A Retrospective Review.

1.

Oh, when I was a tiny boy,

My days and nights were full of joy,

My mates were blithe¹ and kind! —

No wonder that I sometimes sigh,

And dash the tear-drop from my eye,

To cast a look behind!
2.

A hoop² was an eternal round

Of pleasure. In those days I found

A top a joyous³ thing; —

But now those past delights I drop,

My head, alas⁴! is all my top,

And careful thoughts the string!
3.

My marbles — once my bag was stored —

Now I must play with Elgin’s lord,

With Theseus for a taw!

My playful horse has slipt his string,

Forgotten all his capering⁵,

And harness’d to the law!
4.

My kite — how fast and far it flew!

Whilst I, a sort of Franklin, drew

My pleasure from the sky!

’Twas paper’d o’er with studious themes,

The tasks I wrote — my present dreams

Will never soar so high!
5.

My joys are wingless all and dead;

My dumps are made of more than lead; —

My flights soon find a fall;

My fears prevail, my fancies droop⁶,

Joy never cometh with a hoop,

And seldom with a call!
6.

My football’s laid upon the shelf;

I am a shuttlecock myself

The world knocks to and fro; —

My archery is all unlearn’d,

And grief against myself has turn’d

My arrows and my bow!
7.

No more in noontide sun I bask⁷;

My authorship’s an endless task,

My head’s ne’er out of school:

My heart is pain’d with scorn and slight,

I have too many foes⁸ to fight,

And friends grown strangely cool!
8.

The very chum that shared my cake

Holds out so cold a hand to shake,

It makes me shrink and sigh:—

On this I will not dwell and hang —

The changeling would not feel a pang⁹

Though these should meet his eye!
9.

No skies so blue or so serene¹⁰

As then; — no leaves look half so green

As clothed the playground tree!

All things I loved are altered so,

Nor does it ease my heart to know

That change resides in me!
10.

Oh for the garb¹¹ that marked the boy,

The trousers made of corduroy,

Well ink’d with black and red;

The crownless hat, ne’er deem’d an ill —

It only let the sunshine still

Repose¹² upon my head!
11.

Oh for the riband round the neck!

The careless dogs-ears apt to deck

My book and collar both!

How can this formal man be styled

Merely an Alexandrine child,

A boy of larger growth?
12.

Oh for that small, small beer anew!

And (heaven’s own type) that mild sky-blue

That wash’d my sweet meals down;

The master even! — and that small Turk

That fagg’d me! — worse is now my work —

A fag for all the town!
13.

Oh for the lessons learned by heart!

Ay, though the very birch’s smart

Should mark those hours again;

I’d “kiss the rod,” and be resign’d

Beneath the stroke, and even find

Some sugar in the cane¹³!
14.

The Arabian Nights rehearsed in bed!

The Fairy Tales in school-time read,

By stealth, ’twixt verb and noun!

The angel form that always walk’d

In all my dreams, and look’d and talk’d

Exactly like Miss Brown!
15.

The omne bene— Christmas come!

The prize of merit, won for home —

Merit had prizes then!

But now I write for days and days,

For fame — a deal of empty praise,

Without the silver pen!
16.

Then “home, sweet home!” the crowded coach —

The joyous shout — the loud approach —

The winding¹⁴ horns like rams’!

The meeting sweet that made me thrill,

The sweetmeats, almost sweeter still,

No ‘satis’ to the ‘jams’! —
17.

When that I was a tiny boy

My days and nights were full of joy,

My mates were blithe and kind!

No wonder that I sometimes sigh,

And dash the tear-drop from my eye,

To cast a look behind!

1 blithe   

adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的

参考例句：

• Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
• He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。

2 hoop   

n.（篮球）篮圈，篮

参考例句：

• The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
• The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。

3 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

4 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。

5 capering   

v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的现在分词 )；蹦蹦跳跳

参考例句：

• The lambs were capering in the fields. 羊羔在地里欢快地跳跃。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boy was Capering dersively, with obscene unambiguous gestures, before a party of English tourists. 这个顽童在一群英国旅游客人面前用明显下流的动作可笑地蹦蹦跳跳着。 来自辞典例句

6 droop   

v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡

参考例句：

• The heavy snow made the branches droop.大雪使树枝垂下来。
• Don't let your spirits droop.不要萎靡不振。

7 bask   

vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于

参考例句：

• Turtles like to bask in the sun.海龟喜欢曝于阳光中。
• In winter afternoons,he likes to bask in the sun in his courtyard.冬日的午后，他喜欢坐在院子晒太阳。

8 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

9 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

10 serene   

adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的

参考例句：

• He has entered the serene autumn of his life.他已进入了美好的中年时期。
• He didn't speak much,he just smiled with that serene smile of his.他话不多，只是脸上露出他招牌式的淡定的微笑。

11 garb   

n.服装，装束

参考例句：

• He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
• Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

12 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

13 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

14 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。