I set him there, Sir but his own disorders1
Deserved much less advancement2.
Lear.
The baron3 was inflexible4 in his resolution not to let Matilda leave the castle. The letter, which announced to her the approaching fate of young Gamwell, filled her with grief, and increased the irksomeness of a privation which already preyed5 sufficiently6 on her spirits, and began to undermine her health. She had no longer the consolation7 of the society of her old friend father Michael: the little fat friar of Rubygill was substituted as the castle confessor, not without some misgivings8 in his ghostly bosom9; but he was more allured10 by the sweet savour of the good things of this world at Arlingford Castle, than deterred11 by his awe12 of the lady Matilda, which nevertheless was so excessive, from his recollection of the twang of the bow-string, that he never ventured to find her in the wrong, much less to enjoin13 any thing in the shape of penance14, as was the occasional practice of holy confessors, with or without cause, for the sake of pious15 discipline, and what was in those days called social order, namely, the preservation16 of the privileges of the few who happened to have any, at the expense of the swinish multitude who happened to have none, except that of working and being shot at for the benefit of their betters, which is obviously not the meaning of social order in our more enlightened times: let us therefore be grateful to Providence17, and sing Te Deum laudamus in chorus with the Holy Alliance.
The little friar, however, though he found the lady spotless, found the butler a great sinner: at least so it was conjectured18, from the length of time he always took to confess him in the buttery.
Matilda became every day more pale and dejected: her spirit, which could have contended against any strenuous19 affliction, pined in the monotonous20 inaction to which she was condemned21. While she could freely range the forest with her lover in the morning, she had been content to return to her father’s castle in the evening, thus preserving underanged the balance of her duties, habits, and affections; not without a hope that the repeal22 of her lover’s outlawry24 might be eventually obtained, by a judicious25 distribution of some of his forest spoils among the holy fathers and saints that-were-to-be — pious proficients26 in the ecclesiastic27 art equestrian28, who rode the conscience of King Henry with double-curb bridles29, and kept it well in hand when it showed mettle30 and seemed inclined to rear and plunge31. But the affair at Gamwell feast threw many additional difficulties in the way of the accomplishment32 of this hope; and very shortly afterwards King Henry the Second went to make up in the next world his quarrel with Thomas-a-Becket; and Richard Coeur de Lion made all England resound33 with preparations for the crusade, to the great delight of many zealous34 adventurers, who eagerly flocked under his banner in the hope of enriching themselves with Saracen spoil, which they called fighting the battles of God. Richard, who was not remarkably35 scrupulous36 in his financial operations, was not likely to overlook the lands and castle of Locksley, which he appropriated immediately to his own purposes, and sold to the highest bidder37. Now, as the repeal of the outlawry would involve the restitution38 of the estates to the rightful owner, it was obvious that it could never be expected from that most legitimate39 and most Christian40 king, Richard the First of England, the arch-crusader and anti-jacobin by excellence41 — the very type, flower, cream, pink, symbol, and mirror of all the Holy Alliances that have ever existed on earth, excepting that he seasoned his superstition42 and love of conquest with a certain condiment43 of romantic generosity44 and chivalrous45 self-devotion, with which his imitators in all other points have found it convenient to dispense46. To give freely to one man what he had taken forcibly from another, was generosity of which he was very capable; but to restore what he had taken to the man from whom he had taken it, was something that wore too much of the cool physiognomy of justice to be easily reconcileable to his kingly feelings. He had, besides, not only sent all King Henry’s saints about their business, or rather about their no-business — their faineantise — but he had laid them under rigorous contribution for the purposes of his holy war; and having made them refund47 to the piety48 of the successor what they had extracted from the piety of the precursor49, he compelled them, in addition, to give him their blessing50 for nothing. Matilda, therefore, from all these circumstances, felt little hope that her lover would be any thing but an outlaw23 for life.
