THE HEAD WAITER AT HATCHETT’S.

 If any thought e’er flitted in his head
Belonging to the sphere of Bland¹ and Crocky,
It was to wish the team all thorough-bred,
And every buckle² on their backs a jockey:
[Pg 323]
When spinning down a steep descent, or rocky,
He never watch’d the wheel, and long’d to lock it,
He liked the bolters that set off so cocky:
Nor did it shake a single nerve or shock it
Because the Comet raced against the Rocket.
Thanks to which rivalry³, at last the journey
Finish’d an hour and a quarter under time,
Without a case for surgeon or attorney,
Just as St. James’s rang its seventh chime,
And now, descending⁴ from his seat sublime⁵,
Behold⁶ Lorenzo, weariest of wights,
In that great core of brick, and stone, and lime,
Call’d England’s Heart—but which, as seen of nights,
Has rather more th’ appearance of its lights.

1 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

2 buckle   

n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲

参考例句：

• The two ends buckle at the back.带子两端在背后扣起来。
• She found it hard to buckle down.她很难专心做一件事情。

3 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

4 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。

5 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

6 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。