惊婚记 英文版 Quentin Durward
瓦尔特.司各特 Sir Walter Scott
CHAPTER XVI: THE VAGRANT Page 2
"It is one," said the Prior, "on which no man speaks with willingness,for those who speak evil of the powerful, etiam in cubiculo (evenin the bed chamber), may find that a winged thing shall carry thematter to his ears. Nevertheless, to render you, who seem an ingenuousyouth, and your ladies, who are devout votaresses accomplishing aholy pilgrimage, the little service that is in my power, I will beplain with you."
He then looked cautiously round and lowered his voice, as if afraidof being overheard.
"The people of Liege," he said, "are privily instigated to theirfrequent mutinies by men of Belial (in the Bible this term is usedas an appellative of Satan), who pretend, but, as I hope, falsely,to have commission to that effect from our most Christian King, whom,however, I hold to deserve that term better than were consistentwith his thus disturbing the peace of a neighbouring state. Yet soit is, that his name is freely used by those who uphold and inflamethe discontents at Liege. There is, moreover, in the land, a noblemanof good descent, and fame in warlike affairs, but otherwise, soto speak, Lapis offensionis et petra scandali -- and a stumblingblock of offence to the countries of Burgundy and Flanders. Hisname is William de la Marck."
"Called William with the Beard," said the young Scot, "or the WildBoar of Ardennes?"
"And rightly so called, my son," said the Prior, "because he isas the wild boar of the forest, which treadeth down with his hoofsand rendeth with his tusks. And he hath formed to himself a bandof more than a thousand men, all, like himself, contemners of civiland ecclesiastical authority, and holds himself independent of theDuke of Burgundy, and maintains himself and his followers by rapineand wrong, wrought without distinction upon churchmen and laymen.Imposuit manus in Christos Domini -- he hath stretched forth hishand upon the anointed of the Lord, regardless of what is written,'Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no wrong.' -- Evento our poor house did he send for sums of gold and sums of silver,as a ransom for our lives, and those of our brethren, to which wereturned a Latin supplication, stating our inability to answer hisdemand, and exhorting him in the words of the preacher, Ne moliarisamico tuo malum, cum habet in te fiduciam (devise not evil againstthy neighbour who dwelleth by thee in security). Nevertheless,this Guilielmus Barbatus, this William de la Marck, as completelyignorant of humane letters as of humanity itself, replied, in hisridiculous jargon, Si non payatis, brulabo monasterium vestrum(if you do not pay, I will burn your monastery. A similar story istold of the Duke of Vendome, who answered in this sort of macaronicLatin the classical expostulations of a German convent against theimposition of a contribution. S.)."
"Of which rude Latin, however, you, my good father," said the youth,"were at no loss to conceive the meaning?"
"Alas! my son," said the Prior, "Fear and Necessity are shrewdinterpreters, and we were obliged to melt down the silver vesselsof our altar to satisfy the rapacity of this cruel chief. May Heavenrequite it to him seven fold! Pereat improbus -- Amen, amen, anathemaesto! (let the wicked perish. Let him be anathema! 'In pronouncingan anathema against a person, the church excludes him from hercommunion; and he must, if he continue obstinate, perish eternally.'Cent. Dict.)"
"I marvel," said Quentin, "that the Duke of Burgundy, who is sostrong and powerful, doth not bait this boar to purpose, of whoseravages I have already heard so much."
"Alas! my son," said the Prior, "the Duke Charles is now at Peronne,assembling his captains of hundreds and his captains of thousands,to make war against France, and thus, while Heaven hath set discordbetween the hearts of those great princes, the country is misusedby such subordinate oppressors. But it is in evil time that the Dukeneglects the cure of these internal gangrenes, for this William dela Marck hath of late entertained open communication with Rouslaerand Pavillon, the chiefs of the discontented at Liege, and it isto be feared he will soon stir them up to some desperate enterprise."
"But the Bishop of Liege," said Quentin, "he hath still powerenough to subdue this disquieted and turbulent spirit -- hath henot, good father? Your answer to this question concerns me much."
"The Bishop, my child," replied the Prior, "hath the sword of SaintPeter, as well as the keys. He hath power as a secular prince, andhe hath the protection of the mighty House of Burgundy, he hathalso spiritual authority as a prelate, and he supports both with areasonable force -- of good soldiers and men at arms. This Williamde la Marck was bred in his household, and bound to him by manybenefits. But he gave vent, even in the court of the Bishop, tohis fierce and bloodthirsty temper, and was expelled thence fora homicide committed on one of the Bishop's chief domestics. Fromthenceforward, being banished from the good Prelate's presence, hehath been his constant and unrelenting foe, and now, I grieve tosay, he hath girded his loins, and strengthened his horn againsthim."
"You consider, then, the situation of the worthy Prelate as beingdangerous?" said Quentin, very, anxiously.
"Alas! my son," said the good Franciscan, "what or who is there inthis weary wilderness, whom we may not hold as in danger? But Heavenforefend I should speak of the reverend Prelate as one whose perilis imminent. He has much treasure, true counsellors, and bravesoldiers, and, moreover, a messenger who passed hither to theeastward yesterday saith that the Duke of Burgundy hath dispatched,upon the Bishop's request, an hundred men at arms to his assistance.This reinforcement, with the retinue belonging to each lance, areenough to deal with William de la Marck, on whose name be sorrow!-- Amen."
At this crisis their conversation was interrupted by the Sacristan,who, in a voice almost inarticulate with anger, accused theBohemian of having practised the most abominable arts of delusionamong the younger brethren. He had added to their nightly mealcups of a heady and intoxicating cordial, of ten times the strengthof the most powerful wine, under which several of the fraternityhad succumbed, and indeed, although the Sacristan had been strongto resist its influence, they might yet see, from his inflamedcountenance and thick speech, that even he, the accuser himself,was in some degree affected by this unhallowed potation. Moreover,the Bohemian had sung songs of worldly vanity and impure pleasures,he had derided the cord of Saint Francis, made jest of his miracles,and termed his votaries fools and lazy knaves. Lastly, he hadpractised palmistry, and foretold to the young Father Cherubin thathe was helped by a beautiful lady, who should make him father toa thriving boy.
The Father Prior listened to these complaints for some time insilence, as struck with mute horror by their enormous atrocity.When the Sacristan had concluded, he rose up, descended to thecourt of the convent, and ordered the lay brethren, on pain of theworst consequences of spiritual disobedience, to beat Hayraddinout of the sacred precincts with their broom staves and cart whips.
This sentence was executed accordingly, in the presence of QuentinDurward, who, however vexed at the occurrence, easily saw that hisinterference would be of no avail.
The discipline inflicted upon the delinquent, notwithstanding theexhortations of the Superior, was more ludicrous than formidable.The Bohemian ran hither and thither through the court, amongst theclamour of voices, and noise of blows, some of which reached himnot because purposely misaimed, others, sincerely designed for hisperson, were eluded by his activity, and the few that fell uponhis back and shoulders he took without either complaint or reply.The noise and riot was the greater, that the inexperienced cudgelplayers, among whom Hayraddin ran the gauntlet, hit each other morefrequently than they did him, till at length, desirous of ending ascene which was more scandalous than edifying, the Prior commandedthe wicket to be flung open, and the Bohemian, darting through itwith the speed of lightning, fled forth into the moonlight. Duringthis scene, a suspicion which Durward had formerly entertained,recurred with additional strength. Hayraddin had, that very morning,promised to him more modest and discreet behaviour than he waswont to exhibit, when they rested in a convent on their journey,yet he had broken his engagement, and had been even more offensivelyobstreperous than usual. Something probably lurked under this, forwhatever were the Bohemian's deficiencies, he lacked neither sense,nor, when he pleased, self command, and might it not be probablethat he wished to hold some communication, either with, his ownhorde or some one else, from which he was debarred in the courseof the day by the vigilance with which he was watched by Quentin,and had recourse to this stratagem in order to get himself turnedout of the convent?
No sooner did this suspicion dart once more through Quentin'smind, than, alert as he always was in his motions, he resolved tofollow his cudgelled guide, and observe (secretly if possible) howhe disposed of himself. Accordingly, when the Bohemian fled, asalready mentioned, out at the gate of the convent, Quentin, hastilyexplaining to the Prior the necessity of keeping sight of his guide,followed in pursuit of him.