《英雄艾文荷》——Ivanhoe（中英文对照）完结_派派后花园

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[Novel] 《英雄艾文荷》——Ivanhoe（中英文对照）完结

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等级: 内阁元老
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Chapter 18
Away! our journey lies through dell and dingle, Where the blithe fawn trips by its timid mother, Where the broad oak, with intercepting boughs, Chequers the sunbeam in the green-sward alley--- Up and away!---for lovely paths are these To tread, when the glad Sun is on his throne Less pleasant, and less safe, when Cynthia's lamp With doubtful glimmer lights the dreary forest. Ettrick Forest
When Cedric the Saxon saw his son drop down senseless in the lists at Ashby, his first impulse was to order him into the custody and care of his own attendants, but the words choked in his throat. He could not bring himself to acknowledge, in presence of such an assembly, the son whom he had renounced and disinherited. He ordered, however, Oswald to keep an eye upon him; and directed that officer, with two of his serfs, to convey Ivanhoe to Ashby as soon as the crowd had dispersed. Oswald, however, was anticipated in this good office. The crowd dispersed, indeed, but the knight was nowhere to be seen.
It was in vain that Cedric's cupbearer looked around for his young master---he saw the bloody spot on which he had lately sunk down, but himself he saw no longer; it seemed as if the fairies had conveyed him from the spot. Perhaps Oswald (for the Saxons were very superstitious) might have adopted some such hypothesis, to account for Ivanhoe's disappearance, had he not suddenly cast his eye upon a person attired like a squire, in whom he recognised the features of his fellow-servant Gurth. Anxious concerning his master's fate, and in despair at his sudden disappearance, the translated swineherd was searching for him everywhere, and had neglected, in doing so, the concealment on which his own safety depended. Oswald deemed it his duty to secure Gurth, as a fugitive of whose fate his master was to judge.
Renewing his enquiries concerning the fate of Ivanhoe, the only information which the cupbearer could collect from the bystanders was, that the knight had been raised with care by certain well-attired grooms, and placed in a litter belonging to a lady among the spectators, which had immediately transported him out of the press. Oswald, on receiving this intelligence, resolved to return to his master for farther instructions, carrying along with him Gurth, whom he considered in some sort as a deserter from the service of Cedric.
The Saxon had been under very intense and agonizing apprehensions concerning his son; for Nature had asserted her rights, in spite of the patriotic stoicism which laboured to disown her. But no sooner was he informed that Ivanhoe was in careful, and probably in friendly hands, than the paternal anxiety which had been excited by the dubiety of his fate, gave way anew to the feeling of injured pride and resentment, at what he termed Wilfred's filial disobedience.
"Let him wander his way," said he---"let those leech his wounds for whose sake he encountered them. He is fitter to do the juggling tricks of the Norman chivalry than to maintain the fame and honour of his English ancestry with the glaive and brown-bill, the good old weapons of his country."
"If to maintain the honour of ancestry," said Rowena, who was present, "it is sufficient to be wise in council and brave in execution---to be boldest among the bold, and gentlest among the gentle, I know no voice, save his father's------"
"Be silent, Lady Rowena!---on this subject only I hear you not. Prepare yourself for the Prince's festival: we have been summoned thither with unwonted circumstance of honour and of courtesy, such as the haughty Normans have rarely used to our race since the fatal day of Hastings. Thither will I go, were it only to show these proud Normans how little the fate of a son, who could defeat their bravest, can affect a Saxon."
"Thither," said Rowena, "do I NOT go; and I pray you to beware, lest what you mean for courage and constancy, shall be accounted hardness of heart."
"Remain at home, then, ungrateful lady," answered Cedric; "thine is the hard heart, which can sacrifice the weal of an oppressed people to an idle and unauthorized attachment. I seek the noble Athelstane, and with him attend the banquet of John of Anjou."
He went accordingly to the banquet, of which we have already mentioned the principal events. Immediately upon retiring from the castle, the Saxon thanes, with their attendants, took horse; and it was during the bustle which attended their doing so, that Cedric, for the first time, cast his eyes upon the deserter Gurth. The noble Saxon had returned from the banquet, as we have seen, in no very placid humour, and wanted but a pretext for wreaking his anger upon some one.
"The gyves!" he said, "the gyves!---Oswald---Hundibert!---Dogs and villains!---why leave ye the knave unfettered?"
Without daring to remonstrate, the companions of Gurth bound him with a halter, as the readiest cord which occurred. He submitted to the operation without remonstrance, except that, darting a reproachful look at his master, he said, "This comes of loving your flesh and blood better than mine own."
"To horse, and forward!" said Cedric.
"It is indeed full time," said the noble Athelstane; "for, if we ride not the faster, the worthy Abbot Waltheoff's preparations for a rere-supper*
* A rere-supper was a night-meal, and sometimes signified a * collation, which was given at a late hour, after the * regular supper had made its appearance. L. T.
will be altogether spoiled."
The travellers, however, used such speed as to reach the convent of St Withold's before the apprehended evil took place. The Abbot, himself of ancient Saxon descent, received the noble Saxons with the profuse and exuberant hospitality of their nation, wherein they indulged to a late, or rather an early hour; nor did they take leave of their reverend host the next morning until they had shared with him a sumptuous refection.
As the cavalcade left the court of the monastery, an incident happened somewhat alarming to the Saxons, who, of all people of Europe, were most addicted to a superstitious observance of omens, and to whose opinions can be traced most of those notions upon such subjects, still to be found among our popular antiquities. For the Normans being a mixed race, and better informed according to the information of the times, had lost most of the superstitious prejudices which their ancestors had brought from Scandinavia, and piqued themselves upon thinking freely on such topics.
In the present instance, the apprehension of impending evil was inspired by no less respectable a prophet than a large lean black dog, which, sitting upright, howled most piteously as the foremost riders left the gate, and presently afterwards, barking wildly, and jumping to and fro, seemed bent upon attaching itself to the party.
"I like not that music, father Cedric," said Athelstane; for by this title of respect he was accustomed to address him.
"Nor I either, uncle," said Wamba; "I greatly fear we shall have to pay the piper."
"In my mind," said Athelstane, upon whose memory the Abbot's good ale (for Burton was already famous for that genial liquor) had made a favourable impression,---"in my mind we had better turn back, and abide with the Abbot until the afternoon. It is unlucky to travel where your path is crossed by a monk, a hare, or a howling dog, until you have eaten your next meal."
"Away!" said Cedric, impatiently; "the day is already too short for our journey. For the dog, I know it to be the cur of the runaway slave Gurth, a useless fugitive like its master."
So saying, and rising at the same time in his stirrups, impatient at the interruption of his journey, he launched his javelin at poor Fangs---for Fangs it was, who, having traced his master thus far upon his stolen expedition, had here lost him, and was now, in his uncouth way, rejoicing at his reappearance. The javelin inflicted a wound upon the animal's shoulder, and narrowly missed pinning him to the earth; and Fangs fled howling from the presence of the enraged thane. Gurth's heart swelled within him; for he felt this meditated slaughter of his faithful adherent in a degree much deeper than the harsh treatment he had himself received. Having in vain attempted to raise his hand to his eyes, he said to Wamba, who, seeing his master's ill humour had prudently retreated to the rear, "I pray thee, do me the kindness to wipe my eyes with the skirt of thy mantle; the dust offends me, and these bonds will not let me help myself one way or another."
Wamba did him the service he required, and they rode side by side for some time, during which Gurth maintained a moody silence. At length he could repress his feelings no longer.
"Friend Wamba," said he, "of all those who are fools enough to serve Cedric, thou alone hast dexterity enough to make thy folly acceptable to him. Go to him, therefore, and tell him that neither for love nor fear will Gurth serve him longer. He may strike the head from me---he may scourge me---he may load me with irons---but henceforth he shall never compel me either to love or to obey him. Go to him, then, and tell him that Gurth the son of Beowulph renounces his service."
"Assuredly," said Wamba, "fool as I am, I shall not do your fool's errand. Cedric hath another javelin stuck into his girdle, and thou knowest he does not always miss his mark."
"I care not," replied Gurth, "how soon he makes a mark of me. Yesterday he left Wilfred, my young master, in his blood. To-day he has striven to kill before my face the only other living creature that ever showed me kindness. By St Edmund, St Dunstan, St Withold, St Edward the Confessor, and every other Saxon saint in the calendar," (for Cedric never swore by any that was not of Saxon lineage, and all his household had the same limited devotion,) "I will never forgive him!"
"To my thinking now," said the Jester, who was frequently wont to act as peace-maker in the family, "our master did not propose to hurt Fangs, but only to affright him. For, if you observed, he rose in his stirrups, as thereby meaning to overcast the mark; and so he would have done, but Fangs happening to bound up at the very moment, received a scratch, which I will be bound to heal with a penny's breadth of tar."
"If I thought so," said Gurth---"if I could but think so---but no---I saw the javelin was well aimed---I heard it whizz through the air with all the wrathful malevolence of him who cast it, and it quivered after it had pitched in the ground, as if with regret for having missed its mark. By the hog dear to St Anthony, I renounce him!"
And the indignant swineherd resumed his sullen silence, which no efforts of the Jester could again induce him to break.
Meanwhile Cedric and Athelstane, the leaders of the troop, conversed together on the state of the land, on the dissensions of the royal family, on the feuds and quarrels among the Norman nobles, and on the chance which there was that the oppressed Saxons might be able to free themselves from the yoke of the Normans, or at least to elevate themselves into national consequence and independence, during the civil convulsions which were likely to ensue. On this subject Cedric was all animation. The restoration of the independence of his race was the idol of his heart, to which he had willingly sacrificed domestic happiness and the interests of his own son. But, in order to achieve this great revolution in favour of the native English, it was necessary that they should be united among themselves, and act under an acknowledged head. The necessity of choosing their chief from the Saxon blood-royal was not only evident in itself, but had been made a solemn condition by those whom Cedric had intrusted with his secret plans and hopes. Athelstane had this quality at least; and though he had few mental accomplishments or talents to recommend him as a leader, he had still a goodly person, was no coward, had been accustomed to martial exercises, and seemed willing to defer to the advice of counsellors more wise than himself. Above all, he was known to be liberal and hospitable, and believed to be good-natured. But whatever pretensions Athelstane had to be considered as head of the Saxon confederacy, many of that nation were disposed to prefer to the title of the Lady Rowena, who drew her descent from Alfred, and whose father having been a chief renowned for wisdom, courage, and generosity, his memory was highly honoured by his oppressed countrymen.
It would have been no difficult thing for Cedric, had he been so disposed, to have placed himself at the head of a third party, as formidable at least as any of the others. To counterbalance their royal descent, he had courage, activity, energy, and, above all, that devoted attachment to the cause which had procured him the epithet of The Saxon, and his birth was inferior to none, excepting only that of Athelstane and his ward. These qualities, however, were unalloyed by the slightest shade of selfishness; and, instead of dividing yet farther his weakened nation by forming a faction of his own, it was a leading part of Cedric's plan to extinguish that which already existed, by promoting a marriage betwixt Rowena and Athelstane. An obstacle occurred to this his favourite project, in the mutual attachment of his ward and his son and hence the original cause of the banishment of Wilfred from the house of his father.
This stern measure Cedric had adopted, in hopes that, during Wilfred's absence, Rowena might relinquish her preference, but in this hope he was disappointed; a disappointment which might be attributed in part to the mode in which his ward had been educated. Cedric, to whom the name of Alfred was as that of a deity, had treated the sole remaining scion of that great monarch with a degree of observance, such as, perhaps, was in those days scarce paid to an acknowledged princess. Rowena's will had been in almost all cases a law to his household; and Cedric himself, as if determined that her sovereignty should be fully acknowledged within that little circle at least, seemed to take a pride in acting as the first of her subjects. Thus trained in the exercise not only of free will, but despotic authority, Rowena was, by her previous education, disposed both to resist and to resent any attempt to control her affections, or dispose of her hand contrary to her inclinations, and to assert her independence in a case in which even those females who have been trained up to obedience and subjection, are not infrequently apt to dispute the authority of guardians and parents. The opinions which she felt strongly, she avowed boldly; and Cedric, who could not free himself from his habitual deference to her opinions, felt totally at a loss how to enforce his authority of guardian.
It was in vain that he attempted to dazzle her with the prospect of a visionary throne. Rowena, who possessed strong sense, neither considered his plan as practicable, nor as desirable, so far as she was concerned, could it have been achieved. Without attempting to conceal her avowed preference of Wilfred of Ivanhoe, she declared that, were that favoured knight out of question, she would rather take refuge in a convent, than share a throne with Athelstane, whom, having always despised, she now began, on account of the trouble she received on his account, thoroughly to detest.
Nevertheless, Cedric, whose opinions of women's constancy was far from strong, persisted in using every means in his power to bring about the proposed match, in which he conceived he was rendering an important service to the Saxon cause. The sudden and romantic appearance of his son in the lists at Ashby, he had justly regarded as almost a death's blow to his hopes. His paternal affection, it is true, had for an instant gained the victory over pride and patriotism; but both had returned in full force, and under their joint operation, he was now bent upon making a determined effort for the union of Athelstane and Rowena, together with expediting those other measures which seemed necessary to forward the restoration of Saxon independence.
On this last subject, he was now labouring with Athelstane, not without having reason, every now and then, to lament, like Hotspur, that he should have moved such a dish of skimmed milk to so honourable an action. Athelstane, it is true, was vain enough, and loved to have his ears tickled with tales of his high descent, and of his right by inheritance to homage and sovereignty. But his petty vanity was sufficiently gratified by receiving this homage at the hands of his immediate attendants, and of the Saxons who approached him. If he had the courage to encounter danger, he at least hated the trouble of going to seek it; and while he agreed in the general principles laid down by Cedric concerning the claim of the Saxons to independence, and was still more easily convinced of his own title to reign over them when that independence should be attained, yet when the means of asserting these rights came to be discussed, he was still "Athelstane the Unready," slow, irresolute, procrastinating, and unenterprising. The warm and impassioned exhortations of Cedric had as little effect upon his impassive temper, as red-hot balls alighting in the water, which produce a little sound and smoke, and are instantly extinguished.
If, leaving this task, which might be compared to spurring a tired jade, or to hammering upon cold iron, Cedric fell back to his ward Rowena, he received little more satisfaction from conferring with her. For, as his presence interrupted the discourse between the lady and her favourite attendant upon the gallantry and fate of Wilfred, Elgitha failed not to revenge both her mistress and herself, by recurring to the overthrow of Athelstane in the lists, the most disagreeable subject which could greet the ears of Cedric. To this sturdy Saxon, therefore, the day's journey was fraught with all manner of displeasure and discomfort; so that he more than once internally cursed the tournament, and him who had proclaimed it, together with his own folly in ever thinking of going thither.
At noon, upon the motion of Athelstane, the travellers paused in a woodland shade by a fountain, to repose their horses and partake of some provisions, with which the hospitable Abbot had loaded a sumpter mule. Their repast was a pretty long one; and these several interruptions rendered it impossible for them to hope to reach Rotherwood without travelling all night, a conviction which induced them to proceed on their way at a more hasty pace than they had hitherto used.

走吧！我们的旅行经过的是幽静的山谷，
幸福的小鹿随着胆怯的母亲在那里漫步，
绿荫覆盖的烁树伸开粗大的枝柯，
阳光穿过它们在草地上纵横交叉；
快动身吧！因为我们要走的是可爱的旅途，
欢乐明亮的太阳已高高升起在天空。
别等辛西娅用朦胧的灯光照亮寂寞的森林，
到那时便不太安全，不太愉快了。
《厄特里克森林》(注)
--------
(注)苏格兰诗人詹姆斯•合格（1770—1835）的诗。霍格曾得到司各特的揄对，口而闻名，被称为“厄特里克牧人”。辛西娅即月神狄安娜。
在阿什贝比武场上，撒克逊人塞德里克看见他的儿子倒在地上昏迷不醒时，他的第一个冲动是要命令他的仆人保护和照料他，但是话到嘴边又缩了回去。在这么多的人面前，他不能让自己承认，这就是被他赶走和剥夺继承权的儿子。然而他吩咐奥斯瓦尔德对他留点儿心，要那个家人和两个奴隶等观众一散，马上把艾文荷送往阿什贝。谁知这个好差使给别人抢了先，观众确实散了，可是骑士已不知去向。
塞德里克的斟酒人到处找他的少爷，却遍寻无着，他刚才昏倒的地上只留下了一摊血迹，人已不见踪影，仿佛给仙人抬走了。撒克逊人都是非常迷信的，奥斯瓦尔德便可能用这样的假设，向主人报告艾文荷失踪的秘密，可这时他的眼睛突然发现了一个人，他穿得像扈从，面貌却明明是老爷的仆人葛四。原来乔装改扮的放猪人为了主人的突然消失，正为他的命运万分焦急，到处寻找，以致疏忽了与自己的安全直接有关的伪装。奥斯瓦尔德认为葛四是潜逃的奴隶，抓住他是他的责任，至于如何发落，那是主人的事。
斟酒人重又开始打听艾文荷的下落，但从旁观者收集到的全部情况，只是这位骑士给一些衣着华丽的仆役小心抬起，在一位小姐的指挥下，放到一只担架上，随即给抬出了拥挤的人群。奥斯瓦尔德得到这个消息，决定立即回禀主人，听取进一步的指示；他把葛四当作塞德里克家的逃犯，带在身边。
撒克逊人忧心忡忡，一心惦记着他的儿子，这是天性发挥了作用，尽管大义灭亲的坚定意志要否定它，也无法办到。但是他一旦获悉，艾文荷已得到了妥善的，也许还是友好的照料，由于担心他的命运而引起的父爱，又重新被自尊心受到伤害而产生的愤怒所取代了，认为这是他所说的威尔弗莱德的件逆不孝罪有应得的结果。 “他无家可归是自作自受，”他说，“他为什么人卖命，就让什么人给他医伤吧。他只配跟着诺曼骑士跑江湖，玩把戏，不配拿起我们的大刀和战钺为祖国杀敌雪耻，为英国祖先的威名和荣誉战斗。”
“要保持祖先的荣誉，”罗文娜说道，她正好在场，“只要头脑聪明，行为果敢，比所有的人都英勇，比所有的人都高尚便够了，可是除了他的父亲，我还没听人说过……”
“别多嘴，罗文娜小姐！只有在这件事上，我不能听你的。穿好衣服，准备参加亲王的宴会吧；我们得到了邀请。这是不同寻常的荣誉和体面，自从黑斯廷斯战役败绩以来，傲慢的诺曼人还很少这么对待我们。我得去参加，我至少要让那些目中无人的诺曼人看到，一个儿子哪怕打败了他们最勇敢的人，他的命运也不能影响我这个撒克逊人。”
“可是我不想参加，”罗文娜说，“我还得提醒您，别让您的所谓勇敢和坚定，在别人眼中变成了冷酷无情。”
“那你就待在家里，忘恩负义的小姐，”塞德里克答道，“你才是铁石心肠，宁可牺牲一个被压迫民族的利益，却不愿放弃痴心妄想、自作主张的爱情。我去找高贵的阿特尔斯坦，与他一起出席安茹家的约翰的宴会。”。
他就这样参加了宴会，关于这次宴会上的一些重要事件，我们已经叙述过了。两位撒克逊庄主离开城堡后，立刻带着他们的随从骑马走了。就是在他们出发的忙乱时刻，塞德里克才第一次发现了逃奴葛四。我们知道，这位撒克逊贵人离开筵席时，心里很不平静，只要找到一个借口，便会把怒火发泄在任何一个人身上。“手铐！”他说，“手铐！奥斯瓦尔德，亨德伯特！你们这些畜生，这些混蛋！为什么不给这个无赖戴上手铐？”
葛四的那些伙伴不敢反对，只得用缰绳把他捆了，这是当时最现成的绳索。他没有反抗，听任他们捆绑，只是向主人发出了谴责的目光，说道：“这是为了爱您的亲骨肉，超过了爱我自己。”
“上马，快走！”塞德里克说。
“确实得快走了，”高贵的阿特尔斯坦说，“要不赶紧一些，沃尔西奥夫长老为我们准备的盲夜，就得全部报废了。”
不过这些旅人快马加鞭，终于在他们担心的事发生以前，赶到了圣维索尔特修道院。长老也是撒克逊的世家望族出身，按照本民族的习惯，给两位撒克逊贵人准备了丰富精美的菜肴，让他们大吃了一顿，一直吃到深夜，或者不如说清早；而且在第二天早上他们向长老告辞以前，又吃了一顿丰盛的早点。
这一行人走出修道院的院子时，碰到了一件事，撒克逊人认为这是不祥之兆，因为欧洲各民族中，撒克逊人是最迷信预兆的，关于这类观念，在我们的民间传说里大多还能找到。诺曼人是一支混杂的民族，按照当时的水平看，可算得见多识广，他们的祖先从斯堪的纳维亚带来的许多迷信观念，早已被他们抛弃，因此在这类问题上，他们的思想比较开通。
在目前这场合，面临灾祸的感觉是由一位不太体面的先知引起的，那就是一只又大又瘦的黑狗，它直挺挺坐在地上，看到前面的骑士走出大门，便嗥叫起来，叫得那么凄惨，等他们走过以后，更是使劲狂吠，跳来跳去，怎么也不肯离开这伙人。
“我不喜欢这种音乐，塞德里克伯父，”阿特尔斯坦说，他习惯对他用这样的尊称。
“我也不喜欢，老爷子，”汪八说。“我怕得很，恐怕我们得出些买路钱了。”
”照我看，”阿特尔斯坦说，他还在惦记长老的美酒——那时伯顿(注)已以这种鲜美的麦酒著称——它留给了他难忘的印象，“照我看，我们还是回去，在长老那里待到下午再走。在路上遇到一个修士，一只兔子，或者一只朝你嚎叫的狗，都是不宜旅行的，不如吃过一顿饭再动身。”
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(注)即特伦特河畔伯顿，从古代起即以酿酒业著称。
“快走！”塞德里克不耐烦地说，“白天太短，我们已经来不及了。至于这狗，我认得它，那是逃奴葛四的狗，服它的主人一样，也是逃走的孬种。”
他一边这么说。一边踩住脚镫，挺直身子，怒不可遏地向于扰他旅程的狗，投出了标熗——原来那确实是可怜的方斯，它一直跟踪着那位偷偷外出的主人，他到哪里，它也跟到哪里，后来跑到这里，却失去了他的踪迹，现在重又发现了他，便不禁用这种不文明的方式表示它的欢乐。梭镖在牲畜的肩头擦过，伤了点皮肉，幸好并没把它钉在地上：方斯在愤怒的庄主面前，一边大叫一边逃走。葛四气得肚子都涨破了，认为这是对他忠实的追随者的蓄意谋害，论罪行比他自己受到的粗暴待遇严重得多。他想用手擦擦眼睛，可是举不起来，这时汪八正好为了躲避主人的火气，退到了后边，于是葛四对他说：“我求你帮个忙，用你的衣襟给我擦一下眼睛；我的眼睛吹进了沙子，可这些绳索把我捆得紧紧的，一动也动不了。”
汪八满足了他的要求，他们便暂时骑着马并排行走；这时葛四一直闷闷不乐，一声不吭。最后他再也忍不住了。
“汪八老弟，”他说。“给塞德里克于活的都是傻瓜，只有你一个人还算乖巧，可以使他接受你的傻话。所以请你去找他，告诉他，我葛四既不爱他，也不怕他，不会老给他干活的。他可以杀我的头，用鞭子打我，给我锁上脚镣手铐，但是他今后休想要我爱他或者服从他。你去告诉他，贝奥武尔夫的儿子葛四再也不给他当奴隶了。”
“告诉你，”汪八说，“我尽管是个傻瓜，不会给你传这种傻话。塞德里克的腰带上还插着一支梭缥呢，你知道，他不是每回都投不准目标的。”
“我不在乎他什么时候把我当他的靶子，”葛回答道，“昨天他丢下我的少爷，让他躺在血泊中。今天他又当着我的面，想杀死我的另一个伙伴。那个唯一待我亲热的朋友。我凭圣埃德蒙，圣邓斯坦，圣维索尔特，忏悔者圣爱德华，以及历书上的每一个撒克逊圣徒起誓（因为塞德里克从来不对不是撒克逊血统的圣徒起誓，以致他的家人起誓时也有这种局限），我绝对不会宽恕他！”
“不过按照我的想法，”滑稽人说，他在家中一向喜欢充当和事佬，“我们的主人不是真的要伤害方斯，只是想吓唬吓唬它。如果你留意一下，你便会发现，他从脚镫上挺直身子，便是故意要把梭镖投得超过目标，这本来可能做到，但是方斯这时正好向前一跳，以致反而给擦破了皮，我保证，这点伤涂一下焦油便没事。”
“只要能够，我也愿意这么想，”葛四说，“但我不能，我看见梭镖是瞄准了投出的。我听得它咝咝地飞过空中，他是带着仇恨，恶狠狠地投出它的；它着地之后还在颤动，仿佛因为没有打中，很不甘心呢。凭圣安东尼所爱护的猪起誓，我再也不给他干活了！”
愤怒的放猪人又闷闷不乐，保持着沉默，不论小丑用什么办法，都不能使他再开口。
这时，塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦带着这队人一边走，一边谈论国家大事，王室内部的分崩离析，诺曼贵族之间的明争暗斗；他们认为，被压迫的撒克逊人正可利用这时机，摆脱诺曼人的桎梏，至少在眼看即将到来的动乱中，提高他们的民族地位和民主权利。这是使塞德里克精神振奋的一件事，因为恢复撒克逊民族的独立是他一心向往的目标，正是为了它，他甘愿牺牲家庭的幸福，放弃儿子的利益。但是要完成这一伟大的变革，保护英国本族人民的权利，他们就必须联合起来，在一个公认的首领下统一行动。这个首领必须从撒克逊王室成员中遴选，这不仅十分明显，而且也是与塞德里克怀有同样希望，共同商讨这个秘密计划的人，一致赞同的庄严条件。阿特尔斯坦至少具备这个条件，尽管他缺乏远大的抱负，能力上也不足以担当领导人，然而他还是一个合适的人选，他不是懦夫，经历过战斗的锤炼，看来还从善如流，愿意接受志士仁人的指导。最重要的是大家知道他慷慨豪爽，热情好客，而且相信他是一个温和忠厚的人。但是不论阿特尔斯坦作为撒克逊联盟的首领，具有多少可取之处，他们中的许多人还是认为，罗文娜小姐比他更为合适，她的血统可以上溯到阿尔弗烈德大王，她的父亲又是一个以智慧、勇敢和慷慨闻名的大臣，在他被压迫的国人中享有崇高的声望。
如果塞德里克愿意，他也可以成为第三种势力的领导人，这并不困难，它至少可以与其他势力一样强大。尽管他不是王族出身，他的勇敢、活动能力和充沛的精力，尤其是对这件复国大计始终不渝的忠诚——正是这点使他获得了“撒克逊人”的诨名——都是别人比不上的，何况除了阿特尔斯坦和他的义女，他的身分也不比任何人低。然而那些品质中不包含丝毫自私观念，组成第三种势力，使本来业已削弱的民族进一步削弱，这不符合塞德里克的要求，相反，他的计划的首要部分，是要促进罗文娜和阿特尔斯坦的结合，消除已经存在的分歧。这样，他的义女和儿子的相互依恋，成了他这个心爱的计划的障碍，这便是他要把威尔弗莱德赶出家门的根本原因。
塞德里克采取这个严厉的措施，是指望在威尔弗莱德外出期间，罗文娜可能忘记他，把他抛在脑后，但这个希望并未实现，原因也许与他的义女从小接受的培养方式有关。对于塞德里克，阿尔弗烈德无异是神的化身，那位伟大君主留下的唯一后人，在他眼里是至高无上的，他对她几乎比对一位正式的公主更恭敬。罗文娜的意愿差不多在一切场合对他的家庭都是法律；他仿佛决定，至少在他的小圈子里，她要具有公认的女王身分，他自己只是她的首席大臣，他也以此为荣。在这样的培养下，罗文娜不仅可以充分行使她的自由意志，而且握有独断独行的权力；现在，控制她的感情，或者违反她的意愿，支配她的婚姻的任何企图，便由于她早年的养育方式，遭到了抵制或反抗。何况这种事，哪怕从小接受三从四德教育的妇女，也往往会违抗父母或保护人的命令，罗文娜自然要坚持自主的权利了。只要她认为她的看法是对的，她便会公开承认，无所畏惧。塞德里克一向尊重她的意志，至今仍不能摆脱这种习惯，因此有些束手无策，不知如何贯彻监护人的权力。
他企图用展望中的王位打动她的心，但这只是徒劳而已。罗文娜具有清醒的头脑，认为他的计划不切实际，也没必要，在她看来，这是不可能成功的。她对艾文荷的威尔弗莱德的倾心相爱，她也不想隐瞒，公然声称，如果她不能与心爱的骑士结合，她宁可进修道院，也不会与阿特尔斯坦一起登上王位；她一向瞧不起他，现在由于他给她造成了这种麻烦，更是觉得他十分讨厌。
然而在塞德里克看来，妇女的观点根本不可能保持不变，因此他坚持要用尽他掌握的一切办法，使他所向往的婚姻成为事实；他认为，这是他为撒克逊民族的事业作出的一大贡献。他的儿子在阿什贝比武场上，出其不意地突然露面，在他看来，无异是对他的希望的致命打击，这是难怪的。确实，他作为父亲的感情一度曾占据上风，克服了他的自尊心和爱国精神；但两者随即以不可抗拒的力量重新崛起，在它们的共同作用下，他痛下决心，务必促成阿特尔斯坦和罗文娜的结合；他认为，只要这样，随着其他一些必要措施的付诸实行，恢复撒克逊民族的独立便指日可待了。
现在他便为后面这件事，在竭力说服阿特尔斯坦，关于这个人，他是时常怀有隐忧的，他似乎觉得自己有些像霍茨波(注)，是在动员一个窝囊废参加一次光辉的壮举。不错，阿特尔斯坦自命不凡，喜欢听人奉承，谁谈到他的高贵出身，他对至高无上的君主地位的继承权，他便沾沾自喜；但这不过是一种无聊的虚荣心，只要他身边的仆人和接近他的一些撒克逊人恭维他几句，他就满足了。如果说他有勇气面对危险，那么他至少不想自找麻烦，惹火烧身。他对塞德里克就撒克逊人的独立提出的一些主张，固然表示赞同，对独立以后，他应该享有的统治权更是深信不疑，然而当讨论涉及实现这些权利的途径时，他仍然是“优柔寡断的阿特尔斯坦”—— 没精打采，迟疑不决，顾虑重重，胸无大志。塞德里克那些激昂慷慨的规劝，对他意志消沉的心情几乎毫无作用，就像烧红的铁球落进水中，发出了一阵烟和一些咝咝声之后，随即熄灭了。
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(注)霍茨波是莎士比亚的历史剧《亨利四世上篇》中的人物。在该剧第。幕第三场中，霍茨波说：“我瞎了眼睛，居然会劝诱这么一个窝囊废参加我们的壮举。”
塞德里克的苦口婆心，只是好比在用踢马刺踢一匹疲乏不堪的马，或者用榔头锤打一块冰冷的铁，于是他只得退回义女身边，与罗文娜计议，但结果也只是自讨没趣。原来这位小姐正与她的心腹使女，谈论威尔弗莱德的武艺和命运，塞德里克的打岔使她不快，艾尔吉莎为了替她的小姐和她本人出气，故意把谈话扯到阿特尔斯坦在比武场上给打落马背的丑态，这正是塞德里克的耳朵最不愿听到的话。就因为这样，对这位撒克逊硬汉子说来，这天的旅程一点也不顺利。到处都是烦恼；于是他在心中一再咒骂这次比武大会和它的主持人，也骂他自己怎么会心血来潮跑到那儿去。
到了中午，根据阿特尔斯坦的提议，这伙旅人在林子里泉水旁边的树荫下休息，让他们的马歇一会力，也让他们自己吃些东酉，因为出手大方的长老给他们的食物装满了一只驮骡呢。这顿点心吃了不少时候；经过几次停顿之后，眼看不连夜赶路已别想到得了罗瑟伍德，这使他们不得不加快速度，再也不能像刚才那么磨蹭了。

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Chapter 19
A train of armed men, some noble dame Escorting, (so their scatter'd words discover'd, As unperceived I hung upon their rear,) Are close at hand, and mean to pass the night Within the castle. Orra, a Tragedy
The travellers had now reached the verge of the wooded country, and were about to plunge into its recesses, held dangerous at that time from the number of outlaws whom oppression and poverty had driven to despair, and who occupied the forests in such large bands as could easily bid defiance to the feeble police of the period. From these rovers, however, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour Cedric and Athelstane accounted themselves secure, as they had in attendance ten servants, besides Wamba and Gurth, whose aid could not be counted upon, the one being a jester and the other a captive. It may be added, that in travelling thus late through the forest, Cedric and Athelstane relied on their descent and character, as well as their courage. The outlaws, whom the severity of the forest laws had reduced to this roving and desperate mode of life, were chiefly peasants and yeomen of Saxon descent, and were generally supposed to respect the persons and property of their countrymen.
As the travellers journeyed on their way, they were alarmed by repeated cries for assistance; and when they rode up to the place from whence they came, they were surprised to find a horse-litter placed upon the ground, beside which sat a young woman, richly dressed in the Jewish fashion, while an old man, whose yellow cap proclaimed him to belong to the same nation, walked up and down with gestures expressive of the deepest despair, and wrung his hands, as if affected by some strange disaster.
To the enquiries of Athelstane and Cedric, the old Jew could for some time only answer by invoking the protection of all the patriarchs of the Old Testament successively against the sons of Ishmael, who were coming to smite them, hip and thigh, with the edge of the sword. When he began to come to himself out of this agony of terror, Isaac of York (for it was our old friend) was at length able to explain, that he had hired a body-guard of six men at Ashby, together with mules for carrying the litter of a sick friend. This party had undertaken to escort him as far as Doncaster. They had come thus far in safety; but having received information from a wood-cutter that there was a strong band of outlaws lying in wait in the woods before them, Isaac's mercenaries had not only taken flight, but had carried off with them the horses which bore the litter and left the Jew and his daughter without the means either of defence or of retreat, to be plundered, and probably murdered, by the banditti, who they expected every moment would bring down upon them. "Would it but please your valours," added Isaac, in a tone of deep humiliation, "to permit the poor Jews to travel under your safeguard, I swear by the tables of our law, that never has favour been conferred upon a child of Israel since the days of our captivity, which shall be more gratefully acknowledged."
"Dog of a Jew!" said Athelstane, whose memory was of that petty kind which stores up trifles of all kinds, but particularly trifling offences, "dost not remember how thou didst beard us in the gallery at the tilt-yard? Fight or flee, or compound with the outlaws as thou dost list, ask neither aid nor company from us; and if they rob only such as thee, who rob all the world, I, for mine own share, shall hold them right honest folk."
Cedric did not assent to the severe proposal of his companion. "We shall do better," said he, "to leave them two of our attendants and two horses to convey them back to the next village. It will diminish our strength but little; and with your good sword, noble Athelstane, and the aid of those who remain, it will be light work for us to face twenty of those runagates."
Rowena, somewhat alarmed by the mention of outlaws in force, and so near them, strongly seconded the proposal of her guardian. But Rebecca suddenly quitting her dejected posture, and making her way through the attendants to the palfrey of the Saxon lady, knelt down, and, after the Oriental fashion in addressing superiors, kissed the hem of Rowena's garment. Then rising, and throwing back her veil, she implored her in the great name of the God whom they both worshipped, and by that revelation of the Law upon Mount Sinai, in which they both believed, that she would have compassion upon them, and suffer them to go forward under their safeguard. "It is not for myself that I pray this favour," said Rebecca; "nor is it even for that poor old man. I know that to wrong and to spoil our nation is a light fault, if not a merit, with the Christians; and what is it to us whether it be done in the city, in the desert, or in the field? But it is in the name of one dear to many, and dear even to you, that I beseech you to let this sick person be transported with care and tenderness under your protection. For, if evil chance him, the last moment of your life would be embittered with regret for denying that which I ask of you."
The noble and solemn air with which Rebecca made this appeal, gave it double weight with the fair Saxon.
"The man is old and feeble," she said to her guardian, "the maiden young and beautiful, their friend sick and in peril of his life---Jews though they be, we cannot as Christians leave them in this extremity. Let them unload two of the sumpter-mules, and put the baggage behind two of the serfs. The mules may transport the litter, and we have led horses for the old man and his daughter."
Cedric readily assented to what she proposed, and Athelstane only added the condition, "that they should travel in the rear of the whole party, where Wamba," he said, "might attend them with his shield of boar's brawn."
"I have left my shield in the tilt-yard," answered the Jester, "as has been the fate of many a better knight than myself."
Athelstane coloured deeply, for such had been his own fate on the last day of the tournament; while Rowena, who was pleased in the same proportion, as if to make amends for the brutal jest of her unfeeling suitor, requested Rebecca to ride by her side.
"It were not fit I should do so," answered Rebecca, with proud humility, "where my society might be held a disgrace to my protectress."
By this time the change of baggage was hastily achieved; for the single word "outlaws" rendered every one sufficiently alert, and the approach of twilight made the sound yet more impressive. Amid the bustle, Gurth was taken from horseback, in the course of which removal he prevailed upon the Jester to slack the cord with which his arms were bound. It was so negligently refastened, perhaps intentionally, on the part of Wamba, that Gurth found no difficulty in freeing his arms altogether from bondage, and then, gliding into the thicket, he made his escape from the party.
The bustle had been considerable, and it was some time before Gurth was missed; for, as he was to be placed for the rest of the journey behind a servant, every one supposed that some other of his companions had him under his custody, and when it began to be whispered among them that Gurth had actually disappeared, they were under such immediate expectation of an attack from the outlaws, that it was not held convenient to pay much attention to the circumstance.
The path upon which the party travelled was now so narrow, as not to admit, with any sort of convenience, above two riders abreast, and began to descend into a dingle, traversed by a brook whose banks were broken, swampy, and overgrown with dwarf willows. Cedric and Athelstane, who were at the head of their retinue, saw the risk of being attacked at this pass; but neither of them having had much practice in war, no better mode of preventing the danger occurred to them than that they should hasten through the defile as fast as possible. Advancing, therefore, without much order, they had just crossed the brook with a part of their followers, when they were assailed in front, flank, and rear at once, with an impetuosity to which, in their confused and ill-prepared condition, it was impossible to offer effectual resistance. The shout of "A white dragon!---a white dragon! ---Saint George for merry England!" war-cries adopted by the assailants, as belonging to their assumed character of Saxon outlaws, was heard on every side, and on every side enemies appeared with a rapidity of advance and attack which seemed to multiply their numbers.
Both the Saxon chiefs were made prisoners at the same moment, and each under circumstances expressive of his character. Cedric, the instant that an enemy appeared, launched at him his remaining javelin, which, taking better effect than that which he had hurled at Fangs, nailed the man against an oak-tree that happened to be close behind him. Thus far successful, Cedric spurred his horse against a second, drawing his sword at the same time, and striking with such inconsiderate fury, that his weapon encountered a thick branch which hung over him, and he was disarmed by the violence of his own blow. He was instantly made prisoner, and pulled from his horse by two or three of the banditti who crowded around him. Athelstane shared his captivity, his bridle having been seized, and he himself forcibly dismounted, long before he could draw his weapon, or assume any posture of effectual defence.
The attendants, embarrassed with baggage, surprised and terrified at the fate of their masters, fell an easy prey to the assailants; while the Lady Rowena, in the centre of the cavalcade, and the Jew and his daughter in the rear, experienced the same misfortune.
Of all the train none escaped except Wamba, who showed upon the occasion much more courage than those who pretended to greater sense. He possessed himself of a sword belonging to one of the domestics, who was just drawing it with a tardy and irresolute hand, laid it about him like a lion, drove back several who approached him, and made a brave though ineffectual attempt to succour his master. Finding himself overpowered, the Jester at length threw himself from his horse, plunged into the thicket, and, favoured by the general confusion, escaped from the scene of action. Yet the valiant Jester, as soon as he found himself safe, hesitated more than once whether he should not turn back and share the captivity of a master to whom he was sincerely attached.
"I have heard men talk of the blessings of freedom," he said to himself, "but I wish any wise man would teach me what use to make of it now that I have it."
As he pronounced these words aloud, a voice very near him called out in a low and cautious tone, "Wamba!" and, at the same time, a dog, which he recognised to be Fangs, jumped up and fawned upon him. "Gurth!" answered Wamba, with the same caution, and the swineherd immediately stood before him.
"What is the matter?" said he eagerly; "what mean these cries, and that clashing of swords?"
"Only a trick of the times," said Wamba; "they are all prisoners."
"Who are prisoners?" exclaimed Gurth, impatiently.
"My lord, and my lady, and Athelstane, and Hundibert, and Oswald."
"In the name of God!" said Gurth, "how came they prisoners? ---and to whom?"
"Our master was too ready to fight," said the Jester; "and Athelstane was not ready enough, and no other person was ready at all. And they are prisoners to green cassocks, and black visors. And they lie all tumbled about on the green, like the crab-apples that you shake down to your swine. And I would laugh at it," said the honest Jester, "if I could for weeping." And he shed tears of unfeigned sorrow.
