A BUCK-ANEER!

Land-owners, who had rabbits, swore
That he had this demerit—
Give him an inch of warren, he
Would take a yard of ferret.
At partridges he was not nice;
And many, large and small,
Without Hall’s powder, without lead,
Were sent to Leaden-Hall.
[Pg 236]
He did not fear to take a deer,
From forest, park, or lawn;
And without courting lord or duke,
Used frequently to fawn¹.
Folks who had hares discovered snares—
His course they could not stop:
No barber he, and yet he made
Their hares a perfect crop.
To pheasant he was such a foe²,
He tried the keeper’s nerves;
They swore he never seem’d to have
Jam satis of preserves.
The Shooter went to beat, and found
No sporting worth a pin,
Unless he tried the covers made
Of silver, plate, or tin.
In Kent the game was little worth,
In Surrey not a button;
The Speaker said he often tried
The Manors³ about Sutton.
No county from his tricks was safe:
In each he tried his lucks,
And when the keepers were in Beds,
He often was at Bucks⁴.
And when he went to Bucks, alas⁵!
They always came to Herts;
And even Oxon used to wish
That he had his deserts.
[Pg 237]
But going to his usual Hants,
Old Cheshire laid his plots:
He got entrapp’d by legal Berks,
And lost his life in Notts.
 

1 fawn   

n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承

参考例句：

• A fawn behind the tree looked at us curiously.树后面一只小鹿好奇地看着我们。
• He said you fawn on the manager in order to get a promotion.他说你为了获得提拔，拍经理的马屁。

2 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

3 manors   

n.庄园（manor的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Manors were private estates of aristocrats or of distinction. 庄园是贵族与豪族的私人领地。 来自互联网
• These lands were parcelled into farms or manors. 这些土地被分成了农田和庄园。 来自互联网

4 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。