Tiếng Anh : Đọc tiếng Anh, nghe tiếng Anh, nhìn tiếng Anh và Học tiếng Anh

Tiếng Anh : Đọc tiếng Anh, nghe tiếng Anh, nhìn tiếng Anh và Học tiếng Anh

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From Unisom @
======
LONG da`i , SHORT nga(''''n, TALL cao
HERE d-a^y, THERE d-o'''', WHICH na`o, WHERE d-a^u
SENTENCE co'''' nghi~a la` ca^u
LESSON ba`i ho.c ,RAINBOW ca^`u vo`ng
HUSBAND la` d-u+''''c o^n g cho^`ng
DAD-Y cha bo^'''', PLEASE DON''''T xin d-u+`ng
DARLING tie^''''ng go.i em cu+ng
MERRY vui thi''''ch ca''''i su+`ng la` HORN
Ra''''ch ro^`i xa`i d-o+~ chu+~ TORN
TO SING la` ha''''t A SONG mo^.t ba`i
No''''i sai su+. tha^.t TO LIE
GO d-i, COME d-e^''''n, mo^.t va`i la` SOME
D-u+''''ng STAND, LOOK ngo'''', LIE na(`m
FIVE na(m, FOUR bo^''''n, HOLD ca^`m, PLAY cho+i
ONE LIFE la` mo^.t cuo^.c d-o+`i
HAPPY sung su+o+''''ng, LAUGH cu+o+`i, CRY ke^u
LOVER d-i''''ch thu+.c ngu+o+`i ye^u
CHARMING duye^n da''''ng, my~ mie^`u GRACEFUL
Ma(.t tra(ng la` chu+~ THE MOON
WORLD la` the^'''' gio+''''i , so+''''m SOON, LAKE ho^`
Dao KNIFE, SPOON muo^~ng, cuo^''''c HOE
D-e^m NIGHT, DARK to^''''i, kho^?ng lo^` la` GIANT
GAY vui, DIE che^''''t, NEAR ga^`n
SORRY xin lo^~i , DULL d-a^`n, WISE kho^n
BURY co'''' nghi~a la` cho^n
OUR SOULS ta.m di.ch linh ho^`n chu''''ng ta
Xe ho+i du li.ch la` CAR
SIR nga`i, LORD d-u+''''c, thu+a ba` MADAM
THOUSAND la` d-u''''ng mu+o+`i tra(m
Nga`y DAY , tua^` n WEEK, YEAR na(m, HOUR gio+`
WAIT THERE d-u+''''ng d-o'''' d-o+.i cho+`
NIGHTMARE a''''c mo^.ng, DREAM mo+ , PRAY ca^`u
Tru+` ra EXCEPT, DEEP sa^u
DAUGHTER con ga''''i, BRIDGE ca^`u, POND ao
ENTER ta.m di.ch d-i va`o
The^m FOR tham du+. le~ na`o la.i sai
SHOULDER cu+'''' di.ch la` vai
WRITER va(n si~, ca''''i d-a`i RADIO
A BOWL la` mo^.t ca''''i to^
Chu+~ TEAR nu+o+''''c ma(''''t ,TOMB mo^` MISS co^
May kha^u du`ng ta.m chu+~ SEW
Ke? thu` di.ch d-a.i la` FOE cha(?ng la^`m
SHELTER ta.m di.ch la` ha^`m
Chu+~ SHOUT la he''''t, no''''i tha^`m WHISPER
WHAT TIME la` ho?i ma^''''y gio+`
CLEAR trong, CLEAN sa.ch, mo+` mo+` la` DIM
Ga(.p o^ng ta di.ch SEE HIM
SWIM bo+i ,WADE lo^.i, DROWN chi`m che^''''t tro^i
MOUNTAIN la` nu''''i, HILL d-o^`i
VALLEY thung lu~ng, ca^y so^`i OAK TREE
Tie^`n xin d-o''''ng ho.c SCHOOL FEE
Cho to^i du`ng chu+~ GIVE ME cha(?ng la^`m.
TO STEAL ta.m di.ch ca^`m nha^`m
Ta^?y chay BOYCOTT, gia ca^`m POULTRY
CATTLE gia su''''c , oưng BEE
SOMETHING TO EAT chu''''t gi` d-e^? a(n
LIP mo^i, TONGUE lu+o+~i , TEETH ra(ng
EXAM thi cu+?, ca''''i ba(`ng LICENSE.


