LESSON 20 THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM 布伦海姆战役

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.

【中文阅读】

罗伯特·骚塞（1774—1843）出生于英国布里斯托尔市。1793年，他进入牛津大学贝利奥尔学院。1804年，他在靠近坎伯兰郡凯斯维克，也就是“湖泊区”附近的葛雷塔会馆定居下来，并终生住在这里。在这里，他与华兹华斯和柯勒律治以及其他一些“湖畔派”诗人结下了深厚的友谊，骚塞、华兹华斯和柯勒律治被称为“湖畔派”诗人。1813年，他被封为“桂冠诗人”，1835年，他开始接受英国政府授予的每年三百英镑的文学年金。骚塞一生著述颇丰，写有大量散文和诗歌。作为一名诗人，他或许不能荣忝一流，尽管他的某些短小篇幅诗歌在思想和艺术表达上相当成功。他最著名的诗作包括《圣女贞德》、《毁灭者撒拉巴》、《麦道克王子》、《罗德里克》和《克哈玛的诅咒》。

1.这是个夏日的傍晚，

老卡斯帕做完了农活。

他坐在茅屋门口，

沐浴着夕阳。

身旁，他的小孙女威荷敏

正在绿茵草地上嬉闹。

2.她看见哥哥彼得金

滚动着一个又大又圆的东西，

那是他在小溪旁

玩耍时，发现的。

他把它带回家，问这是什么，

这么大，这么圆，这么光滑。

3.老卡斯帕从男孩手上接过它，

男孩站在身旁，好奇地等待。

老人摇了摇头，

发出一声长叹，

“一个可怜家伙的头骨，”他说，

“他在那次伟大战役中丧生。”

4.“我在花园里看过，

它们到处都是。

我下田犁地时，

犁铧总会勾起几个。

成千上万的人，”他说，

“在这场伟大的胜利中阵亡。”

5.“快告诉我们，这场伟大战役的事情。”

年幼的彼得金叫起来。

小威荷敏也抬起头，

眼神急切期盼。

“快说说这场战争，

为什么他们互相残杀。”

6.“那是一场英国人，”老卡斯帕说，

“击溃法国人的战役。

至于他们为什么互相残杀，

我还真说不上来。

但是，人人都说，”他说，

“这是一场伟大的胜利。”

7.“当时，我父亲住在布伦海姆，

那里有条小河，水流湍急。

他们把他的房子烧为平地，

他被迫逃亡。

带着妻子和孩子，他逃走了，

天下之大，他却无处容身。

8.“战火蔓延了整个国家，

衣不蔽体，民不聊生。

许多仍在喂奶的母亲，

怀抱嗷嗷待哺的婴儿，死去了。

可你们知道，战争就是那样，

哪次辉煌胜利的背后，不是血流成河？

9.“人人都说，当这场战役最终胜利时，

战场上是令人震惊的景象。

成千上万具尸体，七横八躺，

阳光暴晒下，很快腐烂。

可你们知道，战争就是那样，

哪次辉煌胜利的背后，不是尸骨堆山？

10.“人们称颂着，马尔波罗公爵的胜利，

还有，我们年轻的尤金王子的战功。”

“为什么呢？杀人是邪恶的！”

小威荷敏开口说道。

“唉，不，我的孩子！”老人说，

“那可是，一次了不起的胜利。

11.“每个人都称颂公爵，

他确实，赢得了胜利。”

“但，最终又有什么好处？”

小彼得金问道。

“唉，这我就不知道了，”老人嘟囔，

“那可是，一场辉煌的胜利。”