the blue is fairer,

And I confess that formerly²

I thought the blue the rarer,—

But when I saw thine eye so clear,

Though perfectly³ at rest,

I did kneel down, and I did swear

The hazel was the best.

“I love thy hand so pale and soft,

The which, in days lang syne⁴,

Ye innocent as trusting, oft

Would softly clasp in mine;

I thought it sure was chiseled⁵ out

Of marble by the geniuses,

The which the poets rant⁶ about,

The virgins⁷ and the Venuses.

“I love the sounds that from thy lip

Gush⁸ holily and free,

As rills that from their caverns⁹ slip,

And prattle¹⁰ to the sea;

The melody for aye doth steal

To hearts by sorrow riven,

And then I think, and then I feel

That music comes from Heaven.

“Now listen, Fanny Willoughby,

To what I cannot keep,

My days ye rob of happiness,

My nights ye rob of sleep;

And if ye don’t relent, why I

Believe you will me kill;

For passion must have vent¹¹, and I

Will kill myself I will.”

’Twas thus, when love had made me mad

For Fanny Willoughby,

I told my tale, half gay, half sad,

To Fanny Willoughby;

And Fanny look’d as maiden¹² would

When love her heart did burn,

And Fanny sigh’d as maiden should,

And murmur’d a return.

And so I woo’d Fan Willoughby—

A maiden like a dove,

And so I won Fan Willoughby—

The maiden of my love;

And though sad years have pass’d since that,

And she is in the sky,

I never, never can forget

Sweet Fanny Willoughby.

 

1 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

2 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 syne   

adv.自彼时至此时，曾经

参考例句：

• The meeting ended up with the singing of Auld Lang Syne.大会以唱《友谊地久天长》结束。
• We will take a cup of kindness yet for auld lang syne.让我们为了过去的好时光干一杯友谊的酒。

5 chiseled   

adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Woltz had chiseled the guy, given him peanuts for the book. 乌尔茨敲了这个作家的竹杠，用了他的书，却只给微不足道的一点点钱。 来自教父部分
• He chiseled the piece of wood into the shape of a head. 他把这块木头凿刻成人头的形状。 来自辞典例句

6 rant   

v.咆哮；怒吼；n.大话；粗野的话

参考例句：

• You can rant and rave at the fine,but you'll still have to pay it.你闹也好，骂也好，罚金还是得交。
• If we rant on the net,the world is our audience.如果我们在网络上大声嚷嚷，全世界都是我们的听众。

7 virgins   

处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母）

参考例句：

• They were both virgins when they met and married. 他们从相识到结婚前都未曾经历男女之事。
• Men want virgins as concubines. 人家买姨太太的要整货。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

8 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

9 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

10 prattle   

n.闲谈；v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话；发出连续而无意义的声音

参考例句：

• Amy's happy prattle became intolerable.艾美兴高采烈地叽叽喳喳说个不停，汤姆感到无法忍受。
• Flowing water and green grass witness your lover's endless prattle.流水缠绕，小草依依，都是你诉不尽的情话。

11 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

12 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。