XXXIX. THAT OF THE HIGH-SOULED YOUTH.

 A year or so ago, you know,

I had a friend, at Pimlico,

For want of better name called Joe

(This name is not his right 'un).

He was a sweet, poetic¹ youth,

Romantic, gallant², and in sooth

Might well be called, in very truth

An "Admirable Crichton."

And oh! it grieved him sore to see

The lack,—these times,—of chivalry³.

He'd now and then confide⁴ to me

His views upon the matter.

"Good, never now is done by stealth!"

He'd say, "Men ruin mind, and health

In sordid⁵ scramble⁶ after wealth;

And talk,—is idle chatter⁷."

 

"That simple virtue⁸, Modesty⁹,

Alas¹⁰! it now appears to be

A valueless commodity,

Though once men prized it highly."

He went on thus,—like anything,

Until I heard, one day last Spring,

That he intended marrying

The daughter of old Riley.

I knew the Riley girls, and thought

"Now this has turned out as it ought.

Joe is a reg'lar right good sort

To marry 'Cinderella.'"

The younger one, (thus called by me)

A sweet good girl as e'er might be

Was poor; the elder—rich was she—

Her name was Arabella.

An Aunt had left her lots of gold,

While 'Cinderella'—so I'm told,—

She left entirely¹¹ in the cold

Without a single shilling.

The elder one,—though plain to see,—

Of suitors had some two, or three;

Poor Cinderella, nobody

To marry her seemed willing.

Until the noble high-souled Joe—

That Errant-knight of Pimlico—

Came forth¹², the world at large to show

That he at least knew better.

In spirit I before him bowed,

"To know a man like that I'm proud

And happy!" I remarked aloud,

And sent to him this letter.

 

"ARABELLA."

"Dear Joe;—Wealth as you say's a trap

Gold is but dross,—not worth a rap—

How very like you—dear old chap!—

To marry 'Cinderella.'"

* * *

He wrote:—"I must expostulate,

I'm not a FOOL at any rate!

Of course I've chosen as a mate

The RICH one, Arabella!"

1 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

2 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。

3 chivalry   

n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤

参考例句：

• The Middle Ages were also the great age of chivalry.中世纪也是骑士制度盛行的时代。
• He looked up at them with great chivalry.他非常有礼貌地抬头瞧她们。

4 confide   

v.向某人吐露秘密

参考例句：

• I would never readily confide in anybody.我从不轻易向人吐露秘密。
• He is going to confide the secrets of his heart to us.他将向我们吐露他心里的秘密。

5 sordid   

adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的

参考例句：

• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively.他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。
• They lived in a sordid apartment.他们住在肮脏的公寓房子里。

6 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

7 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

8 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

9 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

10 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。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。