XLIII. THAT OF YE LOVE-PHILTRE: AN OLD-ENGLISH LEGEND.

 Sir Peter de Wynkin

He loved a fair mayde,

And he wooed ye fair mayde

For hys bride.

But ye ladye cried "no,"

With a toss of her head,

And Sir Wynkin

Disconsolate¹ sighed.

"Now out! and alas²!

And alack-a-day me!"

He sang him

In sorrowful tones,

"She loveth me not

Yet, beshrew me!" said he,

"There's a wizard I wot of

Called—Jones."

Caldweller Ap Jones,

Was a wizard of note,

And he dwelt in a cave

Hard at hand.

Love-philtres and potions

He sold for a groat,

To ye rich and ye poor

Of ye land.

Sir Wynkin, he sought

This same wizard straightway,

And he told him hys

Dolorous³ plight⁴.

The wizard cried, "Ha!

If you'll do as I say,

Thys small matter

Can soon be set right."

"Thys potion—a love-philtre

Made extra strong—

To ye ladye, by you,

Must be given."

"Oddzooks!" quoth Sir Wynkin.

"Ye ladye ere long

Shall receive it,

Or e'er I be shriven."

Ye bower⁵ was high

Where ye fair ladye slept,

But Sir Wynkin climbed up

From ye basement.

By means of ye ivy⁶

He painfully crept,

And ye potion placed

Outside the casement⁷.

 

"She'll find it," quoth he,

"Ere the morrow is past.

Curiosity'll prompt her

To drink it.

Ye magic will act,

And she'll love me at last.

Ah me! 'Tis sweet joy

E'en to think it."

But alack! and alas!

Ye endyng was sad,

Ye love-philtre caused

Quite a commotion⁸.

For—a toothless old grand-dame

Ye fair ladye had,

And she found, and she drank

Ye love potion!!

 

Fell madly in love

With Sir Wynkin 'tis said,

And declared that ye Knight⁹

Had betrayed her.

So, distraught, from ye country

Sir Wynkin he fled,

And he died at ye wars—

A Crusader.

1 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。

2 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。

3 dolorous   

adj.悲伤的；忧愁的

参考例句：

• With a broken-hearted smile,he lifted a pair of dolorous eyes.带著伤心的微笑，他抬起了一双痛苦的眼睛。
• Perhaps love is a dolorous fairy tale.也许爱情是一部忧伤的童话。

4 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

5 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

6 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

7 casement   

n.竖铰链窗；窗扉

参考例句：

• A casement is a window that opens by means of hinges at the side.竖铰链窗是一种用边上的铰链开启的窗户。
• With the casement half open,a cold breeze rushed inside.窗扉半开，凉风袭来。

8 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

9 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。