This project of Jenny’s contrivance was so simple, and seemed so easy, that it completely took possession of my mind, and for a time I could think scarce of anything else. For to liberate1 my lord would be so great and wonderful a thing. Why, these people who act can assume, and make others assume, any appearance they please; had I not seen Mr. Hilyard under a dozen disguises? It would be nothing for Jenny to make up first Frank, and then the Earl, into another person altogether.
‘Nay3,’ said Mr. Hilyard, ‘but you forget that when I have deceived you, it is first through your imagination the cheat is wrought4, so that I made you think of a physician first, before I assumed the bearing and guise2 of one; and of the blacksmith, John Purdy, before I became that man. And so with the stage. Before Jenny steps across the boards —— majesty5 in her face, sovereignty in her eyes, authority in her carriage —— you have been prepared to expect a Queen; and, lo! she stands before you. But without this preparation and talk disguise is not so easy, and Jenny’s scheme will want, methinks, the help of twilight6. Then, indeed, it might be safely tried. Mr. Frank’s resemblance to his brother being so great that he might, by candle-light even, pass very well for the Earl. But he gets daily worse instead of better.’
We began then to consider the strange nature of Jenny’s power over him, so that what she should command, that he would straightway do; and, whereas at Dilston it was in a trance that he did these things, now it was with all his wits awake, and of his own free will —— a mere8 slave to the will of a woman.
‘In this respect,’ said Mr. Hilyard, ‘he only follows many illustrious examples of antiquity9 —— Solomon among others.’
‘Did she give him a love-potion? or did she by some other magic and witch-like art steal his affections?’
‘Nay, Miss Dorothy,’ said Mr. Hilyard, ‘you understand not the strength of love nor the power of Jenny’s beauty.’ She had bright black eyes, red lips, and a rosy10 cheek, with black curls and a tall, good figure; and, in a word, the girl was well enough, and might have pleased some honest fellow of her own rank and birth. ‘She is,’ continued Mr. Hilyard, ‘a most beautiful and bewitching creature; witty11 and roguish. You must not suppose because a gentlewoman seldom or never loves a man below her own degree (yet Venus, the great goddess, loved Adonis, the shepherd boy), that therefore a gentleman cannot love a woman of inferior birth. Why, Boaz, a great prince, as one may suppose, loved Ruth, who seemed to him a simple leasing-maid, and King Cophetua loved a beggar-maid. There are other examples too many to enumerate12. As for Jenny’s witcheries, I believe not in them any more than consists in her bright eyes and smiles.’
‘But, oh! Mr. Hilyard,’ I exclaimed, ‘remember what she did at Dilston and what I saw, although she deceived me, lying without shame.’
‘Truly,’ he said, ‘I forget not. It is strange to think upon. There was once, as is related, a learned scholar of Oxford14 who fell into a kind of melancholy15, and conceived a disgust at the company of his fellows. Wherefore he presently left his college and his companions, and, going away into the fields, fell in with a band of gipsies, and continued with them all his life, asking for nothing more than they could give him —— namely, to dwell in the open air, to sleep in tents, to endure the extremes of weather, to live hard, and to have no discourse16 on books, religion, philosophy, or any of the subjects with which he had formerly17 been conversant18. But to one seeking him in this strange retirement19, he said that the gipsy race was possessed20 of many and marvellous secrets, some of which had been imparted to himself, and that, without any agreement or covenant21 with the devil, they could so cheat the eyes and brains of men and women as to make them do what they wished, see things invisible, hear voices afar off, and believe what they were told to believe. So Frank Radcliffe, being asleep, seemed awake, and knew not afterwards what he had said or done. Yet no devilry.’
Who can understand these things?
‘Why,’ I asked, ‘seeing that you are so great a scholar, cannot you cure Frank of this madness?’
He shook his head.
‘Because when all the medicines for the cure of love have been applied22, there still remains23 the lover. Why, to love as Frank is in love is to be strong, to be a man, on whom the remedium amoris is but a sham13. Any weak man may think himself in love with a girl of his own degree; but this kind of love, as when one hath loved a mermaid24, or sea-dragon, and another a fairy, and another a black woman, is not to be cured, and means great strength of will and passion unconquerable. From ordinary passions a strong man like myself keeps himself free; especially when, Miss Dorothy,’ he looked at me with a soft suffusion25 of his eyes, ‘when a man is prevented from loving other women, because he is always in presence of one so godlike, that the rapt senses cannot endure to think upon a creature of lower nature.’
‘But,’ I said, leaving the subject of love’s madness, ‘Jenny’s project is so easy, that it seems ridiculous to hope that it hath not been guarded against.’
‘The greatest things,’ he said, ‘are sometimes effected in the easiest manner. The mathematician26 of Syracuse fired a fleet with burning-glasses. But he did not invent the burning-glass. And I remember the egg of Columbus.’
I went to see Frank. He had a lodging27 near Jenny in Red Lion Street just now; the weather being so hard, he stirred not abroad at all, but sat beside the fire all day, suffering grievously from his cough.
‘Cousin Dorothy,’ he said, pleased indeed to see me (but his cheeks were thin and hollow and his shoulders rounded, so that it was sad to look upon him), ‘I heard that you were in town; I would to Heaven it were on a more pleasant errand! I cannot get abroad to see anyone, not even my brothers in the Tower and in Newgate, poor lads! nor my sister-in-law, the Countess, who hath too much to think of, so that she cannot be expected to come here. Off hood28 and cloak, cousin, and draw a chair near the fire, and talk to me, because I may not talk much.’
Another fit of coughing seized him and shook him to and fro, so that at the end he lay back among his pillows exhausted29.
I told him what news I had to tell, and gave him such comfort as I had to give, which was not much; yet I could tell him that I had seen my lord, and how he looked, and how he had hopes from his noble friends and cousins.
‘As for me,’ he said, ‘what use am I in the world to anybody? And at such a juncture30 to be thus laid by the heels and unable to stir! Ah, Dorothy! it is weary work lying here whither no one comes, save Mr. Hilyard, who is very good, and keeps up my heart; and every day, never failing, the best, the kindest, the most beautiful of her sex ——’
‘You mean Jenny Lee,’ I said.
‘Whom should I mean but that incomparable creature? Dorothy, I should be the happiest of men, because the divine Jenny hath promised to marry me as soon as I am recovered of this plaguy cough. I know not yet where we shall live; she will leave the stage, which is the scene of her triumphs, but yet no fit place for a gentleman’s wife; we will go somewhere into the country, it matters not where, so that we have a garden, and are retired31 from mankind, and especially from those who ride up and down exhorting32 us to be ready for the Prince. As for religion, I am what I am; but my children shall be of the religion of their country, with which Jenny, who hath been religiously brought up, is well content.’
As for Jenny’s religion, I doubt much if she had kept any; but, to be sure, her mother had her taught the Catechism and Ten Commandments with the Lord’s Prayer.
He was going to add more, but he stopped as if arrested in the current of his thoughts, and held up his finger, crying:
‘She is coming. Hush33! I hear her footstep.’
I listened, but could hear nothing except the cries of those who bawled34 their wares35 in the street below, and from Holborn the roll of carts and waggons36. How could he hear her step, when it was five minutes, at least, before she came (and then in her glass-coach) and knocked at the door of the house?
It was about three o’clock of the afternoon, and she was finely dressed, because she would presently go on her way to the theatre, and beneath her furred cloak she wore hoops37 and a crimson38 satin petticoat, with a white silk frock and long train, very rich and magnificent, and a great quantity of lace, her head very finely dressed, and patches artfully bestowed39. She saluted40 me with great politeness, and Frank (whom she kissed) with peculiar41 tenderness, asking what kind of night he had passed, and if he was not better.
‘Much better,’ said the poor lad, ‘and very much stronger;’ but another cough began. Thereupon Jenny took both his hands, made him look her in the face, then laid down his hands, and passed hers before his eyes, and then —— oh, strange! —— he lay back upon his pillows asleep, breathing lightly like a child.
‘Your ladyship perceives,’ she said, ‘that there is no physician like Jenny, and no medicine like the practice of the gipsies.’
‘Oh, Jenny,’ I whispered, looking curiously42 at the sleeping man, ‘it is wickedness; it not be anything short of sorcery. Women have been burned for less.’
‘Oh yes, I know. Poor creatures who could not even read the lines of the hand. They were burned for much less. Wherefore, we of the Romany tribe hide these gifts, and practise them only among ourselves; but not all have the power. And by this means we allay43 the pains of toothache and rheumatism44 to which we are liable; and we find out what goes on far away; and yet I know not of any devil in it at all. See now, Miss Dorothy’—— she caught my hand ——‘he is not asleep; he is quiet, with eyes closed, because I have ordered it. He will now answer any question you ask him. Shall he tell us what my lord is doing in the Tower?’
‘No —— yes! Jenny, it is wicked.’
‘Tell me, Frank, what your brother is doing in the Tower?’
Frank replied, without opening his eyes:
‘He is sitting alone by the fireside; a book is before him, but he reads it not; he is thinking of Dilston and his children. Now a tear falls from his eye; now ——’
‘Jenny, for the love of God, stop him! I dare not —— it is impious —— to pry45 into my lord’s secret and sacred thoughts.’
She looked at me curiously.
‘I can tell you,’ she said, ‘if he loves you still.’
‘I will hear no more. Oh, Jenny, Jenny! these are, truly, arts of the devil.’
She shook her head and laughed.
‘Fear not, Miss Dorothy; I will ask him no more questions. Let Frank rest in peace for half-an-hour, then he will be easier. If I could spend the whole day and night here, nursing him, he should soon recover. For, see you, it is the strength and violence of his cough that pulls him to pieces. If I were here I would stop each attack at the very beginning, and so he would soon get strength.’
Then I asked her about her project for the Earl’s release. She said she thought of it, because it would please Frank, when he got better, to attempt it; because it was a thing easy of accomplishment46; and because it would please myself. As for his lordship, she shrugged47 her shoulders, and said that when her own people went stealing poultry48, poisoning pigs, lifting linen49 from the hedge, and other things forbidden by the law, they were hanged, flogged, pilloried50, branded in the cheek, or transported to the Plantations51, without anyone trying to save them or crying over them. The punishment, she said, was part of the life. Those who did such things tried to escape detection; but, if they were caught, they knew what to expect. Wherefore, in the same way, those who rebelled against the King should take the consequences without all this crying over it; but she hoped his honour (meaning my brother Tom) would get safely out of Newgate; and since Frank, who was her sweetheart, and I, who was her old mistress, ardently52 desired it, she hoped that Lord Derwentwater would get off scot-free.
Then I asked her when she would open the business to Frank.
‘Why,’ she replied, laying her hand tenderly on his thin cheek, ‘your ladyship must first please to understand that Frank is my own man. I suffer no one to come between my man and me.’ She turned and glared upon me like a tigress. ‘It is I who must first speak with him about it, and must choose the time and everything.’
‘Surely, Jenny, it is your plan. No one will interfere53 with you.’
‘They wanted to tear him from me, and drag him off to the wars. Charles Radcliffe came to me and said hard words, but heard harder. Was I going to suffer him to go on such a fool’s errand? Nay, I warrant you. So Master Charles went off without him, and hath brought his pigs to a pretty market. Trust me, Miss Dorothy.’ Her voice became soft, and so did her eyes. ‘Trust me; as soon as my poor boy is better, he shall do this thing. I will leave him behind, and carry the Earl away with me. There will be no fear for him; though at first they will talk of high treason, and the rest. At present a great deal of foolishness is talked, and we at the theatre get hissed54 and applauded every night for some line or other which has a meaning. But they will let Frank go free.
‘Meanwhile, your ladyship,’ she said, ‘it is now four o’clock, and soon I must drive away to the theatre. Will you leave us? I must restore him first, and make him comfortable for the night, and see to his broth7 and medicine. Will you kindly55 come again to see him, and pardon the daily presence of his sweetheart —— your old servant?’
I wished her good-night and came away, but she shamed me with her courtly courtesy and the sweep of her hoops and train.
‘On the stage,’ said Mr. Hilyard, ‘all is exaggerated, from the setting of a chair to the dropping of a curtsey. Therefore, poor Jenny, who hath acquired her manners on the boards, saluted you as if you were the Queen and she the unfortunate heroine.’
‘And what of poor Frank, Mr. Hilyard?’
‘Truly,’ he replied, and my heart sank, thinking of my lord and of Jenny’s project, ‘I fear his days will be few and full of suffering, and his life here on earth like that in the kingdom of heaven in one respect —— namely, that there will be in it neither marrying nor giving in marriage.’
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liberate
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| v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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8
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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witty
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| adj.机智的，风趣的 | |
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enumerate
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| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
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sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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mermaid
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| n.美人鱼 | |
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suffusion
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| n.充满 | |
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mathematician
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| n.数学家 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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29
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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32
exhorting
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 ) | |
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33
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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34
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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waggons
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| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
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37
hoops
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| n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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41
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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42
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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pry
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| vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起) | |
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46
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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47
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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48
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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49
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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50
pilloried
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| v.使受公众嘲笑( pillory的过去式和过去分词 )；将…示众；给…上颈手枷；处…以枷刑 | |
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51
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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52
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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53
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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54
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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55
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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