Such was the rest of the youthful Murray, till the shrill11 notes of a hundred bugles12 piercing his ear made him start. He listened; they sounded again. The morning had fully13 broke. He sprung from his couch, hurried on his armor, and snatching up his lance and target, issued from the tower. Several women were flying past the gate. On seeing him, they exclaimed, “The Lord Wallace is arrived-his bugles have sounded-our husbands are returned!”
Murray followed their eager footsteps, and reached the edge of the rock just as the brave group were ascending14. A stranger was also there, who, from his extreme youth and elegance15, he judged must be the young protector of his clansmen; but he forbore to address him until they should be presented to each other by Wallace himself.
It was indeed the same. On hearing the first blast of the horn, the youthful chieftain had hastened from his bed of heath, and buckling16 on his brigandine, rushed to the rock; but at the sight of the noble figure which first gained the summit, the young hero fell back. An indescribable awe17 checked his steps, and he stood at a distance, while Kirkpatrick welcomed the chief, and introduced Lord Andrew Murray. Wallace received the latter with a glad smile; and taking him warmly by the hand, “Gallant Murray,” said he, “with such assistance, I hope to reinstate your brave uncle in Bothwell Castle, and soon to cut a passage to even a mightier18 rescue! We must carry off Scotland from the tyrant19’s arms; or,” added he, in a graver tone, “we shall only rivet20 her chains the closer.”
“I am but a poor auxiliary,” returned Murray; “my troop is a scanty21 one, for it is my own gathering22. It is not my father’s nor my uncle’s strength, that I bring along with me. But there is one here,” continued he, “who has preserved a party of men, sent by my cousin Lady Helen Mar23, almost double my numbers.”
At this reference to the youthful warrior24, Sir Roger Kirkpatrick discerned him at a distance, and hastened toward him, while Murray briefly25 related to Wallace the extraordinary conduct of this unknown. On being told that the chief waited to receive him, the youth hastened forward with a trepidation26 he had never felt before; but it was a trepidation that did not subtract from his own worth. It was the timidity of a noble heart, which believed it approached one of the most perfect among mortals; and while its anxious pulse beat to emulate27 such merit, a generous consciousness of measureless inferiority embarassed him with a confusion so amiable28, that Wallace, who perceived his extreme youth and emotion, opened his arms and embraced him. “Brave youth,” cried he, “I trust that the power which blesses our cause will enable me to return you with many a well-earned glory, to the bosom of your family!”
Edwin was encouraged by the frank address of a hero whom he expected to have found reserved, and wrapped in the deep glooms of the fate which had roused him to be a thunderbolt of heaven; but when he saw a benign30, though pale countenance31, hail him with smiles, he made a strong effort to shake off the awe with which the name, and the dignity of figure and mein of Wallace had oppressed him; and with a mantling32 blush he replied: “My family are worthy33 of your esteem34; my father is brave; but my mother, fearing for me, her favorite son, prevailed on him to put me into a monastery35. Dreading36 the power of the English, even there she allowed none but the abbot to know who I was. And as he chose to hide my name-and I have burst from my concealment37 without her knowledge-till I do something worthy of that name, and deserving her pardon, permit me, noble Wallace, to follow your footsteps by the simple appellation38 of Edwin.”
“Noble boy,” returned the chief, “your wish shall be respected. We urge you no further to reveal what such innate39 bravery must shortly proclaim in the most honorable manner.”
The whole of the troop having ascended40, while their wives, children, and friends were rejoicing in their embraces, Wallace asked some questions relative to Bothwell, and Murray briefly related the disasters which had happened there.
“My father,” added he, “is still with the Lord of Loch-awe; and thither41 I sent to request him to dispatch to the Cartlane Craigs all the followers42 he took with him into Argyleshire. But as things are, would it not be well to send a second messenger, to say that you have sought refuge in Glenfinlass?”
“Before he could arrive,” returned Wallace, “I hope we shall be where Lord Bothwell’s reinforcements may reach us by water. Our present object must be the Earl of Mar. He is the first Scottish earl who has hazarded his estates and life for Scotland; and as her best friend, his liberation must be our first enterprise. In my circuit through two or three eastern counties, a promising43 increase has been made to our little army. The Frasers of Oliver Castle have given me two hundred men; and the brave Sir Alexander Scrymgeour, whom I met in West Lothian, has not only brought fifty stout44 Scots to my command, but, as hereditary45 standard-bearer of the kingdom, has come himself to carry the royal banner of Scotland to glory or oblivion.”
“To glory!” cried Murray, waving his sword; “O! not while a Scot survives, shall that blood-red lion19 again lick the dust!”
19 A lion gules, in a field or, is the arms of Scotland.-(1809.)
“No,” cried Kirkpatrick, his eyes flashing fire; “rather may every Scot and every Southron fall in the struggle, and fill one grave! Let me,” cried he, sternly grasping the hilt of his sword, and looking upward, “let me, oh, Saviour46 of mankind, live but to see the Forth and the Clyde, so often reddened with our blood, dye the eastern and the western oceans with the vital flood of these our foes47; and when none is spared, then let me die in peace.”
The eyes of Wallace glanced on the young Edwin, who stood gazing on Kirkpatrick, and turning on the knight48 with a powerful look of apprehension-“Check that prayer,” cried he; “remember my brave companion, what the Saviour of mankind was; and then think, whether he, who offered life to all the world, will listen to so damning an invocation. If we would be blessed in the contest, we must be merciful.”
“To whom?” exclaimed Kirkpatrick; “to the robbers who tear from us our lands; to the ruffians who wrest49 from us our honors? But you are patient; you never received a blow!”
“Yes,” cried Wallace, turning paler; “a heavy one-on my heart.”
“True,” returned Kirkpatrick, “your wife fell dead under the steel of a Southron governor; and you slew50 him for it! You were revenged; your feelings were appeased51.”
“Not the death of fifty thousand governors,” replied Wallace, “could appease52 my feelings. Revenge were insufficient53 to satisfy the yearnings of my soul.” For a moment he covered his agitated54 features with his hand, and then proceeded: “I slew Heselrigge because he was a monster, under whom the earth groaned55. My sorrow, deep as it was-was but one of many, which his rapacity56, and his nephew’s licentiousness57, the whole nation without reserve! When the sword of war is drawn58, all who resist must conquer or fall; but there are some noble English who abhor59 the tyranny they are obliged to exercise over us, and when they declare such remorse60, shall they not find mercy at our hands? Surely, if not for humanity’s, for policy’s sake we ought to give quarter; for the exterminating61 sword, if not always victorious62, incurs63 the ruin it threatens, even hope, that by or righteous cause and our clemency64, we shall not only gather our own people to our legions but turn the hearts of the poor Welsh and the misled Irish, whom the usurper65 has forced into his armies,and so confront him with troops of his own levying66. Many of the English were too just to share in the subjugation67 of the country they had sworn to befriend. And their less honorable countrymen, when they see Scotsmen no longer consenting to their own degradation68, may take shame to themselves for assisting to betray a confiding69 people.”
“That may be” returned Kirkpatrick; “but surely you would not rank Aymer de Valence, who lords it over Dumbarton, and Cressingham, who acts the tyrant in Stirling-you would not rank them amongst these conscientious70 English?”
“No,” replied Wallace; “the haughty71 oppression of the one and the wanton cruelty of the other, have given Scotland too many wounds for me to hold a shield before them; meet them, and I leave them to your sword.”
“And by heavens!” cried Kirkpatrick, gnashing his teeth with the fury of a tiger, “they shall know its point!”
Wallace then informed his friends he purposed marching next morning by daybreak toward Dumbarton Castle. “When we make the attack” said he, “it must be in the night; for I propose seizing it by storm.”
Murray and Kirkpatrick joyfully72 acquiesced73. Edwin smiled an enraptured74 assent75, and Wallace, with many a gracious look and speech, disengaged himself from the clinging embraces of the weaker part of the garrison76, who, seeing in him the spring of their husband’s might and the guard of their own safety, clung to him as to a presiding deity77.
“You, my dear countrywomen,” said he, “shall find a home for your aged29 parents, your children, and yourselves, with the venerable Sir John Scott of Loch Doine. You are to be conducted thither this evening, and there await in comfort the happy return of your husbands, whom Providence78 now leads forth to be the champions of your country.”
Filled with enthusiasm, the women uttered a shout of triumph, and, embracing their husbands, declared they were ready to resign them wholly to Heaven and Sir William Wallace.
Wallace left them with these tender relatives, from whom they were so soon to part, and retired79 with his chieftains to arrange the plan of his proposed attack. Delighted with the glory which seemed to wave to him from the pinnacles80 of Dumbarton Rock, Edwin listened in profound silence to all that was said, and then hastened to his quarters to prepare his armor for the ensuing morning.
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1
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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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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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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relinquishes
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的第三人称单数 )； 放弃 | |
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slumberer
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| 睡眠者，微睡者 | |
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7
vigor
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| n.活力，精力，元气 | |
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8
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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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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10
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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11
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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12
bugles
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| 妙脆角，一种类似薯片但做成尖角或喇叭状的零食； 号角( bugle的名词复数 )； 喇叭； 匍匐筋骨草； （装饰女服用的）柱状玻璃（或塑料）小珠 | |
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13
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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14
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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15
elegance
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| n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙 | |
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16
buckling
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| 扣住 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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18
mightier
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| adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其 | |
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19
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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rivet
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| n.铆钉；vt.铆接，铆牢；集中(目光或注意力) | |
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21
scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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22
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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23
mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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24
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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25
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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26
trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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27
emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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28
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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benign
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| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
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31
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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32
mantling
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| 覆巾 | |
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33
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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34
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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35
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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36
dreading
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| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
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37
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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38
appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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39
innate
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| adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的 | |
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40
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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42
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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43
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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45
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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46
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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47
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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48
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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49
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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50
slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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51
appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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52
appease
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| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
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53
insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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54
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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55
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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56
rapacity
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| n.贪婪，贪心，劫掠的欲望 | |
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57
licentiousness
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| n.放肆，无法无天 | |
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58
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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59
abhor
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| v.憎恶；痛恨 | |
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60
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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61
exterminating
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的现在分词 ) | |
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62
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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63
incurs
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64
clemency
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| n.温和，仁慈，宽厚 | |
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65
usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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66
levying
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| 征（兵）( levy的现在分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税 | |
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67
subjugation
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| n.镇压，平息，征服 | |
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68
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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69
confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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70
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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71
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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72
joyfully
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| adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地 | |
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73
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
enraptured
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| v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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75
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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76
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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77
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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78
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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79
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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80
pinnacles
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| 顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔 | |
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