Furthermore, there was time to take note of the neighbors and make the mote9 in their eyes into a beam. There was time to backbite10, to envy and hate. Jealousies11, whether of business or love, shot a powerful growth again, and old enmity bore fruit in new rancor12 and new vengeance13. There was one who had lately augmented14 the number of his enemies, until he had drawn15 well-nigh the hate of the whole community upon his head. This man was Corfitz Ulfeldt. He could not be reached, for he was safe in the camp of the Swedes, but certain of his relatives and those of his wife, who were suspected of a friendly regard for him, were subjected to constant espionage16 and annoyance17, while the court knew them not.
There were but few such, but among them was Sofie Urne, Ulrik Frederik’s betrothed18. The Queen, who hated Ulfeldt’s wife more than she hated Ulfeldt himself, had - 76 - from the first been opposed to Ulrik Frederik’s alliance with a gentlewoman so closely related to Eleonore Christine, and since the recent actions of Ulfeldt had placed him in a more sinister19 light than ever, she began to work upon the King and others, in order to have the engagement annulled20.
Nor was it long before the King shared the Queen’s view. Sofie Urne, who was in fact given to intrigue21, had been painted as so wily and dangerous, and Ulrik Frederik as so flighty and easily led, that the King clearly saw how much trouble might come of such an alliance. Yet he had given his consent, and was too sensitive about his word of honor to withdraw it. He therefore attempted to reason with Ulrik Frederik, and pointed22 out how easily his present friendly footing at court might be disturbed by a woman who was so unacceptable to the King and Queen, and justly so, as her sympathies were entirely23 with the foes24 of the royal house. Moreover, he said, Ulrik Frederik was standing25 in his own light, since none could expect important posts to be entrusted26 to one who was constantly under the influence of the enemies of the court. Finally, he alluded27 to the intriguing28 character of Mistress Sofie, and even expressed doubt of the sincerity29 of her regard. True love, he said, would have sacrificed itself rather than bring woe30 upon its object, would have hidden its head in sorrow rather than exulted31 from the housetops. But Mistress Sofie had shown no scruples32; indeed, she had used his youth and blind infatuation to serve her own ends.
The King talked long in this strain, but could not prevail upon Ulrik Frederik, who still had a lively recollection of the pleading it had cost him to make Mistress Sofie reveal her affection. He left the King, more than ever resolved - 77 - that nothing should part them. His courtship of Mistress Sofie was the first serious step he had ever taken in his life, and it was a point of honor with him to take it fully33. There had always been so many hands ready to lead and direct him, but he had outgrown34 all that; he was old enough to walk alone, and he meant to do it. What was the favor of the King and the court, what were honor and glory, compared to his love? For that alone he would strive and sacrifice; in that alone he would live.
The King, however, let it be known to Christoffer Urne that he was opposed to the match, and the house was closed to Ulrik Frederik, who henceforth could see Mistress Sofie only by stealth. At first this merely fed the flame, but soon his visits to his betrothed grew less frequent. He became more clear-sighted where she was concerned, and there were moments when he doubted her love, and even wondered whether she had not led him on, that summer day, while she seemed to hold him off.
The court, which had hitherto met him with open arms, was cold as ice. The King, who had taken such a warm interest in his future, was indifference35 itself. There were no longer any hands stretched out to help him, and he began to miss them; for he was by no means man enough to go against the stream. When it merely ceased to waft36 him along, he lost heart instantly. At his birth, a golden thread had been placed in his hand, and he had but to follow it upward to happiness and honor. He had dropped this thread to find his own way, but he still saw it glimmering37. What if he were to grasp it again? He could neither stiffen38 his back to defy the King nor give up Sofie. He had to visit her in secret, and this was perhaps the hardest of all for his pride to stomach. Accustomed to move in pomp and display, to - 78 - take every step in princely style, he winced39 at crawling through back alleys40. Days passed, and weeks passed, filled with inactive brooding and still-born plans. He loathed41 his own helplessness, and began to despise himself for a laggard42. Then came the doubt: perhaps his dawdling43 had killed her love, or had she never loved him? They said she was clever, and no doubt she was, but—as clever as they said? Oh, no! What was love, then, if she did not love, and yet—and yet....
Behind Christoffer Urne’s garden ran a passage just wide enough for a man to squeeze through. This was the way Ulrik Frederik had to take when he visited his mistress, and he would usually have Hop-o’-my-Thumb mounted on guard at the end of the passage, lest people in the street should see him climbing the board fence.
On a balmy, moonlit summer night, three or four hours after bedtime, Daniel had wrapped himself in his cloak and found a seat for himself on the remains44 of a pig’s trough, which some one had thrown out from a neighboring house. He was in a pleasant frame of mind, slightly drunk, and chuckling45 to himself at his own merry conceits46. Ulrik Frederik had already scaled the fence and was in the garden. It was fragrant47 with elder-blossoms. Linen48 laid out to bleach49 made long white strips across the grass. There was a soft rustling50 in the maples51 overhead and the rose-bushes at his side; their red blossoms looked almost white in the moonlight. He went up to the house, which stood shining white, the windows in a yellow glitter. How quiet everything was—radiant and calm! Suddenly the glassy whirr of a cricket shivered the stillness. The sharp, blue-black shadows of the hollyhocks seemed painted on the wall behind them. A faint mist rose from the bleach-linen. There!—he - 79 - lifted the latch52, and the next moment he was in the darkness within. Softly he groped his way up the rickety staircase until he felt the warm, spice-scented air of the attic53. The rotten boards of the floor creaked under his step. The moon shone through a small window overhead, throwing a square of light on the flat top of a grain-pile. Scramble54 over—the dust whirling in the column of light! Now—the gable-room at last! The door opened from within, and threw a faint reddish glow that illuminated55 for a second the pile of grain, the smoke-yellowed, sloping chimney, and the roof-beams. The next moment they were shut out, and he stood by Sofie’s side in the family clothes-closet.
The small, low room was almost filled with large linen-presses. From the loft56 hung bags full of down and feathers. Old spinning-wheels were flung into the corners, and the walls were festooned with red onions and silver-mounted harness. The window was closed with heavy wooden shutters57, but on a brass-trimmed chest beneath it stood a small hand-lantern. Sofie opened its tiny horn-pane to get a brighter light. Her loosened hair hung down over the fur-edged broadcloth robe she had thrown over her homespun dress. Her face was pale and grief-worn, but she smiled gaily58 and poured out a stream of chatter59. She was sitting on a low stool, her hands clasped around her knees, looking up merrily at Ulrik Frederik, who stood silent above her, while she talked and talked, lashed60 on by the fear his ill-humor had roused in her.
“How now, Sir Grumpy?” she said. “You’ve nothing to say? In all the hundred hours that have passed, have you not thought of a hundred things you wanted to whisper to me? Oh, then you have not longed as I have!” She - 80 - trimmed the candle with her fingers, and threw the bit of burning wick on the floor. Instinctively61 Ulrik Frederik took a step forward, and put it out with his foot.
“That’s right!” she went on. “Come here, and sit by my side; but first you must kneel and sigh and plead with me to be fond again, for this is the third night I’m watching. Yester eve and the night before I waited in vain, till my eyes were dim.” She lifted her hand threateningly. “To your knees, Sir Faithless, and pray as if for your life!” She spoke62 with mock solemnity, then smiled, half beseeching63, half impatient. “Come here and kneel, come!”
Ulrik Frederik looked around almost grudgingly64. It seemed too absurd to fall on his knees there in Christoffer Urne’s attic. Yet he knelt down, put his arm around her waist, and hid his face in her lap, though without speaking.
She too was silent, oppressed with fear; for she had seen Ulrik Frederik’s pale, tormented65 face and uneasy eyes. Her hand played carelessly with his hair, but her heart beat violently in apprehension66 and dread67.
They sat thus for a long time.
Then Ulrik Frederik started up.
“No, no!” he cried. “This can’t go on! God our Father in heaven is my witness, that you’re dear to me as the innermost blood of my heart, and I don’t know how I’m to live without you. But what does it avail? What can come of it? They’re all against us—every one. Not a tongue will speak a word of cheer, but all turn from me. When they see me, ’tis as though a cold shadow fell over them, where before I brought a light. I stand so utterly68 alone, Sofie, ’tis bitter beyond words. True, I know you warned me, but I’m eaten up in this strife69. It sucks my courage and my honor, and though I’m consumed with shame, I must - 81 - ask you to set me free. Dearest girl, release me from my word!”
Sofie had risen and stood cold and unflinching like a statue, eyeing him gravely, as he spoke.
“I am with child,” she said quietly and firmly.
If she had consented, if she had given him his freedom, Ulrik Frederik felt that he would not have taken it. He would have thrown himself at her feet. Sure of her, he would have defied the King and all. But she did not. She but pulled his chain to show him how securely he was bound. Oh, she was clever as they said! His blood boiled, he could have fallen upon her, clutched her white throat to drag the truth out of her and force her to open every petal70 and lay bare every shadow and fold in the rose of her love, that he might know the truth at last! But he mastered himself and said with a smile: “Yes, of course, I know—’twas nothing but a jest, you understand.”
Sofie looked at him uneasily. No, it had not been a jest. If it had been, why did he not come close to her and kiss her? Why did he stand there in the shadow? If she could only see his eyes! No, it was no jest. He had asked as seriously as she had answered. Ah, that answer! She began to see what she had lost by it. If she had only said yes, he would never have left her! “Oh, Ulrik Frederik,” she said, “I was but thinking of our child, but if you no longer love me, then go, go at once and build your own happiness! I will not hold you back.”
“Did I not tell you that ’twas but a jest? How can you think that I would ask you to release me from my word and sneak71 off in base shame and dishonor! Whenever I lifted my head again,” he went on, “I must fear lest the eye that had seen my ignominy should meet mine and force it to the - 82 - ground.” And he meant what he said. If she had loved him as passionately72 as he loved her, then perhaps, but now—never.
Sofie went to him and laid her head on his shoulder, weeping.
“Farewell, Ulrik Frederik,” she said. “Go, go! I would not hold you one hour after you longed to be gone, no, not if I could bind73 you with a hair.”
He shook his head impatiently. “Dear Sofie,” he said, winding74 himself out of her arms, “let us not play a comedy with each other. I owe it both to you and to myself that the pastor75 should join our hands; it cannot be too soon. Let it be in two or three days—but secretly, for it is of no use to set the world against us more than has been done already.” Sofie dared not raise any objection. They agreed on the time and the place, and parted with tender good-nights.
When Ulrik Frederik came down into the garden, it was dark, for the moon had veiled itself, and a few heavy raindrops fell from the inky sky. The early cocks were crowing in the mews, but Daniel had fallen asleep on his post.
A week later his best parlor76 was the scene of Mistress Sofie’s and Ulrik Frederik’s private marriage by an obscure clergyman. The secret was not so well guarded, however, but that the Queen could mention it to the King a few days later. The result was that in a month’s time the contract was annulled by royal decree, and Mistress Sofie was sent to the cloister77 for gentlewomen at Itzehoe.
Ulrik Frederik made no attempt to resist this step. Although he felt deeply hurt, he was weary, and bowed in dull dejection to whatever had to be. He drank too - 83 - much almost every day, and when in his cups would weep and plaintively78 describe to two or three boon79 companions, who were his only constant associates, the sweet, peaceful, happy life he might have led. He always ended with mournful hints that his days were numbered, and that his broken heart would soon be carried to that place of healing where the bolsters80 were of black earth and the worms were chirurgeon.
The King, to make an end of all this, ordered him to accompany the troops which the Dutch were transferring to Fyen, and thence he returned in November with the news of the victory at Nyborg. He resumed his place at the court and in the favor of the King, and seemed to be quite his old self.
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1
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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beleaguered
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| adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰 | |
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zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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routs
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| n.打垮，赶跑( rout的名词复数 )；（体育）打败对方v.打垮，赶跑( rout的第三人称单数 )；（体育）打败对方 | |
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7
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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mote
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| n.微粒；斑点 | |
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backbite
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| v.背后诽谤 | |
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jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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rancor
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| n.深仇，积怨 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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espionage
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| n.间谍行为，谍报活动 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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betrothed
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| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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annulled
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| v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去 | |
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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intriguing
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| adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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outgrown
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| 长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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waft
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| v.飘浮，飘荡；n.一股；一阵微风；飘荡 | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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stiffen
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| v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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laggard
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| n.落后者；adj.缓慢的，落后的 | |
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dawdling
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| adj.闲逛的，懒散的v.混（时间）( dawdle的现在分词 ) | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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45
chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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46
conceits
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| 高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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49
bleach
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| vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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maples
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| 槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木 | |
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52
latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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loft
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| n.阁楼，顶楼 | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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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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beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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grudgingly
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tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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petal
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| n.花瓣 | |
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sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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72
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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73
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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74
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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75
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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76
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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77
cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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78
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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79
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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80
bolsters
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| n.长枕( bolster的名词复数 )；垫子；衬垫；支持物v.支持( bolster的第三人称单数 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助 | |
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