THE BEGGAR MAN XXVII

 

Abject¹, stooping, old, and wan²,

See yon wretched beggar man;

Once a father’s hopeful heir,

Once a mother’s tender care.

When too young to understand,

He but scorch’d his little hand

By the candle’s flaming light

Attracted, dancing, spiral, bright;

Clasping fond her darling round,

A thousand kisses heal’d the wound:

Now, abject, stooping, old, and wan,

No mother tends the beggar man.

Then nought³ too good for him to wear,

With cherub⁴ face and flaxen hair,

In fancy’s choicest gauds array’d,

Cap of lace with rose to aid;

Milk-white hat and feather blue;

Shoes of red; and coral too;

With silver bells to please his ear,

And charm the frequent ready tear.

Now, abject, stooping, old, and wan,

Neglected is the beggar man.

See the boy advance in age,

And learning spreads her useful page;

In vain—for giddy pleasure calls,

And shows the marbles, tops, and balls.

What’s learning to the charms of play?

Th’ indulgent tutor must give way.

A heedless wilful⁵ dunce, and wild,

The parents’ fondness spoil’d the child;

The youth in vagrant⁶ courses ran.

Now, abject, stooping, old, and wan,

Their fondling is the beggar man.

1 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

2 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

3 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

4 cherub   

n.小天使，胖娃娃

参考例句：

• It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。
• The cherub in the painting is very lovely.这幅画中的小天使非常可爱。

5 wilful   

adj.任性的，故意的

参考例句：

• A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon.不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。
• He later accused reporters of wilful distortion and bias.他后来指责记者有意歪曲事实并带有偏见。

6 vagrant   

n.流浪者，游民；adj.流浪的，漂泊不定的

参考例句：

• A vagrant is everywhere at home.流浪者四海为家。
• He lived on the street as a vagrant.他以在大街上乞讨为生。