Gurth's countenance kindled---"Wamba," he said, "thou hast a weapon, and thy heart was ever stronger than thy brain,---we are only two---but a sudden attack from men of resolution will do much---follow me!"
"Whither?---and for what purpose?" said the Jester.
"To rescue Cedric."
"But you have renounced his service but now," said Wamba.
"That," said Gurth, "was but while he was fortunate---follow me!"
As the Jester was about to obey, a third person suddenly made his appearance, and commanded them both to halt. From his dress and arms, Wamba would have conjectured him to be one of those outlaws who had just assailed his master; but, besides that he wore no mask, the glittering baldric across his shoulder, with the rich bugle-horn which it supported, as well as the calm and commanding expression of his voice and manner, made him, notwithstanding the twilight, recognise Locksley the yeoman, who had been victorious, under such disadvantageous circumstances, in the contest for the prize of archery.
"What is the meaning of all this," said he, "or who is it that rifle, and ransom, and make prisoners, in these forests?"
"You may look at their cassocks close by," said Wamba, "and see whether they be thy children's coats or no---for they are as like thine own, as one green pea-cod is to another."
"I will learn that presently," answered Locksley; "and I charge ye, on peril of your lives, not to stir from the place where ye stand, until I have returned. Obey me, and it shall be the better for you and your masters.---Yet stay, I must render myself as like these men as possible."
So saying he unbuckled his baldric with the bugle, took a feather from his cap, and gave them to Wamba; then drew a vizard from his pouch, and, repeating his charges to them to stand fast, went to execute his purposes of reconnoitring.
"Shall we stand fast, Gurth?" said Wamba; "or shall we e'en give him leg-bail? In my foolish mind, he had all the equipage of a thief too much in readiness, to be himself a true man."
"Let him be the devil," said Gurth, "an he will. We can be no worse of waiting his return. If he belong to that party, he must already have given them the alarm, and it will avail nothing either to fight or fly. Besides, I have late experience, that errant thieves are not the worst men in the world to have to deal with."
The yeoman returned in the course of a few minutes.
"Friend Gurth," he said, "I have mingled among yon men, and have learnt to whom they belong, and whither they are bound. There is, I think, no chance that they will proceed to any actual violence against their prisoners. For three men to attempt them at this moment, were little else than madness; for they are good men of war, and have, as such, placed sentinels to give the alarm when any one approaches. But I trust soon to gather such a force, as may act in defiance of all their precautions; you are both servants, and, as I think, faithful servants, of Cedric the Saxon, the friend of the rights of Englishmen. He shall not want English hands to help him in this extremity. Come then with me, until I gather more aid."
So saying, he walked through the wood at a great pace, followed by the jester and the swineherd. It was not consistent with Wamba's humour to travel long in silence.
"I think," said he, looking at the baldric and bugle which he still carried, "that I saw the arrow shot which won this gay prize, and that not so long since as Christmas."
"And I," said Gurth, "could take it on my halidome, that I have heard the voice of the good yeoman who won it, by night as well as by day, and that the moon is not three days older since I did so."
"Mine honest friends," replied the yeoman, "who, or what I am, is little to the present purpose; should I free your master, you will have reason to think me the best friend you have ever had in your lives. And whether I am known by one name or another ---or whether I can draw a bow as well or better than a cow-keeper, or whether it is my pleasure to walk in sunshine or by moonlight, are matters, which, as they do not concern you, so neither need ye busy yourselves respecting them."
"Our heads are in the lion's mouth," said Wamba, in a whisper to Gurth, "get them out how we can."
"Hush---be silent," said Gurth. "Offend him not by thy folly, and I trust sincerely that all will go well."

一队人手执武器，风尘仆仆，
正护送一贵妇人去城堡过夜；
这是我一路上尾随他们，
他们的片言只语中获悉的。
现在这伙人已离此不远了。
《奥拉，一出悲剧》
旅人们终于来到了一片森林边缘，即将进入茂密的树林深处，这在那个时候被认为是非常危险的，因为压迫和贫穷使许多人沦为盗匪，啸聚在山林中，当时薄弱的治安力量根本不在他们眼里。然而尽管时间已晚，塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦仍有恃无恐，认为除了汪八和葛四一个是小丑，另一个是囚徒，不能依靠以外，他们身边还带着十个仆人，足以对付那些亡命之徒。不仅如此，塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦还认为，深夜穿过森林不足为虑，他们不仅勇敢，他们的血统和身分也对他们有利。那些强人大多是在严厉的森林法规的逼迫下走投无路，才铤而走险，过这种逃亡生活的，他们主要是撒克逊族的农夫和村民，一般说来，这些人对本族同胞的生命财产还是会手下留情的。
正当这伙旅人向前赶路的时候，传来了一声声呼救的喊叫；等他们来到发出这些声音的地方，便发现一架驮舆搁在地上，旁边坐着一个衣着华丽的年轻女子，看样子是犹太装束，还有一个老人在踱来踱去，他戴一顶黄帽子，说明他也是犹太人，他的举止显得他正处在无计可施的状况，似乎某种灾难即将降临，以致不断搓着双手。
对阿特尔斯坦和塞德里克的询问，老犹太人起先没有别的回答，只是接连不断呼叫《旧约全书》中每个族长的名字，祈求他们保佑他，说以实玛利的子孙正举起了剑，要来杀害他们呢。等到从这恐怖中逐渐镇静以后，约克的以撒（因为这确实是我们那位老朋友）终于说明了事实，原来他在阿什贝雇了六个保缥，还有一架驮舆和几匹骡子，因为有一个朋友病了。这些人答应把他们护送到唐卡斯特。一路上平安无事，但到了这里，一个樵夫告诉他们，前面树林中埋伏着一伙强人，这些保嫖马上逃走了，还带走了运驮舆的骡子，害得犹太人父女两个束手无策，进退两难，那伙强盗却随时可能出现，把他们抢劫一空，甚至杀死他们。最后以撒用卑躬屈膝的声音说道；“求求你们这些壮士，让可怜的犹太人与你们一起赶路，保护我们吧，这是从以色列人遭到国虏(注)后，还没有人得到过的恩惠，我凭我们的摩西法典起誓，我一定不会忘记你们的大恩大德。”
--------
(注)指公元前六世纪以色列人亡国后被掳往巴比伦的时期。。
“你这犹太畜生！”阿特尔斯坦开口便骂，他一向对各种鸡毛蒜皮的小事斤斤计较，尤其是得罪过他的事，他总是怀恨在心，“你忘记在比武场上与我们争夺看台，不把我们放在眼里的事了吗？你们可以抵抗，也可以逃走，随你们的便，或者跟那些强盗合伙做买卖，反正这是你的拿手好戏，可是要我们帮忙，跟我们一起走，你就休想，像你这种人掠夺了整个世界，你们给人掠夺也是活该，我还觉得那些强盗做得对，是主持了公道。”
塞德里克不赞成他的朋友这种冷酷无情的态度。“我们不妨照顾他们一下，”他说，“分给他们两个仆人，两匹马，把他们送回附近的村庄。这只是稍稍削弱一点我们的力量，但是凭你的宝剑，尊贵的阿特尔斯坦，加上留下的这些人的帮助，我们要对付二十来个毛贼，还是轻而易举的。”
罗文娜听到强人的袭击，而且就在附近，也有些吃惊，因此竭力附和她的监护人的主张。但就在这时，丽贝卡突然振作精神，一跃而起，从仆人中挤到了撒克逊小姐的马前，跪在地上，按照东方参见贵人的方式，亲吻罗文娜的衣服下摆。然后她站起身来，撩开面纱，以她们两人共同崇敬的上帝的伟大名字，以她们两人共同信仰的西奈山上传授的律法的名义(注)，请求她同情他们，保护他们，允许他们结伴同行。“我请求这样的照顾不是为我自己，”丽贝卡说，“甚至也不是为了那个可怜的老人。我知道，对于基督教徒说来，虐待和损害我们的民族即使算不得功绩，也只是无足轻重的过错；不论在城市，在沙漠，在田野，我们的命运有什么区别呢？但我是为一个许多人所敬重的，甚至也是您所敬重的人请求您，希望在您的保护下，让这个病人得到照料和关心，安全地离开这里。因为如果他遇到不幸，那么您恐怕到了生命的最后一刻，也会为了拒绝我的要求而受到良心的谴责的。”
--------
(注)摩西在西奈山上传授上帝的律法（十诫），见《旧约•出埃及记）第20章。
丽贝卡提出这呼吁时流露的崇高而庄严的神态，使它对那位撒克逊美女产生了加倍的力量。
“这人年老体弱，”她对她的监护人说道，“他的闺女年轻美丽，他们的朋友又疾病在身，有生命危险；尽管他们是犹太人，我们作为基督徒，不应对他们见死不救。让我们的人卸下两头骡子，把行李装在两个奴隶后面。骡子可以运载驮舆，我们牵着的两匹马可以让老人和他的女儿骑。”
塞德里克对她的建议欣然表示同意，阿特尔斯坦也只是附加了一个条件：“他们只能跟在我们全队人马后面，在那里，”他说，“让汪八用他的野猪肉盾牌侍候他们。”
“那面盾牌早给我丢在比武场上了，”小丑答道，“许多比我本领大的骑士也不得不这么做呢。”
阿特尔斯坦的脸涨得通红，因为这正是第二天比武大会上他的遭遇。罗文娜听了却正好相反，非常高兴，而且仿佛在为她那位冷漠的追求者的粗鲁嘲笑表示歉意，特地要求丽贝卡把马骑在她的旁边。
“这恐怕不太合适，”丽贝卡答道，显得既自重又谦逊，“我这么做只能给保护我的小姐带来羞辱。”
这时行李很快改装好了，因为“强盗”的存在使每个仆人都变得动作敏捷，天色的逐渐变黑也加深了恐怖的感觉。葛四在忙乱中给拖下马背，他趁这机会央求小丑给他松开了缚在手臂上的绳索。汪八把绳子随随便便重缚了一下，也许还是故意的，这样，葛四毫不费力便挣脱了手臂，随即溜进了树丛，神不知鬼不觉地离开了队伍。
当时一切都乱糟糟的，过了一段时间才有人发现葛四不见了；在下一段路程中，他本应排在一个仆人后面，结果每个仆人都以为别人在看管他，等到他们发现葛四真的逃走，嘁嘁喳喳谈论的时候，队伍已随时可能遭到强盗的袭击，谁也无心过问这事了。
他们现在经过的那条路非常狭窄，只能勉强容许两匹马并排行走。这时道路开始倾斜，进入深谷，那里有一条溪水穿过，河岸高低不平，又多沼泽，两边长满了矮小的柳树。塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦走在前面，他们看到在这种小径上随时可能挨打，但是谁也没有太多的作战经验，觉得防止危险的唯一办法只是加快速度，尽早通过这个关口。全队人乱哄哄的向前疾走，一部分人刚穿过溪水，突然前后左右同时遭到了攻击，而且来势凶猛；他们处在这种混乱而缺乏准备的状况，一时间无法作出有效的反击。“白龙！白龙！圣乔治保佑快活的英格兰！(注)”的呐喊声从四面八方传来，这是进攻的人冒充撒克逊强盗发出的；现在他们正从周围各处迅速向前推进，因此显得人数很多。
--------
(注)圣乔治是英国的保护神，圣乔治和白龙便成了古代英国战旗上的图画和战斗口号。
两个撒克逊头领同时成了俘虏，不过情况不同，表现了他们各自的特点。塞德里克在第一个敌人出现的一刹那，便向他投出了剩下的那支镖熗，而且比投向方斯的那支准确了一些，把那人插到了他身后的一棵株树上。塞德里克得手之后，便跃马冲向第二个人，一边掣出了剑，在愤怒中不及细想，便举剑砍去，以致砍到了头顶的一根粗树枝上，由于用力过猛，剑掉到了地上。他随即成了俘虏，给围在身边的两三个强盗拉下了马。阿特尔斯坦也当了俘虏，他的缰绳给人抓住，在他还没来得及拔出武器，进行任何抵抗以前，他的身子早已给拖到了地上。
那些仆人既要照看行李，又给主人的遭遇吓得目瞪口呆，一个个只得束手就擒。处在队伍中间的罗文娜小姐，随在队伍后面的犹太父女，也都陷入了同样的不幸。
整队人中，只有汪八一个逃脱了厄运，在这场合表现得比那些自吹勇敢的人勇敢得多。一个仆人迟疑不决，慢吞吞的刚要拔剑，汪人便把剑夺了过来，像狮子似的挥舞着它，打退了扑向他的几个人，不顾一切地想突人人群，搭救他的主人，但没有成功。发现自己寡不敌众，这小丑只得跳下马背，溜进了树丛，多亏当时一片混乱，逃出了厮杀现场。
然而勇敢的小丑一旦发现自己安全脱险，不禁迟疑起来，几次想转身回去，与他心爱的主人同甘共苦，一起当俘虏。
“我听得不少人讲自由的幸福，”他自言自语道，“但我希望有个聪明人能告诉我，现在我得到了自由，该怎么办。”
他正这么讲，附近有一个声音小心翼翼地喊他了：“汪八！”同时—只狗摇着尾巴，跳到了他身边，他认得这是方斯。于是汪八同样轻轻回答了一声：“葛四！”接着放猪人便出现在他眼前了。
“这是怎么回事？”葛四焦急地问，“哪来的这些叫喊声和刀剑声？”
“还不是当今流行的勾当！”汪八说，“他们全给抓走了。”
“谁给抓走了？”葛四喊道，急得耐不住了。为
“我的老爷，找的小姐，阿特尔斯坦．亨德们特．还有奥斯瓦尔德。”
“我的大哪！”葛四说。“他们怎么给抓走的？给谁抓走的？”
“‘我的主人是动手太快了，”小丑答道，“阿特尔斯坦是动手太慢了，其余的人是根本人想动手。他们现在成了那些穿绿大褂、戴黑面罩的家伙的俘虏，统统给捆住手脚倒在草地上，像你从树上摇下来喂猪的几只酸苹采。我看了真好笑，个过我应该哭才是。”这位正直的小丑真的流下了几滴并非伪装的眼泪。
葛四的脸色变得激动了。“汪八，”他说，“你有一把剑，你的胆子也一向比你的头脑强大；我们只有两个人，但两个不怕死的人发动的突然袭击，仍可以大有作为，跟我来！”
“上哪里？什么目的？”小丑问。
“营救塞德里克。”
“但你刚才还要跟他一刀两断呢，”汪八说。
“耶是在他得意的时候，”葛四回答。“跟我来！”
小丑正想跟他走，第三个人突然出现了，命令两人都站住。根据他的衣着和武器，汪八差点认为这也是刚才袭击他主人的那伙强盗中的一个，但是这人不仅没戴面罩，身上还挂着一根闪闪发亮的丝肩带，肩带下挂着一只贵重的号角，他的声音和神态又显得那么安详和威严，尽管夜色暗淡，小丑还是认出了洛克斯利，那个射箭比赛时，在极其不利的条件下赢得胜利的庄户人。
“这一切是怎么回事？”他问，“谁在这些森林里抓人，敲榨勒索，绑架过路行人？”
“你不妨去看看那些人的衣着，”汪八说，“便知道他们是不是你的喽罗了；他们穿得跟你一模一样，都像绿绿的豆荚，分不出彼此呢。”
“我马上就会调查清楚的，”洛克斯利答道，“现在你们站在这里别动，否则便有生命危险，你们等我回来。听我的话．这对你们和你们的主人都有好处。不过且慢，我得让自己尽可能像那些人。”
他这么说，解下了挂号角的肩带，从帽上取下了羽毛，把它们交给汪八，然后从腰包内掏出一个面罩，又叮嘱了他们几句，要他们站在原地，便去执行他的侦察任务了。
“葛四，我们要不要站着不动？”汪八说，“还是趁他不在，赶紧逃走？依我傻瓜之见，他带着强盗的全副装备，随时可以摇身一变成为强盗，不像是个好人。”
“随他是魔鬼也成，”葛四说，“我们等他回来，不见得便会吃亏。万一他真属于那帮人，他一定已去通风报信，我们逃不了，也打不过他们。再说，我最近的经历让我明白，真的强盗并不是世界上最难对付的坏人。”
过了几分钟，庄稼人就回来了。
“葛四朋友，”他说，“我混在那些人中间，了解到他们是什么人派来的，要上哪儿去了。照我看，他们不是真的想害死那些给他们抓住的人。我们现在凭三个人要对付他们，那只是妄想，因为他们都是打惯仗的，而且周围布置了岗哨，任何人都无法靠近他们。但是尽管他们防范严密，我有办法马上召集一支力量，打败他们。你们两个都是仆人，我想，都忠于撒克逊人塞德里克，他是维护英国人的权利的，他遇到危险，不会没有英国人帮助他。所以你们还是跟我来，等我集合人马搭救他。”
他一边这么说，一边便迈开大步朝树林中直走，小丑和放猪的跟在他后面。但老不讲话，这不符合汪八的个性。
“我看到这些东西，”他开口了，瞧了瞧仍在他手中的肩带和号角，“就想起了赢得这些漂亮奖品的那一箭，它仿佛还在我的眼前，比圣诞节近得多了。”
“我也可以起誓，”葛四说道，“那个射箭的好汉的声音，我在白天和黑夜都听到过，算起来那个月夜离现在还不过三天呢。”
“两位正直的朋友，”庄稼人答道，“我是谁，是干什么的，这与眼前的事毫不相干；等我救出了你们的主人，你们便会明白，我是你们一生中遇到的最好的朋友。至于我用这个名字或那个名字，我射的箭比一个放牛的好或差，我喜欢在阳光下或者月光下活动，这些事都与你们无关，因此你们也大可不必为它们操心。”
“我们的脑袋伸进了狮子的嘴巴，”汪八凑在葛四耳边说，“得赶快缩回来。”
“嘘，别作声，”噶四说，“只要你不胡说八道得罪他，我相信我们一定可以平安无事。”
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Chapter 20
When autumn nights were long and drear, And forest walks were dark and dim, How sweetly on the pilgrim's ear Was wont to steal the hermit's hymn
Devotion borrows Music's tone, And Music took Devotion's wing; And, like the bird that hails the sun, They soar to heaven, and soaring sing. The Hermit of St Clement's Well
It was after three hours' good walking that the servants of Cedric, with their mysterious guide, arrived at a small opening in the forest, in the centre of which grew an oak-tree of enormous magnitude, throwing its twisted branches in every direction. Beneath this tree four or five yeomen lay stretched on the ground, while another, as sentinel, walked to and fro in the moonlight shade.
Upon hearing the sound of feet approaching, the watch instantly gave the alarm, and the sleepers as suddenly started up and bent their bows. Six arrows placed on the string were pointed towards the quarter from which the travellers approached, when their guide, being recognised, was welcomed with every token of respect and attachment, and all signs and fears of a rough reception at once subsided.
"Where is the Miller?" was his first question.
"On the road towards Rotherham."
"With how many?" demanded the leader, for such he seemed to be.
"With six men, and good hope of booty, if it please St Nicholas."
"Devoutly spoken," said Locksley; "and where is Allan-a-Dale?"
"Walked up towards the Watling-street, to watch for the Prior of Jorvaulx."
"That is well thought on also," replied the Captain;---"and where is the Friar?"
"In his cell."
"Thither will I go," said Locksley. "Disperse and seek your companions. Collect what force you can, for there's game afoot that must be hunted hard, and will turn to bay. Meet me here by daybreak.---And stay," he added, "I have forgotten what is most necessary of the whole---Two of you take the road quickly towards Torquilstone, the Castle of Front-de-Boeuf. A set of gallants, who have been masquerading in such guise as our own, are carrying a band of prisoners thither---Watch them closely, for even if they reach the castle before we collect our force, our honour is concerned to punish them, and we will find means to do so. Keep a close watch on them therefore; and dispatch one of your comrades, the lightest of foot, to bring the news of the yeomen thereabout."
They promised implicit obedience, and departed with alacrity on their different errands. In the meanwhile, their leader and his two companions, who now looked upon him with great respect, as well as some fear, pursued their way to the Chapel of Copmanhurst.
When they had reached the little moonlight glade, having in front the reverend, though ruinous chapel, and the rude hermitage, so well suited to ascetic devotion, Wamba whispered to Gurth, "If this be the habitation of a thief, it makes good the old proverb, The nearer the church the farther from God.---And by my coxcomb," he added, "I think it be even so---Hearken but to the black sanctus which they are singing in the hermitage!"
In fact the anchorite and his guest were performing, at the full extent of their very powerful lungs, an old drinking song, of which this was the burden:---
"Come, trowl the brown bowl to me, Bully boy, bully boy, Come, trowl the brown bowl to me: Ho! jolly Jenkin, I spy a knave in drinking, Come, trowl the brown bowl to me."
"Now, that is not ill sung," said Wamba, who had thrown in a few of his own flourishes to help out the chorus. "But who, in the saint's name, ever expected to have heard such a jolly chant come from out a hermit's cell at midnight!"
"Marry, that should I," said Gurth, "for the jolly Clerk of Copmanhurst is a known man, and kills half the deer that are stolen in this walk. Men say that the keeper has complained to his official, and that he will be stripped of his cowl and cope altogether, if he keeps not better order."
While they were thus speaking, Locksley's loud and repeated knocks had at length disturbed the anchorite and his guest. "By my beads," said the hermit, stopping short in a grand flourish, "here come more benighted guests. I would not for my cowl that they found us in this goodly exercise. All men have their enemies, good Sir Sluggard; and there be those malignant enough to construe the hospitable refreshment which I have been offering to you, a weary traveller, for the matter of three short hours, into sheer drunkenness and debauchery, vices alike alien to my profession and my disposition."
"Base calumniators!" replied the knight; "I would I had the chastising of them. Nevertheless, Holy Clerk, it is true that all have their enemies; and there be those in this very land whom I would rather speak to through the bars of my helmet than barefaced."
"Get thine iron pot on thy head then, friend Sluggard, as quickly as thy nature will permit," said the hermit, "while I remove these pewter flagons, whose late contents run strangely in mine own pate; and to drown the clatter---for, in faith, I feel somewhat unsteady---strike into the tune which thou hearest me sing; it is no matter for the words---I scarce know them myself."
So saying, he struck up a thundering "De profundis clamavi", under cover of which he removed the apparatus of their banquet: while the knight, laughing heartily, and arming himself all the while, assisted his host with his voice from time to time as his mirth permitted.
"What devil's matins are you after at this hour?" said a voice from without.
"Heaven forgive you, Sir Traveller!" said the hermit, whose own noise, and perhaps his nocturnal potations, prevented from recognising accents which were tolerably familiar to him---"Wend on your way, in the name of God and Saint Dunstan, and disturb not the devotions of me and my holy brother."
"Mad priest," answered the voice from without, "open to Locksley!"
"All's safe---all's right," said the hermit to his companion.
"But who is he?" said the Black Knight; "it imports me much to know."
"Who is he?" answered the hermit; "I tell thee he is a friend."
"But what friend?" answered the knight; "for he may be friend to thee and none of mine?"
"What friend?" replied the hermit; "that, now, is one of the questions that is more easily asked than answered. What friend? ---why, he is, now that I bethink me a little, the very same honest keeper I told thee of a while since."
"Ay, as honest a keeper as thou art a pious hermit," replied the knight, "I doubt it not. But undo the door to him before he beat it from its hinges."
The dogs, in the meantime, which had made a dreadful baying at the commencement of the disturbance, seemed now to recognise the voice of him who stood without; for, totally changing their manner, they scratched and whined at the door, as if interceding for his admission. The hermit speedily unbolted his portal, and admitted Locksley, with his two companions.
"Why, hermit," was the yeoman's first question as soon as he beheld the knight, "what boon companion hast thou here?"
"A brother of our order," replied the friar, shaking his head; "we have been at our orisons all night."
"He is a monk of the church militant, I think," answered Locksley; "and there be more of them abroad. I tell thee, friar, thou must lay down the rosary and take up the quarter-staff; we shall need every one of our merry men, whether clerk or layman. ---But," he added, taking him a step aside, "art thou mad? to give admittance to a knight thou dost not know? Hast thou forgot our articles?"
"Not know him!" replied the friar, boldly, "I know him as well as the beggar knows his dish."
"And what is his name, then?" demanded Locksley.
"His name," said the hermit---"his name is Sir Anthony of Scrabelstone---as if I would drink with a man, and did not know his name!"
"Thou hast been drinking more than enough, friar," said the woodsman, "and, I fear, prating more than enough too."
"Good yeoman," said the knight, coming forward, "be not wroth with my merry host. He did but afford me the hospitality which I would have compelled from him if he had refused it."
"Thou compel!" said the friar; "wait but till have changed this grey gown for a green cassock, and if I make not a quarter-staff ring twelve upon thy pate, I am neither true clerk nor good woodsman."
While he spoke thus, he stript off his gown, and appeared in a close black buckram doublet and drawers, over which he speedily did on a cassock of green, and hose of the same colour. "I pray thee truss my points," said he to Wamba, "and thou shalt have a cup of sack for thy labour."
"Gramercy for thy sack," said Wamba; "but think'st thou it is lawful for me to aid you to transmew thyself from a holy hermit into a sinful forester?"
"Never fear," said the hermit; "I will but confess the sins of my green cloak to my greyfriar's frock, and all shall be well again."
"Amen!" answered the Jester; "a broadcloth penitent should have a sackcloth confessor, and your frock may absolve my motley doublet into the bargain."
So saying, he accommodated the friar with his assistance in tying the endless number of points, as the laces which attached the hose to the doublet were then termed.
While they were thus employed, Locksley led the knight a little apart, and addressed him thus:---"Deny it not, Sir Knight---you are he who decided the victory to the advantage of the English against the strangers on the second day of the tournament at Ashby."
"And what follows if you guess truly, good yeoman?" replied the knight.
"I should in that case hold you," replied the yeoman, "a friend to the weaker party."
"Such is the duty of a true knight at least," replied the Black Champion; "and I would not willingly that there were reason to think otherwise of me."
"But for my purpose," said the yeoman, "thou shouldst be as well a good Englishman as a good knight; for that, which I have to speak of, concerns, indeed, the duty of every honest man, but is more especially that of a true-born native of England."
"You can speak to no one," replied the knight, "to whom England, and the life of every Englishman, can be dearer than to me."
"I would willingly believe so," said the woodsman, "for never had this country such need to be supported by those who love her. Hear me, and I will tell thee of an enterprise, in which, if thou be'st really that which thou seemest, thou mayst take an honourable part. A band of villains, in the disguise of better men than themselves, have made themselves master of the person of a noble Englishman, called Cedric the Saxon, together with his ward, and his friend Athelstane of Coningsburgh, and have transported them to a castle in this forest, called Torquilstone. I ask of thee, as a good knight and a good Englishman, wilt thou aid in their rescue?"
"I am bound by my vow to do so," replied the knight; "but I would willingly know who you are, who request my assistance in their behalf?"
"I am," said the forester, "a nameless man; but I am the friend of my country, and of my country's friends---With this account of me you must for the present remain satisfied, the more especially since you yourself desire to continue unknown. Believe, however, that my word, when pledged, is as inviolate as if I wore golden spurs."
"I willingly believe it," said the knight; "I have been accustomed to study men's countenances, and I can read in thine honesty and resolution. I will, therefore, ask thee no further questions, but aid thee in setting at freedom these oppressed captives; which done, I trust we shall part better acquainted, and well satisfied with each other."
"So," said Wamba to Gurth,---for the friar being now fully equipped, the Jester, having approached to the other side of the hut, had heard the conclusion of the conversation,---"So we have got a new ally?---l trust the valour of the knight will be truer metal than the religion of the hermit, or the honesty of the yeoman; for this Locksley looks like a born deer-stealer, and the priest like a lusty hypocrite."
"Hold thy peace, Wamba," said Gurth; "it may all be as thou dost guess; but were the horned devil to rise and proffer me his assistance to set at liberty Cedric and the Lady Rowena, I fear I should hardly have religion enough to refuse the foul fiend's offer, and bid him get behind me."
The friar was now completely accoutred as a yeoman, with sword and buckler, bow, and quiver, and a strong partisan over his shoulder. He left his cell at the head of the party, and, having carefully locked the door, deposited the key under the threshold.
"Art thou in condition to do good service, friar," said Locksley, "or does the brown bowl still run in thy head?"
"Not more than a drought of St Dunstan's fountain will allay," answered the priest; "something there is of a whizzing in my brain, and of instability in my legs, but you shall presently see both pass away."
So saying, he stepped to the stone basin, in which the waters of the fountain as they fell formed bubbles which danced in the white moonlight, and took so long a drought as if he had meant to exhaust the spring.
"When didst thou drink as deep a drought of water before, Holy Clerk of Copmanhurst?" said the Black Knight.
"Never since my wine-butt leaked, and let out its liquor by an illegal vent," replied the friar, "and so left me nothing to drink but my patron's bounty here."
Then plunging his hands and head into the fountain, he washed from them all marks of the midnight revel.
Thus refreshed and sobered, the jolly priest twirled his heavy partisan round his head with three fingers, as if he had been balancing a reed, exclaiming at the same time, "Where be those false ravishers, who carry off wenches against their will? May the foul fiend fly off with me, if I am not man enough for a dozen of them."
"Swearest thou, Holy Clerk?" said the Black Knight.
"Clerk me no Clerks," replied the transformed priest; "by Saint George and the Dragon, I am no longer a shaveling than while my frock is on my back---When I am cased in my green cassock, I will drink, swear, and woo a lass, with any blithe forester in the West Riding."
"Come on, Jack Priest," said Locksley, "and be silent; thou art as noisy as a whole convent on a holy eve, when the Father Abbot has gone to bed.---Come on you, too, my masters, tarry not to talk of it---I say, come on, we must collect all our forces, and few enough we shall have, if we are to storm the Castle of Reginald Front-de-Boeuf."
"What! is it Front-de-Boeuf," said the Black Knight, "who has stopt on the king's highway the king's liege subjects?---Is he turned thief and oppressor?"
"Oppressor he ever was," said Locksley.
"And for thief," said the priest, "I doubt if ever he were even half so honest a man as many a thief of my acquaintance."
"Move on, priest, and be silent," said the yeoman; "it were better you led the way to the place of rendezvous, than say what should be left unsaid, both in decency and prudence."

在漫长而忧郁的秋夜，
森林的道路模糊而黑暗，
这时隐士的琅琅诵经声
在寂寞的旅人耳边多么甜蜜！
信仰借助于音乐的旋律，
音乐长出了信仰的翅膀，
它们像飞鸟迎着阳光欢呼，
在空中翱翔盘旋飞上云霄。
《圣克莱门泉的隐士》
经过三个小时的步行之后，塞德里克的两个仆人和他们的神秘向导，到达了林中一块小小的空地，空地中央矗立着一棵雄伟粗壮的栎树，交叉的枝叶伸向四周，覆盖着地面。四五个庄稼人伸直身子，躺在树荫下。另一个人像是放哨的，在腰陇的月光下踱来踱去。
听到行近的脚步声，岗哨立刻发出了警告，躺着的人一下子站了起来，拿起了弓箭。六支箭搭上弓弦，瞄准了来人的方向，但当他们认出向导以后，立刻变得欢欣鼓舞，用又恭敬又热情的态度迎接他；这样，担心遭到粗暴接待的一切疑虑，顿时烟消云散了。
“磨坊主在哪儿？”是他的第一个问题。
“他已去了罗瑟勒姆。”
“带了多少人去？”向导问，看来他是个领导人。
“带了六个人，如果圣尼古拉保佑，一定可以满载而归。”
“有信心就好，”洛克斯利说。“阿伦阿代尔在哪里？”
“上沃特林大道一带，侦察茹尔沃长老的行踪了。”
“那也考虑得不错，”首领道。“修士在哪儿？”
“在他自己的小屋里。”
“那么我到那儿去，”洛克斯利说。“你们分头找各自的伙伴，尽量多召集一些人，因为有一笔大买卖要做，必须花些力气，才能旗开得胜。拂晓前在这儿与我会合。哦，且慢，”他又说，“我忘了一件最必要的事。你们两个马上出发，前往牛面将军的城堡托奎尔斯通走一趟。一伙武土改扮成我们的模样，正把一批俘虏送往耶里。密切监视他们，因为哪怕在我们的力量集结以前．他们到达了城堡，我们也得惩罚他们，这事有关我们的名誉，我们必须设法做到这点。要对他们进行严密的监视，还有，你们得分出一个伙计，要跑得最快的，打听一下那一带老乡的情形，马上向我报告。”
他们保证绝对照办，便带着各自的任务飞也似的走了、与此同时，他们的首领，以及那两个现在已对他刮目相看，又敬又怕的同伴，也《即出发，火速赶往科普曼赫斯特的隐修所了。
不久他们便来到了月光下的那一小块空地，看到了神圣而破旧的礼拜堂和简陋的隐修所，那确实像是与肚隔绝、刻苦修炼的地方，于是汪八小声对葛四说道：“如果这是一个强盗的住处，那么占话说得真不错：‘离教堂越近，离上帝越远’。我可以凭我的小丑帽子起誓，这句话用在这里甚至更合适。你听听，他们在隐修所里唱的是什么乌七八糟的赞美歌！”
真的，隐士和他的客人正拉开粗壮的大嗓门，唱一支古老的饮酒歌，它一再反复的便是这几句：
来吧，用大碗斟满了酒传给我，
乖乖的小伙子哟小伙子，
来吧，用大碗斟满了酒传给我，
快活的浑小子哟，别跟我喝酒耍无赖，
来吧，用大碗斟满了酒传给我。
“哟，这歌唱得不赖，”汪八说，也随声哼了几句花腔。“但是我得用圣徒的名字起誓，在隐士的修炼室里，谁能料到，深更半夜会这么喝酒作乐，大声唱歌！”
“得啦，不必大惊小怪，”葛四说道，“大家知道，科普曼赫斯特的教士一向无拘无束，这一带偷猎的鹿，一半死在他的手里。人们说，护林人向上司告过他的状，如果他再不改正，非把他的头巾和法衣剥掉不可。”
他们这么谈论的时候，洛克斯利的大声喊叫和一再打门，终于把隐土和他的客人从欢乐中惊醒了。“凭我的念珠起誓，”隐士说，赶紧煞住了一声洪亮的花腔，“又有客人要来过夜了。我是修土，可不能让他们看到我们干的好事。懒汉老弟，每人都有他的对头；有的还心肠恶毒，我不过因为你赶路累了，招待你吃了三个钟头酒菜，他们便会造谣生事，把这说成纵酒行乐，胡作非为，仿佛这是违背我的职业和人品的罪恶。
“这些胡说八道的小人！”骑士答道，“我恨不得用鞭子抽他们一顿、不过，神父，你说得对，每个人都有他的对头；在这片土地上也有不少人，我宁可通过我头盔上的铁条跟他们讲话．不想让他们看到我的真面目
“那就把你的铁罐子戴上吧，懒汉老弟，别再磨蹭，尽量快一些，”隐士说，“让我来收拾这些酒器；不知怎么回事，那些酒好像都跑进了我的脑袋，说真的，它变得迷迷糊糊的。喂，请你还是跟我一起唱的好，唱响一些．免得让人听到瓶瓶罐罐的碰击声。唱什么无关紧要，连我自己也不知唱什么好呢。”
这么说着，他便拉开嗓子，跟打雷似的唱起了“我从深渊向你求告”(注)，同时在歌声的掩盖下收拾餐桌L的用具。骑士放声大笑，一边趁这时机把帽盔脸甲全都戴好，一边尽可能不时忍住笑，用他的大嗓门给主人帮腔。
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(注)基督教的赞美诗，见《旧约•诗篇》第130篇。
“这个时候，你在念什么鬼祷告？”门外的声音问。
“愿上帝宽恕你，旅客先生！”隐土答道；他自己的喊声，也许还有这一夜喝的酒，使他不能听出这个对他相当熟悉的嗓音。“我以上帝和圣邓斯坦的名义，请你走自己的路吧，别来打扰我和我的修士兄弟的祈祷。”
“这教士发疯了，”门外的声音说道，“开门，我是洛克斯利！”
“这下可以放心了，什么事也没有，”隐士对他的同伴说。
“但他是准呀？”黑甲骑士说，“这跟我关系重大，必须知道。”
“他是谁！”隐士答道，“我告诉你，他是一个朋友。”
“但是什么朋友？”骑士问道，“因为他可能是你的朋友，却不是我的朋＆、”
“什么朋友！”隐士答道，“这个问题要问是容易的，回答却不容易。什么朋友！好吧，他是……让我想想，对，就是刚才我告诉你的，那个正直的守林人。”
“对，跟你一样，你是虔诚的修士，他是正直的守林人，”骑士答道．“这点毫无疑问、但你还是把门打开吧，免得他把铰链踢断。”
这时，在交涉开始的时候叫得那么可怕的两条狗，似乎也听出了门外那个人的声合，态度骤然变了，一边用爪子扒门，一边发出伤心的吠叫，仿佛在为他求情，要放他进屋。隐士马上拔掉门闩，让洛克斯利和他的两个伙伴进了屋子。
“怎么，隐士，”庄稼汉一看见骑士，便提出了这个问题，“这就是跟你一起唱歌喝酒的朋友？他是谁？”
“我们修会的一个兄弟，”修上答道，摇了摇头，“我们在这儿做了一夜祷告。”
“我想，他是军队修会的修上吧，”洛克斯利答道，“这样的人外面有的是，找告诉你，修士，你得放下念珠，拿起棍子来了；我们必须把我们快活的小伙产全都召集拢来，不沦他是出家的还是在家的。不过，”他又说，把他拉到一边，“你疯了不是？让一个不认识的骑士进入你的屋里？你忘记了我们的规则吗？”
“不认识！”修士勇敢地答道，“我完全认识他，就像乞丐认识自己的盘子一样”
“那么他叫什么名字？”洛克斯利问。
“他名叫……”隐士道，“他是斯克兰布尔修道院的安东尼兄弟；你以为我会跟一个我不知道姓名的人喝酒不成！”
“你已经喝得太多了，修士。”庄稼人说，“恐怕还唠唠叨叨讲了不少不该讲的话。”
“好庄户人，”骑士上前说道，“别跟我这位快活的主人生气。他只是请我吃了一顿饭，其实如果他不肯，我也会强迫他请的。”
“你强迫我！”修士说道。“等着瞧吧，等我脱下这身灰布衣服，换上绿色大褂，拿起铁头木棍，我不把你打得屁滚尿流，就算不得真修士，也算不得好猎手。”
他一边说，一边脱下了长袍，露出了紧身粗布黑上衣和裤子，随即穿上了绿大褂和同样颜色的罩裤。“请你帮个忙，给我把这些带子缚紧，”他讨汪八说，“我可以赏你一杯葡萄酒，不会要你白干的。”
“多谢您老啦，”汪八答道，“不过要我帮助你把一个修士变成强盗，这么做个犯法吗？”
“别怕，”隐士说，“我穿了绿大褂犯的罪，会向我穿了灰大褂的修士忏悔，于是一切便会逢凶化吉。”
“那敢情好！”小丑答道，“粗布大褂犯了罪有麻布大褂替他仔悔，那个穿小丑彩衣的我干了坏事，也可以靠穿修士长袍的您老给消灾除祸啦。。
他一边说，一边帮修士把联结上衣和裤子的无数条带子—一缚紧。
他们这么干时，洛克斯利把骑士叫到一旁，对他说道：“不要否认，骑士先生，你便是在阿什贝的第二天比武中，帮助英国人一边打败外国人的那个人。”
“我的朋友，如果你猜得不错，那怎么样呢？”骑士问。
“那么我就认为，你是弱者的朋友，”庄稼汉答道。
“这本来是一个真正的骑士的起码职责，”黑甲勇士回答，“我自然不愿意别人不这么看我。”
“不过根据我的看法，”庄稼人说，“你不仅应该作一个合格的骑士．也应该作一个合格的英国人；因为我现在要谈的那件事，的确是每个正直的人都责无旁贷的，但一个真正出生在英国的人责任尤其重大。”
“没有一个人会比我更重视英国的利益，更关心每一个英国人的生命，你放心讲好了，”骑士答道。
“这正是我希望相信的事，”乡下人说，“因为这个国家还从没像现在这样，需要得到爱护它的人的支持。听我说，现在有一件大事需要我们去做，如果你真像你所说的那样，你也可以参加这个光荣的行动。一群歹徒装扮成比他们高尚的人，抓走了一个被人称作撒克逊人塞德里克的正直的英国人，以及他的义女，他的一个朋友科宁斯堡的阿特尔斯坦，把他们关进了这片森林中的托奎尔斯通城堡。你作为一个善良的骑士和善良的英国人，我问你，你愿意出力搭救他们吗？”
“根据我的誓言，我应该这么做，”骑上回答，“但是你要求我帮助他们，我希望知道你是谁？”
“我只是一个无名小子，”庄稼人说，“但我是我的国家的朋友，我的国家的朋友的朋友。我只能讲到这里为止，你不必再追问，尤其因为你自己也还不愿公开姓名。然而请你相信，我的话是算数的，是像骑士的誓言一样可靠的。”
“我完全相信这点，”骑士说，“我一向善于观察人们的脸，从你的脸上我看到了正直和坚定。因此我不想再提出任何问题，我愿意帮助你．让那些受到欺压的俘虏获得自由；等那事完成后，我相信我们会获得进一步的了解，彼此感到满意的。”
这时修士在汪八的帮助下，装束完毕。小丑走到屋子的另一头，听到了谈话的结果，便对岛四说道：“那么我们又找到一个帮手了？我相信，骑上的勇敢是比隐士的祈祷和庄稼汉的正直支有用的；因为洛克斯利这家伙像专在树林里打鹿的惯偷，那个修士又像不守清现的伪君子。”
“别多嘴，汪八，”葛回答道，“一切也许正像你猜的那样，不过要是魔鬼对付我说，他愿意帮忙，搭救塞德里戈和罗文娜小姐，我恐怕也不会为了信仰上帝，便拒绝魔鬼的帮助，要他别管我的事。”
现在修上已完全打扮成庄稼汉，拿着刀和盾牌，背着弓箭，还扛了一把粗大的戟。他领着这伙人走出屋子，小心翼翼锁上了门，把钥匙藏在了门槛下。
“你现在的情况怎么样，那一大碗一大碗酒是不是还在你的头脑里作怪？”洛克斯利说。
“只要再喝一口圣邓斯坦的泉水便没事了，”教士答道。“我的头脑还在嗡嗡响，腿也有些发软，但是你瞧吧，一切马上都会过去。”
说着，他走向石盂，泉水落下时形成的水泡，正在清澈的月光下跳动，他俯下身子，长长地喝了一大口，仿佛要把一盆水都喝干似的。
“你恐怕从没一口喝过这么多水吧，我的科普曼赫斯特的教土？”黑甲骑土说道。
“不对，有一次我的酒桶漏了，酒都从那个非法孔道溜走了，我什么也喝不到，只得靠我的保护圣徒的施舍过日子，那时我一口也喝过这么多，”修士答道。
然后他把手和头都伸进泉水中，洗净了夜间大吃大喝留下的一切痕迹。
现在快活的修士终于清醒了，显得神采奕奕，像拿一根芦杆似的，用二只手指提起那把笨重的大戟，在头顶挥了三圈，一边还大声嚷嚷：“那几个强抢妇女的混帐暴徒在哪里？要是我一个对付不了他们十个，我他妈的就是魔鬼的孙子！”
“神父，你也要骂人？”黑甲骑士说。
“别叫我神父，”那个换了装束的教士答道，“凭圣乔治和白龙起誓，我口有穿上灰布道袍的时候，才是削发的僧侣。只要我穿上绿大褂，我便与这西区森林里任何一个快活的伙伴一样，也要喝酒，骂人，追求姑娘。”
“走吧，别胡闹了。”洛克斯利说，“‘安静一些，你哇啦哇啦的，吵得比节日夜里长老睡觉以后的整个修道院还热闹。你们各位也请。快走，别慢吞吞的，只顾讲话；真的，得走快些，我们必须集合所有的力量，人手越多越好．山为这是要攻打牛面将军雷金纳德的城堡呢。”
“什么！那是牛面将军？”黑甲骑十说，“他竟然在大路上打劫国王的臣民？他真的成了贼人，欺压平民不成？”
“他一贯欺压平民，”洛克斯利说。
“至于贼人，”教土道，“告诉你，他比我认识的许多强盗还坏一倍。”
“神父，快走，别再讲话．”庄稼人说。“你最好还是在前面带路，把大伙领往集合地点；凡是不该讲的话就别讲，应该庄重一些．谨慎一些。”
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Chapter 21
Alas, how many hours and years have past, Since human forms have round this table sate, Or lamp, or taper, on its surface gleam'd! Methinks, I hear the sound of time long pass'd Still murmuring o'er us, in the lofty void Of these dark arches, like the ling'ring voices Of those who long within their graves have slept. Orra, a Tragedy
While these measures were taking in behalf of Cedric and his companions, the armed men by whom the latter had been seized, hurried their captives along towards the place of security, where they intended to imprison them. But darkness came on fast, and the paths of the wood seemed but imperfectly known to the marauders. They were compelled to make several long halts, and once or twice to return on their road to resume the direction which they wished to pursue. The summer morn had dawned upon them ere they could travel in full assurance that they held the right path. But confidence returned with light, and the cavalcade now moved rapidly forward. Meanwhile, the following dialogue took place between the two leaders of the banditti.