Chư lỏằ>n làm viỏằ?c lỏằ>n
Chư nhỏằ ... câng quyỏt làm viỏằ?c lỏằ>n

From Unisom@
========
Shorter version:
ONE mo^.t TWO hai
LONG da`i SHORT nga(''''n
HARD ra(''''n SOFT me^`m
NAME te^n JOB vie^.c
DEAF ddie^''''c DUMB ca^m
LIE na(`m STAND ddu*''''ng
EGG tru*''''ng FLOWER hoa
HOUSE nha` DOOR cu*?a
FIX su*?a GIVE cho
COW bo` SNAKE ra(''''n
BITE ca(''''n CHEW nhai
SPEND xa`i PUT dde^?
TELL ke^? HEAR nghe
PRESS dde` LIKE thi''''ch
Heo PIG BIRD chim
SINK chi`m FLOAT no^?i
CHANGE ddo^?i BEG xin
TRUST tin HATE ghe''''t
SHOUT he''''t SCOLD la
OLD gia` YOUNG tre?
WELL khoe? PLAY cho*i
SIT ngo^`i STAND ddu*''''ng
EGG tru*''''ng FLOWER hoa
HEN ga` DUCK vi.t
MEAT thi.t EAT a(n
THAT ra(`ng SAY no''''i
ASK ho?i SOUR chua
JOKE ddu`a LIKE thi''''ch
Be^.nh SICK HURT ddau
HEAD dda^`u NECK co^?


Chí lớn làm việc lớn
Chí nhỏ ... cũng quyết làm việc lớn

Gom chung mấy thứ này lại thành 1,
Chủ đề chung là Tiếng Anh.
được ko bà con,


Chí lớn làm việc lớn
Chí nhỏ ... cũng quyết làm việc lớn

Một bài thơ, mới ăn trộm được.
The FisherMen
the fishermen are patient
their lines settle in clear water
their wide-brimmed hats
will keep off
everything
on the boulevards meantime
carriages come and go
they carry
doctors to quiet basements
and children to circuses
music masters to doleful violins
and lovers to strange ceremonies
the fishermen are unimpressed.
(by Alasdair Paterson)


