To the right hand the narrow dale widened gradually as it took its way—worn, doubtless, in past days by the waters of the noisy brooklet7 which flowed along its bottom over a bed of many-colored pebbles9, among thickets of willow10, alder11, and hazel—toward a broad and beautiful valley, through which flowed the majestic12 volume of a great, navigable river. To the left it decreased in width, and ascended13 rapidly between steep banks to the spring-head of the rivulet14, a clear, cold well, covered by a canopy15 of Gothic architecture rudely chiselled16 in red sandstone.
Above this the gorge17 of the ravine—for into such the dell here degenerated—was thickly overshadowed by a grove18 of178 old tufted oak-trees, which might well have rung to the brazen19 trumpets20 of the Roman legions, and echoed the wild war-whoops of the barbarous Gauls in the days of the first C?sar. Sheltered and half-concealed21 by these, there stood a very small, old-fashioned chapel22, in the earliest and rudest style of Norman architecture, exhibiting the short, massive, clustered columns and round-headed arches of that antique style. It had never spire23 or tower; but on the summit of the steep, peaked roof there was a little crypt or vaulted24 canopy, supported by four columns, and containing a bell proportioned to the dimensions of the humble26 village-chapel.
The larger valley presented all the usual beauties of rural landscape scenery at that remote and unscientific day, when lands were principally laid down in pasture, and husbandry consisted mainly in the tending of flocks and herds27. There were wide expanses of common ground, dotted here and there with few arable28 fields now green as the pastures with their young crops of wheat and rye; there were woodlands bright in their new greenery, and apple-orchards29, glowing with their fragrant30 blossoms. There were scattered31 farmhouses32 among the orchards; and an irregular hamlet scattered along a yellow road in the foreground, among shadowy elm-trees, all festooned with vines; and far off, on the farthest slope on the verge33 of the horizon, the towers and pinnacles34 of a tall, castellated building towered above the grand and solemn woods, which probably composed the chase of some feudal35 seigneur.
The little dale which I have described was traversed by two separate ways: one, a regular road, so far as any roads of the fourteenth century could be called regular, and adapted for horses and such rude vehicles as the age and the country required; the other, a narrow, winding foot-path, following the bends of the rivulet, which the other crossed by a picturesque36 wooden bridge, at about five hundred yards below the well-head179 and the chapel.
At the moment when my tale commences, the doors of the chapel were thrown wide open, and the little bell was tinkling37 with a merry chime that harmonized well with the gay aspect of nature—the music of the rejoicing birds which were filling the air with their glee, and the lively ripple38 of the stream fretting39 over its pebbly40 bed.
As if summoned by the joyous41 cadence42 of the bells, a numerous party was now seen coming up the foot-path by the edge of the rivulet, apparently43 from the hamlet in the larger valley, wending their way toward the chapel. It needed but a glance to discover the occasion. It was a bridal-procession, headed by the gray-haired village priest in full canonicals, and some of the elders of the village.
Behind these, lightly tripped six young girls, dressed in white, with crowns of May-flowers on their heads, and garlands of the same woven like scarfs across their bosoms44. They were all singularly pretty, having been chosen probably for their beauty from among their playmates: they had all the rich, dark hair, flowing in loose ringlets down their backs; the fine, expressive46, dark eyes; the peach-like bloom on the sunny cheeks, and the ripe, red lips, which constitute the peculiar47 beauty which is almost characteristic of the south of France. Each of these fair young beings carried on her arm a light wicker basket, filled with the bright field-flowers of that sunny land and season—the purple violet, the rich jonquil, and pale narcissus, the many-colored crocuses from the mead48, the primrose49 from the hedgerow-bank, the lily of the valley from the cool, shadowy grove—and strewed50 them, as they passed along, before the footsteps of the bride; chanting, as they did so, in the quaint51 old Gascon tongue, the bridal strain:—
180
“The roads should blossom, the roads should bloom, So fair a bride shall leave her home, Should blossom, should bloom with garlands gay, So fair a bride shall pass to-day!”
After these, followed by her bridesmaids, the bride stepped daintily and demurely52 along, the acknowledged beauty of the village, happy, and bright, and innocent—the young bride Marguerite.
Her hair was of the very deepest shade of brown—so dark, that at first thought you would have deemed it black; but when you looked again, you discovered, by the absence of the cold, metallic53 gloss54 upon its wavy55 surface, and by the rich, warm hue56 with which it glowed under the sunlight, what was its true color. Her forehead was not very high, but broad and beautifully formed, and as smooth as ivory; while her arched eyebrows57 showed as black as night, and as soft and smooth as though they had been stripes of sable58 Genoa velvet59. Her nose, if not absolutely faultless—for it had the slight upward turn which was so charming in Roxabara—added an arch and sprightly60 expression to features which were otherwise passive and voluptuous61 rather than mirthful; but her eyes, her eyes were wonderful—like to no eyes on earth that have ever met my gaze, save thine, incomparable——, which still shine upon my soul, though long unseen, and far away, never, never to be forgotten!—not star-like, but like wells of living, loving, languid lustrousness—brown of the deepest shade, filled with a humid, rapturous tenderness, yet brighter than the brightest, but with a soft, voluptuous, luminous62 brightness; not flashing, not sparkling, but penetrating63 and imbuing64 the beholder65 with love at once and magic light. They were fringed, too, with lashes66 so long and dark, that, when her lids were lowered, they showed like fringes of raven-hued silk against the delicate blush of her round cheek. Her mouth, though perhaps rather wide, was exquisitely67 shaped, with the arched upper lip and full, pouting69 lower lip, of the color of the ripe clove-carnation,181 that woos the kiss so irresistibly70; with teeth as bright as mother-of-pearl, and a breath sighing forth71 sweeter than Indian summer.
Such was the face of Marguerite, the bride of that May morning; nor was her form inferior to it. Modelled in the fullest and roundest mould that is consistent with symmetry and grace, her figure was the very perfection, the beau-ideal of voluptuous, full-blown, yet youthful womanhood. The broad, falling shoulders; the fully-developed, glowing bust72, swelling73 into twin hills of panting snow; the round, shapely arms, bare to the shoulder; the graceful74 and elastic75 waist; the rich curve of the arched hips76, and the wavy outlines of her lower limbs, suggesting, by the rustling77 folds of her draperies as she walked the dewy greensward like a queen, the beauty of their unseen symmetry: these, combined with the exquisite68 features, the singular expression uniting, what would appear to be incongruous and contradictory78, much roguish archness, something that was almost sensual in the wreathed smile, and yet withal the most perfect modesty79 and innocence80, rendered Marguerite, the May-bride of Castel de Roche d’or, one of the loveliest, if not the very loveliest creature that ever walked to church with her affianced lover in that fair land of France.