"It is time thou shouldst leave us, Sir Maurice," said the Templar to De Bracy, "in order to prepare the second part of thy mystery. Thou art next, thou knowest, to act the Knight Deliverer."
"I have thought better of it," said De Bracy; "I will not leave thee till the prize is fairly deposited in Front-de-Boeuf's castle. There will I appear before the Lady Rowena in mine own shape, and trust that she will set down to the vehemence of my passion the violence of which I have been guilty."
"And what has made thee change thy plan, De Bracy?" replied the Knight Templar.
"That concerns thee nothing," answered his companion.
"I would hope, however, Sir Knight," said the Templar, "that this alteration of measures arises from no suspicion of my honourable meaning, such as Fitzurse endeavoured to instil into thee?"
"My thoughts are my own," answered De Bracy; "the fiend laughs, they say, when one thief robs another; and we know, that were he to spit fire and brimstone instead, it would never prevent a Templar from following his bent."
"Or the leader of a Free Company," answered the Templar, "from dreading at the hands of a comrade and friend, the injustice he does to all mankind."
"This is unprofitable and perilous recrimination," answered De Bracy; "suffice it to say, I know the morals of the Temple-Order, and I will not give thee the power of cheating me out of the fair prey for which I have run such risks."
"Psha," replied the Templar, "what hast thou to fear?---Thou knowest the vows of our order."
"Right well," said De Bracy, "and also how they are kept. Come, Sir Templar, the laws of gallantry have a liberal interpretation in Palestine, and this is a case in which I will trust nothing to your conscience."
"Hear the truth, then," said the Templar; "I care not for your blue-eyed beauty. There is in that train one who will make me a better mate."
"What! wouldst thou stoop to the waiting damsel?" said De Bracy.
"No, Sir Knight," said the Templar, haughtily. "To the waiting-woman will I not stoop. I have a prize among the captives as lovely as thine own."
"By the mass, thou meanest the fair Jewess!" said De Bracy.
"And if I do," said Bois-Guilbert, "who shall gainsay me?"
"No one that I know," said De Bracy, "unless it be your vow of celibacy, or a cheek of conscience for an intrigue with a Jewess."
"For my vow," said the Templar, "our Grand Master hath granted me a dispensation. And for my conscience, a man that has slain three hundred Saracens, need not reckon up every little failing, like a village girl at her first confession upon Good Friday eve."
"Thou knowest best thine own privileges," said De Bracy. "Yet, I would have sworn thy thought had been more on the old usurer's money bags, than on the black eyes of the daughter."
"I can admire both," answered the Templar; "besides, the old Jew is but half-prize. I must share his spoils with Front-de-Boeuf, who will not lend us the use of his castle for nothing. I must have something that I can term exclusively my own by this foray of ours, and I have fixed on the lovely Jewess as my peculiar prize. But, now thou knowest my drift, thou wilt resume thine own original plan, wilt thou not?---Thou hast nothing, thou seest, to fear from my interference."
"No," replied De Bracy, "I will remain beside my prize. What thou sayst is passing true, but I like not the privileges acquired by the dispensation of the Grand Master, and the merit acquired by the slaughter of three hundred Saracens. You have too good a right to a free pardon, to render you very scrupulous about peccadilloes."
While this dialogue was proceeding, Cedric was endeavouring to wring out of those who guarded him an avowal of their character and purpose. "You should be Englishmen," said he; "and yet, sacred Heaven! you prey upon your countrymen as if you were very Normans. You should be my neighbours, and, if so, my friends; for which of my English neighbours have reason to be otherwise? I tell ye, yeomen, that even those among ye who have been branded with outlawry have had from me protection; for I have pitied their miseries, and curst the oppression of their tyrannic nobles. What, then, would you have of me? or in what can this violence serve ye?---Ye are worse than brute beasts in your actions, and will you imitate them in their very dumbness?"
It was in vain that Cedric expostulated with his guards, who had too many good reasons for their silence to be induced to break it either by his wrath or his expostulations. They continued to hurry him along, travelling at a very rapid rate, until, at the end of an avenue of huge trees, arose Torquilstone, now the hoary and ancient castle of Reginald Front-de-Boeuf. It was a fortress of no great size, consisting of a donjon, or large and high square tower, surrounded by buildings of inferior height, which were encircled by an inner court-yard. Around the exterior wall was a deep moat, supplied with water from a neighbouring rivulet. Front-de-Boeuf, whose character placed him often at feud with his enemies, had made considerable additions to the strength of his castle, by building towers upon the outward wall, so as to flank it at every angle. The access, as usual in castles of the period, lay through an arched barbican, or outwork, which was terminated and defended by a small turret at each corner.
Cedric no sooner saw the turrets of Front-de-Boeuf's castle raise their grey and moss-grown battlements, glimmering in the morning sun above the wood by which they were surrounded, than he instantly augured more truly concerning the cause of his misfortune.
"I did injustice," he said, "to the thieves and outlaws of these woods, when I supposed such banditti to belong to their bands; I might as justly have confounded the foxes of these brakes with the ravening wolves of France. Tell me, dogs---is it my life or my wealth that your master aims at? Is it too much that two Saxons, myself and the noble Athelstane, should hold land in the country which was once the patrimony of our race?---Put us then to death, and complete your tyranny by taking our lives, as you began with our liberties. If the Saxon Cedric cannot rescue England, he is willing to die for her. Tell your tyrannical master, I do only beseech him to dismiss the Lady Rowena in honour and safety. She is a woman, and he need not dread her; and with us will die all who dare fight in her cause."
The attendants remained as mute to this address as to the former, and they now stood before the gate of the castle. De Bracy winded his horn three times, and the archers and cross-bow men, who had manned the wall upon seeing their approach, hastened to lower the drawbridge, and admit them. The prisoners were compelled by their guards to alight, and were conducted to an apartment where a hasty repast was offered them, of which none but Athelstane felt any inclination to partake. Neither had the descendant of the Confessor much time to do justice to the good cheer placed before them, for their guards gave him and Cedric to understand that they were to be imprisoned in a chamber apart from Rowena. Resistance was vain; and they were compelled to follow to a large room, which, rising on clumsy Saxon pillars, resembled those refectories and chapter-houses which may be still seen in the most ancient parts of our most ancient monasteries.
The Lady Rowena was next separated from her train, and conducted, with courtesy, indeed, but still without consulting her inclination, to a distant apartment. The same alarming distinction was conferred on Rebecca, in spite of her father's entreaties, who offered even money, in this extremity of distress, that she might be permitted to abide with him. "Base unbeliever," answered one of his guards, "when thou hast seen thy lair, thou wilt not wish thy daughter to partake it." And, without farther discussion, the old Jew was forcibly dragged off in a different direction from the other prisoners. The domestics, after being carefully searched and disarmed, were confined in another part of the castle; and Rowena was refused even the comfort she might have derived from the attendance of her handmaiden Elgitha.
The apartment in which the Saxon chiefs were confined, for to them we turn our first attention, although at present used as a sort of guard-room, had formerly been the great hall of the castle. It was now abandoned to meaner purposes, because the present lord, among other additions to the convenience, security, and beauty of his baronial residence, had erected a new and noble hall, whose vaulted roof was supported by lighter and more elegant pillars, and fitted up with that higher degree of ornament, which the Normans had already introduced into architecture.
Cedric paced the apartment, filled with indignant reflections on the past and on the present, while the apathy of his companion served, instead of patience and philosophy, to defend him against every thing save the inconvenience of the present moment; and so little did he feel even this last, that he was only from time to time roused to a reply by Cedric's animated and impassioned appeal to him.
"Yes," said Cedric, half speaking to himself, and half addressing himself to Athelstane, "it was in this very hall that my father feasted with Torquil Wolfganger, when he entertained the valiant and unfortunate Harold, then advancing against the Norwegians, who had united themselves to the rebel Tosti. It was in this hall that Harold returned the magnanimous answer to the ambassador of his rebel brother. Oft have I heard my father kindle as he told the tale. The envoy of Tosti was admitted, when this ample room could scarce contain the crowd of noble Saxon leaders, who were quaffing the blood-red wine around their monarch."
"I hope," said Athelstane, somewhat moved by this part of his friend's discourse, "they will not forget to send us some wine and refactions at noon---we had scarce a breathing-space allowed to break our fast, and I never have the benefit of my food when I eat immediately after dismounting from horseback, though the leeches recommend that practice."
Cedric went on with his story without noticing this interjectional observation of his friend.
"The envoy of Tosti," he said, "moved up the hall, undismayed by the frowning countenances of all around him, until he made his obeisance before the throne of King Harold.
"'What terms,' he said, 'Lord King, hath thy brother Tosti to hope, if he should lay down his arms, and crave peace at thy hands?'
"'A brother's love,' cried the generous Harold, 'and the fair earldom of Northumberland.'
"'But should Tosti accept these terms,' continued the envoy, 'what lands shall be assigned to his faithful ally, Hardrada, King of Norway?'
"'Seven feet of English ground,' answered Harold, fiercely, 'or, as Hardrada is said to be a giant, perhaps we may allow him twelve inches more.'
"The hall rung with acclamations, and cup and horn was filled to the Norwegian, who should be speedily in possession of his English territory."
"I could have pledged him with all my soul," said Athelstane, "for my tongue cleaves to my palate."
"The baffled envoy," continued Cedric, pursuing with animation his tale, though it interested not the listener, "retreated, to carry to Tosti and his ally the ominous answer of his injured brother. It was then that the distant towers of York, and the bloody streams of the Derwent,*
* Note D. Battle of Stamford.
beheld that direful conflict, in which, after displaying the most undaunted valour, the King of Norway, and Tosti, both fell, with ten thousand of their bravest followers. Who would have thought that upon the proud day when this battle was won, the very gale which waved the Saxon banners in triumph, was filling the Norman sails, and impelling them to the fatal shores of Sussex?---Who would have thought that Harold, within a few brief days, would himself possess no more of his kingdom, than the share which he allotted in his wrath to the Norwegian invader? ---Who would have thought that you, noble Athelstane---that you, descended of Harold's blood, and that I, whose father was not the worst defender of the Saxon crown, should be prisoners to a vile Norman, in the very hall in which our ancestors held such high festival?"
"It is sad enough," replied Athelstane; "but I trust they will hold us to a moderate ransom---At any rate it cannot be their purpose to starve us outright; and yet, although it is high noon, I see no preparations for serving dinner. Look up at the window, noble Cedric, and judge by the sunbeams if it is not on the verge of noon."
"It may be so," answered Cedric; "but I cannot look on that stained lattice without its awakening other reflections than those which concern the passing moment, or its privations. When that window was wrought, my noble friend, our hardy fathers knew not the art of making glass, or of staining it---The pride of Wolfganger's father brought an artist from Normandy to adorn his hall with this new species of emblazonment, that breaks the golden light of God's blessed day into so many fantastic hues. The foreigner came here poor, beggarly, cringing, and subservient, ready to doff his cap to the meanest native of the household. He returned pampered and proud, to tell his rapacious countrymen of the wealth and the simplicity of the Saxon nobles ---a folly, oh, Athelstane, foreboded of old, as well as foreseen, by those descendants of Hengist and his hardy tribes, who retained the simplicity of their manners. We made these strangers our bosom friends, our confidential servants; we borrowed their artists and their arts, and despised the honest simplicity and hardihood with which our brave ancestors supported themselves, and we became enervated by Norman arts long ere we fell under Norman arms. Far better was our homely diet, eaten in peace and liberty, than the luxurious dainties, the love of which hath delivered us as bondsmen to the foreign conqueror!"
"I should," replied Athelstane, "hold very humble diet a luxury at present; and it astonishes me, noble Cedric, that you can bear so truly in mind the memory of past deeds, when it appeareth you forget the very hour of dinner."
"It is time lost," muttered Cedric apart and impatiently, "to speak to him of aught else but that which concerns his appetite! The soul of Hardicanute hath taken possession of him, and he hath no pleasure save to fill, to swill, and to call for more. ---Alas!" said he, looking at Athelstane with compassion, "that so dull a spirit should be lodged in so goodly a form! Alas! that such an enterprise as the regeneration of England should turn on a hinge so imperfect! Wedded to Rowena, indeed, her nobler and more generous soul may yet awake the better nature which is torpid within him. Yet how should this be, while Rowena, Athelstane, and I myself, remain the prisoners of this brutal marauder and have been made so perhaps from a sense of the dangers which our liberty might bring to the usurped power of his nation?"
While the Saxon was plunged in these painful reflections, the door of their prison opened, and gave entrance to a sewer, holding his white rod of office. This important person advanced into the chamber with a grave pace, followed by four attendants, bearing in a table covered with dishes, the sight and smell of which seemed to be an instant compensation to Athelstane for all the inconvenience he had undergone. The persons who attended on the feast were masked and cloaked.
"What mummery is this?" said Cedric; "think you that we are ignorant whose prisoners we are, when we are in the castle of your master? Tell him," he continued, willing to use this opportunity to open a negotiation for his freedom,---"Tell your master, Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, that we know no reason he can have for withholding our liberty, excepting his unlawful desire to enrich himself at our expense. Tell him that we yield to his rapacity, as in similar circumstances we should do to that of a literal robber. Let him name the ransom at which he rates our liberty, and it shall be paid, providing the exaction is suited to our means." The sewer made no answer, but bowed his head.
"And tell Sir Reginald Front-de-Boeuf," said Athelstane, "that I send him my mortal defiance, and challenge him to combat with me, on foot or horseback, at any secure place, within eight days after our liberation; which, if he be a true knight, he will not, under these circumstances, venture to refuse or to delay."
"I shall deliver to the knight your defiance," answered the sewer; "meanwhile I leave you to your food."
The challenge of Athelstane was delivered with no good grace; for a large mouthful, which required the exercise of both jaws at once, added to a natural hesitation, considerably damped the effect of the bold defiance it contained. Still, however, his speech was hailed by Cedric as an incontestible token of reviving spirit in his companion, whose previous indifference had begun, notwithstanding his respect for Athelstane's descent, to wear out his patience. But he now cordially shook hands with him in token of his approbation, and was somewhat grieved when Athelstane observed, "that he would fight a dozen such men as Front-de-Boeuf, if, by so doing, he could hasten his departure from a dungeon where they put so much garlic into their pottage." Notwithstanding this intimation of a relapse into the apathy of sensuality, Cedric placed himself opposite to Athelstane, and soon showed, that if the distresses of his country could banish the recollection of food while the table was uncovered, yet no sooner were the victuals put there, than he proved that the appetite of his Saxon ancestors had descended to him along with their other qualities.
The captives had not long enjoyed their refreshment, however, ere their attention was disturbed even from this most serious occupation by the blast of a horn winded before the gate. It was repeated three times, with as much violence as if it had been blown before an enchanted castle by the destined knight, at whose summons halls and towers, barbican and battlement, were to roll off like a morning vapour. The Saxons started from the table, and hastened to the window. But their curiosity was disappointed; for these outlets only looked upon the court of the castle, and the sound came from beyond its precincts. The summons, however, seemed of importance, for a considerable degree of bustle instantly took place in the castle.

啊，自从人们围坐在这张桌边，
自从灯烛照亮这个桌面以来，
已经历了多少漫长的岁月！
可是远古的声音仿佛还萦绕在我们耳边，
还在这些阴暗空虚的拱顶四周回旋，
似乎那些早已安息在坟墓中的人，
仍在这儿流速徘徊，窃窃低语。
《奥拉，一出悲剧》
就在为营救塞德里克等人进行紧张的准备时，绑架他们的武装歹徒正把他们送往预定的囚禁地点。但是夜色越来越浓，这伙强人似乎不太熟悉森林中的路径。他们不得不一再停顿，这花了不少时间，有一两次还只得退回原处，辨别应走的方向。夏季天亮得早，曙光初露时，他们还不能完全确定，他们走的路线是不是正确。但是天色明亮以后，信心便恢复了，他们也得以迅速向前趱行。这时在强盗的两个领导人之间，进行了下面的谈话：
“现在你可以走了，莫里斯爵士，”圣殿骑士对德布拉西说，“你该去准备这次秘密行动的第二部分了。你知道，下一步你该扮演救星骑士了。”
“我改变主意了，”德布拉西说，“我得等我的美人在牛面将军的城堡中安置妥当以后，才离开你。到了那里，我便得以我的本来面目出现在罗文娜小姐面前，我相信我的热情会感动她，使她谅解我在这次暴力行动中的过错。”
“你改变计划的原因是什么，德布拉西？”圣殿骑士问。
“那与你无关，”他的朋友答道。
“但是我希望，骑士阁下，你改变主意不是对我的正直意图产生了怀疑．菲泽西不是曾竭力向你灌输这种想法吗？”
“我的想法是我自己的，”德布拉西答道。“人们说，一个强盗掠夺另一个强盗的时候，魔鬼也会放声大笑；但我们知道，哪怕他嘴里喷出的是硫磺火焰，也不能阻止圣殿骑士随心所欲的胡来。”
“这是说，自由团队的领导人也怕遭到一个同伴和朋友的算计，”圣殿骑士答道，“尽管他自己天天都在算计别人。”
“你对我反咬一口是没有道理的，也是危险的，”德布拉西答道。“你得明白，我知道圣殿骑士团的信誉，我不会给你机会，让你把我冒了这么大的危险获得的美女骗走。”
“真是胡言乱语，”圣殿骑士说道，“你有什么可担心的？你知道我们骑士全团的誓言。”
“一点不错，”德布拉酉说，“还知道你们怎么遵守诺言。得啦，圣殿骑士阁下，骑士的侠义守则在巴勒斯坦是可以随意解释的；在这一点上，我不能相信你的良心。”
“那么实话对你说吧，”圣殿骑士道，“我对你的蓝眼睛美人不感兴趣。那伙人中另外有一个姑娘更符合我的心意。”
“什么！你竟然愿意要那个使女？”德布拉西说。
“不，骑士阁下，”圣殿骑士傲慢地说。“我当然不会要那个使女。我看中的那个人，在俘虏中与你的一样可爱。”
“我的天哪，你是指那个漂亮的犹太姑娘！”德布拉西说。
“只要我愿意，”布瓦吉贝尔说，“谁敢反对？”
“谁也不会反对，”德布拉西说，“除非你的独身誓言，或者你的良知不允许你与一个犹太姑娘私通。”
“说到我的誓言，”圣殿骑士道，“我已得到我们大宗师的特许，可以不受约束。至于良知，一个杀死过三百名萨拉森人的勇士，不需要考虑每一个小过大，他不是乡下姑娘，不会在耶稣受难日前夕的第一次忏悔中把什么都当作罪孽。”
“当然，你的权利，你自己最清楚，”德布拉西说。“不过，我可以起誓，你想得到的主要是那个老守财奴的钱袋，不是那个黑眼睛的女儿。”
“我两者都要，”圣殿骑士答道。“再说，那个犹太佬我只能得到一半我不得不与牛面将军平分他的财产，他捞不到好处，不会把他的城堡借给我们。在这次抢劫活动中，我必须得到一件我可以独自占有的东西，我便把这个犹太小妞儿看作我的特殊战利品。现在你知道了我的意图，你可以按照你原来的计划行事了，是不是？你瞧，你根本不用担心我会抢走你的心上人。”
“不，”德布拉西答道，“我得留在我的美人身边。你这番话也许是真的，但我不喜欢你从你的大宗师那里得到的特权，也不喜欢你从杀戮三百名萨拉森人取得的功绩。你既然享有特权，可以随时获得宽恕，你就不会把那些小过失放在心上了。”
这场谈话进行时，塞德里克正跟押送他的人套交情，指望从他们口中了解他们是何许人，什么意图。“你们应该是英国人，”他说，“然而，我的天呐！你们却要陷害你们的同胞，好像你们是诺曼人似的。你们应该都是我的邻居，因而也是我的朋友；因为凡是我的邻居，都应该是我的朋友，怎么会不是这样呢？告诉你们，老乡们，哪怕你们中间那些曾被栽上土匪罪名的人，也得到过我的保护；因为我同情他们的苦难，诅咒专横的贵族对他们的压迫。那么你们还要我怎么样？这种暴力行动又能使你们得到什么呢？你们干的事比野兽还不如，难道你们要学它们当哑巴不成？”
塞德里克的劝告，对押送他的人毫无作用，他们有太多的理由需要保持沉默，因此不论他发怒也好，讲好话也好，他们反正不开门，只是一个劲地催他快走。这样，他们加速前进，最后来到了一条林荫道上，它的两旁尽是高大的树木，牛面将军雷金纳德的托奎尔斯通城堡，便矗立在它的末端，它历史悠久，已相当古老了。这本来是一个不大的堡垒，包括个上楼，即又高又大的方形塔楼，周围的建筑较低，这些房屋都位在一个内院的中央、沿着外面的围墙有一条深深的壕沟，水是从附近的一条小河引入的。牛面将军的性格使他与他的敌人时常争吵，因此他又增添了不少建筑，加强城堡的防御力量，在外面的围墙上造了一些塔楼，可以从每个犄角上掩护它的侧翼。入口与当时的一般城堡相仿，得穿过一个拱形碉楼或外堡，它外面每个角上都有一个小塔楼保卫它。
塞德里克一眼望去，看到了牛面将军城堡中那些小塔楼上长满青苔的灰色雉堞，它们正闪闪烁烁，沐浴在周围树林上空的一片晨光中，于是他立刻明白了，对这次灾难的原因有了较清醒的认识。
“我错怪了这些树林中的强人和盗匪了，”他说，“我还以为绑架我们的是这些人呢。我真糊涂，把法国来的吃人豺狼跟本地的狐狸混为一谈了。告诉我，你们这些畜生，你们是要我的性命或者我的财产吧？这个国家个来世世代代属于我们撒克逊人．现在我和阿特尔斯坦这两个撒克逊人，八这儿享有我们的土地，难道不应该吗？那么处死我们吧，你们先是剥夺我们的自由，现在又想剥夺我们的生命，这样，你们的暴政就功德圆满了。如果撒克逊人塞德里克不能拯救英国，他愿意为它而死。告诉你们专横的主人，我对他只有一个要求，那就是让罗文娜小姐获得光荣而安全的自由。她是妇女，他用不到怕她，我们一死就再没有人会为她战斗了。”
这一席话，那些仆从听了照旧一声不吭。现在他们已站在城堡的大门前，德布拉西吹了三遍号角；弓弩手们看到他们走近，本来已在城堡上严阵以待，这时赶紧放下了吊桥，让他们入内。俘虏们给押送人员叫下了马，带进一间屋子，还匆匆忙忙给他们端来了一些食物，但是除了阿特尔斯坦，谁也没有心思吃饭。不过忏悔者(注)的这位后裔对放在他面前的菜肴，也没有太多的时间享受，因为押送人员随即通知他和塞德里克，他们得与罗文娜分开，单独禁闭在一间屋子中。反抗是没有用的，他们给送进一了一间大房间，那里的柱子又粗又大，这种撒克逊建筑有些像老式的食堂和礼堂，在我们最古老的修道院中还能见到。
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(注)指英国的一位撒克逊国王爱德华（1044一1066年在位）。他在丹麦人入侵英国时，曾长期流亡在诺曼底，因而回国后任命了许多诺曼底人担任重要职务，甚至指定了诺曼底公爵威廉作他的王们继承人，这成了威廉后来入侵和征服英国的借口。但他死前有所叵悔，另外指定了撒克逊人哈罗德作他的继承人，因而被称为忏海者。本书中曾多次提到他。
接着，罗文娜小姐也给隔离了，那是很远的一间屋子；确实，她是被客客气请去的，但不论怎么说，没有征求过她的同意。丽贝卡也得到了同样人可思议的优越待遇，尽管她的父亲再三恳求，不愿在这危急关头与她分开，甚至答应拿出钱来也没有用。一个押送的人回答他道：“不信基督的混蛋等你看到你的狗岗后，你就不会希望你的女儿也住在那里了。”这样，毫无商量的余地，犹太老人给拽走了，他关的地方与别的俘虏不在同一个方向。他们的家人经过仔细搜查，解除了武装后，都给赶进城堡的另一部分；罗文娜要求让她的贴身使女艾尔占莎留在身边侍候她，也遭到了拒绝。
我们先来看看那两位撒克逊家长的情形。囚禁他们的那间屋子．现在虽然当作了牢房，从前却是城堡的大厅，只是后来它的地位降低了，因为目前的主人为了舒适、安全和美观．扩建这栋男爵府邸时，盖造了一问新的豪华大厅，它的拱形屋顶是用较细的、精致的柱产支撑的，装磺也比较典雅，表现了诺曼人已在开始采用的富丽堂皇的建筑风格。
塞德里走在屋里踱来踱去，怒气冲冲地回顾着过去和现在，他那位朋友却垂头丧气．不想进行忍辱负重的哲学思考，提高抵御一切的毅力，只是时眼前的处境觉得不太舒服罢了；其实这种不舒服，他也感受不深，因此对塞德里克声色俱厉、慷慨激昂的诉说，不过偶尔回答一两句。
“是的，”塞德里克说，又像自言自语，又像是在向阿特尔斯坦讲话，“当年就在这间大厅里，托奎尔•沃尔夫岗格宴请英勇而不幸的哈罗德(注)时，我的祖父也参加了宴会，那时哈罗德正要去攻打挪威人，因为他们支持托斯蒂格的叛乱。就是在这问大厅里，哈罗德对反叛的兄弟的使臣作出了庄严的回答。我的父亲几次谈到过这事．一讲起来便很兴奋。托斯蒂格的使臣进了大厅，当时这间宽敞的屋于几乎挤满了撒克逊的贵族领袖，他们正围着他们的君主，大口喝着血红的葡萄酒。”
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(注)即哈罗德二世、1066年1月继爱德华之后为英国国王，这人极有才能，作战英勇、但在位仅数月，便在十月于抵抗诺曼人的黑斯廷斯战役中阵亡,，从而结束了英国的撒克逊王朝。托斯蒂格是他的兄弟，于1066年发动叛乱，挪威国王哈拉尔德三世因觊觎英国王位、支持了托斯蒂格。这年九月、托斯蒂格和哈拉尔德三世均在作战中被哈罗德杀死。
塞德里克的这部分议论，有些打动他的朋友了，阿特尔斯坦说道：“我希望他们别忘了中午给我们送些酒菜来，刚才那么匆匆忙忙的．我简直没吃一点东西；我平常下马以后不能立刻吃饭，总觉得没有味道，尽管医生认为，骑马以后应该用些食物。”
塞德里克继续讲他的故事，不去理会他的朋友的这些感触。
“托斯蒂格的使臣走上大厅，”他说，“看到周围那一张张怒目而视的脸没有气馁、走到哈罗德国王的御座前行了礼。
“‘陛下，’他说，‘你的兄弟托斯蒂格希望知道，如果他放下武器，向你提议和平，你的条件是什么？’
“‘我与他恢复手足之情，’宽宏大量的哈罗德答道，‘赐给他富饶的诺森伯兰伯爵领地。’
“‘但是托斯蒂格接受这些条件的话，’使臣继续道，‘他的忠实盟友挪威国王哈德拉达(注)可以得到什么领地？’
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(注)即哈拉尔德三世，这是他的浑号，意为“残酷的统治者”。下面的“七英尺土地”指坟墓。
“‘七英尺英国土地，’哈罗德严厉地回答，‘不过听说哈德拉达生得高大，我也许可以多给他十二英寸。’
“大厅中响起了一片喝彩声，大大小小的杯子都斟满了酒，祝贺哈德拉达不久就可以得到这片英国领土了。”
“我也全心全意希望为他祝酒，”阿特尔斯坦说，“我的舌头于得快粘住硬腭了。”
“碰了钉子的使臣，”塞德里克继续兴致勃勃地讲他的故事，尽管听的人对这事不感兴趣，“只得带着气愤的兄长的这个不祥答复，回去向托斯蒂格和他的盟友复命了。这样，约克郡的遥远塔楼和德文特河才看到了那场血腥的战斗 (注1)，它把河水都染红了，挪威国王和托斯蒂格在表现了最无畏的勇气后，都倒进了血泊中，他们的一万名勇士也死了。谁想得到，在赢得这次战斗的那自豪的一天，吹拂着胜利的撒克逊军旗的那股风，也把诺曼人的战船吹到了苏塞克斯的不幸的海岸上(注2)？谁会想到，短短几天之后，哈罗德便不再拥有他的王国，留给他的只是他在愤怒中许给挪威侵略者的一小块土地？谁又会想到，你，尊贵的阿特尔斯坦，你这个哈罗德血统的后裔，还有我，曾经英勇保卫撒克逊王朝的祖父的子孙，成了一个卑鄙的诺曼人的阶下囚，给关在我们祖先曾举办过庄严的宴会的大厅中？”
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(注1)见作者附注三。——原注
(注2)征服者威廉的军队于1066年9月在苏塞克斯一带登陆，随即发生了黑斯廷斯战役。
“这是相当伤心的，”阿特尔斯坦答道，“但我相信，他们不过是要我们拿出一笔小小的赎金罢了。无论如何，他们不可能是要把我们干脆饿死。不过中午都快到了，还不见他们准备送午饭来。你抬头瞧瞧窗外，尊贵的塞德里克，看看阳光照到哪里了，是不是快到中午了。”
“大概快到了，”塞德里克答道，“但我看到这些彩色格子玻璃，便不能不想起许多事，不仅仅是眼前这个时刻和没有酒菜等等。当年造这窗子的时候，尊贵的朋友，我们吃苦耐劳的祖先还不会制造玻璃，更不知道彩色玻璃。沃尔夫岗格的父亲自鸣得意．从诺曼底找了个手艺人来，要他用这种新式的彩色玻璃装饰这间大厅，它把上帝赐给我们的明亮阳光，分解成了许多鲜艳的颜色。这个外国人来的时候身无分文，是个穷光蛋，对我们卑躬屈膝，奉承讨好，看到屋里最下贱的仆人也要脱帽致敬。可他回去的时候已经腰缠万贯，一见他那些贪心的本国人，便夸耀撒克逊贵人如何有钱，如何老实可欺——唉，阿特尔斯坦，这实在是不祥之兆，亨吉斯特和他刻苦耐劳的各宗族的后裔，凡是保持着他们艰苦朴素作风的，也无不预见到了。我们把那些外国人当作知心朋友，呵以依赖的仆人，我们请来了他们的工匠，借用了他们的技术，抛弃了我们勇敢的祖先所赖以立身处世的朴素和艰苦的正直作风；在我们被诺曼人的武力征服以前，我们早已给诺曼人的技术腐蚀得弱不禁风了。享用我们本国的食品，过和平而自由的生活，这比为了贪图奢华精致的饮食，使自己沦为外国征服者的奴隶好得多！”
“好啦，”阿特尔斯坦答道，“现在哪怕粗茶淡饭对我也是豪华的享受了。尊贵的塞德里克，我觉得奇怪，你对过去的事记得一清二楚，对眼前的午饭却好像忘得干干净净了。”’
“这真是对牛弹琴，”塞德里克有些不耐烦，自言自语道，“跟他讲什么都是白搭，他关心的只是他的肚子！哈迪克努特(注)的灵魂已经占有了他，除了吃喝，不断地吃喝，他什么也不感兴趣。唉，”他看看阿特尔斯坦，露出怜悯的脸色，“这么美好的仪表却包藏着一颗麻木不仁的心灵！唉！振兴英国的大业却要依靠这么一副生锈的饺链来转动！确实，与罗文娜结婚，她更高贵、更丰富的灵魂，还可能唤醒他身上较好的天赋，让它从麻木不仁中脱颖而出。然而怎么做到这点呢，现在罗文娜、阿特尔斯坦和我，都落进了这些粗野的暴徒手中；他们这么做也许就因为意识到，我们的自由对他们篡夺国家权力是一种威胁吧？”
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(注)撒克逊王朝的一个国王，1040—1O42年在位，他暴戾而又贪食，最后是在一次婚宴上大吃大喝胀死的。
这个撒克逊人沉浸在痛苦的思索中，这时，牢房的门开了，手持白木棍作职权标志的管家走了进来。这个管理膳食的重要人物，迈着庄严的步子走到房间中央后面四个仆人抬着一张放满菜肴的桌子,它们的出现和香味使阿特尔斯坦顿时精神振奋,消除了他对不舒服的一切抱怨。照管饮食的几个人都戴着面罩,穿着长袍。
“这是玩的什么把戏？”塞德里克说：“你们以为到了你们主人的城堡中，我们还个知道囚禁我们的是谁吗？告诉他，”他继续道，想利用这机会，为他们的释放展开谈判，“告诉你们的主人下面将军雷阵雨金纳德，我们懂得，他剥夺我们的自由，无非想从我们这里非法榨取一笔钱罢了。那么告诉他，我们愿意计步，满足他的贪欲．就像我们遇到真正的强盗，也不得个这么做一样。让他开个价钱，说明需要多少赎余，只要他的勒索符合我们的力量，我们可以照付。”
管家没有回答，只是点了点头。
“告诉牛面将军雷金纳德爵一士，”阿特尔斯坦说，“我根本不怕他，我向他提出挑战，在我们获得自由后的八天内进行决个，不沦步战还是马战，在任何安全的地方都叮以。如果他是一个真正的骑士，在这种情况下，他就无权拒绝或拖延。”
“我会向骑士转达您的挑战，”管家回答，“现在请您安心用膳．我告辞了。”
阿特尔斯坦的挑战不是理直气壮提出的，因为他这时嘴里正塞着一大口食物，需要上下颚的同时活动，加上他天性优柔寡断，大大削弱了这个大胆抗议的效果。然而他的话还是得到了塞德里克的赞赏，认为这是他的朋友精神上复活的不容置疑的迹象——不论他如何尊重阿特尔斯坦的出身，他以前的麻木表现，已使他有些失去耐心了。于是他与他热烈握手，表示对他十分满意，但接着又有些失望，因为阿特尔斯坦又道：“这些人实在太糟了，好好的浓汤里放了这么多大蒜，要是我的挑战能使我们马上离开这个鬼地方．哪怕有十二个牛面将军，我也不怕。”不过虽然这些话又露出了只重口腹之欲的麻木心理，塞德里克还是在阿特尔斯坦对面坐了下去，马上汗始狼吞虎咽地吃了起来，这证明，尽管对祖国的忧虑可以使他对想象中的食物弃之不顾，当食物真正放在桌上的时候，撒克逊祖先的胃口看来还是与他们的其他特点一起传给他了。
然而两位俘虏享用这顿饮食还没多久，耳中便传来了一阵号角声，打断了他们这项最严肃的任务。号音重复了三遍，响得山摇地动，仿佛奉命前来锄奸除暴的骑士已经到达魔窟门前，要用他的号音摧毁厅堂和塔楼，碉堡和雉堞，使整个城堡化为乌有了。两个撒克逊人从桌边一跃而起，跑到窗边。但是他们的好奇心没有如愿，山为从这些窗口只能看有到城堡的院子，号声却来自城堡以外。然而号角声似乎只有特殊的重要性，因为顷刻之间城堡内部便变得人声嘈杂，十分忙乱了。
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Chapter 22
My daughter---O my ducats---O my daughter! ------------O my Christian ducats! Justice---the Law---my ducats, and my daughter! Merchant of Venice
Leaving the Saxon chiefs to return to their banquet as soon as their ungratified curiosity should permit them to attend to the calls of their half-satiated appetite, we have to look in upon the yet more severe imprisonment of Isaac of York. The poor Jew had been hastily thrust into a dungeon-vault of the castle, the floor of which was deep beneath the level of the ground, and very damp, being lower than even the moat itself. The only light was received through one or two loop-holes far above the reach of the captive's hand. These apertures admitted, even at mid-day, only a dim and uncertain light, which was changed for utter darkness long before the rest of the castle had lost the blessing of day. Chains and shackles, which had been the portion of former captives, from whom active exertions to escape had been apprehended, hung rusted and empty on the walls of the prison, and in the rings of one of those sets of fetters there remained two mouldering bones, which seemed to have been once those of the human leg, as if some prisoner had been left not only to perish there, but to be consumed to a skeleton.
At one end of this ghastly apartment was a large fire-grate, over the top of which were stretched some transverse iron bars, half devoured with rust.
The whole appearance of the dungeon might have appalled a stouter heart than that of Isaac, who, nevertheless, was more composed under the imminent pressure of danger, than he had seemed to be while affected by terrors, of which the cause was as yet remote and contingent. The lovers of the chase say that the hare feels more agony during the pursuit of the greyhounds, than when she is struggling in their fangs.*
* "Nota Bene." ---We by no means warrant the accuracy of * this piece of natural history, which we give on the * authority of the Wardour MS. L. T.
And thus it is probable, that the Jews, by the very frequency of their fear on all occasions, had their minds in some degree prepared for every effort of tyranny which could be practised upon them; so that no aggression, when it had taken place, could bring with it that surprise which is the most disabling quality of terror. Neither was it the first time that Isaac had been placed in circumstances so dangerous. He had therefore experience to guide him, as well as hope, that he might again, as formerly, be delivered as a prey from the fowler. Above all, he had upon his side the unyielding obstinacy of his nation, and that unbending resolution, with which Israelites have been frequently known to submit to the uttermost evils which power and violence can inflict upon them, rather than gratify their oppressors by granting their demands.
In this humour of passive resistance, and with his garment collected beneath him to keep his limbs from the wet pavement, Isaac sat in a corner of his dungeon, where his folded hands, his dishevelled hair and beard, his furred cloak and high cap, seen by the wiry and broken light, would have afforded a study for Rembrandt, had that celebrated painter existed at the period. The Jew remained, without altering his position, for nearly three hours, at the expiry of which steps were heard on the dungeon stair. The bolts screamed as they were withdrawn---the hinges creaked as the wicket opened, and Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, followed by the two Saracen slaves of the Templar, entered the prison.
