CHAPTER XII: THEY LOOK ON THE KING OF THE GLITTERING PLAIN

 So now the women led them along up the stream, and Hallblithe went side by side by the Sea-eagle; but the women had become altogether merry again, and played and ran about them as gamesome as young goats; and they waded¹ the shallows of the clear bright stream barefoot to wash their limbs of the sea-brine, and strayed about the meadows, plucking the flowers and making them wreaths and chaplets, which they did upon themselves and the Sea-eagle; but Hallblithe they touched not, for still they feared him.  They went on as the stream led them up toward the hills, and ever were the meads about them as fair and flowery as might be.  Folk they saw afar off, but fell in with none for a good while, saving a man and a maid clad lightly as for mid-summer days, who were wandering together lovingly and happily by the stream-side, and who gazed wonderingly on the stark³ Sea-eagle, and on Hallblithe with his glittering spear.  The black-haired damsel greeted these twain and spake something to them, and they laughed merrily, and the man stooped down amongst the grasses and blossoms of the bank, and drew forth⁴ a basket, and spread dainty victuals⁵ on the grass under a willow-tree, and bade them be his guests that fair afternoon.  So they sat down there above the glistering stream and ate and drank and were merry.  Thereafter the new-comers and their way-leaders departed with kind words, and still set their faces towards the hills.

 

At last they saw before them a little wooded hill, and underneath⁶ it something red and shining, and other coloured things gleaming in the sun about it.  Then said the Sea-eagle: “What have we yonder?”

 

Said his damsel: “That is the pavilion of the King; and about it are the tents and tilts⁷ of our folk who are of his fellowship: for oft he abideth in the fields with them, though he hath houses and halls as fair as the heart of man can conceive.”

 

“Hath he no foemen to fear?” said the Sea-eagle.

 

“How should that be?” said the damsel.  “If perchance any came into this land to bring war upon him, their battle-anger should depart when once the bliss⁹ of the Glittering Plain had entered into their souls, and they would ask for nought¹⁰ but leave to abide⁸ here and be happy.  Yet I trow that if he had foemen he could crush them as easily as I set my foot on this daisy.”

 

So as they went on they fell in with many folk, men and women, sporting and playing in the fields; and there was no semblance¹¹ of eld on any of them, and no scar or blemish¹² or feebleness of body or sadness of countenance¹³; nor did any bear a weapon or any piece of armour¹⁴.  Now some of them gathered about the new-corners, and wondered at Hallblithe and his long spear and shining helm and dark grey byrny; but none asked concerning them, for all knew that they were folk new come to the bliss of the Glittering Plain.  So they passed amidst these fair folk little hindered by them, and into Hallblithe’s thoughts it came how joyous¹⁵ the fellowship of such should be and how his heart should be raised by the sight of them, if only his troth-plight maiden¹⁶ were by his side.

 

Thus then they came to the King’s pavilion, where it stood in a bight of the meadow-land at the foot of the hill, with the wood about it on three sides.  So fair a house Hallblithe deemed he had never seen; for it was wrought¹⁷ all over with histories and flowers, and with hems² sewn with gold, and with orphreys of gold and pearl and gems¹⁸.

 

There in the door of it sat the King of the Land in an ivory chair; he was clad in golden gown, girt with a girdle of gems, and had his crown on his head and his sword by his side.  For this was the hour wherein he heard what any of his folk would say to him, and for that very end he sat there in the door of his tent, and folk were standing¹⁹ before him, and sitting and lying on the grass round about; and now one, now another, came up to him and spoke²⁰ before him.

 

His face shone like a star; it was exceeding beauteous, and as kind as the even of May in the gardens of the happy, when the scent²¹ of the eglantine fills all the air.  When he spoke his voice was so sweet that all hearts were ravished, and none might gainsay²² him.

 

But when Hallblithe set eyes on him, he knew at once that this was he whose carven image he had seen in the Hall of the Ravagers, and his heart beat fast, and he said to himself: “Hold up thine head now, O Son of the Raven²³, strengthen thine heart, and let no man or god cow thee.  For how can thine heart change, which bade thee go to the house wherefrom it was due to thee to take the pleasure of woman, and there to pledge thy faith and troth to her that loveth thee most, and hankereth for thee day by day and hour by hour, so that great is the love that we twain have builded up.”

 

Now they drew nigh, for folk fell back before them to the right and left, as before men who are new come and have much to do; so that there was nought between them and the face of the King.  But he smiled upon them so that he cheered their hearts with the hope of fulfilment of their desires, and he said: “Welcome, children!  Who be these whom ye have brought hither for the increase of our joy?  Who is this tall, ruddy-faced, joyous man so meet for the bliss of the Glittering Plain?  And who is this goodly and lovely young man, who beareth weapons amidst our peace, and whose face is sad and stern beneath the gleaming of his helm?”

 

Said the dark-haired damsel: “O King!  O Gift-giver and assurer of joy! this tall one is he who was once oppressed by eld, and who hath come hither to thee from the Isle²⁴ of Ransom²⁵, according to the custom of the land.”

 

Said the King: “Tall man, it is well that thou art come.  Now are thy days changed and thou yet alive.  For thee battle is ended, and therewith the reward of battle, which the warrior²⁶ remembereth not amidst the hard hand-play: peace hath begun, and thou needest not be careful for the endurance thereof: for in this land no man hath a lack which he may not satisfy without taking aught from any other.  I deem not that thine heart may conceive a desire which I shall not fulfil for thee, or crave²⁷ a gift which I shall not give thee.”

 

Then the Sea-eagle laughed for joy, and turned his head this way and that, so that he might the better take to him the smiles of all those that stood around.

 

Then the King said to Hallblithe: “Thou also art welcome; I know thee who thou art: meseemeth great joy awaiteth thee, and I will fulfil thy desire to the uttermost.”

 

Said Hallblithe: “O great King of a happy land, I ask of thee nought save that which none shall withhold²⁸ from me uncursed.”

 

“I will give it to thee,” said the King, “and thou shalt bless me.  But what is it which thou wouldst?  What more canst thou have than the Gifts of the land?”

 

Said Hallblithe: “I came hither seeking no gifts, but to have mine own again; and that is the bodily love of my troth-plight maiden.  They stole her from me, and me from her; for she loved me.  I went down to the sea-side and found her not, nor the ship which had borne her away.  I sailed from thence to the Isle of Ransom, for they told me that there I should buy her for a price; neither was her body there.  But her image came to me in a dream of the night, and bade me seek to her hither.  Therefore, O King, if she be here in the land, show me how I shall find her, and if she be not here, show me how I may depart to seek her otherwhere.  This is all my asking.”

 

Said the King: “Thy desire shall be satisfied; thou shalt have the woman who would have thee, and whom thou shouldst have.”

 

Hallblithe was gladdened beyond measure by that word; and now did the King seem to him a comfort and a solace²⁹ to every heart, even as he had deemed of his carven image in the Hall of the Ravagers; and he thanked him, and blessed him.

 

But the King bade him abide by him that night, and feast with him.  “And on the morrow,” said he, “thou shalt go thy ways to look on her whom thou oughtest to love.”

 

Therewith was come the eventide and beginning of night, warm and fragrant³⁰ and bright with the twinkling of stars, and they went into the King’s pavilion, and there was the feast as fair and dainty as might be; and Hallblithe had meat from the King’s own dish, and drink from his cup; but the meat had no savour to him and the drink no delight, because of the longing³¹ that possessed³² him.

 

And when the feast was done, the damsels led Hallblithe to his bed in a fair tent strewn with gold about his head like the starry³³ night, and he lay down and slept for sheer weariness of body.

1 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

2 hems   

布的褶边，贴边( hem的名词复数 )； 短促的咳嗽

参考例句：

• I took the hems of my dresses up to make them shorter. 我把我的连衣裙都改短了。
• Hems must be level unless uneven design feature is requested. 袖口及裤脚卷边位置宽度必须一致（设计有特别要求的除外）。

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 victuals   

n.食物；食品

参考例句：

• A plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.一盘粗劣的剩余饭食放到了他的面前。
• There are no more victuals for the pig.猪没有吃的啦。

6 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

7 tilts   

（意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的）企图，尝试( tilt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• As the kitten touches it, it tilts at the floor. 它随着击碰倾侧，头不动，眼不动，还呆呆地注视着地上。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The two writers had a number of tilts in print. 这两位作家写过一些文章互相攻击。

8 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

9 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

10 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。

11 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

12 blemish   

v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点

参考例句：

• The slightest blemish can reduce market value.只要有一点最小的损害都会降低市场价值。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

13 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

14 armour   

（=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队

参考例句：

• His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
• Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。

15 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

16 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

17 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

18 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

19 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

20 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

21 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

22 gainsay   

v.否认，反驳

参考例句：

• She is a fine woman-that nobody can gainsay.她是个好女人无人能否认。
• No one will gainsay his integrity.没有人对他的正直有话可讲。

23 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

24 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

25 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

26 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

27 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

28 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

29 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

30 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

31 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

32 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

33 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。