EPIGRAPH.

 “So fares the unthrifty lord of Linne

 

Till all his gold is gone and spent:

 

And he maun sell his lands so broad,

 

His house and landes and all his rent.

 

. . . . . . .

 

Thus he hath sold his land so broad,

 

Both hill and holt, and moore and fenne,

 

All but a poore and lonesome lodge¹,

 

That stood far off in a lonely glenne.

 

 

For soe he to his father hight:

 

‘My sonne, when I am gonne,’ sayd hee,

 

‘Then thou wilt² spend thy lande so broad,

 

And thou wilt spend thy gold so free:

 

 

But sweare me nowe upon the roode,

 

That lonesome lodge thou’lt never spend;

 

For when all the world doth frown on thee,

 

Thou there shalt find a faithful friend.’

 

. . . . . . .

 

Away then hyed the heire of Linne

 

O’er hill and holt, and moore and fenne,

 

Untill he came to the lonesome lodge,

 

That stood so lowe in a lonely glenne.

 

. . . . . . .

 

Then round his necke the corde he drewe,

 

And sprang aloft with his bodie:

 

When lo! the ceiling burst in twaine,

 

And to the ground came tumbling hee.

 

 

Astonyed lay the heire of Linne,

 

Ne knewe if he were live or dead:

 

At length he looked, and sawe a bille,

 

And in it a key of gold so redd.

 

 

He took the bill, and lookt it on,

 

Strait good comfort found he there:

 

Itt told him of a hole in the wall,

 

In which there stood three chests in-fere.

 

 

Two were full of the beaten golde,

 

The third was full of white monèy;

 

And over them in broad lettèrs

 

These words were written so plaine to see:

 

 

‘Once more, my sonne, I sette thee clere;

 

Amend³ thy life and follies⁴ past;

 

For but thou amend thee of thy life,

 

That rope must be thy end at last.’”

1 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

2 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

3 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

4 follies   

罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
• The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。