Front-de-Boeuf, a tall and strong man, whose life had been spent in public war or in private feuds and broils, and who had hesitated at no means of extending his feudal power, had features corresponding to his character, and which strongly expressed the fiercer and more malignant passions of the mind. The scars with which his visage was seamed, would, on features of a different cast, have excited the sympathy and veneration due to the marks of honourable valour; but, in the peculiar case of Front-de-Boeuf, they only added to the ferocity of his countenance, and to the dread which his presence inspired. This formidable baron was clad in a leathern doublet, fitted close to his body, which was frayed and soiled with the stains of his armour. He had no weapon, excepting a poniard at his belt, which served to counterbalance the weight of the bunch of rusty keys that hung at his right side.
The black slaves who attended Front-de-Boeuf were stripped of their gorgeous apparel, and attired in jerkins and trowsers of coarse linen, their sleeves being tucked up above the elbow, like those of butchers when about to exercise their function in the slaughter-house. Each had in his hand a small pannier; and, when they entered the dungeon, they stopt at the door until Front-de-Boeuf himself carefully locked and double-locked it. Having taken this precaution, he advanced slowly up the apartment towards the Jew, upon whom he kept his eye fixed, as if he wished to paralyze him with his glance, as some animals are said to fascinate their prey. It seemed indeed as if the sullen and malignant eye of Front-de-Boeuf possessed some portion of that supposed power over his unfortunate prisoner. The Jew sat with his mouth agape, and his eyes fixed on the savage baron with such earnestness of terror, that his frame seemed literally to shrink together, and to diminish in size while encountering the fierce Norman's fixed and baleful gaze. The unhappy Isaac was deprived not only of the power of rising to make the obeisance which his terror dictated, but he could not even doff his cap, or utter any word of supplication; so strongly was he agitated by the conviction that tortures and death were impending over him.
On the other hand, the stately form of the Norman appeared to dilate in magnitude, like that of the eagle, which ruffles up its plumage when about to pounce on its defenceless prey. He paused within three steps of the corner in which the unfortunate Jew had now, as it were, coiled himself up into the smallest possible space, and made a sign for one of the slaves to approach. The black satellite came forward accordingly, and, producing from his basket a large pair of scales and several weights, he laid them at the feet of Front-de-Boeuf, and again retired to the respectful distance, at which his companion had already taken his station.
The motions of these men were slow and solemn, as if there impended over their souls some preconception of horror and of cruelty. Front-de-Boeuf himself opened the scene by thus addressing his ill-fated captive.
"Most accursed dog of an accursed race," he said, awaking with his deep and sullen voice the sullen echoes of his dungeon vault, "seest thou these scales?"
The unhappy Jew returned a feeble affirmative.
"In these very scales shalt thou weigh me out," said the relentless Baron, "a thousand silver pounds, after the just measure and weight of the Tower of London."
"Holy Abraham!" returned the Jew, finding voice through the very extremity of his danger, "heard man ever such a demand?---Who ever heard, even in a minstrel's tale, of such a sum as a thousand pounds of silver?---What human sight was ever blessed with the vision of such a mass of treasure?---Not within the walls of York, ransack my house and that of all my tribe, wilt thou find the tithe of that huge sum of silver that thou speakest of."
"I am reasonable," answered Front-de-Boeuf, "and if silver be scant, I refuse not gold. At the rate of a mark of gold for each six pounds of silver, thou shalt free thy unbelieving carcass from such punishment as thy heart has never even conceived."
"Have mercy on me, noble knight!" exclaimed Isaac; "I am old, and poor, and helpless. It were unworthy to triumph over me---It is a poor deed to crush a worm."
"Old thou mayst be," replied the knight; "more shame to their folly who have suffered thee to grow grey in usury and knavery ---Feeble thou mayst be, for when had a Jew either heart or hand ---But rich it is well known thou art."
"I swear to you, noble knight," said the Jew "by all which I believe, and by all which we believe in common------"
"Perjure not thyself," said the Norman, interrupting him, "and let not thine obstinacy seal thy doom, until thou hast seen and well considered the fate that awaits thee. Think not I speak to thee only to excite thy terror, and practise on the base cowardice thou hast derived from thy tribe. I swear to thee by that which thou dost NOT believe, by the gospel which our church teaches, and by the keys which are given her to bind and to loose, that my purpose is deep and peremptory. This dungeon is no place for trifling. Prisoners ten thousand times more distinguished than thou have died within these walls, and their fate hath never been known! But for thee is reserved a long and lingering death, to which theirs were luxury."
He again made a signal for the slaves to approach, and spoke to them apart, in their own language; for he also had been in Palestine, where perhaps, he had learnt his lesson of cruelty. The Saracens produced from their baskets a quantity of charcoal, a pair of bellows, and a flask of oil. While the one struck a light with a flint and steel, the other disposed the charcoal in the large rusty grate which we have already mentioned, and exercised the bellows until the fuel came to a red glow.
"Seest thou, Isaac," said Front-de-Boeuf, "the range of iron bars above the glowing charcoal?*---
* Note E. The range of iron bars above that glowing charcoal
on that warm couch thou shalt lie, stripped of thy clothes as if thou wert to rest on a bed of down. One of these slaves shall maintain the fire beneath thee, while the other shall anoint thy wretched limbs with oil, lest the roast should burn.---Now, choose betwixt such a scorching bed and the payment of a thousand pounds of silver; for, by the head of my father, thou hast no other option."
"It is impossible," exclaimed the miserable Jew---"it is impossible that your purpose can be real! The good God of nature never made a heart capable of exercising such cruelty!"
"Trust not to that, Isaac," said Front-de-Boeuf, "it were a fatal error. Dost thou think that I, who have seen a town sacked, in which thousands of my Christian countrymen perished by sword, by flood, and by fire, will blench from my purpose for the outcries or screams of one single wretched Jew?---or thinkest thou that these swarthy slaves, who have neither law, country, nor conscience, but their master's will---who use the poison, or the stake, or the poniard, or the cord, at his slightest wink ---thinkest thou that THEY will have mercy, who do not even understand the language in which it is asked?---Be wise, old man; discharge thyself of a portion of thy superfluous wealth; repay to the hands of a Christian a part of what thou hast acquired by the usury thou hast practised on those of his religion. Thy cunning may soon swell out once more thy shrivelled purse, but neither leech nor medicine can restore thy scorched hide and flesh wert thou once stretched on these bars. Tell down thy ransom, I say, and rejoice that at such rate thou canst redeem thee from a dungeon, the secrets of which few have returned to tell. I waste no more words with thee---choose between thy dross and thy flesh and blood, and as thou choosest, so shall it be."
"So may Abraham, Jacob, and all the fathers of our people assist me," said Isaac, "I cannot make the choice, because I have not the means of satisfying your exorbitant demand!"
"Seize him and strip him, slaves," said the knight, "and let the fathers of his race assist him if they can."
The assistants, taking their directions more from the Baron's eye and his hand than his tongue, once more stepped forward, laid hands on the unfortunate Isaac, plucked him up from the ground, and, holding him between them, waited the hard-hearted Baron's farther signal. The unhappy Jew eyed their countenances and that of Front-de-Boeuf, in hope of discovering some symptoms of relenting; but that of the Baron exhibited the same cold, half-sullen, half-sarcastic smile which had been the prelude to his cruelty; and the savage eyes of the Saracens, rolling gloomily under their dark brows, acquiring a yet more sinister expression by the whiteness of the circle which surrounds the pupil, evinced rather the secret pleasure which they expected from the approaching scene, than any reluctance to be its directors or agents. The Jew then looked at the glowing furnace, over which he was presently to be stretched, and seeing no chance of his tormentor's relenting, his resolution gave way.
"I will pay," he said, "the thousand pounds of silver---That is," he added, after a moment's pause, "I will pay it with the help of my brethren; for I must beg as a mendicant at the door of our synagogue ere I make up so unheard-of a sum.---When and where must it be delivered?"
"Here," replied Front-de-Boeuf, "here it must be delivered ---weighed it must be---weighed and told down on this very dungeon floor.---Thinkest thou I will part with thee until thy ransom is secure?"
"And what is to be my surety," said the Jew, "that I shall be at liberty after this ransom is paid?"
"The word of a Norman noble, thou pawn-broking slave," answered Front-de-Boeuf; "the faith of a Norman nobleman, more pure than the gold and silver of thee and all thy tribe."
"I crave pardon, noble lord," said Isaac timidly, "but wherefore should I rely wholly on the word of one who will trust nothing to mine?"
"Because thou canst not help it, Jew," said the knight, sternly. "Wert thou now in thy treasure-chamber at York, and were I craving a loan of thy shekels, it would be thine to dictate the time of payment, and the pledge of security. This is MY treasure-chamber. Here I have thee at advantage, nor will I again deign to repeat the terms on which I grant thee liberty."
The Jew groaned deeply.---"Grant me," he said, "at least with my own liberty, that of the companions with whom I travel. They scorned me as a Jew, yet they pitied my desolation, and because they tarried to aid me by the way, a share of my evil hath come upon them; moreover, they may contribute in some sort to my ransom."
"If thou meanest yonder Saxon churls," said Front-de-Boeuf, "their ransom will depend upon other terms than thine. Mind thine own concerns, Jew, I warn thee, and meddle not with those of others."
"I am, then," said Isaac, "only to be set at liberty, together with mine wounded friend?"
"Shall I twice recommend it," said Front-de-Boeuf, "to a son of Israel, to meddle with his own concerns, and leave those of others alone?---Since thou hast made thy choice, it remains but that thou payest down thy ransom, and that at a short day."
"Yet hear me," said the Jew---"for the sake of that very wealth which thou wouldst obtain at the expense of thy------" Here he stopt short, afraid of irritating the savage Norman. But Front-de-Boeuf only laughed, and himself filled up the blank at which the Jew had hesitated.
"At the expense of my conscience, thou wouldst say, Isaac; speak it out---I tell thee, I am reasonable. I can bear the reproaches of a loser, even when that loser is a Jew. Thou wert not so patient, Isaac, when thou didst invoke justice against Jacques Fitzdotterel, for calling thee a usurious blood-sucker, when thy exactions had devoured his patrimony."
"I swear by the Talmud," said the Jew, "that your valour has been misled in that matter. Fitzdotterel drew his poniard upon me in mine own chamber, because I craved him for mine own silver. The term of payment was due at the Passover."
"I care not what he did," said Front-de-Boeuf; "the question is, when shall I have mine own?---when shall I have the shekels, Isaac?"
"Let my daughter Rebecca go forth to York," answered Isaac, "with your safe conduct, noble knight, and so soon as man and horse can return, the treasure------" Here he groaned deeply, but added, after the pause of a few seconds,---"The treasure shall be told down on this very floor."
"Thy daughter!" said Front-de-Boeuf, as if surprised,---"By heavens, Isaac, I would I had known of this. I deemed that yonder black-browed girl had been thy concubine, and I gave her to be a handmaiden to Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, after the fashion of patriarchs and heroes of the days of old, who set us in these matters a wholesome example."
The yell which Isaac raised at this unfeeling communication made the very vault to ring, and astounded the two Saracens so much that they let go their hold of the Jew. He availed himself of his enlargement to throw himself on the pavement, and clasp the knees of Front-de-Boeuf.
"Take all that you have asked," said he, "Sir Knight---take ten times more---reduce me to ruin and to beggary, if thou wilt, ---nay, pierce me with thy poniard, broil me on that furnace, but spare my daughter, deliver her in safety and honour!---As thou art born of woman, spare the honour of a helpless maiden---She is the image of my deceased Rachel, she is the last of six pledges of her love---Will you deprive a widowed husband of his sole remaining comfort?---Will you reduce a father to wish that his only living child were laid beside her dead mother, in the tomb of our fathers?"
"I would," said the Norman, somewhat relenting, "that I had known of this before. I thought your race had loved nothing save their moneybags."
"Think not so vilely of us, Jews though we be," said Isaac, eager to improve the moment of apparent sympathy; "the hunted fox, the tortured wildcat loves its young---the despised and persecuted race of Abraham love their children!"
"Be it so," said Front-de-Boeuf; "I will believe it in future, Isaac, for thy very sake---but it aids us not now, I cannot help what has happened, or what is to follow; my word is passed to my comrade in arms, nor would I break it for ten Jews and Jewesses to boot. Besides, why shouldst thou think evil is to come to the girl, even if she became Bois-Guilbert's booty?"
"There will, there must!" exclaimed Isaac, wringing his hands in agony; "when did Templars breathe aught but cruelty to men, and dishonour to women!"
"Dog of an infidel," said Front-de-Boeuf, with sparkling eyes, and not sorry, perhaps, to seize a pretext for working himself into a passion, "blaspheme not the Holy Order of the Temple of Zion, but take thought instead to pay me the ransom thou hast promised, or woe betide thy Jewish throat!"
"Robber and villain!" said the Jew, retorting the insults of his oppressor with passion, which, however impotent, he now found it impossible to bridle, "I will pay thee nothing---not one silver penny will I pay thee, unless my daughter is delivered to me in safety and honour!"
"Art thou in thy senses, Israelite?" said the Norman, sternly ---"has thy flesh and blood a charm against heated iron and scalding oil?"
"I care not!" said the Jew, rendered desperate by paternal affection; "do thy worst. My daughter is my flesh and blood, dearer to me a thousand times than those limbs which thy cruelty threatens. No silver will I give thee, unless I were to pour it molten down thy avaricious throat---no, not a silver penny will I give thee, Nazarene, were it to save thee from the deep damnation thy whole life has merited! Take my life if thou wilt, and say, the Jew, amidst his tortures, knew how to disappoint the Christian."
"We shall see that," said Front-de-Boeuf; "for by the blessed rood, which is the abomination of thy accursed tribe, thou shalt feel the extremities of fire and steel!---Strip him, slaves, and chain him down upon the bars."
In spite of the feeble struggles of the old man, the Saracens had already torn from him his upper garment, and were proceeding totally to disrobe him, when the sound of a bugle, twice winded without the castle, penetrated even to the recesses of the dungeon, and immediately after loud voices were heard calling for Sir Reginald Front-de-Boeuf. Unwilling to be found engaged in his hellish occupation, the savage Baron gave the slaves a signal to restore Isaac's garment, and, quitting the dungeon with his attendants, he left the Jew to thank God for his own deliverance, or to lament over his daughter's captivity, and probable fate, as his personal or parental feelings might prove strongest.

我的女儿！啊，我的银钱！啊，我的女儿！
……啊，我的基督徒的银钱！
公道啊！……法律啊！我的银钱，我的女儿！
《威尼斯商人》(注)
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(注)莎士比亚的喜剧，引文见第二幕第八场。
两位撒克逊家长只能怀着得不到满足的好奇心，依然回到餐桌边，继续满足他们半饱的食欲；我们也只得暂时丢开他们，来到更可怕的牢房里，看看约克的以撒的情形吧。这个可怜的犹太人给匆匆关进了城堡内的一间土牢，它位在地面以下，甚至比周围的壕沟更低，非常潮湿。光线只能从一两个狭长的洞口透入，它们又比俘虏举起手来还高得多。哪怕在中午，穿过这些洞口的光线也昏昏沉沉，上分暗淡，同此城堡的其他屋子还沐浴在幸福的日光中时，这里早已变得黑啾啾的。铁链和镣铐挂在墙上，已经生锈，这是从前的囚犯留下的东西．是为了防止他们越狱潜逃用的；一副脚镣上还挂着两根霉烂的骨头，看来是人的人腿上的，似乎有个囚徒不仅死在那里，还在那里腐烂，最后剩了几根白骨。
在这间阴森的屋子的一头，有一个大火炉，炉顶横放着几根大铁条，它们也一半生锈了。
地牢的整个外表，哪怕比以撒坚强的人看了，也会毛骨惊然，然而面对即将来临的危险，他反而比较镇静了，不像危险还遥远，仅仅可能发生的时候那么惊恐万状。爱好打猎的人说，兔子在给猎狗追逐的时候感到的痛苦，比它们在它的牙齿中挣扎的时候更大。(注)那些犹太人也许正因为恐怖随时随地威胁着他们，在心理上对一切可能落到他们身上的暴力，已在一定程度上有所准备，这样，侵害一旦真的降临，他们反倒不致惊慌失措，而惊慌正是使恐怖变得难以忍受的最大因素。对以撒说来，陷入这种危险的境地已不是第一次；他有应付这类困境的经验，也不会丧失希望，他相信他还能像以前一样逢凶化吉，不致成为暴徒的俎上肉。何况从他而言，他具有他的民族坚定顽强的精神，大家知道，以色列人曾经凭他们不屈不挠的意志，应付过暴力和压迫可能给予他们的各种骇人听闻的灾难，而不是俯首听命，满足压迫者的一切需索。
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(注)请注意，这说法来自《沃杜尔文稿》，我们不能保证它符合自然界的真实情况。——原注
怀着那种消极抵抗的心情，以撒把衣服铺在身子下面，防止地面的潮气危害他的四肢，坐在上牢的一角；他合抱着双手，穿着皮毛衣服，戴着高顶帽子，头发和胡须都乱蓬蓬的，这副样子在一缕缕细长分散的光线映照下，已完全符合伦勃朗(注)的构思，要是那位著名画家活在那个时期的话。在将近三个小时中，犹太人几乎没有改变过姿势，但接着。地牢的楼梯上响起了脚步声，门闩随即被咯吱咯吱地拉开，铰链嘎嘎直响，牢狱的小门打开了，牛面将军雷金纳德走进了地牢，后面跟着圣殿骑士的两名萨拉森奴隶。
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(注)伦勃朗（1606—1669），荷兰的伟大画家，善于运用强烈的色彩，鲜明的对比表现人物性格。
牛面将军生得高大强壮，他的一生除了在战场上厮杀，便是与人争权夺利，为了扩大封建权力，他可以不择手段；他的面貌与他的性格完全一致，充分表现了他更为凶恶、更为残暴的内心。他脸上留下了几条刀疤，这在另一种形态的脸上，也许可以作为光荣负伤的标志，引起同情和尊敬；但是在牛面将军这张特殊的相貌上，它们只能使他的脸变得更加狰狞可怕，使他这个人更显得残忍狠毒。这个骇人的高贵领主，穿着一件已给铠甲磨损和玷污的紧身皮上衣。他没有拿武器，只在腰带里插着一把匕首，它正好与右边挂的一大串沉甸甸的生锈的钥匙，起了平衡作用。
跟随牛面将军的两个黑奴已脱下华丽的外衣，穿上了粗麻布短袄和裤子，他们的衣袖卷到了胳膊肘上，跟屠夫似的，仿佛作好了在屠宰场上行使职责的准备。他们每人手里提着一只小篓子，一走进地牢，便站在门口，等牛面将军亲自用两道锁把门小心锁上。完成这戒备措施后，他才慢慢走进屋子，来到犹太人面前．把眼睛盯住了他，仿佛想用目光吓倒他，据说，有些动物便是用这办法捕捉食物的。确实，牛面将军发出的阴森、凶恶的目光，对不幸的俘虏产个了一部分那样的作用。犹太人瘫在地上，张开了嘴，一眼不眨地望着那个野蛮的领主，脸色又紧张义害怕，整个身子一动不动，似乎在残忍成性的诺曼人两只邪恶的眼睛的逼视下，真的蜷缩变小氏不幸的以撒不仅失去了站直身子的能力，没法按照恐怖叮嘱他的那样，向他弯腰行礼，而且不能脱下帽于，说出任何哀求的话；他只觉得心慌意乱，相信酷刑和死亡即将临到他的身上。
相反，诺曼人的魁梧身材却好像在逐渐膨胀、扩大，像老鹰准备扑向没有自卫能力的猎物似的，把全身的羽毛都竖了起来。这时，不幸的犹太人在墙角缩成一团，可以说已达到了最小限度；诺曼人在离他三步远的地方站住了，向一个奴隶做了个手势，要他上前。那个黑皮肤的走狗立即来到前面，从篓子里取出了一个大天平和几块砝码，把它们放在牛面将军脚边，然后退到一定距离以外，与已经站在那里的他的伙伴并排立着。
两个仆人的行动缓慢而严肃，仿佛他们心中已预感到恐怖而残忍的一幕即将开始。牛面将军为这一幕所作的汗场白，是向不幸的俘虏发出的。
“你，罪恶的民族中一只罪恶累累的狗，”他说，低沉而阴森的嗓音在地牢的拱顶下发出了不祥的回声，“看到这只天平没有？”
愁眉苦脸的犹太人有气无力地答了个“是”字。
“你得按照伦敦塔(注)公正的度量衡标准，”无情的诺曼人说道，“用这架天平称给我一千磅银子。”
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(注)伦敦的王室要塞，从前王家造币厂设在要塞内。
“神圣的亚伯拉罕啊！”犹太人答道，终于在危急关头发出了声音，“准听到过这样的要求呀？一千磅银于这么大的数目，哪怕在说唱诗人的故事中，有人听到过吗？又有谁的眼睛这么福气，见到过这么一大堆财富？在约克的城墙内，哪怕搜追我的和我每个族人的家，你也找不出你说的那个数目十分之一的银子。”
“我是讲道理的，”牛面将军答道，“如果银子不够，可以用金子抵数。一马克黄金抵六磅向银。这样，你这只不信基督的狗就可以免受皮肉之苦了；要知道，这种刑罚是你连想象也想象不到的。”
“饶了我吧，尊贵的骑士！”以撒喊道，“我又老又穷，孤苦零丁。跟我生气是不值得的。掐死我就像掐死一只虫子，不必花那么多力气。”
“也许你是老了，”骑土答道；“这得怪那些人纵容了你，让你靠高利盘剥和讹诈欺骗活到了这么大的年纪。也许你是身体虚弱，因为哪个犹太人有强壮的体格，充沛的精力呢？不过你钱是有的，这大家知道。”
“我向您起誓，尊贵的骑上，”犹太人说，“凭我所信仰的一切起誓，凭我们共同信仰的……”
“不要发假誓，”诺曼人说，打断了他的话，“不要让你的固执害了你的性命，还是趁早想想，什么样的命运在等待着你吧。不要以为我对你讲的话只是吓唬你的，只是要利用你的种族赋予你的卑鄙懦弱的特点，引起你的恐惧。我凭你所不相信的神，凭我们的教会教导我们的福音，凭上帝给予它的捆绑和释放的钥匙起誓。” (注)我的意志是坚定的，不可动摇的。这个地牢也不是跟你闹着玩的。比你显赫千万倍的囚徒曾死在这些墙壁内，他们的下场从没有人知道！只是他们的命运比你好．我为你保留着慢慢折腾、逐渐咽气的特殊待遇。”
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(注)《新约•马太福音》第16章耶稣对他的门徒说：“我要把我的教会建造在这磐石上，……把天国的钥匙给你,凡你在地上所捆绑的，在大上也要捆绑，凡你在地下所释放的，在天上也要释放。”
他又做了个手势，让两个奴隶走到前面，用他们的语言轻轻交代了他们几句，因为他也到过巴勒斯坦，他的心也许还是在那里变得这么残酷的。萨拉森人从他们的婆子里取出了大量木炭、一只风箱和一罐油＿一个人用燧石和大刀打火，另一个人把木炭倒在我们提到过的那只生锈的大炉子里，然后拉动风箱，把火烧得红红的。
“以撒，”牛面将军说，“你看见烧红的炉子上的这排铁条没有？(注)我们要剥掉你的衣服，让你像躺在鸭绒褥子上一样，躺在这只温暖的床上＿一个奴隶拉风箱，让你下面的火烧得旺旺的，另一个在你倒霉的手脚上搽油，免得它们给烤焦。现在，你可以在烤床和一千磅银子之间进行选择。凭我父亲的名义起誓，你没有别的路可走。”
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(注)见作者附注四．一原注
“这不可能，”伤心的犹太人嚷道，“你的话不可能是真的！慈祥的上帝个会创造一颗这么冷酷的心！”
“别那么自信，以撒，”牛面将军说，“这个错误会送掉你的命。我看见过一个城市怎么遭到洗劫，我们千百个基督徒同胞怎么死在刀熗下、死在洪水中，死在烈火中，你以为像我这样的人，听到一个堕落的犹太人的几声呼喊和号叫、我的决心便会动摇吗？这些黑奴不知道法律，不知道国家和良心，只知道他们的主人的命令，只要主人眨一眨眼睛，他们便会用毒药．用炮烙刑，用匕首，用绳子把你处死，你以为这些甚至不懂得你的语言的人．会时你的哀求产生一点怜悯心吗？放聪明一些，老头子，把你多余的财产拿出一部分来，把你靠高利贷从基督往那里榨取到的财产，还给他们一部分。你的狡猾马上可以使你的钱包重新装得鼓鼓的，可是你的身体一旦躺到那些铁条上，没有一个医生或音一种药品，可以使你烤焦的皮肉恢复原状。听我的话，乖乖地付你的赎金吧，你应该感到高兴．能够从这个地牢中跑出去；要知道，很少有人能活着从这里出去，泄露这儿的秘密的。我不想再跟你浪费唇舌，在你的钱袋和你的皮肉之间作出选择吧，你选择什么就会得到什么。”
“亚伯拉罕、雅各和我们民族的一切始祖帮助我吧，”以撒说，“我无法作出选择，因为我没有力量满足你的苛刻要求！”
“抓住他力呼他的衣服，奴才们．”骑士说，“他的祖先也许可以救他，那么让他们帮助他吧。”
两个帮手主要是从主人的眼色和手势，而不是从他的语言接受指示的，现在重义走到前面，抓住不幸的以撤，把他从地上提了起来，挟在他们中间，等待冷酷的主人的进一步指示。不幸的犹太人望望他们的脸色，又望望牛面将军，希望从他脸上看到，一点怜悯的迹象，但他看到的依然是又像讥讽又像生气的冷笑，与他刚才发表开场内的时候一样。两个萨拉森人瞪出了野蛮的眼睛，眼球在乌黑的眉毛下阴沉地转动着，瞳孔周围的那道白圈把它们衬托得更加森严可怕，它们流露的只是对即将来临的惨剧暗暗得意的心情，不是对担当它的主持人或执行人的反感。然后犹太人又望望烧红的炉火，眼看他就要给放在那上面了，可是根本看不出那个折磨他的人有丝毫宽容的表现；于是他的决心动摇了。
“我愿意付钱，”他说，“付一干磅银子。不过，”他停了了一会．义道．“这得靠我们同族人的帮助；我必须守在犹太会堂门门，像讨饭一样向他们乞求，才能凑集这么一笔闻所未闻的大款子。在什么时候，什么地方交钱？”
“在这儿，”牛面将军答道，“必须在这儿交付；先得称一下；称过以后，便堆在这儿地上。你以为我拿到赎金以前，就会放你走吗？”
“那么怎样保证我付清赎金以后，便能获得自由？”犹太人问。
“一个诺曼贵族的话便是保证，你这个高利盘剥的守财奴，”牛面将军答道，“一个诺曼贵人的信用，比你和你的同族人的全部金银更可靠。”
“请原谅，尊贵的老爷，”以撒怯生生地说，“但是一个对我丝毫也不信任的人，我为什么要完全相信他的话呢？”
“因为你不得不相信，犹太佬，”骑士说，态度很严厉。“如果你现在是在约克城你的库房里，我来向你借钱，那么我只能按照你定的还款日期和担保办理。这里是我的库房。在这里你得听我的。我定的释放你的条件，你已经知道，不必我再重复一遍了。”
犹太人深深叹了口气。“至少你得答应我，”他说，“在释放我的同时，也释放那些与我一起旅行的朋友。他们瞧不起我们犹太人，然而他们同情我的困苦遭遇，为了顺便帮助我们，宁可耽误了赶路，现在我的灾难却落到了他们头卜；再说，他们可能帮助我解决一部分赎金。”
“如果你是指那些撒克逊乡下佬，”牛面将军说，“他们也得付赎金，与你是两码事。我警告你，犹太佬，你还是管你自己吧，别人的事用不到你操心。”
“那么，”以撒说，“只有那位受伤的朋友，才能与我一起释放啦？”
“你还要我讲两遍不成？”牛面将军说，“一个以色列人只能管他自己，别人的事不必他管。你既然作了选择，你要考虑的只是如何付你的赎金，而n得在一两天内付清。”
“然而听我说，”犹太人又道，“你为了得到那些钱，不惜违背你的……”他突然住口了．怕他的话会触怒那个野蛮的诺曼人。但是牛面将军只是大笑一声，把犹太人不敢讲的话替他说了出来：“不惜违背我的良心，你是想这么说吧，以撒？你尽管说好了，我告诉你，我是讲道理的；一个吃了亏的人，哪怕他是犹太人，骂我几句是难免的，我不在乎。你却不像我这么宽宏大量，以撒，雅克•菲茨多特莱尔因为你侵吞他的家产，骂了你一声吸血充，你便向法院控告他呢。”
“我凭《塔木德》(注1)起誓，”犹太人说，“你老在那件事上弄错了。菲茨多特莱尔是欠了我的钱不还，又在我的屋里拔出匕首威胁我，我才那么做的。他欠我的债早在逾越节(注2)就到期了。”
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(注1)《塔木德》，犹太教的主要经典之一，其重要性仅次于《旧约全书》。
(注2)逾越节，犹太教的主要节日之一。
“我不管他的事，”牛面将军说，“现在问题是，我的钱什么时候可以拿到？以撒，你什么时候付钱？”
“让我的女儿丽贝卡前往约克城，”以撒答道，一你派个人护送她，尊贵的骑士，等他们骑了马赶回来，银子……”他长叹一声，停了一下，又赶紧往下讲，“银子就可以在这间屋子里交割了。”
“你的女儿！”牛面将军说，仿佛吃了一惊，“我的老天爷，以撒，要是我早知道这点就好了。我还以为那个黑眉毛姑娘是你的小妾呢，我把她给布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔骑士当使女了；这是按照从前家主和勇士的老规矩办理，在这方面他们给我们提供了很好的榜样。”
以撒听到这个无情的消息，大喊一声，声音震天动地，在上牢中嗡嗡回旋，把两个萨拉森人吓了一跳，松开了抓住犹太人的手。他利用这松手的机会，扑到地上，抱住了牛面将军的膝盖。
“把你要的一切都拿去吧，骑士老爷，”他说， “哪怕比这多十倍，哪怕让我倾家荡产也可以……不，用你的匕首把我刺死，把我去进那只炉子都可以，但是饶了我的女儿吧，让她清清白白地恢复自由。你也是女人生的，不要糟蹋一个无依无靠的女子吧。她是我去世的拉雪儿的影子，她的六个子女只剩下这一个了。你忍心剥夺我这个鳏夫的唯一安慰吗？你要逼得一个父亲宁可失去他唯一活着的孩子，让她埋到我们祖先的坟墓中，与她死去的母亲待在一起吗？”
“要是我早知道这点，我是会救她的，”诺曼人说，似乎有些后悔了。“我还以为你们这个民族除了钱袋，什么也不爱呢。”
“不要把我们想得这么坏，尽管我们是犹太人，”以撒说，竭力想趁这机会，争取他的同情，“遭到追捕的狐狸，遭到围攻的野猫，尚且要保护它们的孩子，被侮辱和被损害的亚伯拉罕的后人，自然也爱他们的子女！”
“但愿如此，”牛面将军说，“都亏了你，以撒，以后我会相信这点。但目前无法可想了；我不能改变已经发生的事，或者它所带来的后果，我答应过我的骑士朋友了，哪怕有十个犹太人，加上十个犹太姑娘，我也不能为了他们不守信用。再说，就算这姑娘落进了布瓦吉贝尔手中，你干吗认为这对她的前途不利呢?”
“当然这样．这是一定的！”以撒喊道，痛苦地绞着双手，“那些圣殿骑士除了欺压男人，糟蹋女人，还会干什么别的事！”
“你这只不信基督的狗！”牛面将军喝道，眼睛炯炯发亮，也许他巴不得找到这个借口，可以重新燃起他的怒火，“不准你诬蔑耶路撒冷圣殿的神圣字军革，还是想想你答应付的赎金吧，否则你的性命就难保了！”
“强盗，无赖！”犹太人说，再也忍受不住压迫着的侮辱了，因为尽管他天性懦弱．这时已无法克制他的感情。“我现在什么也不付给你，一个铜子也不给你．除非你先把我的女儿还给我，清清白白地还给我！”
“你疯了不成，以色列人？”诺曼骑士铁板着脸说。“难道你以为你的血肉是有魔法的，抵挡得了烧红的铁条和滚烫的熟油？”
“我不怕！”犹太人说，父女之情使他忘记了一切，“随你怎么办吧。我的女儿便是我的血和肉，她对我比我的身体贵重一千倍，你的残酷手段只能威胁我的身体，不能使我放弃她。我一磅银子也不给你、除非把它熔化后，灌进你贪婪的喉咙。不，一小块银子也不给你，拿撒勒人，哪怕这一小块银子便能把你从你一生罪有应得的、万劫不复的地狱中拯救出来，我也不给！你要我的命，你就拿去吧，要知道，哪怕在严刑拷打下，犹太人也不会让基督徒如愿以偿。”
“那就等着瞧吧，”牛面将军说。“你们这个该死的民族本来罪恶滔天，曾把基督打死在十字架上，你们理应受到火和铁的惩罚！扒下他的衣服，小子们，把他绑在铁条上。”
两个萨拉森人不顾老人的无力反抗，剥去了他的上衣，正准备进一步剥掉他的全部衣服时，城堡外面响起了三通号角声，它甚至也传进了偏远的地牢中，接着又听到了呐喊声，它指名要牛面将军雷金纳德答话。野蛮的诺曼贵族不愿让人看到，他在干这种地狱的勾当，向两个奴隶做了个手势，要他们给犹太人重新穿上衣服，然后带着他们走出了地牢．于是犹太人独自留在那里，为自己的得救感谢上帝，或者为女儿的被俘和可能遭遇的命运伤心，至于究竟如何，这得看在他心中，是他自身的安全还是他对女儿的感情占第一位了。
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Chapter 23
Nay, if the gentle spirit of moving words Can no way change you to a milder form, I'll woo you, like a soldier, at arms' end, And love you 'gainst the nature of love, force you. Two Gentlemen of Verona
The apartment to which the Lady Rowena had been introduced was fitted up with some rude attempts at ornament and magnificence, and her being placed there might be considered as a peculiar mark of respect not offered to the other prisoners. But the wife of Front-de-Boeuf, for whom it had been originally furnished, was long dead, and decay and neglect had impaired the few ornaments with which her taste had adorned it. The tapestry hung down from the walls in many places, and in others was tarnished and faded under the effects of the sun, or tattered and decayed by age. Desolate, however, as it was, this was the apartment of the castle which had been judged most fitting for the accommodation of the Saxon heiress; and here she was left to meditate upon her fate, until the actors in this nefarious drama had arranged the several parts which each of them was to perform. This had been settled in a council held by Front-de-Boeuf, De Bracy, and the Templar, in which, after a long and warm debate concerning the several advantages which each insisted upon deriving from his peculiar share in this audacious enterprise, they had at length determined the fate of their unhappy prisoners.
It was about the hour of noon, therefore, when De Bracy, for whose advantage the expedition had been first planned, appeared to prosecute his views upon the hand and possessions of the Lady Rowena.
The interval had not entirely been bestowed in holding council with his confederates, for De Bracy had found leisure to decorate his person with all the foppery of the times. His green cassock and vizard were now flung aside. His long luxuriant hair was trained to flow in quaint tresses down his richly furred cloak. His beard was closely shaved, his doublet reached to the middle of his leg, and the girdle which secured it, and at the same time supported his ponderous sword, was embroidered and embossed with gold work. We have already noticed the extravagant fashion of the shoes at this period, and the points of Maurice de Bracy's might have challenged the prize of extravagance with the gayest, being turned up and twisted like the horns of a ram. Such was the dress of a gallant of the period; and, in the present instance, that effect was aided by the handsome person and good demeanour of the wearer, whose manners partook alike of the grace of a courtier, and the frankness of a soldier.
He saluted Rowena by doffing his velvet bonnet, garnished with a golden broach, representing St Michael trampling down the Prince of Evil. With this, he gently motioned the lady to a seat; and, as she still retained her standing posture, the knight ungloved his right hand, and motioned to conduct her thither. But Rowena declined, by her gesture, the proffered compliment, and replied, "If I be in the presence of my jailor, Sir Knight---nor will circumstances allow me to think otherwise---it best becomes his prisoner to remain standing till she learns her doom."
"Alas! fair Rowena," returned De Bracy, "you are in presence of your captive, not your jailor; and it is from your fair eyes that De Bracy must receive that doom which you fondly expect from him."
"I know you not, sir," said the lady, drawing herself up with all the pride of offended rank and beauty; "I know you not---and the insolent familiarity with which you apply to me the jargon of a troubadour, forms no apology for the violence of a robber."
"To thyself, fair maid," answered De Bracy, in his former tone ---"to thine own charms be ascribed whate'er I have done which passed the respect due to her, whom I have chosen queen of my heart, and lodestar of my eyes."
"I repeat to you, Sir Knight, that I know you not, and that no man wearing chain and spurs ought thus to intrude himself upon the presence of an unprotected lady."
"That I am unknown to you," said De Bracy, "is indeed my misfortune; yet let me hope that De Bracy's name has not been always unspoken, when minstrels or heralds have praised deeds of chivalry, whether in the lists or in the battle-field."
"To heralds and to minstrels, then, leave thy praise, Sir Knight," replied Rowena, "more suiting for their mouths than for thine own; and tell me which of them shall record in song, or in book of tourney, the memorable conquest of this night, a conquest obtained over an old man, followed by a few timid hinds; and its booty, an unfortunate maiden, transported against her will to the castle of a robber?"
"You are unjust, Lady Rowena," said the knight, biting his lips in some confusion, and speaking in a tone more natural to him than that of affected gallantry, which he had at first adopted; "yourself free from passion, you can allow no excuse for the frenzy of another, although caused by your own beauty."
"I pray you, Sir Knight," said Rowena, "to cease a language so commonly used by strolling minstrels, that it becomes not the mouth of knights or nobles. Certes, you constrain me to sit down, since you enter upon such commonplace terms, of which each vile crowder hath a stock that might last from hence to Christmas."
"Proud damsel," said De Bracy, incensed at finding his gallant style procured him nothing but contempt---"proud damsel, thou shalt be as proudly encountered. Know then, that I have supported my pretensions to your hand in the way that best suited thy character. It is meeter for thy humour to be wooed with bow and bill, than in set terms, and in courtly language."
"Courtesy of tongue," said Rowena, "when it is used to veil churlishness of deed, is but a knight's girdle around the breast of a base clown. I wonder not that the restraint appears to gall you---more it were for your honour to have retained the dress and language of an outlaw, than to veil the deeds of one under an affectation of gentle language and demeanour."
"You counsel well, lady," said the Norman; "and in the bold language which best justifies bold action I tell thee, thou shalt never leave this castle, or thou shalt leave it as Maurice de Bracy's wife. I am not wont to be baffled in my enterprises, nor needs a Norman noble scrupulously to vindicate his conduct to the Saxon maiden whom he distinguishes by the offer of his hand. Thou art proud, Rowena, and thou art the fitter to be my wife. By what other means couldst thou be raised to high honour and to princely place, saving by my alliance? How else wouldst thou escape from the mean precincts of a country grange, where Saxons herd with the swine which form their wealth, to take thy seat, honoured as thou shouldst be, and shalt be, amid all in England that is distinguished by beauty, or dignified by power?"
"Sir Knight," replied Rowena, "the grange which you contemn hath been my shelter from infancy; and, trust me, when I leave it ---should that day ever arrive---it shall be with one who has not learnt to despise the dwelling and manners in which I have been brought up."
"I guess your meaning, lady," said De Bracy, "though you may think it lies too obscure for my apprehension. But dream not, that Richard Coeur de Lion will ever resume his throne, far less that Wilfred of Ivanhoe, his minion, will ever lead thee to his footstool, to be there welcomed as the bride of a favourite. Another suitor might feel jealousy while he touched this string; but my firm purpose cannot be changed by a passion so childish and so hopeless. Know, lady, that this rival is in my power, and that it rests but with me to betray the secret of his being within the castle to Front-de-Boeuf, whose jealousy will be more fatal than mine."
"Wilfred here?" said Rowena, in disdain; "that is as true as that Front-de-Boeuf is his rival."
De Bracy looked at her steadily for an instant.
"Wert thou really ignorant of this?" said he; "didst thou not know that Wilfred of Ivanhoe travelled in the litter of the Jew? ---a meet conveyance for the crusader, whose doughty arm was to reconquer the Holy Sepulchre!" And he laughed scornfully.
"And if he is here," said Rowena, compelling herself to a tone of indifference, though trembling with an agony of apprehension which she could not suppress, "in what is he the rival of Front-de-Boeuf? or what has he to fear beyond a short imprisonment, and an honourable ransom, according to the use of chivalry?"
"Rowena," said De Bracy, "art thou, too, deceived by the common error of thy sex, who think there can be no rivalry but that respecting their own charms? Knowest thou not there is a jealousy of ambition and of wealth, as well as of love; and that this our host, Front-de-Boeuf, will push from his road him who opposes his claim to the fair barony of Ivanhoe, as readily, eagerly, and unscrupulously, as if he were preferred to him by some blue-eyed damsel? But smile on my suit, lady, and the wounded champion shall have nothing to fear from Front-de-Boeuf, whom else thou mayst mourn for, as in the hands of one who has never shown compassion."
"Save him, for the love of Heaven!" said Rowena, her firmness giving way under terror for her lover's impending fate.
"I can---I will---it is my purpose," said De Bracy; "for, when Rowena consents to be the bride of De Bracy, who is it shall dare to put forth a violent hand upon her kinsman---the son of her guardian---the companion of her youth? But it is thy love must buy his protection. I am not romantic fool enough to further the fortune, or avert the fate, of one who is likely to be a successful obstacle between me and my wishes. Use thine influence with me in his behalf, and he is safe,---refuse to employ it, Wilfred dies, and thou thyself art not the nearer to freedom."
"Thy language," answered Rowena, "hath in its indifferent bluntness something which cannot be reconciled with the horrors it seems to express. I believe not that thy purpose is so wicked, or thy power so great."
"Flatter thyself, then, with that belief," said De Bracy, "until time shall prove it false. Thy lover lies wounded in this castle ---thy preferred lover. He is a bar betwixt Front-de-Boeuf and that which Front-de-Boeuf loves better than either ambition or beauty. What will it cost beyond the blow of a poniard, or the thrust of a javelin, to silence his opposition for ever? Nay, were Front-de-Boeuf afraid to justify a deed so open, let the leech but give his patient a wrong draught---let the chamberlain, or the nurse who tends him, but pluck the pillow from his head, and Wilfred in his present condition, is sped without the effusion of blood. Cedric also---"
"And Cedric also," said Rowena, repeating his words; "my noble ---my generous guardian! I deserved the evil I have encountered, for forgetting his fate even in that of his son!"
"Cedric's fate also depends upon thy determination," said De Bracy; "and I leave thee to form it."
Hitherto, Rowena had sustained her part in this trying scene with undismayed courage, but it was because she had not considered the danger as serious and imminent. Her disposition was naturally that which physiognomists consider as proper to fair complexions, mild, timid, and gentle; but it had been tempered, and, as it were, hardened, by the circumstances of her education. Accustomed to see the will of all, even of Cedric himself, (sufficiently arbitrary with others,) give way before her wishes, she had acquired that sort of courage and self-confidence which arises from the habitual and constant deference of the circle in which we move. She could scarce conceive the possibility of her will being opposed, far less that of its being treated with total disregard.
Her haughtiness and habit of domination was, therefore, a fictitious character, induced over that which was natural to her, and it deserted her when her eyes were opened to the extent of her own danger, as well as that of her lover and her guardian; and when she found her will, the slightest expression of which was wont to command respect and attention, now placed in opposition to that of a man of a strong, fierce, and determined mind, who possessed the advantage over her, and was resolved to use it, she quailed before him.
After casting her eyes around, as if to look for the aid which was nowhere to be found, and after a few broken interjections, she raised her hands to heaven, and burst into a passion of uncontrolled vexation and sorrow. It was impossible to see so beautiful a creature in such extremity without feeling for her, and De Bracy was not unmoved, though he was yet more embarrassed than touched. He had, in truth, gone too far to recede; and yet, in Rowena's present condition, she could not be acted on either by argument or threats. He paced the apartment to and fro, now vainly exhorting the terrified maiden to compose herself, now hesitating concerning his own line of conduct.
If, thought he, I should be moved by the tears and sorrow of this disconsolate damsel, what should I reap but the loss of these fair hopes for which I have encountered so much risk, and the ridicule of Prince John and his jovial comrades? "And yet," he said to himself, "I feel myself ill framed for the part which I am playing. I cannot look on so fair a face while it is disturbed with agony, or on those eyes when they are drowned in tears. I would she had retained her original haughtiness of disposition, or that I had a larger share of Front-de-Boeuf's thrice-tempered hardness of heart!"
Agitated by these thoughts, he could only bid the unfortunate Rowena be comforted, and assure her, that as yet she had no reason for the excess of despair to which she was now giving way. But in this task of consolation De Bracy was interrupted by the horn, "hoarse-winded blowing far and keen," which had at the same time alarmed the other inmates of the castle, and interrupted their several plans of avarice and of license. Of them all, perhaps, De Bracy least regretted the interruption; for his conference with the Lady Rowena had arrived at a point, where he found it equally difficult to prosecute or to resign his enterprise.
And here we cannot but think it necessary to offer some better proof than the incidents of an idle tale, to vindicate the melancholy representation of manners which has been just laid before the reader. It is grievous to think that those valiant barons, to whose stand against the crown the liberties of England were indebted for their existence, should themselves have been such dreadful oppressors, and capable of excesses contrary not only to the laws of England, but to those of nature and humanity. But, alas! we have only to extract from the industrious Henry one of those numerous passages which he has collected from contemporary historians, to prove that fiction itself can hardly reach the dark reality of the horrors of the period.
The description given by the author of the Saxon Chronicle of the cruelties exercised in the reign of King Stephen by the great barons and lords of castles, who were all Normans, affords a strong proof of the excesses of which they were capable when their passions were inflamed. "They grievously oppressed the poor people by building castles; and when they were built, they filled them with wicked men, or rather devils, who seized both men and women who they imagined had any money, threw them into prison, and put them to more cruel tortures than the martyrs ever endured. They suffocated some in mud, and suspended others by the feet, or the head, or the thumbs, kindling fires below them. They squeezed the heads of some with knotted cords till they pierced their brains, while they threw others into dungeons swarming with serpents, snakes, and toads." But it would be cruel to put the reader to the pain of perusing the remainder of this description.*
* Henry's Hist. edit. 1805, vol. vii. p. .146.
As another instance of these bitter fruits of conquest, and perhaps the strongest that can be quoted, we may mention, that the Princess Matilda, though a daughter of the King of Scotland, and afterwards both Queen of England, niece to Edgar Atheling, and mother to the Empress of Germany, the daughter, the wife, and the mother of monarchs, was obliged, during her early residence for education in England, to assume the veil of a nun, as the only means of escaping the licentious pursuit of the Norman nobles. This excuse she stated before a great council of the clergy of England, as the sole reason for her having taken the religious habit. The assembled clergy admitted the validity of the plea, and the notoriety of the circumstances upon which it was founded; giving thus an indubitable and most remarkable testimony to the existence of that disgraceful license by which that age was stained. It was a matter of public knowledge, they said, that after the conquest of King William, his Norman followers, elated by so great a victory, acknowledged no law but their own wicked pleasure, and not only despoiled the conquered Saxons of their lands and their goods, but invaded the honour of their wives and of their daughters with the most unbridled license; and hence it was then common for matrons and maidens of noble families to assume the veil, and take shelter in convents, not as called thither by the vocation of God, but solely to preserve their honour from the unbridled wickedness of man.
Such and so licentious were the times, as announced by the public declaration of the assembled clergy, recorded by Eadmer; and we need add nothing more to vindicate the probability of the scenes which we have detailed, and are about to detail, upon the more apocryphal authority of the Wardour MS.

好。巴，如果我这些温柔动听的话
不能打动你的芳心，
我只得像军人一样违反你的意志，
用武力强迫你接受我的爱了。
《维洛那二绅士》(注)
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(注)莎士比亚的喜剧，引文见该剧第五幕第四场。
罗文娜小姐给带进了一间屋子，它的陈设虽然简陋，但还是显得比别的房间奢侈和豪华一些，她被安置在这里，可以认为她与其他囚犯不同，得到了特殊的尊敬。它本来是为牛面将军的妻子布置的，但是她很早就死了，按照她的爱好设置的一些装饰品，由于无人照料，已经陈旧和毁坏。壁毯在许多地方从墙上挂了下来，有的则在日光的照射下变得暗淡和褪色了，还有的在时间的侵蚀下破损和腐烂了。然而尽管显得有些凄凉，这间屋子还是被评定为最适合撒克逊女继承人居住的；现在她便独自待在这里，思考着自己的命运，等待那些在这出凶险的戏剧中扮演各类角色的演员粉墨登场。这已由牛面将军、德布拉西和圣殿骑士三入开会商定了，在会议中，他们经过长时间的热烈争论，对各人在这场横行不法的行动中应该取得的特殊利益，提出了自己的看法，最后决定了那些不幸的俘虏的命运。
这样，到了中午前后，德布拉西这位最早策划这次行动的角色，前来面见罗文娜小姐，要把娶她为妻，从而取得她的财产的计划，付诸实施了。
在这段时间里，他除了与他的同党密谋策划以外，已抽空按照当时纨绔子弟的标准，把自己打扮得焕然一新。他的绿大褂和面罩现在已给丢在一旁。他那又长又密的头发编成了一绺绺漂亮的鬈发，披在豪华的皮外套上。他的胡须剃光了，紧身上衣达到了腿弯那儿，腰里束着一条用嵌金工艺制作的绣花腰带，带子上挂着一把笨重的大剑。我们已经讲过这个时期靴子的时髦式样，莫里斯•德布拉西的鞋类更是登峰造极，可以在奢华比赛中名列前茅，它高高翘起，跟一对羊角差不多。这是当时美男子的装束，在目前这场合，由于穿戴者的漂亮身材和优美举止，更显得不同寻常，使这个人变得风流倜傥，既带有大臣的华贵气质，又具有军人的爽朗风度。
他一见罗文娜，便摘下了丝绒帽子；帽上装饰的一枚金别针，表现了圣米迦勒(注)把魔王踹踏在脚下的图形。他拿着帽子，温文尔雅地做了个手势，请小姐坐下；由于她仍站在那里，骑士脱下右边的手套，打算扶她到那儿就坐。但罗文娜用手势拒绝了他的殷勤表示，回答道：“如果站在我面前的是我的狱卒——骑士先生，情况也不允许我作别的设想——那么最好让他的囚犯站着听取对她的判决。”
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(注)《圣经》中的天使长，《启示录》第12章说：“米迦勒与龙争战……那龙名叫魔鬼，又叫撒旦，是迷惑普天下的，他被摔在地上……”
“暧呀！美丽的罗文娜，”德布拉西答道，“站在你面前的不是你的狱卒，是你的俘虏；他到这里来，不是像你那句戏言所说的要对你作出判决，是要从你那对美丽的眼睛中看到你对德布拉西的判决。”
“我不认识你，先生，”小姐说，挺直身子，表现了她的身分和美貌不允许侵犯的自尊心，“我不认识你；你用流浪歌人的粗俗语言向我讲的话，只是流露了你的无礼和放肆，这不能为强盗的暴行开脱罪责。”
“美丽的小姐，”德布拉西回答，仍是刚才的口气，“那是你的花容月貌，才使我对我心目中的女王和北极星，做出了不够尊敬的越轨行为。”
“我向你再说一遍，骑士先生，我不认识你；任何一个身上穿盔甲、脚上有踢马刺的人，都不应该闯到一个无人保护的妇女面前，跟她纠缠。”
“你不认识我，这确实是我的不幸，”德布拉西说，“但我相信，不论在比武场上还是战场上，德布拉西的名字不是没有得到过行吟诗人或典礼官的歌颂的。”
“那么还是让行吟诗人或典礼官去歌颂你吧，骑士先生，”罗文娜答道，“这在他们嘴里比在你自己嘴里合适一些。那么请问，昨天夜里那次难忘的征讨，对一个老人和几个胆小的家丁的征讨，以及这次征讨的成果——一个不幸的少女被强行劫持到强盗的城堡中这件事，应该由行吟诗人编入诗歌中，还是由典礼官记录到比武大会的案卷中呢？’”
“你并不公正，罗文娜小姐，”骑士说，有些尴尬，因此咬紧了嘴唇，讲话的声音也自然了一些，不像起先那么装得温柔多情了。“你自己冷若冰霜，便不承认别人的热恋有存在的权利，尽管这只是你的美貌引起的。”
“对不起，骑士先生，”罗文娜说，“请你庄重一些，不要用江湖艺人的陈词烂调，这对骑士或贵族都是不恰当的。确实，你使我不得不坐下了，因为你跟我搬弄这些无聊的废话，这是每个夸夸其谈的小丑都会讲个不停，从现在一直讲到圣诞节的。”
“你是一个傲慢的女子，”德布拉西说，有些生气，发现他的殷勤只是换来了羞辱，“对一个傲慢的女子，必须用傲慢的态度对付她。现在告诉你，我有办法叫你嫁给我，这办法对你是最合适的。从你的脾气看，用弓箭和刀剑向你求婚，比用日常的词汇和文雅的语言更有效。”
“文雅的语言在用来掩盖粗俗的行为时，”罗文娜说，“只是把骑士的腰带束在卑鄙的小人身上。因此难怪你觉得拘束，不自然；你还不如老老实实，保留强盗的衣衫和语言好一些，不必用故作多情的言辞和举止掩盖强盗的行径。”
“你的劝告很好，小姐，”诺曼人说。“只有大胆的语言才理直气壮，可以说明大胆的行动，那么我告诉你，你休想走出这个城堡，除非你成为莫里斯•德布拉西的妻子。我要做的事，谁也阻挡不住，而且一个诺曼贵族既然打定主意，要娶一个撒克逊女子，这是抬举她，用不到低声下气说明理由。你很骄傲，罗文娜，这使你更适合作我的妻子。请问，你除了与我结婚，还有什么其他办法可以爬上这么光荣、这么高贵的位置？可以脱离你那个乡下庄园的狭窄天地？你们撒克逊人是跟猪生活在一起的，猪便是他们的财产，你只有嫁给我，才能享受荣华富贵，才能进入英国的一切名媛淑女和权门显贵之间，这难道还不清楚吗？”
“骑士先生，”罗文娜答道，“你所不屑一顾的乡下农庄是我从小居住的地方，我可以告诉你，假如真有一天我要离开它，那么带我离开它的人，必然是从不鄙视我从小生长的那个环境和那种生活的。”
“我明白你的意思，小姐，”德布拉西说，“尽管你可能认为这十分隐晦，我不会猜到。但是不要幻想狮心王理查还会东山再起，更不要幻想，他的亲信艾文荷的威尔弗莱德还会带你去叩见他，他还会像欢迎他的宠臣的新娘那么欢迎你。接触到这个问题，别的求婚者可能会感到嫉妒，但是我的意志是坚定的，我不会把这种儿戏般的、没有希望的恋情放在心上。告诉你，小姐，这位情敌现在掌握在我的手中，我是否向牛面将军透露他在城堡内的秘密，这取决于我，要知道，牛面将军是比我更可怕的一个敌人。”
“威尔弗莱德在这里！”罗文娜用轻蔑的口气说，“对，这就像牛面将军是他的仇敌一样真实！”
德布拉西盯住她看了一会。“你真的不知道这件事？”他说，“你不知道艾文荷的威尔弗莱德躺在犹太人的驮舆中旅行？——一个十字军战上躺在这样的交通工具中，还自命不凡，想凭他的胳臂夺回圣墓！”他发出了奚落的大笑声。
“就算他在这儿吧，”罗文娜尽管忧心忡忡，无法抑制内心的痛苦，还是强迫自己用冷漠的口气卜这么，“他又怎么会成为个面将军的仇敌呢？他只要按照骑士制度的规矩，缴纳一笔公正的赎金，便可获得释放，他有什么需要担心的呢？”
“罗文娜，”德布拉西说，“这真是妇人之见，是你们经常犯的错误；难道除了你们的美色，就没有东西会引起男人之间的仇恨了吗？你可知道，除了争夺爱情，世上还有权力之争和财富之争？我们这个主人牛面将军，为了保留他对那块富饶的领地艾文荷的权利，可以毫不迟疑、不顾一切、不择手段地铲除任何阻碍他实现这意图的绊脚石，就像争夺一个蓝眼睛的女人一样。但是，小姐，只要你答应我的要求，那个负伤的勇士就不必怕牛面将军对他下毒手，你也不必担心他会落进这个从来不知道同情的敌人手中。”
“看在仁慈的上帝份上，救救他吧！”罗文娜喊道，在她的情人面临的命运的威胁下，她的决心动摇了。
“我能够也愿意这么做，这本来是我的打算，”德布拉西说，“因为在罗文娜同意成为德布拉西的新娘后，谁还敢把粗暴的手伸向她的亲属——她的监护人的儿子，她少年时代的同伴？但是你必须用你的爱情购买对他的保护。我不是浪漫的傻瓜，不会帮助一个可能在我和我的要求之间构成障碍的人，让他称心如意，获得成功。你肯为他运用对我的影响力，他便可以得救；如果你拒绝这么做，威尔弗莱德便死定了，你自己也会离自由越来越远。”
“你的话显得满不在乎，狂妄自大，”罗文娜答道，“我觉得，这与它所表达的罪恶意图不能协议。我不相信你的用心这么险恶，或者你的力量这么大。”
“那么随你怎么想吧，”德布拉西说，“时间会证明你的想法错了。你的情人受了伤，躺在这城堡内——他是你的心上人。但他也是横亘在牛面将军和他的封地之间的障碍，这片封地在牛面将军看来，是比权力和美女更重要的。这并不费事，只要一月或者一熗，就可以永远解决，使他不再成为障碍。假定牛面将军不敢公开这么干，那就让医生给病人服一帖毒药，让管家或侍候他的使女，抽掉他的枕头，这样，处在目前这种状况的威尔弗莱德不用流一滴血，马上会一命呜呼。还有塞德里克……”
“还有塞德里克……”罗文娜跟着说道，“我高贵的、慷慨的监护人！我只记得他的儿子，却忘记了他，我真是罪有应得！”
“塞德里克的命运也得看你怎么决定，”德布拉西说，“这全在于你。”
这以前，罗文娜在困难的处境中，一直保持着毫不畏缩的勇气，但那是因为她没有想到危险这么严重，这么不叮阻挡。她的性情本来是相面先生认为白嫩的皮肤应有的那种——温柔，羞怯，文雅；只是经过环境的熏陶之后，显得有些刚强罢了。她习惯于看到，大家的意愿，甚至塞德里克本人的意愿——尽管他对别人是相当专横武断的——都在她的要求面前屈服，因而获得了那种勇气和自信，这是我们生活的那个圈子经常给予我们的尊敬造成的。她很难想象，她的愿望会遭到拒绝，对它完全不予理会．更是绝不可能的。
因此她的傲慢和支配一切的习惯，只是一种虚构的性格，蒙在她的天性上的一层表皮，当她一旦睁开眼睛，看到她本人，以及她的情人和监护人，所面临的危险如何深重时，那层虚假的外表便消失了。她发现，她的意志本来只要略有表示，便会得到尊重和关心，现在却遇到了一个强大、残忍、坚定的人的抵制，他掌握了对她的有利条件，而巨决定利用这条件达到自己的目的，于是她在他面前退缩了。
她抬起头向周围打量了一下，似乎想寻找帮助，却无法找到，于是断断续续发出几声叹息后，她举起双手，在无法克制的烦恼和忧郁中放声痛哭了。看到这么漂亮的一个人陷入这样的绝望中，对她毫不同情是不可能的，德布拉西也不会无动于衷，尽管他主要还是感到困惑，不是感动。确实，他已走得太远，无法退却了，然而按照罗文娜目前的状况，劝说和威胁对她都没有用。他在屋里踱来踱去，一会儿对胆战心惊的少女讲几句徒劳无益的劝告，一会儿思前想后，踌躇不决，考虑他应该采取的方针。
“如果我被这个郁郁不乐的女子的眼泪和苦恼打动了，”他想，“那么我岂不前功尽弃，只得把冒了这么多危险想取得的美好希望丢在一边，忍受约翰亲王和他那班酒肉朋友的耻笑了吗？然而，”他又对自己说，“我觉得我大生不是扮演这种角色的人。我不能眼看这么漂亮的一张脸蛋变得如此愁容满面，这么一对眼睛淹没在泪水中。我宁可她还保持着原来那副盛气凌人的脸色，或者我能像牛面将军一样，生着一颗冷酷无情的心！”
这些思想把他搅得心烦意乱，只能要求罗文娜别太伤心，他向她保证，她还没有完全绝望，不必这么灰心丧气。但是德布拉西的这些安慰被一二阵阵号角声打断了，这就是城堡内的其他人也听到的、打断了他们各种贪婪而荒谬的计划的那声“惊天动地的豪迈的号角声”。也许在所有这些人中，德布拉西是最欢迎它的到来的，因为对他的计划，他既无法推进，又不肯放弃，他与罗文娜小姐的谈判已陷入死胡同了。
说到这里，我们认为，除了书中这些查无实据的故事以外，必须对读者刚才看到的时代风貌的悲惨表现，提供一些更好的证明了。这是一个不幸的事实：尽管英国的各种自由权利，是多寸一些英勇的贵族面对国王据理力争，才得以实现的，他们自己却也是骇人听闻的压迫者，他们的暴虐行径不仅违背英国的法律，也为天理人情所不容。是的！我们只要从勤奋的亨利(注)的书中，把他搜集的当时历史学家多不胜数的记载中，摘取一段，便足以证明，小说的描写与当时黑暗可怕的现实相比，还膛乎其后。
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(注)即指亨廷顿的亨利、见卷首《劳伦斯•坦普尔顿致德赖斯达斯特博士的信》。
《撒克逊编年史》作者的叙述，为斯蒂芬国王统治时期大贵族和大官僚的暴行，提供了有力的证据；这些人全是诺曼人，他们一旦动怒，简直可以无所不为。“他们为了建造城堡，肆无忌惮地欺压贫民百姓。城堡建成后，又把它们交给无恶不作的、可以说与魔鬼不相上下的人管理，凡是这些人认为有一点钱的，不论男女，都给抓进城堡，关在牢里严刑拷打，甚至超过了对殉教者所用过的酷刑。有的人给他们丢在污泥中闷死，有的给吊住脚、头或拇指，然后在他们下面点上火烧死。有的给打结的绳索勒紧脑袋，直至脑浆迸裂，也有的给会进充满各种毒蛇和爬虫的土坑中。”但是让读者阅读这样的记载是残忍的，因此其余部分只得省略了。(注)
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(注)见亨利的《英吉利史》，1805年版第7卷第346页。——原注
关于诺曼人征服英国造成的不幸后果，我们还可以举一个例子，也许这是最触目惊心的，那就是玛蒂尔达皇后(注)的遭遇，她虽然是苏格兰国王的女儿，后来又成了英国的王后和神圣罗马帝国的皇后，但这个先后作过国王的女儿、妻子和母后的人，在她早年为了求学留居英国时，却不得不戴上面纱，扮作修女，才能躲避诺曼贵族的戏弄和侮辱。这个权宜措施，她曾向英国主教会议作过陈述，因为这是她采用教会服饰的唯一理由。参加会议的教士一致认为，她的理由是充足的，作为它所根据的那些情况也是众所周知的；这件事便是一个不容置疑、无可否认的证据，说明当时的风气败坏已到了多么严重的程度。他们说，这已是公认的事实：威廉国王征服英国后，他的诺曼部下陶醉在伟大的胜利中，不承认任何法律，一切得服从他们寻欢作乐的需要；他们不仅掠夺被征服的撒克逊人的土地和财产，而且不顾他们的妻子和女儿的荣誉，肆意凌辱她们，以致那些贵族家庭的主妇和闺女戴上面纱，在那时已司空见惯，她们寄身于修道院中，不是为了崇敬上帝，唯一的原因只是为了保持自身的贞洁，免遭男人肆无忌惮的蹂躏。
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(注)玛蒂尔达是苏格兰国王马尔科姆三世的女儿，于1100年嫁给英国国工亨利一世为王后，但她没有作过神圣罗马帝国的皇后。她的女儿出生于1102年，也名玛蒂尔达，早年即嫁给神圣罗马帝国皇帝亨利五世，亨利五世死后，她返回英国，与国王斯蒂芬争夺三位，后来两人达成协议，由她的儿子亨利继承王位，是为亨利二世。这里可能是作者把两个玛蒂尔达混为一谈了。
确实，这是一个胡作非为的时代，正如那些参加会议的教士所一致公认的那样，他们的话已由埃德默(注)记录在案，不必我们再多费笔墨，依靠不足凭信的《沃杜尔文稿》来证明我们所描写的，以及即将描写的那些情节的真实性了。
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(注)埃德默（约1060一约1128），英国教士及史学家，写有《英国历史故事》等书。
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Chapter 24
I'll woo her as the lion woos his bride. Douglas
While the scenes we have described were passing in other parts of the castle, the Jewess Rebecca awaited her fate in a distant and sequestered turret. Hither she had been led by two of her disguised ravishers, and on being thrust into the little cell, she found herself in the presence of an old sibyl, who kept murmuring to herself a Saxon rhyme, as if to beat time to the revolving dance which her spindle was performing upon the floor. The hag raised her head as Rebecca entered, and scowled at the fair Jewess with the malignant envy with which old age and ugliness, when united with evil conditions, are apt to look upon youth and beauty.
"Thou must up and away, old house-cricket," said one of the men; "our noble master commands it---Thou must e'en leave this chamber to a fairer guest."
"Ay," grumbled the hag, "even thus is service requited. I have known when my bare word would have cast the best man-at-arms among ye out of saddle and out of service; and now must I up and away at the command of every groom such as thou."
"Good Dame Urfried," said the other man, "stand not to reason on it, but up and away. Lords' hests must be listened to with a quick ear. Thou hast had thy day, old dame, but thy sun has long been set. Thou art now the very emblem of an old war-horse turned out on the barren heath---thou hast had thy paces in thy time, but now a broken amble is the best of them---Come, amble off with thee."
"Ill omens dog ye both!" said the old woman; "and a kennel be your burying-place! May the evil demon Zernebock tear me limb from limb, if I leave my own cell ere I have spun out the hemp on my distaff!"
"Answer it to our lord, then, old housefiend," said the man, and retired; leaving Rebecca in company with the old woman, upon whose presence she had been thus unwillingly forced.
"What devil's deed have they now in the wind?" said the old hag, murmuring to herself, yet from time to time casting a sidelong and malignant glance at Rebecca; "but it is easy to guess ---Bright eyes, black locks, and a skin like paper, ere the priest stains it with his black unguent---Ay, it is easy to guess why they send her to this lone turret, whence a shriek could no more be heard than at the depth of five hundred fathoms beneath the earth.---Thou wilt have owls for thy neighbours, fair one; and their screams will be heard as far, and as much regarded, as thine own. Outlandish, too," she said, marking the dress and turban of Rebecca---"What country art thou of?---a Saracen? or an Egyptian?---Why dost not answer?---thou canst weep, canst thou not speak?"
"Be not angry, good mother," said Rebecca.
"Thou needst say no more," replied Urfried "men know a fox by the train, and a Jewess by her tongue."
"For the sake of mercy," said Rebecca, "tell me what I am to expect as the conclusion of the violence which hath dragged me hither! Is it my life they seek, to atone for my religion? I will lay it down cheerfully."
"Thy life, minion?" answered the sibyl; "what would taking thy life pleasure them?---Trust me, thy life is in no peril. Such usage shalt thou have as was once thought good enough for a noble Saxon maiden. And shall a Jewess, like thee, repine because she hath no better? Look at me---I was as young and twice as fair as thou, when Front-de-Boeuf, father of this Reginald, and his Normans, stormed this castle. My father and his seven sons defended their inheritance from story to story, from chamber to chamber---There was not a room, not a step of the stair, that was not slippery with their blood. They died---they died every man; and ere their bodies were cold, and ere their blood was dried, I had become the prey and the scorn of the conqueror!"
"Is there no help?---Are there no means of escape?" said Rebecca ---"Richly, richly would I requite thine aid."
"Think not of it," said the hag; "from hence there is no escape but through the gates of death; and it is late, late," she added, shaking her grey head, "ere these open to us---Yet it is comfort to think that we leave behind us on earth those who shall be wretched as ourselves. Fare thee well, Jewess!---Jew or Gentile, thy fate would be the same; for thou hast to do with them that have neither scruple nor pity. Fare thee well, I say. My thread is spun out---thy task is yet to begin."
"Stay! stay! for Heaven's sake!" said Rebecca; "stay, though it be to curse and to revile me ---thy presence is yet some protection."
"The presence of the mother of God were no protection," answered the old woman. "There she stands," pointing to a rude image of the Virgin Mary, "see if she can avert the fate that awaits thee."
She left the room as she spoke, her features writhed into a sort of sneering laugh, which made them seem even more hideous than their habitual frown. She locked the door behind her, and Rebecca might hear her curse every step for its steepness, as slowly and with difficulty she descended the turret-stair.
Rebecca was now to expect a fate even more dreadful than that of Rowena; for what probability was there that either softness or ceremony would be used towards one of her oppressed race, whatever shadow of these might be preserved towards a Saxon heiress? Yet had the Jewess this advantage, that she was better prepared by habits of thought, and by natural strength of mind, to encounter the dangers to which she was exposed. Of a strong and observing character, even from her earliest years, the pomp and wealth which her father displayed within his walls, or which she witnessed in the houses of other wealthy Hebrews, had not been able to blind her to the precarious circumstances under which they were enjoyed. Like Damocles at his celebrated banquet, Rebecca perpetually beheld, amid that gorgeous display, the sword which was suspended over the heads of her people by a single hair. These reflections had tamed and brought down to a pitch of sounder judgment a temper, which, under other circumstances, might have waxed haughty, supercilious, and obstinate.
From her father's example and injunctions, Rebecca had learnt to bear herself courteously towards all who approached her. She could not indeed imitate his excess of subservience, because she was a stranger to the meanness of mind, and to the constant state of timid apprehension, by which it was dictated; but she bore herself with a proud humility, as if submitting to the evil circumstances in which she was placed as the daughter of a despised race, while she felt in her mind the consciousness that she was entitled to hold a higher rank from her merit, than the arbitrary despotism of religious prejudice permitted her to aspire to.
Thus prepared to expect adverse circumstances, she had acquired the firmness necessary for acting under them. Her present situation required all her presence of mind, and she summoned it up accordingly.
Her first care was to inspect the apartment; but it afforded few hopes either of escape or protection. It contained neither secret passage nor trap-door, and unless where the door by which she had entered joined the main building, seemed to be circumscribed by the round exterior wall of the turret. The door had no inside bolt or bar. The single window opened upon an embattled space surmounting the turret, which gave Rebecca, at first sight, some hopes of escaping; but she soon found it had no communication with any other part of the battlements, being an isolated bartisan, or balcony, secured, as usual, by a parapet, with embrasures, at which a few archers might be stationed for defending the turret, and flanking with their shot the wall of the castle on that side.
There was therefore no hope but in passive fortitude, and in that strong reliance on Heaven natural to great and generous characters. Rebecca, however erroneously taught to interpret the promises of Scripture to the chosen people of Heaven, did not err in supposing the present to be their hour of trial, or in trusting that the children of Zion would be one day called in with the fulness of the Gentiles. In the meanwhile, all around her showed that their present state was that of punishment and probation, and that it was their especial duty to suffer without sinning. Thus prepared to consider herself as the victim of misfortune, Rebecca had early reflected upon her own state, and schooled her mind to meet the dangers which she had probably to encounter.
The prisoner trembled, however, and changed colour, when a step was heard on the stair, and the door of the turret-chamber slowly opened, and a tall man, dressed as one of those banditti to whom they owed their misfortune, slowly entered, and shut the door behind him; his cap, pulled down upon his brows, concealed the upper part of his face, and he held his mantle in such a manner as to muffle the rest. In this guise, as if prepared for the execution of some deed, at the thought of which he was himself ashamed, he stood before the affrighted prisoner; yet, ruffian as his dress bespoke him, he seemed at a loss to express what purpose had brought him thither, so that Rebecca, making an effort upon herself, had time to anticipate his explanation. She had already unclasped two costly bracelets and a collar, which she hastened to proffer to the supposed outlaw, concluding naturally that to gratify his avarice was to bespeak his favour.
"Take these," she said, "good friend, and for God's sake be merciful to me and my aged father! These ornaments are of value, yet are they trifling to what he would bestow to obtain our dismissal from this castle, free and uninjured."
"Fair flower of Palestine," replied the outlaw, "these pearls are orient, but they yield in whiteness to your teeth; the diamonds are brilliant, but they cannot match your eyes; and ever since I have taken up this wild trade, I have made a vow to prefer beauty to wealth."
"Do not do yourself such wrong," said Rebecca; "take ransom, and have mercy!---Gold will purchase you pleasure,---to misuse us, could only bring thee remorse. My father will willingly satiate thy utmost wishes; and if thou wilt act wisely, thou mayst purchase with our spoils thy restoration to civil society---mayst obtain pardon for past errors, and be placed beyond the necessity of committing more."
"It is well spoken," replied the outlaw in French, finding it difficult probably to sustain, in Saxon, a conversation which Rebecca had opened in that language; "but know, bright lily of the vale of Baca! that thy father is already in the hands of a powerful alchemist, who knows how to convert into gold and silver even the rusty bars of a dungeon grate. The venerable Isaac is subjected to an alembic, which will distil from him all he holds dear, without any assistance from my requests or thy entreaty. The ransom must be paid by love and beauty, and in no other coin will I accept it."
"Thou art no outlaw," said Rebecca, in the same language in which he addressed her; "no outlaw had refused such offers. No outlaw in this land uses the dialect in which thou hast spoken. Thou art no outlaw, but a Norman---a Norman, noble perhaps in birth ---O, be so in thy actions, and cast off this fearful mask of outrage and violence!"
"And thou, who canst guess so truly," said Brian de Bois-Guilbert, dropping the mantle from his face, "art no true daughter of Israel, but in all, save youth and beauty, a very witch of Endor. I am not an outlaw, then, fair rose of Sharon. And I am one who will be more prompt to hang thy neck and arms with pearls and diamonds, which so well become them, than to deprive thee of these ornaments."
"What wouldst thou have of me," said Rebecca, "if not my wealth? ---We can have nought in common between us---you are a Christian ---I am a Jewess.---Our union were contrary to the laws, alike of the church and the synagogue."
"It were so, indeed," replied the Templar, laughing; "wed with a Jewess? 'Despardieux!'---Not if she were the Queen of Sheba! And know, besides, sweet daughter of Zion, that were the most Christian king to offer me his most Christian daughter, with Languedoc for a dowery, I could not wed her. It is against my vow to love any maiden, otherwise than 'par amours', as I will love thee. I am a Templar. Behold the cross of my Holy Order."
"Darest thou appeal to it," said Rebecca, "on an occasion like the present?"
"And if I do so," said the Templar, "it concerns not thee, who art no believer in the blessed sign of our salvation."
"I believe as my fathers taught," said Rebecca; "and may God forgive my belief if erroneous! But you, Sir Knight, what is yours, when you appeal without scruple to that which you deem most holy, even while you are about to transgress the most solemn of your vows as a knight, and as a man of religion?"
"It is gravely and well preached, O daughter of Sirach!" answered the Templar; "but, gentle Ecclesiastics, thy narrow Jewish prejudices make thee blind to our high privilege. Marriage were an enduring crime on the part of a Templar; but what lesser folly I may practise, I shall speedily be absolved from at the next Preceptory of our Order. Not the wisest of monarchs, not his father, whose examples you must needs allow are weighty, claimed wider privileges than we poor soldiers of the Temple of Zion have won by our zeal in its defence. The protectors of Solomon's Temple may claim license by the example of Solomon."
"If thou readest the Scripture," said the Jewess, "and the lives of the saints, only to justify thine own license and profligacy, thy crime is like that of him who extracts poison from the most healthful and necessary herbs."
The eyes of the Templar flashed fire at this reproof---"Hearken," he said, "Rebecca; I have hitherto spoken mildly to thee, but now my language shall be that of a conqueror. Thou art the captive of my bow and spear---subject to my will by the laws of all nations; nor will I abate an inch of my right, or abstain from taking by violence what thou refusest to entreaty or necessity."
"Stand back," said Rebecca---"stand back, and hear me ere thou offerest to commit a sin so deadly! My strength thou mayst indeed overpower for God made women weak, and trusted their defence to man's generosity. But I will proclaim thy villainy, Templar, from one end of Europe to the other. I will owe to the superstition of thy brethren what their compassion might refuse me, Each Preceptory---each Chapter of thy Order, shall learn, that, like a heretic, thou hast sinned with a Jewess. Those who tremble not at thy crime, will hold thee accursed for having so far dishonoured the cross thou wearest, as to follow a daughter of my people."
"Thou art keen-witted, Jewess," replied the Templar, well aware of the truth of what she spoke, and that the rules of his Order condemned in the most positive manner, and under high penalties, such intrigues as he now prosecuted, and that, in some instances, even degradation had followed upon it---"thou art sharp-witted," he said; "but loud must be thy voice of complaint, if it is heard beyond the iron walls of this castle; within these, murmurs, laments, appeals to justice, and screams for help, die alike silent away. One thing only can save thee, Rebecca. Submit to thy fate---embrace our religion, and thou shalt go forth in such state, that many a Norman lady shall yield as well in pomp as in beauty to the favourite of the best lance among the defenders of the Temple."
"Submit to my fate!" said Rebecca---"and, sacred Heaven! to what fate?---embrace thy religion! and what religion can it be that harbours such a villain?---THOU the best lance of the Templars! ---Craven knight!---forsworn priest! I spit at thee, and I defy thee.---The God of Abraham's promise hath opened an escape to his daughter---even from this abyss of infamy!"
As she spoke, she threw open the latticed window which led to the bartisan, and in an instant after, stood on the very verge of the parapet, with not the slightest screen between her and the tremendous depth below. Unprepared for such a desperate effort, for she had hitherto stood perfectly motionless, Bois-Guilbert had neither time to intercept nor to stop her. As he offered to advance, she exclaimed, "Remain where thou art, proud Templar, or at thy choice advance!---one foot nearer, and I plunge myself from the precipice; my body shall be crushed out of the very form of humanity upon the stones of that court-yard, ere it become the victim of thy brutality!"
As she spoke this, she clasped her hands and extended them towards heaven, as if imploring mercy on her soul before she made the final plunge. The Templar hesitated, and a resolution which had never yielded to pity or distress, gave way to his admiration of her fortitude. "Come down," he said, "rash girl!---I swear by earth, and sea, and sky, I will offer thee no offence."
"I will not trust thee, Templar," said Rebecca; thou hast taught me better how to estimate the virtues of thine Order. The next Preceptory would grant thee absolution for an oath, the keeping of which concerned nought but the honour or the dishonour of a miserable Jewish maiden."
"You do me injustice," exclaimed the Templar fervently; "I swear to you by the name which I bear---by the cross on my bosom---by the sword on my side---by the ancient crest of my fathers do I swear, I will do thee no injury whatsoever! If not for thyself, yet for thy father's sake forbear! I will be his friend, and in this castle he will need a powerful one."
"Alas!" said Rebecca, "I know it but too well---dare I trust thee?"
"May my arms be reversed, and my name dishonoured," said Brian de Bois-Guilbert, "if thou shalt have reason to complain of me! Many a law, many a commandment have I broken, but my word never."
"I will then trust thee," said Rebecca, "thus far;" and she descended from the verge of the battlement, but remained standing close by one of the embrasures, or "machicolles", as they were then called.---"Here," she said, "I take my stand. Remain where thou art, and if thou shalt attempt to diminish by one step the distance now between us, thou shalt see that the Jewish maiden will rather trust her soul with God, than her honour to the Templar!"
While Rebecca spoke thus, her high and firm resolve, which corresponded so well with the expressive beauty of her countenance, gave to her looks, air, and manner, a dignity that seemed more than mortal. Her glance quailed not, her cheek blanched not, for the fear of a fate so instant and so horrible; on the contrary, the thought that she had her fate at her command, and could escape at will from infamy to death, gave a yet deeper colour of carnation to her complexion, and a yet more brilliant fire to her eye. Bois-Guilbert, proud himself and high-spirited, thought he had never beheld beauty so animated and so commanding.
"Let there be peace between us, Rebecca," he said.
"Peace, if thou wilt," answered Rebecca---"Peace---but with this space between."
"Thou needst no longer fear me," said Bois-Guilbert.
"I fear thee not," replied she; "thanks to him that reared this dizzy tower so high, that nought could fall from it and live --thanks to him, and to the God of Israel!---I fear thee not."
"Thou dost me injustice," said the Templar; "by earth, sea, and sky, thou dost me injustice! I am not naturally that which you have seen me, hard, selfish, and relentless. It was woman that taught me cruelty, and on woman therefore I have exercised it; but not upon such as thou. Hear me, Rebecca---Never did knight take lance in his hand with a heart more devoted to the lady of his love than Brian de Bois-Guilbert. She, the daughter of a petty baron, who boasted for all his domains but a ruinous tower, and an unproductive vineyard, and some few leagues of the barren Landes of Bourdeaux, her name was known wherever deeds of arms were done, known wider than that of many a lady's that had a county for a dowery.---Yes," he continued, pacing up and down the little platform, with an animation in which he seemed to lose all consciousness of Rebecca's presence---"Yes, my deeds, my danger, my blood, made the name of Adelaide de Montemare known from the court of Castile to that of Byzantium. And how was I requited? ---When I returned with my dear-bought honours, purchased by toil and blood, I found her wedded to a Gascon squire, whose name was never heard beyond the limits of his own paltry domain! Truly did I love her, and bitterly did I revenge me of her broken faith! But my vengeance has recoiled on myself. Since that day I have separated myself from life and its ties---My manhood must know no domestic home---must be soothed by no affectionate wife ---My age must know no kindly hearth---My grave must be solitary, and no offspring must outlive me, to bear the ancient name of Bois-Guilbert. At the feet of my Superior I have laid down the right of self-action---the privilege of independence. The Templar, a serf in all but the name, can possess neither lands nor goods, and lives, moves, and breathes, but at the will and pleasure of another."
