The Stag-eyed Lady.

A Moorish¹ Tale.

Scheherazade immediately began the following story.
1.

Ali Ben Ali (did you never read

His wond’rous acts that chronicles relate —

How there was one in pity might exceed

The Sack of Troy?) Magnificent he sate³

Upon the throne of greatness — great indeed!

For those that he had under him were great —

The horse he rode on, shod with silver nails,

Was a Bashaw — Bashaws have horses’ tails.
2.

Ali was cruel — a most cruel one!

’Tis rumored⁴ he had strangled his own mother —

Howbeit such deeds of darkness he had done,

’Tis thought he would have slain⁵ his elder brother

And sister too — but happily that none

Did live within harm’s length of one another,

Else he had sent the Sun in all its blaze

To endless night, and shorten’d the Moon’s days.
3.

Despotic power, that mars a weak man’s wit,

And makes a bad man — absolutely bad,

Made Ali wicked — to a fault:—’tis fit

Monarchs⁷ should have some check-strings; but he had

No curb⁸ upon his will — no, not a bit—

Wherefore he did not reign⁹ well — and full glad

His slaves had been to hang him — but they falter’d

And let him live unhang’d — and still unalter’d,
4.

Until he got a sage-bush of a beard,

Wherein an Attic¹⁰ owl¹¹ might roost — a trail

Of bristly hair — that, honor’d and unshear’d,

Grew downward like old women and cow’s tail;

Being a sign of age — some gray appear’d,

Mingling¹² with duskier brown its warnings pale;

But yet, not so poetic¹³ as when Time

Comes like Jack¹⁴ Frost, and whitens it in rime¹⁵.
5.

Ben Ali took the hint, and much did vex¹⁶

His royal bosom¹⁷ that he had no son,

No living child of the more noble sex,

To stand in his Morocco shoes — not one

To make a negro-pollard — or tread necks

When he was gone — doom’d, when his days were done,

To leave the very city of his fame

Without an Ali to keep up his name.
6.

Therefore he chose a lady for his love,

Singling from out the herd¹⁸ one stag-eyed dear;

So call’d, because her lustrous¹⁹ eyes, above

All eyes, were dark, and timorous²⁰, and clear;

Then, through his Muftis piously²¹ he strove,

And drumm’d with proxy-prayers Mohammed’s ear:

Knowing a boy for certain must come of it,

Or else he was not praying to his Profit.
7.

Beer will grow mothery, and ladies fair

Will grow like beer; so did that stag-eyed dame²²:

Ben Ali, hoping for a son and heir,

Boy’d up his hopes, and even chose a name

Of mighty²³ hero that his child should bear;

He made so certain ere his chicken came:—

But oh! all worldly wit is little worth,

Nor knoweth what to-morrow will bring forth²⁴!
8.

To-morrow came, and with to-morrow’s sun

A little daughter to this world of sins —

Miss-fortunes never come alone — so one

Brought on another, like a pair of twins:

Twins! female twins! — it was enough to stun²⁵

Their little wits and scare them from their skins

To hear their father stamp, and curse, and swear,

Pulling his beard because he had no heir.
9.

Then strove their stag-eyed mother to calm down

This his paternal²⁶ rage, and thus addrest;

“Oh! Most Serene²⁷! why dost thou stamp and frown,

And box the compass of the royal chest?”

“Ah! thou wilt²⁸ mar⁶ that portly trunk, I own

I love to gaze on! — Pr’ythee, thou hadst best

Pocket thy fists. Nay²⁹, love, if you so thin

Your beard, you’ll want a wig³⁰ upon your chin!”
10.

But not her words, nor e’en her tears, could slack

The quicklime of his rage, that hotter grew:

He call’d his slave to bring an ample sack

Wherein a woman might be poked³¹ — a few

Dark grimly men felt pity and look’d black

At this sad order; but their slaveships knew

When any dared demur³², his sword so bending

Cut off the “head and front of their offending.”
11.

For Ali had a sword, much like himself,

A crooked³³ blade, guilty of human gore³⁴ —

The trophies³⁵ it had lopp’d from many an elf

Were struck at his head-quarters by the score —

Not yet in peace belaid it on the shelf,

But jested with it, and his wit cut sore;

So that (as they of Public Houses speak)

He often did his dozen butts³⁶ a week.
12.

Therefore his slaves, with most obedient fears,

Came with the sack the lady to enclose;

In vain from her stag-eyes “the big round tears

Coursed one another down her innocent nose”;

In vain her tongue wept sorrow in their ears;

Though there were some felt willing to oppose,

Yet when their heads came in their heads, that minute,

Though ’twas a piteous case, they put her in it.
13.

And when the sack was tied, some two or three

Of these black undertakers slowly brought her

To a kind of Moorish Serpentine³⁷; for she

Was doom’d to have a winding³⁸ sheet of water.

