The hall and passage were filled with silly maids and staring drawers, attracted, like myself, by the uproar. Through these I pushed my way into the apartment where we had breakfasted in the morning, which was a scene of the wildest disorder5. The round table in the centre had been tilted6 over upon its side, and three broken bottles of wine, with apples, pears, nuts, and the fragments of the dishes containing them, were littered over the floor. A couple of packs of cards and a dice-box lay amongst the scattered8 feast. Close by the door stood Decimus Saxon, with his drawn9 rapier in his hand and a second one beneath his feet, while facing him there was a young officer in a blue uniform, whose face was reddened with shame and anger, and who looked wildly about the room as though in search of some weapon to replace that of which he had been deprived. He might have served Cibber or Gibbons as a model for a statue of impotent rage. Two other officers dressed in the same blue uniform stood by their comrade, and as I observed that they had laid their hands upon the hilts of their swords, I took my place by Saxon’s side, and stood ready to strike in should the occasion arise.
‘What would the maitre d’armes say — the maitre d’escrime?’ cried my companion. ‘Methinks he should lose his place for not teaching you to make a better show. Out on him! Is this the way that he teaches the officers of his Majesty’s guard to use their weapons?’
‘This raillery, sir,’ said the elder of the three, a squat10, brown, heavy-faced man, ‘is not undeserved, and yet might perchance be dispensed11 with. I am free to say that our friend attacked you somewhat hastily, and that a little more deference12 should have been shown by so young a soldier to a cavalier of your experience.’
The other officer, who was a fine-looking, noble-featured man, expressed himself in much the same manner. ‘If this apology will serve,’ said he, ‘I am prepared to join in it. If, however, more is required, I shall be happy to take the quarrel upon myself.’
‘Nay13, nay, take your bradawl!’ Saxon answered good-humouredly, kicking the sword towards his youthful opponent. ‘But, mark you! when you would lunge, direct your point upwards14 rather than down, for otherwise you must throw your wrist open to your antagonist15, who can scarce fail to disarm16 you. In quarte, tierce, or saccoon the same holds good.’
The youth sheathed17 his sword, but was so overcome by his own easy defeat and the contemptuous way in which his opponent had dismissed him, that he turned and hurried out of the room. Meanwhile Decimus Saxon and the two officers set to work getting the table upon its legs and restoring the room to some sort of order, in which I did what I could to assist them.
‘I held three queens for the first time today,’ grumbled18 the soldier of fortune. ‘I was about to declare them when this young bantam flew at my throat. He hath likewise been the cause of our losing three flasks20 of most excellent muscadine. When he hath drunk as much bad wine as I have been forced to do, he will not be so hasty in wasting the good.’
‘He is a hot-headed youngster,’ the older officer replied, ‘and a little solitary21 reflection added to the lesson which you have taught him may bring him profit. As for the muscadine, that loss will soon be repaired, the more gladly as your friend here will help us to drink it.’
‘I was roused by the crash of weapons,’ said I, ‘and I scarce know now what has occurred.’
‘Why, a mere22 tavern23 brawl24, which your friend’s skill and judgment25 prevented from becoming serious. I prythee take the rush-bottomed chair, and do you, Jack26, order the wine. If our comrade hath spilled the last it is for us to furnish this, and the best the cellars contain. We have been having a hand at basset, which Mr. Saxon here playeth as skilfully27 as he wields29 the small-sword. It chanced that the luck ran against young Horsford, which doubtless made him prone30 to be quick in taking offence. Your friend in conversation, when discoursing31 of his experiences in foreign countries, remarked that the French household troops were to his mind brought to a higher state of discipline than any of our own regiments33, on which Horsford fired up, and after a hot word or two they found themselves, as you have seen, at drawn bilbo. The boy hath seen no service, and is therefore over-eager to give proof of his valour.’
‘Wherein,’ said the tall officer, ‘he showed a want of thought towards me, for had the words been offensive it was for me, who am a senior captain and brevet-major, to take it up, and not for a slip of a cornet, who scarce knows enough to put his troop through the exercise.’
‘You say right, Ogilvy,’ said the other, resuming his seat by the table and wiping the cards which had been splashed by the wine.’ Had the comparison been made by an officer of Louis’s guard for the purpose of contumely and braggadocio34, it would then indeed have become us to venture a passado. But when spoken by an Englishman of ripe experience it becomes a matter of instructive criticism, which should profit rather than annoy.’
‘True, Ambrose,’ the other answered. ‘Without such criticism a force would become stagnant35, and could never hope to keep level with those continental36 armies, which are ever striving amongst themselves for increased efficacy.’
So pleased was I at these sensible remarks on the part of the strangers, that I was right glad to have the opportunity of making their closer acquaintance over a flask19 of excellent wine. My father’s prejudices had led me to believe that a King’s officer was ever a compound of the coxcomb37 and the bully38, but I found on testing it that this idea, like most others which a man takes upon trust, had very little foundation upon truth. As a matter of fact, had they been dressed in less warlike garb39 and deprived of their swords and jack-boots, they would have passed as particularly mild-mannered men, for their conversation ran in the learned channels, and they discussed Boyle’s researches in chemistry and the ponderation of air with much gravity and show of knowledge. At the same time, their brisk bearing and manly40 carriage showed that in cultivating the scholar they hail not sacrificed the soldier.
