Chapter 15

The Sailing of the Sword

Across the empty garden-beds,

When the Sword went out to sea,

I scarcely saw my sisters’ heads

Bowed each beside a tree.

I could not see the castle leads,

When the Sword went out to sea,

Alicia wore a scarlet² gown,

When the Sword went out to sea,

But Ursula’s was russet brown:

For the mist we could not see

The scarlet roofs of the good town,

When the Sword went out to sea.

Green holly³ in Alicia’s hand,

When the Sword went out to sea;

With sere⁴ oak-leaves did Ursula stand;

O! yet alas⁵ for me!

I did but bear a peel’d white wand,

When the Sword went out to sea.

O, russet brown and scarlet bright,

When the Sword went out to sea,

My sisters wore; I wore but white:

Red, brown, and white, are three;

Three damozels; each had a knight⁶,

When the Sword went out to sea.

Sir Robert shouted loud, and said:

When the Sword went out to sea,

Alicia, while I see thy head,

What shall I bring for thee?

O, my sweet Lord, a ruby⁷ red:

The Sword went out to sea.

Sir Miles said, while the sails hung down,

When the Sword went out to sea,

O, Ursula! while I see the town,

What shall I bring for thee?

Dear knight, bring back a falcon⁸ brown:

The Sword went out to sea.

But my Roland, no word he said

When the Sword went out to sea,

But only turn’d away his head;

A quick shriek⁹ came from me:

Come back, dear lord, to your white maid.

The Sword went out to sea.

The hot sun bit the garden-beds

When the Sword came back from sea;

Beneath an apple-tree our heads

Stretched out toward the sea;

Grey gleam’d the thirsty castle-leads,

When the Sword came back from sea.

Lord Robert brought a ruby red,

When the Sword came back from sea;

He kissed Alicia on the head:

I am come back to thee;

’Tis time, sweet love, that we were wed¹,

Now the Sword is back from sea!

Sir Miles he bore a falcon brown,

When the Sword came back from sea;

His arms went round tall Ursula’s gown:

What joy, O love, but thee?

Let us be wed in the good town,

Now the Sword is back from sea!

My heart grew sick, no more afraid,

When the Sword came back from sea;

Upon the deck a tall white maid

Sat on Lord Roland’s knee;

His chin was press’d upon her head,

When the Sword came back from sea!

1 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

2 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

3 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

4 sere   

adj.干枯的；n.演替系列

参考例句：

• The desert was edged with sere vegetation.沙漠周围零星地长着一些干枯的植被。
• A sere on uncovered rock is a lithosere.在光秃岩石上的演替系列是岩生演替系列。

5 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。

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 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

8 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

9 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。