She wore, like her bridesmaids—who, all pretty girls, were utterly81 eclipsed by her radiant beauty—a May-wreath on her head, and a large bouquet82 of fresh violets on the bosom45 of her low-cut white dress, which was looped up at one side with bunches of narcissus and violets, to show an under-skirt of pale peach-colored silk, the tints83 of which showed faintly through the thin draperies of her tunic85; but, unlike them, she wore a long gauze veil, intertwined with silver threads, floating down among her luxuriant tresses, below her shapely waist.
Never was there seen in that region a lovelier, a purer, or a happier bride. Immediately behind the bridesmaids, supported182 in his turn by an equal number of tall, sinewy87, well-formed youths, dressed in their best attire88, half-agricultural, half-martial, as feudal vassals89 of their lord, bound to man-service in the field, came on the stalwart bridegroom. He was a tall, athletic92, well-made man of twenty-nine or thirty years, erect93 as a quarter-staff, yet showing in every motion an elastic pliability94 and grace, which, although in reality the mere95 result of nature, appeared to be the consequence either of innate96 gentility or of long usance to the habits of the upper classes.
His complexion97 was that of the south—rich, sunny olive, without a tinge98 of color in the clear, dark cheek; his hair black as the raven’s wing, and his eyes of that wild, fiery99 shade of black which perhaps indicates a taint100 of Moorish101 blood. His features were very regular, and very calm in their regularity102, though there was nothing pensive103 nor anything very grave in their expression. It was the calmness of latent passions, not the calmness of controlling principles—the stillness which precedes the thunderburst, not the stillness of the subsident and overmastered storm: for the firmly-compressed lips, the square outlines of the hard, massive jaw104, the immense muscular development of the neck, and the deeply-indented frown between the eyebrows, intersecting a furrow105 crossing the forehead from brow to brow, would have indicated at once to the physiognomist that Maurice Champrèst was a man of the fiercest and most fiery energy and passions, concealed but not controlled—existing perhaps unsuspected, but utterly unchecked by any principle—and certain to start into a blaze at the first spark that should enkindle them.
His dress was the usual attire of a man in his station at the period, though of finer materials than was ordinary, consisting of a dark forest-green gambison, or short tunic of fine cloth, not very different in form from the blouse of the modern Frenchman, gathered about his waist by a broad belt of black leather,183 fastened in front by a brazen buckle106, and supporting on one side a heavy, buckhorn-hilted wood-knife, and on the other a large pouch107 or purse of black cordovan, bound with silver; his hose were of the same color with the tunic, fitting close to the shapely thigh108, and above these he wore long boots of russet-tawny leather. His black hair fell in two heavy clubs or masses over each ear, nearly to the collar of his doublet, from beneath the cover of a small cap of black velvet, set jauntily109 on one side, and adorned110 with a single white-cock’s feather.
His appearance on the whole, though he was very far inferior in regard of personal beauty to the exquisite creature whom he was so soon to call his wife, was manly111 and imposing112; while the character of his dress and equipments, as well as the decorations of Marguerite and her attendant maidens114, showed at once that they were all of a quality and station to the serfs employed in the cultivation115 of the lands of the great seigneurs, and indeed to that of the ordinary armed vassals and feudal tenants117 of the day.
In truth, Maurice Champrèst was not only the richest farmer, but the highest military vassal90 under the fief of Raoul de Canillac, the marquis of Roche d’or, his ancestor having been banner-bearer to the first lord of the name, and his people having held and cultivated the same farm for many a century, bound only to homage118 and free man-service in the field under the banner of his lord, to which in war he was held to bring five spearsmen and as many archers119 in full bodynge, as it was then technically120 termed, and effeyre-of-war. He was, in short, though not noble, nor what could be exactly termed a gentleman, of the very highest of feudal territorial121 vassals, not far removed from the class which were in England designated as franklins, although with fewer privileges and smaller real freedom, France having always been more rigidly122 feudal than the neighboring island, owing to the absence of the large admixture of Saxon184 blood and Saxon liberty, the latter of which soon began to preponderate123 in the white-rocked isle124 of ocean. His beautiful bride Marguerite, though not his equal in birth—for her grandfather and grandmother, nay125, her father himself, in his early youth, had been serfs—was a free-born and a gently-nurtured woman; the old people having been manumitted and presented with a few acres of land, in consequence of the gallantry with which he had rescued the then seigneur of Roche d’or, when unhorsed and at the mercy of the German communes at the bloody126 battle of Bovines, stricken between Philip the August and his rebellious127 barons128.
This event had taken place years before the birth of Marguerite, and in fact when her father was a mere stripling; and, as her mother was a woman of free lineage, neither serf nor villeyn, she was, of course, beyond the reach of cavil129. Nay, more than this, the unusual courage of the old man on that dreadful day, and the consideration always manifested toward him by the then marquis and his immediate86 successor, had won for him a far higher standing130 than was usually accorded to manumitted serfs by the class next above them. Her family, moreover, in both the last generations, had prospered131 in worldly wealth, for the old serf was shrewd and wary132, had hoarded133 money, and increased the extent of his rural demesne134, till Marguerite, who was an only daughter, was not only a beauty but an heiress; and probably, with the exception of her husband, would be, on the death of her parents, the richest person in the hamlet. She had received, moreover, advantages at that period very unusual indeed; for having, when a mere child, attracted the attention of the late marchioness de Canillac by her grace, her beauty, and the artless na?veté of her manners, she had been selected to attend, rather as a companion than a servant, on Mademoiselle de Roche d’or, a girl a few years her senior.
185 The young lady had become much attached to Marguerite, and on being sent to a convent in the principal town of the department for her education, as was usual, had obtained permission that Marguerite might attend her still; so that the young peasant had enjoyed all the advantages of mental culture granted to the high-born damsel; had profited by them to the utmost; and had parted from her orphaned135 mistress only when, after the death of her parents, she was removed with her brother, the present marquis, to the guardianship136 of their next relative, the prince of Auvergne. In the meantime, while the marquis and his sister had breathed the atmosphere of courts and large cities, far away from their native province, Marguerite had returned to the humble home of her parents which she had filled with happiness by the light of her loving eyes, and the harmonies of her soft, low voice; had expanded from the bud into the full-blown flower, admired and beloved of all; had burst from the frail137 and graceful girl into the exquisite and complete woman; and, having long been loved of Maurice Champrèst, and bestowed138 upon him all the tenderness and truth of her maiden113 affections, was now about to surrender her hand also to him unto whom she had been during the whole of the last year affianced.