The departure of King Richard from England was succeeded by the episcopal regency of the bishops52 of Ely and Durham. Longchamp, bishop51 of Ely, proceeded to show his sense of Christian fellowship by arresting his brother bishop, and despoiling53 him of his share in the government; and to set forth54 his humility55 and loving-kindness in a retinue56 of nobles and knights57 who consumed in one night’s entertainment some five years’ revenue of their entertainer, and in a guard of fifteen hundred foreign soldiers, whom he considered indispensable to the exercise of a vigour58 beyond the law in maintaining wholesome59 discipline over the refractory60 English. The ignorant impatience61 of the swinish multitude with these fruits of good living, brought forth by one of the meek62 who had inherited the earth, displayed itself in a general ferment64, of which Prince John took advantage to make the experiment of getting possession of his brother’s crown in his absence. He began by calling at Reading a council of barons65, whose aspect induced the holy bishop to disguise himself (some say as an old woman, which, in the twelfth century, perhaps might have been a disguise for a bishop), and make his escape beyond sea. Prince John followed up his advantage by obtaining possession of several strong posts, and among others of the castle of Nottingham.
While John was conducting his operations at Nottingham, he rode at times past the castle of Arlingford. He stopped on one occasion to claim Lord Fitzwater’s hospitality, and made most princely havoc66 among his venison and brawn67. Now it is a matter of record among divers68 great historians and learned clerks, that he was then and there grievously smitten69 by the charms of the lovely Matilda, and that a few days after he despatched his travelling minstrel, or laureate, Harpiton, 3 (whom he retained at moderate wages, to keep a journal of his proceedings71, and prove them all just and legitimate), to the castle of Arlingford, to make proposals to the lady. This Harpiton was a very useful person. He was always ready, not only to maintain the cause of his master with his pen, and to sing his eulogies72 to his harp70, but to undertake at a moment’s notice any kind of courtly employment, called dirty work by the profane73, which the blessings74 of civil government, namely, his master’s pleasure, and the interests of social order, namely, his own emolument75, might require. In short,
Il eut l’emploi qui certes n’est pas mince76, Et qu’a la cour, ou tout77 se peint en beau, On appelloit etre l’ami du prince; Mais qu’a la ville, et surtout en province, Les gens grossiers ont nomme maquereau.
3 Harp-it-on: or, a corruption78 of (greek ‘Erpeton), a creeping thing.
Prince John was of opinion that the love of a prince actual and king expectant, was in itself a sufficient honour to the daughter of a simple baron, and that the right divine or royalty79 would make it sufficiently holy without the rite63 divine of the church. He was, therefore, graciously pleased to fall into an exceeding passion, when his confidential80 messenger returned from his embassy in piteous plight81, having been, by the baron’s order, first tossed in a blanket and set in the stocks to cool, and afterwards ducked in the moat and set again in the stocks to dry. John swore to revenge horribly this flagrant outrage82 on royal prerogative83, and to obtain possession of the lady by force of arms; and accordingly collected a body of troops, and marched upon Arlingford castle. A letter, conveyed as before on the point of a blunt arrow, announced his approach to Matilda: and lord Fitzwater had just time to assemble his retainers, collect a hasty supply of provision, raise the draw-bridge, and drop the portcullis, when the castle was surrounded by the enemy. The little fat friar, who during the confusion was asleep in the buttery, found himself, on awaking, inclosed in the besieged84 castle, and dolefully bewailed his evil chance.
