A LAMENTATION

 For the Death of Sir Maurice Fitzgerald, Knight¹, of Kerry,

who was killed in Flanders, 1642.

 

FROM THE IRISH, BY CLARENCE MANGAN.

 

There was lifted up one voice of woe²,

One lament³ of more than mortal grief,

Through the wide South to and fro,

For a fallen Chief.

In the dead of night that cry thrilled through me,

I looked out upon the midnight air?

My own soul was all as gloomy,

As I knelt in prayer.

O'er Loch Gur, that night, once—twice—yea, thrice—

Passed a wail⁴ of anguish⁵ for the Brave

That half curled into ice

Its moon-mirroring wave.

Then uprose a many-toned wild hymn⁶ in

Choral swell⁷ from Ogra's dark ravine,

And Mogeely's Phantom⁸ Women

Mourned the Geraldine!

Far on Carah Mona's emerald plains

Shrieks⁹ and sighs were blended many hours.

And Fermoy in fitful strains

Answered from her towers.

Youghal, Keenalmeaky, Eemokilly,

Mourned in concert, and their piercing keen

Woke to wondering life the stilly

Glens of Inchiqueen.

[Pg 113]

From Loughmoe to yellow Dunanore

There was fear; the traders of Tralee

Gathered up their golden store,

And prepared to flee;

For, in ship and hall from night till morning,

Showed the first faint beamings of the sun,

All the foreigners heard the warning

Of the Dreaded¹⁰ One!

"This," they spake, "portendeth death to us,

If we fly not swiftly from our fate!"

Self-conceited idiots! thus

Ravingly to prate¹¹!

Not for base-born higgling Saxon trucksters

Ring laments¹² like those by shore and sea!

Not for churls with souls like hucksters

Waileth our Banshee!

For the high Milesian race alone

Ever flows the music of her woe!

For slain¹³ heir to bygone throne,

And for Chief laid low!

Hark!... Again, methinks, I hear her weeping

Yonder! Is she near me now, as then?

Or was but the night-wind sweeping¹⁴

Down the hollow glen?

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 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。

3 lament   

n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹

参考例句：

• Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
• We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。

4 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

5 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

6 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

7 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。

8 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

9 shrieks   

n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• shrieks of fiendish laughter 恶魔般的尖笑声
• For years, from newspapers, broadcasts, the stages and at meetings, we had heard nothing but grandiloquent rhetoric delivered with shouts and shrieks that deafened the ears. 多少年来， 报纸上， 广播里， 舞台上， 会场上的声嘶力竭，装腔做态的高调搞得我们震耳欲聋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

11 prate   

v.瞎扯，胡说

参考例句：

• Listen to him prating on about nothing.听他瞎唠叨。
• If the hen does not prate,she will not lay.母鸡不唠叨不下蛋。

12 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

13 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

14 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？