Chí lớn làm việc lớn
Chí nhỏ ... cũng quyết làm việc lớn

Tiếng Anh hẳn hoi nha,
===========
Ngày xửa ngày xưa, có hai ông cháu nhà kia sống nghèo khổ trong một túp lều, khó khăn lắm mới đủ back and belly. Đứa cháu thường hay tủi thân vì không có quần áo đẹp như bọn trẻ cùng xóm, lại hay bị bọn chúng banter. Nhất là mỗi dịp Giáng Sinh, chẳng bao giờ có một cây thông hay một món quà nào trong túp lều cả!
Giáng Sinh năm cậu bé lên 10 tuổi, vẫn như mọi năm, nó vẫn nghĩ bad is the best. Nhưng the benign grandpa đã tặng quà cho nó là two boxes : a black box va một chiếc dán giấy bóng vàng. Hai chiếc hộp được đặt beside each other và cố định ở nóc tủ. Ông bảo nó phải để nguyên chúng ở đấy thì mới ?othiêng? và tiếp :
- Khi cháu buồn, hãy ngồi nói cạnh chiếc hộp đen. Còn khi cháu vui, hãy ngồi tâm sự bên chiếc hộp màu vàng.
Mặc dù the two bare boxes chưa hẳn là món quà, nhưng nó cũng là a balm vào lễ Giáng Sinh nên đứa cháu làm theo lời ông dặn, chứa d9ựng cả nỗi buồn và niềm vui vào hai chiếc hộp. Nó cảm thấy khi vui và nói chuyên cạnh chiếc hộp vàng, niềm vui cứ như được nhân lên và đọng mãi.
Còn khi buồn và tâm sự cạnh chiếc hộp đen, nỗi buồn vơi đi hẳn. hai chiếc hộp, rốt cuộc cũng beguile được những nổi tủi thân bực bội của cậu bé nghèo.
Nhưng rồi, quá tò mò, có lần cậu đánh bạo mở hai chiếc hộp ra xem. On the base of the black box , cậu bé thấy 1 lỗ thủng.
- Ông ơi, thế này thì những nỗi buồn của cháu đâu hết rồi? - đứa cháu hỏi ông.
Người ông đáp:
- Chúng đã rơi ra và bay đi cả rồi cháu ạ !
Rồi ông tiếp :
- Còn chiếc hộp mày vàng không thủng để the blessing sẽ ở lại mãi với cháu !
Bạn đã có những chiếc hộp nào cho riêng bạn rồi ?
Back and belly : Cái ăn cái mặc
Banter : giễu cợt
Bad is the best : không hy vọng có chuyện tốt đẹp gì.
The benign grandpa : người ông hiền từ.
Beside each other : cạnh nhau
Beguile : làm khuây đi
On the base of the black box : ở đáy chiếc hộp đen.
Blessings : niềm vui và những điều may mắn.
Humour !
Một cách được gọi là restatement!!!
Did you begin by telling her what i told you to say : ?osweetheart, time stands still when i look in your eyes? : Thời gian như ngừng lại khi anh nhìn vào đôi mắt em
Yes, but i couldn?Tt remember ur sentence exactly so I said :?My Dear, you have a face that would stop a clock?


Chí lớn làm việc lớn
Chí nhỏ ... cũng quyết làm việc lớn

không biết cái topic bói toán của Christ@ đâu rồi. Nên chẳng biết post bài này ở đâu.
===
Tuổi gà nha. Forecast cho năm 2004 nè.
Hay lắm. Ngại dịch qua tiếng Việt quá.
========
The Rooster personality
Rooster people are a little flamboyant, have good bearing, a sense of their own dignity, a love of forward planning, and no hesitation in raising their voices and speaking up when they feel like it. They are honest and reliable, if at times too outspoken for everybody?Ts liking. Conscientious and hard-working, Rooster people are usually very efficient at their work, althrough they can sometimes get bogged down in details. They also enjoy taking part in social occasions, especially when getting dressed up in their finest feathers is involved, and they often find themselves the center of attention. Their stylish good looks guarantee that Rooster will attract many suitors, but, once committed, they make loyal, level-headed partners who take a rational approach to their relationships.
You enjoy being in the spotlight, entertaining friends and meeting new people, and you can be charming company even in the most unexpected circumstances. It is rare to see you looking downy or untidy - infact, you are usually one of the best dressed and groomed of all the animal signs. You take an active interest in clothes, colours, designs and accessories, can be just as critical about your own appearance as you are about that of others. You like to keep the conversation flowing and are unlikely to initiate in-depth discussion, but this light-hearted front hides a good intellect. Others may criticize you for being an exhibitionist -and no doubt there are times when you would agree with this - but there is also a compassionate, wise and brave side to your nature which comes to the fore when others need your help.
You have a strong independent spirit which makes it hard for you to accept advice. You are confident in your own judgements and choices, and prefer to follow your own routine. You can also be straightforward to the point of hurting others, and when something needs to be said you go ahead and say it. This directness stems from naivety , not from windictiveness, since you believe that honesty is the best policy. There are times , however, when it might be better no to express you opinions in order to keep the peace.
In many -ways , you are a good performer, presenting a carefree front, but your real nature is hidden from most people. Your rerratic and sometimes even careless behaviour belies a vulneable streak, and so you tend to protect yourself with humour and lively conversation. Your close friends appreciate your sensitive and courageous side, but acquaintances are only likely to see it in times of critis.
Ther are likely to be many romantic opportunities in your life since you enjoy courtship and are a charming companion. With ur love of good clothes, surroundings and company, you know hot to create a romatic atmosphere *****it the moment. You take pride in ur appearance, and if the situation demands, you know how to impress with intelligent conversation.
There is a danger that the thrill of romance comes from the conquest, and when a partner?Ts actions or responses become predictable, restlessness takes hold and you set off again in search of a new relationship. Your independent nature keeps you on the move but you also have a jealous streak which you try to keep hidden. In the whirl of romance it is the fermale rather than the male rooster who usually keeps an eye on praticalities. In the long run you are a reliable partner, and your roaming wil case when you meet someone you don not want to lose. You are capable of deep commitment , and in the right relationship are a dedicated and respondsible partner.
MONTHLY FORECAST
January
· An ususual personal experience
· Offbeat social pleasures
· Interruptions to plans, plus spontaneous happenings to take in your stride.
· Captivating romacitc episodes
· A fortuitous work incident.
February
· A surpise piece of good news or good fortune
· Delightful romantic developments
· Important deep and meaningful communication addresses a special personal issue.
· Stimulating, informative social exchanges
· Unusual social encounters provide thought -provoking discusion
March
· A little tension with a colleage to smooth over
· Disruptive , makeshift con***ions to take in your stride workwise
· Unusual opportunities to express your talents and skills
· A surpise romantic development.
April
· Good fortune regarding a financial or business matter.
· A whisper of romance.
· Startling news or contact from another
· Dramatic proguess with an important commitment
· A most productive meeting or discussion.


