XL. THAT OF MR. JUSTICE DEAR'S LITTLE JOKE AND THE

 THAT OF MR. JUSTICE DEAR'S LITTLE JOKE AND THE

UNFORTUNATE MAN WHO COULD NOT SEE IT.

 

 

Again of Mr. Justice Dear

My harmless numbers flowing,

Shall tell a story somewhat queer

About His Worship, showing,

How sensitive the legal wit.

It is. There is no doubt of it.

Before good Justice Dear one day

A man—for some small matter,

Was hailed, and, in his own sly way

(The former, not the latter)

Made,—and I thought the Court would choke,—

An unpremeditated joke.

The prosecuting¹ Counsel roared,

The Jury giggled² madly,

Only the Prisoner looked bored,

He took it rather sadly.

"Why don't you laugh?" the Usher³ said,

The Prisoner, he shook his head.

"I cannot see," said he, "that's flat—

A fact that's most annoying,—

What everyone is laughing at,

And seemingly enjoying."

This strange remark, it reached his ear

And irritated Justice Dear.

"When I am pleased to make a joke

That's not the way to treat it."

Thus, warningly, his Worship spoke⁴,

"Now listen! I'll repeat it."

He did. He said it o'er and o'er.

At least a dozen times or more.

 

"Excuse me, sir," the Prisoner said,

"At what may you be driving?"

Good Justice Dear turned very red,

"This joke of my contriving⁵,

If you don't see it, Sir, you ought;

If not—well—'tis contempt of Court."

The Counsel then explained it, but

Quite failed the point to show him;

The Usher muttered "Tut-tut-tut!"

The Jury whispered "Blow him!"

Then several people wrote it down.

The Prisoner still wore a frown.

"Am I supposed to laugh at that?

Why? I can't see the reason."

It was too much. His Lordship sat

Aghast. "'Tis almost treason!

That unpremeditated joke before

Has never failed to raise a roar.

"Defective⁶ in morality,

Must be that man misguided,

Who fails its brilliancy to see."

His Lordship then decided⁷

To send the man,—despite his tears,—

To servitude, for twenty years.

1 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

2 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 contriving   

（不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到

参考例句：

• Why may not several Deities combine in contriving and framing a world? 为什么不可能是数个神联合起来，设计和构造世界呢？ 来自哲学部分
• The notorious drug-pusher has been contriving an escape from the prison. 臭名昭著的大毒枭一直都在图谋越狱。

6 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。