THANKSGIVING.

 BY MARGARET E. SANGSTER.

 

When the Indians used to prowl

Round the house at dead of night,

And the north wind's angry howl

Sounded fierce by candle-light;

When the very babies learned

How to whisper when they cried,

And the young boys early earned

Right to carry arms with pride—

 

In those wild exciting days,

Often hungry, often cold,

Men uplifted songs of praise,

Women's hearts were strong and bold.

And amid their penury¹,

In their want and peril², they

Set apart, with courage free,

Their first brave Thanksgiving day.

 

Over harvests gathered in

With a stealthy foe³ anear,

Over scanty⁴ byre and bin⁵,

Over joys which cost them dear,

Gallant⁶ souls that would not bend

Met their trustful grace to say,

Heart to heart and friend to friend;

So they kept Thanksgiving day.

 

Ours to-day a happier fate:

Royal wealth on us outpoured,

Wide our pleasant land, and great

Is the throng⁷ about our board.

Run the dear old flag aloft;

Let it float from ship and spire⁸!

Wake Thanksgiving, field and croft,

House and home, and child and sire.

1 penury   

n.贫穷，拮据

参考例句：

• Hardship and penury wore him out before his time.受穷受苦使他未老先衰。
• A succession of bad harvest had reduced the small farmer to penury.连续歉收使得这个小农场主陷入了贫困境地。

2 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

3 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

4 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

5 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

6 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

7 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

8 spire   

n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点

参考例句：

• The church spire was struck by lightning.教堂的尖顶遭到了雷击。
• They could just make out the spire of the church in the distance.他们只能辨认出远处教堂的尖塔。