THE OLD FAMILIAR FACES
Charles Lamb
I have had playmates, I have had companions,
In my days of childhood, in my joyful school-days;
All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.
I have been laughing, I have been carousing,
Drinking late, sitting late, with my bosom cronies;
All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.
I loved a love once, fairest among women;
Closed are her doors on me, I must not see her—
All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.
I have a friend, a kinder friend has no man;
Like an ingrate, I left my friend abruptly;
Left him, to muse on the old familiar faces.
Ghost-like, I paced round the haunts of my childhood;
Earth seemed a desert I was bound to traverse,
Seeking to find the old familiar faces.
Friend of my bosom, thou more than a brother,
Why wert not thou born in my father’s dwelling?
So might we talk of the old familiar faces—
How some they have died, and some they have left me,
And some are taken from me; all are departed;
All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.
查尔斯·兰姆（1775～1834） 英国散文家，剧作家，诗人。生于伦敦，出身贫穷家庭。曾任职于东印度公司，创作有诗剧、闹剧等。与其姐玛丽·兰姆合著《莎士比亚戏剧故事集》（或译《莎士乐府》） 广为人知。他的代表作为散文集《伊利亚随笔集》。
吴钧陶 上海译文出版社编审，中国资深翻译家，从事英文翻译，主要翻译作品有：《圣诞颂歌》、《炉边蟋蟀》、《错箱记》、《维莱特》、《杜甫诗英译一百五十首》、《爱丽丝奇境历险记》、《爱丽丝镜中历险记》、《狄更生诗选》、《汉英、文白对照唐诗三百首》、《唐诗三百首新译》等。创作诗集《剪影》、《幻影》、《吴钧陶短诗选》（中英对照），创作散文《留影》等。主编《马克•吐温十九卷集》获第十四届中国图书奖。
