THE PRIEST OF COLOONY. W. B. YEATS.

 Good Father John O'Hart

In penal¹ days rode out

To a shoneen [53] in his freelands,

With his snipe marsh² and his trout³.

In trust took he John's lands,

—Sleiveens [54] were all his race—

And he gave them as dowers to his daughters,

And they married beyond their place.

But Father John went up,

And Father John went down;

And he wore small holes in his shoes,

And he wore large holes in his gown.

[Pg 221]

All loved him, only the shoneen,

Whom the devils have by the hair,

From their wives and their cats and their children,

To the birds in the white of the air.

The birds, for he opened their cages,

As he went up and down;

And he said with a smile, "Have peace, now,"

And went his way with a frown.

But if when anyone died,

Came keeners hoarser⁴ than rooks,

He bade them give over their keening,

For he was a man of books.

And these were the works of John,

When weeping score by score,

People came into Coloony,

For he'd died at ninety-four.

There was no human keening;

The birds from Knocknarea,

And the world round Knocknashee,

Came keening in that day,—

Keening from Innismurry,

Nor stayed for bit or sup;

This way were all reproved

Who dig old customs up.

[Coloony is a few miles south of the town of Sligo. Father O'Hart lived there in the last century, and was greatly beloved. These lines accurately⁵ record the tradition. No one who has held the stolen land has prospered⁶. It has changed owners many times.]

1 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

2 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

3 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

4 hoarser   

（指声音）粗哑的，嘶哑的( hoarse的比较级 )

参考例句：

5 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

6 prospered   

成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。