惊婚记 英文版 Quentin Durward
瓦尔特.司各特 Sir Walter Scott
CHAPTER VIII: THE ENVOY Page 1
Be thou as lightning in the eyes of France;For ere thou canst report I will be there.The thunder of my cannon shall be heard --So, hence! be thou the trumpet of our wrath.
KING JOHN
Had sloth been a temptation by which Durward was easily beset,the noise with which the caserne of the guards resounded after thefirst toll of primes, had certainly banished the siren from hiscouch; but the discipline of his father's tower, and of the conventof Aberbrothick, had taught him to start with the dawn; and he didon his clothes gaily, amid the sounding of bugles and the clash ofarmour, which announced the change of the vigilant guards -- someof whom were returning to barracks after their nightly duty, whilstsome were marching out to that of the morning -- and others, again,amongst whom was his uncle, were arming for immediate attendanceupon the person of Louis. Quentin Durward soon put on, with thefeelings of so young a man on such an occasion, the splendid dressand arms appertaining to his new situation; and his uncle, wholooked with great accuracy and interest to see that he was completelyfitted out in every respect, did not conceal his satisfaction atthe improvement which had been thus made in his nephew's appearance.
"If thou dost prove as faithful and bold as thou art well favoured,I shall have in thee one of the handsomest and best esquires inthe Guard, which cannot but be an honour to thy mother's family.Follow me to the presence chamber; and see thou keep close at myshoulder."
So saying, he took up a partisan, large, weighty, and beautifullyinlaid and ornamented, and directing his nephew to assume a lighterweapon of a similar description, they proceeded to the inner courtof the palace, where their comrades, who were to form the guard ofthe interior apartments, were already drawn up and under arms --the squires each standing behind their masters, to whom they thusformed a second rank. Here were also in attendance many yeomenprickers, with gallant horses and noble dogs, on which Quentinlooked with such inquisitive delight that his uncle was obligedmore than once to remind him that the animals were not there forhis private amusement, but for the King's, who had a strong passionfor the chase, one of the few inclinations which he indulged evenwhen coming in competition with his course of policy; being sostrict a protector of the game in the royal forests that it wascurrently said you might kill a man with greater impunity than astag.
On a signal given, the Guards were put into motion by the commandof Le Balafre, who acted as officer upon the occasion; and, aftersome minutiae of word and signal, which all served to show the extremeand punctilious jealousy with which their duty was performed, theymarched into the hall of audience where the King was immediatelyexpected.
New as Quentin was to scenes of splendour, the effect of thatwhich was now before him rather disappointed the expectations whichhe had formed of the brilliancy of a court. There were householdofficers, indeed, richly attired; there were guards gallantly armed,and there were domestics of various degrees. But he saw none ofthe ancient counsellors of the kingdom, none of the high officersof the crown, heard none of the names which in those days soundedan alarum to chivalry; saw none either of those generals or leaders,who, possessed of the full prime of manhood, were the strengthof France, or of the more youthful and fiery nobles, those earlyaspirants after honour, who were her pride. The jealous habits,the reserved manners, the deep and artful policy of the King, hadestranged this splendid circle from the throne, and they were onlycalled around it upon certain stated and formal occasions, whenthey went reluctantly, and returned joyfully, as the animals inthe fable are supposed to have approached and left the den of thelion.
The very few persons who seemed to be there in the character ofcounsellors were mean looking men, whose countenances sometimesexpressed sagacity, but whose manners showed they were called intoa sphere for which their previous education and habits had qualifiedthem but indifferently. One or two persons, however, did appearto Durward to possess a more noble mien, and the strictness of thepresent duty was not such as to prevent his uncle's communicatingthe names of those whom he thus distinguished.
With the Lord Crawford, who was in attendance, dressed in the richhabit of his office, and holding a leading staff of silver in hishand, Quentin, as well as the reader, was already acquainted. Amongothers, who seemed of quality, the most remarkable was the Countde Dunois, the son of that celebrated Dunois, known by the name ofthe Bastard of Orleans, who, fighting under the banner of Jeanned'Arc, acted such a distinguished part in liberating France fromthe English yoke. His son well supported the high renown which haddescended to him from such an honoured source; and, notwithstandinghis connexion with the royal family, and his hereditary popularityboth with the nobles and the people, Dunois had, upon all occasions,manifested such an open, frank loyalty of character that he seemedto have escaped all suspicion, even on the part of the jealousLouis, who loved to see him near his person, and sometimes evencalled him to his councils. Although accounted complete in all theexercises of chivalry, and possessed of much of the character ofwhat was then termed a perfect knight, the person of the Count wasfar from being a model of romantic beauty. He was under the commonsize, though very strongly built, and his legs rather curvedoutwards, into that make which is more convenient for horseback,than elegant in a pedestrian. His shoulders were broad, his hairblack, his complexion swarthy, his arms remarkably long and nervous.The features of his countenance were irregular, even to ugliness;yet, after all, there was an air of conscious worth and nobilityabout the Count de Dunois, which stamped, at the first glance, thecharacter of the high born nobleman and the undaunted soldier. Hismien was bold and upright, his step free and manly, and the harshnessof his countenance was dignified by a glance like an eagle, and afrown like a lion. His dress was a hunting suit, rather sumptuousthan gay, and he acted on most occasions as Grand Huntsman, thoughwe are not inclined to believe that he actually held the office.
Upon the arm of his relation Dunois, walking with a step so slowand melancholy that he seemed to rest on his kinsman and supporter,came Louis Duke of Orleans, the first prince of the Blood Royal(afterwards King, by the name of Louis XII), and to whom the guardsand attendants rendered their homage as such. The jealously watchedobject of Louis's suspicions, this Prince, who, failing the King'soffspring, was heir to the kingdom, was not suffered to absenthimself from Court, and, while residing there, was alike deniedemployment and countenance. The dejection which his degraded andalmost captive state naturally impressed on the deportment of thisunfortunate Prince, was at this moment greatly increased by hisconsciousness that the King meditated, with respect to him, one ofthe most cruel and unjust actions which a tyrant could commit, bycompelling him to give his hand to the Princess Joan of France,the younger daughter of Louis, to whom he had been contracted ininfancy, but whose deformed person rendered the insisting upon suchan agreement an act of abominable rigour.
The exterior of this unhappy Prince was in no respect distinguishedby personal advantages; and in mind, he was of a gentle, mild andbeneficent disposition, qualities which were visible even throughthe veil of extreme dejection with which his natural characterwas at present obscured. Quentin observed that the Duke studiouslyavoided even looking at the Royal Guards, and when he returned theirsalute, that he kept his eyes bent on the ground, as if he fearedthe King's jealousy might have construed the gesture of ordinarycourtesy as arising from the purpose of establishing a separateand personal interest among them.
Very different was the conduct of the proud Cardinal and Prelate,John of Balue, the favourite minister of Louis for the time, whoserise and character bore as close a resemblance to that of Wolsey,as the difference betwixt the crafty and politic Louis and theheadlong and rash Henry VIII of England would permit. The formerhad raised his minister from the lowest rank, to the dignity, orat least to the emoluments, of Grand Almoner of France, loaded himwith benefices, and obtained for him the hat of a cardinal; andalthough he was too cautious to repose in the ambitious Balue theunbounded power and trust which Henry placed in Wolsey, yet he wasmore influenced by him than by any other of his avowed counsellors.The Cardinal, accordingly, had not escaped the error incidental tothose who are suddenly raised to power from an obscure situation,for he entertained a strong persuasion, dazzled doubtlessly bythe suddenness of his elevation, that his capacity was equal tointermeddling with affairs of every kind, even those most foreignto his profession and studies. Tall and ungainly in his person,he affected gallantry and admiration of the fair sex, although hismanners rendered his pretensions absurd, and his profession markedthem as indecorous. Some male or female flatterer had, in evil hour,possessed him with the idea that there was much beauty of contourin a pair of huge, substantial legs, which he had derived from hisfather, a car man of Limoges -- or, according to other authorities,a miller of Verdun, and with this idea he had become so infatuatedthat he always had his cardinal's robes a little looped up on oneside, that the sturdy proportion of his limbs might not escapeobservation. As he swept through the stately apartment in hiscrimson dress and rich cope, he stopped repeatedly to look at thearms and appointments of the cavaliers on guard, asked them severalquestions in an authoritative tone, and took upon him to censuresome of them for what he termed irregularities of discipline, inlanguage to which these experienced soldiers dared no reply, althoughit was plain they listened to it with impatience and with contempt.
(Wolsey (1471-1530): at one time the chief favourite of Henry VIII.He was raised from obscurity by that sovereign to be Archbishop ofYork, Lord Chancellor of England, and Cardinal. As legate of thePope, he gained the ill will of Henry by his failure to securethat king's divorce. He was deprived of his offices, his propertywas confiscated to the crown, and in 1530 he was arrested for hightreason, but died on his way to trial.)
JOHN militaryposition, as one who would show by his demeanour his promptitudeto act in the King?
"Is the King aware," said Dunois to the Cardinal, "that the BurgundianEnvoy is peremptory in demanding an audience?"
"He is," answered the Cardinal; "and here, as I think, comes theall sufficient Oliver Dain, to let us know the royal pleasure."
As he spoke, a remarkable person, who then divided the favourof Louis with the proud Cardinal himself, entered from the innerapartment, but without any of that important and consequentialdemeanour which marked the full blown dignity of the churchman.On the contrary, this was a little, pale, meagre man, whose blacksilk jerkin and hose, without either coat, cloak, or cassock,formed a dress ill qualified to set off to advantage a very ordinaryperson. He carried a silver basin in his hand, and a napkin flungover his arm indicated his menial capacity. His visage was penetratingand quick, although he endeavoured to banish such expression fromhis features by keeping his eyes fixed on the ground, while, withthe stealthy and quiet pace of a cat, he seemed modestly rather toglide than to walk through the apartment. But though modesty mayeasily obscure worth, it cannot hide court favour; and all attemptsto steal unperceived through the presence chamber were vain, onthe part of one known to have such possession of the King's ear ashad been attained by his celebrated barber and groom of the chamber,Oliver le Dain, called sometimes Oliver le Mauvais, and sometimesOliver le Diable, epithets derived from the unscrupulous cunning withwhich he assisted in the execution of the schemes of his master'stortuous policy. At present he spoke earnestly for a few momentswith the Count de Dunois, who instantly left the chamber, whilethe tonsor glided quietly back towards the royal apartment whencehe had issued, every one giving place to him; which civility he onlyacknowledged by the most humble inclination of the body, exceptingin a very few instances, where he made one or two persons thesubject of envy to all the other courtiers, by whispering a singleword in their ear; and at the same time muttering something of theduties of his place, he escaped from their replies as well as fromthe eager solicitations of those who wished to attract his notice.Ludovic Lesly had the good fortune to be one of the individualswho, on the present occasion, was favoured by Oliver with a singleword, to assure him that his matter was fortunately terminated.
Presently afterwards he had another proof of the same agreeabletidings; for Quentin's old acquaintance, Tristan l'Hermite, theProvost Marshal of the royal household, entered the apartment, andcame straight to the place where Balafre was posted. This formidableofficer's uniform, which was very rich, had only the effect of makinghis sinister countenance and bad mien more strikingly remarkable,and the tone, which he meant for conciliatory, was like nothing somuch as the growling of a bear. The import of his words, however,was more amicable than the voice in which they were pronounced. Heregretted the mistake which had fallen between them on the precedingday, and observed it was owing to the Sieur Le Balafre's nephew'snot wearing the uniform of his corps, or announcing himself asbelonging to it, which had led him into the error for which he nowasked forgiveness.
Ludovic Lesly made the necessary reply, and as soon as Tristan hadturned away, observed to his nephew that they had now the distinctionof having a mortal enemy from henceforward in the person of thisdreaded officer.
"But we are above his volee (brood, rank, class) -- a soldier,"said he, "who does his duty, may laugh at the Provost Marshal."
Quentin could not help being of his uncle's opinion, for, as Tristanparted from them, it was with the look of angry defiance which thebear casts upon the hunter whose spear has wounded him. Indeed,even when less strongly moved, the sullen eye of this officialexpressed a malevolence of purpose which made men shudder to meethis glance; and the thrill of the young Scot was the deeper andmore abhorrent, that he seemed to himself still to feel on hisshoulders the grasp of the two death doing functionaries of thisfatal officer.
Meanwhile, Oliver, after he had prowled around the room in thestealthy manner which we have endeavoured to describe -- all, eventhe highest officers making way for him, and loading him with theirceremonious attentions, which his modesty seemed desirous to avoid-- again entered the inner apartment, the doors of which werepresently thrown open, and King Louis entered the presence chamber.
Quentin, like all others, turned his eyes upon him; and started sosuddenly that he almost dropped his weapon, when he recognised inthe King of France that silk merchant, Maitre Pierre, who had beenthe companion of his morning walk. Singular suspicions respectingthe real rank of this person had at different times crossed histhoughts; but this, the proved reality, was wilder than his wildestconjecture.
The stern look of his uncle, offended at this breach of the decorumof his office, recalled him to himself; but not a little was heastonished when the King, whose quick eye had at once discoveredhim, walked straight to the place where he was posted, withouttaking notice of any one else.
"So;" he said, "young man, I am told you have been brawling on yourfirst arrival in Touraine; but I pardon you, as it was chiefly thefault of a foolish old merchant, who thought your Caledonian bloodrequired to be heated in the morning with Vin de Beaulne. If Ican find him, I will make him an example to those who debauch myGuards. -- Balafre," he added, speaking to Lesly, "your kinsmanis a fair youth, though a fiery. We love to cherish such spirits,and mean to make more than ever we did of the brave men who arearound us. Let the year, day, hour, and minute of your nephew'sbirth be written down and given to Oliver Dain."
Le Balafre bowed to the ground, and re-assumed his erect militaryposition, as one who would show by his demeanour his promptitudeto act in the King's quarrel or defence. Quentin, in the meantime,recovered from his first surprise, studied the King's appearancemore attentively, and was surprised to find how differently he nowconstrued his deportment and features than he had done at theirfirst interview.
These were not much changed in exterior, for Louis, always a scornerof outward show, wore, on the present occasion, an old dark bluehunting dress, not much better than the plain burgher suit of thepreceding day, and garnished with a huge rosary of ebony which hadbeen sent to him by no less a personage than the Grand Seignior,with an attestation that it had been used by a Coptic hermit onMount Lebanon, a personage of profound sanctity. And instead ofhis cap with a single image, he now wore a hat, the band of whichwas garnished with at least a dozen of little paltry figures ofsaints stamped in lead. But those eyes, which, according to Quentin'sformer impression, only twinkled with the love of gain, had, nowthat they were known to be the property of an able and powerfulmonarch, a piercing and majestic glance; and those wrinkles on thebrow, which he had supposed were formed during a long series ofpetty schemes of commerce, seemed now the furrows which sagacityhad worn while toiling in meditation upon the fate of nations.
Presently after the King's appearance, the Princesses of France,with the ladies of their suite, entered the apartment. With theeldest, afterwards married to Peter of Bourbon, and known in Frenchhistory by the name of the Lady of Beaujeu, our story has but littleto do. She was tall, and rather handsome, possessed eloquence, talent,and much of her father's sagacity, who reposed great confidence inher, and loved her as well perhaps as he loved any one.
The younger sister, the unfortunate Joan, the destined bride ofthe Duke of Orleans, advanced timidly by the side of her sister,conscious of a total want of those external qualities which womenare most desirous of possessing, or being thought to possess. Shewas pale, thin, and sickly in her complexion; her shape visibly bentto one side, and her gait was so unequal that she might be calledlame. A fine set of teeth, and eyes which were expressive ofmelancholy, softness, and resignation, with a quantity of lightbrown locks, were the only redeeming points which flattery itselfcould have dared to number, to counteract the general homelinessof her face and figure. To complete the picture, it was easy toremark, from the Princess's negligence in dress and the timidity ofher manner, that she had an unusual and distressing consciousnessof her own plainness of appearance, and did not dare to make anyof those attempts to mend by manners or by art what nature had leftamiss, or in any other way to exert a power of pleasing. The King(who loved her not) stepped hastily to her as she entered.