"Alas!" said Rebecca, "what advantages could compensate for such an absolute sacrifice?"
"The power of vengeance, Rebecca," replied the Templar, "and the prospects of ambition."
"An evil recompense," said Rebecca, "for the surrender of the rights which are dearest to humanity."
"Say not so, maiden," answered the Templar; "revenge is a feast for the gods! And if they have reserved it, as priests tell us, to themselves, it is because they hold it an enjoyment too precious for the possession of mere mortals.---And ambition? it is a temptation which could disturb even the bliss of heaven itself."---He paused a moment, and then added, "Rebecca! she who could prefer death to dishonour, must have a proud and a powerful soul. Mine thou must be!---Nay, start not," he added, "it must be with thine own consent, and on thine own terms. Thou must consent to share with me hopes more extended than can be viewed from the throne of a monarch!---Hear me ere you answer and judge ere you refuse.---The Templar loses, as thou hast said, his social rights, his power of free agency, but he becomes a member and a limb of a mighty body, before which thrones already tremble,---even as the single drop of rain which mixes with the sea becomes an individual part of that resistless ocean, which undermines rocks and ingulfs royal armadas. Such a swelling flood is that powerful league. Of this mighty Order I am no mean member, but already one of the Chief Commanders, and may well aspire one day to hold the batoon of Grand Master. The poor soldiers of the Temple will not alone place their foot upon the necks of kings---a hemp-sandall'd monk can do that. Our mailed step shall ascend their throne---our gauntlet shall wrench the sceptre from their gripe. Not the reign of your vainly-expected Messiah offers such power to your dispersed tribes as my ambition may aim at. I have sought but a kindred spirit to share it, and I have found such in thee."
"Sayest thou this to one of my people?" answered Rebecca. "Bethink thee---"
"Answer me not," said the Templar, "by urging the difference of our creeds; within our secret conclaves we hold these nursery tales in derision. Think not we long remained blind to the idiotical folly of our founders, who forswore every delight of life for the pleasure of dying martyrs by hunger, by thirst, and by pestilence, and by the swords of savages, while they vainly strove to defend a barren desert, valuable only in the eyes of superstition. Our Order soon adopted bolder and wider views, and found out a better indemnification for our sacrifices. Our immense possessions in every kingdom of Europe, our high military fame, which brings within our circle the flower of chivalry from every Christian clime---these are dedicated to ends of which our pious founders little dreamed, and which are equally concealed from such weak spirits as embrace our Order on the ancient principles, and whose superstition makes them our passive tools. But I will not further withdraw the veil of our mysteries. That bugle-sound announces something which may require my presence. Think on what I have said.---Farewell!---I do not say forgive me the violence I have threatened, for it was necessary to the display of thy character. Gold can be only known by the application of the touchstone. I will soon return, and hold further conference with thee."
He re-entered the turret-chamber, and descended the stair, leaving Rebecca scarcely more terrified at the prospect of the death to which she had been so lately exposed, than at the furious ambition of the bold bad man in whose power she found herself so unhappily placed. When she entered the turret-chamber, her first duty was to return thanks to the God of Jacob for the protection which he had afforded her, and to implore its continuance for her and for her father. Another name glided into her petition---it was that of the wounded Christian, whom fate had placed in the hands of bloodthirsty men, his avowed enemies. Her heart indeed checked her, as if, even in communing with the Deity in prayer, she mingled in her devotions the recollection of one with whose fate hers could have no alliance ---a Nazarene, and an enemy to her faith. But the petition was already breathed, nor could all the narrow prejudices of her sect induce Rebecca to wish it recalled.

我要像狮子觅偶一样追逐她。
《道格拉斯》(注)
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(注)苏格兰诗人约翰•霍姆（1722—18O8）写的一个悲剧。
当我们描写的那一幕幕情景在城堡各处进行时，犹太少女丽贝卡也在远处一座孤立的塔楼中等待自己的命运、她给两个蒙面强人带到这儿，丢进了一间小屋子，发现她面前坐着一个老巫婆；老巫婆咿咿呀呀地哼着一支撒克逊小调，仿佛在给正在地上旋转的她的纺锤打拍子。老太婆发现有人进屋．便抬起头来，对南贝卡皱紧眉头，露出了一副幸灾乐祸的脸色，这是丑老婆子处在恶劣的环境中，看到年轻美貌的小姑娘落到自己这地步，都会有的表倩。
“你得站起来走啦，老虔婆，”一个蒙面人说，“这是老爷的命令。这间屋子得让给年轻漂亮的客人了。”
“嗯，”老太婆叨咕道，“这就是对我的报答。我早料到了，从前凭我一句话，就能叫你们中间最好的骑兵滚下马背，丢掉差使；可是现在，像你这种家了居然也来命令我走开了。”
“我的厄弗利德老大娘，”另一个人说，“别发牢骚啦，还是站起来走吧。老爷的命令必须服从．马虎不得。你有过好日子，老大娘，但是你早已过时啦。现在你好比一只老战马，得赶进荒野了，当年你确实曾经耀武扬威。驰骋在战场上，可如今只配在那里溜花蹄了。好啦，你还是乖乖地走吧。”
“你们两个都是不祥的狗！”老妇人说，“将来也得埋在狗窝里！我得把这纺竿上的麻线纺完以后，才离开这屋子，要我马上离开，除非让魔鬼把我拖走！”
“那么老爷怪罪下来，你自己负责吧，老虔婆，”家丁说，随即走了。现在丽贝卡尽管不愿意，也只得跟老妇人单独待在一起了。
“这些混蛋究竟又要捣什么鬼？”老太婆自言自语似地说，一边不时恶狠狠地瞟一眼丽贝卡。“但这是不难猜到的。明亮的眼睛，乌黑的头发，雪白的皮肤，然而总有一天神父也会给它们涂上不祥的油膏！嗯，这是很容易猜到的，他们把她送到这个孤单的塔楼来，是因为在这里哪怕大喊大叫也没人听到，就像待在深不见底的地洞里一样。小妞儿，今后只有猫头鹰跟你作伴啦；你的哭喊也会像它们的吱吱啼叫那样，谁也听不到，谁也不关心。还是个外国人呢，”看到南贝卡的衣着扭头巾，她又说，“你是哪个国家的人？萨拉森人还是埃及人？为什么不回答？你能够哭，难道不能讲话？”
“不要生我的气，好妈妈，”丽贝卡说。
“你不用再说了，”厄弗利德答道，“看到尾巴可以知道是狐狸，听到口＿音就可以知道你是犹太姑娘。”
“请你行行好吧，”丽贝卡说，“告诉我，他们把我抢到这儿，最后要把我怎么样？是要为我的宗教，把我杀死吗？我这么活着倒不如死了的好。”
“杀死你，小妞儿！”老太婆答道，“他们要杀死你干什么？相信我，你这条小命是没有危险的。你得到的待遇，不会比从前一个撒克逊贵族小姐的差。你这种犹太姑娘，还有什么可抱怨的？你瞧瞧我吧。从前这个雷金纳德的父亲和他那帮诺曼人攻打这个城堡时，我像你一样年轻，还比你漂亮一倍呢。我的父亲和七个弟兄，为了保卫祖传的产业，从一层楼打到另一层楼，从一间屋子打到另一间屋子。这里没有一个房间，没有一级楼梯，没有洒满他们的鲜血。他们战死了，每个人都死了，在他们的尸体还没冷却，他们的血迹还没凝固时，我已成了战胜者的玩物，遭到了侮辱！”
“这里没有人能救我吗？没有逃走的办法了吗？”丽贝卡说。“我愿意重重的、重重的报答你的帮助。”
“还是不要指望吧，”老婆子说，“这里是逃不出去的，除非通过地狱之门；可是这得等很久，很久，这扇门才会向我们打开，”她又说，摇了摇灰白的头。“然而想到我们死后，留在世上的人仍得过同样悲惨的生活，我们便死而无恨了。再见吧，小妞儿！不论你是不是犹太人，你的命运反正一样；因为你总得跟那些人打交道，这些人是既不懂得宽容，也不懂得怜悯的。好啦，祝你幸运。我的麻线纺完了，现在轮到你了。”
“别走，别走，行行好吧！”丽贝卡说。“别走，哪怕你骂我，咒我，也比让我一个人待着好；你留在这里，对我也是一种保护。”
“圣母在这里也保护不了你，”老妇人答道。“看，她就在那儿，”她指指一个粗糙的圣母像，“你等着瞧吧，看她能不能改变等待着你的命运。”
她一边说一边走出房间，还把嘴一撇，露出了轻蔑的嘲笑，这比刚才那种温怒的表情叫人看了更不舒服。她出去后，随手锁上了门；丽贝卡可以听到她走下楼梯的声音，梯子太陡，她走一步便骂一声，走得又慢又困难。
丽贝卡面临的命运，甚至比罗文娜的更可怕；因为对一个撒克逊女继承人多少得保持一点文明礼貌，可是对丽贝卡那种被压迫民族的人，何必讲究这一套呢？然而她也有她的有利条件，那就是她的思维习惯和她天生的坚强意志，为她应付眼前的危险作了较好的准备。她具有坚定而敏锐的性格，从童年时代起，她父亲在家庭范围内表现的豪华和阔绰的排场，或者她在其他希伯来富人家中目睹的奢靡生活，没有封住她的眼睛，使她看不到他们的享乐生活中包含的危机。丽贝卡像这漠克利斯在那次著名的宴会上一样，始终在富丽堂皇的场面中看到，有一把剑用一根头发丝悬挂在她那个民族的头顶上(注)。这样的想象，对她那种在别的环境下可能变得骄傲自大、目空一切、任性固执的性格，起了制约与调和作用，使她得以保持着清醒的头脑。
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(注)据希腊神话，叙拉古人达漠克利斯常羡慕帝王的幸福，于是有一天叙拉古王请他赴宴，在他的座位上用头发丝挂着一把利剑，使他惊恐万状，知道帝王的处境正是这样，灾难随时可以降临到他们头上。
从父亲的行为和教导中，丽贝卡学会了待人接物谦虚谨慎的作风。确实，她不可能像她的父亲那样卑躬屈膝，低声下气，因为她与这种庸俗的心理，以及它所要求的经常诚惶诚恐的外表，是格格不入的；她保持着既尊重自己，又尊重别人的态度，仿佛她意识到，她作为一个被蔑视的民族的女子，不得不接受她所处的恶劣环境，但这只是专横跋扈的宗教偏见强加给她的，按照她的品质，她却有权取得更高的地位。
她对逆境有了这种心理准备，便获得了与它周旋的必要的精神力量。目前的处境需要她沉着应付一切，她也就尽量这么做。
她想到的第一件事便是观察这间屋子，但看来要从这里逃走，或靠它保护，都是没有指望的。它既没有秘密通道，也没有暗门，除了她进来的那扇门连接主要的建筑以外，几乎全部由塔楼的外墙所包围。那扇门里边没有门闩或插销。整个屋子只有一扇窗，窗外的平台位在塔楼顶上，周围建有雉堞墙，这起先给了丽贝卡希望，认为可以从这里逃跑；但是她随即发现，它不能通往其他任何雉堞墙，这只是一个孤立的小楼面或者阳台，周围照例筑有胸墙，胸墙上有射击孔，以便一些弓箭手在这里守卫塔楼，或者利用射击从侧翼保卫城堡的这一边。
因此唯一的希望便是怀着坚强的意志忍受一切，学习那些视死如归的伟大人物，完全信赖上天的保佑。尽管丽贝卡对《圣经》中上帝向选民所作的许诺，接受了错误的解释，(注1)但是她认为以色列人目前正在经历一个苦难的时期，却没有错；她相信，锡安(注2)的子孙有一天也要与全体外邦人一起，被召唤到上帝面前。同时，她周围的一切也向她说明，目前他们是在接受惩罚和考验，他们的特殊任务便是忍受痛苦，避免犯罪。这样，丽贝卡早已把自己看作不幸的受难者，在这方面，她对她可能遭遇的危险，是有精神准备的。
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(注1)《旧约圣经》把以色列人称为上帝的选民，说上帝把过南地方许给了亚伯拉罕的子孙（见《创世记》）。但后来犹太教和基督教往往把“上帝许给的地方”解释作“乐土”或“天堂”等等。
(注2)《圣经》多以锡安代表耶路撒冷，因此锡安的子孙即指以色列人。
然而当楼梯上响起脚步声时，这个囚犯还是有些发抖，脸色也变了。接着小房间的门给缓缓推开，一个高大的人慢慢走了进来，随手关上了门。这人穿着给她带来这场灾难的那些强盗的衣服，戴着帽子，帽檐给拉到了眉毛上，这没了上半个脸，他的披风也裹得紧紧的，给拉起了一些，包住了其余的脸。他似乎要在这样的伪装下，干一件连他自己想起来也觉得害羞的事。然而尽管他打扮得像一个蒙面大盗，他站在惶惶不安的囚犯面前，仍显得有些局促不安，不知该怎么表达他来此的目的，这使丽贝卡有时间定下心来，推测他要说的话。她已经解下两只贵重的手镯和一根项链，现在赶紧把它们献给那个假想的暴徒，这是很自然的，她认为满足他的贪欲，便能得到宽大处理。
“请你收下，朋友，”她说，“看在上帝分上，饶了我和我年迈的父亲吧！这些首饰很值钱，但只要我们能获得自由，平安无事地离开这个城堡，这些东西就算不得什么了。”
“美丽的巴勒斯坦之花啊，”强盗答道，“这些珠宝光彩夺目，但没有你的牙齿洁白；这些钻石闪闪发亮，但是不能与你的眼睛相比。自从我干起这行粗野的勾当以来，我便立下了誓言，宁要美人不要财富。”
“你千万别干这种健事，”丽贝卡说。“收下赎金，发发善心吧！黄金可以给你买到欢乐，践踏我们只能使你终生悔恨。我的父亲会不惜一切，满足你的最大要求；只要你采取明智的态度，我们给你的钱就足以使你恢复你在文明社会的地位——既为过去的错误获得宽恕，也为今后不再重犯创造了条件。”
“你这是一厢情愿，”强盗用法语回答，因为刚才丽贝卡是用撒克逊语与他开始谈话的，可他也许觉得他不擅长使用这种语言，“巴卡谷(注)的纯洁的百合花啊！要知道，你的父亲已经落在一个法力无边的炼金术士手中，他甚至能在地牢炉子生锈的铁条上炼出金银。年高德助的以撒正在接受蒸馏器的提炼，它可以使他拥有的一切宝藏蒸发干净，我的说情和你的哀求都不起作用。你的赎金必须用爱情和美貌来支付，我不接受其他货币。”
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(注)意为“流泪谷”，在《圣经》中被用来指尘世，因为在人间充满罪孽和悲伤，典出《诗篇》第84篇。
“那么你不是强盗，”丽贝卡也用他的语言回答他，“没有一个强盗会拒绝我的条件。在这片土地上，也没有一个强盗会使用你所使用的那种语言。你不是强盗，你是一个诺曼人——一个诺曼人，也许还是贵族出身。那么你的行动也应该这样，丢掉可怕的假面具，不要再横行霸道害人吧！”
“你猜得一点不错，”布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔说，从脸上放下了披风，“你不是真正的以色列的女儿，要不是你年轻漂亮，你简直就是隐多珥的女巫(注)。是的，我不是强盗，沙仑的美丽的玫瑰花啊！我不是要夺取你的首饰，我是要给你的头颈和手臂戴上珠宝和钻石，因为它们应该戴上这些东西。”
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(注)《圣经》中提到的一个女巫，见《撒母耳记上》第28章。
“你不要我的珠宝，那么你要我给你什么呢？”丽贝卡说。“我们之间没有任何共同之点，你是基督徒，我是犹太人。我们的结合既违背基督教会的，也违背犹太会堂的律法。”
“事情确实如此，”圣殿骑士笑道。“娶一个犹太姑娘！我凭上帝的名义起誓！哪怕她是示巴女王(注1)也不成！何况你知道，锡安的美丽女儿，哪怕最虔诚的基督教国王(注2)把最虔诚的基督教女儿许给我，用朗格多克的大片土地作嫁妆，我也不能娶她。受任何女人都是违背我的誓言的，我不能有妻子，只能有情妇，我与你的关系便是这样。我是一个圣殿骑士。你瞧我身上的神圣十字架。”
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(注1)示巴女王，《圣经》中提到的一个女王，她曾去会见以色列王所罗门，试探他的智慧，见《列王记上》第10章。
(注2)指法国国王，下面的朗格多克是古代法国南方一个富饶的省份。
“在眼前这样的场合，你还敢抬出它来证明你的身分？”丽贝卡说。
“即使我这么做，你又何必大惊小怪，”圣殿骑士说，“你本来并不信仰我们这个得救的神圣标志。”
“我的信仰来自我祖先的教导，”丽贝卡说，“如果它错了，愿上帝宽恕我！但是你，骑士先生，你的信仰是什么？你毫不犹豫地把你认为最神圣的东西抬出来作证，可是你却同时准备违背你这个骑士和教徒所作的最庄严的誓言！”
“好一个伶牙俐齿的传教士，简直称得上西拉之女(注1)！”圣殿骑士答道，“但是，温柔的传道小姐，你狭隘的犹太偏见蒙住了你的眼睛，你看不到我们高贵的特权。从圣殿骑士说来，结婚是不能宽恕的罪孽；但是小小的风流韵事却无关紧要，在骑士团下一次的圣堂会议上我就可以得到赦免。你必须承认，那个最聪明的国王(注2)，还有他的父亲，都是很有说服力的例子，可是我们这些以鲜血保卫过耶路撒冷圣殿的穷苦骑士，比他们享有更大的特权。所罗门的圣殿的保卫者，是有权按照所罗门的榜样谈情说爱的。”
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(注1)基督教传说中的一个智者名叫“西拉之子耶数”，据说基督教次经中的《便西拉智训》即他所写。
(注2)指以色列的伟大国王所罗门，他以聪明著称，他的父亲即大卫王，他们都妻妾成群，《旧约》中的情歌集《雅歌》传说便是所罗门写的。
“如果你读《圣经》和圣徒的传记，只是要为自己的荒淫无耻和放荡生活寻找理由，”犹太姑娘说，“那么你就是一个有罪的人，你是要从可以医病的、有益的香草中提取毒药。”
圣殿骑士听到这样的指责，眼睛中冒出了怒火。“听着，丽贝卡，”他说，“我一直对你好言相劝，但是现在我得用征服者的语言踉你说话了。你是我的弓箭和长矛下的俘虏，各国的法律都规定，你必须服从我的意愿。我不会对我的权利退让一步，如果你拒绝我的规劝和要求，我便得用暴力来夺取。”
“不要过来，”丽贝卡说，“不要过来，在你犯下这种不可饶恕的罪恶以前，先听我一句话！我的力气确实不如你大，因为上帝创造的女人是软弱的，得靠男人从道义上给予保护。但是我会向整个欧洲公布你的无耻行径，让所有的人都知道。我不能从你的教友那里得到同情，但我可以从他们的宗教信仰中得到帮助。你的骑士团的每个组织——每个会堂，都会听到这事，知道你像邪教徒一样，对一个犹太姑娘犯了罪。你的朋友不会为你的罪恶战栗，但是他们会认为，你追逐一个犹太民族的女儿，是玷污了你所佩戴的十字架，因而向你发出诅咒。”
“你是个精明机灵的女人，”圣殿骑士答道，完全明白她讲的话是对的，他的骑士团明文规定，禁止他目前要干的这种隐私勾当，否则便将受到严厉的制裁，在某些情况下，甚至可能因而遭到贬滴。“你很厉害，”他说，“但是你要申诉，首先便得跑出这个城堡，在它的铜墙铁壁内，你的声音是传不到外面的。在这里，不论你埋怨也好，哭喊也好，抗议也好，求救也好，都只能消失在这些墙壁内。只有一个办法可以救你，丽贝卡，那就是顺从你的命运，接受我们的宗教，这样，你便可以得到荣华富贵，成为圣殿保卫者中最杰出的骑士的情妇，令许多诺曼小姐都自叹不如，羡慕不止。”
“顺从我的命运！”丽贝卡说，“神圣的上帝啊，那是什么命运？接受你的宗教！那种可以庇护这么一个无赖的宗教，是什么宗教？你是圣殿骑士团中最杰出的骑士！一个怕死的骑士！一个发伪誓的骑士！我唾弃你，蔑视你。亚伯拉罕的上帝许给他的子女的东西(注)，是谁也不能剥夺的——它至少可以使她逃出这耻辱的深渊！”
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(注)指天堂，即前面所说的上帝许给亚伯拉罕的地方。
她一边说，一边推开通向塔顶平台的格子窗，转眼间便跳到了胸墙上，现在她与脚下那深不可测的地面之间已毫无遮挡。布瓦吉贝尔没有料到，她会不惜一死与他对抗，而这以前她一直站着一动不动，以致他既没有时间拦住她，也无法阻挡她。他正想走上前去，她又喊了：“站在原地别动，骄傲的圣殿骑士，不要上前！——你再跨前一步，我就从这高墙上跳下去了；我的身体会在院子的石板上跌得粉碎，但是它不会再受到你的野蛮凌辱！”
讲这些话时，她握紧了双手，把它们伸向天空，好像要在她纵身下跳以前，先祈求上天保佑她的灵魂。圣殿骑士犹豫了，他那从没在怜悯或灾祸面前退缩过的决心动摇了，代之而起的是对她的刚烈性格的钦佩。“下来，”他说，“你这个性急的小妞儿！我凭天地江海起誓，我不会欺侮你。”
“我不相信你，圣殿骑士，”丽贝卡说，“你已让我懂得，应该怎样看待你们这些骑士的品德。下一次圣堂会议就可以开脱你的罪责，本来嘛，这无关紧要，只是涉及一个可怜的犹太女子的荣辱罢了。”
“这是你冤枉了我，”圣殿骑士急忙分辩道，“我可以用我的名字，用我胸前的十字架，用我腰里的剑，用我祖先的纹章起誓，我决不做任何伤害你的事！不要胡来，即使不为你自己，也要为你的父亲想想！我可以作他的朋友，在这个城堡中他需要一个有力的人帮助他。”
“不要骗我，”丽贝卡说，“我对你太清楚了。我能够相信你吗？”
“如果我做出对不起你的事，就让我的熗倒过来刺死我，让我的名字遭到万人唾骂！”布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔说。“我违反过许多法律，破坏过许多诫条，但是我从没背弃过我的诺言。”
“那么我暂且相信你一次，”丽贝卡说，从胸墙上跳了下来，但依然紧靠着一个被称作下向堞眼的射击孔。“我就站在这里，”她说，“你仍待在那儿，只要你想把我们之间的距离缩短一步，你就会看到，我这个犹太女子宁可把我的灵魂托付给上帝，也不会把她的荣誉交给圣殿骑士！”
丽贝卡的这些话，表现了她巍然不动的决心，这与她那张富有表情的漂亮脸蛋结合在一起，使她的容貌、神态和举止变得那么庄严，简直已超越了凡人的境界。她的目光毫不畏怯，她的两颊也没有由于面对着随时可能降临的可怕命运而发白；相反，她意识到她掌握着自己的命运，可以根据自己的意愿用死亡来摆脱耻辱，这使她的脸更显得容光焕发，也使她的眼睛格外炯炯有神。布瓦吉贝尔尽管生性傲慢，自视甚高，也不得不承认，他从没见过这么生气蓬勃、这么威严庄重的美女。
“我们还是讲和吧，丽贝卡，”他说。
“讲和，只要你愿意，我们可以讲和，”丽贝卡答道，“但是必须保持这个距离。”
“你现在已用不到再怕我，”布瓦吉贝尔说。
“我并不怕你，”她答道，“我感谢建造这个令人头晕目眩的塔楼的人，它这么高，没有一个人从这里跳下去还能活命。我感谢他，也感谢以色列的上帝！我不怕你。”
“你对我并不公正，”圣殿骑士说，“我凭天地江海起誓，你对我并不公正！我不是一生下来就像你看到的这样——冷酷，自私，凶恶。是女人把我变得残忍的，因此我也要用残忍对待女人；但不是对待你这样的女人。听我说，丽贝卡。从没一个手持长熗的骑士，曾比布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔对他心爱的女子更忠诚。这女子是一个小贵族的女儿，他大肆吹嘘的领地，不过是一个败落的小城堡和一个没有收获的葡萄园，以及波尔多的一片贫瘠荒地，可是在任何举行过比武的地方，都能听到她的名字，她的名声传播得比许多拥有一个乡村作嫁妆的女子更远。是的，”他继续说，在小小的平台上踱来踱去，情绪那么激动，似乎忘记了丽贝卡的存在，“是的，那是我的功绩，我的危险，我的血汗，使蒙特迈尔的阿德兰德的名字，传遍了从卡斯蒂利亚(注)到拜占庭的宫廷。可是我得到的报答是什么？在我带着我历尽艰辛，靠流血取得的荣誉回来的时候，我却发现她已嫁给了一个加斯科尼的小地主，他的名字是在他那块微不足道的领地以外，谁也没有听到过的！我是真心爱她的。因此我对她的变心的报复也是严厉的！但是我的报复也改变了我自己。从那一天起，我割断了与生活的一切联系。我的一生必须在没有家庭生活的条件下度过，得不到亲爱的妻子的安慰。年老之后也不能享受天伦之乐。我的坟墓没有亲人凭吊，我的身后也不会留下子女，让布瓦吉贝尔这个古老的姓传下去。我向我的上级交出了自由行动的权利——独立自主的权利。圣殿骑士除了自己的姓名，一切都属于别人，既不能有领地，也不能有财产，只能按照别人的意志和愿望生活、行动和呼吸。”
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(注)卡斯蒂利亚，西班牙中部的古代王国。
“哎哟！”丽贝卡说，“这样牺牲一切能换来什么呢？”
“换来复仇的权力，丽贝卡，”圣殿骑士答道，“还有显赫的前程。”
“这是得不偿失，”丽贝卡说，“为此牺牲人生最宝贵的自由权利，太不值得了。”
“不要这么说，小姐，”圣殿骑士答道，“复仇是天神的盛宴！(注1)正如神父告诉我们的，他们之所以保留这权利，便是因为他们认为这是一种美好的享受，不应让凡人独占。至于显赫的前程！这是一种诱惑，甚至可能干扰天国的幸福。”他停了一会，然后又道，“丽贝卡！一个宁可死也不愿忍受侮辱的女人，必然拥有高傲而强大的心灵。你必须归我所有！不，不要害怕，”他又道，“这必须得到你本人的同意，并按照你的条件行事。你必须答应我，与我分享我的前途，这前途是比国王从他的王位上看到的更远大的。你回答以前先听我说，拒绝以前先好好考虑。正如你说的，圣殿骑士失去了他的社会权利，他的自主选择权，但是他成了一个强大组织的成员和细胞，在这个组织面前，哪怕国王也得发抖，因此他是像一滴雨水汇人了大海，成了不可抗拒的海洋的一部分，它可以侵蚀岩石，吞没舰队。它构成了一股汹涌澎湃、所向披靡的潮水。何况在这个强大的团体中，我不是平凡的一员，我已是它的主要指挥官之一，不久就可以登上大宗师的宝座。圣殿骑士团的贫苦战士不是仅仅要把脚踹在国王的脖子上，那是穿麻鞋的修士干的事。我们穿铁靴的脚要踏上他们的王位，我们围臂销的手要夺下他们的权杖。你们那虚无缥缈的弥赛亚(注2)的统治，不能给你们流落各地的民族带来的权力，却能靠我的野心来取得。我只是希望有一颗与我相似的心分享我的前程，我发现你就是这样一个人。”
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(注1)这是从《圣经》中“伸冤在我，我必报应”，“耶和华是伸冤的上帝”等话引伸出来的。
(注2)犹太人亡国后，相信上帝将派弥赛亚，即“复国救主”来拯救他们。后来基督教又相信耶稣就是弥赛亚，因而弥赛亚成了“救世主”。
“这是对我的民族中的一个人说的吗？”丽贝卡答道。“你得想想……”
“不要这么回答我，”圣殿骑士答道，“不要强调我们之间信仰的分歧；在我们的秘密会议中，我们也嘲笑这种育儿室的故事。不要以为我们会始终受到蒙蔽，相信我们的创建者的痴心妄想，他们抛弃人生的一切享乐，要作殉难的圣徒，为了保卫一片贫瘠的沙漠，一片除了从迷信的角度看毫无价值的沙漠，作无益的战斗，死在饥饿和干渴中，死在瘟疫中，死在野蛮人的刀剑下。但是我们的团体不久就采取了更大胆、更广阔的观点，为我们的牺牲找到了更好的补偿。(注)我们在欧洲的每个王国内拥有了大量的财产，我们获得了强大的军事声誉，把每个基督教国家的骑士精英纷纷吸收到了我们的组织中——这一切所要达到的目的，与我们那些虔诚的创始者的梦想是南辕北辙的；那些按照古老的原则加人我们团体的胸无大志的人，也同样懵然无知，他们的迷信只是使他们充当了我们的被动工具。但是我不想继续揭开我们的内幕了。听，号角声响了，一定发生了什么事，可能需要我到场了。我说的话请你考虑。再见！我不想为我用暴力威胁你的事请你原谅，因为要不是它，你就不会让我看到你的性格。必须靠试金石才能鉴别真金。我马上就会回来，继续与你商谈一切。”
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(注)圣殿骑士团成立于第二次十字军东征期间，起先只有几个贫苦的骑士，他们奉行西多会的严格教规，主张过清苦禁欲的生活。后来在十字军的侵略活动中，这个骑士团发了大财，所有的骑士都富埒王侯，但他们仍自称“贫苦的骑士”，这些情形在本书后半部中还会提到。
他退进小房间，走下了楼梯；丽贝卡望着他的背影，想起自己竟会落进这个无法无天的暴徒手中，不禁毛骨悚然，在她看来，他那种骇人听闻的野心，简直比她刚才走投无路时面对的死亡前景更加可怕。她回到塔楼的小房间以后，首先做的便是为雅备的上帝给她提供的保护，向他谢恩，并祈求他继续保佑她和她的父亲。这时另一个名字溜进了她的祈求中，那就是那个负伤的基督徒的名字；命运使他陷入了他的死敌，一些残暴成性的歹徒的罗网中。她的心确实迟疑了一下，仿佛觉得，她竟然在与神的交谈中，会想起一个与她毫不相干的人 ——一个拿撒勒人，一个敌视她的信仰的人，这是她的信心不纯正的表现。但是名字已到了嘴边，教义上的狭隘偏见，并未能使丽贝卡收回她的话。
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Chapter 25
A damn'd cramp piece of penmanship as ever I saw in my life! She Stoops to Conquer
When the Templar reached the hall of the castle, he found De Bracy already there. "Your love-suit," said De Bracy, "hath, I suppose, been disturbed, like mine, by this obstreperous summons. But you have come later and more reluctantly, and therefore I presume your interview has proved more agreeable than mine."
"Has your suit, then, been unsuccessfully paid to the Saxon heiress?" said the Templar.
"By the bones of Thomas a Becket," answered De Bracy, "the Lady Rowena must have heard that I cannot endure the sight of women's tears."
"Away!" said the Templar; "thou a leader of a Free Company, and regard a woman's tears! A few drops sprinkled on the torch of love, make the flame blaze the brighter."
"Gramercy for the few drops of thy sprinkling," replied De Bracy; "but this damsel hath wept enough to extinguish a beacon-light. Never was such wringing of hands and such overflowing of eyes, since the days of St Niobe, of whom Prior Aymer told us.*
* I wish the Prior had also informed them when Niobe was * sainted. Probably during that enlightened period when * "Pan to Moses lent his pagan horn." L. T.
A water-fiend hath possessed the fair Saxon."
"A legion of fiends have occupied the bosom of the Jewess," replied the Templar; "for, I think no single one, not even Apollyon himself, could have inspired such indomitable pride and resolution.---But where is Front-de-Boeuf? That horn is sounded more and more clamorously."
"He is negotiating with the Jew, I suppose," replied De Bracy, coolly; "probably the howls of Isaac have drowned the blast of the bugle. Thou mayst know, by experience, Sir Brian, that a Jew parting with his treasures on such terms as our friend Front-de-Boeuf is like to offer, will raise a clamour loud enough to be heard over twenty horns and trumpets to boot. But we will make the vassals call him."
They were soon after joined by Front-de-Boeuf, who had been disturbed in his tyrannic cruelty in the manner with which the reader is acquainted, and had only tarried to give some necessary directions.
"Let us see the cause of this cursed clamour," said Front-de-Boeuf---"here is a letter, and, if I mistake not, it is in Saxon."
He looked at it, turning it round and round as if he had had really some hopes of coming at the meaning by inverting the position of the paper, and then handed it to De Bracy.
"It may be magic spells for aught I know," said De Bracy, who possessed his full proportion of the ignorance which characterised the chivalry of the period. "Our chaplain attempted to teach me to write," he said, "but all my letters were formed like spear-heads and sword-blades, and so the old shaveling gave up the task."
"Give it me," said the Templar. "We have that of the priestly character, that we have some knowledge to enlighten our valour."
"Let us profit by your most reverend knowledge, then," said De Bracy; "what says the scroll?"
"It is a formal letter of defiance," answered the Templar; "but, by our Lady of Bethlehem, if it be not a foolish jest, it is the most extraordinary cartel that ever was sent across the drawbridge of a baronial castle."
"Jest!" said Front-de-Boeuf, "I would gladly know who dares jest with me in such a matter!---Read it, Sir Brian."
The Templar accordingly read it as follows:---"I, Wamba, the son of Witless, Jester to a noble and free-born man, Cedric of Rotherwood, called the Saxon,---And I, Gurth, the son of Beowulph, the swineherd------"
"Thou art mad," said Front-de-Boeuf, interrupting the reader.
"By St Luke, it is so set down," answered the Templar. Then resuming his task, he went on,---"I, Gurth, the son of Beowulph, swineherd unto the said Cedric, with the assistance of our allies and confederates, who make common cause with us in this our feud, namely, the good knight, called for the present 'Le Noir Faineant', and the stout yeoman, Robert Locksley, called Cleave-the-Wand. Do you, Reginald Front de-Boeuf, and your allies and accomplices whomsoever, to wit, that whereas you have, without cause given or feud declared, wrongfully and by mastery seized upon the person of our lord and master the said Cedric; also upon the person of a noble and freeborn damsel, the Lady Rowena of Hargottstandstede; also upon the person of a noble and freeborn man, Athelstane of Coningsburgh; also upon the persons of certain freeborn men, their 'cnichts'; also upon certain serfs, their born bondsmen; also upon a certain Jew, named Isaac of York, together with his daughter, a Jewess, and certain horses and mules: Which noble persons, with their 'cnichts' and slaves, and also with the horses and mules, Jew and Jewess beforesaid, were all in peace with his majesty, and travelling as liege subjects upon the king's highway; therefore we require and demand that the said noble persons, namely, Cedric of Rotherwood, Rowena of Hargottstandstede, Athelstane of Coningsburgh, with their servants, 'cnichts', and followers, also the horses and mules, Jew and Jewess aforesaid, together with all goods and chattels to them pertaining, be, within an hour after the delivery hereof, delivered to us, or to those whom we shall appoint to receive the same, and that untouched and unharmed in body and goods. Failing of which, we do pronounce to you, that we hold ye as robbers and traitors, and will wager our bodies against ye in battle, siege, or otherwise, and do our utmost to your annoyance and destruction. Wherefore may God have you in his keeping.---Signed by us upon the eve of St Withold's day, under the great trysting oak in the Hart-hill Walk, the above being written by a holy man, Clerk to God, our Lady, and St Dunstan, in the Chapel of Copmanhurst."
At the bottom of this document was scrawled, in the first place, a rude sketch of a cock's head and comb, with a legend expressing this hieroglyphic to be the sign-manual of Wamba, son of Witless. Under this respectable emblem stood a cross, stated to be the mark of Gurth, the son of Beowulph. Then was written, in rough bold characters, the words, "Le Noir Faineant". And, to conclude the whole, an arrow, neatly enough drawn, was described as the mark of the yeoman Locksley.
The knights heard this uncommon document read from end to end, and then gazed upon each other in silent amazement, as being utterly at a loss to know what it could portend. De Bracy was the first to break silence by an uncontrollable fit of laughter, wherein he was joined, though with more moderation, by the Templar. Front-de-Boeuf, on the contrary, seemed impatient of their ill-timed jocularity.
"I give you plain warning," he said, "fair sirs, that you had better consult how to bear yourselves under these circumstances, than give way to such misplaced merriment."
"Front-de-Boeuf has not recovered his temper since his late overthrow," said De Bracy to the Templar; "he is cowed at the very idea of a cartel, though it come but from a fool and a swineherd."
"By St Michael," answered Front-de-Boeuf, "I would thou couldst stand the whole brunt of this adventure thyself, De Bracy. These fellows dared not have acted with such inconceivable impudence, had they not been supported by some strong bands. There are enough of outlaws in this forest to resent my protecting the deer. I did but tie one fellow, who was taken redhanded and in the fact, to the horns of a wild stag, which gored him to death in five minutes, and I had as many arrows shot at me as there were launched against yonder target at Ashby.---Here, fellow," he added, to one of his attendants, "hast thou sent out to see by what force this precious challenge is to be supported?"
"There are at least two hundred men assembled in the woods," answered a squire who was in attendance.
"Here is a proper matter!" said Front-de-Boeuf, "this comes of lending you the use of my castle, that cannot manage your undertaking quietly, but you must bring this nest of hornets about my ears!"
"Of hornets?" said De Bracy; "of stingless drones rather; a band of lazy knaves, who take to the wood, and destroy the venison rather than labour for their maintenance."
"Stingless!" replied Front-de-Boeuf; "fork-headed shafts of a cloth-yard in length, and these shot within the breadth of a French crown, are sting enough."
"For shame, Sir Knight!" said the Templar. "Let us summon our people, and sally forth upon them. One knight---ay, one man-at-arms, were enough for twenty such peasants."
"Enough, and too much," said De Bracy; "I should only be ashamed to couch lance against them."
"True," answered Front-de-Boeuf; "were they black Turks or Moors, Sir Templar, or the craven peasants of France, most valiant De Bracy; but these are English yeomen, over whom we shall have no advantage, save what we may derive from our arms and horses, which will avail us little in the glades of the forest. Sally, saidst thou? we have scarce men enough to defend the castle. The best of mine are at York; so is all your band, De Bracy; and we have scarcely twenty, besides the handful that were engaged in this mad business."
"Thou dost not fear," said the Templar, "that they can assemble in force sufficient to attempt the castle?"
"Not so, Sir Brian," answered Front-de-Boeuf. "These outlaws have indeed a daring captain; but without machines, scaling ladders, and experienced leaders, my castle may defy them."
"Send to thy neighbours," said the Templar, "let them assemble their people, and come to the rescue of three knights, besieged by a jester and a swineherd in the baronial castle of Reginald Front-de-Boeuf!"
"You jest, Sir Knight," answered the baron; "but to whom should I send?---Malvoisin is by this time at York with his retainers, and so are my other allies; and so should I have been, but for this infernal enterprise."
"Then send to York, and recall our people," said De Bracy. "If they abide the shaking of my standard, or the sight of my Free Companions, I will give them credit for the boldest outlaws ever bent bow in green-wood."
"And who shall bear such a message?" said Front-de-Boeuf; "they will beset every path, and rip the errand out of his bosom.---I have it," he added, after pausing for a moment---"Sir Templar, thou canst write as well as read, and if we can but find the writing materials of my chaplain, who died a twelvemonth since in the midst of his Christmas carousals---"
"So please ye," said the squire, who was still in attendance, "I think old Urfried has them somewhere in keeping, for love of the confessor. He was the last man, I have heard her tell, who ever said aught to her, which man ought in courtesy to address to maid or matron."
"Go, search them out, Engelred," said Front-de-Boeuf; "and then, Sir Templar, thou shalt return an answer to this bold challenge."
"I would rather do it at the sword's point than at that of the pen," said Bois-Guilbert; "but be it as you will."
He sat down accordingly, and indited, in the French language, an epistle of the following tenor:---"Sir Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, with his noble and knightly allies and confederates, receive no defiances at the hands of slaves, bondsmen, or fugitives. If the person calling himself the Black Knight have indeed a claim to the honours of chivalry, he ought to know that he stands degraded by his present association, and has no right to ask reckoning at the hands of good men of noble blood. Touching the prisoners we have made, we do in Christian charity require you to send a man of religion, to receive their confession, and reconcile them with God; since it is our fixed intention to execute them this morning before noon, so that their heads being placed on the battlements, shall show to all men how lightly we esteem those who have bestirred themselves in their rescue. Wherefore, as above, we require you to send a priest to reconcile them to God, in doing which you shall render them the last earthly service."
This letter being folded, was delivered to the squire, and by him to the messenger who waited without, as the answer to that which he had brought.
