With his history the reading part of the world are well acquainted; and we might refer the tyro6 to honest Anthony a Wood, who looked up to him as one of the pillars of High Church, and bestows7 on him an exemplary character in the Athenae Oxonienses, although the Doctor was educated at Cambridge, England’s other eye.
It is well known that Doctor Rochecliffe early obtained preferment in the Church, on account of the spirited share which he took in the controversy8 with the Puritans; and that his work, entitled Malleus Haeresis, was considered as a knock-down blow by all except those who received it. It was that work which made him, at the early age of thirty, Rector of Woodstock, and which afterwards secured him a place in the Catalogue of the celebrated9 Century White; — and worse than being shown up by that fanatic10, among the catalogues of scandalous and malignant11 priests admitted into benefices by the prelates, his opinions occasioned the loss of his living of Woodstock by the ascendency of Presbytery. He was Chaplain, during most part of the Civil War, to Sir Henry Lee’s regiment12, levied13 for the service of King Charles; and it was said he engaged more than once personally in the field. At least it is certain that Doctor Rochecliffe was repeatedly in great danger, as will appear from more passages than one in the following history, which speaks of his own exploits, like Caesar, in the third person. I suspect, however, some Presbyterian commentator14 has been guilty of interpolating two or three passages. The manuscript was long in possession of the Everards, a distinguished15 family of that persuasion16. (It is hardly necessary to say, unless to some readers of very literal capacity, that Dr. Rochecliffe and his manuscripts are alike apocryphal17.)
During the Usurpation18, Doctor Rochecliffe was constantly engaged in one or other of the premature19 attempts at a restoration of monarchy20; and was accounted, for his audacity21, presence of mind, and depth of judgment22, one of the greatest undertakers for the King in that busy time; with this trifling23 drawback, that the plots in which he busied himself were almost constantly detected. Nay24, it was suspected that Cromwell himself sometimes contrived25 to suggest to him the intrigues26 in which he engaged, by which means the wily Protector made experiments on the fidelity27 of doubtful friends, and became well acquainted with the plots of declared enemies, which he thought it more easy to disconcert and disappoint than to punish severely28.
Upon the Restoration, Doctor Rochecliffe regained29 his living of Woodstock, with other Church preferment, and gave up polemics30 and political intrigues for philosophy. He was one of the constituent31 members of the Royal Society, and was the person through whom Charles required of that learned body solution of their curious problem, “Why, if a vessel32 is filled brimful of water, and a large live fish plunged33 into the water, nevertheless it shall not overflow34 the pitcher35?” Doctor Rochecliffe’s exposition of this phenomenon was the most ingenious and instructive of four that were given in; and it is certain the Doctor must have gained the honour of the day, but for the obstinacy36 of a plain, dull, country gentleman, who insisted that the experiment should be, in the first place, publicly tried. When this was done, the event showed it would have been rather rash to have adopted the facts exclusively on the royal authority; as the fish, however curiously37 inserted into his native element, splashed the water over the hall, and destroyed the credit of four ingenious essayists, besides a large Turkey carpet.
Doctor Rochecliffe, it would seem, died about 1685, leaving many papers behind him of various kinds, and, above all, many valuable anecdotes of secret history, from which the following Memoirs38 have been extracted, on which we intend to say only a few words by way of illustration.
The existence of Rosamond’s Labyrinth39, mentioned in these pages, is attested40 by Drayton in the reign41 of Queen Elizabeth.
Rosamond’s Labyrinth, whose ruins, together with her Well, being paved with square stones in the bottom, and also her Tower, from which the Labyrinth did run, are yet remaining, being vaults42 arched and walled with stone and brick, almost inextricably wound within one another, by which, if at any time her lodging43 were laid about by the Queen, she might easily avoid peril44 imminent45, and, if need be, by secret issues take the air abroad, many furlongs about Woodstock in Oxfordshire. [Drayton’s England’s Heroical Epistles, Note A, on the Epistle, Rosamond to King Henry.]
It is highly probable, that a singular piece of phantasmagoria, which was certainly played off upon the Commissioners46 of the Long Parliament, who were sent down to dispark and destroy Woodstock, after the death of Charles I., was conducted by means of the secret passages and recesses47 in the ancient Labyrinth of Rosamond, round which successive Monarchs48 had erected49 a Hunting-seat or Lodge50.
There is a curious account of the disturbance51 given to those Honourable52 Commissioners, inserted by Doctor Plot, in his Natural History of Oxfordshire. But as I have not the book at hand, I can only allude53 to the work of the celebrated Glanville upon Witches, who has extracted it as an highly accredited54 narrative55 of supernatural dealings. The beds of the Commissioners, and their servants, were hoisted56 up till they were almost inverted57, and then let down again so suddenly, as to menace them with broken bones. Unusual and horrible noises disturbed those sacrilegious intromitters with royal property. The devil, on one occasion, brought them a warming-pan; on another, pelted58 them with stones and horses’ bones. Tubs of water were emptied on them in their sleep; and so many other pranks59 of the same nature played at their expense, that they broke up housekeeping, and left their intended spoliation only half completed. The good sense of Doctor Plot suspected, that these feats60 were wrought61 by conspiracy62 and confederation, which Glanville of course endeavours to refute with all his might; for it could scarce be expected, that he who believed in so convenient a solution as that of supernatural agency, would consent to relinquish63 the service of a key, which will answer any lock, however intricate.
Nevertheless, it was afterwards discovered, that Doctor Plot was perfectly64 right; and that the only demon65 who wrought all these marvels66, was a disguised royalist — a fellow called Trusty Joe, or some such name, formerly67 in the service of the Keeper of the Park, but who engaged in that of the Commissioners, on purpose to subject them to his persecution68. I think I have seen some account of the real state of the transaction, and of the machinery69 by which the wizard worked his wonders; but whether in a book, or a pamphlet, I am uncertain. I remember one passage particularly to this purpose. The Commissioners having agreed to retain some articles out of the public account, in order to be divided among themselves, had entered into an indenture70 for ascertaining71 their share in the peculation72, which they hid in a bow-pot for security. Now, when an assembly of divines, aided by the most strict religious characters in the neighbourhood of Woodstock, were assembled to conjure73 down the supposed demon, Trusty Joe had contrived a firework, which he let off in the midst of the exorcism, and which destroyed the bow-pot; and, to the shame and confusion of the Commissioners, threw their secret indenture into the midst of the assembled ghost-seers, who became thus acquainted with their secret schemes of peculation.
It is, however, to little purpose for me to strain my memory about ancient and imperfect recollections concerning the particulars of these fantastic disturbances74 at Woodstock, since Doctor Rochecliffe’s papers give such a much more accurate narrative than could be obtained from any account in existence before their publication. Indeed, I might have gone much more fully75 into this part of my subject, for the materials are ample; — but, to tell the reader a secret, some friendly critics were of opinion they made the story hang on hand; and thus I was prevailed on to be more concise76 on the subject than I might otherwise have been.
The impatient reader, perhaps, is by this time accusing me of keeping the sun from him with a candle. Were the sunshine as bright, however, as it is likely to prove; and the flambeau, or link, a dozen of times as smoky, my friend must remain in the inferior atmosphere a minute longer, while I disclaim77 the idea of poaching on another’s manor78. Hawks79, we say in Scotland, ought not to pick out hawks’ eyes, or tire upon each other’s quarry80; and therefore, if I had known that, in its date and its characters this tale was likely to interfere81 with that recently published by a distinguished contemporary, I should unquestionably have left Doctor Rochecliffe’s manuscript in peace for the present season. But before I was aware of this circumstance, this little book was half through the press; and I had only the alternative of avoiding any intentional82 imitation, by delaying a perusal83 of the contemporary work in question. Some accidental collision there must be, when works of a similar character are finished on the same general system of historical manners, and the same historical personages are introduced. Of course, if such have occurred, I shall be probably the sufferer. But my intentions have been at least innocent, since I look on it as one of the advantages attending the conclusion of WOODSTOCK, that the finishing of my own task will permit me to have the pleasure of reading BRAMBLETYE-HOUSE, from which I have hitherto conscientiously84 abstained85.