Then farewell, earth — farewell to the green tree —

Farewell, the sun — the moon — each little daughter!

She’s shot from off the shoulders of a black,

Like bag of Wall’s-End from a coalman’s back.
14.

The waters oped, and the wide sack full-fill’d

All that the waters oped, as down it fell;

Then closed the wave, and then the surface rill’d

A ring above her, like a water-knell;

A moment more, and all its face was still’d,

And not a guilty heave was left to tell

That underneath³⁹ its calm and blue transparence

A dame lay drownèd in her sack, like Clarence.
15.

But Heaven beheld⁴⁰, and awful witness bore —

The moon in black eclipse deceased that night,

Like Desdemona smother’d by the Moor² —

The lady’s natal⁴¹ star with pale afright

Fainted and fell — and what were stars before,

Turn’d comets as the tale was brought to light;

And all looked downward on the fatal wave,

And made their own reflections on her grave.
16.

Next night, a head — a little lady head,

Push’d through the waters a most glassy face,

With weedy tresses, thrown apart and spread,

Comb’d by ‘live ivory, to show the space

Of a pale forehead, and two eyes that shed

A soft blue mist, breathing a bloomy grace

Over their sleepy lids — and so she rais’d

Her aqualine nose above the stream, and gazed.
17.

She oped her lips — lips of a gentle blush,

So pale it seem’d near drownèd to a white —

She oped her lips, and forth there sprang a gush

Of music bubbling through the surface light;

The leaves are motionless, the breezes hush

To listen to the air — and through the night

There come these words of a most plaintive ditty,

Sobbing as they would break all hearts with pity:

1 moorish   

adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的

参考例句：

• There was great excitement among the Moorish people at the waterside. 海边的摩尔人一阵轰动。 来自辞典例句
• All the doors are arched with the special arch we see in Moorish pictures. 门户造成拱形，形状独特，跟摩尔风暴画片里所见的一样。 来自辞典例句

2 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

3 sate   

v.使充分满足

参考例句：

• Nothing could sate the careerist's greed for power.什么也满足不了这个野心家的权力欲。
• I am sate with opera after listening to it for a whole weekend.听了整整一个周末的歌剧，我觉得腻了。

4 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

5 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

6 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

7 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

8 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

9 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

10 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

11 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

12 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

13 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

14 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

15 rime   

n.白霜；v.使蒙霜

参考例句：

• The field was covered with rime in the early morning.清晨地里覆盖着一层白霜。
• Coleridge contributed the famous Rime of the Ancient Mariner.柯勒律治贡献了著名的《老水手之歌》。

16 vex   

vt.使烦恼，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Everything about her vexed him.有关她的一切都令他困惑。
• It vexed me to think of others gossiping behind my back.一想到别人在背后说我闲话，我就很恼火。

17 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

18 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

19 lustrous   

adj.有光泽的；光辉的

参考例句：

• Mary has a head of thick,lustrous,wavy brown hair.玛丽有一头浓密、富有光泽的褐色鬈发。
• This mask definitely makes the skin fair and lustrous.这款面膜可以异常有用的使肌肤变亮和有光泽。

20 timorous   

adj.胆怯的，胆小的

参考例句：

• She is as timorous as a rabbit.她胆小得像只兔子。
• The timorous rabbit ran away.那只胆小的兔子跑开了。

21 piously   

adv.虔诚地

参考例句：

• Many pilgrims knelt piously at the shrine.许多朝圣者心虔意诚地在神殿跪拜。
• The priests piously consecrated the robbery with a hymn.教士们虔诚地唱了一首赞美诗，把这劫夺行为神圣化了。

22 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

23 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。

24 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

25 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

26 paternal   

adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的

参考例句：

• I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
• My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。

27 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。

28 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。

29 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。

30 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

31 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 demur   

v．表示异议，反对

参考例句：

• Without demur, they joined the party in my rooms. 他们没有推辞就到我的屋里一起聚餐了。
• He accepted the criticism without demur. 他毫无异议地接受了批评。

33 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

34 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

35 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

36 butts   

笑柄( butt的名词复数 )； （武器或工具的）粗大的一端； 屁股； 烟蒂

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。
• The house butts to a cemetery. 这所房子和墓地相连。

37 serpentine   

adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• One part of the Serpentine is kept for swimmers.蜿蜒河的一段划为游泳区。
• Tremolite laths and serpentine minerals are present in places.有的地方出现透闪石板条及蛇纹石。

38 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。

39 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

40 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

41 natal   

adj.出生的，先天的

参考例句：

• Many music-lovers make pilgrimages to Mozart's natal place.很多爱好音乐的人去访问莫扎特的出生地。
• Since natal day,characters possess the visual elements such as dots and strokes.文字从诞生开始便具有了点画这样的视觉元素。