“Ainsi il avait trouvé sa mie
N’avoit cure d’ailleurs plaider,
Fors qu’avec lui manoir et estre.
THE EIGHTH NOVEL.—BRANWEN OF WALES GETS A KING’S LOVE UNWITTINGLY, AND IN ALL INNOCENCE3 CONVINCES HIM OF THE LITTLENESS OF HIS KINGDOM; SO THAT HE BESIEGES4 AND IN DUE COURSE OCCUPIES ANOTHER REALM AS YET UNMAPPED.
The Story of the Scabbard
In the year of grace 1400 (Nicolas begins) King Richard, the second monarch7 of that name to rule in England, wrenched8 his own existence, and nothing more, from the close wiles9 of his cousin, Harry10 of Derby, who was now sometimes called Henry of Lancaster, and sometimes Bolingbroke. The circumstances of this evasion11 having been recorded in the preceding tale, it suffices here to record that this Henry was presently crowned King of England in Richard’s place. All persons, saving only Owain Glyndwyr and Henry of Lancaster, believed King Richard dead at that period when Richard attended his own funeral, as a proceeding12 taking to the fancy, and, among many others, saw the body of Edward Maudelain interred13 with every regal ceremony in the chapel14 at Langley Bower15. Then alone Sire Richard crossed the seas, and at thirty-three set out to inspect a transformed and gratefully untrammelling world wherein not a foot of land belonged to him.
Holland was the surname he assumed, the name of his half-brothers; and to detail his Asian wanderings would be tedious and unprofitable. But at the end of each four months would come to him a certain messenger from Glyndwyr, supposed by Richard to be the imp17 Orvendile, who notoriously ran every day around the world upon the Welshman’s business. It was in the Isle18 of Taprobane, where the pismires are as great as hounds, and mine and store the gold of which the inhabitants afterward19 rob them through a very cunning device, that this emissary brought the letter which read simply, “Now is England fit pasture for the White Hart.” Presently Richard Holland was in Wales, and then he rode to Sycharth.
There, after salutation, Glyndwyr gave an account of his long stewardship20. It was a puzzling record of obscure and tireless machinations with which we have no immediate21 concern: in brief, the barons22 who had ousted23 King Log had been the very first to find their squinting25 King Stork26 intolerable; and Northumberland, Worcester, Douglas, Mortimer, and so on, were already pledged and in open revolt. “By the God I do not altogether serve,” Owain ended, “you have but to declare yourself, sire, and within the moment England is yours.”
Richard spoke27 with narrowed eyes. “You forget that while Henry of Lancaster lives no other man can ever hope to reign28 tranquilly29 in these islands. Come then! the hour strikes; and we will coax30 the devil for once in a way to serve God.”
“Oh, but there is a boundary appointed,” Glyndwyr moodily31 returned. “You, too, forget that in cold blood this Henry stabbed my best-loved son. But I do not forget this, and I have tried divers32 methods which we need not speak of,—I who can at will corrupt33 the air, and cause sickness and storms, raise heavy mists, and create plagues and fires and shipwrecks34; yet the life itself I cannot take. For there is a boundary appointed, sire, and beyond that frontier the Master of our Sabbaths cannot serve us even though he would.”
Richard crossed himself. “You horribly mistake my meaning. Your practices are your own affair, and in them I decline to dabble35. I merely design to trap a tiger with his appropriate bait. For you have a fief at Caer Idion, I think?—Very well! I intend to herd36 your sheep there, for a week or two, after the honorable example of Apollo. It is your part to see that Henry knows I am living disguised and defenceless at Caer Idion.”
The gaunt Welshman chuckled38. “Yes, squinting Henry of Lancaster would cross the world, much less the Severn, to make quite sure of Richard’s death. He would come in his own person with at most some twenty trustworthy followers39. I will have a hundred there; and certain aging scores will then be settled in that place.” Glyndwyr meditated40 afterward, very evilly. “Sire,” he said without prelude41, “I do not recognize Richard of Bordeaux. You have garnered42 much in travelling!”
“Why, look you,” Richard returned, “I have garnered so much that I do not greatly care whether this scheme succeed or no. With age I begin to contend even more indomitably that a wise man will consider nothing very seriously. You barons here believe it an affair of importance who may chance to be the King of England, say, this time next year; you take sides between Henry and me. I tell you frankly43 that neither of us, that no man in the world, by reason of innate44 limitations, can ever rule otherwise than abominably45, or, ruling, can create anything save discord46. Nor can I see how this matters either, since the discomfort47 of an ant-village is not, after all, a planet-wrecking disaster. No, Owain, if the planets do indeed sing together, it is, depend upon it, to the burden of Fools All. For I am as liberally endowed as most people; and when I consider my abilities, my performances, my instincts, and so on, quite aloofly48, as I would appraise49 those of another person, I can only shrug50: and to conceive that common-sense, much less Omnipotence51, would ever concern itself about the actions of a creature so entirely52 futile53 is, to me at least, impossible.”
“I have known the thought,” said Owain,—“though rarely since I found the Englishwoman that was afterward my wife, and never since my son, my Gruffyd, was murdered by a jesting man. He was more like me than the others, people said.... You are as yet the empty scabbard, powerless alike for help or hurt. Ey, hate or love must be the sword, sire, that informs us here, and then, if only for a little while, we are as gods.”
“Pardie! I have loved as often as Salomon, and in fourteen kingdoms.”
“We of Cymry have a saying, sire, that when a man loves par37 amours the second time he may safely assume that he has never been in love at all.”
“—And I hate Henry of Lancaster as I do the devil.”
“I greatly fear,” said Owain with a sigh, “lest it may be your irreparable malady54 to hate nothing, not even that which you dislike. No, you consider things with both eyes open, with an unmanly rationality: whereas Sire Henry views all matters with that heroic squint24 which came into your family from Poictesme.”
“Be off with your dusty scandals!” said Richard, laughing.
So then Glyndwyr rode south to besiege5 and burn the town of Caerdyf, while at Caer Idion Richard Holland abode55 tranquilly for some three weeks. There was in this place only Caradawc (the former shepherd), his wife Alundyne, and their sole daughter Branwen. They gladly perceived Sire Richard was no more a peasant than he was a curmudgeon56; as Caradawc observed: “It is perfectly57 apparent that the robe of Padarn Beisrudd, which refuses to adjust itself to any save highborn persons, would fit him as a glove does the hand; but we will ask no questions, since it is not wholesome58 to dispute the orderings of Owain Glyndwyr.”
Now day by day would Richard Holland drive the flocks to pasture near the Severn, and loll there in the shade, and make songs to his lute59. He grew to love this leisured life of bright and open spaces; and its long solitudes60, grateful with the warm odors of growing things and with poignant61 bird-noises; and the tranquillity62 of these meadows, that were always void of hurry, bedrugged the man through many fruitless and contented63 hours.
Each day at noon Branwen would bring his dinner, and she would sometimes chat with him while he ate. After supper he would discourse64 to Branwen of remote kingdoms, through which, as aimlessly as a wind veers65, he had ridden at adventure, among sedate66 and alien peoples who adjudged him a madman; and she, in turn, would tell him curious tales from the Red Book of Hergest,—telling of Gwalchmai, and Peredur, and Geraint, in each one of which fine heroes she had presently discerned an inadequate67 forerunnership of Richard’s existence.
This Branwen was a fair wench, slender and hardy68. She had the bold demeanor69 of a child who is ignorant of evil and in consequence of suspicion. Happily, though, had she been named for that unhappy lady of old, the wife of King Matholwch, for this Branwen, too, had a white, thin, wistful face, like that of an empress on a silver coin which is a little worn. Her eyes were large and brilliant, colored like clear emeralds, and her abundant hair was so much cornfloss, only it was more brightly yellow and was of immeasurably finer texture70. In full sunlight her cheeks were frosted like the surface of a peach, but the underlying71 cool pink of them was rather that of a cloud just after sunset, Richard decided72. In all, a taking morsel73! though her shapely hands were hard with labor74, and she rarely laughed; for, as if in recompense, her heart was tender, and she rarely ceased to smile as though she were thinking of some peculiar75 and wonderful secret which she intended, in due time, to share with you and with nobody else. Branwen had many lovers, and preferred among them young Gwyllem ap Llyr, a portly lad, who was handsome enough, though he had tiny and piggish eyes, and who sang divinely.
