CHAPTER I.

      He did not wear his scarlet¹ coat,

                 For blood and wine are red,

               And blood and wine were on his hands

                 When they found him with the dead,

               The poor dead woman whom he loved,

                 And murdered in her bed.

 

               He walked amongst the Trial Men

                 In a suit of shabby grey;

               A cricket cap was on his head,

                 And his step seemed light and gay;

               But I never saw a man who looked

                 So wistfully at the day.

 

               I never saw a man who looked

                 With such a wistful eye

               Upon that little tent of blue

                 Which prisoners call the sky,

               And at every drifting cloud that went

                 With sails of silver by.

 

               I walked, with other souls in pain,

                 Within another ring,

               And was wondering if the man had done

                 A great or little thing,

               When a voice behind me whispered low,

                 "That fellow's got to swing."

 

               Dear Christ! the very prison walls

                 Suddenly seemed to reel,

               And the sky above my head became

                 Like a casque of scorching² steel;

               And, though I was a soul in pain,

                 My pain I could not feel.

 

               I only knew what hunted thought

                 Quickened his step, and why

               He looked upon the garish³ day

                 With such a wistful eye;

               The man had killed the thing he loved

                 And so he had to die.

 

               Yet each man kills the thing he loves

                 By each let this be heard,

               Some do it with a bitter look,

                 Some with a flattering word,

               The coward does it with a kiss,

                 The brave man with a sword!

 

               Some kill their love when they are young,

                 And some when they are old;

               Some strangle with the hands of Lust⁴,

                 Some with the hands of Gold:

               The kindest use a knife, because

                 The dead so soon grow cold.

 

               Some love too little, some too long,

                 Some sell, and others buy;

               Some do the deed with many tears,

                 And some without a sigh:

               For each man kills the thing he loves,

                 Yet each man does not die.

 

               He does not die a death of shame

                 On a day of dark disgrace,

               Nor have a noose⁵ about his neck,

                 Nor a cloth upon his face,

               Nor drop feet foremost through the floor

                 Into an empty place

 

               He does not sit with silent men

                 Who watch him night and day;

               Who watch him when he tries to weep,

                 And when he tries to pray;

               Who watch him lest himself should rob

                 The prison of its prey⁶.

 

               He does not wake at dawn to see

                 Dread figures throng⁷ his room,

               The shivering Chaplain robed in white,

                 The Sheriff stern with gloom,

               And the Governor all in shiny black,

                 With the yellow face of Doom⁸.

 

               He does not rise in piteous haste

                 To put on convict-clothes,

               While some coarse-mouthed Doctor gloats, and notes

                 Each new and nerve-twitched pose,

               Fingering a watch whose little ticks

                 Are like horrible hammer-blows.

 

               He does not know that sickening thirst

                 That sands one's throat, before

               The hangman with his gardener's gloves

                 Slips through the padded door,

               And binds⁹ one with three leathern thongs¹⁰,

                 That the throat may thirst no more.

 

               He does not bend his head to hear

                 The Burial Office read,

               Nor, while the terror of his soul

                 Tells him he is not dead,

               Cross his own coffin¹¹, as he moves

                 Into the hideous¹² shed.

 

               He does not stare upon the air

                 Through a little roof of glass;

               He does not pray with lips of clay

                 For his agony to pass;

               Nor feel upon his shuddering¹³ cheek

                 The kiss of Caiaphas.

 

1 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

2 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

3 garish   

adj.华丽而俗气的，华而不实的

参考例句：

• This colour is bright but not garish.这颜色艳而不俗。
• They climbed the garish purple-carpeted stairs.他们登上铺着俗艳的紫色地毯的楼梯。

4 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

5 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

6 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

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 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

9 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 thongs   

的东西

参考例句：

• Things ain't what they used to be. 现在情况不比从前了。
• Things have been going badly . 事情进展得不顺利。

11 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

12 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

13 shuddering   

v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• 'I am afraid of it,'she answered, shuddering. “我害怕，”她发着抖，说。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• She drew a deep shuddering breath. 她不由得打了个寒噤，深深吸了口气。 来自飘（部分）