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1 eminent | |
adj.显赫的,杰出的,有名的,优良的 | |
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2 rev | |
v.发动机旋转,加快速度 | |
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3 authenticity | |
n.真实性 | |
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4 anecdotes | |
n.掌故,趣闻,轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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5 gleaned | |
v.一点点地收集(资料、事实)( glean的过去式和过去分词 );(收割后)拾穗 | |
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6 tyro | |
n.初学者;生手 | |
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7 bestows | |
赠给,授予( bestow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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8 controversy | |
n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
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9 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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10 fanatic | |
n.狂热者,入迷者;adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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11 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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12 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
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13 levied | |
征(兵)( levy的过去式和过去分词 ); 索取; 发动(战争); 征税 | |
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14 commentator | |
n.注释者,解说者;实况广播评论员 | |
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15 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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16 persuasion | |
n.劝说;说服;持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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17 apocryphal | |
adj.假冒的,虚假的 | |
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18 usurpation | |
n.篡位;霸占 | |
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19 premature | |
adj.比预期时间早的;不成熟的,仓促的 | |
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20 monarchy | |
n.君主,最高统治者;君主政体,君主国 | |
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21 audacity | |
n.大胆,卤莽,无礼 | |
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22 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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23 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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24 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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25 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
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26 intrigues | |
n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 );神秘气氛;引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 );激起…的好奇心 | |
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27 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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28 severely | |
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 | |
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29 regained | |
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地 | |
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30 polemics | |
n.辩论术,辩论法;争论( polemic的名词复数 );辩论;辩论术;辩论法 | |
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31 constituent | |
n.选民;成分,组分;adj.组成的,构成的 | |
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32 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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33 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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34 overflow | |
v.(使)外溢,(使)溢出;溢出,流出,漫出 | |
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35 pitcher | |
n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐;(棒球)投手 | |
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36 obstinacy | |
n.顽固;(病痛等)难治 | |
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37 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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38 memoirs | |
n.回忆录;回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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39 labyrinth | |
n.迷宫;难解的事物;迷路 | |
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40 attested | |
adj.经检验证明无病的,经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 );证实;声称…属实;使宣誓 | |
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41 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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42 vaults | |
n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 );地下室;撑物跳高;墓穴 | |
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43 lodging | |
n.寄宿,住所;(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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44 peril | |
n.(严重的)危险;危险的事物 | |
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45 imminent | |
adj.即将发生的,临近的,逼近的 | |
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46 commissioners | |
n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 );长官;委员;政府部门的长官 | |
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47 recesses | |
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭 | |
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48 monarchs | |
君主,帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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49 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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50 lodge | |
v.临时住宿,寄宿,寄存,容纳;n.传达室,小旅馆 | |
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51 disturbance | |
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调 | |
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52 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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53 allude | |
v.提及,暗指 | |
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54 accredited | |
adj.可接受的;可信任的;公认的;质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 );委托;委任;把…归结于 | |
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55 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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56 hoisted | |
把…吊起,升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57 inverted | |
adj.反向的,倒转的v.使倒置,使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58 pelted | |
(连续地)投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 ); 连续抨击; 攻击; 剥去…的皮 | |
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59 pranks | |
n.玩笑,恶作剧( prank的名词复数 ) | |
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60 feats | |
功绩,伟业,技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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61 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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62 conspiracy | |
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋 | |
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63 relinquish | |
v.放弃,撤回,让与,放手 | |
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64 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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65 demon | |
n.魔鬼,恶魔 | |
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66 marvels | |
n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 );令人惊奇的事物(或事例);不平凡的成果;成就v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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68 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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69 machinery | |
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构 | |
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70 indenture | |
n.契约;合同 | |
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71 ascertaining | |
v.弄清,确定,查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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72 peculation | |
n.侵吞公款[公物] | |
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73 conjure | |
v.恳求,祈求;变魔术,变戏法 | |
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74 disturbances | |
n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 );打扰;困扰;障碍 | |
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75 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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76 concise | |
adj.简洁的,简明的 | |
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77 disclaim | |
v.放弃权利,拒绝承认 | |
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78 manor | |
n.庄园,领地 | |
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79 hawks | |
鹰( hawk的名词复数 ); 鹰派人物,主战派人物 | |
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80 quarry | |
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找 | |
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81 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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82 intentional | |
adj.故意的,有意(识)的 | |
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83 perusal | |
n.细读,熟读;目测 | |
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84 conscientiously | |
adv.凭良心地;认真地,负责尽职地;老老实实 | |
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85 abstained | |
v.戒(尤指酒),戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 );弃权(不投票) | |
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