And now, with pipe and tabor, with the old, time-honored bridal-chorus, with flowers scattered along the way, and garlands swinging from the hedgerows by which she was to pass, and decorating the rude pillars and stern arches of the old Gothic church in which she was to wed8, with all the village in her train, carolling and rejoicing at so suitable, so sweet a bridal, Marguerite, the bride of May, was led to the ceremony that should of the twain make one for ever and for ever, of which the word of God himself declared that whom he hath united no man shall put asunder139.
Merrily, with louder strains and blither minstrelsey, they wound up the little dell among the oaks, paused for a moment at the rustic140 fount to cross their brows with its holy waters,186 and entered the low portals of the village-chapel. The bells ceased tinkling; the brief ceremony was performed by the old priest who had baptized them both; the hand of the down-eyed, blushing bride, still sparkling and smiling amid her happy, soft confusion, was placed in the ardent141 grasp of Maurice, and she was now her own no longer, but a wedded142 wife.
She was wept over, blessed, caressed143, and kissed, by half the company, and many a fervent144 prayer was breathed for the happiness, the complete and perfect bliss145 of Marguerite, the bride of May—alas146 for human hopes and the vain prayers of mortals!—and then, while the bells struck up a livelier, louder chiming, and the bride-maidens trolled the chorus forth more cheerily—
“The roads should blossom, the roads should bloom, So fair a bride shall leave her home, Should blossom, should bloom with garlands gay, So fair a bride shall pass to-day!”—
with many a manly voice swelling more lustily the nuptial147 cadence, they passed the little green descending148 to the horse-road, Marguerite clinging now to his supporting arm and looking tenderly up into his with eyes suffused149 with happy tears and cheeks radiant with dimpled smiles and rosy150 blushes.
But at the moment when the bridal-train was wheeling down toward the road, and had now nearly reached the point of its intersection151 with the foot-path, the loud and noisy trampling152 of many horses, and the jingling153 clash of the harness of armed riders, was distinctly heard above the swelling chorus of the hymenean, above the chiming of the wedding-bells; and within a few seconds, two or three horsemen crossed the brow of the eastern hill, at a gentle trot154, and were followed by a company of some fifty men-at-arms, under the guidance of an old officer, whose beard and hair, as white as snow, fell down over his gorget from beneath the small, black-velvet cap, which alone187 covered his head, for his helmet hung at his saddle-bow. The troopers were all armed point-device, in perfect steel, with long, pennoned lances in their hands, two-handed broadswords slung155 across their shoulders from the left to the right, and battle-axe and mace156 depending on this side or that from the pommels of their steel-plated saddles. Their horses, too—strong, powerful brutes157 of the Norman stock, crossed with some lighter159 strain of higher blood—were barded, as it was termed, with chamfronts and neck-plates, poitrels on the breast, and the bards160 proper covering the loins and croup; and all were arrayed under a broad, square banner, blazoned161, as if every eye of the bridal-party could at once distinguish, with the bearings of the lords of Castel de Roche d’or.
No sooner had they discovered this, than they halted, and formed a line along the edge of the road, anxious to testify their respect to their young lord—who now, recently of age, was returning, after years of absence, from the chateau162 of his guardian—and eager to observe the passage of the cavalcade163.
The persons who led the approaching band were three in number, two of whom rode a few horse-lengths in advance of the third, and were evidently of rank superior to the rest; while something seemed to indicate, though it was indefinite, and not very obvious how far it did so, that even between these two there subsisted164 no perfect equality.
He to the left was the elder by many years; a finely-formed and not ill-favored man, of some forty-five or fifty years; magnificently apparelled in a suit of rich half-armor, with russet-leather boots meeting the taslets or thigh-pieces at the knee; accoutred with heavy gilded165 spurs, and wearing on his head a crimson-velvet mortier, adorned by a massive gold chain, and a lofty plume166 of white feathers.
And he it was, who, although in his outward show he was the more splendid—though he bestrode his steed with an air188 of pride so manifest, that you might have fancied he bestrode the universe—though he addressed all his inferiors with intolerable haughtiness167, and appeared to look upon all his equals as inferiors—yet, by his demeanor168 toward the youth who reined169 his Arab courser by his side, and by his almost servile watching of his every motion, and lowering his voice at his every word, appeared to be oppressed in his presence by a sense of the utmost unworthiness, and scarcely to hold himself entitled to have an opinion of his own until sanctioned by that of the young marquis de Roche d’or.
The features of this man were certainly well-favored rather than the reverse—for the brow, the eyes, the outlines, were all good; and yet the expressions they assumed, as he was moved by varying passions, were so odious170 and detestable, that on a nearer view, a close observer would probably have styled him hideous171, and avoided his advances. Pride, of the haughtiest172 and most intolerant form, would at one time writhe173 his lip and deform174 his every lineament; at another, it would yield to the basest, the most abject175 servility. Cruelty alone sat fixed176 and permanent in the thick, massive, animal jaw, the low and somewhat receding177 forehead, and the oblique178 glances of the cold, clear, gray eye; but sensuality, and sneering179 sarcasm180, and utter want of veneration181 or belief for anything high or holy, had left their hateful traces in the lines about his mouth and nostrils182: nor were these odious, ineradicable signs of an atrocious character redeemed183 by the evident presence of high intellect and pervading184 talents, for that intellect was of a shrewd, keen, cunning caste, and was in no wise akin185 to anything of an imaginative, a noble, or a virtuous186 type.
Such was the appearance, such the aspect, of a man renowned187 in his day far and wide through France, but renowned for evil only. Such was Canillac le fou—a soubriquet which he had won throughout his province, for the insane, frantic188, and unnatural189 vice91 and crime which had marked his whole career from boyhood. Canillac the madman!—and with good reason did the vassals of the old house of Roche d’or shrink upon themselves, and draw instinctively190 one toward the other, like wild-fowl when they see the shadow of the soaring falcon191, with a foreboding of peril192 near at hand, when they beheld193 this fierce, voluptuous, pitiless monster—whose favorite boast it was that he had never spared a woman in his passion, nor a man in his hatred—riding at the bridle-rein of their young lord, as his chosen friend and companion, and probably as the arbiter194 of his pleasures, instigator195 of his vices196!
And of a truth they had good cause to shrink and tremble, an’ had they but then known that which was even now impending197, to curse the very hour in which he or they were born—he to inflict198, they to endure the last, worst outrages199 of feudal tyranny and wrong!
But they as yet knew nothing, nor, save instinctively, foreboded anything; but he, with his keen, furtive200, ever-roving glances, noted201 (what none less sly, suspicious, and acute, would have suspected) the secret and intuitive horror with which the peasantry of Castel de Roche d’or regarded him, and vowed202 at once within his secret soul that they should have good cause to curse him, and that speedily.
His comrade, the young marquis, was, to the outward eye, a very different personage. Having barely reached his twenty-first year, he was as graceful and finely-framed a youth as ever sat a charger. His face, too, was very fine and regular, with the large, liquid, dark eyes, and deep, clear, olive tint84, which are so common in the south of France. His hair was black as the raven’s wing, with the same purplish, metallic lustre203 gleaming over its glossy204 surface, and fell in long, wavy, uncurled masses over the collar of the quilted gambison of rose-colored silk, which he wore under a shirt of flexible chain-mail, polished190 so brilliantly, that it flashed and sparkled in the morning sunbeams like a network of diamonds.
The ordinary expression of his countenance205 was grave, calm, and melancholy206; yet it was impassive and cold, rather than thoughtful and imaginative, while there was an occasional flashing light in the sleepy eye, and a gleam of almost fierce intelligence in all the features, and a strange, animal curl of the pale lips, which seemed to tell that there lurked207 beneath that cold exterior208 a volcano of fierce and fiery passions, ready at any instant to leap into life, and consume whosoever should oppose his will.
The keen observer of humanity would have pronounced him one cold, rather than collected; selfish at once, and careless of the rights and happiness of others; sluggish209, perhaps, and difficult to arouse, but, once aroused, impetuous, and of indomitable will—truly a fearful combination!
When the company had arrived within thirty or forty paces of the bridal-party, the villagers threw up their caps into the air, and raised a loud and joyous exclamation—“Vive Canillac! vive Canillac! Vive le beau marquis de Roche d’or!”—and, for the moment, the boy’s face lighted up with a gleam of warm and honest feeling—gratification at the welcome of his people, and something of real sympathy with their condition.
But just as he had determined210 to ride forward and return their kindly211 greeting with words of cheer and promise of protection, the young and fiery Arab on which he was mounted, terrified by the shoutings, and the caps tossed into the air, reared bolt upright, made a prodigious212 bound forward, and then, wheeling round, yerked out his heels violently, and dashed away with such fury, that before the young rider, who sat as firmly in his saddle as though he had been a portion of the animal, could arrest him, they were almost among the men-at-arms.
191 The whole passed in a minute; but that minute was of fearful import to many there assembled, many both innocent and guilty. Even in the point of time when the wild horse was plunging213 forward to the bridal-party, the young lord’s eye, undiverted by the sense of his own keen peril, had fallen upon the lovely face and exquisite symmetry of the fair bride, who, moved by a timid apprehension214 for the safety of the handsome cavalier, leaned forward a little way in front of her young companions, with clasped hands and cheeks blanched215 somewhat by sympathetic fear and pity.
The blood rushed in a torrent216 to his cheek, and remained settled there in a red, hectic217 spot; a fierce, unnatural189 light gleamed from his glassy eye, and his lip curled with an odious smile. A volume of fierce passions rushed over his soul, overpowering in an instant all his better characteristics. He was determined, in that instant, by that one glance, to possess her, reckless what misery218 and madness he might cause—reckless of all things, human or Divine!
And, whether the disembodied fiend, who, we are taught to believe, is ever ready at such moments of temptation to urge the incipient219 sinner on to deeper crime and ruin, did spur his wicked will or not—there was a human, sneering, tempting220 fiend, who, as he rode beside him, read his inmost soul in every look and gesture, and spared nothing of allurement221 to excite him onward222 on that fell road of evil passions which should insure his subjugation223 to his own sins and their readiest minister.
“Ha! what is this?” exclaimed the young man, almost angrily, as he pulled up his violent horse, at length, beside the aged224 seneschal; “what is this, Michael Rubempré—or who am I, that my villeyns and serfs wed at their will, without my consent, or consideration of my droits and dues?”
“So please you, beau seigneur, these be no serfs,” replied the old man, bowing low, “but vassals of the highest class, in192 this your lordship of Roche d’or—free vassals, beau sire, of the highest class. Your consent was applied225 for duly, and granted, in all form, by me, as, in your absence, by letters of instruction, your representative and agent. The dues were all paid, and a large present above them, as a donation to mademoiselle, your sister, on whom the young bride attended, when she dwelt in the house of the Ursulines, in Clermont.”
Darker and darker grew the brow of the young lord, as he listened; for he could not fail to perceive the obstacles which were opposed to the atrocious wrong he meditated226. Yet he listened sullenly227 to the end.
“Ha!” he replied, moodily229, “no droits, only dues, and those satisfied! The worse for them, by heaven and hell, and all who dwell therein!”
He paused a moment, with his hands clinched230, and the veins231 upon his brow swollen232 into thick, azure233 cords, by the rush of the hot blood; and then resumed, in a low, hissing234 tone, widely different from his usually slow and modulated235 voice:—
“Who be they, Michael Rubempré? I would give half my lands, they could be proved serfs. Can not this be done, Michael?”
“Impossible, beau sire!” replied the old man, firmly, though there was much of anxiety, and even of alarm, in his eye; “utterly impossible. The forefathers236 of Maurice Champrèst came into the lands of Roche d’or with the first Canillac, and he holds the same farm still, under the first grant, by tenure237 of man-service, only on the field of battle. He is your lordship’s greatest vassal, and brings five spears and as many crossbows to the banner of Roche d’or, serving himself on horseback.”
“Ha! curses on it! curses on it! And she—who is she! By heaven, she is the loveliest creature I ever looked upon! Who is she? ha!”
193 “Her grandfather, beau sire, then a serf—permitted, through the exigency238 of the times, to bear arms in the field—saved the life of your lordship’s grandsire, by taking in his breast the pike-thrust intended for his lord. For this good deed, he was manumitted, with his wife and son, who is now a free vassal and a large tenant116 of Roche d’or, bringing six crossbows to your banner. Marguerite was selected by the marquise to wait on Mademoiselle de Canillac de Roche d’or, and was educated with her, almost as a friend. She is the best girl, too, in all the village.”
“Ha! so much the worse! Curses on it—twenty thousand curses!”
And he had turned his horse’s head again, to ride on his way, apparently convinced that for this time, at least, his wicked will must be balked239 of its fulfilment; but at this moment, the voice of the tempter, Canillac the madman—mad in his crimes alone, for his wily and diverse intellect was clear as that of Catiline, whom he in some sort resembled—addressed him, calm, yet cutting and sarcastic:—
“What is it that has moved you so much, beau cousin? Methinks your people’s greeting should enliven, not depress you.”
“Tush!” the young man replied, almost savagely240; “tush! You are no fool, Canillac!”
“Not much, I think; though they do call me Canillac le fou! But what then, what then, beau cousin?”
“Did you not see her? did you not see her, Canillac? As I hope to live before God, she is the loveliest piece of woman’s flesh I ever looked upon! I would give—I would give half my lands, half my life, that I had droits seignorial over her; but I have dues, dues only, and they are satisfied. She is free—a free woman of her own right, and can not be mine.”
“Were I you, cousin, and I so desired her as you do, she should be mine, ere nightfall!”
194 “How so? how so?” asked the young man, sharply. “Did I not tell you she is free—free—that I have no droits over her, and do you tell me I can make her mine?”
“What if she be? She is but a peasant-wench—one of the mere canaille. I would regard her squalling no more than a kitten’s mewing; nay, rather I would glory in it, for I am sick to death of your complaisant241 beauties. Besides, she is not free, if she was born while her father was a serf, unless she was named in the deed of manumission.”
“But she must have been born years afterward242. Look at her, man: she could not have been born in my grandfather’s time.”
“Deny that she is free. Have her up with us to the castle, now. Hold her there as a hostage, till she be proven free. If you be not aweary of her, ere the week is ended, I will find twenty men who shall swear she was born in the days of Sir Noah in the ark, if it be needful.” And he laughed scornfully.
“By Heaven, I will not weary of her in a week of years! But it is well advised. I will essay it.”
“Essay nothing: do it! Promise to hold her in all honor. Promises cost no man anything, nor oaths either, for that matter, which is fortunate; for, by mine honor, she is fitter to be a prince’s paramour than a Jacque’s wife. So forward!”
And, with the word, they galloped243 forward, and pausing exactly in front of the bride, who stood between her husband and the priest—shrinking with modesty and terror from the ardent and licentious244 gaze which he riveted245 on her glowing charms—he began to rate the latter for daring to wed a serf-girl to a free vassal without his lord’s consent, and the former for presuming to defraud246 his seigneur of his droits.
In vain the good curate explained and expostulated; in vain twenty oaths were proffered247 by contemporaries of the girl’s grandsire, that she was free; in vain the husband tendered security, and offered rich donations; in vain the village-195maidens grovelled248 before the young lord’s charger’s hoofs249, and clasped his knees in an agony of fruitless supplication250! The wrong was predetermined; the wronger was a strong man, armed; and how should humble innocence prevail against the might which makes the right, where violence is masterful, and law its abject servitor?
To make a sad tale short, Raoul de Canillac announced his determination to carry her up to the castle presently, and hold her there in trust, until such time as a “court-baron” could be held to decide on the question of her manumission. He plighted251 his knightly252 word, however, his honor, as a peer of France, that she should be treated with all tenderness, as one who had waited on his sister; and returned to her husband, in all honor, should she be pronounced free: but this on the condition only that she should render herself freely up and gently, and go without resistance or complaint. To this he added, that, as an act of grace and favor, and to prove that he would deal with them in all faithfulness of honor, he would himself hold court at high noon to-morrow, at which he cited all his vassals to appear, and enjoined254 it on the priest, the parents, and the bridegroom, then and there to produce the testimonials of her birth or manumission; or, failing that, to remain for ever mute. Lovely as ever, if not lovelier, paler than the white lily, and like it drooping255 when its fair head is surcharged with dewdrops, and deluged256 with soft, silent tears, the miserable257 Marguerite sank on her husband’s breast in one last, long embrace.
Fire flashed from the dark eyes of Raoul de Canillac, and the blood literally258 boiled in his veins, as he saw that lovely form clasped close by arms other than his own—those lips polluted, as he termed it, by the kiss of a peasant!
“Enough of this!” he cried. “Set her upon the palfrey—the gray palfrey we brought down for my sister. You, Amelot de l’Aigle, guide it,” he continued, “but keep her in the middle196 of the lances.”
But the wretched girl had fainted; and they were forced to place her on a cloak, doubled upon the bows of the demipique, in front of the page, to whose waist she was bound by a silken scarf, to prevent her falling to the ground. The tears stood in the eyes of the good old seneschal; and the faces of many of the men-at-arms, who were all of the same class with the bridegroom, and many of them his comrades and friends, were dark and sullen228. None, however, dared to remonstrate259, much less to resist the authoritative260 mandate261 of the feudal tyrant262.
No words, however, can express the scene which ensued as the cavalcade swept onward at a rapid pace, leaving behind them agony, and desolation, and despair, where all, before their coming, had been happiness, and innocent, quiet bliss, and hopeful peace! The stifled263 wailing264 of the girls, the silent agony of the hopeless bridegroom, the deep, scarcely-smothered execrations of the men—it was a scene as terrible and heart-rending as that which preceded it had been delightful265 and cheering to the soul.
At length the priest, raising his arms toward heaven, cried in a low and plaintive266 voice—
“My children, let us pray; let us pray to the most high God, that he will keep our sweet sister Marguerite in innocence and honor, and give her back to us in happiness and peace. Let us pray!”
And every voice responded of all who heard his words; every voice, save one, responded, “Let us pray!” and every knee was bent267 as they bowed them in a sorrowing circle around their monitor and friend—every knee, save that of Maurice Champrèst; but he stood erect, and pulled his hat over his brows, and folded his arms across his chest, and exclaimed, as the ravishers of his sweet wife wound through the dale into the larger valley: “Earth has no justice, Heaven no pity! Man197 has no honor, God no vengeance268!”
But on rode the tyrants269, onward—careless of the ruin they had wrought270, ruthless toward the innocence they had determined to destroy; confident in the puissance of their prowess, and almost defying the thunders of Heaven, which were even then rolling and muttering far away among the volcanic271 peaks of the Mont d’or. Were these the omens272 of a coming storm?
