II. THAT OF THE LATE MR. BROWN.

 Life has its little ups, and downs,

As has been very truly said,

And Mr. Brown,

Of Camden Town

(Alas¹! the gentleman is dead),

Found out how quickly Fortune's smile

May turn to Fortune's frown;

And how a sudden rise in life

May bring a person down.

He lived—as I remarked before—

Within a highly genteel square

At Camden Town,

Did Mr. Brown

(He had been born and brought up there);

But—waxing richer year by year—

Grew prosperous and fat,

And left the square at Camden Town

To take a West End flat.

It was a very stylish² flat,

With such appointments on each floor

As Mr. Brown

At Camden Town

Had never, never seen before:

Electric lights; hydraulic³ lifts,

To take one up and down;

And telephones to everywhere.

(These quite bewildered Brown.)

The elevator pleased him most;

To ride in it was perfect bliss⁴.

"I say!" cried Brown,

"At Camden Town

We'd nothing half as good as this."

From early morn till dewy eve

He spent his time—did Brown—

In being elevated up,

And elevated down.

One night—I cannot tell you why—

When all the household soundly slept,

Poor Mr. Brown

(Late Camden Town)

Into the elevator stept;

It stuck midway 'twixt floor and floor,

And when they got it down,

They found that it was all U.—P.

With suffocated⁵ Brown.

 

Yes, life is full of ups and downs,

As someone said in days of yore.

They buried Brown

At Camden Town

(The place where he had lived before);

And now, alas! a-lack-a-day!

In black and solemn gowns,

Disconsolate⁶ walk Mrs. Brown

And all the little Browns.

 

1 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。

2 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

3 hydraulic   

adj.水力的；水压的，液压的；水力学的

参考例句：

• The boat has no fewer than five hydraulic pumps.这艘船配有不少于5个液压泵。
• A group of apprentics were operating the hydraulic press.一群学徒正在开动水压机。

4 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

5 suffocated   

（使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气

参考例句：

• Many dogs have suffocated in hot cars. 许多狗在热烘烘的汽车里给闷死了。
• I nearly suffocated when the pipe of my breathing apparatus came adrift. 呼吸器上的管子脱落时，我差点给憋死。

6 disconsolate   

adj.忧郁的，不快的

参考例句：

• He looked so disconsolate that It'scared her.他看上去情绪很坏，吓了她一跳。
• At the dress rehearsal she was disconsolate.彩排时她闷闷不乐。