Chí lớn làm việc lớn
Chí nhỏ ... cũng quyết làm việc lớn

Cafe'' - Paris offers new cakes
Cafe''-Paris, which has been known for its French ice cream and coffee, has launched 23 new types of cake made by its staff to make its menu more abundant on the occacion of the 22nd SEA Games.
"The new cakes, including chocolate tart, lemon tart", Opera and Moka Cake, are priced from VND 5,000 to VND 25,000,"
The restaurant with Frech -style decoration will mark down its prices by 10% bettween 1 and 15 and present gifls to new customers on this occasion.
Address : 1 Cong Xa Paris, District 1, HCMC.
Southeast Asian buffet
The Palace Hotel will have a special buffet of Halal and other Southeast Asian food from November 20 to 23.
Price 40,000 for children, and 69,000 for adults, These prices include a glass of Frech wine and soft drink.
Buy tickets in advance and get a 10% discount and pay nothing for the Karaoke.
Address: 56 Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Dist 1 Tel : 823 1781
Chữ ký có nghĩa là gì  ???

ABC''s for daily quality "success"
Arrive a little early for every date or appointment
Be enthusiastic in everything you do
Complete every assigned task
Do a little bit more than is required
Express yoursefl after you know the fact
Feel comfortable in every situation by acting yourself
Go all out to please your friends
Help others as you would have them help you
Identify yourself by accomplishments rather than words
Join in and help when you are needed
Keep in level head
Listen with your ears not your mouth
Make the most of what you have
Never say never
Open your heart to those less fortunate than you
Please yoursefl by pleasing others
Quickly respond to an emergency
Remember business plus quality equals profit
Study, study, study to excel
Take advance of opportunity
Use spare time intelligently
Value your health
Work at your work
You are your most important asset. Treat yourself well physically and emotionally
Zestfully meet any challenge
Without love...life is meaningless
 