One day this Gwyllem came to Richard with two quarter-staves. “Saxon,” he said, “you appear a stout76 man. Take your pick of these, then, and have at you.”
“Such are not the weapons I would have named,” Richard answered: “yet in reason, Messire Gwyllem, I can deny you nothing that means nothing to me.”
With that they laid aside their coats and fell to exercise. In these unaccustomed bouts77 Richard was soundly drubbed, as he had anticipated, but he found himself the stronger man of the two, and he managed somehow to avoid an absolute overthrow78. By what method he contrived79 this he never ascertained80.
“I have forgotten what we are fighting about,” he observed, after ten minutes of heroic thumps81 and hangings; “or, to be perfectly exact, I never knew. But we will fight no more in this place. Come and go with me to Welshpool, Messire Gwyllem, and there we will fight to a conclusion over good sack and claret.”
“Content!” cried Gwyllem; “but only if you yield me Branwen.”
“Have we indeed wasted a whole half-hour in squabbling over a woman?” Richard demanded; “like two children in a worldwide toyshop over any one particular toy? Then devil take me if I am not heartily82 ashamed of my folly83! Though, look you, Gwyllem, I would speak naught84 save commendation of these delicate and livelily-tinted creatures so long as one is able to approach them in a becoming spirit of levity85: it is only their not infrequent misuse86 which I would condemn87; and in my opinion the person who elects to build a shrine88 for any one of them has only himself to blame if his chosen goddess will accept no burnt-offering except his honor and happiness. Yet since time’s youth have many fine men been addicted89 to this insane practice, as, for example, were Hercules and Merlin to their illimitable sorrow; and, indeed, the more I reconsider the old gallantries of Salomon, and of other venerable and sagacious potentates90, the more profoundly am I ashamed of my sex.”
Gwyllem said: “This lazy gabbling of yours is all very fine. Perhaps it is also reasonable. Only when you love you do not reason.”
“I was endeavoring to prove that,” said Richard gently. Then they went to Welshpool, ride and tie on Gwyllem’s horse. Tongue loosened by the claret, Gwyllem raved91 aloud of Branwen, like a babbling92 faun, while to each rapture93 Richard affably assented94. In his heart he likened the boy to Dionysos at Naxos, and could find no blame for Ariadne. Moreover, the room was comfortably dark and cool, for thick vines hung about the windows, rustling95 and tapping pleasantly, and Richard was content.
“She does not love me?” Gwyllem cried. “It is well enough. I do not come to her as one merchant to another, since love was never bartered96. Listen, Saxon!” He caught up Richard’s lute. The strings97 shrieked98 beneath Gwyllem’s fingers as he fashioned his rude song.
Sang Gwyllem:
“Love me or love me not, it is enough
That I have loved you, seeing my whole life is
Uplifted and made glad by the glory of Love,—
With tavern-catches, which that pity of his
O Branwen!
And song and service, dear, because of this;
And always I have dreamed incessantly103
Who always dreamed, when in oncoming days
This man or that shall love you, and at last
This man or that shall win you, it must be
That, loving him, you will have pity on me
And long thoughts, nor unkindly, of the past,
O Branwen!
“Of this I know not surely, who am sure
That I shall always love you while I live,
And that, when I am dead, with naught to give
Of song or service, Love will yet endure,
And yet retain his last prerogative105,
When I lie still, and sleep out centuries,
With dreams of you and the exceeding love
I bore you, and am glad dreaming thereof,
And give God thanks for all, and so find peace,
O Branwen!”
“Now, were I to get as tipsy as that,” Richard enviously106 thought, midway in a return to his stolid107 sheep, “I would simply go to sleep and wake up with a headache. And were I to fall as many fathoms108 deep in love as this Gwyllem ventures, or, rather, as he hurls109 himself with a splurge, I would perform—I wonder, now, what miracle?”
For he was, though vaguely110, discontent. This Gwyllem was so young, so earnest over every trifle, and above all, was so untroubled by forethought: each least desire controlled him, as varying winds sport with a fallen leaf, whose frank submission111 to superior vagaries112 the boy appeared to emulate113. Richard saw that in a fashion Gwyllem was superb. “And heigho!” said Richard, “I am attestedly a greater fool than he, but I begin to weary of a folly so thin-blooded.”
The next morning came a ragged114 man, riding upon a mule115. He declared himself a tinker. He chatted out an hour with Richard, who perfectly recognized him as Sir Walter Blount; and then this tinker crossed over into England.
Richard whistled. “Now my cousin will be quite sure, and now my anxious cousin will come to speak with Richard of Bordeaux. And now, by every saint in the calendar! I am as good as King of England.”
He sat down beneath a young oak and twisted four or five blades of grass between his fingers while he meditated. Undoubtedly116 he would kill this squinting Henry of Lancaster with a clear conscience and even with a certain relish117, much as one crushes the uglier sort of vermin, but, hand upon heart, Richard was unable to avow118 any particularly ardent119 desire for the scoundrel’s death. Thus crudely to demolish120 the knave’s adroit121 and year-long schemings savored122 actually of grossness. The spider was venomous, and his destruction laudable; granted, but in crushing him you ruined his web, a miracle of patient machination, which, despite yourself, compelled hearty123 admiring and envy. True, the process would recrown a certain Richard, but then, as Richard recalled it, being King was rather tedious. Richard was not now quite sure that he wanted to be King, and, in consequence, be daily plagued by a host of vexatious and ever-squabbling barons. “I shall miss the little huzzy, too,” he thought.
“Heigho!” said Richard, “I shall console myself with purchasing all beautiful things that can be touched and handled. Life is a flimsy vapor124 which passes and is not any more: presently Branwen will be married to this Gwyllem and will be grown fat and old, and I shall be remarried to little Dame125 Isabel, and shall be King of England: and a trifle later all four of us shall be dead. Pending126 this deplorable consummation a wise man will endeavor to amuse himself.”
Next day he despatched Caradawc to Owain Glyndwyr to bid the latter send the promised implements128 to Caer Idion. Richard, returning to the hut the same evening, found Alundyne there, alone, and grovelling129 at the threshold. Her forehead was bloodied130 when she raised it and through tearless sobs131 told of what had happened. A half-hour earlier, while she and Branwen were intent upon their milking, Gwyllem had ridden up, somewhat the worse for liquor. Branwen had called him sot, had bidden him go home. “That I will do,” said Gwyllem and suddenly caught up the girl. Alundyne sprang for him, and with clenched132 fist Gwyllem struck her twice full in the face, and laughing, rode away with Branwen.
Richard made no observation. In silence he fetched his horse, and did not pause to saddle it. Quickly he rode to Gwyllem’s house, and broke in the door. Against the farther wall stood lithe133 Branwen fighting silently: her breasts and shoulders were naked, where Gwyllem had torn away her garments. He wheedled135, laughed, swore, and hiccoughed, turn by turn, but she was silent.
“On guard!” Richard barked. Gwyllem wheeled. His head twisted toward his left shoulder, and one corner of his mouth convulsively snapped upward, so that his teeth were bared. There was a knife at Richard’s girdle, which he now unsheathed and flung away. He stepped eagerly toward the snarling136 Welshman, and with both hands seized the thick and hairy throat. What followed was brutal137.
For many minutes Branwen stood with averted138 face, shuddering139. She very dimly heard the sound of Gwyllem’s impotent fists as they beat against the countenance140 and body of Richard, and heard the thin splitting vicious noise of torn cloth as Gwyllem clutched at Richard’s tunic141 and tore it many times. Richard did not utter any articulate word, and Gwyllem could not. There was entire silence for a heart-beat, and the thudding fall of something ponderous142 and limp.
“Come!” Richard said then. Through the hut’s twilight143 he came, as glorious in her eyes as Michael fresh from that primal144 battle with old Satan. Tall Richard came to her, his face all blood, and lifted her in his arms lest Branwen’s skirt be soiled by the demolished145 thing which sprawled146 across their path. She never spoke. She could not speak. In his arms she rode homeward, passive, and content. The horse trod with deliberation. In the east the young moon was taking heart as the darkness thickened, and innumerable stars awoke. Branwen noted147 these things incuriously.
Richard was horribly afraid. He it had been, in sober verity148 it had been Richard of Bordeaux, that some monstrous149 force had seized, and had lifted, and had curtly150 utilized152 as its handiest implement127. He had been, and in the moment had known himself to be, the thrown spear as yet in air, about to kill and quite powerless to refrain from killing153. It was a full three minutes before he had got the better of his bewilderment and laughed, very softly, lest he disturb this Branwen, who was so near his heart....
Next day she came to him at noon, bearing as always the little basket. It contained to-day a napkin, some garlic, a ham, and a small soft cheese; some shalots, salt, nuts, wild apples, lettuce154, onions, and mushrooms. “Behold a feast!” said Richard. He noted then that she carried also a blue pitcher155 filled with thin wine, and two cups of oak-bark. She thanked him for last night’s performance, and drank a mouthful of wine to his health.
“Decidedly, I shall be sorry to have done with shepherding,” said Richard as he ate.
Branwen answered, “I too shall be sorry, lord, when the masquerade is ended.” And it seemed to Richard that she sighed, and he was the happier.
But he only shrugged156. “I am the wisest person unhanged, since I comprehend my own folly. Yet I grant you that he was wise, too, the minstrel of old time that sang: ‘Over wild lands and tumbling seas flits Love, at will, and maddens the heart and beguiles157 the senses of all whom he attacks, whether his quarry158 be some monster of the ocean or some fierce denizen159 of the forest, or man; for thine, O Love, thine alone is the power to make playthings of us all.’”
“Your bard6 was wise, no doubt, yet it was not in such terms that Gwyllem sang of this passion. Lord,” she demanded shyly, “how would you sing of love?”
Richard was replete160 and contented with the world. He took up the lute, in full consciousness that his compliance161 was in large part cenatory. “In courtesy, thus—”
Sang Richard:
“The gods in honor of fair Branwen’s worth
Bore gifts to her:—and Jove, Olympus’ lord,
Co-rule of Earth and Heaven did accord,
And Hermes brought that lyre he framed at birth,
And Venus her famed girdle (to engirth
A fairer beauty now), and Mars his sword,
And immemorial treasure of mid-earth;—
“And while the careful gods were pondering
Which of these goodly gifts the goodliest was,
Young Cupid came among them carolling
Wherein she gazed, and saw the goodliest thing
That Earth had borne, and Heaven might not surpass.”
“Three sounds are rarely heard,” said Branwen; “and these are the song of the birds of Rhiannon, an invitation to feast with a miser164, and a speech of wisdom from the mouth of a Saxon. The song you have made of courtesy is tinsel. Sing now in verity.”
Richard laughed, though he was sensibly nettled165 and perhaps a shade abashed166. Presently he sang again.
Sang Richard:
“Catullus might have made of words that seek
The perfect song, or in remoter days
Theocritus have hymned you in glad Greek;
But I am not as they,—and dare not speak
Of you unworthily, and dare not praise
Perfection with imperfect roundelays,
“I do not woo you, then, by fashioning
The sugared periods of a sonneteer,
And bring no more—but just with, lips that cling
To yours, in murmuring, ‘I love you, dear!’”
Richard had resolved that Branwen should believe him. Tinsel, indeed! then here was yet more tinsel which she must receive as gold. He was very angry, because his vanity was hurt, and the pin-prick spurred him to a counterfeit171 so specious172 that consciously he gloried in it. He was superb, and she believed him now; there was no questioning the fact, he saw it plainly, and with exultant173 cruelty; then curt151 as lightning came the knowledge that what Branwen believed was the truth.
Richard had taken just two strides toward this fair girl. Branwen stayed motionless, her lips a little parted. The affairs of earth and heaven were motionless throughout the moment, attendant, it seemed to him; and to him his whole life was like a wave that trembled now at full height, and he was aware of a new world all made of beauty and of pity. Then the lute fell from his spread out hands, and Richard sighed, and shrugged.
“There is a task set me,” he said—“it is God’s work, I think. But I do not know—I only know that you are very beautiful, Branwen,” he said, and in the name he found a new and piercing loveliness.
And he said also: “Go! For I have loved many women, and, God help me! I know that I have but to wheedle134 you and you, too, will yield! Yonder is God’s work to be done, and within me rages a commonwealth174 of devils. Child! child!” he cried, “I am, and ever was, a coward, too timid to face life without reserve, and always I laughed because I was afraid to concede that anything is serious!”
For a long while Richard lay at his ease in the lengthening175 shadows of the afternoon.
“I love her. She thinks me an elderly imbecile with a flat and reedy singing-voice, and she is perfectly right. She has never even entertained the notion of loving me. That is well, for to-morrow, or, it may be, the day after, we must part forever. I would not have the parting make her sorrowful—or not, at least, too unalterably sorrowful. It is very well that Branwen does not love me.
“Why should she? I am almost twice her age, an aging fellow now, battered176 and selfish and too indolent to love her—say, as Gwyllem loved her. I did well to kill that Gwyllem. I am profoundly glad I killed him, and I thoroughly177 enjoyed doing it; but, after all, the man loved her in his fashion, and to the uttermost reach of his gross nature. I love her in a rather more decorous and acceptable fashion, it is true, but only a half of me loves her. The other half of me remembers that I am aging, that Caradawc’s hut is leaky, that, in fine, bodily comfort is the single luxury of which one never tires. I am a very contemptible178 creature, the empty scabbard of a man, precisely179 as Owain said.” This settled, Richard whistled to his dog.
The sun had set. There were no shadows anywhere as Richard and his sheep went homeward, but on every side the colors of the world were more sombre. Twice his flock roused a covey of partridges which had settled for the night. The screech-owl had come out of his hole, and bats were already blundering about, and the air was cooling. There was as yet but one star in the green and cloudless heaven, and this was very large, like a beacon180: it appeared to him symbolical181 that he trudged182 away from this star.
Next morning the Welshmen came, and now the trap was ready for Henry of Lancaster.
It befell just two days later, about noon, that while Richard idly talked with Branwen a party of soldiers, some fifteen in number, rode down the river’s bank from the ford183 above. Their leader paused, then gave an order. The men drew rein16. He cantered forward.
“God give you joy, fair sir,” said Richard, when the cavalier was near him.
The new-comer raised his visor. “God give you eternal joy, my fair cousin,” he said, “and very soon. Now send away this woman before that happens which must happen.”
“Do you plan,” said Richard, “to disfigure the stage of our quiet pastorals with murder?”
“I design my own preservation,” King Henry answered, “for while you live my rule is insecure.”
“I am sorry,” Richard said, “that in part my blood is yours.”
Twice he sounded his horn, and everywhere from rustling underwoods arose the half-naked Welshmen. Said Richard: “You should read history more carefully, Cousin Henry. You might have profited, as I have done, by considering the trick which our grandfather, old Edward Longshanks, played on the French King at Mezelais. As matters stand, your men are one to ten. You are impotent. Now, now we balance our accounts! These persons here will first deal with your followers. Then they will conduct you to Glyndwyr, who has long desired to deal with you himself, in privacy, since that Whit-Monday when you murdered his son.”
The King began, “In mercy, sire—!” and Richard laughed a little, saying:
“That virtue184 is not overabundant among us of Oriander’s blood, as we both know. No, cousin, Fate and Time are merry jesters. See, now, their latest mockery! You the King of England ride to Sycharth to your death, and I the tender of sheep depart into London, without any hindrance185, to reign henceforward over these islands. To-morrow you are worm’s-meat, Cousin Henry: to-morrow, as yesterday, I am King of England.”
