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第10节

50 bab ballads-第10节

小说: 50 bab ballads 字数: 每页4000字

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Remarkably nice young men were the crew of the HOT CROSS BUN;

I'm sorry to say that I've heard that sailors sometimes swear;

But I never yet heard a BUN say anything wrong; I declare。



When Jack Tars meet; they meet with a 〃Messmate; ho!  What cheer?〃

But here; on the HOT CROSS BUN; it was 〃How do you do; my dear?〃

When Jack Tars growl; I believe they growl with a big big D…

But the strongest oath of the HOT CROSS BUNS was a mild 〃Dear me!〃



Yet; though they were all well…bred; you could scarcely call them 

slick:

Whenever a sea was on; they were all extremely sick;

And whenever the weather was calm; and the wind was light and fair;

They spent more time than a sailor should on his back back hair。



They certainly shivered and shook when ordered aloft to run;

And they screamed when LIEUTENANT BELAYE discharged his only gun。

And as he was proud of his gun … such pride is hardly wrong …

The Lieutenant was blazing away at intervals all day long。



They all agreed very well; though at times you heard it said

That BILL had a way of his own of making his lips look red …

That JOE looked quite his age … or somebody might declare

That BARNACLE'S long pig…tail was never his own own hair。



BELAYE would admit that his men were of no great use to him;

〃But; then;〃 he would say; 〃there is little to do on a gunboat trim

I can hand; and reef; and steer; and fire my big gun too …

And it IS such a treat to sail with a gentle well…bred crew。〃



I saw him every day。  How the happy moments sped!

Reef topsails!  Make all taut!  There's dirty weather ahead!

(I do not mean that tempests threatened the HOT CROSS BUN:

In THAT case; I don't know whatever we SHOULD have done!)



After a fortnight's cruise; we put into port one day;

And off on leave for a week went kind LIEUTENANT BELAYE;

And after a long long week had passed (and it seemed like a life);

LIEUTENANT BELAYE returned to his ship with a fair young wife!



He up; and he says; says he; 〃O crew of the HOT CROSS BUN;

Here is the wife of my heart; for the Church has made us one!〃

And as he uttered the word; the crew went out of their wits;

And all fell down in so many separate fainting…fits。



And then their hair came down; or off; as the case might be;

And lo! the rest of the crew were simple girls; like me;

Who all had fled from their homes in a sailor's blue array;

To follow the shifting fate of kind LIEUTENANT BELAYE。



* * * * * * * *



It's strange to think that I should ever have loved young men;

But I'm speaking of ten years past … I was barely sixty then;

And now my cheeks are furrowed with grief and age; I trow!

And poor POLL PINEAPPLE'S eyes have lost their lustre now!







Ballad: LOST MR。 BLAKE。







MR。 BLAKE was a regular out…and…out hardened sinner;

Who was quite out of the pale of Christianity; so to speak;

He was in the habit of smoking a long pipe and drinking a glass of 

grog on a Sunday after dinner;

And seldom thought of going to church more than twice or … if Good 

Friday or Christmas Day happened to come in it … three times a 

week。



He was quite indifferent as to the particular kinds of dresses

That the clergyman wore at church where he used to go to pray;

And whatever he did in the way of relieving a chap's distresses;

He always did in a nasty; sneaking; underhanded; hole…and…corner 

sort of way。



I have known him indulge in profane; ungentlemanly emphatics;

When the Protestant Church has been divided on the subject of the 

proper width of a chasuble's hem;

I have even known him to sneer at albs … and as for dalmatics;

Words can't convey an idea of the contempt he expressed for THEM。



He didn't believe in persons who; not being well off themselves; 

are obliged to confine their charitable exertions to collecting 

money from wealthier people;

And looked upon individuals of the former class as ecclesiastical 

hawks;

He used to say that he would no more think of interfering with his 

priest's robes than with his church or his steeple;

