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第59章

the home book of verse-1-第59章

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Do not mock us; grief has made us unbelieving:

We look up for God; but tears have made us blind。〃

Do you hear the children weeping and disproving;

O my brothers; what ye preach?

For God's possible is taught by His world's loving;

And the children doubt of each。



And well may the children weep before you!

They are weary ere they run;

They have never seen the sunshine; nor the glory

Which is brighter than the sun。

They know the grief of man; without its wisdom;

They sink in man's despair; without its calm;

Are slaves; without the liberty in Christdom;

Are martyrs; by the pang without the palm:

Are worn as if with age; yet unretrievingly

The harvest of its memories cannot reap; …

Are orphans of the earthly love and heavenly。

Let them weep! let them weep!



They look up; with their pale and sunken faces;

And their look is dread to see;

For they mind you of their angels in high places;

With eyes turned on Deity。

〃How long;〃 they say; 〃how long; O cruel nation;

Will you stand; to move the world; on a child's heart; …

Stifle down with a mailed heel its palpitation;

And tread onward to your throne amid the mart?

Our blood splashes upward; O gold…heaper;

And your purple shows your path;


But the child's sob in the silence curses deeper

Than the strong man in his wrath!〃



Elizabeth Barrett Browning '1806…1861'





THE SHADOW…CHILD



Why do the wheels go whirring round;

Mother; mother?

Oh; mother; are they giants bound;

And will they growl forever?

Yes; fiery giants underground;

Daughter; little daughter;

Forever turn the wheels around;

And rumble…grumble ever。



Why do I pick the threads all day;

Mother; mother?

While sunshine children are at play?

And must I work forever?

Yes; shadow…child; the live…long day;

Daughter; little daughter;

Your hands must pick the threads away;

And feel the sunshine never。



Why do the birds sing in the sun;

Mother; mother?

If all day long I run and run;

Run with the wheels forever?

The birds may sing till day is done;

Daughter; little daughter;

But with the wheels your feet must run …

Run with the wheels forever。



Why do I feel so tired each night;

Mother; mother?

The wheels are always buzzing bright;

Do they grow sleepy never?

Oh; baby thing; so soft and white;

Daughter; little daughter;

The big wheels grind us in their might;

And they will grind forever。



And is the white thread never spun;

Mother; mother?

And is the white cloth never done;

For you and me done never?

Oh; yes; our thread will all be spun;

Daughter; little daughter;

When we lie down out in the sun;

And work no more forever。



And when will come that happy day;

Mother; mother?

Oh; shall we laugh and sing and play

Out in the sun forever?

Nay; shadow…child; we'll rest all day;

Daughter; little daughter;

Where green grass grows and roses gay;

There in the sun forever。



Harriet Monroe '1860…1936'





MOTHER WEPT



Mother wept; and father sighed;

With delight aglow

Cried the lad; 〃To…morrow;〃 cried;

〃To the pit I go。〃



Up and down the place he sped; …

Greeted old and young;

Far and wide the tidings spread;

Clapt his hands and sung。



Came his cronies; some to gaze

Wrapped in wonder; some

Free with counsel; some with praise:

Some with envy dumb。



〃May he;〃 many a gossip cried;

〃Be from peril kept。〃

Father hid his face and sighed;

Mother turned and wept。



Joseph Skipsey '1832…1903'





DUTY



So nigh is grandeur to our dust;

So near is God to man;

When Duty whispers low; 〃Thou must;〃

The youth replies; 〃I can。〃



Ralph Waldo Emerson '1803…1882'





LUCY GRAY

Or Solitude



Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray:

And; when I crossed the wild;

I chanced to see; at break of day;

The solitary child。



No mate; no comrade Lucy knew;

She dwelt on a wide moor;

The sweetest thing that ever grew

Beside a human door!



You yet may spy the fawn at play;

The hare upon the green;

But the sweet face of Lucy Gray

Will never more be seen。



〃To…night will be a stormy night; …

You to the town must go;

And take a lantern; Child; to light

Your mother through the snow。〃



〃That; Father; will I gladly do:

'Tis scarcely afternoon; …

The minster…clock has just struck two;

And yonder is the moon!〃



At this the Father raised his hook;

And snapped a fagot…brand。

He plied his work; … and Lucy took

The lantern in her hand。



Not blither is the mountain roe:

With many a wanton stroke

Her feet disperse the powdery snow;

That rises up like smoke。



The storm came on before its time:

She wandered up and down:

And many a hill did Lucy climb:

But never reached the town。



The wretched parents all that night

Went shouting far and wide;

But there was neither sound nor sight

To serve them for a guide。



At daybreak on the hill they stood

That overlooked the moor;

And thence they saw the bridge of wood;

A furlong from their door。



They wept; … and; turning homeward; cried;

〃In heaven we all shall meet;〃

When in the snow the mother spied

The print of Lucy's feet。



Then downwards from the steep hill's edge

They tracked the footmarks small:

And through the broken hawthorn…hedge;

And by the low stone…wall;



And then an open field they crossed …

The marks were still the same …

They tracked them on; nor ever lost;

And to the bridge they came。



They followed from the snowy bank

Those footmarks; one by one;

Into the middle of the plank;

And further there were none!



… Yet some maintain that to this day

She is a living child;

That you may see sweet Lucy Gray

Upon the lonesome wild。



O'er rough and smooth she trips along;

And never looks behind;

And sings a solitary song

That whistles in the wind。



William Wordsworth '1770…1850'





IN THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

Emmie



Our doctor had called in another; I never had seen him before;

But he sent a chill to my heart when I saw him come in at the door;

Fresh from the surgery…schools of France and of other lands …

Harsh red hair; big voice; big chest; big merciless hands!

Wonderful cures he had done; O yes; but they said too of him

He was happier using the knife than in trying to save the limb;

And that I can well believe; for he looked so coarse and so red;

I could think he was one of those who would break their jests on the dead;

And mangle the living dog that had loved him and fawned  at his knee …

Drenched with the hellish oorali … that ever such things should be!



Here was a boy … I am sure that some of our children would die

But for the voice of love; and the smile; and the comforting eye …

Here was a boy in the ward; every bone seemed out of its place …

Caught in a mill and crushed … it was all but a hopeless case:

And he handled him gently enough; but his voice and his face were not kind;

And it was but a hopeless case; he had seen it and made up his mind;

And he said to me roughly 〃The lad will need little more of your care。〃

〃All the more need;〃 I told him; 〃to seek the Lord Jesus in prayer;

They are all His children here; and I pray for them all as my own:〃

But he turned to me; 〃Ay; good woman; can prayer set a broken bone?〃

Then he muttered half to himself; but I know that I heard him say;

〃All very well … but the good Lord Jesus has had his day。〃



Had? has it come?  It has only dawned。  It will come by and by。

O; how could I serve in the wards if the hope of the world were a lie?

How could I bear with the sights and the loathsome smells of disease

But that He said 〃Ye do it to me; when ye do it to these〃?



So he went。  And we passed to this ward where the younger children are laid:

Here is the cot of our orphan; our darling; our meek little maid;

Empty you see just now!  We have lost her who loved her so much …

Patient of pain though as quick as 

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