Chapter 4

The Chapel¹ in Lyoness
Sir Ozana le Cure Hardy². Sir Galahad. Sir Bors de Ganys.
SIR OZANA.

All day long and every day,

From Christmas–Eve to Whit–Sunday,

Within that Chapel-aisle I lay,

And no man came a-near.

Naked to the waist was I,

And deep within my breast did lie,

Though no man any blood could spy,

The truncheon of a spear.

No meat did ever pass my lips

Those days. Alas³! the sunlight slips

From off the gilded⁴ parclose, dips,

And night comes on apace.

My arms lay back behind my head;

Over my raised-up knees was spread

A samite cloth of white and red;

A rose lay on my face.

Many a time I tried to shout;

But as in dream of battle-rout,

My frozen speech would not well out;

I could not even weep.

With inward sigh I see the sun

Fade off the pillars one by one,

My heart faints when the day is done,

Because I cannot sleep.

Sometimes strange thoughts pass through my head;

Not like a tomb is this my bed,

Yet oft I think that I am dead;

That round my tomb is writ⁵,

‘Ozana of the hardy heart,

Knight⁶ of the Table Round,

Pray for his soul, lords, of your part;

A true knight he was found.’

Ah! me, I cannot fathom⁷ it. [He sleeps.
SIR GALAHAD.

All day long and every day,

Till his madness pass’d away,

I watch’d Ozana as he lay

Within the gilded screen.

All my singing moved him not;

As I sung my heart grew hot,

With the thought of Launcelot

Far away, I ween.

So I went a little space

From out the chapel, bathed my face

In the stream that runs apace

By the churchyard wall.

There I pluck’d a faint wild rose,

Hard by where the linden grows,

Sighing over silver rows

Of the lilies tall.

I laid the flower across his mouth;

The sparkling drops seem’d good for drouth;

He smiled, turn’d round towards the south.

Held up a golden tress.

The light smote⁸ on it from the west;

He drew the covering from his breast,

Against his heart that hair he prest;

Death him soon will bless.
SIR BORS.

I enter’d by the western door;

I saw a knight’s helm lying there:

I raised my eyes from off the floor,

And caught the gleaming of his hair.

I stept full softly up to him;

I laid my chin upon his head;

I felt him smile; my eyes did swim,

I was so glad he was not dead.

I heard Ozana murmur⁹ low,

‘There comes no sleep nor any love.’

But Galahad stoop’d and kiss’d his brow:

He shiver’d; I saw his pale lips move.
SIR OZANA.

There comes no sleep nor any love;

Ah me! I shiver with delight.

I am so weak I cannot move;

God move me to thee, dear, to-night!

Christ help! I have but little wit:

My life went wrong; I see it writ,

‘Ozana of the hardy heart,

Knight of the Table Round,

Pray for his soul, lords, on your part;

A good knight he was found.’

Now I begin to fathom it. [He dies.
SIR BORS.

Galahad sits dreamily;

What strange things may his eyes see,

Great blue eyes fix’d full on me?

On his soul, Lord, have mercy.
SIR GALAHAD.

Ozana, shall I pray for thee?

Her cheek is laid to thine;

No long time hence, also I see

Thy wasted fingers twine¹⁰

Within the tresses of her hair

That shineth gloriously,

Thinly outspread in the clear air

Against the jasper sea.

1 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

2 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

3 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

4 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

5 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

6 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

7 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

8 smote   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Figuratively, he could not kiss the hand that smote him. 打个比方说，他是不能认敌为友。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• \"Whom Pearl smote down and uprooted, most unmercifully.\" 珠儿会毫不留情地将这些\"儿童\"踩倒，再连根拔起。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

9 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

10 twine   

v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕

参考例句：

• He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
• Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。