Of diffidence or shyness:

She borrows light
That, through the night,

Mankind may all acclaim her!
And, truth to tell,

She lights up well,
So I, for one, don't blame her!

Ah, pray make no mistake,
We are not shy;

We're very wide awake,
The Moon and I!

Ballad: The Policeman's Lot
When a felon's not engaged in his employment,

Or maturing his felonious little plans,
His capacity for innocent enjoyment

Is just as great as any honest man's.
Our feelings we with difficulty smother

When constabulary duty's to be done:
Ah, take one consideration with another,

A policeman's lot is not a happy one!
When the enterprisingburglar isn't burgling,

When the cut-throat isn't occupied in crime,
He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling,

And listen to the merry village chime.
When the coster's finished jumping on his mother,

He loves to lie a-basking in the sun:
Ah, take one consideration with another,

The policeman's lot is not a happy one!
Ballad: The Baffled Grumbler

Whene'er I poke
Sarcastic joke

Replete with malice spiteful,
The people vile

Politely smile
And vote me quite delightful!

Now, when a wight
Sits up all night

Ill-natured jokes devising,
And all his wiles

Are met with smiles,
It's hard, there's no disguising!

Oh, don't the days seem lank and long
When all goes right and nothing goes wrong,

And isn't your life extremely flat
With nothing whatever to grumble at!

When German bands,
From music stands

Play Wagner imperFECTly -
I bid them go -

They don't say no,
But off they trot directly!

The organ boys
They stop their noise

With readiness surprising,
And grinning herds

Of hurdy-gurds
Retire apologising!

Oh, don't the days seem lank and long
When all goes right and nothing goes wrong,

And isn't your life extremely flat
With nothing whatever to grumble at!

I've offered gold,
In sums untold,

To all who'd contradict me -
I've said I'd pay

A pound a day
To any one who kicked me -

I've bribed with toys
Great vulgar boys

To utter something spiteful,
But, bless you, no!

They WILL be so
Confoundedly politeful!

In short, these aggravating lads,
They tickle my tastes, they feed my fads,

They give me this and they give me that,
And I've nothing whatever to grumble at!

Ballad: The House Of Peers
When Britain really ruled the waves -

(In good Queen Bess's time)
The House of Peers made no pretence

To intellectual eminence,
Or scholarship sublime;

Yet Britain won her proudest bays
In good Queen Bess's glorious days!

When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,
As every child can tell,

The House of Peers, throughout the war,
Did nothing in particular,

And did it very well;
Yet Britain set the world ablaze

In good King George's glorious days!
And while the House of Peers withholds

Its legislative hand,
And noble statesmen do not itch

To interfere with matters which
They do not understand,

As bright will shine Great Britain's rays,
As in King George's glorious days!

Ballad: A Merry Madrigal
Brightly dawns our wedding day;

Joyous hour, we give thee greeting!
Whither, whither art thou fleeting?

Fickle moment, prithee stay!
What though mortal joys be hollow?

Pleasures come, if sorrows follow.
Though the tocsin sound, ere long,

Ding dong! Ding dong!
Yet until the shadows fall

Over one and over all,
Sing a merry madrigal -

Fal la!
Let us dry the ready tear;

Though the hours are surely creeping,
Little need for woeful weeping

Till the sad sundown is near.
All must sip the cup of sorrow,

I to-day and thou to-morrow:
This the close of every song -

Ding dong! Ding dong!
What though solemn shadows fall,

Sooner, later, over all?
Sing a merry madrigal -

Fal la!
Ballad: The Duke And The Duchess

[THE DUKE.]
Small titles and orders

For Mayors and Recorders
I get - and they're highly delighted.

M.P.s baronetted,
Sham Colonels gazetted,

And second-rate Aldermen knighted.
Foundation-stone laying

I find very paying,
It adds a large sum to my makings.

At charity dinners
The best of speech-spinners,

I get ten per cent on the takings!
[THE DUCHESS.]

I present any lady
Whose conduct is shady

Or smacking of doubtful propriety;
When Virtue would quash her

I take and whitewash her
And launch her in first-rate society.

