登陆注册
15729400000128

第128章

Do you ne'er think who made them and who taught The dialect they speak, where melodies Alone are the interpreters of thought?

Whose household words are songs in many keys, Sweeter than instrument of man e'er caught!

Whose habitations in the tree-tops even Are half-way houses on the road to heaven!

"Think, every morning when the sun peeps through The dim, leaf-latticed windows of the grove, How jubilant the happy birds renew Their old, melodious madrigals of love!

And when you think of this, remember too 'T is always morning somewhere, and above The awakening continent; from shore to shore, Somewhere the birds are singing evermore.

"Think of your woods and orchards without birds!

Of empty nests that cling to boughs and beams As in an idiot's brain remembered words Hang empty 'mid the cobwebs of his dreams!

Will bleat of flocks or bellowing of herds Make up for the lost music, when your teams Drag home the stingy harvest, and no more The feathered gleaners follow to your door?

"What! would you rather see the incessant stir Of insects in the windrows of the hay, And hear the locust and the grasshopper Their melancholy hurdy-gurdies play?

Is this more pleasant to you than the whir Of meadow-lark, and her sweet roundelay, Or twitter of little field-fares, as you take Your nooning in the shade of bush and brake?

"You call them thieves and pillagers; but know, They are the winged wardens of your farms, Who from the cornfields drive the insidious foe, And from your harvests keep a hundred harms;Even the blackest of them all, the crow, Renders good service as your man-at-arms, Crushing the beetle in his coat of mail, And crying havoc on the slug and snail.

"How can I teach your children gentleness, And mercy to the weak, and reverence For Life, which, in its weakness or excess, Is still a gleam of God's omnipotence, Or Death, which, seeming darkness, is no less The selfsame light, although averted hence, When by your laws, your actions, and your speech, You contradict the very things I teach?"With this he closed; and through the audience went A murmur, like the rustle of dead leaves;The farmers laughed and nodded, and some bent Their yellow heads together like their sheaves;Men have no faith in fine-spun sentiment Who put their trust in bullocks and in beeves.

The birds were doomed; and, as the record shows, A bounty offered for the heads of crows.

There was another audience out of reach, Who had no voice nor vote in making laws, But in the papers read his little speech, And crowned his modest temples with applause;They made him conscious, each one more than each, He still was victor, vanquished in their cause.

Sweetest of all the applause he won from thee, O fair Almira at the Academy!

And so the dreadful massacre began;

O'er fields and orchards, and o'er woodland crests, The ceaseless fusillade of terror ran.

Dead fell the birds, with blood-stains on their breasts, Or wounded crept away from sight of man, While the young died of famine in their nests;A slaughter to be told in groans, not words, The very St.Bartholomew of Birds!

The Summer came, and all the birds were dead;The days were like hot coals; the very ground Was burned to ashes; in the orchards fed Myriads of caterpillars, and around The cultivated fields and garden beds Hosts of devouring insects crawled, and found No foe to check their march, till they had made The land a desert without leaf or shade.

Devoured by worms, like Herod, was the town, Because, like Herod, it had ruthlessly Slaughtered the Innocents.From the trees spun down The canker-worms upon the passers-by, Upon each woman's bonnet, shawl, and gown, Who shook them off with just a little cry They were the terror of each favorite walk, The endless theme of all the village talk.

The farmers grew impatient but a few Confessed their error, and would not complain, For after all, the best thing one can do When it is raining, is to let it rain.

Then they repealed the law, although they knew It would not call the dead to life again;As school-boys, finding their mistake too late, Draw a wet sponge across the accusing slate.

That year in Killingworth the Autumn came Without the light of his majestic look, The wonder of the falling tongues of flame, The illumined pages of his Doom's-Day book.

A few lost leaves blushed crimson with their shame, And drowned themselves despairing in the brook, While the wild wind went moaning everywhere, Lamenting the dead children of the air!

But the next Spring a stranger sight was seen, A sight that never yet by bard was sung, As great a wonder as it would have been If some dumb animal had found a tongue!

A wagon, overarched with evergreen, Upon whose boughs were wicker cages hung, All full of singing birds, came down the street, Filling the air with music wild and sweet.

From all the country round these birds were brought, By order of the town, with anxious quest, And, loosened from their wicker prisons, sought In woods and fields the places they loved best, Singing loud canticles, which many thought Were satires to the authorities addressed, While others, listening in green lanes, averred Such lovely music never had been heard!

But blither still and louder carolled they Upon the morrow, for they seemed to know It was the fair Almira's wedding-day, And everywhere, around, above, below, When the Preceptor bore his bride away, Their songs burst forth in joyous overflow, And a new heaven bent over a new earth Amid the sunny farms of Killingworth.

FINALE

The hour was late; the fire burned low, The Landlord's eyes were closed in sleep, And near the story's end a deep Sonorous sound at times was heard, As when the distant bagpipes blow.

At this all laughed; the Landlord stirred, As one awaking from a swound, And, gazing anxiously around, Protested that he had not slept, But only shut his eyes, and kept His ears attentive to each word.

Then all arose, and said "Good Night."

Alone remained the drowsy Squire To rake the embers of the fire, And quench the waning parlor light.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 尘在记忆里的时光

    尘在记忆里的时光

    “诱惑始终只是诱惑,很多东西尘封在心里早已酿化成信仰,信仰是不会轻易动摇的。”...“是不是发现我比你更了解你自己”他丝毫不作任何退让,“廖梓博你就是个混蛋!”我吼道,“那也只是对你!”“你凭什么质疑我对一凡的感情,你以为看到我千疮百孔的另一面就是了解我吗?我告诉你,我的世界里只有他,你永远也进不来!”...“不要让我看不到你,无论你想做什么、去哪里,哪怕只想一个人待着,跟我说一下我会退到背后等你,给你空间、自由”
  • 我是穿越者

    我是穿越者

    问:穿越到三国了怎么办?在线等,挺急的。答:装装逼。
  • 如果爱情只有一次

    如果爱情只有一次

    一场性/爱,一场相亲,他和她注定纠缠。一次背叛,一次卖身,他和她彻底沉沦。他们用一次性爱情,谱写出永恒的篇章……前路泥泞,不怕,你有我……社会的纷争,人心的凉薄,终敌不过他的绝对宠溺……她败了,败给了那个男人,败得心甘情愿……
  • 黑道冰山撞雪山

    黑道冰山撞雪山

    当冰山撞上雪山,当温柔的他碰到优雅的她,当花心的他遇见可爱又腹黑的她,将会发生什么???
  • 爱上叛逆

    爱上叛逆

    少女独自在大北京拼搏却意外收获爱情“我错过很多美好的东西,还是不愿错过你”
  • 快跑!好多灰太狼!

    快跑!好多灰太狼!

    女主冷漠无情很强大,她就是无解的毒药,让人一沾上就戒不掉,更不想解......‘一只狼’还可以安稳的就让他呆在自己身边,可是如果是一群...当然是快跑了!男主多多,不喜勿近。忽忽~~~男主们可都是像‘灰太狼’一样的好男人呢。摆脱不了那些男人,这下咱们的女主跑路从现代跑到了古代...而那些男人们呢?★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆修改版:http://novel.hongxiu.com/a/282016/(连载中)灰太狼老公系列:一心一熠http://novel.hongxiu.com/a/281775/(第二部连载中)★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆小妖的新坑:《娘子太妖娆》http://novel.hongxiu.com/a/302502/(连载中)
  • 重生之网游女王忠犬竹马

    重生之网游女王忠犬竹马

    她上辈子是游戏里的隐形高手,这辈子她高调回归,堂堂正正的嚣张的做她的网游女王,谁也无法撼动她的地位。盛秋歌重生回来除了玩游戏,还有就是虐白莲花,拯救家人。重生的同时还被附赠了一个二货宠物。身边有忠犬竹马总裁,爱干什么干什么,除了……找奸夫。。。
  • 释迦佛赞

    释迦佛赞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 挽迴

    挽迴

    挽迴扯扯襟子,越发觉得非驴非马,虽过沉着的气象不适合她,但也不得不认清楚面目—一张粉扑子脸,就是再自怜自艾,也不是个好的。她又不情愿的想起了姊妹和二姨娘。还有一个躲在角落、坐上火车、一去不复返的招人恨的人。也罢,都是又想挽回些个什的。她再也不是李府的大小姐,那个气质如兰才华阜仙的人已渐行渐远。她落泪,可他却从不伤悲。
  • 来世再见——对不起,我爱你

    来世再见——对不起,我爱你

    十三个人的命运,被迫被牵在一起。他们都出生在不由得自己谱写自己的命运的都市,从小就被定下了娃娃亲,一向认为娃娃亲很不真实的人,却因此深深的迷恋住了对方。一个几乎完美的女孩儿,仿佛神一般的存在。一次次的回忆曾经的记忆,一个个令人心痛的误解,却又让一个个令人懊悔的真相和曾经的往事浮出水面。这次,他们还会携手,一起谱写未来的人生吗?