Out of the east climbed the man on the stolen horse, riding out of the dawn with the lurid8 phantasms of the night still running riot in his brain. No sleep had smoothed the crumpled9 page, or touched the memory with unguent10 to assuage11 the smart. Maledictions, vengeances, prophecies of fire and sword rushed with the red dawn over the hills.
With forty miles behind him, he came on his jaded13, sweaty beast towards his own castle of Gambrevault, forded his own stream, saw his mills gushing15 foam16, heard the thunder of the weir17. How eternally peaceful everything seemed in the dewy amber18 light of the dawn! Away rolled the downs, billows of glorious green, into the west. Gambrevault's towers rose against the blue; he saw the camp in the meadows; his own banner blowing to the breeze.
The meadows that morning were quiet as a graveyard19, as the Lord Flavian rode through to the great gate of Gambrevault. Soldiers idling about, stiffened20 up, saluted21, stared in astonishment22 at the grim, morose-faced man, who rode by on a foundered23 horse, looking neither to the right hand nor the left. He cut something of a figure, as though he had been in a tavern24 brawl25, and had spent the night snoring in a cow-house. Yet there was an indescribable power and dignity in the tatterdemalion rider for all his tumbled look. The compressed lips, knotted brow, smouldering eyes spoke26 of phenomenal emotions, phenomenal passions. Not a man cheered, and the silence was yet more eloquent27 than clamour. He rode in by the great gate, and parrying the blank glances and interrogations of his knights29, called for two esquires, and withdrew to his own state rooms.
His first trouble was to acknowledge such necessities as hunger and cleanliness. He contrived30 to compass both at once, eating ravenously31 even while he was in the bath. His next command was for his harness, and his esquires armed him, agog32 for news, even waxing inquisitive33, to be snubbed for their pains.
"Assemble my knights and gentlemen in the great hall," ran his order, and after praying awhile in his own private oratory34, he passed down to join the assemblage, solemn and soul-burdened as a young Jove.
There is a certain vain satisfaction in being the possessor of some phenomenal piece of news, wherewith to astonish a circle of friends. The dramatic person blurts35 it out like a stage duke; the real epicure36 lets it filter through his teeth in fragments, watching with a twinkling satisfaction its effect upon his hearers. The Lord Flavian's revelations that morning were deliberate and gradual, leisurely37 in the extreme. Many a man waxes flippant or cynical38 when his feelings are deep and sincere, and he is disinclined to bare his heart to the world. Flavian addressed his assembled knights with a certain stinted39 and pedantic40 courtliness; when they had warmed to his level, then he could indulge his sympathies to the full. The atmosphere about those who wait to hear our experiences or opinions is often like cold water, somewhat repellent till the first plunge41 has been tried.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I regret to inform you that the Abbot Porphyry, my uncle, is numbered with the saints."
So much for the first confession42; it elicited43 a sympathetic murmur44 from those assembled, a very proper and respectable expression of feeling, but nothing passionate45.
"I also have to inform you, with much Christian46 resignation, that Sir Jordan and Sir Kay, Malise, my page, and some twenty men-at-arms are in all human probability dead."
This time some glimmer47 of light pervaded48 the hall. There was still mystification, silence, and an exchanging of glances.
"Finally, gentlemen, I may confess to you that a great insurrection is afoot in the land; that Gilderoy has declared against the King and the nobility; that the scum of a populace has made a great massacre49 of the magnates; that I, gentlemen, by the grace of God, have escaped to preach to you of these things."
A chorus of grim ejaculations came from the knights and the captains assembled. Astonishment, and emotions more durable50, showed on every face. Flavian gained heat, and let his tongue have liberty; at the end of ten minutes of fervid51 oratory, the men were as wise as their lord and every wit as vicious. Gilderoy had signalised her rising in blood; mob rule had been proclaimed; the peasantry and townsfolk had thrown down the glove to the nobles. These were bleak52, plain facts, that touched to the quick the men who stood gathered in the great hall of Gambrevault. Not a sword was in its scabbard when Modred's deep voice gave the cry--
"God and St. Philip--for the King."
Then like a powder bag flung into a fire came the news of the storming and wrecking53 of Avalon. A single man-at-arms had escaped the slaughter54, escaped by crawling down an offal shoot and hiding till the rebels evacuated55 the place and marched under cover of night for Geraint. The man had crept out and fled on foot from the stricken place for Gambrevault. It was a tramp of ten leagues, but he had stuck to it through the night like a Trojan, and, knowing the road well, had reached Gambrevault before the sun was at noon. They brought him before Flavian and the rest, fagged to the fifth toe, and hardly able to stand. He told the whole tale, as much as he knew of it, in a blunt yet dazed way. His senses appeared numbed56 by the deeds that had been done that night.
Flavian leant back in his escutcheoned chair, and gnawed57 at his lip. This last thrust had gone home more keenly than the rest. That castle of lilies, Avalon the fair, was but a friend of wood and stone, yet a friend having wondrous58 hold upon his heart. He had been born there, and under the shadows of its towers his mother had taken her last sacrament. Men can love a tree, a cottage, a stream; Flavian loved Avalon as being the temple of the unutterable memories of the past. Desolation and ruin! Bertrand, his old master at arms, slain60! He sprang up like an Achilles with the ghost of Patroclus haunting his soul.
"Gentlemen, shall these things pass? Hear me, God and the world, hear my oath sworn in this my castle of Gambrevault. May I never rest till these things are reprieved61 in blood, till there are too few men to bury the dead. Though my walls fall, and my towers totter62, though I win ruin and a grave, I swear by the Sacrament to do such deeds as shall ring and resound63 in history."
So they went all of them together, and swore by the body and blood of the Lord to take such vengeance12 as the sword alone can give to the hot passions of mankind.
That noon there was much stir and life in Gambrevault. The camp hummed like a wasp's nest when violence threatens; the men were ready to run to arms on the first sounding of the trumpet64. Armourers and farriers were at work. Flavian had sent out two companies of light horse to reconnoitre towards Gilderoy and Geraint. They had orders not to draw rein66 till they had sure view of such rebel voices as were on the march; to hang on the horizon; to watch and follow; to send gallopers to Gambrevault; on no account to give battle. Companies were despatched to drive in the cattle from the hills, and to bring in fodder67. The Gambrevault mills were emptied of flour, and burnt to the ground, in view of their being of use to the rebels in case of a siege. Certain cottages and outhouses under the castle walls were demolished68 to leave no cover for an attacking force. The cats, tribocs, catapults, and bombards upon the battlements were overhauled69, and cleared for a siege.
Towards evening, human wreckage70 began to drift in from the country, bearing lamentable71 witness to the thoroughness of Fulviac's incendiarism. Gambrevault might have stood for heaven by the strange scattering72 of folk who came to seek its sanctuary73. Fire and sword were abroad with a vengeance; cottars, borderers, and villains74 had risen in the night; treachery had drawn75 its poniard; even the hound had snapped at its master's hand.
Many pathetic figures passed under the great arch of Gambrevault gate that day. First a knight28 came in on horseback, a baby in his arms, and a woman clinging behind him, sole relics76 of a home. Margaret, the grey-haired countess of St. Anne's, was brought in on a litter by a few faithful men-at-arms; her husband and her two sons were dead. Young Prosper77 of Fountains came in on a pony78; the lad wept like a girl when questioned, and told of a mother and a sire butchered, a home sacked and burnt. There were stern faces in Gambrevault that day, and looks more eloquent than words. "Verily," said Flavian to Modred the Strong, "we shall have need of our swords, and God grant that we use them to good purpose."
So night drew near, and still no riders had come from the companies that had ridden out to reconnoitre towards Gilderoy and Geraint. Flavian had had a hundred duties on his hands: exercising his courtesy to the refugees, condoling79, reassuring80; inspecting the defences and the siege train; superintending the victualling of the place. He had ordered his troops under arms in the meadows, and had spoken to them of what had passed at Gilderoy, and what might be looked for in the future. There seemed no lack of loyalty81 on their part. Flavian had ever been a magnanimous and a generous overlord, glad to be merciful, and no libertine82 at the expense of his underlings. His feudatories were bound to him by ties more strong than mere83 legalities. They cheered him loudly enough as he rode along the lines in full armour65, with fifty knights following as his guard.
Night came. Outposts had been pushed forward to the woods, and a strong picket84 held the ford14 across the river. On the battlements guards went to and fro, and clarions parcelled out the night, and rang the changes. In the east there was a faint yellowish light in the sky, a distant glare as of a fire many miles away. In the camp men were ready to fly to arms at the first thunder of war over the hills.
Flavian held a council in the great hall, a council attended by all his knights and captains. They had a great map spread upon the table, a chart of the demesnes of Gambrevault and Avalon, and the surrounding country. Their conjectures85 turned on the possible intentions of the rebels, whether they would venture on a campaign in the open, or lie snug86 within walls and indulge in raids and forays. And then--as to the loyalty of their own troops? On this point Flavian was dogmatic, having a generous and over-boyish heart, not quick to credit others with treachery.
"I would take oath for my own men," he said; "their fathers have served my fathers; I have never played the tyrant87; there is every reason to trust their loyalty."
An old knight, Sir Tristram, had taken a goodly share in the debate, a veteran from the barons88' wars, and a man of honest experience, no mere pantaloon. His grey beard swept down upon his cuirass; his deep-set eyes were full of intelligence under his bushy brows; the hands that were laid upon the table were clawed and deformed89 by gout.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I have not the fitness and youth of many of you, but I can lay claim to some wisdom in war. To my liege lord, whom, sirs, I honour as a man of soul, I would address two proverbs. First, despise not, sire, your enemies."
Modred laughed in his black beard.
"Ha, man, if we are well advised, these folk have been breathed upon by fanaticism91. I tell you, I have seen a meanly-born crowd make a very stubborn day of it with some of the best troops that ever saw service. Secondly92, sire, I would say to you, turn off your mercenaries if the sky looks black; never trust your neck to paid men when any great peril3 threatens."
Flavian, out of his good sense, agreed with Tristram.
"Your words are weighty," he said. "So long as we are campaigning, I will pay them well and keep them. If it comes to a siege, I will have no hired bravos in Gambrevault. And now, gentlemen, it is late; get what sleep you may, for who knows what may come with the morrow. Modred and Geoffrey, I leave to you the visiting of the outposts to-night. Order up my lutists and flute93-players; I shall not sleep without a song."
He passed alone to the outer battlements, and let the night expand about his soul, the stars touch his meditations94. From the minstrels' gallery in the hall came the wail95 of viols, the voices of flute, dulcimer and bassoon keeping a mellow96 under-chant. He heard the sea upon the rocks, saw it glimmering97 dimly to end in a fringe of foam.
So his thoughts soared to the face of one woman in the world, the golden Eve peering out of Paradise, whose soul seemed to ebb98 and flow like the moan of the distant music. He fell into deep forecastings of the future. He remembered her words to him, her mysterious warnings, her inexplicable99 inconsistencies, her appeal to war. Gilderoy had taught him much, and some measure of truth shone like a dawn spear in the east. A gulf100 of war and vengeance stretched from his feet. Yet he let his soul circle like a golden moth59 about the woman's beauty, while the wail of the viols stole out upon his ears.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
ominous
|
|
| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
perils
|
|
| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
heroism
|
|
| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
miserable
|
|
| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
surfeiting
|
|
| v.吃得过多( surfeit的现在分词 )；由于过量而厌腻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
7
larder
|
|
| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
lurid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
crumpled
|
|
| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
unguent
|
|
| n.（药）膏；润滑剂；滑油 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
assuage
|
|
| v.缓和，减轻，镇定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
jaded
|
|
| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
Ford
|
|
| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
gushing
|
|
| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
foam
|
|
| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
weir
|
|
| n.堰堤，拦河坝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
amber
|
|
| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
graveyard
|
|
| n.坟场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
saluted
|
|
| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
astonishment
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
foundered
|
|
| v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
tavern
|
|
| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
brawl
|
|
| n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
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： |
|
|
|
|
27
eloquent
|
|
| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
knight
|
|
| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
knights
|
|
| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
contrived
|
|
| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
ravenously
|
|
| adv.大嚼地，饥饿地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
agog
|
|
| adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
inquisitive
|
|
| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
oratory
|
|
| n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
blurts
|
|
| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
epicure
|
|
| n.行家，美食家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
leisurely
|
|
| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
cynical
|
|
| adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
stinted
|
|
| v.限制，节省（stint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
pedantic
|
|
| adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
elicited
|
|
| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
passionate
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
glimmer
|
|
| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
pervaded
|
|
| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
massacre
|
|
| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
durable
|
|
| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
fervid
|
|
| adj.热情的；炽热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
bleak
|
|
| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
wrecking
|
|
| 破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
slaughter
|
|
| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
evacuated
|
|
| 撤退者的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
numbed
|
|
| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
gnawed
|
|
| 咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
wondrous
|
|
| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
moth
|
|
| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
slain
|
|
| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
reprieved
|
|
| v.缓期执行（死刑）( reprieve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
totter
|
|
| v.蹒跚， 摇摇欲坠；n.蹒跚的步子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
resound
|
|
| v.回响 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
trumpet
|
|
| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
armour
|
|
| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
rein
|
|
| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
fodder
|
|
| n.草料；炮灰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
demolished
|
|
| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
overhauled
|
|
| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
wreckage
|
|
| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
lamentable
|
|
| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
scattering
|
|
| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
sanctuary
|
|
| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
villains
|
|
| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
relics
|
|
| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
prosper
|
|
| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
pony
|
|
| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
condoling
|
|
| v.表示同情，吊唁( condole的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
80
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
loyalty
|
|
| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
libertine
|
|
| n.淫荡者；adj.放荡的，自由思想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
picket
|
|
| n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
conjectures
|
|
| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
snug
|
|
| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
tyrant
|
|
| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
barons
|
|
| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
deformed
|
|
| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
reverence
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
fanaticism
|
|
| n.狂热，盲信 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
secondly
|
|
| adv.第二，其次 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
flute
|
|
| n.长笛；v.吹笛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
meditations
|
|
| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
wail
|
|
| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
mellow
|
|
| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
glimmering
|
|
| 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 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
ebb
|
|
| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
inexplicable
|
|
| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |