THE THREE FRIENDS XVII

 

Three young maids in friendship met,

Mary, Martha, Margaret.

Margaret was tall and fair,

Martha shorter by a hair;

If the first excell’d in feature,

The other’s grace and ease were greater;

Mary, though to rival loth,

In their best gifts equall’d both.

They a due proportion kept;

Martha mourn’d if Margaret wept;

Margaret joy’d when any good

She of Martha understood;

And in sympathy for either

Mary was outdone by neither.

Thus far, for a happy space,

All three ran an even race,

A most constant friendship proving,

Equally beloved and loving;

All their wishes, joys, the same,

Sisters only not in name.

62

Fortune upon each one smiled

As upon a favourite child;

Well to do and well to see

Were the parents of all three;

Till on Martha’s father crosses

Brought a flood of worldly losses,

And his fortunes rich and great

Changed at once to low estate;

Under which o’erwhelming blow

Martha’s mother was laid low;

She a hapless orphan² left,

Of maternal³ care bereft⁴,

Trouble following trouble fast,

Lay in a sick bed at last.

In the depth of her affliction

Martha now received conviction

That a true and faithful friend

Can the surest comfort lend.

Night and day, with friendship tried,

Ever constant by her side

Was her gentle Mary found,

With a love that knew no bound;

And the solace⁵ she imparted

Saved her dying broken-hearted.

63

In this scene of earthly things

Not one good unmixed springs.

That which had to Martha proved

A sweet consolation⁶, moved

Different feelings of regret

In the mind of Margaret.

She, whose love was not less dear,

Nor affection less sincere,

To her friend, was by occasion

Of more distant habitation

Fewer visits forced to pay her,

When no other cause did stay her;

And her Mary living nearer,

Margaret began to fear her

Lest her visits day by day

Martha’s heart should steal away.

That whole heart she ill could spare her

Where till now she’d been a sharer.

From this cause with grief she pined,

Till at length her health declined.

All her cheerful spirits flew,

Fast as Martha gather’d new;

And her sickness waxed sore,

Just when Martha felt no more.

 

Mary, who had quick suspicion

Of her alter’d friend’s condition,

Seeing Martha’s convalescence⁷

Less demanded now her presence,

With a goodness built on reason,

Changed her measures with the season,

Turn’d her steps from Martha’s door,

Went where she was wanted more;

All her care and thoughts were set

Now to tend on Margaret.

Mary living ’twixt the two,

From her home could oftener go

Either of her friends to see

Than they could together be.

Truth explain’d is to suspicion

Evermore the best physician.

Soon her visits had the effect;

All that Margaret did suspect

From her fancy vanish’d clean;

She was soon what she had been,

And the colour she did lack

To her faded cheek came back,

Wounds which love had made her feel,

Love alone had power to heal.

66

Martha, who the frequent visit

Now had lost, and sore did miss it,

With impatience⁸ waxed cross,

Counted Margaret’s gain her loss:

All that Mary did confer

On her friend, thought due to her.

In her girlish bosom⁹ rise

Little foolish jealousies¹⁰,

Which into such rancour wrought¹¹,

She one day for Margaret sought;

Finding her by chance alone,

She began, with reasons shown,

To insinuate¹² a fear

Whether Mary was sincere;

Wish’d that Margaret would take heed¹³

Whence her actions did proceed.

For herself, she’d long been minded

Not with outsides to be blinded;

All that pity and compassion¹⁴,

She believed was affectation;

In her heart she doubted whether

Mary cared a pin for either.

She could keep whole weeks at distance

And not know of their existence,

While all things remain’d the same;

But when some misfortune came,

Then she made a great parade

Of her sympathy and aid,—

Not that she did really grieve,

It was only make-believe,

And she cared for nothing, so

She might her fine feelings show,

And get credit on her part

For a soft and tender heart.

With such speeches, smoothly¹⁵ made,

She found methods to persuade

Margaret (who, being sore

From the doubts she’d felt before,

Was prepared for mistrust)

To believe her reasons just;

Quite destroyed that comfort glad

Which in Mary late she had;

Made her, in experience’ spite,

Think her friend a hypocrite,

And resolve, with cruel scoff¹⁶,

To renounce¹⁷ and cast her off.

See how good turns are rewarded!

She of both is now discarded,

Who to both had been so late

Their support in low estate,

All their comfort, and their stay—

69

Now of both is cast away.

But the league her presence cherished,

Losing its best prop¹, soon perished;

She, that was a link to either,

To keep them and it together,

Being gone, the two (no wonder)

That were left soon fell asunder;—

Some civilities were kept,

But the heart of friendship slept;

Love with hollow forms was fed,

But the life of love lay dead:—

A cold intercourse¹⁸ they held

After Mary was expelled.

Two long years did intervene

Since they’d either of them seen,

Or by letter, any word

Of their old companion heard,—

When, upon a day once walking,

Of indifferent matters talking,

They a female figure met;—

Martha said to Margaret,

“That young maid in face does carry

A resemblance strong of Mary,”

Margaret, at nearer sight,

Own’d her observation right;

70

But they did not far proceed

Ere they found ’twas she indeed.

She—but, ah! I how changed they view her

From that person which they knew her!

Her fine face disease had scarr’d,

And its matchless beauty marr’d:—

But enough was left to trace

Mary’s sweetness—Mary’s grace.

When her eye did first behold¹⁹ them,

How they blush’d! but when she told them

How on a sick bed she lay

Months, while they had kept away

And had no inquiries²⁰ made

If she were alive or dead;—

How, for want of a true friend,

She was brought near to her end,

And was like so to have died

With no friend at her bedside;—

How the constant irritation²¹

Caused by fruitless expectation

Of their coming, had extended

The illness, when she might have mended,—

Then, O then, how did reflection

Come on them with recollection!

All that she had done for them,

How it did their fault condemn²²!

71

But sweet Mary, still the same,

Kindly²³ eased them of their shame;

Spoke²⁴ to them with accents bland²⁵,

Took them friendly by the hand;

Bound them both with promise fast

Not to speak of troubles past;

Made them on the spot declare

A new league of friendship there;

Which, without a word of strife²⁶,

Lasted thenceforth long as life.

Martha now and Margaret

Strove who most should pay the debt

Which they owed her, nor did vary

Ever after from their Mary.

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

3 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

4 bereft   

adj.被剥夺的

参考例句：

• The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
• She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。

5 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

6 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

7 convalescence   

n.病后康复期

参考例句：

• She bore up well during her convalescence.她在病后恢复期间始终有信心。
• After convalescence he had a relapse.他于痊愈之后，病又发作了一次。

8 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

9 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

10 jealousies   

n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡

参考例句：

• They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies. 他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I am tired of all these jealousies and quarrels. 我厌恶这些妒忌和吵架的语言。 来自辞典例句

11 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

12 insinuate   

vt.含沙射影地说，暗示

参考例句：

• He tried to insinuate himself into the boss's favor.他设法巧妙地渐渐取得老板的欢心。
• It seems to me you insinuate things about her.我觉得你讲起她来，总有些弦外之音。

13 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

14 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

15 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

16 scoff   

n.嘲笑，笑柄，愚弄；v.嘲笑，嘲弄，愚弄，狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• You are not supposed to scoff at religion.你不该嘲弄宗教。
• He was the scoff of the town.他成为全城的笑柄。

17 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

18 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

19 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。

20 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

22 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

23 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

24 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

25 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。

26 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。