The yeoman having thus accomplished his mission, returned to the head-quarters of the allies, which were for the present established under a venerable oak-tree, about three arrow-flights distant from the castle. Here Wamba and Gurth, with their allies the Black Knight and Locksley, and the jovial hermit, awaited with impatience an answer to their summons. Around, and at a distance from them, were seen many a bold yeoman, whose silvan dress and weatherbeaten countenances showed the ordinary nature of their occupation. More than two hundred had already assembled, and others were fast coming in. Those whom they obeyed as leaders were only distinguished from the others by a feather in the cap, their dress, arms, and equipments being in all other respects the same.
Besides these bands, a less orderly and a worse armed force, consisting of the Saxon inhabitants of the neighbouring township, as well as many bondsmen and servants from Cedric's extensive estate, had already arrived, for the purpose of assisting in his rescue. Few of these were armed otherwise than with such rustic weapons as necessity sometimes converts to military purposes. Boar-spears, scythes, flails, and the like, were their chief arms; for the Normans, with the usual policy of conquerors, were jealous of permitting to the vanquished Saxons the possession or the use of swords and spears. These circumstances rendered the assistance of the Saxons far from being so formidable to the besieged, as the strength of the men themselves, their superior numbers, and the animation inspired by a just cause, might otherwise well have made them. It was to the leaders of this motley army that the letter of the Templar was now delivered.
Reference was at first made to the chaplain for an exposition of its contents.
"By the crook of St Dunstan," said that worthy ecclesiastic, "which hath brought more sheep within the sheepfold than the crook of e'er another saint in Paradise, I swear that I cannot expound unto you this jargon, which, whether it be French or Arabic, is beyond my guess."
He then gave the letter to Gurth, who shook his head gruffly, and passed it to Wamba. The Jester looked at each of the four corners of the paper with such a grin of affected intelligence as a monkey is apt to assume upon similar occasions, then cut a caper, and gave the letter to Locksley.
"If the long letters were bows, and the short letters broad arrows, I might know something of the matter," said the brave yeoman; "but as the matter stands, the meaning is as safe, for me, as the stag that's at twelve miles distance."
"I must be clerk, then," said the Black Knight; and taking the letter from Locksley, he first read it over to himself, and then explained the meaning in Saxon to his confederates.
"Execute the noble Cedric!" exclaimed Wamba; "by the rood, thou must be mistaken, Sir Knight."
"Not I, my worthy friend," replied the knight, "I have explained the words as they are here set down."
"Then, by St Thomas of Canterbury," replied Gurth, "we will have the castle, should we tear it down with our hands!"
"We have nothing else to tear it with," replied Wamba; "but mine are scarce fit to make mammocks of freestone and mortar."
"'Tis but a contrivance to gain time," said Locksley; "they dare not do a deed for which I could exact a fearful penalty."
"I would," said the Black Knight, "there were some one among us who could obtain admission into the castle, and discover how the case stands with the besieged. Methinks, as they require a confessor to be sent, this holy hermit might at once exercise his pious vocation, and procure us the information we desire."
"A plague on thee, and thy advice!" said the pious hermit; "I tell thee, Sir Slothful Knight, that when I doff my friar's frock, my priesthood, my sanctity, my very Latin, are put off along with it; and when in my green jerkin, I can better kill twenty deer than confess one Christian."
"I fear," said the Black Knight, "I fear greatly, there is no one here that is qualified to take upon him, for the nonce, this same character of father confessor?"
All looked on each other, and were silent.
"I see," said Wamba, after a short pause, "that the fool must be still the fool, and put his neck in the venture which wise men shrink from. You must know, my dear cousins and countrymen, that I wore russet before I wore motley, and was bred to be a friar, until a brain-fever came upon me and left me just wit enough to be a fool. I trust, with the assistance of the good hermit's frock, together with the priesthood, sanctity, and learning which are stitched into the cowl of it, I shall be found qualified to administer both worldly and ghostly comfort to our worthy master Cedric, and his companions in adversity."
"Hath he sense enough, thinkst thou?" said the Black Knight, addressing Gurth.
"I know not," said Gurth; "but if he hath not, it will be the first time he hath wanted wit to turn his folly to account."
"On with the frock, then, good fellow," quoth the Knight, "and let thy master send us an account of their situation within the castle. Their numbers must be few, and it is five to one they may be accessible by a sudden and bold attack. Time wears---away with thee."
"And, in the meantime," said Locksley, "we will beset the place so closely, that not so much as a fly shall carry news from thence. So that, my good friend," he continued, addressing Wamba, "thou mayst assure these tyrants, that whatever violence they exercise on the persons of their prisoners, shall be most severely repaid upon their own."
"Pax vobiscum," said Wamba, who was now muffled in his religious disguise.
And so saying he imitated the solemn and stately deportment of a friar, and departed to execute his mission.

这么诘屈聱牙、艰涩古奥的笔法，
我平生还是第一次拜读！
《委曲求全》(注)
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(注)英国著名作家哥尔德斯密斯（1730—1774）的一出喜剧。
圣殿骑士到达城堡的大厅时，发现德布拉酉已在那儿。“我想，”德布拉西说，”你的求婚也像我的一样，给这阵喧哗的号角声打断了。但你来得比我退，又那么勉强，我猜想，你的谈判一定比我的顺利一些。”
“那么你向撒克逊女继承人提出的求婚，没有获得成功？”圣殿骑士说。
“凭托马斯•贝克特(注)的圣骸起誓，”德布拉西答道，“罗文娜小姐一定听说，我看到女人的眼泪便会受不了。”
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(注)英国政治家，1061—70年任坎特伯雷大主教，因反对英王亨利二世被处死，后由罗马教廷追溢为圣徒。
“废话！”圣殿骑士说，“你这么一个雇佣兵的首领，还怕女人的眼泪！爱情的火炬上洒几滴眼泪，火会烧得更旺，更明亮。”
“对不起，什么几滴眼泪，”德布拉西答道，“这位小姐的眼泪已经多得可以把一堆篝火都浇灭了。我还从没见过谁的手会这么绞个不停，谁的眼泪会这么淌个没完，艾默长老给我们讲过圣尼俄柏的事，(注)那么只有她能与这位小姐相比了。这个撒克逊美女简直哭成一个泪人儿啦。”
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(注)我希望长老也能告诉我们，尼俄柏是什么时候封为圣徒的。大概是在“潘神把他异教的角借给了摩西”的那个文明时期吧。——原注
按尼俄柏是希腊神话中的一个母亲，她生了七千七女，后因得罪了神，他们全给杀死，因此厄俄柏整天哭泣。潘神也是希腊神话中的人物，他是山林之神，他的身体是人，腿和脚是羊，头上生着角。《旧约•出埃及记》第34章第29节有一句话：“摩西从西奈山下来时，脸上发光，”但在最早的拉丁文译本（即所谓《武甘大圣经》）中，译者误解了希伯来文原意，把这句话译成了“头上生着两只角的摩西走下西奈山”。司各特的这条附注是在讽刺艾默长老等不学无术，把希腊神话中的（也就是异教时代的）人物称作圣徒，正如《武甘大圣经》的译者误解希伯来文，把异教的潘神头上的角移到了摩西的头上一样。
“可是我那个犹太姑娘不是朝我哭，是向我大发脾气呢，”圣殿骑士答道。“我想，从古到今没有一个人，包括亚巴顿(注)在内，会这么盛气凌人，坚定不屈。但是牛面将军在哪儿啊？这号角越吹越来劲啦。”
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(注)又称亚玻伦，《新约》中提到的无底洞的魔王（见《启示录》第9章）。
“我想，他正在跟犹太佬谈判呢，”德布拉西冷静地答道，“也许以撒的嚎叫淹没了号角的声音。你凭经验也知道，布里恩爵士，一个犹太人要在我们的朋友牛面将军这种人提出的条件下，与自己的财产告别的时候，会怎么大喊大叫，超过二十只号角加上二十只喇叭的响声。但是我们不妨派听差去叫他一声。”
不多一会，牛面将军就来了，他在行使酷刑的时候，怎样给号角声打断，读者已经知道了；只是为了作些必要的安排，他才来迟了一步。
“让我们看看，这该死的号角声究竟是为了什么，”牛面将军说，“我收到了一封信，如果我没有猜错，它是用撒克逊文写的。”
他望着信，把它翻过来倒过去，转了好几个圈，仿佛他真的以为，只要把那张纸掉几个头，就可以懂得它的意思似的，最后他把它交给了德布拉西。
“这写的是什么咒语，我一点也不懂，”德布拉西说，因为他与当时的其他骑士并无不同，他们的共同特点便是不通文墨。“我们的神父想教我写字，”他说，“但我的字写得歪歪斜斜，乱七八糟，结果老头儿只得打消了主意。”
“把它给我，”圣殿骑士说，“我们带有一些教士的性质，因为我们不仅得勇敢，还得具备一定的文化知识。”
“那么只得劳驾你，靠你的知识来解决难题了，”德布拉西说。“这纸上讲的什么？”
“这是一封正式的挑战书，”圣殿骑士答道。“但是凭伯利恒的圣母起誓，除非这是愚蠢的玩笑，否则真是一封别开生面的战书，这种东西通过吊桥递进男爵的城堡，恐怕还是破天荒第一次。”
“玩笑！”牛面将军说，“我倒想听听，谁敢在这种事情上跟我开玩笑！快念，布里恩爵士。”
于是圣殿骑士开始念了起来：
“鄙人汪八，乃愚人之子，职业为生而自由的尊贵庄主罗瑟伍德之塞德里克老爷手下的小丑；鄙人葛四，乃贝奥武尔夫之子，职业为放猪人……”
“你发什么疯！”牛面将军打断了信中的话。
“凭圣路加起誓，信上是这么写的，”圣殿骑士回答，然后继续念道：“鄙人葛四，乃贝奥武尔夫之子，职业为放猪人；现会同在这场争执中与我们志同道合的盟友及伙伴，即目前暂名为黑甲懒汉的正直骑士，及号称百步穿杨的民间勇士罗伯特•洛克斯利，共同致书牛面将军雷金纳德及其一切狐群狗党，通知如下：由于尔等无缘无故挑起争端，以非法的暴力手段侵犯人身自由，劫走我们的老爷和主人塞德里克庄主，暨高贵而生来自由的哈戈斯坦之罗文娜小姐，暨高贵而生来自由的庄主科宁斯堡之阿特尔斯坦，暨其他生而自由的他们的家人，以及他们的奴仆，暨一个名为约克的以撒的犹太人及其女儿，一个犹太姑娘，并掳走了他们的马和骡子，而当时上述贵人和他们的家丁及奴隶，还有马和骡子，还有上述犹太人和犹太姑娘，均属国王陛下之安分良民，正作为合法臣民，在王国的大路上旅行；因此现特责令尔等，在收到本信后一小时内，立即向我们或我们所指定的人，交出上述贵人，即罗瑟伍德之塞德里克，哈戈斯坦之罗文娜，科宁斯堡之阿特尔斯坦，以及他们的仆人、家丁、随从，还有马和骡子，以及上述犹太人和犹太姑娘，以及属于他们的一切财物和动产，并保证他们的身体不受伤害，他们的财产不受损失。如若不然，我们向你们宣布，我们将把你们看作强盗和叛逆，并对你们实行讨伐、围攻等等，运用一切手段使你们不得安生，直至毁灭。军令如山，战书到时，望即遵照办理。本书以我等名义签发，由忠于上帝、圣母和圣邓斯坦的科普曼赫斯特教堂之虔诚神父手书，于圣维索尔特日前夕写于哈特希尔区大株树集合地。”
在这文件底部，第一行上潦潦草草涂了几笔，这算是鸡头和鸡冠，它作为象形文字代表白痴之于汪八的签名。第二行是一个虔诚的十字，它是贝奥武尔夫之子葛四的签名。然后是又粗又大的几个字：黑甲懒汉。最后一行是一支勾勒得细巧精致的箭，它代表庄稼汉洛克斯利。
几位骑士从头至尾听完了这篇不同寻常的妙文，一时为之愕然，作声不得，你望望我，我望望你，好像弄不清这究竟意味着什么。德布拉西首先打破沉默，发出了一阵忍俊不禁的大笑，接着圣殿骑士也笑了起来，只是声音轻一些。牛面将军却相反，似乎对这不合时宜的狂笑十分恼火。
“我明确警告你们，两位先生，”他说，“在这种情况下，你们最好考虑一下该怎么办，不要嘻嘻哈哈不当一回事。”
“牛面将军给上次摔下马背的事吓坏了，至今还心有余悸呢，”德布拉西对圣殿骑士说道，“他一听到挑战就怕了，尽管这只是一个傻瓜和一个放猪的发出的。”
“凭圣米迦勒起誓，”牛面将军答道，“如果你能独自承担这场风险，那就好了，德布拉西。要知道，这些家伙没有强大的武力作后盾，就不敢这么肆无忌惮。这个森林里到处都是强盗，他们对我保护糜鹿本来就不满意。一个偷猎的人一旦给我当场抓到，捆住手脚，让野鹿在五分钟内把他抵死，那就不得了，无数的箭马上会向我射来，好像我是阿什贝比武场上的靶子似的。喂，小伙子，”他接着对等待回话的一个侍仆说道，“你有没有派人探听过，他们这么大胆向我挑战，究竟有多少人马？”
“树林中至少聚集了两百人，”那个侍仆答道。
“怪不得他们这么嚣张！”牛面将军说道。“这都是把我的城堡借给你们使用的结果，这种事不可能偷偷进行，这下可好，你们给我捅了马蜂窝，弄得它们在我耳边嗡嗡直叫！”
“马蜂！”德布拉西说，“这种马蜂是不会螫人的，这只是一群懒汉，他们宁可躲在树林里偷吃鹿肉，却不肯老老实实靠干活谋生。”
“不会螫人！”牛面将军答道，“一支带叉形箭头、箭杆长达三英尺的箭，从你身旁射来，这是可以螫死人的。”
“真不害羞，骑士阁下！”圣殿骑士说。“我们应该把我们的人召集起来，向他们发动进攻。一个骑士——对，一个战士就足够对付二十个这种农夫。”
“对，完全够了，”德布拉西说。“我只觉得用我的熗刺这些家伙太不值得呢。”
“不错，”牛面将军答道，“如果他们是土耳其异教徒或者摩尔人，圣殿骑士先生，或者法国那些胆小的乡巴佬，勇敢的德布拉西，你们的话是对的。但是这些英国的庄稼人，我们占不了他们的便宜，我们的有利条件只是武器和战马，可是在森林里，这些东西都没有用武之地。你说发动进攻？但是我们的人连守住城堡都不够呢。我手下最好的战士都在约克城；德布拉西，你的部队也是这样；我们在这里的人，除了参加这次疯狂行动的几个以外，还不到二十人。”
“你怕他们集合大批人马攻打城堡吗？”圣殿骑士说。
“不是，布里恩爵士，”牛面将军答道。“这些强盗确实有一个骁勇的头领，但是没有登城设备，没有云梯，没有经验丰富的指挥官，我的堡垒不怕他们。”
“那么派人向你的邻居讨救兵吧，”圣殿骑士说，“让他们集合人马，前来支援雷金纳德男爵的城堡，搭救被一个小丑和一个放猪的围困在这儿的三个骑士！”
“不要开玩笑，骑士先生，”男爵答道。“但是叫我派人找谁？马尔沃辛已把他的部下带往约克，我的其他盟友也这样；本来我也去了，只是为了这件倒霉的事才留下。”
“那就派人到约克，召回我们的人，”德布拉西说．“要是他们看见城堡上飘起我的旗帜，望见我的雇佣兵部队，还敢待在这儿不走，那我就服了他们，承认他们是最勇敢的绿林大盗。”
“但是谁能把信送到呢？”牛面将军说。“他们会守住每一条道路，抓走送信的人。对，有了，”他停了一会，又道，“圣殿骑士先生，你能读信，也能写信，只要我们找到我的教士留下的文具便成；这家伙已在十二个月以前过圣诞节的时候，大吃大喝撑死了……”
那个侍仆还没有走，赶紧说道：“对，我想起来了，这些文具保存在老太婆厄弗利德那里，因为她喜欢那个忏悔师。我听她讲过，他是在她面前，唯一还保持着对女人应有的礼貌的。”
“去，把这些东西给我找来，恩格尔莱德，”牛面将军说。“然后，圣殿骑士先生，就请你给这大胆的挑衅回一封信。”
“按我的心思，与其用笔，不如用剑回答他们，”布瓦吉贝尔说。“不过既然你要这么办，我听你的就是了。”
这样，他坐了下去，用法文写了下面这封信：
“牛面将军雷金纳德和他尊贵的骑士盟友及同伴，拒绝接受奴隶、仆役和逃犯的挑战书。如果那个自称为黑甲骑士的人，确实有资格称作骑士，他便应该知道，由于他所结交的那些人，他现在已无权称作骑士，也不配得到高贵血统的真正骑士的尊重了。谈到我们所囚禁的那些人，我们出于基督徒的仁慈精神，请你们派一名教士前来接受他们的临终忏悔，让他们得到上帝的赦免，因为我们已经决定，在今天中午以前把他们处死，然后把他们的头颅挂在城墙上示众，让那些自不量力要来搭救他们的人看到，我们根本不把他们的威胁放在眼里。如上所述，我们希望你们火速派一教士前来，为他们求得上帝的宽恕，这样，你们就为他们尽了人世的最后责任。”
信折好后，交给了那个侍仆，由他转交等在城堡外的信使，作为对他带来的战书的答复。
那个庄户人就这样完成了任务，回到了联合部队总部，它目前暂时设在一棵老株树下，离城堡大约三支箭的射程。汪八和葛四，以及他们的盟友黑甲骑士和洛克斯利，还有快活的隐士，都在那里等待回音，已等得有些不耐烦了。周围，离他们稍远的地方，可以看到许多粗犷的庄稼人，他们的森林服装和久经风霜的脸，说明他们都是普通的劳动者。聚集的已超过两百人，其余的还在迅速赶来。那些被他们公认为领袖的，除了帽子上有一根羽毛作标志以外，在服装、武器和装备方面，都与其他人并无不同。
除了这几伙人，还有一些纪律较差、武器也较坏的人，这包括附近城镇的撒克逊居民，以及来自塞德里克的广阔田庄上的许多奴隶和仆役，他们也为搭救他，纷纷赶到了这儿。这些人的武器大多极其简陋，只是逼于形势才暂时用于军事目的，主要有捕捉野猪的梭镖，长柄大镰刀，连枷等等；因为诺曼人也像一般征服者，他们的方针便是竭力防止被征服的撒克逊人握有或使用刀熗剑戟等武器。这些情况大大限制了撒克逊人的力量，本来他们人数众多，声势浩大，加上是为正义事业而斗争，因此士气旺盛，可以对困守城堡的人形成巨大的威慑力量，现在却做不到了。圣殿骑士的信当时便送到了这支混合部队的领导人面前。
为了弄清信的内容，首先请教了那位教士。
“圣邓斯坦曾凭他的曲柄杖，引导许多绵羊进入羊栏，他的功绩超过了天国中的任何其他圣徒，”那位德高望重的圣人说道，“现在我可以凭他的曲柄杖起誓，我对这种乌七八糟的文字一点也看不懂，谁知道它是法国话还是阿拉伯语。”
他随手把信递给了葛四J后者气虎虎地摇了摇头，又把它交给了汪八。小丑从信纸的一角看到另一角，装出了学识渊博的微笑，跟猴子在这种场合的表现一样，然后跳跳蹦蹦地跑到洛克斯利面前，把信丢给了他。
“如果这些长字母是弓，这些短字母是箭，我也许还可凑合，懂得一点它们的意思，”勇敢的庄户人说。“可是这些玩意儿跟我无缘，就像离我十二英里远的一头鹿，到不了我手中一样。”
“那么只得我来充当书记官了，”黑甲骑士说，从洛克斯利手中拿了信，先自己默读一遍，然后用撒克逊语向伙伴们作了说明。
“处死尊贵的塞德里克！”汪八喊了起来，“我的老天爷，你一定搞错了，骑士先生。”
“我没有搞错，我的好朋友，”骑士答道，“这都是信上的话，我是照它的意思讲的。”
“那么，凭坎特伯雷的圣托马斯起誓，”葛四说道，“我们必须攻下城堡，哪怕要赤手空拳把它摧毁也得干！”
“只能这么干了，”汪人答道，“可是我这双手连砸烂一块砖头也不成呀。”
“这不过是拖延时间的策略罢了，”洛克斯利说，“他们不敢这么干，因为这一定会遭到我们的可怕报复。”
“我希望，”黑甲骑士说，“我们中间有人能获准进入城堡，了解一下围城内的情况究竟怎样。我想，既然他们需要一位忏悔神父，这位神圣的修士可以借此机会，一边履行他的宗教职责，一边为我们收集必要的情报。”
“见你的鬼，你出的什么主意！”虔诚的隐士说，“我告诉你，懒惰的骑士先生，我一脱下修士的袍子，我的教士身分，我的神圣职责，以至我的拉丁文，便跟着它一起离开我了；我穿上草绿衣服时，可以杀死二十只鹿，却不会给一个基督徒做临终忏悔。”
“那就难办了，”黑甲骑士说，“这里还有谁可以担当忏悔神父的角色？”
大家彼此看看，没有作声。
“我想，”过了一会汪八开口道，“反正傻瓜毕竟是傻瓜，这件丢脑袋的差使聪明人不干，只得他来干了。不瞒你们说，亲爱的朋友们和乡亲们，我在穿上小丑的彩衣以前，穿过教士的粗布长袍，受过修士的教育，只是后来得了脑膜炎，才剩下这么一点头脑，只配当个傻瓜了。我相信，只要我穿上修士的袍于，附在它上面的教士身分、神圣职责，以至拉丁文，也会转到我的身上，使我具备履行教士职务的条件，为我高贵的主人塞德里克和他那些苦难的朋友提供今世和来世的安慰。”
“你看他是不是神智清醒？”黑甲骑士对葛四说。
“我不知道，”葛回答道，“不过如果不清醒，那么这是他生平第一次把他的胡闹用在正经事上。”
“那就穿上修士的袍子吧，好小子，”骑士对汪八说，“让你的主人把城堡内的情形详细告诉我们。他们的人数一定不多，十之八九可以靠一次大胆的突然袭击拿下城堡。时间不早了，你快走吧。”
“还有，”洛克斯利说，“同时我们必须严密封锁这个地方，连一只苍蝇也不让过去，免得走漏消息。这样，我的好朋友，”他又对汪八继续道，“你可以告诉那些暴徒，不论他们的俘虏受到什么伤害，他们都得为此付出最沉重的代价。”
“Pax vobiscum(注)，”汪八说，现在已把身子紧紧裹在教士的长袍中了。
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(注)拉丁文：祝你们平安。这本是耶稣复活后见到门徒时的第一句话（见《新约•马太福音》第28章），后成为教士见面时常用的问候语。汪八不懂得多少拉丁文，因此只得经常搬弄这句话。
这么说完，他便模仿修士的姿势，迈着庄严而稳重的步子，出发执行任务了。
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Chapter 26
The hottest horse will oft be cool, The dullest will show fire; The friar will often play the fool, The fool will play the friar. Old Song
When the Jester, arrayed in the cowl and frock of the hermit, and having his knotted cord twisted round his middle, stood before the portal of the castle of Front-de-Boeuf, the warder demanded of him his name and errand.
"Pax vobiscum," answered the Jester, "I am a poor brother of the Order of St Francis, who come hither to do my office to certain unhappy prisoners now secured within this castle."
"Thou art a bold friar," said the warder, "to come hither, where, saving our own drunken confessor, a cock of thy feather hath not crowed these twenty years."
"Yet I pray thee, do mine errand to the lord of the castle," answered the pretended friar; "trust me it will find good acceptance with him, and the cock shall crow, that the whole castle shall hear him."
"Gramercy," said the warder; "but if I come to shame for leaving my post upon thine errand, I will try whether a friar's grey gown be proof against a grey-goose shaft."
With this threat he left his turret, and carried to the hall of the castle his unwonted intelligence, that a holy friar stood before the gate and demanded instant admission. With no small wonder he received his master's commands to admit the holy man immediately; and, having previously manned the entrance to guard against surprise, he obeyed, without further scruple, the commands which he had received. The harebrained self-conceit which had emboldened Wamba to undertake this dangerous office, was scarce sufficient to support him when he found himself in the presence of a man so dreadful, and so much dreaded, as Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, and he brought out his "pax vobiscum", to which he, in a good measure, trusted for supporting his character, with more anxiety and hesitation than had hitherto accompanied it. But Front-de-Boeuf was accustomed to see men of all ranks tremble in his presence, so that the timidity of the supposed father did not give him any cause of suspicion.
"Who and whence art thou, priest?" said he.
"'Pax vobiscum'," reiterated the Jester, "I am a poor servant of St Francis, who, travelling through this wilderness, have fallen among thieves, (as Scripture hath it,) 'quidam viator incidit in latrones', which thieves have sent me unto this castle in order to do my ghostly office on two persons condemned by your honourable justice."
"Ay, right," answered Front-de-Boeuf; "and canst thou tell me, holy father, the number of those banditti?"
"Gallant sir," answered the Jester, "'nomen illis legio', their name is legion."
"Tell me in plain terms what numbers there are, or, priest, thy cloak and cord will ill protect thee."
"Alas!" said the supposed friar, "'cor meum eructavit', that is to say, I was like to burst with fear! but I conceive they may be ---what of yeomen ---what of commons, at least five hundred men."
"What!" said the Templar, who came into the hall that moment, "muster the wasps so thick here? it is time to stifle such a mischievous brood." Then taking Front-de-Boeuf aside "Knowest thou the priest?"
"He is a stranger from a distant convent," said Front-de-Boeuf; "I know him not."
"Then trust him not with thy purpose in words," answered the Templar. "Let him carry a written order to De Bracy's company of Free Companions, to repair instantly to their master's aid. In the meantime, and that the shaveling may suspect nothing, permit him to go freely about his task of preparing these Saxon hogs for the slaughter-house."
"It shall be so," said Front-de-Boeuf. And he forthwith appointed a domestic to conduct Wamba to the apartment where Cedric and Athelstane were confined.
The impatience of Cedric had been rather enhanced than diminished by his confinement. He walked from one end of the hall to the other, with the attitude of one who advances to charge an enemy, or to storm the breach of a beleaguered place, sometimes ejaculating to himself, sometimes addressing Athelstane, who stoutly and stoically awaited the issue of the adventure, digesting, in the meantime, with great composure, the liberal meal which he had made at noon, and not greatly interesting himself about the duration of his captivity, which he concluded, would, like all earthly evils, find an end in Heaven's good time.
"'Pax vobiscum'," said the Jester, entering the apartment; "the blessing of St Dunstan, St Dennis, St Duthoc, and all other saints whatsoever, be upon ye and about ye."
"Enter freely," answered Cedric to the supposed friar; "with what intent art thou come hither?"
"To bid you prepare yourselves for death," answered the Jester.
"It is impossible!" replied Cedric, starting. "Fearless and wicked as they are, they dare not attempt such open and gratuitous cruelty!"
"Alas!" said the Jester, "to restrain them by their sense of humanity, is the same as to stop a runaway horse with a bridle of silk thread. Bethink thee, therefore, noble Cedric, and you also, gallant Athelstane, what crimes you have committed in the flesh; for this very day will ye be called to answer at a higher tribunal."
"Hearest thou this, Athelstane?" said Cedric; "we must rouse up our hearts to this last action, since better it is we should die like men, than live like slaves."
"I am ready," answered Athelstane, "to stand the worst of their malice, and shall walk to my death with as much composure as ever I did to my dinner."
"Let us then unto our holy gear, father," said Cedric.
"Wait yet a moment, good uncle," said the Jester, in his natural tone; "better look long before you leap in the dark."
"By my faith," said Cedric, "I should know that voice!"
"It is that of your trusty slave and jester," answered Wamba, throwing back his cowl. "Had you taken a fool's advice formerly, you would not have been here at all. Take a fool's advice now, and you will not be here long."
"How mean'st thou, knave?" answered the Saxon.
"Even thus," replied Wamba; "take thou this frock and cord, which are all the orders I ever had, and march quietly out of the castle, leaving me your cloak and girdle to take the long leap in thy stead."
"Leave thee in my stead!" said Cedric, astonished at the proposal; "why, they would hang thee, my poor knave."
"E'en let them do as they are permitted," said Wamba; "I trust ---no disparagement to your birth---that the son of Witless may hang in a chain with as much gravity as the chain hung upon his ancestor the alderman."
"Well, Wamba," answered Cedric, "for one thing will I grant thy request. And that is, if thou wilt make the exchange of garments with Lord Athelstane instead of me."
"No, by St Dunstan," answered Wamba; "there were little reason in that. Good right there is, that the son of Witless should suffer to save the son of Hereward; but little wisdom there were in his dying for the benefit of one whose fathers were strangers to his."
"Villain," said Cedric, "the fathers of Athelstane were monarchs of England!"
"They might be whomsoever they pleased," replied Wamba; "but my neck stands too straight upon my shoulders to have it twisted for their sake. Wherefore, good my master, either take my proffer yourself, or suffer me to leave this dungeon as free as I entered."
"Let the old tree wither," continued Cedric, "so the stately hope of the forest be preserved. Save the noble Athelstane, my trusty Wamba! it is the duty of each who has Saxon blood in his veins. Thou and I will abide together the utmost rage of our injurious oppressors, while he, free and safe, shall arouse the awakened spirits of our countrymen to avenge us."
"Not so, father Cedric," said Athelstane, grasping his hand, ---for, when roused to think or act, his deeds and sentiments were not unbecoming his high race---"Not so," he continued; "I would rather remain in this hall a week without food save the prisoner's stinted loaf, or drink save the prisoner's measure of water, than embrace the opportunity to escape which the slave's untaught kindness has purveyed for his master."
"You are called wise men, sirs," said the Jester, "and I a crazed fool; but, uncle Cedric, and cousin Athelstane, the fool shall decide this controversy for ye, and save ye the trouble of straining courtesies any farther. I am like John-a-Duck's mare, that will let no man mount her but John-a-Duck. I came to save my master, and if he will not consent---basta---I can but go away home again. Kind service cannot be chucked from hand to hand like a shuttlecock or stool-ball. I'll hang for no man but my own born master."
"Go, then, noble Cedric," said Athelstane, "neglect not this opportunity. Your presence without may encourage friends to our rescue---your remaining here would ruin us all."
"And is there any prospect, then, of rescue from without?" said Cedric, looking to the Jester.
"Prospect, indeed!" echoed Wamba; "let me tell you, when you fill my cloak, you are wrapped in a general's cassock. Five hundred men are there without, and I was this morning one of the chief leaders. My fool's cap was a casque, and my bauble a truncheon. Well, we shall see what good they will make by exchanging a fool for a wise man. Truly, I fear they will lose in valour what they may gain in discretion. And so farewell, master, and be kind to poor Gurth and his dog Fangs; and let my cockscomb hang in the hall at Rotherwood, in memory that I flung away my life for my master, like a faithful------fool."
The last word came out with a sort of double expression, betwixt jest and earnest. The tears stood in Cedric's eyes.
"Thy memory shall be preserved," he said, "while fidelity and affection have honour upon earth! But that I trust I shall find the means of saving Rowena, and thee, Athelstane, and thee, also, my poor Wamba, thou shouldst not overbear me in this matter."
The exchange of dress was now accomplished, when a sudden doubt struck Cedric.
"I know no language," he said, "but my own, and a few words of their mincing Norman. How shall I bear myself like a reverend brother?"
"The spell lies in two words," replied Wamba--- "'Pax vobiscum' will answer all queries. If you go or come, eat or drink, bless or ban, 'Pax vobiscum' carries you through it all. It is as useful to a friar as a broomstick to a witch, or a wand to a conjurer. Speak it but thus, in a deep grave tone,---'Pax vobiscum!'---it is irresistible---Watch and ward, knight and squire, foot and horse, it acts as a charm upon them all. I think, if they bring me out to be hanged to-morrow, as is much to be doubted they may, I will try its weight upon the finisher of the sentence."
"If such prove the case," said the master, "my religious orders are soon taken---'Pax vobiscum'. I trust I shall remember the pass-word.---Noble Athelstane, farewell; and farewell, my poor boy, whose heart might make amends for a weaker head---I will save you, or return and die with you. The royal blood of our Saxon kings shall not be spilt while mine beats in my veins; nor shall one hair fall from the head of the kind knave who risked himself for his master, if Cedric's peril can prevent it. ---Farewell."
"Farewell, noble Cedric," said Athelstane; "remember it is the true part of a friar to accept refreshment, if you are offered any."
"Farewell, uncle," added Wamba; "and remember 'Pax vobiscum'."
Thus exhorted, Cedric sallied forth upon his expedition; and it was not long ere he had occasion to try the force of that spell which his Jester had recommended as omnipotent. In a low-arched and dusky passage, by which he endeavoured to work his way to the hall of the castle, he was interrupted by a female form.
"'Pax vobiscum!'" said the pseudo friar, and was endeavouring to hurry past, when a soft voice replied, "'Et vobis---quaso, domine reverendissime, pro misericordia vestra'."
"I am somewhat deaf," replied Cedric, in good Saxon, and at the same time muttered to himself, "A curse on the fool and his 'Pax vobiscum!' I have lost my javelin at the first cast."
It was, however, no unusual thing for a priest of those days to be deaf of his Latin ear, and this the person who now addressed Cedric knew full well.
"I pray you of dear love, reverend father," she replied in his own language, "that you will deign to visit with your ghostly comfort a wounded prisoner of this castle, and have such compassion upon him and us as thy holy office teaches---Never shall good deed so highly advantage thy convent."
"Daughter," answered Cedric, much embarrassed, "my time in this castle will not permit me to exercise the duties of mine office ---I must presently forth---there is life and death upon my speed."
"Yet, father, let me entreat you by the vow you have taken on you," replied the suppliant, "not to leave the oppressed and endangered without counsel or succour."
"May the fiend fly away with me, and leave me in Ifrin with the souls of Odin and of Thor!" answered Cedric impatiently, and would probably have proceeded in the same tone of total departure from his spiritual character, when the colloquy was interrupted by the harsh voice of Urfried, the old crone of the turret.
"How, minion," said she to the female speaker, "is this the manner in which you requite the kindness which permitted thee to leave thy prison-cell yonder?---Puttest thou the reverend man to use ungracious language to free himself from the importunities of a Jewess?"
"A Jewess!" said Cedric, availing himself of the information to get clear of their interruption,---"Let me pass, woman! stop me not at your peril. I am fresh from my holy office, and would avoid pollution."
"Come this way, father," said the old hag, "thou art a stranger in this castle, and canst not leave it without a guide. Come hither, for I would speak with thee.---And you, daughter of an accursed race, go to the sick man's chamber, and tend him until my return; and woe betide you if you again quit it without my permission!"
Rebecca retreated. Her importunities had prevailed upon Urfried to suffer her to quit the turret, and Urfried had employed her services where she herself would most gladly have paid them, by the bedside of the wounded Ivanhoe. With an understanding awake to their dangerous situation, and prompt to avail herself of each means of safety which occurred, Rebecca had hoped something from the presence of a man of religion, who, she learned from Urfried, had penetrated into this godless castle. She watched the return of the supposed ecclesiastic, with the purpose of addressing him, and interesting him in favour of the prisoners; with what imperfect success the reader has been just acquainted.

