When England was altogether an agricultural land--when a rude plough produced an abundant harvest, and a thin, but hardy4 and generous peasantry, devoted5 themselves totally to the cultivation6 of the earth,--when wide forests waved their green boughs7 over many of the richest manufacturing districts of Great Britain, and the lair8 of the fawn9 and the burrow10 of the coney were found, where now appear the fabric11 and the mill, there stood, in a small town, or rather, I should call it, village, some fourteen miles from Pontefract, a neat little inn, well known to all the wayfarers12 on the road as a comfortable resting place, where they could dine on their journey to or from the larger city.
The house was constructed of wood, and was but of two stories; but let it not be supposed on that account that it was devoid13 of ornament14, for manifold were the quaint15 carvings16 and rude pieces of sculpture with which it was decorated, and not small had been the pains which had been bestowed17 upon mouldings and cornices, and lintels and door-posts by the hand of more than one laborious18 artisan. Indeed, altogether, it was a very elaborate piece of work, and had probably been originally built for other purposes than that which it now served; for many were the changes which had taken place in that part of the country, as well as over the rest of England, between the days I speak of, and those of a century before.
Any one who examined the house closely, would have seen that it must have been constructed before the year 1180, for there was very strong proof, in the forms of the windows, and the cutting across of several of the beams which traversed the front, that at the period of its erection the use of glazed19 casements20 in private houses was not known. At the time I speak of, however, glass had become plentiful21 in England, and, though cottages were seldom ornamented22 with anything like a lattice, yet no house with the rank and dignity of an inn, where travellers might stop in rainy and boisterous23 weather, was now without windows, formed of manifold small lozenge-shaped pieces of glass, like those still frequently employed in churches, only of a smaller size.
The inn was a gay-looking, cheerful place, either in fine weather or in foul24; for, as there are some men who, clothe them as you will, have a distinguished25 and graceful26 air, so are there some dwellings27 which look sunshiny and bright, let the aspect of the sky be what it will. The upper story of the house projected beyond the lower, and formed of itself a sort of portico28, giving a shelter to two long benches placed beneath it, either from the heat of the summer sun, or the rain of the spring and autumn; and it need not be said that these benches formed the favourite resting place of sundry29 old men on bright summer evenings; and that many a time, in fine weather, a table would be put out upon the green before the house, the bench offering seats on one side, while settles and stools gave accommodation on the other, to many a merry party round the good roast beef and humming ale.
Before the door of the inn, spread out one of those pleasant open pieces of ground, which generally found room for themselves in every country village in England; on which the sports of the place were held; to which the jockey brought his horse for sale, and tried his paces up and down; on which many a wrestler30 took a fall, and cudgel-player got a broken head. There too, in their season, were the merry maypole and the dance, the tabor and the pipe. There was many a maiden31 wooed and won; and there passed along all the three processions of life--the infant to the font, the bride to the altar, the corpse32 to the grave.
Various were the memories attached to that village green in the hearts of all the neighbourhood; various were the associations which it called up in every bosom33 and various were the romances, probably much better worth listening to than this that we are going to tell, which that village green could have related. It had all the things pertaining34 to its character and profession: it had a dry, clear, sandy horse-road running at one side, it had two foot-paths crossing each other in the middle, it had a tall clump35 of elms on the south side, with a well, and an iron ladle underneath36. It had a pond, which was kept clear by a spring at the bottom, welling constantly over at the side next the road, and forming a little rivulet37, full of pricklebacks, flowing on towards a small river at some distance. It had its row of trees on the side next to the church, with the priest's house at the corner. The surface was irregular, just sufficiently38 so to let some of the young people, in any of their merry meetings, get out of sight of their elders for a minute or two; and the whole was covered with that short, dry, green turf, which is only to be found upon a healthy sandy soil. In short, dear reader, it was as perfect a village green as ever was seen, and I should like very much, if such a thing were possible, to transport you and me to the bench before the inn door on some fine afternoon in the end of the month of June, and there, with a white jug39 of clear Nottingham ale before us, while the sun sunk down behind the forest, and the sky began to glow with his slant40 rays, to tell you the tale which is about to follow, marking in your face the signs of interest which you would doubtless show--the hope, the fear, the expectation, perhaps the smile of surprise, perhaps the glistening41 drop of sympathy--suffering you to interrupt and ask a question here and there, but not too often--forgiving a moment's impatience42 when the tale was dull, and thanking you in the end for your friendship towards the good and noble who lived and died more than five centuries ago.
In truth, reader, you know not what a pleasure there is--when the mind is clear from care or sorrow, the heart well attuned43, the object a good one, and the tale interesting--you know not what a pleasure there is, to sit down and tell a long story to those who are worthy44 of hearing one.
And now, having made a somewhat wide excursion, and finding it difficult to get back again to the tale by any easy and gradual process, I will even in this place, close the first chapter, which, by your leave, shall serve for a Preface and Introduction both.
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1
hilarity
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| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
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2
sylvan
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| adj.森林的 | |
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3
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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hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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11
fabric
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| n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织 | |
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wayfarers
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| n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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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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carvings
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| n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物 | |
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17
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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casements
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| n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 ) | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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sundry
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| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
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wrestler
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| n.摔角选手，扭 | |
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31
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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corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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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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34
pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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rivulet
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| n.小溪，小河 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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slant
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| v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向 | |
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41
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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42
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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43
attuned
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| v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音 | |
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44
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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