For anyone who has ever heard about love
ON BEING IN LOVE - Jerome K. Jerome
You''ve been in love, of course! If not you''ve got it to come. Love is like the measles; we all have to go through it. Also like the measles, we take it only once. One never need be afraid of catching it a second time. The man who has had it can go into the most dangerous places and play the most foolhardy tricks with perfect safety. He can picnic in shady woods, ramble through leafy aisles, and linger on mossy seats to watch the sunset. He fears a quiet country-house no more than he would his own club. He can join a family party to go down the Rhine. He can, to see the last of a friend, venture into the very jaws of the marriage ceremony itself. He can keep his head through the whirl of a ravishing waltz, and rest afterward in a dark conservatory, catching nothing more lasting than a cold. He can brave a moonlight walk adown sweet-scented lanes or a twilight pull among the somber rushes. He can get over a stile without danger, scramble through a tangled hedge without being caught, come down a slippery path without falling. He can look in*****nny eyes and not be dazzled. He listens to the siren voices, yet sails on with unveered helm. He clasps white hands in his, but no electric "Lulu"-like force holds him bound in their dainty pressure.
No, we never sicken with love twice. Cupid spends no second arrow on the same heart. Love''s handmaids are our life-long friends. Respect, and admiration, and affection, our doors may always be left open for, but their great celestial master, in his royal progress, pays but one visit and departs. We like, we cherish, we are very, very fond of--but we never love again. A man''s heart is a firework that once in its time flashes heavenward. Meteor-like, it blazes for a moment and lights with its glory the whole world beneath. Then the night of our sordid commonplace life closes in around it, and the burned-out case, falling back to earth, lies useless and uncared for, slowly smoldering into ashes. Once, breaking loose from our prison bonds, we dare, as mighty old Prometheus dared, to scale the Olympian mount and snatch from Phoebus'' chariot the fire of the gods. Happy those who, hastening down again ere it dies out, can kindle their earthly altars at its flame. Love is too pure a light to burn long among the noisome gases that we breathe, but before it is choked out we may use it as a torch to ignite the cozy fire of affection.
And, after all, that warming glow is more suited to our cold little back parlor of a world than is the burning spirit love. Love should be the vestal fire of some mighty temple--some vast dim fane whose organ music is the rolling of the spheres. Affection will burn cheerily when the white flame of love is flickered out. Affection is a fire that can be fed from day to day and be piled up ever higher as the wintry years draw nigh. Old men and women can sit by it with their thin hands clasped, the little children can nestle down in front, the friend and neighbor has his welcome corner by its side, and even shaggy Fido and sleek Titty can toast their noses at the bars.
Let us heap the coals of kindness upon that fire. Throw on your pleasant words, your gentle pressures of the hand, your thoughtful and unselfish deeds. Fan it with good-humor, patience, and forbearance. You can let the wind blow and the rain fall unheeded then, for your hearth will be warm and bright, and the faces round it will make sunshine in spite of the clouds without.
I am afraid, dear Edwin and Angelina, you expect too much from love. You think there is enough of your little hearts to feed this fierce, devouring passion for all your long lives. Ah, young folk! don''t rely too much upon that unsteady flicker. It will dwindle and dwindle as the months roll on, and there is no replenishing the fuel. You will watch it die out in anger and disappointment. To each it will seem that it is the other who is growing colder. Edwin sees with bitterness that Angelina no longer runs to the gate to meet him, all smiles and blushes; and when he has a cough now she doesn''t begin to cry and, putting her arms round his neck, say that she cannot live without him. The most she will probably do is *****ggest a lozenge, and even that in a tone implying that it is the noise more than anything else she is anxious to get rid of.
Poor little Angelina, too, sheds silent tears, for Edwin has given up carrying her old handkerchief in the inside pocket of his waistcoat.
Both are astonished at the falling off in the other one, but neither sees their own change. If they did they would not suffer as they do. They would look for the cause in the right quarter--in the littleness of poor human nature--join hands over their common failing, and start building their house anew on a more earthly and enduring foundation. But we are so blind to our own shortcomings, so wide awake to those of others. Everything that happens to us is always the other person''s fault. Angelina would have gone on loving Edwin forever and ever and ever if only Edwin had not grown so strange and different. Edwin would have adored Angelina through eternity if Angelina had only remained the same as when he first adored her.
It is a cheerless hour for you both when the lamp of love has gone out and the fire of affection is not yet lit, and you have to grope about in the cold, raw dawn of life to kindle it. God grant it catches light before the day is too far spent. Many sit shivering by the dead coals till night come.
But, there, of what use is it to preach? Who that feels the rush of young love through his veins can think it will ever flow feeble and slow! To the boy of twenty it seems impossible that he will not love as wildly at sixty as he does then. He cannot call to mind any middle-aged or elderly gentleman of his acquaintance who is known to exhibit symptoms of frantic attachment, but that does not interfere in his belief in himself. His love will never fall, whoever else''s may. Nobody ever loved as he loves, and so, of course, the rest of the world''s experience can be no guide in his case. Alas! alas! ere thirty he has joined the ranks of the sneerers. It is not his fault. Our passions, both the good and bad, cease with our blushes. We do not hate, nor grieve, nor joy, nor despair in our thirties like we did in our teens. Disappointment does not suggest suicide, and we quaff success without intoxication.
We take all things in a minor key as we grow older. There are few majestic passages in the later acts of life''s opera. Ambition takes a less ambitious aim. Honor becomes more reasonable and conveniently adapts itself to circumstances. And love--love dies. "Irreverence for the dreams of youth" soon creeps like a killing frost upon our hearts. The tender shoots and the expanding flowers are nipped and withered, and of a vine that yearned to stretch its tendrils round the world there is left but a sapless stump.
My fair friends will deem all this rank heresy, I know. So far from a man''s not loving after he has passed boyhood, it is not till there is a good deal of gray in his hair that they think his protestations at all worthy of attention. Young ladies take their notions of our *** from the novels written by their own, and compared with the monstrosities that masquerade for men in the pages of that nightmare literature, Pythagoras'' plucked bird and Frankenstein''s demon were fair average specimens of humanity.
In these so-called books, the chief lover, or Greek god, as he is admiringly referred to--by the way, they do not say which "Greek god" it is that the gentleman bears such a striking likeness to; it might be hump-backed Vulcan, or double-faced Janus, or even driveling Silenus, the god of abstruse mysteries. He resembles the whole family of them, however, in being a blackguard, and perhaps this is what is meant. To even the little manliness his classical prototypes possessed, though, he can lay no claim whatever, being a listless effeminate noodle, on the shady side of forty. But oh! the depth and strength of this elderly party''s emotion for some bread-and-butter school-girl! Hide your heads, ye young Romeos and Leanders! this
blase old beau loves with an hysterical fervor that requires four adjectives to every noun to properly describe.
It is well, dear ladies, for us old sinners that you study only books. Did you read mankind, you would know that the lad''s shy stammering tells a truer tale than our bold eloquence. A boy''s love comes from a full heart; a man''s is more often the result of a full stomach. Indeed, a man''s sluggish current may not be called love, compared with the rushing fountain that wells up when a boy''s heart is struck with the heavenly rod. If you would taste love, drink of the pure stream that youth pours out at your feet. Do not wait till it has become a muddy river before you stoop to catch its waves.
Or is it that you like its bitter flavor--that the clear, limpid water is insipid to your palate and that the pollution of its after-course gives it a relish to your lips? Must we believe those who tell us that a hand foul with the filth of a shameful life is the only one a young girl cares to be caressed by?
That is the teaching that is bawled out day by day from between those yellow covers. Do they ever pause to think, I wonder, those devil''s ladyhelps, what mischief they are doing crawling about God''s garden, and telling childish Eves and silly Adams that sin is sweet and that decency is ridiculous and vulgar? How many an innocent girl do they not degrade into an evil-minded woman? To how many a weak lad do they not point out the dirty by-path as the shortest cut to a maiden''s heart? It is not as if they wrote of life as it really is. Speak truth, and right will take care of itself. But their pictures are coarse daubs painted from the sickly fancies of their own diseased imagination.
We want to think of women not--as their own *** would show them--as Lorleis luring us to destruction, but as good angels beckoning us upward. They have more power for good or evil than they dream of. It is just at the very age when a man''s character is forming that he tumbles into love, and then the lass he loves has the making or marring of him. Unconsciously he molds himself to what she would have him, good or bad. I am sorry to have to be ungallant enough to say that I do not think they always use their influence for the best. Too often the female world is bounded hard and fast within the limits of the commonplace. Their ideal hero is a prince of littleness, and to become that many a powerful mind, enchanted by love, is "lost to life and use and name and fame."