‘May I ask, sir,’ said one of them, addressing Saxon, ‘whether in your wide experiences you have ever met with any of those sages41 and philosophers who have conferred such honour and fame upon France and Germany?’
My companion looked ill at ease, as one who feels that he has been taken off his ground. ‘There was indeed one such at Nurnberg,’ he answered, ‘one Gervinus or Gervanus, who, the folk said, could turn an ingot of iron into an ingot of gold as easily as I turn this tobacco into ashes. Old Pappenheimer shut him up with a ton of metal, and threatened to put the thumbikins upon him unless he changed it into gold pieces. I can vouch42 for it that there was not a yellow boy there, for I was captain of the guard and searched the whole dungeon43 through. To my sorrow I say it, for I had myself added a small iron brazier to the heap, thinking that if there should be any such change it would be as well that I should have some small share in the experiment.’
‘Alchemy, transmutation of metals, and the like have been set aside by true science,’ remarked the taller officer. ‘Even old Sir Thomas Browne of Norwich, who is ever ready to plead the cause of the ancients, can find nothing to say in favour of it. From Trismegistus downwards44 through Albertus Magnus, Aquinas, Raymond Lullius, Basil Valentine, Paracelsus, and the rest, there is not one who has left more than a cloud of words behind him.’
‘Nor did the rogue45 I mention,’ said Saxon. ‘There was another, Van Helstatt, who was a man of learning, and cast horoscopes in consideration of some small fee or honorarium46. I have never met so wise a man, for he would talk of the planets and constellations47 as though he kept them all in his own backyard. He made no more of a comet than if it were a mouldy china orange, and he explained their nature to us, saying that they were but common stars which had had a hole knocked in them, so that their insides or viscera protruded48. He was indeed a philosopher!’
‘And did you ever put his skill to the test?’ asked one of the officers, with a smile.
‘Not I, forsooth, for I have ever kept myself clear of black magic or diablerie of the sort. My comrade Pierce Scotton, who was an Oberst in the Imperial cavalry49 brigade, did pay him a rose noble to have his future expounded50. If I remember aright, the stars said that he was over-fond of wine and women — he had a wicked eye and a nose like a carbuncle. ‘They foretold51 also that he would attain52 a marshal’s baton53 and die at a ripe age, which might well have come true had he not been unhorsed a month later at Ober-Graustock, and slain54 by the hoofs55 of his own troop. Neither the planets nor even the experienced farrier of the regiment32 could have told that the brute56 would have foundered57 so completely.’
The officers laughed heartily58 at my companion’s views, and rose from their chairs, for the bottle was empty and the evening beginning to draw in. ‘We have work to do here,’ said the one addressed as Ogilvy. ‘Besides, we must find this foolish boy of ours, and tell him that it is no disgrace to be disarmed59 by so expert a swordsman. We have to prepare the quarters for the regiment, who will be up to join Churchill’s forces not later than to-night. Ye are yourselves bound for the West, I understand?’
‘We belong to the Duke of Beaufort’s household,’ said Saxon.
‘Indeed! I thought ye might belong to Portman’s yellow regiment of militia60. I trust that the Duke will muster61 every man he can, and make play until the royal forces come up.’
‘How many will Churchill bring?’ asked my companion carelessly.
‘Eight hundred horse at the most, but my Lord Feversham will follow after with close on four thousand foot.’
‘We may meet on the field of battle, if not before,’ said I, and we bade our friendly enemies a very cordial adieu.
‘A skilful28 equivoque that last of yours, Master Micah,’ quoth Decimus Saxon, ‘though smacking62 of double dealing63 in a truth-lover like yourself. If we meet them in battle I trust that it may be with chevaux-defrise of pikes and morgenstierns before us, and a litter of caltrops in front of them, for Monmouth has no cavalry that could stand for a moment against the Royal Guards.’
‘How came you to make their acquaintance?’ I asked.
‘I slept a few hours, but I have learned in camps to do with little rest. Finding you in sound slumber64, and hearing the rattle65 of the dice-box below, I came softly down and found means to join their party — whereby I am a richer man by fifteen guineas, and might have had more had that young fool not lugged66 out at me, or had the talk not turned afterwards upon such unseemly subjects as the laws of chemistry and the like. Prythee, what have the Horse Guards Blue to do with the laws of chemistry? Wessenburg of the Pandours would, even at his own mess table, suffer much free talk — more perhaps than fits in with the dignity of a leader. Had his officers ventured upon such matter as this, however, there would have been a drum-head court-martial, or a cashiering at the least.’
