THE FAIRY WELL OF LAGNANAY. BY SAMUEL FERGUSON.

 Mournfully, sing mournfully—

"O listen, Ellen, sister dear:

Is there no help at all for me,

But only ceaseless sigh and tear?

Why did not he who left me here,[Pg 14]

With stolen hope steal memory?

O listen, Ellen, sister dear,

(Mournfully, sing mournfully)—

I'll go away to Sleamish hill,

I'll pluck the fairy hawthorn-tree,

And let the spirits work their will;

I care not if for good or ill,

So they but lay the memory

Which all my heart is haunting still!

(Mournfully, sing mournfully)—

The Fairies are a silent race,

And pale as lily flowers to see;

I care not for a blanched¹ face,

For wandering in a dreaming place,

So I but banish² memory:—

I wish I were with Anna Grace!"

Mournfully, sing mournfully!

Hearken to my tale of woe³—

'Twas thus to weeping Ellen Con⁴,

Her sister said in accents low,

Her only sister, Una bawn:

'Twas in their bed before the dawn,

And Ellen answered sad and slow,—

"Oh Una, Una, be not drawn⁵

(Hearken to my tale of woe)—

To this unholy grief I pray,

Which makes me sick at heart to know,

And I will help you if I may:

—The Fairy Well of Lagnanay—

Lie nearer me, I tremble so,—

Una, I've heard wise women say

(Hearken to my tale of woe)—

That if before the dews arise,

True maiden⁶ in its icy flow

With pure hand bathe her bosom⁷ thrice,

Three lady-brackens pluck likewise,[Pg 15]

And three times round the fountain go,

She straight forgets her tears and sighs."

Hearken to my tale of woe!

All, alas⁸! and well-away!

"Oh, sister Ellen, sister sweet,

Come with me to the hill I pray,

And I will prove that blessed freet!"

They rose with soft and silent feet,

They left their mother where she lay,

Their mother and her care discreet⁹,

(All, alas! and well-away!)

And soon they reached the Fairy Well,

The mountain's eye, clear, cold, and grey,

Wide open in the dreary¹⁰ fell:

How long they stood 'twere vain to tell,

At last upon the point of day,

Bawn Una bares her bosom's swell¹¹,

(All, alas! and well-away!)

Thrice o'er her shrinking breasts she laves

The gliding¹² glance that will not stay

Of subtly-streaming fairy waves:—

And now the charm three brackens craves,She plucks them in their fring'd array:—

Now round the well her fate she braves,

All, alas! and well-away!

Save us all from Fairy thrall¹³!

Ellen sees her face the rim¹⁴

Twice and thrice, and that is all—

Fount and hill and maiden swim

All together melting dim!

"Una! Una!" thou may'st call,

Sister sad! but lith or limb

(Save us all from Fairy thrall!)

Never again of Una bawn,[Pg 16]

Where now she walks in dreamy hall,

Shall eye of mortal look upon!

Oh! can it be the guard was gone,

The better guard than shield or wall?

Who knows on earth save Jurlagh Daune?

(Save us all from Fairy thrall!)

Behold¹⁵ the banks are green and bare,

No pit is here wherein to fall:

Aye—at the fount you well may stare,

But nought¹⁶ save pebbles¹⁷ smooth is there,

And small straws twirling one and all.

Hie thee home, and be thy pray'r,

Save us all from Fairy thrall.

 

1 blanched   

v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮

参考例句：

• The girl blanched with fear when she saw the bear coming. 那女孩见熊（向她）走来，吓得脸都白了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Their faces blanched in terror. 他们的脸因恐惧而吓得发白。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

3 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

4 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 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。

7 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

8 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

9 discreet   

adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的

参考例句：

• He is very discreet in giving his opinions.发表意见他十分慎重。
• It wasn't discreet of you to ring me up at the office.你打电话到我办公室真是太鲁莽了。

10 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

11 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。

12 gliding   

v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的

参考例句：

• Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。
• The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

13 thrall   

n.奴隶；奴隶制

参考例句：

• He treats his wife like a thrall.他把妻子当作奴隶看待。
• He is not in thrall to the media.他不受制于媒体。

14 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

15 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

16 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

17 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。