点击收听单词发音
1 disorders | |
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调 | |
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2 advancement | |
n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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3 baron | |
n.男爵;(商业界等)巨头,大王 | |
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4 inflexible | |
adj.不可改变的,不受影响的,不屈服的 | |
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5 preyed | |
v.掠食( prey的过去式和过去分词 );掠食;折磨;(人)靠欺诈为生 | |
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6 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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7 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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8 misgivings | |
n.疑虑,担忧,害怕;疑虑,担心,恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 );疑惧 | |
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9 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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10 allured | |
诱引,吸引( allure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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11 deterred | |
v.阻止,制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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13 enjoin | |
v.命令;吩咐;禁止 | |
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14 penance | |
n.(赎罪的)惩罪 | |
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15 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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16 preservation | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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17 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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18 conjectured | |
推测,猜测,猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19 strenuous | |
adj.奋发的,使劲的;紧张的;热烈的,狂热的 | |
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20 monotonous | |
adj.单调的,一成不变的,使人厌倦的 | |
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21 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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22 repeal | |
n.废止,撤消;v.废止,撤消 | |
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23 outlaw | |
n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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24 outlawry | |
宣布非法,非法化,放逐 | |
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25 judicious | |
adj.明智的,明断的,能作出明智决定的 | |
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26 proficients | |
精通的,熟练的( proficient的名词复数 ) | |
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27 ecclesiastic | |
n.教士,基督教会;adj.神职者的,牧师的,教会的 | |
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28 equestrian | |
adj.骑马的;n.马术 | |
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29 bridles | |
约束( bridle的名词复数 ); 限动器; 马笼头; 系带 | |
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30 mettle | |
n.勇气,精神 | |
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31 plunge | |
v.跳入,(使)投入,(使)陷入;猛冲 | |
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32 accomplishment | |
n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
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33 resound | |
v.回响 | |
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34 zealous | |
adj.狂热的,热心的 | |
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35 remarkably | |
ad.不同寻常地,相当地 | |
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36 scrupulous | |
adj.审慎的,小心翼翼的,完全的,纯粹的 | |
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37 bidder | |
n.(拍卖时的)出价人,报价人,投标人 | |
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38 restitution | |
n.赔偿;恢复原状 | |
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39 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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40 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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41 excellence | |
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德 | |
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42 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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43 condiment | |
n.调味品 | |
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44 generosity | |
n.大度,慷慨,慷慨的行为 | |
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45 chivalrous | |
adj.武士精神的;对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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46 dispense | |
vt.分配,分发;配(药),发(药);实施 | |
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47 refund | |
v.退还,偿还;n.归还,偿还额,退款 | |
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48 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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49 precursor | |
n.先驱者;前辈;前任;预兆;先兆 | |
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50 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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51 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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52 bishops | |
(基督教某些教派管辖大教区的)主教( bishop的名词复数 ); (国际象棋的)象 | |
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53 despoiling | |
v.掠夺,抢劫( despoil的现在分词 ) | |
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54 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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55 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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56 retinue | |
n.侍从;随员 | |
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57 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
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58 vigour | |
(=vigor)n.智力,体力,精力 | |
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59 wholesome | |
adj.适合;卫生的;有益健康的;显示身心健康的 | |
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60 refractory | |
adj.倔强的,难驾驭的 | |
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61 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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62 meek | |
adj.温顺的,逆来顺受的 | |
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63 rite | |
n.典礼,惯例,习俗 | |
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64 ferment | |
vt.使发酵;n./vt.(使)激动,(使)动乱 | |
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65 barons | |
男爵( baron的名词复数 ); 巨头; 大王; 大亨 | |
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66 havoc | |
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱 | |
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67 brawn | |
n.体力 | |
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68 divers | |
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
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69 smitten | |
猛打,重击,打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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70 harp | |
n.竖琴;天琴座 | |
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71 proceedings | |
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报 | |
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72 eulogies | |
n.颂词,颂文( eulogy的名词复数 ) | |
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73 profane | |
adj.亵神的,亵渎的;vt.亵渎,玷污 | |
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74 blessings | |
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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75 emolument | |
n.报酬,薪水 | |
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76 mince | |
n.切碎物;v.切碎,矫揉做作地说 | |
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77 tout | |
v.推销,招徕;兜售;吹捧,劝诱 | |
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78 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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79 royalty | |
n.皇家,皇族 | |
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80 confidential | |
adj.秘(机)密的,表示信任的,担任机密工作的 | |
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81 plight | |
n.困境,境况,誓约,艰难;vt.宣誓,保证,约定 | |
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82 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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83 prerogative | |
n.特权 | |
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84 besieged | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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