“So, my child,” added she, “depend on it; before he was Lady Marion’s husband he must have heard sighs enough from the fairest in our land to have turned the wits of half the male world. There is something in his very look, did you meet him on the heath without better barg than a shepherd’s plaid, sufficient to declare him the noblest of men; and, methinks, would excuse the gentlest lady in the land for leaving hall and bower11 to share his sheep-cote. But, alas12!” and then the playful expression of her countenance13 altered, “he is now for none on earth!”
With these words she turned the subject to the confidential14 hours he passed with the young adopted brother of his heart. Every fond emotion seemed then centered in his wife and child. When Lady Ruthven repeated his pathetic words to Edwin, she wept; she even sobbed15, and paused to recover; while the deep and silent tears which flowed from the heart to the eyes of Lady Helen bathed the side of the couch on which she leaned. “Alas!” cried Lady Ruthven, “that a man, so formed to grace every relation in life-so noble a creature in all respects-so fond of a husband-so full of parental16 tenderness-that he should be deprived of the wife on whom he doted; that he should be cut off from all hope of posterity17; that when he shall die, nothing will be left of William Wallace-breaks my heart!”
“Ah, my aunt,” cried Helen, raising her head with animation18, “will he not leave behind him the liberty of Scotland? That is an offspring worthy19 of his god-like soul.”
“True, my dear Helen; but had you ever been a parent, you would know that no achievements, however great, can heal the wound made in a father’s heart by the loss of a beloved child. And though Sir William Wallace never saw the infant, ready to bless his arms, yet it perished in the bosom20 of its mother; and that circumstance must redouble his affliction; horribly does it enhance the cruelty of the deed!”
“He has in all things been a direful sacrifice,” returned Helen; “and with God alone dwells the power to wipe the tears from his heart.”
“They flow not from his eyes,” answered her aunt; “but deep, deep is the grief that, my Edwin says, is settled there.”
While Lady Ruthven was uttering these words, shouts in the street made her pause; and soon recognizing the name of Wallace sounding from the lips of the rejoicing multitude, she turned to Helen: “Here comes our deliverer!” cried she, taking her by the hand; “we have not seen him since the first day of our liberty. It will do you good, as it will me, to look on his beneficent face!”
She obeyed the impulse of her aunt’s arm, and reached the window just as he passed into the courtyard. Helen’s soul seemed rushing from her eyes. “Ah! it is indeed he!” thought she; “no dream, no illusion, but his very self.”
He looked up; but not on her side of the building; it was to the window of Lady Mar9; and as he bowed, he smiled. All the charms of that smile struck upon the soul of Helen; and, hastily retreating, she sunk breathless into a seat.
“O, no! that man cannot be born for the isolated21 state I have just lamented22. He is not to be forever cut off from communicating that happiness to which he would give so much enchantment23!” Lady Ruthven ejaculated this with fervor24, her matron cheeks flushing with a sudden and more forcible admiration25 of the person and mien26 of Wallace. “There was something in that smile, Helen, which tells me all is not chilled within. And, indeed, how should it be otherwise? That generous interest in the happiness of all, which seems to flow in a tide of universal love, cannot spring from a source incapable27 of dispensing28 the softer screams of it again.”
Helen, whose well-poised soul was not affected by the agitation29 of her body (agitation she was determined30 to conquer), calmly answered: “Such a hope little agrees with all you have been telling me of his conversation with Edwin. Sir William Wallace will never love woman more; and even to name the idea seems an offense31 against the sacredness of his sorrow.”
“Blame me not, Helen,” returned Lady Ruthven, “that I forgot probability, in grasping at possibility which might give me such a nephew as Sir William Wallace, and you a husband worthy of your merits! I had always, in my own mind, fixed32 on the unknown knight33 for your future lord; and now that I find that he and the deliverer of Scotland are one, I am not to be looked grave at for wishing to reward him with the most precious heart that ever beat in a female breast.”
“No more of this, if you love me, my dear aunt!” returned Helen; “it neither can nor ought to be. I revere34 the memory of Lady Marion too much not to be agitated35 by the subject; so, no more!”-she was agitated. But at that instant Edwin throwing open the door, put an end to the conversation.
He came to apprise36 his mother that Sir William Wallace was in the state apartments, come purposely to pay his respects to her, not having even been introduced to her when the sudden illness of her niece in the castle had made them part so abruptly37.
“I will not interrupt his introduction now,” said Helen, with a faint smile; “a few days’ retirement will strengthen me, and then I shall see our protector as I ought.”
“I will stay with you,” cried Edwin, “and I dare say Sir William Wallace will have no objection to be speedily joined by my mother; for, as I came along, I met my aunt Mar hastening through the gallery; and, between ourselves, my sweet coz, I do not think my noble friend quite likes a private conference with your fair stepmother.”
Lady Ruthven had withdrawn38 before he made this observation.
“Why, Edwin?-surely she would not do anything ungracious to one to whom she owes so great a weight of obligations?” When Helen asked this, she remembered the spleen Lady Mar once cherished against Wallace; and she feared it might now be revived.
“Ungracious! O, no! the reverse of that; but her gratitude39 is full of absurdity40. I will not repeat the fooleries with which she sought to detain him at Bute. And that some new fancy respecting him is now about to menace his patience. I am convinced; for, on my way hither, I met her hurrying along, and as she passed me she exclaimed, ‘Is Lord Buchan arrived?’ I answered. ‘Yes.’ ‘Ah, then he proclaimed him king?’ cried she; and into the great gallery she darted41.”
“You do not mean to say,” demanded Helen, turning her eyes with an expression which seemed confident of his answer, “that Sir William Wallace has accepted the crown of Scotland?”
“Certainly not,” replied Edwin; “but as certainly it has been offered to him, and he has refused it.”
“I could have sworn it!” returned Helen, rising from her chair; “all is loyal, all is great and consistent there, Edwin!”
“He is, indeed, the perfect exemplar of all nobleness,” rejoined the youth; “and I believe I shall even love you better, my dear cousin, because you seem to have so clear an apprehension42 of his real character.” He then proceeded, with all the animation of the most zealous43 affection, to narrate44 to Helen the particulars of the late scene on the Carse of Stirling. And while he deepened still more the profound impression the virtues45 of Wallace had made on her heart, he reopened its more tender sympathies by repeating, with even minuter accuracy than he had done to his mother, details of those hours which he passed with him in retirement. He spoke46 of the beacon-hill; of moonlight walks in the camp, when all but the sentinels and his general and himself were sunk in sleep.
These were the seasons when the suppressed feelings of Wallace would by fits break from his lips, and at last pour themselves out, unrestrainedly, to the ear of sympathy. As the young narrator described all the endearing qualities of his friend, the cheerful heroism47 with which he quelled48 every tender remembrance to do his duty in the day-“for it is only in the night,” said Edwin, “that my general remembers Ellerslie”-Helen’s tears again stole silently down her cheeks. Edwin perceived them, and throwing his arms gently around her. “Weep not, my sweet cousin,” said he; “for, with all his sorrow, I never saw true happiness till I beheld49 it in the eyes and heard it in the voice of Sir William Wallace. He has talked to me of the joy he should experience in giving liberty to Scotland, and establishing her peace, till his enthusiastic soul, grasping hope, as if it were possession, he has looked on me with a consciousness of enjoyment50 which seemed to say that all bliss51 was summed up in a patriot’s breast.
“And at other times, when, after a conversation on his beloved Marion, a few natural regrets would pass his lips, and my tears tell how deep was my sympathy, then he would turn to comfort me; then he would show me the world beyond this-that world which is the aim of all his deeds, the end of all his travails-and, lost in the rapturous idea of meeting his Marion there, a foretaste of all would seem to seize his soul: and were I then called upon to point out the most enviable felicity on earth, I should say it is that of Sir William Wallace. It is this enthusiasm in all he believes and feels that makes him what he is. It is this eternal spirit of hope, infused into him by Heaven itself, that makes him rise from sorrow, like the sun from a cloud, brighter, and with more ardent52 beams. It is this that bathes his lips in the smiles of Paradise, that throws a divine luster53 over his eyes, and makes all dream of love and happiness that look upon him.”
Edwin paused. “Is it not so, my cousin?”
Helen raised her thoughtful face. “He is not a being of this earth, Edwin. We must learn to imitate him, as well as to-” She hesitated, then added, “As well as to revere him, I do before the altars of the saints. But not to worship,” said she, interrupting herself; “that would be a crime. To look on him as a glorious example of patient suffering-of invincible54 courage in the behalf of truth and mercy! This is the end of my reverence55 for him, and this sentiment, my dear Edwin, you partake.”
“It possesses me wholly,” cried the energetic youth; “I have no thought, no wish, nor ever move or speak, but with the intent to be like him. He calls me his brother! and I will be so in soul, though I cannot in blood; and then, my dear Helen, you shall have two Sir William Wallaces to love!”
“Sweetest, sweetest boy!” cried Helen, putting her quivering lips to his forehead; “you will then always remember that Helen so dearly loves Scotland as to be jealous, above all earthly things, for the lord regent’s safety. Be his guardian56 angel. Beware of treason in man and woman, friend and kindred. It lurks57, my cousin, under the most specious58 forms; and, as one, mark Lord Buchan; in short, have a care of all whom any of the house of Cummin may introduce. Watch over your general’s life in the private hour. It is not the public field I fear for him; his valiant59 arm will there be his own guard! But, in the unreserved day of confidence, envy will point its dagger60; and then, be as eyes to his too trusting soul-as a shield to his too confidently exposed breast!”
As she spoke she strove to conceal61 her too eloquent62 face in the silken ringlets of her hair.
“I will be all this,” cried Edwin, who saw nothing in her tender solicitude63 but the ingenuous64 affection which glowed in his own heart; “and I will be your eyes, too, my cousin; for when I am absent with Sir William Wallace I shall consider myself your representative, and so will send you regular dispatches of all that happens to him.”
Thanks would have been a poor means of imparting what she felt at this assurance; and, rising from her seat, with some of Wallace’s own resigned and enthusiastic expression in her face, she pressed Edwin’s hand to her heart; then bowing her head to him, in token of gratitude, withdrew into an inner apartment.
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1
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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tumults
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| 吵闹( tumult的名词复数 )； 喧哗； 激动的吵闹声； 心烦意乱 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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citadel
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| n.城堡；堡垒；避难所 | |
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speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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8
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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10
valor
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| n.勇气，英勇 | |
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bower
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| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
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12
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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13
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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14
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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15
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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16
parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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17
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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18
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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19
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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20
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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21
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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22
lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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mien
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| n.风采；态度 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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28
dispensing
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| v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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29
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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32
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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34
revere
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| vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏 | |
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35
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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36
apprise
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| vt.通知，告知 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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38
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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39
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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40
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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41
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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42
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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43
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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44
narrate
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| v.讲，叙述 | |
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45
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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46
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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47
heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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48
quelled
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| v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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50
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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51
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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52
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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53
luster
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| n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉 | |
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54
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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55
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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56
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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57
lurks
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| n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式） | |
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58
specious
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| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
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59
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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60
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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61
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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62
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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63
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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64
ingenuous
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| adj.纯朴的，单纯的；天真的；坦率的 | |
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