Ode to Mr. Graham,?

The Aeronaut.

“Up with me! — up with me into the sky!”

WORDSWORTH—on a Lark¹.
1.

Dear Graham, whilst the busy crowd,

The vain, the wealthy, and the proud,

Their meaner flights pursue,

Let us cast off the foolish ties

That bind² us to the earth, and rise

And take a bird’s-eye view! —
2.

A few more whiffs of my segar

And then, in Fancy’s airy car,

Have with thee for the skies:—

How oft this fragrant³ smoke upcurl’d

Hath borne me from this little world,

And all that in it lies! —
3.

Away! — away! — the bubble fills —

Farewell to earth and all its hills! —

We seem to cut the wind! —

So high we mount, so swift we go,

The chimney tops are far below,

The Eagle’s left behind! —
4.

Ah me! my brain begins to swim! —

The world is growing rather dim;

The steeples and the trees —

My wife is getting very small!

I cannot see my babe at all! —

The Dollond, if you please! —
5.

Do, Graham, let me have a quiz;

Lord! what a Lilliput it is.

That little world of Mogg’s! —

Are those the London Docks? — that channel,

The mighty⁴ Thames? — a proper kennel⁵

For that small Isle⁷ of Dogs! —
6.

What is that seeming tea-urn there?

That fairy dome⁸, St. Paul’s! — I swear,

Wren⁹ must have been a Wren! —

And that small stripe? — it cannot be

The City Road! — Good lack! to see

The little ways of men!
7.

Little, indeed! — my eyeballs ache

To find a turnpike. — I must take

Their tolls¹⁰ upon my trust! —

And where is mortal labor¹¹ gone?

Look, Graham, for a little stone

Mac Adamiz’d to dust!
8.

Look at the horses! — less than flies! —

Oh, what a waste it was of sighs

To wish to be a Mayor!

What is the honor? — none at all,

One’s honor must be very small

For such a civic¹² chair! —
9.

And there’s Guildhall! —’tis far aloof¹³ —

Methinks, I fancy through the roof

Its little guardian¹⁴ Gogs,

Like penny dolls — a tiny show! —

Well — I must say they’re rul’d below

By very little logs! —
10.

Oh, Graham! how the upper air

Alters the standards of compare;

One of our silken flags

Would cover London all about —

Nay¹⁵, then — let’s even empty out

Another brace¹⁶ of bags!
11.

Now for a glass of bright champagne¹⁷

Above the clouds! — Come, let us drain

A bumper¹⁸ as we go! —

But hold! — for God’s sake do not cant¹⁹

The cork²⁰ away — unless you want

To brain your friends below.
12.

Think! what a mob of little men

Are crawling just within our ken⁶,

Like mites²¹ upon a cheese! —

Pshaw! — how the foolish sight rebukes²²

Ambitious thoughts! — can there be Dukes

Of Gloster such as these! —
13.

Oh! what is glory? — what is fame?

Hark to the little mob’s acclaim²³,

’Tis nothing but a hum! —

A few near gnats²⁴ would trump²⁵ as loud

As all the shouting of a crowd

That has so far to come! —
14.

Well — they are wise that choose the near,

A few small buzzards in the ear,

To organs ages hence! —

Ah me! how distance touches all;

It makes the true look rather small,

But murders poor pretence²⁶
15.

“The world recedes²⁷! — it disappears!

Heav’n opens on my eyes — my ears

With buzzing noises ring!”—

A fig²⁸ for Southey’s Laureat lore²⁹!”—

What’s Rogers here? — Who cares for Moore

That hears the Angels sing! —”
16.

A fig for earth, and all its minions³⁰! —

We are above the world’s opinions,

Graham! we’ll have our own! —

Look what a vantage height we’ve got! —

Now —do you think Sir Walter Scott

Is such a Great Unknown?
17.

Speak up! — or hath he hid his name

To crawl thro’ “subways” unto fame,

Like Williams of Cornhill? —

Speak up, my lad! — when men run small

We’ll show what’s little in them all,

Receive it how they will! —
18.

Think now of Irving! — shall he preach

The princes down — shall he impeach³¹

The potent³² and the rich,

Merely on ethic³³ stilts³⁴ — and I

Not moralize at two mile high

The true didactic pitch!
19.

Come:— what d’ye think of Jeffrey, sir?

