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A voice arose amony

The bleak twigs overhead

Ina full-hearted even song of joy illimited；

Anaged thrush，frail，gaunt and small，

In blast-beruf fled plume，

Had chosen thus to fling his soul

Upon the growing gloom.

Solittle cause for carollings of such estatic sound

Was written on terrestrial things

After or nigh around，

That I could think there trembled through

Hishappy good-night air

Some blessed hope，where of he knew

And I was unaware.

——Dec.1900

在那样荒凉的一幅冬景里，那只“上年纪的冬雀”，正应得与他的同伴噤声的躲在巢里守寒，即使要放歌声，他也得怨诉他的饥与寒，或是咒诅天地的沉闷——他哪里来的无限的欢欣？那雀儿，欢畅的歌声，引起我们诗人的疑问：难道在这寒惨的气氲里，果真有什么可喜的消息，无形的传布着，虽则我看不见听不出，也许雀儿他倒知道的呢？所以我们长于咒诅的诗翁，也一度取下了他的眼镜，仔细的拂拭个干净，疑心玻璃上积着的尘埃或水气牵强了他所见的事物，冤了他的观察！

六

读哈代的诗，不仅感觉到That which mattered most could not be的悲哀，并且仿佛看得见时间的大喙，凶狠的张着，人生里难得有刹那的断片的欢娱、安慰与光明，他总是不容情的吞了下去，只留下黑影似的记忆，在寂寞的风雨夜，在寂寞的睡梦里，刑苦你的心灵，嘲笑你的希望。

哈代老年的诗，很多是旧情与旧景的追忆；他仿佛是独立在光阴不尽的长桥上，吹弄着最动人的笛音，从雾霾重裹的一端，招回憧憧的鬼影，这是三十年前灯下的微笑，这是四十年前半夜里待车时的雨声，这是被现实剐残了的理想，这是某处山谷中回响的松涛，这是半凉了的美感，这是想象遗忘了的婴孩……

我这样录他这类性质最有名的Beyond the Last Lamp：——

Beyond The Last Lamp

（Near Tooting Common，London）

（1）

While rain，witheve in partnership，

Descended darkly，drip，drip，drip，

Beyond the last lone lamp I passed

Walking slowly，whis peringsadly，

Two linked loiterers，wan，downcast：

Some heavy thought constrained each face，

And blinded them to time and space.

（2）

The pair seemed lovers，yet absorbed

In mental scenes no longer orbed

Bylove’s young rays.Each Countenance

As it slowly，as it sadly

Caughtthe lamplight’s yellow glance，

Held insuspense a misery，

At things which had been or mightbe.

（3）

When I retrod that watery way

Some hours beyond the droop of day，

Still I found pacing there the twain

Just as slowly，just as sadly，

Heedless of the night and rain.

One could but wonder who they were

And what wild woe detained them there.

（4）

Though thirty years of blur and blot

Have slid since I beheld that spot，

And saw in curious converse there

Moving slowly，moving sadly，

That myste rious tragic pair，

Its olden look may linger on——

All but the couple； they have gone.

（5）

Whither？who knows，indeed，and yet

To me，when nights are weird and wet，

Without those comrades there at tryst

Creeping slowly，creeping sadly，

That lone lane does not exist.

There they seem brooding on their pain，

And will，while such a lane remain.

这真是诗人里的代珈（Degas）！如其我们在代珈的画里——跳舞场艳色灯光下的裙影与捷舞，枯坐在咖啡馆外罪恶与懊丧的面色——看出了文明社会败象的警告；我们在哈代这首诗的意境里——荒凉的街道，惨白的街灯，淅沥的雨声，一双私语着的人影，在这悲惨的背景里，迟缓的，永远的徘徊着——岂不也感悟到更深刻的意义，在诗的音节里潜隐着？