THE sky is glowing in one ruddy sheet;—
A cry of fire! resounds2 from door to door;
And westward3 still the thronging4 people pour;—
The turncock hastens to F. P. 6 feet,
[Pg 229]
And quick unlocks the fountains of the street;
While rumbling5 engines, with increasing roar,
Thunder along to luckless Number Four,
Where Mr. Dough6 makes bread for folks to eat.
And now through blazing frames, and fiery7 beams,
The Globe, the Sun, the Phœnix, and what not,
With gushing8 pipes throw up abundant streams,
On burning bricks, and twists, on rolls—too hot—
And scorching9 loaves,—as if there were no shorter
And cheaper way of making toast-and-water!
RONDEAU.
[EXTRACTED FROM A WELL-KNOWN ANNUAL.]
O CURIOUS reader, didst thou ne’er
Behold10 a worshipful Lord May’r
Seated in his great civic11 chair
So dear?
Then cast thy longing12 eyes this way,
It is the ninth November day,
And in his new-born state survey
One here!
To rise from little into great
Is pleasant; but to sink in state
From high to lowly is a fate
Severe.
Too soon his shine is overcast13,
Chill’d by the next November blast;
His blushing honours only last
One year!
[Pg 230]
He casts his fur and sheds his chains,
And moults till not a plume14 remains—
The next impending15 May’r distrains
His gear.
He slips like water through a sieve—
Ah, could his little splendour live
Another twelvemonth—he would give
One ear!

点击
收听单词发音

1
sonnet
![]() |
|
n.十四行诗 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2
resounds
![]() |
|
v.(指声音等)回荡于某处( resound的第三人称单数 );产生回响;(指某处)回荡着声音 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3
westward
![]() |
|
n.西方,西部;adj.西方的,向西的;adv.向西 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4
thronging
![]() |
|
v.成群,挤满( throng的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5
rumbling
![]() |
|
n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6
dough
![]() |
|
n.生面团;钱,现款 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7
fiery
![]() |
|
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8
gushing
![]() |
|
adj.迸出的;涌出的;喷出的;过分热情的v.喷,涌( gush的现在分词 );滔滔不绝地说话 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9
scorching
![]() |
|
adj. 灼热的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10
behold
![]() |
|
v.看,注视,看到 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11
civic
![]() |
|
adj.城市的,都市的,市民的,公民的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12
longing
![]() |
|
n.(for)渴望 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13
overcast
![]() |
|
adj.阴天的,阴暗的,愁闷的;v.遮盖,(使)变暗,包边缝;n.覆盖,阴天 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14
plume
![]() |
|
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15
impending
![]() |
|
a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |