The Duel.

A Serious Ballad¹.

“Like the two Kings of Brentford smelling at one nosegay.”

In Brentford town, of old renown²,

There lived a Mister Bray³,

Who fell in love with Lucy Bell,

And so did Mr. Clay.

To see her ride from Hammersmith,

By all it was allowed,

Such fair outsides are seldom seen,

Such Angels on a Cloud.

Said Mr. Bray to Mr. Clay,

You choose to rival me,

And court Miss Bell, but there your court

No thoroughfare shall be.

Unless you now give up your suit,

You may repent⁴ your love;

I who have shot a pigeon match,

Can shoot a turtle dove.

So pray before you woo her more,

Consider what you do;

If you pop aught to Lucy Bell —

I’ll pop it into you.

Said Mr. Clay to Mr. Bray,

Your threats I quite explode;

One who has been a volunteer

Knows how to prime and load.

And so I say to you unless

Your passion quiet keeps,

I who have shot and hit bulls’ eyes,

May chance to hit a sheep’s.

Now gold is oft for silver changed,

And that for copper⁵ red;

But these two went away to give

Each other change for lead.

But first they sought a friend apiece,

This pleasant thought to give —

When they were dead, they thus should have

Two seconds still to live.

To measure out the ground not long

The seconds then forbore,

And having taken one rash step,

They took a dozen more.

They next prepared each pistol-pan

Against the deadly strife⁶,

By putting in the prime of death

Against the prime of life.

Now all was ready for the foes⁷,

But when they took their stands,

Fear made them tremble so, they found

They both were shaking hands.

Said Mr. C. to Mr. B.,

Here one of us may fall,

And like St. Paul’s Cathedral now

Be doomed⁸ to have a ball.

I do confess I did attach

Misconduct to your name;

If I withdraw the charge, will then

Your ramrod do the same?

Said Mr, B., I do agree —

But think of Honor’s Courts!

If we go off without a shot,

There will be strange reports.

But look, the morning now is bright,

Though cloudy it begun:

Why can’t we aim above, as if

We had called out the sun?

Soup into the harmless air

Their bullets they did send;

And may all other duels⁹ have

That upshot in the end!

1 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

2 renown   

n.声誉，名望

参考例句：

• His renown has spread throughout the country.他的名声已传遍全国。
• She used to be a singer of some renown.她曾是位小有名气的歌手。

3 bray   

n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫

参考例句：

• She cut him off with a wild bray of laughter.她用刺耳的狂笑打断了他的讲话。
• The donkey brayed and tried to bolt.这头驴嘶叫着试图脱缰而逃。

4 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

5 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

6 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

7 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。

8 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

9 duels   

n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争

参考例句：

• That's where I usually fight my duels. 我经常在那儿进行决斗。” 来自英语晨读30分（初三）
• Hyde Park also became a favourite place for duels. 海德公园也成了决斗的好地方。 来自辞典例句