“WHEN WILL IT REACH LONDON?”

 Too dear at any price—had she but paid
Nothing and taken discount, it was dear;
Yet, worthless as it was, the sweet-lipped maid
Oft kissed the letter in her brief career
Between the lower and the upper sphere,
Where, seated in a study bistre-brown,
She tried to pierce a mystery as clear
[Pg 305]
As that I saw once puzzling a young clown—
“Reading Made Easy,” but turned upside down.
Yet Ellen, like most Misses in the land,
Had sipped¹ sky blue, through certain of her teens,
At one of those establishments which stand
In highways, byeways, squares, and village greens;
’Twas called “The Grove,”—a name that always means
Two poplars stand like sentries² at the gate—
Each window had its close Venetian screens
And Holland blind, to keep in a cool state
The twenty-four Young Ladies of Miss Bate³.
But when the screens were left unclosed by chance,
The blinds not down, as if Miss B. were dead,
Each upper window to a passing glance
Revealed a little dimity white bed;
Each lower one a cropp’d or curly head;
And thrice a week, for soul’s and health’s economies,
Along the road the twenty four were led,
Like coupled hounds, whipped in by two she-dominies
With faces rather graver than Melpomene’s.
And thus their studies they pursued:—On Sunday,
Beef, collects, batter⁴, texts from Dr. Price;
Mutton, French, pancakes, grammar—of a Monday;
Tuesday—hard dumplings, globes, Chapone’s Advice;
Wednesday—fancy-work, rice-milk (no spice);
Thursday—pork, dancing, currant-bolsters⁵, reading;
Friday—beef, Mr. Butler, and plain rice;
Saturday—scraps, short lessons and short feeding,
Stocks, back-boards, hash, steel-collars, and good breeding
From this repertory of female learning,
Came Ellen once a quarter, always fatter!
[Pg 306]
To gratify the eyes of parents yearning⁶.
’Twas evident in bolsters, beef, and batter,
Hard dumplings, and rice-milk, she did not smatter,
But heartily⁷, as Jenkins says, “demollidge;”
But as for any learning, not to flatter,
As often happens when girls leave their college,
She had done nothing but grow out of knowledge.

1 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

2 sentries   

哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We posted sentries at the gates of the camp. 我们在军营的大门口布置哨兵。
• We were guarded by sentries against surprise attack. 我们由哨兵守卫，以免遭受突袭。

3 bate   

v.压制；减弱；n.（制革用的）软化剂

参考例句：

• The cruel landlord would bate him no rent.那个狠心的地主不肯给他减租。
• I was unable to bate my enthusiasm.我无法抑制自己的热切的心情。

4 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

5 bolsters   

n.长枕( bolster的名词复数 )；垫子；衬垫；支持物v.支持( bolster的第三人称单数 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He used a couple of bolsters to elevate his head. 他用两个垫枕垫头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The double-row piles with both inclined and horizontal bolsters also analyzed in consideration of staged excavation. 本文亦分析了考虑开挖过程的安置斜撑与带支撑的双排桩支护结构。 来自互联网

6 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

7 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。