Then Branwen gave one sharp, brief cry, and Richard forgot all things saving this girl, and strode to her. He had caught up her hard, lithe hands; against his lips he strained them close and very close.
“Yes, King,” she answered. “O King of England! O fool that I have been to think you less!”
In a while Richard said: “Well, I at least am not fool enough to think of making you a king’s whore. So I must choose between a peasant wench and England. Now I choose, and how gladly! Branwen, help me to be more than King of England!”
Low and very low he spoke, and long and very long he gazed at her, and neither seemed to breathe. Of what she thought I cannot tell you; but in Richard there was no power of thought, only a great wonderment. Why, between this woman’s love and aught else there was no choice for him, he knew upon a sudden. Perhaps he would thus worship her always, he reflected: and then again, perhaps he would be tired of her before long, just as all other persons seemed to abate187 in these infatuations: meanwhile it was certain that he was very happy. No, he could not go back to the throne and to the little French girl who was in law his wife.
And, as if from an immense distance, came to Richard the dogged voice of Henry of Lancaster. “It is of common report in these islands that I have a better right to the throne than you. As much was told our grandfather, King Edward of happy memory, when he educated you and had you acknowledged heir to the crown, but his love was so strong for his son the Prince of Wales that nothing could alter his purpose. And indeed if you had followed even the example of the Black Prince you might still have been our King; but you have always acted so contrarily to his admirable precedents188 as to occasion the rumor189 to be generally believed throughout England that you were not, after all, his son—”
Richard had turned impatiently. “For the love of Heaven, truncate190 your abominable191 periods. Be off with you. Yonder across that river is the throne of England, which you appear, through some lunacy, to consider a desirable possession. Take it, then; for, praise God! the sword has found its sheath.”
The King answered: “I do not ask you to reconsider your dismissal, assuredly—Richard,” he cried, a little shaken, “I perceive that until your death you will win contempt and love from every person.”
“Yes, yes, for many years I have been the playmate of the world,” said Richard; “but to-day I wash my hands, and set about another and more laudable business. I had dreamed certain dreams, indeed—but what had I to do with all this strife192 between the devil and the tiger? No, Glyndwyr will set up Mortimer against you now, and you two must fight it out. I am no more his tool, and no more your enemy, my cousin—Henry,” he said with quickening voice, “there was a time when we were boys and played together, and there was no hatred193 between us, and I regret that time!”
“As God lives, I too regret that time!” the bluff194, squinting King replied. He stared at Richard for a while wherein each understood. “Dear fool,” Sire Henry said, “there is no man in all the world but hates me saving only you.” Then the proud King clapped spurs to his proud horse and rode away.
More lately Richard dismissed his wondering marauders. Now he and Branwen were alone and a little troubled, since each was afraid of that oncoming moment when their eyes must meet.
So Richard laughed. “Praise God!” he wildly cried, “I am the greatest fool unhanged!”
She answered: “I am the happier for your folly. I am the happiest of God’s creatures.”
And Richard meditated. “Faith of a gentleman!” he declared; “but you are nothing of the sort, and of this fact I happen to be quite certain.” Their lips met then and afterward their eyes; and each of these ragged peasants was too glad for laughter.