Is Gifford such a Gulliver

In Lilliput’s Review,

That like Colossus he should stride

Certain small brazen³⁵ inches wide

For poets to pass through?
20.

Look down! the world is but a spot.

Now say — Is Blackwood’s low or not,

For all the Scottish tone?

It shall not weigh us here — not where

The sandy burden’s lost in air —

Our lading — where is’t flown?
21.

Now — like you Croly’s verse indeed —

In heaven — where one cannot read

The “Warren” on a wall?

What think you here of that man’s fame?

Tho’ Jerdan magnified his name,

To me ’tis very small!
22.

And, truly, is there such a spell

In those three letters, L. E. L.,

To witch a world with song?

On clouds the Byron did not sit,

Yet dar’d on Shakspeare’s head to spit,

And say the world was wrong!
23.

And shall not we? Let’s think aloud!

Thus being couch’d upon a cloud,

Graham, we’ll have our eyes!

We felt the great when we were less,

But we’ll retort on littleness

Now we are in the skies.
24.

O Graham, Graham, how I blame

The bastard³⁶ blush — the petty shame,

That used to fret³⁷ me quite —

The little sores I cover’d then,

No sores on earth, nor sorrows when

The world is out of sight!
25.

My name is Tims. — I am the man

That North’s unseen diminish’d clan³⁸

So scurvily³⁹ abused!

I am the very P. A. Z.

The London’s Lion’s small pin’s head

So often hath refused!
26.

Campbell —(you cannot see him here)—

Hath scorn’d my lays:— do his appear

Such great eggs from the sky? —

And Longman, and his lengthy⁴⁰ Co.

Long, only, in a little Row,

Have thrust my poems by!
27.

What else? — I’m poor, and much beset⁴¹

With damn’d small duns — that is — in debt

Some grains of golden dust!

But only worth, above, is worth. —

What’s all the credit of the earth?

An inch of cloth on trust?
28.

What’s Rothschild here, that wealthy man!

Nay, worlds of wealth? — Oh, if you can

Spy out — the Golden Ball!

Sure as we rose, all money sank:

What’s gold or silver now? — the Bank

Is gone — the ‘Change and all!
29.

What’s all the ground-rent of the globe? —

Oh, Graham, it would worry Job

To hear its landlords prate⁴²!

But after this survey, I think

I’ll ne’er be bullied⁴³ more, nor shrink

From men of large estate!
30.

And less, still less, will I submit

To poor mean acres’ worth of wit —

I that have heaven’s span —

I that like Shakspeare’s self may dream

Beyond the very clouds, and seem

An Universal Man!
31.

Mark, Graham, mark those gorgeous crowds!

Like Birds of Paradise the clouds

Are winging on the wind!

But what is grander than their range?

More lovely than their sunset change? —

The free creative mind!
32.

Well! the Adults’ School’s in the air!

The greatest men are lesson’d there

As well as the Lessee⁴⁴!

Oh could Earth’s Ellistons thus small

Behold⁴⁵ the greatest stage of all,

How humbled⁴⁶ they would be!
33.

“Oh would some Power the giftie gie ’em,

To see themselves as others see ’em,”

’Twould much abate⁴⁷ their fuss!

If they could think that from the iskies

They are as little in our eyes

As they can think of us!
34.

Of us! are we gone out of sight?

Lessen’d! diminish’d! vanish’d quite!

Lost to the tiny town!

Beyond the Eagle’s ken — the grope

Of Dollond’s longest telescope!

Graham! we’re going down!
35.

Ah me! I’ve touch’d a string that opes

The airy valve! — the gas elopes —

Down goes our bright Balloon! —

Farewell the skies! the clouds! I smell

The lower world! Graham, farewell,

Man of the silken moon!
36.

The earth is close! the City nears —

Like a burnt paper it appears,

Studded with tiny sparks!

Methinks I hear the distant rout⁴⁸

Of coaches rumbling⁴⁹ all about —

We’re close above the Parks!
37.

I hear the watchmen on their beats,

Hawking⁵⁰ the hour about the streets.

Lord! what a cruel jar

It is upon the earth to light!

Well — there’s the finish of our flight!

I’ve smoked my last segar!

1 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

2 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

3 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 kennel   

n.狗舍，狗窝

参考例句：

• Sporting dogs should be kept out of doors in a kennel.猎狗应该养在户外的狗窝中。
• Rescued dogs are housed in a standard kennel block.获救的狗被装在一个标准的犬舍里。

6 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

7 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

8 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

9 wren   

n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员

参考例句：

• A wren is a kind of short-winged songbird.鹪鹩是一种短翼的鸣禽。
• My bird guide confirmed that a Carolina wren had discovered the thickets near my house.我掌握的鸟类知识使我确信，一只卡罗莱纳州鹪鹩已经发现了我家的这个灌木丛。

10 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

13 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

14 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

15 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

16 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

17 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

18 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

19 cant   

n.斜穿，黑话，猛扔

参考例句：

• The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
• He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。

20 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

21 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

22 rebukes   

责难或指责( rebuke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His industry rebukes me. 他的勤劳使我感到惭傀。
• The manager's rebukes in loud voice and stern expression have made the clerks gathered in the out office start with alarm. 老板声色俱厉的责备把聚集在办公室外的职员们吓坏了。

23 acclaim   

v.向…欢呼，公认；n.欢呼，喝彩，称赞

参考例句：

• He was welcomed with great acclaim.他受到十分热烈的欢迎。
• His achievements earned him the acclaim of the scientific community.他的成就赢得了科学界的赞誉。

24 gnats   

n.叮人小虫( gnat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He decided that he might fire at all gnats. 他决定索性把鸡毛蒜皮都摊出来。 来自辞典例句
• The air seemed to grow thick with fine white gnats. 空气似乎由于许多白色的小虫子而变得浑浊不堪。 来自辞典例句

25 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

26 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

27 recedes   

v.逐渐远离( recede的第三人称单数 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• For this reason the near point gradually recedes as one grows older. 由于这个原因，随着人渐渐变老，近点便逐渐后退。 来自辞典例句
• Silent, mournful, abandoned, broken, Czechoslovakia recedes into the darkness. 缄默的、悲哀的、被抛弃的、支离破碎的捷克斯洛伐克，已在黑暗之中。 来自辞典例句

28 fig   

n.无花果(树)

参考例句：

• The doctor finished the fig he had been eating and selected another.这位医生吃完了嘴里的无花果，又挑了一个。
• You can't find a person who doesn't know fig in the United States.你找不到任何一个在美国的人不知道无花果的。

29 lore   

n.传说；学问，经验，知识

参考例句：

• I will seek and question him of his lore.我倒要找上他，向他讨教他的渊博的学问。
• Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend.早期人类通过传说传递有关植物和动物的知识。

30 minions   

n.奴颜婢膝的仆从( minion的名词复数 )；走狗；宠儿；受人崇拜者

参考例句：

• She delegated the job to one of her minions. 她把这份工作委派给她的一个手下。 来自辞典例句
• I have been a slave to the vicious-those whom I served were his minions. 我当过那帮坏人的奴隶，我伺候的都是他的爪牙。 来自辞典例句

31 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

32 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

33 ethic   

n.道德标准，行为准则

参考例句：

• They instilled the work ethic into their children.他们在孩子们的心中注入了职业道德的理念。
• The connotation of education ethic is rooted in human nature's mobility.教育伦理的内涵根源于人本性的变动性。

34 stilts   

n.（支撑建筑物高出地面或水面的）桩子，支柱( stilt的名词复数 )；高跷

参考例句：

• a circus performer on stilts 马戏团里踩高跷的演员
• The bamboo huts here are all built on stilts. 这里的竹楼都是架空的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

35 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

36 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

37 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

38 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

39 scurvily   

下流地，粗鄙地，无礼地

参考例句：

40 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

41 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

42 prate   

v.瞎扯，胡说

参考例句：

• Listen to him prating on about nothing.听他瞎唠叨。
• If the hen does not prate,she will not lay.母鸡不唠叨不下蛋。

43 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

44 lessee   

n.（房地产的）租户

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The lessee will be asked to fill in a leasing application.租赁人要求填写一张租赁申请。

45 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

46 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

47 abate   

vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退

参考例句：

• We must abate the noise pollution in our city.我们必须消除我们城里的噪音污染。
• The doctor gave him some medicine to abate the powerful pain.医生给了他一些药，以减弱那剧烈的疼痛。

48 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

49 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

50 hawking   

利用鹰行猎

参考例句：

• He is hawking his goods everywhere. 他在到处兜售他的货物。
• We obtain the event horizon and the Hawking spectrumformula. 得到了黑洞的局部事件视界位置和Hawking温度以及Klein—Gordon粒子的Hawking辐射谱。