Without stopping to dispute either Master Saxon’s judgment or that of Wessenburg of the Pandours, I proposed that we should order an evening meal, and should employ the remaining hour or two of daylight in looking over the city. The principal sight is of course the noble cathedral, which is built in such exact proportion that one would fail to understand its great size did one not actually enter it and pace round the long dim aisles67. So solemn were its sweeping68 arches and the long shafts69 of coloured light which shone through the stained-glass windows, throwing strange shadows amongst the pillars, that even my companion, albeit70 not readily impressed, was silent and subdued71. It was a great prayer in stone.
On our way back to the inn we passed the town lock-up, with a railed space in front of it, in which three great black-muzzled bloodhounds were stalking about, with fierce crimsoned72 eyes and red tongues lolling out of their mouths. They were used, a bystander told us, for the hunting down of criminals upon Salisbury Plain, which had been a refuge for rogues73 and thieves, until this means had been adopted for following them to their hiding-places. It was well-nigh dark before we returned to the hostel74, and entirely75 so by the time that we had eaten our suppers, paid our reckoning, and got ready for the road.
Before we set off I bethought me of the paper which my mother had slipped into my hand on parting, and drawing it from my pouch76 I read it by the rushlight in our chamber77. It still bore the splotches of the tears which she had dropped on it, poor soul, and ran in this wise:—
‘Instructions from Mistress Mary Clarke to her son Micah, on the twelfth day of June in the year of our Lord sixteen hundred and eighty-five.
‘On occasion of his going forth78, like David of old, to do battle with the Goliath of Papistry, which hath overshadowed and thrown into disrepute that true and reverent79 regard for ritual which should exist in the real Church of England, as ordained80 by law.
‘Let these points be observed by him, namely, to wit:
‘1. Change your hosen when the occasion serves. You have two pairs in your saddle-bag, and can buy more, for the wool work is good in the West.
‘2. A hare’s foot suspended round the neck driveth away colic.
‘3. Say the Lord’s Prayer night and morning. Also read the scriptures81, especially Job, the Psalms82, and the Gospel according to St. Matthew.
‘4. Daffy’s elixir83 possesses extraordinary powers in purifying the blood and working off all phlegms, humours, vapours, or rheums. The dose is five drops. A small phial of it will be found in the barrel of your left pistol, with wadding around it lest it come to harm.
‘5. Ten golden pieces are sewn into the hem7 of your under doublet. Touch them not, save as a last resource.
‘6. Fight stoutly84 for the Lord, and yet I pray you, Micah, be not too forward in battle, but let others do their turn also.
Press not into the heart of the fray85, and yet flinch86 not from the standard of the Protestant faith.
‘And oh, Micah, my own bright boy, come back safe to your mother, or my very heart will break!
‘And the deponent will ever pray.’
The sudden gush87 of tenderness in the last few lines made the tears spring to my eyes, and yet I could scarce forbear from smiling at the whole composition, for my dear mother had little time to cultivate the graces of style, and it was evidently her thought that in order to make her instructions binding88 it was needful to express them in some sort of legal form. I had little time to think over her advice, however, for I had scarce finished reading it before the voice of Decimus Saxon, and the clink of the horses’ hoofs upon the cobble-stones of the yard, informed me that all was ready for our departure.
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1
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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2
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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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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9
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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14
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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antagonist
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| n.敌人，对抗者，对手 | |
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16
disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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17
sheathed
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| adj.雕塑像下半身包在鞘中的；覆盖的；铠装的；装鞘了的v.将（刀、剑等）插入鞘( sheathe的过去式和过去分词 )；包，覆盖 | |
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18
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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19
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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flasks
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| n.瓶，长颈瓶， 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 ) | |
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21
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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brawl
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| n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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27
skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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wields
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的第三人称单数 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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30
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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31
discoursing
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| 演说（discourse的现在分词形式） | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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34
braggadocio
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| n.吹牛大王 | |
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35
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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coxcomb
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| n.花花公子 | |
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bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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41
sages
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| n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料） | |
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42
vouch
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| v.担保；断定；n.被担保者 | |
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43
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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44
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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45
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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46
honorarium
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| n.酬金，谢礼 | |
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47
constellations
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| n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人） | |
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48
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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50
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
foretold
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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53
baton
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| n.乐队用指挥杖 | |
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54
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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55
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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56
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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57
foundered
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| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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59
disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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60
militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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61
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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62
smacking
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| 活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的 | |
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63
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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64
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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65
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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66
lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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67
aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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68
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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69
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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70
albeit
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| conj.即使；纵使；虽然 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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72
crimsoned
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| 变为深红色（crimson的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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73
rogues
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| n.流氓( rogue的名词复数 )；无赖；调皮捣蛋的人；离群的野兽 | |
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74
hostel
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| n.（学生）宿舍，招待所 | |
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75
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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76
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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77
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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78
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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79
reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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80
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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81
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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82
psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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83
elixir
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| n.长生不老药，万能药 | |
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84
stoutly
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| adv.牢固地，粗壮的 | |
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85
fray
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| v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗 | |
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86
flinch
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| v.畏缩，退缩 | |
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87
gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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88
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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