THE END OF THE EIGHTH NOVEL
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belle
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| n.靓女 | |
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puissant
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| adj.强有力的 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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besieges
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的第三人称单数 ) | |
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besiege
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| vt.包围，围攻，拥在...周围 | |
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bard
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| n.吟游诗人 | |
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7
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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8
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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9
wiles
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| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
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10
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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11
evasion
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| n.逃避，偷漏(税) | |
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12
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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13
interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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15
bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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16
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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17
imp
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| n.顽童 | |
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18
isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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19
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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20
stewardship
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| n. n. 管理工作；管事人的职位及职责 | |
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21
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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22
barons
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| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
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23
ousted
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| 驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺 | |
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24
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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25
squinting
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| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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26
stork
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| n.鹳 | |
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27
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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28
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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29
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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30
coax
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| v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取 | |
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31
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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32
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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33
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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34
shipwrecks
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| 海难，船只失事( shipwreck的名词复数 )； 沉船 | |
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35
dabble
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| v.涉足，浅赏 | |
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36
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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37
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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38
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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40
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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41
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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42
garnered
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| v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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44
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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45
abominably
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| adv. 可恶地，可恨地，恶劣地 | |
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46
discord
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| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
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47
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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48
aloofly
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| 冷淡的； 疏远的； 远离的 | |
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49
appraise
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| v.估价，评价，鉴定 | |
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50
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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51
omnipotence
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| n.全能，万能，无限威力 | |
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52
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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53
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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54
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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55
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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56
curmudgeon
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| n. 脾气暴躁之人，守财奴，吝啬鬼 | |
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57
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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58
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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59
lute
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| n.琵琶，鲁特琴 | |
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60
solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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61
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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62
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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63
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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64
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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65
veers
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的第三人称单数 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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66
sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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67
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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68
hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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69
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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70
texture
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| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
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71
underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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72
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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73
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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74
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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75
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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77
bouts
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| n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作 | |
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78
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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79
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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80
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
thumps
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| n.猪肺病；砰的重击声( thump的名词复数 )v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的第三人称单数 ) | |
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82
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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83
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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84
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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85
levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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86
misuse
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| n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用 | |
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87
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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88
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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89
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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90
potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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91
raved
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| v.胡言乱语( rave的过去式和过去分词 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说 | |
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92
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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93
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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94
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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96
bartered
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| v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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97
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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98
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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100
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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101
erased
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| v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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102
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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103
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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104
engenders
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的第三人称单数 ) | |
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105
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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106
enviously
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| adv.满怀嫉妒地 | |
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107
stolid
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| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
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108
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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109
hurls
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 )；大声叫骂 | |
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110
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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111
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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112
vagaries
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| n.奇想( vagary的名词复数 )；异想天开；异常行为；难以预测的情况 | |
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113
emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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114
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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115
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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116
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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117
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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118
avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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119
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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120
demolish
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| v.拆毁(建筑物等)，推翻(计划、制度等) | |
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121
adroit
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| adj.熟练的，灵巧的 | |
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122
savored
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| v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的过去式和过去分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝 | |
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123
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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124
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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125
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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126
pending
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| prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的 | |
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127
implement
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| n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行 | |
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128
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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129
grovelling
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| adj.卑下的，奴颜婢膝的v.卑躬屈节，奴颜婢膝( grovel的现在分词 )；趴 | |
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130
bloodied
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| v.血污的( bloody的过去式和过去分词 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的 | |
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131
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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132
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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134
wheedle
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| v.劝诱，哄骗 | |
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135
wheedled
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| v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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136
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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137
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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138
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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139
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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140
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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141
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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142
ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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143
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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144
primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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145
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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146
sprawled
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| v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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147
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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148
verity
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| n.真实性 | |
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149
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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150
curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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151
curt
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| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
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152
utilized
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| v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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153
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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154
lettuce
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| n.莴苣；生菜 | |
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155
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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156
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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157
beguiles
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| v.欺骗( beguile的第三人称单数 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等） | |
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158
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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159
denizen
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| n.居民，外籍居民 | |
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160
replete
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| adj.饱满的，塞满的；n.贮蜜蚁 | |
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compliance
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| n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从 | |
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162
hoard
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| n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积 | |
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163
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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miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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165
nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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166
abashed
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| adj.窘迫的，尴尬的v.使羞愧，使局促，使窘迫( abash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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167
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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168
desecrate
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| v.供俗用，亵渎，污辱 | |
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169
analogues
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| 相似物( analogue的名词复数 )； 类似物； 类比； 同源词 | |
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170
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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171
counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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172
specious
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| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
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173
exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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174
commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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175
lengthening
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的现在分词 )； 加长 | |
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176
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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177
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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178
contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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179
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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180
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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181
symbolical
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| a.象征性的 | |
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182
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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183
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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184
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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185
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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186
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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187
abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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188
precedents
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| 引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例 | |
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189
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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190
truncate
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| v.修短；截掉 | |
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191
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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192
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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193
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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194
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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