And that he did not consider his soul imperilled because somebody 

over whom he had no influence whatever; chose to dress himself up 

like an exaggerated GUY FAWKES。



This shocking old vagabond was so unutterably shameless

That he actually went a…courting a very respectable and pious 

middle…aged sister; by the name of BIGGS。

She was a rather attractive widow; whose life as such had always 

been particularly blameless;

Her first husband had left her a secure but moderate competence; 

owing to some fortunate speculations in the matter of figs。



She was an excellent person in every way … and won the respect even 

of MRS。 GRUNDY;

She was a good housewife; too; and wouldn't have wasted a penny if 

she had owned the Koh…i…noor。

She was just as strict as he was lax in her observance of Sunday;

And being a good economist; and charitable besides; she took all 

the bones and cold potatoes and broken pie…crusts and candle…ends 

(when she had quite done with them); and made them into an 

excellent soup for the deserving poor。



I am sorry to say that she rather took to BLAKE … that outcast of 

society;

And when respectable brothers who were fond of her began to look 

dubious and to cough;

She would say; 〃Oh; my friends; it's because I hope to bring this 

poor benighted soul back to virtue and propriety;

And besides; the poor benighted soul; with all his faults; was 

uncommonly well off。



And when MR。 BLAKE'S dissipated friends called his attention to the 

frown or the pout of her;

Whenever he did anything which appeared to her to savour of an 

unmentionable place;

He would say that 〃she would be a very decent old girl when all 

that nonsense was knocked out of her;〃

And his method of knocking it out of her is one that covered him 

with disgrace。



She was fond of going to church services four times every Sunday; 

and; four or five times in the week; and never seemed to pall of 

them;

So he hunted out all the churches within a convenient distance that 

had services at different hours; so to speak;

And when he had married her he positively insisted upon their going 

to all of them;

So they contrived to do about twelve churches every Sunday; and; if 

they had luck; from twenty…two to twenty…three in the course of the 

week。



She was fond of dropping his sovereigns ostentatiously into the 

plate; and she liked to see them stand out rather conspicuously 

against the commonplace half…crowns and shillings;

So he took her to all the charity sermons; and if by any 

extraordinary chance there wasn't a charity sermon anywhere; he 

would drop a couple of sovereigns (one for him and one for her) 

into the poor…box at the door;

And as he always deducted the sums thus given in charity from the 

housekeeping money; and the money he allowed her for her bonnets 

and frillings;

She soon began to find that even charity; if you allow it to 

interfere with your personal luxuries; becomes an intolerable bore。



On Sundays she was always melancholy and anything but good society;

For that day in her household was a day of sighings and sobbings 

and wringing of hands and shaking of heads:

She wouldn't hear of a button being sewn on a glove; because it was 

a work neither of necessity nor of piety;

And strictly prohibited her servants from amusing themselves; or 

indeed doing anything at all except dusting the drawing…rooms; 

cleaning the boots and shoes; cooking the parlour dinner; waiting 

generally on the family; and making the beds。

But BLAKE even went further than that; and said that people should 

do their own works of necessity; and not delegate them to persons 

in a menial situation;

So he wouldn't allow his servants to do so much as even answer a 

bell。

Here he is making his wife carry up the water for her bath to the 

second floor; much against her inclination; …

And why in the world the gentleman who illustrates these ballads 

has put him in a cocked hat is more than I can tell。



After about three months of this sort of thing; taking the smooth 

with the rough of it;

(Blacking her own boots and peeling her own potatoes was not her 

notion of connubial bliss);

MRS。 BLAKE began to find that she had pretty nearly had enough of 

it;

And came; in course of time; to think that BLAKE'S own original 

line of conduct wasn't so much amiss。



And now that wicked person … that detestable sinner (〃BELIAL BLAKE〃 

his friends and well…wishers call him for his atrocities);

And his poor deluded victim; whom all her Christian brothers 

dislike and pity so;

Go to the parish church only on Sunday morning and afternoon and 

occasionally on a week…day; and spend their evenings in connubial 

fondlings and affectionate reciprocities;

And I should like to know where in the world (or rather; out of it) 

they expect to go!







Ballad: THE BABY'S VENGEANC

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