And yet, women, you could make us so much better if you only would. It rests with you, more than with all the preachers, to roll this world a little nearer heaven. Chivalry is not dead: it only sleeps for want of work to do. It is you who must wake it to noble deeds. You must be worthy of knightly worship.
You must be higher than ourselves. It was for Una that the Red Cross Knight did war. For no painted, mincing court dame could the dragon have been slain. Oh, ladies fair, be fair in mind and soul as well as face, so that brave knights may win glory in your service! Oh, woman, throw off your disguising cloaks of selfishness, effrontery, and affectation! Stand forth once more a queen in your royal robe of simple purity. A thousand swords, now rusting in ignoble sloth, shall leap from their scabbards to do battle for your honor against wrong. A thousand Sir Rolands shall lay lance in rest, and Fear, Avarice, Pleasure, and Ambition shall go down in the dust before your colors.
What noble deeds were we not ripe for in the days when we loved? What noble lives could we not have lived for her sake? Our love was a religion we could have died for. It was no mere human creature like ourselves that we adored. It was a queen that we paid homage to, a goddess that we worshiped.
And how madly we did worship! And how sweet it was to worship! Ah, lad, cherish love''s young dream while it lasts! You will know too soon how truly little Tom Moore sang when he said that there was nothing half so sweet in life. Even when it brings misery it is a wild, romantic misery, all unlike the dull, worldly pain of after-sorrows. When you have lost her--when the light is gone out from your life and the world stretches before you a long, dark horror, even then a half-enchantment mingles with your despair.
And who would not risk its terrors to gain its raptures? Ah, what raptures they were! The mere recollection thrills you. How delicious it was to tell her that you loved her, that you lived for her, that you would die for her! How you did rave, to be sure, what floods of extravagant nonsense you poured forth, and oh, how cruel it was of her to pretend not to believe you! In what awe you stood of her! How miserable you were when you had offended her! And yet, how pleasant to be bullied by her and *****e for pardon without having the slightest notion of what your fault was! How dark the world was when she snubbed you, as she often did, the little rogue, just to see you look wretched; how sunny when she smiled! How jealous you were of every one about her! How you hated every man she shook hands with, every woman she kissed--the maid that did her hair, the boy that cleaned her shoes, the dog she nursed--though you had to be respectful to the last-named! How you looked forward to seeing her, how stupid you were when you did see her, staring at her without saying a word! How impossible it was for you to go out at any time of the day or night without finding yourself eventually opposite her windows! You hadn''t pluck enough to go in, but you hung about the corner and gazed at the outside. Oh, if the house had only caught fire--it was insured, so it wouldn''t have mattered--and you could have rushed in and saved her at the risk of your life, and have been terribly burned and injured! Anything to serve her. Even in little things that was so sweet. How you would watch her, spaniel-like, to anticipate her slightest wish! How proud you were to do her bidding! How delightful it was to be ordered about by her! To devote your whole life to her and to never think of yourself seemed such a simple thing. You would go without a holiday to lay a humble offering at her shrine, and felt more than repaid if she only deigned to accept it. How precious to you was everything that she had hallowed by her touch--her little glove, the ribbon she had worn, the rose that had nestled in her hair and whose withered leaves still mark the poems you never care to look at now.
And oh, how beautiful she was, how wondrous beautiful! It was as some angel entering the room, and all else became plain and earthly. She was too sacred to be touched. It seemed almost presumption to gaze at her. You would as soon have thought of kissing her as of singing comic songs in a cathedral. It was desecration enough to kneel and timidly raise the gracious little hand to your lips.
Ah, those foolish days, those foolish days when we were unselfish and pure-minded; those foolish days when our simple hearts were full of truth, and faith, and reverence! Ah, those foolish days of noble longings and of noble strivings! And oh, these wise, clever days when we know that money is the only prize worth striving for, when we believe in nothing else but meanness and lies, when we care for no living creature but ourselves!
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