LESSON 20 THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM 布倫海姆戰役

Robert Southey (b.1774, d.1843) was born in Bristol, England.He entered Balliol College, Oxford, in 1793.In 1804 he established himself permanently at Greta Hall, near Keswick, Cumberland, in the “Lake Country,” where he enjoyed the friendship and society of Wordsworth and Coleridge, other poets of the “Lake School.” He was appointed poet laureate in 1813, and received a pension of ￡300 a year from the government in 1835.Mr.Southey was a voluminous writer in both prose and verse.As a poet, he can not be placed in the f irst rank, although some of his minor poems are very happy in thought and expression.Among his most noted poetical works are “Joan of Arc,” “Thalaba the Destroyer,” “Madoc,” “Roderick,” and the “Curse of Kehama.”

1.It was a summer evening,

Old Kaspar’s work was done,

And he, before his cottage door,

Was sitting in the sun;

And by him sported on the green,

His little grandchild Wilhelmine.

2.She saw her brother Peterkin

Roll something large and round,

Which he beside the rivulet,

In playing there, had found;

He came to ask what he had found,

That was so large, and smooth, and round.

3.Old Kaspar took it from the boy,

Who stood expectant by;

And then the old man shook his head,

And, with a natural sigh,

“’T is some poor fellow’s skull,” said he,

“Who fell in the great victory.

4.“I fi nd them in the garden,

For there’s many hereabout;

And often when I go to plow,

The plowshare turns them out;

For many thousand men,” said he,

“Were slain in that great victory.”

5.“Now tell us what ’t was all about,”

Young Peterkin he cries;

While little Wilhelmine looks up

With wonder-waiting eyes;

“Now tell us all about the war,

And what they killed each other for.”

6.“It was the English,” Kaspar cried,

“Who put the French to rout,

But what they killed each other for,

I could not well make out;

But everybody said,” quoth he,

“That ’t was a famous victory:

7.“My father lived at Blenheim then,

Yon little stream, hard by;

They burnt his dwelling to the ground,

And he was forced to fl y;

So, with his wife and child he fl ed,

Nor had he where to rest his head.

8.“With fi re and sword, the country round

Was wasted, far and wide;

And many a nursing mother then,

And newborn baby died;

But things like that, you know, must be

At every famous victory.

9.“They say it was a shocking sight

After the fi eld was won;

For many thousand bodies here

Lay rotting in the sun:

But things like that, you know, must be

After a famous victory.

10.“Great praise the Duke of Marlboro’ won,

And our young prince, Eugene.”

“Why, ’t was a very wicked thing!”

Said little Wilhelmine.

“Nay, nay, my little girl!” quoth he,

“It was a famous victory.

11.“And everybody praised the Duke

Who this great fi ght did win.”

“But what good came of it at last?”

Quoth little Peterkin.

“Why, that I can not tell,” said he,

“But ’t was a glorious victory.”

NOTES.—The Battle of Blenheim, in the “War of the Spanish Succession,” was fought August 13, 1704, near Blenheim, in Bavaria, between the French and Bavarians, on one Ride, and an allied army under the great English general, the Duke of Marlborough, and Eugene, Prince of Savoy, on the other.The latter won a decisive victory: 10,000 of the defeated army were killed and wounded, and 13,000 were taken prisoners.

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羅伯特·騷塞（1774—1843）出生于英國布里斯托爾市。1793年，他進入牛津大學貝利奧爾學院。1804年，他在靠近坎伯蘭郡凱斯維克，也就是“湖泊區”附近的葛雷塔會館定居下來，并終生住在這里。在這里，他與華茲華斯和柯勒律治以及其他一些“湖畔派”詩人結下了深厚的友誼，騷塞、華茲華斯和柯勒律治被稱為“湖畔派”詩人。1813年，他被封為“桂冠詩人”，1835年，他開始接受英國政府授予的每年三百英鎊的文學年金。騷塞一生著述頗豐，寫有大量散文和詩歌。作為一名詩人，他或許不能榮忝一流，盡管他的某些短小篇幅詩歌在思想和藝術表達上相當成功。他最著名的詩作包括《圣女貞德》、《毀滅者撒拉巴》、《麥道克王子》、《羅德里克》和《克哈瑪的詛咒》。

1.這是個夏日的傍晚，

老卡斯帕做完了農活。

他坐在茅屋門口，

沐浴著夕陽。

身旁，他的小孫女威荷敏

正在綠茵草地上嬉鬧。

2.她看見哥哥彼得金

滾動著一個又大又圓的東西，

那是他在小溪旁

玩耍時，發現的。

他把它帶回家，問這是什么，

這么大，這么圓，這么光滑。

3.老卡斯帕從男孩手上接過它，

男孩站在身旁，好奇地等待。

老人搖了搖頭，

發出一聲長嘆，

“一個可憐家伙的頭骨，”他說，

“他在那次偉大戰役中喪生?！?/p>

4.“我在花園里看過，

它們到處都是。

我下田犁地時，

犁鏵總會勾起幾個。

成千上萬的人，”他說，

“在這場偉大的勝利中陣亡。”

5.“快告訴我們，這場偉大戰役的事情?！?/p>

年幼的彼得金叫起來。

小威荷敏也抬起頭，

眼神急切期盼。

“快說說這場戰爭，

為什么他們互相殘殺。”

6.“那是一場英國人，”老卡斯帕說，

“擊潰法國人的戰役。

至于他們為什么互相殘殺，

我還真說不上來。

但是，人人都說，”他說，

“這是一場偉大的勝利?！?/p>

7.“當時，我父親住在布倫海姆，

那里有條小河，水流湍急。

他們把他的房子燒為平地，

他被迫逃亡。

帶著妻子和孩子，他逃走了，

天下之大，他卻無處容身。

8.“戰火蔓延了整個國家，

衣不蔽體，民不聊生。

許多仍在喂奶的母親，

懷抱嗷嗷待哺的嬰兒，死去了。

可你們知道，戰爭就是那樣，

哪次輝煌勝利的背后，不是血流成河？

9.“人人都說，當這場戰役最終勝利時，

戰場上是令人震驚的景象。

成千上萬具尸體，七橫八躺，

陽光暴曬下，很快腐爛。

可你們知道，戰爭就是那樣，

哪次輝煌勝利的背后，不是尸骨堆山？

10.“人們稱頌著，馬爾波羅公爵的勝利，

還有，我們年輕的尤金王子的戰功。”

“為什么呢？殺人是邪惡的！”

小威荷敏開口說道。

“唉，不，我的孩子！”老人說，

“那可是，一次了不起的勝利。

11.“每個人都稱頌公爵，

他確實，贏得了勝利?！?/p>

“但，最終又有什么好處？”

小彼得金問道。

“唉，這我就不知道了，”老人嘟囔，

“那可是，一場輝煌的勝利?！?/p>