I recommend acres
Of clumsy dressmakers -

Their fit and their finishing touches;
A sum in addition

They pay for permission
To say that they make for the Duchess!

[THE DUKE.]
Those pressing prevailers,

The ready-made tailors,
Quote me as their great double-barrel;

I allow them to do so,
Though ROBINSON CRUSOE

Would jib at their wearing apparel!
I sit, by selection,

Upon the direction
Of several Companies bubble;

As soon as they're floated
I'm freely bank-noted -

I'm pretty well paid for my trouble!
[THE DUCHESS.]

At middle-class party
I play at ECARTE -

And I'm by no means a beginner;
To one of my station

The remuneration -
Five guineas a night and my dinner.

I write letters blatant
On medicines patent -

And use any other you mustn't;
And vow my complexion

Derives its perfection
From somebody's soap - which it doesn't.

[THE DUKE.]
We're ready as witness

To any one's fitness
To fill any place or preferment;

We're often in waiting
At junket FETING,

And sometimes attend an interment.
In short, if you'd kindle

The spark of a swindle,
Lure simpletons into your clutches,

Or hoodwink a debtor,
You cannot do better

Than trot out a Duke or a Duchess!
Ballad: Eheu Fugaces -!

The air is charged with amatory numbers -
Soft madrigals, and dreamy lovers' lays.

Peace, peace, old heart! Why waken from its slumbers
The aching memory of the old, old days?

Time was when Love and I were well acquainted;
Time was when we walked ever hand in hand;

A saintly youth, with worldly thought untainted,
None better loved than I in all the land!

Time was, when maidens of the noblest station,
Forsaking even military men,

• capacity [kə´pæsiti] n.容量；智能；能力 (初中英语单词)
• innocent [´inəsənt] a.无罪的；单纯的 (初中英语单词)
• consideration [kən,sidə´reiʃən] n.考虑；原因；体谅 (初中英语单词)
• extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)
• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
• glorious [´glɔ:riəs] a.光荣的；辉煌的 (初中英语单词)
• interfere [,intə´fiə] vi.干涉；妨碍；打扰 (初中英语单词)
• wedding [´wediŋ] n.婚礼，结婚 (初中英语单词)
• solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)
• virtue [´və:tʃu:] n.美德；贞操；长处 (初中英语单词)
• recommend [,rekə´mend] vt.推荐；使受欢迎 (初中英语单词)
• freely [´fri:li] ad.自由地；慷慨地 (初中英语单词)
• patent [´peitənt, ´pæ-] a.专利的 n.专利品 (初中英语单词)
• malice [´mælis] n.恶意；怨恨；预谋 (高中英语单词)
• grumble [´grʌmbəl] v.&n.抱怨；发牢骚 (高中英语单词)
• tickle [´tikəl] v.&n.(搔)痒；逗笑 (高中英语单词)
• intellectual [,inti´lektʃuəl] n.知识分子 (高中英语单词)
• legislative [´ledʒislətiv] a.立法的 (高中英语单词)
• mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
• charity [´tʃæriti] n.施舍；慈悲；博爱 (高中英语单词)
• doubtful [´dautful] a.怀疑的，可疑的 (高中英语单词)
• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
• clumsy [´klʌmzi] a.笨拙的；粗俗的 (高中英语单词)
• burglar [´bə:glə] n.(入室行窃的)盗贼 (英语四级单词)
• readiness [´redinis] n.准备就绪；愿意 (英语四级单词)
• contradict [,kɔntrə´dikt] v.反驳；否认 (英语四级单词)
• vulgar [´vʌlgə] a.粗俗的；大众的 (英语四级单词)
• scholarship [´skɔləʃip, ´skɑlər-] n.学术成就；学问 (英语四级单词)
• worldly [´wə:ldli] a.现世的；世俗的 (英语四级单词)
• acclaim [ə´kleim] vt.&n.欢呼；喝彩 (英语六级单词)
• enterprising [´entəpraiziŋ] a.有事业心的 (英语六级单词)
• sundown [´sʌndaun] n.日落 (英语六级单词)
• middle-class [´midlmæn] a.中产阶级的 (英语六级单词)
• dreamy [´dri:mi] a.心不在焉的；朦胧的 (英语六级单词)