最烈性的马有时也会变得冷静，
最阴郁的人有时也会发火；
修士常常会像个傻瓜，
傻瓜也常常会像个修士。
古歌谣
小丑穿着隐士的长袍，戴着风帽，腰里来着打结的绳子，站在牛面将军的城堡门前，守门的卫兵要他通报姓名，说明来意。
“Pax vobiscum，”小丑答道，“在下是圣方济各会的贫苦修士，现特前来为关在城堡中的几个不幸犯人做忏悔祷告。”
“你好大的胆，敢到这儿来，”卫兵说道。“要知道，除了我们那个酗酒的神父以外，这二十年来，还从没你这样的灰毛公鸡在这儿啼过呢。”
“请你还是把我的使命禀报你家老爷吧，”冒牌修士答道，“我保证，他一定欢迎这个消息；公鸡就要啼了，整个城堡都会听到。”
“我的天，”卫兵说道，“但是如果我为了禀报你的使命，离开岗位挨了骂，你可得当心，看你这件灰色袍子是不是挡得住我这支灰色鹅毛箭。”
他留下这个恐吓后，便离开塔楼，前往大厅报告那个不同寻常的消息了；他说，有一个神圣的修士来到城门外，要求立刻接见。令他大吃一惊的是，他的主人居然命令马上放修士入内；于是他先在大门口安排了警卫，提防突然袭击，然后便毫不迟疑地按照他接到的命令执行了。汪八只是一时心血来潮，才自告奋勇担当这个危险的差使，现在发现，牛面将军雷金纳德竟是这么一个凶神恶煞般的人物，心里不禁有些害怕。他照例先说了句“Pax vobiscum”，这主要是他相信它足以说明他的身分，但口气却不像以前那么轻松，显得结结巴巴的。不过牛面将军一向看到，各种人不论地位高低，都会在他面前发抖，因此对这位所谓神父的胆怯表现，丝毫不以为意。“你是谁，从哪里来，神父？”他问。
“Pax vobiscum，”小丑又念叨了一遍，“在下是圣方济各会的贫苦修士，在路经这片荒野时，落进了一伙强盗手中，就像《圣经》说的：quidamviator incid it in latrones(注)；他们便派我进城堡来，因为听说大人秉公执法，要处死两名犯人，那些强盗要我来替他们履行宗教职责。”
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(注)当时的教士一般都应懂得拉丁文，汪八为了冒充教士，便在话中插入一些拉丁文，它们只是重复他前面或后面的话，也不一定来自《圣经》，下面也是这样。
“嗯，你做得对，”牛面将军答道，“那么你能告诉我，森林里的强人有多少吗？”
“大王，”小丑答道，“nomen illis legio——他们号称一个军团呢。”
“告诉我究竟是多少数目，神父，要不然，你的长袍和腰带就不能保护你。”
“哎哟！”假冒的修士说道，“cor meum eructavit，那就是说，当时我的头脑都给吓糊涂啦。不过我估计，那些庄稼人，加上老百姓，总数恐怕不下五百人吧。”
“什么！”圣殿骑士说，他这时正好走进大厅，“这些马蜂已聚集了这么多人？这个马蜂窝是心腹之患，必须把它马上拔掉。”然后他把牛面将军叫到一边，又道：“你认识这个教士吗？”
“他是从外地一个修道院来的，”牛面将军说，“我不认识他。”
“那么不要把你的意图告诉他，”圣殿骑士答道，“只是让他捎个字条给德布拉西的自由团队，命令他们火速前来支援他们的主人。同时为了免得这个贼秃怀疑，你可以让他自由活动，为那些撒克逊猪秽作好上屠宰场的准备。”
“我会这么办，”牛面将军说，随即指定了一个仆人，把汪八带往囚禁塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦的房间。
塞德里克遭到囚禁之后，他的急躁脾气反而有增无减。他从大厅的一头踱到另一头，那副神气好像要向敌人发动进攻，或者从被围困的地方打开一个缺口，有时对自己，有时对阿特尔斯坦发出一声呐喊；阿特尔斯坦却不动声色地忍受着一切，等待事变的结束，同时泰然自若地消化中午吃下的大量食物；他对囚禁时间的长短似乎不太关心，认为世上的一切灾祸最终都会逢凶化吉，得到上帝的保佑。
“Pax vohscum，”小丑说，一边走进了屋子，“愿圣邓斯坦、圣丹尼斯、圣达索克，以及其他各位圣徒保佑二位，与二位常在一起。”
“不必客气，请进屋吧，”塞德里克对假想的修士说道，“不知足下到此有何贵干？”
“在下是特地来侍候二位升天的，”小丑答道。
“这不可能，”塞德里克吃了一惊，答道。“他们尽管心狠手辣，胆大妄为，还不敢公然倒行逆施，不顾天理人情。”
“哎哟！”小丑说道，“要用人道观念约束他们的行为，那等于要用丝线作缰绳控制一匹奔跑的野马。现在，尊贵的塞德里克，请你考虑一下，英勇的阿特尔斯坦，也请你考虑一下，你们在世上犯过的罪孽，因为今天你们就得到上天的法庭上接受审判了。”
“阿特尔斯坦，你听到没有？”塞德里克说。“我们必须鼓起勇气，迎接这最后一个行动；要知道，与其像奴隶一样活着，不如像自由人一样死去。”
“我对他们的暴行已作好了最坏的打算，”阿特尔斯坦答道，“我会像就餐一样安详地走向死亡。”
“那么让我们迎接这神圣的时刻吧，神父，”塞德里克说。
“再等一等，老爷子，”小丑说，恢复了平时的声调，“在你跳进黑暗的深渊以前，还是先仔细看看的好。”
“我担保，这声音很熟悉！”塞德里克说。
“那是你忠实的奴隶和小丑的声音，”汪八接口道，揭开了风帽，“要是你以前肯听从傻瓜的劝告，今天就不用待在这儿了。现在你肯照傻瓜的话办，也可以很快就离开这里。”
“你这小子，这是什么意思？”撒克逊人问道。
“你听清楚了，”汪八答道，“穿上这件袍子，系上这根绳子，它们是我所有的修士的全部标志，然后你就泰然自若地走出城堡，让我穿上你的大褂，系上你的腰带，代替你升入天堂。”
“让你代替我！”塞德里克说，听到这建议吃了一惊。“得啦，他们会绞死你，我可怜的小傻瓜。”
“随他们爱怎么办就怎么办吧，”汪八说。“我这么做丝毫也不想贬低你的身分，我相信，愚人之子挂在绞索上，不会比他做官的祖先当年挂在绞索上轻一些。”
“好吧，汪八，”塞德里克答道，“我答应你的要求，但有个条件，那就是我要你跟阿特尔斯坦老爷交换服装，不是跟我。”
“凭圣邓斯坦作证，这不成，”汪八答道，“那么做没有道理。愚人之子搭救赫里沃德的后代，这是名正言顺的事；但是要他为另一个人死，这个人的祖先却与他风马牛不相关，这就不合情理了。”
“混蛋，”塞德里克说，“阿特尔斯坦的祖先是英国的国王！”
“随他们是什么人，我不在乎，”汪八答道，“但我的脖子生在我的肩膀上，我不能为随便什么人绞断它。因此，我的好东家，要就你自己接受我的建议，要就让我像来的时候一样，自由的离开这间牢房。”
“让我这棵老树枯死吧，”塞德里克继续道，“只要树林还保存着繁荣的希望。我忠实可靠的汪八，救救高贵的阿特尔斯坦！凡是血管里有撒克逊血统的人都有这个责任。你和我可以一起忍受残忍的压迫者的最大暴行，但是让他得到自由和安全，他会唤起全国民众的斗志，为我们报仇的。”
“不必这么做，塞德里克伯父，”阿特尔斯坦说，握紧了他的手，因为在他精神振奋，认真思考或行动的时候，他的举止和感情不是与他的高贵出身不相符合的。 “不必这么做，”他继续道，“我宁可在这大厅里再待一周，除了一小块面包什么吃的也没有，或者除了给犯人的一点水，什么喝的也没有，也不愿把这个奴隶诚心诚意献给他主人的逃跑机会，占为己有。”
“两位老爷，你们都是聪明人，”小丑说道，“我只是疯子和傻瓜，但是现在，塞德里克老爷子和阿特尔斯坦朋友，让傻瓜替你们解决争论吧，免得你们多化力气，互相推让。我像约翰•达克的那匹母马，除了约翰•达克，谁也不让骑。我是来搭救我的主人的，如果他不要我救，那就只好拉倒！我只得仍旧回去。善意的帮助不是毽子或板球，可以由这个人抛给另一个人的。除了为我生来的主人，我不能为任何别人吊死！”
“那么去吧，尊贵的塞德里克，”阿特尔斯坦说，“不要错过这个机会。你到了外面，可以发动亲友前来搭救我们；你留在这儿，我们只能一起完蛋。”
“那么我们在外面有没有获得救援的希望？”塞德里克望着小丑说。
“希望确实是有的！”汪八立即答道，“我可以告诉你，你穿上我的袍子，就是披上了将军的战袍。外面已集中了五百人，今天早晨我还是他们的主要领导人之一。我的小丑帽子是头盔，我的小丑手杖便是权杖。好吧，我们会看到，一个傻瓜换了一个聪明人，这会得到什么好处。确实，这么一来，他们可能谨慎有余，勇敢却不足了。好吧，再见，老爷，好好对待可怜的葛四和他的狗方斯；把我的小丑帽子挂在罗瑟伍德的大厅上，作为我为主人抛弃生命的纪念，让大家知道我对他忠心耿耿，尽管我是个傻瓜。”最后这句话带有双重意味，既像说笑，又像是当真的。
塞德里克的眼睛里噙满了泪水。“只要忠诚和友谊在世上还受到尊敬，这纪念品就会永远保存在那里！”他说。“我相信，我能找到办法，搭救罗文娜和你，阿特尔斯坦，还有你，我可怜的汪八，在这件事上，我不会丢掉你不管的。”
现在衣服换好了，塞德里克突然想起了一个问题。
“我除了自己的语言，以及几句不三不四的诺曼话，什么语言也不会讲，”他说。“我怎么能像一个神父呢？”
“诀窍只有两个字：Pax vobiscum，”汪八答道。“它可以回答一切询问。不论你来或去，吃或喝，赞美或反对，Pax vobiscum可以无往而不利。它对于一个修士的用处，就像巫婆手中的扫帚，魔术师手中的棍子。你得这么念，声调低沉庄重：Pax vobiscum，它可以带着你通行无阻。不论门岗和守卫，骑士和扈从，步兵和骑兵，它对他们像符咒一样，全都管用。我想，明天他们多半会把我送上绞架，到那时，我也得对处死我的刽子手试试它的威力。”
“如果情况果真如此，”他的主人说，“那么我的教会授职仪式太简单了——Paxvobiscum。我相信，这句口令我能记住。高贵的阿特尔斯坦，再见；再见，我可怜的孩子，你的心抵消了你头脑的缺陷；我会救你脱险，否则也会回来与你一起死的。只要我的血管里还流着血，我就不会让撒克逊王族的血统就此中断；只要能救出为主人出生人死的奴仆，塞德里克哪怕得冒九死一生的危险，也决不会让人伤害他的一根头发。再见。”
“再见，尊贵的塞德里克，”阿特尔斯坦说，“记住，如果有人向你布施食物，你便得接受，这才像一个游方修士。”
“再见，老爷子，”汪八又道，“记住PCX VohSC。”
经过这一番叮嘱之后，塞德里克便出发了；不用多久，小丑作为万应灵丹介绍给他的那句咒语，他便有了应用的机会，可以试试它的效果了。在一条矮拱顶的阴暗过道中，他正摸索前行，要上城堡的大厅，这时一个女人的身影突然挡住了他的去路。
“Pax vobiscum！”假修士说，竭力想赶快通过。但那女子用温柔的声音说道：“Et vobls；quaeso，domlne reverendisslme，pro miserlcordia yestra.”(注)
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(注)拉丁文：也祝您平安；尊敬的神父，请您行行好吧。
“我的耳朵不太好，”塞德里克用纯正的撒克逊语答道，同时在心里叨咕：“该死的傻瓜和他的Pax vobiscum！我的梭镖第一次就没打中。”
然而当时的教士听到拉丁文便耳聋的并不少见，跟塞德里克谈话的那个女子完全理解这点。
“我要求您发发慈悲，尊敬的神父，”她改用他的语言答道，”请您去看看关在城堡内的一个伤员，让他的灵魂得到安慰；请您按照您的神圣职务的教导，怜悯怜悯他和我们吧。这对您是功德无量的事。”
“孩子，”塞德里克非常慌张，答道，“我在这城堡内的时间有限，不允许我行使这些职责。我必须马上离开，有一件涉及生死存亡的大事等着我去办呢。”
“然而，神父，让我用您起过的誓言请求您吧，”求情者又道，“不要抛弃遇到危险和困难的人，为他想想办法，救救他吧。”
“让魔鬼把我架走，送进地狱，跟奥丁和托尔(注)的灵魂在一起吧！”塞德里克说，心里焦急万分；如果让他再这么讲下去，也许他非背离他的宗教身分，露出马脚不可，幸好他们的谈话，这时给塔楼内的老太婆厄弗利德的粗哑嗓音打断了。
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(注)托尔与奥丁一样，也是古代斯堪的纳维亚的神，由于他们都是基督教兴起前的异教时代的神，因此说他们的灵魂都在地狱中。
“喂，小丫头，”她对那个女子说道，“我好意让你离开那边的牢房，到外面走走，你却这么报答我吗？你逼得这位神父不得不用诅咒的话，摆脱一个犹太女子的纠缠，这么做应该吗？”
“一个犹太女子！”塞德里克说，想利用这消息乘机脱身，“让我过去，小女子！不要挡住我，免得我对你不客气。我刚行过圣事，不能与异教徒接触。”
“到这儿来，神父，”老婆子说，“你在城堡中是陌生人，没人带路跑不出去。到这儿来，我有话跟你讲。还有，你这个不祥民族的小妮子，回病人屋里去照顾他，等我回来；要是你不得到我的准许再走出屋子，当心我跟你算账！”
丽贝卡退下了。由于她的再三恳求，厄弗利德才允许她离开塔楼，去从事她心甘情愿担当的任务，在受伤的艾文荷的病榻旁照料他。她意识到了他们的危险处境，决心利用她能得到的一切活命机会，这样，当厄弗利德告诉她，一个教士进入了这个不信上帝的城堡时，她萌发了希望，守候在过道上，等待那个假想的教士回来，打算敦促他关心一下囚徒们的命运；但是读者们已经看到，她的愿望没有完全达到。
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Chapter 27
Fond wretch! and what canst thou relate, But deeds of sorrow, shame, and sin? Thy deeds are proved---thou know'st thy fate; But come, thy tale---begin---begin. * * * * * But I have griefs of other kind, Troubles and sorrows more severe; Give me to ease my tortured mind, Lend to my woes a patient ear; And let me, if I may not find A friend to help---find one to hear. Crabbe's Hall of Justice
When Urfried had with clamours and menaces driven Rebecca back to the apartment from which she had sallied, she proceeded to conduct the unwilling Cedric into a small apartment, the door of which she heedfully secured. Then fetching from a cupboard a stoup of wine and two flagons, she placed them on the table, and said in a tone rather asserting a fact than asking a question, "Thou art Saxon, father---Deny it not," she continued, observing that Cedric hastened not to reply; "the sounds of my native language are sweet to mine ears, though seldom heard save from the tongues of the wretched and degraded serfs on whom the proud Normans impose the meanest drudgery of this dwelling. Thou art a Saxon, father---a Saxon, and, save as thou art a servant of God, a freeman.---Thine accents are sweet in mine ear."
"Do not Saxon priests visit this castle, then?" replied Cedric; "it were, methinks, their duty to comfort the outcast and oppressed children of the soil."
"They come not---or if they come, they better love to revel at the boards of their conquerors," answered Urfried, "than to hear the groans of their countrymen---so, at least, report speaks of them---of myself I can say little. This castle, for ten years, has opened to no priest save the debauched Norman chaplain who partook the nightly revels of Front-de-Boeuf, and he has been long gone to render an account of his stewardship.---But thou art a Saxon---a Saxon priest, and I have one question to ask of thee."
"I am a Saxon," answered Cedric, "but unworthy, surely, of the name of priest. Let me begone on my way---I swear I will return, or send one of our fathers more worthy to hear your confession."
"Stay yet a while," said Urfried; "the accents of the voice which thou hearest now will soon be choked with the cold earth, and I would not descend to it like the beast I have lived. But wine must give me strength to tell the horrors of my tale." She poured out a cup, and drank it with a frightful avidity, which seemed desirous of draining the last drop in the goblet. "It stupifies," she said, looking upwards as she finished her drought, "but it cannot cheer---Partake it, father, if you would hear my tale without sinking down upon the pavement." Cedric would have avoided pledging her in this ominous conviviality, but the sign which she made to him expressed impatience and despair. He complied with her request, and answered her challenge in a large wine-cup; she then proceeded with her story, as if appeased by his complaisance.
"I was not born," she said, "father, the wretch that thou now seest me. I was free, was happy, was honoured, loved, and was beloved. I am now a slave, miserable and degraded---the sport of my masters' passions while I had yet beauty---the object of their contempt, scorn, and hatred, since it has passed away. Dost thou wonder, father, that I should hate mankind, and, above all, the race that has wrought this change in me? Can the wrinkled decrepit hag before thee, whose wrath must vent itself in impotent curses, forget she was once the daughter of the noble Thane of Torquilstone, before whose frown a thousand vassals trembled?"
"Thou the daughter of Torquil Wolfganger!" said Cedric, receding as he spoke; "thou---thou---the daughter of that noble Saxon, my father's friend and companion in arms!"
"Thy father's friend!" echoed Urfried; "then Cedric called the Saxon stands before me, for the noble Hereward of Rotherwood had but one son, whose name is well known among his countrymen. But if thou art Cedric of Rotherwood, why this religious dress? ---hast thou too despaired of saving thy country, and sought refuge from oppression in the shade of the convent?"
"It matters not who I am," said Cedric; "proceed, unhappy woman, with thy tale of horror and guilt!---Guilt there must be---there is guilt even in thy living to tell it."
"There is---there is," answered the wretched woman, "deep, black, damning guilt,---guilt, that lies like a load at my breast --guilt, that all the penitential fires of hereafter cannot cleanse.---Yes, in these halls, stained with the noble and pure blood of my father and my brethren---in these very halls, to have lived the paramour of their murderer, the slave at once and the partaker of his pleasures, was to render every breath which I drew of vital air, a crime and a curse."
"Wretched woman!" exclaimed Cedric. "And while the friends of thy father---while each true Saxon heart, as it breathed a requiem for his soul, and those of his valiant sons, forgot not in their prayers the murdered Ulrica---while all mourned and honoured the dead, thou hast lived to merit our hate and execration---lived to unite thyself with the vile tyrant who murdered thy nearest and dearest---who shed the blood of infancy, rather than a male of the noble house of Torquil Wolfganger should survive---with him hast thou lived to unite thyself, and in the hands of lawless love!"
"In lawless hands, indeed, but not in those of love!" answered the hag; "love will sooner visit the regions of eternal doom, than those unhallowed vaults.---No, with that at least I cannot reproach myself---hatred to Front-de-Boeuf and his race governed my soul most deeply, even in the hour of his guilty endearments."
"You hated him, and yet you lived," replied Cedric; "wretch! was there no poniard---no knife---no bodkin!---Well was it for thee, since thou didst prize such an existence, that the secrets of a Norman castle are like those of the grave. For had I but dreamed of the daughter of Torquil living in foul communion with the murderer of her father, the sword of a true Saxon had found thee out even in the arms of thy paramour!"
"Wouldst thou indeed have done this justice to the name of Torquil?" said Ulrica, for we may now lay aside her assumed name of Urfried; "thou art then the true Saxon report speaks thee! for even within these accursed walls, where, as thou well sayest, guilt shrouds itself in inscrutable mystery, even there has the name of Cedric been sounded---and I, wretched and degraded, have rejoiced to think that there yet breathed an avenger of our unhappy nation.---I also have had my hours of vengeance---I have fomented the quarrels of our foes, and heated drunken revelry into murderous broil---I have seen their blood flow---I have heard their dying groans!---Look on me, Cedric---are there not still left on this foul and faded face some traces of the features of Torquil?"
"Ask me not of them, Ulrica," replied Cedric, in a tone of grief mixed with abhorrence; "these traces form such a resemblance as arises from the graves of the dead, when a fiend has animated the lifeless corpse."
"Be it so," answered Ulrica; "yet wore these fiendish features the mask of a spirit of light when they were able to set at variance the elder Front-de-Boeuf and his son Reginald! The darkness of hell should hide what followed, but revenge must lift the veil, and darkly intimate what it would raise the dead to speak aloud. Long had the smouldering fire of discord glowed between the tyrant father and his savage son---long had I nursed, in secret, the unnatural hatred---it blazed forth in an hour of drunken wassail, and at his own board fell my oppressor by the hand of his own son---such are the secrets these vaults conceal! ---Rend asunder, ye accursed arches," she added, looking up towards the roof, "and bury in your fall all who are conscious of the hideous mystery!"
"And thou, creature of guilt and misery," said Cedric, "what became thy lot on the death of thy ravisher?"
"Guess it, but ask it not.---Here---here I dwelt, till age, premature age, has stamped its ghastly features on my countenance ---scorned and insulted where I was once obeyed, and compelled to bound the revenge which had once such ample scope, to the efforts of petty malice of a discontented menial, or the vain or unheeded curses of an impotent hag---condemned to hear from my lonely turret the sounds of revelry in which I once partook, or the shrieks and groans of new victims of oppression."
"Ulrica," said Cedric, "with a heart which still, I fear, regrets the lost reward of thy crimes, as much as the deeds by which thou didst acquire that meed, how didst thou dare to address thee to one who wears this robe? Consider, unhappy woman, what could the sainted Edward himself do for thee, were he here in bodily presence? The royal Confessor was endowed by heaven with power to cleanse the ulcers of the body, but only God himself can cure the leprosy of the soul."
"Yet, turn not from me, stern prophet of wrath," she exclaimed, "but tell me, if thou canst, in what shall terminate these new and awful feelings that burst on my solitude---Why do deeds, long since done, rise before me in new and irresistible horrors? What fate is prepared beyond the grave for her, to whom God has assigned on earth a lot of such unspeakable wretchedness? Better had I turn to Woden, Hertha, and Zernebock---to Mista, and to Skogula, the gods of our yet unbaptized ancestors, than endure the dreadful anticipations which have of late haunted my waking and my sleeping hours!"
"I am no priest," said Cedric, turning with disgust from this miserable picture of guilt, wretchedness, and despair; "I am no priest, though I wear a priest's garment."
"Priest or layman," answered Ulrica, "thou art the first I have seen for twenty years, by whom God was feared or man regarded; and dost thou bid me despair?"
"I bid thee repent," said Cedric. "Seek to prayer and penance, and mayest thou find acceptance! But I cannot, I will not, longer abide with thee."
"Stay yet a moment!" said Ulrica; "leave me not now, son of my father's friend, lest the demon who has governed my life should tempt me to avenge myself of thy hard-hearted scorn---Thinkest thou, if Front-de-Boeuf found Cedric the Saxon in his castle, in such a disguise, that thy life would be a long one?---Already his eye has been upon thee like a falcon on his prey."
"And be it so," said Cedric; "and let him tear me with beak and talons, ere my tongue say one word which my heart doth not warrant. I will die a Saxon---true in word, open in deed---I bid thee avaunt!---touch me not, stay me not!---The sight of Front-de-Boeuf himself is less odious to me than thou, degraded and degenerate as thou art."
"Be it so," said Ulrica, no longer interrupting him; "go thy way, and forget, in the insolence of thy superority, that the wretch before thee is the daughter of thy father's friend.---Go thy way ---if I am separated from mankind by my sufferings---separated from those whose aid I might most justly expect---not less will I be separated from them in my revenge!---No man shall aid me, but the ears of all men shall tingle to hear of the deed which I shall dare to do!---Farewell!---thy scorn has burst the last tie which seemed yet to unite me to my kind---a thought that my woes might claim the compassion of my people."
"Ulrica," said Cedric, softened by this appeal, "hast thou borne up and endured to live through so much guilt and so much misery, and wilt thou now yield to despair when thine eyes are opened to thy crimes, and when repentance were thy fitter occupation?"
"Cedric," answered Ulrica, "thou little knowest the human heart. To act as I have acted, to think as I have thought, requires the maddening love of pleasure, mingled with the keen appetite of revenge, the proud consciousness of power; droughts too intoxicating for the human heart to bear, and yet retain the power to prevent. Their force has long passed away---Age has no pleasures, wrinkles have no influence, revenge itself dies away in impotent curses. Then comes remorse, with all its vipers, mixed with vain regrets for the past, and despair for the future! ---Then, when all other strong impulses have ceased, we become like the fiends in hell, who may feel remorse, but never repentance.---But thy words have awakened a new soul within me ---Well hast thou said, all is possible for those who dare to die!---Thou hast shown me the means of revenge, and be assured I will embrace them. It has hitherto shared this wasted bosom with other and with rival passions---henceforward it shall possess me wholly, and thou thyself shalt say, that, whatever was the life of Ulrica, her death well became the daughter of the noble Torquil. There is a force without beleaguering this accursed castle---hasten to lead them to the attack, and when thou shalt see a red flag wave from the turret on the eastern angle of the donjon, press the Normans hard---they will then have enough to do within, and you may win the wall in spite both of bow and mangonel.---Begone, I pray thee---follow thine own fate, and leave me to mine."
Cedric would have enquired farther into the purpose which she thus darkly announced, but the stern voice of Front-de-Boeuf was heard, exclaiming, "Where tarries this loitering priest? By the scallop-shell of Compostella, I will make a martyr of him, if he loiters here to hatch treason among my domestics!"
"What a true prophet," said Ulrica, "is an evil conscience! But heed him not---out and to thy people---Cry your Saxon onslaught, and let them sing their war-song of Rollo, if they will; vengeance shall bear a burden to it."
As she thus spoke, she vanished through a private door, and Reginald Front-de-Boeuf entered the apartment. Cedric, with some difficulty, compelled himself to make obeisance to the haughty Baron, who returned his courtesy with a slight inclination of the head.
"Thy penitents, father, have made a long shrift---it is the better for them, since it is the last they shall ever make. Hast thou prepared them for death?"
"I found them," said Cedric, in such French as he could command, "expecting the worst, from the moment they knew into whose power they had fallen."
"How now, Sir Friar," replied Front-de-Boeuf, "thy speech, methinks, smacks of a Saxon tongue?"
"I was bred in the convent of St Withold of Burton," answered Cedric.
"Ay?" said the Baron; "it had been better for thee to have been a Norman, and better for my purpose too; but need has no choice of messengers. That St Withold's of Burton is an owlet's nest worth the harrying. The day will soon come that the frock shall protect the Saxon as little as the mail-coat."
"God's will be done," said Cedric, in a voice tremulous with passion, which Front-de-Boeuf imputed to fear.
"I see," said he, "thou dreamest already that our men-at-arms are in thy refectory and thy ale-vaults. But do me one cast of thy holy office, and, come what list of others, thou shalt sleep as safe in thy cell as a snail within his shell of proof."
"Speak your commands," said Cedric, with suppressed emotion.
"Follow me through this passage, then, that I may dismiss thee by the postern."
And as he strode on his way before the supposed friar, Front-de-Boeuf thus schooled him in the part which he desired he should act.
"Thou seest, Sir Friar, yon herd of Saxon swine, who have dared to environ this castle of Torquilstone---Tell them whatever thou hast a mind of the weakness of this fortalice, or aught else that can detain them before it for twenty-four hours. Meantime bear thou this scroll---But soft---canst read, Sir Priest?"
"Not a jot I," answered Cedric, "save on my breviary; and then I know the characters, because I have the holy service by heart, praised be Our Lady and St Withold!"
"The fitter messenger for my purpose.---Carry thou this scroll to the castle of Philip de Malvoisin; say it cometh from me, and is written by the Templar Brian de Bois-Guilbert, and that I pray him to send it to York with all the speed man and horse can make. Meanwhile, tell him to doubt nothing, he shall find us whole and sound behind our battlement---Shame on it, that we should be compelled to hide thus by a pack of runagates, who are wont to fly even at the flash of our pennons and the tramp of our horses! I say to thee, priest, contrive some cast of thine art to keep the knaves where they are, until our friends bring up their lances. My vengeance is awake, and she is a falcon that slumbers not till she has been gorged."
"By my patron saint," said Cedric, with deeper energy than became his character, "and by every saint who has lived and died in England, your commands shall be obeyed! Not a Saxon shall stir from before these walls, if I have art and influence to detain them there."
"Ha!" said Front-de-Boeuf, "thou changest thy tone, Sir Priest, and speakest brief and bold, as if thy heart were in the slaughter of the Saxon herd; and yet thou art thyself of kindred to the swine?"
Cedric was no ready practiser of the art of dissimulation, and would at this moment have been much the better of a hint from Wamba's more fertile brain. But necessity, according to the ancient proverb, sharpens invention, and he muttered something under his cowl concerning the men in question being excommunicated outlaws both to church and to kingdom.
"'Despardieux'," answered Front-de-Boeuf, "thou hast spoken the very truth---I forgot that the knaves can strip a fat abbot, as well as if they had been born south of yonder salt channel. Was it not he of St Ives whom they tied to an oak-tree, and compelled to sing a mass while they were rifling his mails and his wallets? ---No, by our Lady---that jest was played by Gualtier of Middleton, one of our own companions-at-arms. But they were Saxons who robbed the chapel at St Bees of cup, candlestick and chalice, were they not?"
"They were godless men," answered Cedric.
"Ay, and they drank out all the good wine and ale that lay in store for many a secret carousal, when ye pretend ye are but busied with vigils and primes!---Priest, thou art bound to revenge such sacrilege."
"I am indeed bound to vengeance," murmured Cedric; "Saint Withold knows my heart."
Front-de-Boeuf, in the meanwhile, led the way to a postern, where, passing the moat on a single plank, they reached a small barbican, or exterior defence, which communicated with the open field by a well-fortified sallyport.
"Begone, then; and if thou wilt do mine errand, and if thou return hither when it is done, thou shalt see Saxon flesh cheap as ever was hog's in the shambles of Sheffield. And, hark thee, thou seemest to be a jolly confessor---come hither after the onslaught, and thou shalt have as much Malvoisie as would drench thy whole convent."
"Assuredly we shall meet again," answered Cedric.
"Something in hand the whilst," continued the Norman; and, as they parted at the postern door, he thrust into Cedric's reluctant hand a gold byzant, adding, "Remember, I will fly off both cowl and skin, if thou failest in thy purpose."
"And full leave will I give thee to do both," answered Cedric, leaving the postern, and striding forth over the free field with a joyful step, "if, when we meet next, I deserve not better at thine hand."---Turning then back towards the castle, he threw the piece of gold towards the donor, exclaiming at the same time, "False Norman, thy money perish with thee!"
Front-de-Boeuf heard the words imperfectly, but the action was suspicious---"Archers," he called to the warders on the outward battlements, "send me an arrow through yon monk's frock!---yet stay," he said, as his retainers were bending their bows, "it avails not--we must thus far trust him since we have no better shift. I think he dares not betray me---at the worst I can but treat with these Saxon dogs whom I have safe in kennel.---Ho! Giles jailor, let them bring Cedric of Rotherwood before me, and the other churl, his companion---him I mean of Coningsburgh ---Athelstane there, or what call they him? Their very names are an encumbrance to a Norman knight's mouth, and have, as it were, a flavour of bacon---Give me a stoup of wine, as jolly Prince John said, that I may wash away the relish---place it in the armoury, and thither lead the prisoners."
His commands were obeyed; and, upon entering that Gothic apartment, hung with many spoils won by his own valour and that of his father, he found a flagon of wine on the massive oaken table, and the two Saxon captives under the guard of four of his dependants. Front-de-Boeuf took a long drought of wine, and then addressed his prisoners;---for the manner in which Wamba drew the cap over his face, the change of dress, the gloomy and broken light, and the Baron's imperfect acquaintance with the features of Cedric, (who avoided his Norman neighbours, and seldom stirred beyond his own domains,) prevented him from discovering that the most important of his captives had made his escape.
"Gallants of England," said Front-de-Boeuf, "how relish ye your entertainment at Torquilstone?---Are ye yet aware what your 'surquedy' and 'outrecuidance'*
* "Surquedy" and "outrecuidance" - insolence and presumption
merit, for scoffing at the entertainment of a prince of the House of Anjou?---Have ye forgotten how ye requited the unmerited hospitality of the royal John? By God and St Dennis, an ye pay not the richer ransom, I will hang ye up by the feet from the iron bars of these windows, till the kites and hooded crows have made skeletons of you!---Speak out, ye Saxon dogs---what bid ye for your worthless lives?---How say you, you of Rotherwood?"
"Not a doit I," answered poor Wamba---"and for hanging up by the feet, my brain has been topsy-turvy, they say, ever since the biggin was bound first round my head; so turning me upside down may peradventure restore it again."
"Saint Genevieve!" said Front-de-Boeuf, "what have we got here?"
And with the back of his hand he struck Cedric's cap from the head of the Jester, and throwing open his collar, discovered the fatal badge of servitude, the silver collar round his neck.
"Giles---Clement---dogs and varlets!" exclaimed the furious Norman, "what have you brought me here?"
"I think I can tell you," said De Bracy, who just entered the apartment. "This is Cedric's clown, who fought so manful a skirmish with Isaac of York about a question of precedence."
"I shall settle it for them both," replied Front-de-Boeuf; "they shall hang on the same gallows, unless his master and this boar of Coningsburgh will pay well for their lives. Their wealth is the least they can surrender; they must also carry off with them the swarms that are besetting the castle, subscribe a surrender of their pretended immunities, and live under us as serfs and vassals; too happy if, in the new world that is about to begin, we leave them the breath of their nostrils.---Go," said he to two of his attendants, "fetch me the right Cedric hither, and I pardon your error for once; the rather that you but mistook a fool for a Saxon franklin."
"Ay, but," said Wamba, "your chivalrous excellency will find there are more fools than franklins among us."
"What means the knave?" said Front-de-Boeuf, looking towards his followers, who, lingering and loath, faltered forth their belief, that if this were not Cedric who was there in presence, they knew not what was become of him.
"Saints of Heaven!" exclaimed De Bracy, "he must have escaped in the monk's garments!"
"Fiends of hell!" echoed Front-de-Boeuf, "it was then the boar of Rotherwood whom I ushered to the postern, and dismissed with my own hands!---And thou," he said to Wamba, "whose folly could overreach the wisdom of idiots yet more gross than thyself---I will give thee holy orders---I will shave thy crown for thee! ---Here, let them tear the scalp from his head, and then pitch him headlong from the battlements---Thy trade is to jest, canst thou jest now?"
"You deal with me better than your word, noble knight," whimpered forth poor Wamba, whose habits of buffoonery were not to be overcome even by the immediate prospect of death; "if you give me the red cap you propose, out of a simple monk you will make a cardinal."
"The poor wretch," said De Bracy, "is resolved to die in his vocation.---Front-de-Boeuf, you shall not slay him. Give him to me to make sport for my Free Companions.---How sayst thou, knave? Wilt thou take heart of grace, and go to the wars with me?"
"Ay, with my master's leave," said Wamba; "for, look you, I must not slip collar" (and he touched that which he wore) "without his permission."
"Oh, a Norman saw will soon cut a Saxon collar." said De Bracy.
"Ay, noble sir," said Wamba, "and thence goes the proverb---
'Norman saw on English oak, On English neck a Norman yoke; Norman spoon in English dish, And England ruled as Normans wish; Blithe world to England never will be more, Till England's rid of all the four.'"
"Thou dost well, De Bracy," said Front-de-Boeuf, "to stand there listening to a fool's jargon, when destruction is gaping for us! Seest thou not we are overreached, and that our proposed mode of communicating with our friends without has been disconcerted by this same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother? What views have we to expect but instant storm?"
"To the battlements then," said De Bracy; "when didst thou ever see me the graver for the thoughts of battle? Call the Templar yonder, and let him fight but half so well for his life as he has done for his Order---Make thou to the walls thyself with thy huge body---Let me do my poor endeavour in my own way, and I tell thee the Saxon outlaws may as well attempt to scale the clouds, as the castle of Torquilstone; or, if you will treat with the banditti, why not employ the mediation of this worthy franklin, who seems in such deep contemplation of the wine-flagon?---Here, Saxon," he continued, addressing Athelstane, and handing the cup to him, "rinse thy throat with that noble liquor, and rouse up thy soul to say what thou wilt do for thy liberty."
"What a man of mould may," answered Athelstane, "providing it be what a man of manhood ought.---Dismiss me free, with my companions, and I will pay a ransom of a thousand marks."
"And wilt moreover assure us the retreat of that scum of mankind who are swarming around the castle, contrary to God's peace and the king's?" said Front-de-Boeuf.
"In so far as I can," answered Athelstane, "I will withdraw them; and I fear not but that my father Cedric will do his best to assist me."
"We are agreed then," said Front-de-Boeuf---"thou and they are to be set at freedom, and peace is to be on both sides, for payment of a thousand marks. It is a trifling ransom, Saxon, and thou wilt owe gratitude to the moderation which accepts of it in exchange of your persons. But mark, this extends not to the Jew Isaac."
"Nor to the Jew Isaac's daughter," said the Templar, who had now joined them.
"Neither," said Front-de-Boeuf, "belong to this Saxon's company."
"I were unworthy to be called Christian, if they did," replied Athelstane: "deal with the unbelievers as ye list."
"Neither does the ransom include the Lady Rowena," said De Bracy. "It shall never be said I was scared out of a fair prize without striking a blow for it."
"Neither," said Front-de-Boeuf, "does our treaty refer to this wretched Jester, whom I retain, that I may make him an example to every knave who turns jest into earnest."
"The Lady Rowena," answered Athelstane, with the most steady countenance, "is my affianced bride. I will be drawn by wild horses before I consent to part with her. The slave Wamba has this day saved the life of my father Cedric---I will lose mine ere a hair of his head be injured."
"Thy affianced bride?---The Lady Rowena the affianced bride of a vassal like thee?" said De Bracy; "Saxon, thou dreamest that the days of thy seven kingdoms are returned again. I tell thee, the Princes of the House of Anjou confer not their wards on men of such lineage as thine."
"My lineage, proud Norman," replied Athelstane, "is drawn from a source more pure and ancient than that of a beggarly Frenchman, whose living is won by selling the blood of the thieves whom he assembles under his paltry standard. Kings were my ancestors, strong in war and wise in council, who every day feasted in their hall more hundreds than thou canst number individual followers; whose names have been sung by minstrels, and their laws recorded by Wittenagemotes; whose bones were interred amid the prayers of saints, and over whose tombs minsters have been builded."
"Thou hast it, De Bracy," said Front-de-Boeuf, well pleased with the rebuff which his companion had received; "the Saxon hath hit thee fairly."
"As fairly as a captive can strike," said De Bracy, with apparent carelessness; "for he whose hands are tied should have his tongue at freedom.---But thy glibness of reply, comrade," rejoined he, speaking to Athelstane, "will not win the freedom of the Lady Rowena."
To this Athelstane, who had already made a longer speech than was his custom to do on any topic, however interesting, returned no answer. The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a menial, who announced that a monk demanded admittance at the postern gate.
"In the name of Saint Bennet, the prince of these bull-beggars," said Front-de-Boeuf, "have we a real monk this time, or another impostor? Search him, slaves---for an ye suffer a second impostor to be palmed upon you, I will have your eyes torn out, and hot coals put into the sockets."
"Let me endure the extremity of your anger, my lord," said Giles, "if this be not a real shaveling. Your squire Jocelyn knows him well, and will vouch him to be brother Ambrose, a monk in attendance upon the Prior of Jorvaulx."
"Admit him," said Front-de-Boeuf; "most likely he brings us news from his jovial master. Surely the devil keeps holiday, and the priests are relieved from duty, that they are strolling thus wildly through the country. Remove these prisoners; and, Saxon, think on what thou hast heard."
"I claim," said Athelstane, "an honourable imprisonment, with due care of my board and of my couch, as becomes my rank, and as is due to one who is in treaty for ransom. Moreover, I hold him that deems himself the best of you, bound to answer to me with his body for this aggression on my freedom. This defiance hath already been sent to thee by thy sewer; thou underliest it, and art bound to answer me---There lies my glove."
"I answer not the challenge of my prisoner," said Front-de-Boeuf; "nor shalt thou, Maurice de Bracy.---Giles," he continued, "hang the franklin's glove upon the tine of yonder branched antlers: there shall it remain until he is a free man. Should he then presume to demand it, or to affirm he was unlawfully made my prisoner, by the belt of Saint Christopher, he will speak to one who hath never refused to meet a foe on foot or on horseback, alone or with his vassals at his back!"
The Saxon prisoners were accordingly removed, just as they introduced the monk Ambrose, who appeared to be in great perturbation.
"This is the real 'Deus vobiscum'," said Wamba, as he passed the reverend brother; "the others were but counterfeits."
"Holy Mother," said the monk, as he addressed the assembled knights, "I am at last safe and in Christian keeping!"
"Safe thou art," replied De Bracy; "and for Christianity, here is the stout Baron Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, whose utter abomination is a Jew; and the good Knight Templar, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, whose trade is to slay Saracens---If these are not good marks of Christianity, I know no other which they bear about them."
"Ye are friends and allies of our reverend father in God, Aymer, Prior of Jorvaulx," said the monk, without noticing the tone of De Bracy's reply; "ye owe him aid both by knightly faith and holy charity; for what saith the blessed Saint Augustin, in his treatise 'De Civitate Dei'------"
"What saith the devil!" interrupted Front-de-Boeuf; "or rather what dost thou say, Sir Priest? We have little time to hear texts from the holy fathers."
"'Sancta Maria!'" ejaculated Father Ambrose, "how prompt to ire are these unhallowed laymen!---But be it known to you, brave knights, that certain murderous caitiffs, casting behind them fear of God, and reverence of his church, and not regarding the bull of the holy see, 'Si quis, suadende Diabolo'------"
"Brother priest," said the Templar, "all this we know or guess at ---tell us plainly, is thy master, the Prior, made prisoner, and to whom?"
"Surely," said Ambrose, "he is in the hands of the men of Belial, infesters of these woods, and contemners of the holy text, 'Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets naught of evil.'"
"Here is a new argument for our swords, sirs," said Front-de-Boeuf, turning to his companions; "and so, instead of reaching us any assistance, the Prior of Jorvaulx requests aid at our hands? a man is well helped of these lazy churchmen when he hath most to do!---But speak out, priest, and say at once, what doth thy master expect from us?"
"So please you," said Ambrose, "violent hands having been imposed on my reverend superior, contrary to the holy ordinance which I did already quote, and the men of Belial having rifled his mails and budgets, and stripped him of two hundred marks of pure refined gold, they do yet demand of him a large sum beside, ere they will suffer him to depart from their uncircumcised hands. Wherefore the reverend father in God prays you, as his dear friends, to rescue him, either by paying down the ransom at which they hold him, or by force of arms, at your best discretion."
"The foul fiend quell the Prior!" said Front-de-Boeuf; "his morning's drought has been a deep one. When did thy master hear of a Norman baron unbuckling his purse to relieve a churchman, whose bags are ten times as weighty as ours?---And how can we do aught by valour to free him, that are cooped up here by ten times our number, and expect an assault every moment?"
"And that was what I was about to tell you," said the monk, "had your hastiness allowed me time. But, God help me, I am old, and these foul onslaughts distract an aged man's brain. Nevertheless, it is of verity that they assemble a camp, and raise a bank against the walls of this castle."
"To the battlements!" cried De Bracy, "and let us mark what these knaves do without;" and so saying, he opened a latticed window which led to a sort of bartisan or projecting balcony, and immediately called from thence to those in the apartment ---"Saint Dennis, but the old monk hath brought true tidings! ---They bring forward mantelets and pavisses,*
* Mantelets were temporary and movable defences formed of * planks, under cover of which the assailants advanced to * the attack of fortified places of old. Pavisses were a * species of large shields covering the whole person, * employed on the same occasions.
and the archers muster on the skirts of the wood like a dark cloud before a hailstorm."
Reginald Front-de-Boeuf also looked out upon the field, and immediately snatched his bugle; and, after winding a long and loud blast, commanded his men to their posts on the walls.
"De Bracy, look to the eastern side, where the walls are lowest ---Noble Bois-Guilbert, thy trade hath well taught thee how to attack and defend, look thou to the western side---I myself will take post at the barbican. Yet, do not confine your exertions to any one spot, noble friends!---we must this day be everywhere, and multiply ourselves, were it possible, so as to carry by our presence succour and relief wherever the attack is hottest. Our numbers are few, but activity and courage may supply that defect, since we have only to do with rascal clowns."
"But, noble knights," exclaimed Father Ambrose, amidst the bustle and confusion occasioned by the preparations for defence, "will none of ye hear the message of the reverend father in God Aymer, Prior of Jorvaulx?---I beseech thee to hear me, noble Sir Reginald!"
"Go patter thy petitions to heaven," said the fierce Norman, "for we on earth have no time to listen to them.---Ho! there, Anselm I see that seething pitch and oil are ready to pour on the heads of these audacious traitors---Look that the cross-bowmen lack not bolts.*
* The bolt was the arrow peculiarly fitted to the cross-bow, * as that of the long-bow was called a shaft. Hence the * English proverb---"I will either make a shaft or bolt of * it," signifying a determination to make one use or other * of the thing spoken of.
---Fling abroad my banner with the old bull's head---the knaves shall soon find with whom they have to do this day!"
"But, noble sir," continued the monk, persevering in his endeavours to draw attention, "consider my vow of obedience, and let me discharge myself of my Superior's errand."
"Away with this prating dotard," said Front-de Boeuf, "lock him up in the chapel, to tell his beads till the broil be over. It will be a new thing to the saints in Torquilstone to hear aves and paters; they have not been so honoured, I trow, since they were cut out of stone."
"Blaspheme not the holy saints, Sir Reginald," said De Bracy, "we shall have need of their aid to-day before yon rascal rout disband."
"I expect little aid from their hand," said Front-de-Boeuf, "unless we were to hurl them from the battlements on the heads of the villains. There is a huge lumbering Saint Christopher yonder, sufficient to bear a whole company to the earth."
The Templar had in the meantime been looking out on the proceedings of the besiegers, with rather more attention than the brutal Front-de-Boeuf or his giddy companion.
"By the faith of mine order," he said, "these men approach with more touch of discipline than could have been judged, however they come by it. See ye how dexterously they avail themselves of every cover which a tree or bush affords, and shun exposing themselves to the shot of our cross-bows? I spy neither banner nor pennon among them, and yet will I gage my golden chain, that they are led on by some noble knight or gentleman, skilful in the practice of wars."
"I espy him," said De Bracy; "I see the waving of a knight's crest, and the gleam of his armour. See yon tall man in the black mail, who is busied marshalling the farther troop of the rascaille yeomen---by Saint Dennis, I hold him to be the same whom we called 'Le Noir Faineant', who overthrew thee, Front-de-Boeuf, in the lists at Ashby."
"So much the better," said Front-de-Boeuf, "that he comes here to give me my revenge. Some hilding fellow he must be, who dared not stay to assert his claim to the tourney prize which chance had assigned him. I should in vain have sought for him where knights and nobles seek their foes, and right glad am I he hath here shown himself among yon villain yeomanry."
The demonstrations of the enemy's immediate approach cut off all farther discourse. