惊婚记 英文版 Quentin Durward
瓦尔特.司各特 Sir Walter Scott
CHAPTER VIII: THE ENVOY Page 3
"We have had patience enough, and to spare," said the King,interrupting him; "and since thy sole errand here seems to be forthe purpose of insult, we will send some one in our name to theDuke of Burgundy -- convinced, in thus demeaning thyself towardsus, thou hast exceeded thy commission, whatever that may have been."
"On the contrary," said Crevecoeur, "I have not yet acquittedmyself of it -- Hearken, Louis of Valois, King of France -- Hearken,nobles and gentlemen, who may be present. -- Hearken, all good andtrue men. -- And thou, Toison d'Or," addressing the herald, "makeproclamation after me. -- I, Philip Crevecoeur of Cordes, Countof the Empire, and Knight of the honourable and princely Order ofthe Golden Fleece, in the name of the most puissant Lord and Prince,Charles, by the grace of God, Duke of Burgundy and Lotharingia,of Brabant and Limbourg, of Luxembourg and of Gueldres; Earl ofFlanders and of Artois; Count Palatine of Hainault, of Holland,Zealand, Namur, and Zutphen; Marquis of the Holy Empire; Lordof Friezeland, Salines, and Malines, do give you, Louis, Kingof France, openly to know, that you, having refused to remedy thevarious griefs, wrongs, and offences, done and wrought by you, orby and through your aid, suggestion, and instigation, against thesaid Duke and his loving subjects, he, by my mouth, renounces allallegiance and fealty towards your crown and dignity -- pronouncesyou false and faithless; and defies you as a Prince, and as a man.There lies my gage, in evidence of what I have said."
So saying, he plucked the gauntlet off his right hand, and flungit down on the floor of the hall.
Until this last climax of audacity, there had been a deep silencein the royal apartment during the extraordinary scene; but no soonerhad the clash of the gauntlet, when cast down, been echoed by thedeep voice of Toison d'Or, the Burgundian herald, with the ejaculation,"Vive Bourgogne!" than there was a general tumult. While Dunois,Orleans, old Lord Crawford, and one or two others, whose rankauthorized their interference, contended which should lift up thegauntlet, the others in the hall exclaimed, "Strike him down! Cuthim to pieces! Comes he here to insult the King of France in hisown palace?"
But the King appeased the tumult by exclaiming, in a voice likethunder, which overawed and silenced every other sound, "Silence,my lieges, lay not a hand on the man, not a finger on the gage!-- And you, Sir Count, of what is your life composed, or how is itwarranted, that you thus place it on the cast of a die so perilous?or is your Duke made of a different metal from other princes, sincehe thus asserts his pretended quarrel in a manner so unusual?"
"He is indeed framed of a different and more noble metal than theother princes of Europe," said the undaunted Count of Crevecoeur;"for, when not one of them dared to give shelter to you -- to you, Isay, King Louis -- when you were yet only Dauphin, an exile fromFrance, and pursued by the whole bitterness of your father's revenge,and all the power of his kingdom, you were received and protectedlike a brother by my noble master, whose generosity of dispositionyou have so grossly misused. Farewell, Sire, my mission is discharged."
So saying, the Count de Crevecoeur left the apartment abruptly,and without farther leave taking.
"After him -- after him -- take up the gauntlet and after him!" saidthe King. "I mean not you, Dunois, nor you, my Lord of Crawford,who, methinks, may be too old for such hot frays; nor you, cousinof Orleans, who are too young for them. -- My Lord Cardinal --my Lord Bishop of Auxerre -- it is your holy office to make peaceamong princes; do you lift the gauntlet, and remonstrate with CountCrevecoeur on the sin he has committed, in thus insulting a greatmonarch in his own Court, and forcing us to bring the miseries ofwar upon his kingdom, and that of his neighbour."
Upon this direct personal appeal, the Cardinal Balue proceeded tolift the gauntlet, with such precaution as one would touch an adder-- so great was apparently his aversion to this symbol of war --and presently left the royal apartment to hasten after the challenger.
Louis paused and looked round the circle of his courtiers, most ofwhom, except such as we have already distinguished, being men oflow birth, and raised to their rank in the King's household forother gifts than courage or feats of arms, looked pale on eachother, and had obviously received an unpleasant impression fromthe scene which had been just acted. Louis gazed on them withcontempt, and then said aloud, "Although the Count of Crevecoeurbe presumptuous and overweening, it must be confessed that in himthe Duke of Burgundy hath as bold a servant as ever bore messagefor a prince. I would I knew where to find as faithful an Envoy tocarry back my answer."
"You do your French nobles injustice, Sire," said Dunois; "not oneof them but would carry a defiance to Burgundy on the point of hissword."
"And, Sire," said old Crawford, "you wrong also the Scottishgentlemen who serve you. I, or any of my followers, being of meetrank, would not hesitate a moment to call yonder proud Count to areckoning; my own arm is yet strong enough for the purpose, if Ihave but your Majesty's permission."
"But your Majesty," continued Dunois, "will employ us in no servicethrough which we may win honour to ourselves, to your Majesty, orto France."
"Sire," said Balue, "my task hath been difficult. I put it toyonder proud Count, how he dared to use towards your Majesty thepresumptuous reproach with which his audience had broken up, andwhich must be understood as proceeding, not from his master, but fromhis own insolence, and as placing him therefore in your Majesty'sdiscretion for what penalty you might think proper."
"You said right," replied the King; "and what was his answer?"
"The Count," continued the Cardinal, "had at that moment his footin the stirrup, ready to mount; and, on hearing my expostulation,he turned his head without altering his position. 'Had I,' saidhe, 'been fifty leagues distant, and had heard by report that aquestion vituperative of my Prince had been asked by the King ofFrance, I had, even at that distance, instantly mounted, and returnedto disburden my mind of the answer which I gave him but now.'"
"I said, sirs," said the King, turning around, without any show ofangry emotion, "that in the Count Philip of Crevecoeur, our cousinthe Duke possesses as worthy a servant as ever rode at a prince'sright hand. -- But you prevailed with him to stay?"
"To stay for twenty-four hours; and in the meanwhile to receiveagain his gage of defiance," said the Cardinal; "he has dismountedat the Fleur de Lys."
"See that he be nobly attended and cared for, at our charges,"said the King; "such a servant is a jewel in a prince's crown.Twenty-four hours?" he added, muttering to himself, and looking asif he were stretching his eyes to see into futurity; "twenty-fourhours? It is of the shortest. Yet twenty-four hours, ably andskilfully employed, may be worth a year in the hand of indolentor incapable agents. -- Well -- to the forest -- to the forest, mygallant lords! -- Orleans, my fair kinsman, lay aside that modesty,though it becomes you; mind not my Joan's coyness. The Loire mayas soon avoid mingling with the Cher, as she from favouring yoursuit, or you from preferring it," he added, as the unhappy princemoved slowly on after his betrothed bride. "And now for your boarspears, gentlemen -- for Allegre, my pricker, hath harboured onethat will try both dog and man. -- Dunois, lend me your spear --take mine, it is too weighty for me; but when did you complain ofsuch a fault in your lance? -- To horse -- to horse, gentlemen."
And all the chase rode on.