They reached the esplanade before the castle-gates, and Marguerite was still unconscious. Happy had she nevermore regained273 her consciousness! But as the horses’ hoofs thundered over the echoing drawbridge, the clang roused her from her swoon. She raised herself up, drew her hand across her brow, as if to clear away some imaginary mist obscuring her mental vision, and gazed wildly and hurriedly around her on the strange objects which met her eyes, as if she had not as yet realized to herself her condition, nor altogether knew her destination. As she was carried, however, through the dim, resounding274 vault25 of the barbacan, and heard the grating clang of the portcullis when it thundered down behind her, a sense of her lost condition flashed upon her soul, and a voice seemed to whisper in her ear those words of horrible import which Danté, in after-days, inscribed275 upon the gates of hell; “On entering here, leave every hope behind!”
Still she shrieked276 not, nor wept, nor craved278 or sympathy or pity; for too well did she know that the hearts of those to whom she should appeal were harder, colder than their own iron breastplates; her only confidence was in her own strenuous279 virtue280, her only hope in Him who alone can save.
She was lifted from the horse, not only with some show of gentleness, but even of respect, without receiving word or sign of intelligence from the young lord of Roche d’or, who strode away, accompanied by his ill-counsellor, Canillac the madman, toward the banqueting-room, wherein the noontide meal was198 prepared already, and where the flower of the knights281 and nobles of the province were assembled to welcome the new-comer. Then she was conducted by the page through several long, winding passages, to a sort of withdrawing-room, in which she found several female-servants of the higher class, to the care of one of whom she was consigned282, with a few words of whispered orders, by her conductor, who bowed low and retired283. The girls looked at her for a moment or two earnestly, inquiringly—eying her gay bridal-dress, so ill-suited to the mode of her arrival, with an air between suspicion and sympathy—until, at length, one of them seemed to recognise her, and exclaimed: “Mon Dieu! mon Dieu! if it be not the fair Marguerite!”
And then, as pity seemed to prevail over all other feelings, they crowded round her kindly and respectfully; and after a few kindly-intended but little-meaning words, one of them offered to conduct her to her appointed chamber284, promising285 to bring her refreshments286 shortly, and saying that doubtless she would prefer to take some repose287, and be alone.
Through dark, circuitous288 passages, vaulted with solid stone, and ribbed as though they had been hewn out of the living rock, and up interminable winding stairs, she led her, until her brain whirled round and round, and her senses were almost bewildered. At length they reached the topmost story of the huge, square tower, and, opening a low, arched door, the hapless bride was ushered289 into a room so sumptuously290 furnished as Marguerite had never seen or dreamed of; and then, with a deep reverence291, and a half-compassionate air, the attendant maiden left her, a prisoner; for she heard the lock turned from without, and her heart fell at the sound.
The sun, which had turned already toward the westward292, was pouring a rich stream of light through the oriel window, over the tapestried293 walls and floor; over the velvet bed in a deep alcove294; over the soft arm-chairs, and central table covered with199 a splendid carpet, and strewn with illuminated295 books, and rich, sculptured cups and vases. But it was on none of these that the eyes of Marguerite dwelt meaningly; for, as they wandered over these, half-marvelling amid her terrors at their beauty, she discerned an oaken prie-Dieu, in a small niche296 beside the window, with a missal on its embroidered297 cushion, and a crucifix with the sacrificed Redeemer looking down from it on the repentant298 sinner.
In an instant, she was on her knees before the image of her God, pouring forth the whole of her innocent and spotless soul, in the holiest of supplications. She prayed for aid from on high to preserve her unstained virtue; she prayed for strength from on high to resist temptation; she prayed for pardon from on high for her sins and errors past, for grace that she might err1 no more in future; she prayed that He, who alone could pity human suffering—for that he had suffered as no man suffereth—would touch the hearts of her ruthless persecutors, through his Virgin300 Mother; she prayed that he would console her sorrowing parents, and him whom she scarcely dared think of, so terrible she knew must be his anguish301; lastly, she prayed for pardon to her persecutor299, and that, if she were doomed302 that night to perish, her soul might be received to grace, through the intercession of the saints, and her, the ever-blessed, the Virgin Mother Mary!
Her prayer, if in form it were erroneous, in spirit was sincere and fervent; and, as sincere and fervent prayers will ever, surely must hers have found a hearing at the throne of mercy, for she arose from her knees confirmed, if not consoled, and strengthened in her virtuous principles, and calm by the very strength of her resolves.
Then, opening the oriel window, she stepped out into the little balcony, or bartizan, which projected out beyond the face of the wall—perhaps in the hope of finding some means of200 escape; but, alas! if such a hope had flattered her, it was delusive303; for there was no egress304 from it, nor any method of descending; and it impended305 far over the broad, deep moat, a hundred feet or more above its dark, clear waters—which, she remembered to have heard men say, were fifty feet in depth to the bottom of their rock-hewn channel. Long, long she gazed over the lovely sunlit valley of her birth, which all lay mapped out in the glorious glow before her eyes; the happy home among the limes, beneath which she was born; the happier home of promise, into which she had hoped that day to be led by him whom she loved the best; the little chapel in the dell, among the oaks, in which she had plighted, that very morn, her faith for ever, until death, and death alone, should dissolve the bonds.
“And death alone,” she exclaimed, as the thoughts swelled306 upon her soul, “and death alone shall dissolve them! But I must not look upon these things—I must not think of him—or my spirit will sink into utter weakness!” Then she paused, and, leaning over the low breastwork of the bartizan, looked down with a steady eye into the abyss, and crossing herself as she rose—“May God assoil my soul, if I be driven to do this thing, as do it of a surety I will, if otherwise I may not save my honor!”
Then she returned into the chamber, leaving both lattices of the oriel open; and seated herself calmly near the window, with her eyes fixed on the effigy307 of her dying God, expecting that which should ensue, in trembling and shuddering308 of the spirit, it is true, yet in earnest resignation and fixed purpose.
Ere long, a step approached the door, but it was light and gentle; and, when the lock was turned, it was the girl who had led her thither309, bearing wine and refreshments on a silver salver: but, though the attendant pressed her kindly to take comfort and to eat, that she might be strengthened, she refused all consolation310, and only drank a deep draught311 of the cold spring-water,201 to quench312 the feverish313 thirst which parched314 her very vitals. Seeing at once that the prisoner would not be consoled, nor enter into any conversation, the maiden bade her “Good-night, and God speed her!” and added that she believed she would not be disturbed that night, for the gentles were revelling315 furiously in the great hall: and the feast, she believed, would efface316 all thought of her.
“God grant that it may be so,” she replied, fervently317; “for if I live scatheless318 until to-morrow morn, I am free and happy! No court on earth can dare decide against the testimony319 we shall show to-morrow.”
But, in His wisdom—we, blind wretches320, can not discern, may not conjecture321 wherefore—HE did not grant it.
The sunlight faded from the sky, as the great orb322 went down; and the stars came out, one by one; and then the moon arose, nigh to the full, and filled the skies with glory, and the maiden May-bride’s heart with increasing hope on earth, and gratitude323 toward Heaven. But little did she dream that he, she had that morning wedded, lay, even now, at the verge of the moat, watching her oriel window, with agony and desperation at his heart; yet so it was. When she stepped on the bartizan, he had been observing the castle with an angry and jealous eye from the skirts of the nearest woodland; and, though it was nearly a mile distant, the lover’s glance of instinct had at once detected the loved and lovely figure. As the shades of evening closed, and night fell thick before the moon arose, he had crept up, pace by pace, till he had reached the brink324 of the moat, unseen of the warders on the keep and the flanking walls; and now he lay couched in the rank grass, almost within reach of his beloved, able to hear every sound—should sound come forth—from her gentle lips, yet powerless to succor325, impotent to save!
202 It was now nigh midnight, and Marguerite had begun to frame to herself a hope that she was indeed forgotten; when suddenly the sound of feet, coming up the winding stair, aroused her. The sounds were of the feet of two men: the one, heavy and uncertain, as of a person who had drunk too deeply; the other light and agile326.
She rose to her feet, with her heart throbbing327 as though it would have burst her boddice. “The time of my trial hath come! My God, my God, now aid, or, if need be, forgive thy servant!”
The door flew open, and at the sight hope fled her bosom, if any hope had so long dwelt within it.
Flushed with wine—inebriate, almost—with his doublet unbraced, and his points unfastened—with a glowing cheek, a sparkling eye, and an unsteady gait, Raoul de Canillac stood before her—the page Amelot bearing a waxen torch before him, which he placed in a candelabrum near the bed, and that done, retiring.
As the door closed, the young lord moved toward her, while she stood gazing at him like a deer at bay, with a sad, liquid eye, and the tears rolling down her cheeks, yet motionless and dauntless.
“Dry thy tears, sweet one,” he exclaimed, “or rather weep on, till I kiss them from thy cheeks, and replace them by smiles of rapture328. Girl, I adore thee. Be but mine, and I will change thine every bunch of silly-flowers for gems329 worth an earl’s ransom330; better to be—”
“Seigneur Raoul de Canillac,” she interrupted him, in tones so calm, that he was compelled to pause and listen—“marquis of Roche d’or, knight253 of the Holy Ghost, as you are prince and noble, as you are peer of France and belted knight, hear me, and spare me! By the soul of your mother, who was chaste331 wife to your lordly father! by the honor of your sister, who is spotless demoiselle! spare me, who am at once chaste wife203 and spotless maiden! Conquer me you may, perchance, by brute158 force; win me, by words, you never can! Nor would I yield to thee one favor, were death itself the alternative!”
“Brute force, then, be it!” he replied, though, half-awed by her manner, he advanced no farther; “for, conquer thee I will, if I may not win thee, though my mother’s soul stood palpable between us, and my sister’s honor were trampled332 underneath333 my feet, as I spring on to seize thee!”
“False knight, your plighted honor! bad lord, your promised faith!” she cried, so loud and clear, that her every accent reached the ear and tore the heart of Maurice Champrèst below.
“Honor!” he shouted, sneeringly334; “to the wild winds with honor! Faith! who kept faith with a woman ever?”
And he dashed at her with a bound so sudden and unexpected, that he cleared the space between them, and had his arms around her, in an instant.
She thought that she was lost, and uttered one wild shriek277, so long, so shivering, so thrilling, that not one ear that heard it but felt as if a lance had pierced it. But virtue gave her strength, as vice and excess had robbed him of it; and, with a perfect majesty335, she thrust him from her, that he staggered and fell headlong.
One spring, and she had cleared the oriel window; another, and she stood upon the dizzy brink. “My God, forgive mine enemy! Jesus, receive my soul!”
She veiled her head with her bridal-veil, and, with her white arms clasped above it, stooped herself, and plunged337 headlong!
For one second, there was seen by every eye, within eye-shot, a long, white gleam, glancing downward through the misty338 moonlight—
For one second, there was heard by every ear, within ear-shot, a dreadful, hurtling sound—
204 And then a sudden plash, and the waters of the moat flashed upward in the serene339 moonlight, and closed over the head of chaste, unspotted Marguerite!
But another plunge336 followed instantly; and, within one second, she was drawn340 forth and clasped in her husband’s arms, shattered and stunned341, and beyond all hope of life, yet still not wholly dead.
A few long minutes passed—minutes as long as years—and then, warmed into life by the pressure of that fond breast, she revived; her dying eyes looked into his; she knew him—she was blest!—
“Maurice—I am thine—in death, as in life—thine own, thine own, pure Marguerite—kiss—kiss me! I am gone—hus-husband!”
And she died, happy—died, may we not trust, forgiven!—
And he howled out a hideous curse against the castle, and against its lord, and against all whom its guilty walls protected; and then, bearing his dead bride in his arms, away through the darkness of the night—away, with a speed mocking the fleet pursuit of horses!
The sunrise of the morrow shone down upon the corpse342 of Marguerite, clad in her bridal-veil and marriage-garments, dripping and soiled with moisture, outstretched upon the very altar before which the preceding dawn had seen her wedded.
But years elapsed ere Maurice Champrèst was seen again in the hamlet of Castel de Roche d’or; and, when he was seen there, it was a sorry sight to many a noble eye, and the very stones cried “Wo!” when the Vassal’s Wife was avenged343 on her destroyer.
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1
err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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hawthorn
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| 山楂 | |
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exhaling
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| v.呼出，发散出( exhale的现在分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气 | |
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aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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brooklet
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| n. 细流, 小河 | |
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wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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9
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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alder
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| n.赤杨树 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rivulet
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| n.小溪，小河 | |
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canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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chiselled
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| adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 ) | |
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gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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brazen
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| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
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trumpets
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| 喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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spire
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| n.(教堂)尖顶，尖塔，高点 | |
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vaulted
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| adj.拱状的 | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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herds
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| 兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众 | |
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arable
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| adj.可耕的，适合种植的 | |
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orchards
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| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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farmhouses
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| n.农舍，农场的主要住房( farmhouse的名词复数 ) | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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pebbly
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| 多卵石的，有卵石花纹的 | |
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joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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cadence
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| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
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43
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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44
bosoms
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| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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48
mead
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| n.蜂蜜酒 | |
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primrose
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| n.樱草，最佳部分， | |
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50
strewed
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| v.撒在…上( strew的过去式和过去分词 )；散落于；点缀；撒满 | |
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quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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52
demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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53
metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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54
gloss
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| n.光泽，光滑；虚饰；注释；vt.加光泽于；掩饰 | |
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55
wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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56
hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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57
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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58
sable
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| n.黑貂；adj.黑色的 | |
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59
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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60
sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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61
voluptuous
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| adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的 | |
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62
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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63
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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64
imbuing
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| v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的现在分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等） | |
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65
beholder
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| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
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66
lashes
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| n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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67
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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68
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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69
pouting
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的现在分词 ) | |
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70
irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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71
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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72
bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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73
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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74
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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75
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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76
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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77
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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78
contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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79
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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80
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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81
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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82
bouquet
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| n.花束，酒香 | |
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83
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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84
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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85
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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86
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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87
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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88
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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89
vassals
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| n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属 | |
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90
vassal
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| n.附庸的；属下；adj.奴仆的 | |
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91
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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92
athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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93
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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94
pliability
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| n.柔韧性；可弯性 | |
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95
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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96
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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97
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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98
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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99
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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100
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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101
moorish
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| adj.沼地的，荒野的，生[住]在沼地的 | |
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102
regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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103
pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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104
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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105
furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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106
buckle
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| n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲 | |
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107
pouch
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|
| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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108
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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109
jauntily
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| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
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110
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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111
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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112
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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113
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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114
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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115
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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116
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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117
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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118
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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119
archers
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| n.弓箭手，射箭运动员( archer的名词复数 ) | |
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120
technically
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| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
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121
territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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122
rigidly
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| adv.刻板地，僵化地 | |
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123
preponderate
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| v.数目超过；占优势 | |
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124
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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125
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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126
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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127
rebellious
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|
| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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128
barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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129
cavil
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| v.挑毛病，吹毛求疵 | |
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130
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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131
prospered
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| 成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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132
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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133
hoarded
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| v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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134
demesne
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| n.领域，私有土地 | |
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135
orphaned
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| [计][修]孤立 | |
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136
guardianship
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| n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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137
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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138
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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139
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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140
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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141
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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142
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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143
caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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144
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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145
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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146
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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147
nuptial
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| adj.婚姻的，婚礼的 | |
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148
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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149
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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151
intersection
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| n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集 | |
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152
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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153
jingling
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| 叮当声 | |
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154
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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155
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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156
mace
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| n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮 | |
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157
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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158
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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159
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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160
bards
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| n.诗人( bard的名词复数 ) | |
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161
blazoned
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| v.广布( blazon的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布；夸示；装饰 | |
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162
chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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163
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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164
subsisted
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| v.（靠很少的钱或食物）维持生活，生存下去( subsist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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165
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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166
plume
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| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
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167
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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168
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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169
reined
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| 勒缰绳使（马）停步( rein的过去式和过去分词 )； 驾驭； 严格控制； 加强管理 | |
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170
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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171
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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172
haughtiest
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| haughty（傲慢的，骄傲的）的最高级形式 | |
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173
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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174
deform
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| vt.损坏…的形状；使变形，使变丑；vi.变形 | |
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175
abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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176
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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177
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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178
oblique
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| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
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179
sneering
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| 嘲笑的，轻蔑的 | |
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180
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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181
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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182
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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183
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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184
pervading
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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185
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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186
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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187
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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188
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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189
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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190
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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191
falcon
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| n.隼，猎鹰 | |
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192
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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193
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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194
arbiter
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| n.仲裁人，公断人 | |
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195
instigator
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| n.煽动者 | |
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196
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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197
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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198
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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199
outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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200
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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201
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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202
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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203
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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204
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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205
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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206
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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207
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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208
exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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209
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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210
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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211
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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212
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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213
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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214
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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215
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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216
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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217
hectic
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| adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的 | |
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218
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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219
incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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220
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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221
allurement
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| n.诱惑物 | |
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222
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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223
subjugation
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| n.镇压，平息，征服 | |
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224
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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225
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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226
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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227
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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228
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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229
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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230
clinched
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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231
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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232
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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233
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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234
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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235
modulated
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| 已调整[制]的，被调的 | |
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236
forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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237
tenure
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| n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期 | |
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238
exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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239
balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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240
savagely
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|
| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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241
complaisant
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| adj.顺从的，讨好的 | |
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242
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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243
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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244
licentious
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| adj.放纵的，淫乱的 | |
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245
riveted
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| 铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意 | |
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246
defraud
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| vt.欺骗，欺诈 | |
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247
proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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248
grovelled
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| v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的过去式和过去分词 )；趴 | |
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249
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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250
supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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251
plighted
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| vt.保证，约定（plight的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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252
knightly
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| adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地 | |
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253
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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254
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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255
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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256
deluged
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| v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 )；淹没；被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没；穷于应付 | |
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257
miserable
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|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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258
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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259
remonstrate
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| v.抗议，规劝 | |
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260
authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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261
mandate
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| n.托管地；命令，指示 | |
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262
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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263
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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264
wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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265
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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266
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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267
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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268
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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269
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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270
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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271
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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272
omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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273
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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274
resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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275
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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276
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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277
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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278
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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279
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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280
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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281
knights
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| 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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282
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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283
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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284
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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285
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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286
refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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287
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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288
circuitous
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|
| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
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289
ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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290
sumptuously
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| 奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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291
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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292
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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293
tapestried
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| adj.饰挂绣帷的，织在绣帷上的v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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294
alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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295
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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296
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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297
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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298
repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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299
persecutor
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| n. 迫害者 | |
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300
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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301
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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302
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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303
delusive
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| adj.欺骗的，妄想的 | |
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304
egress
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| n.出去；出口 | |
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305
impended
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| v.进行威胁，即将发生( impend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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306
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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307
effigy
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| n.肖像 | |
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308
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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309
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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311
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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312
quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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313
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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314
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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315
revelling
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| v.作乐( revel的现在分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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316
efface
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| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
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317
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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318
scatheless
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| adj.无损伤的，平安的 | |
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319
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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320
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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321
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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322
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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323
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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324
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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325
succor
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| n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助 | |
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326
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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327
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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328
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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329
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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330
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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331
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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332
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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333
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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334
sneeringly
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| 嘲笑地，轻蔑地 | |
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335
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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336
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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337
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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338
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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339
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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340
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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341
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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342
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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343
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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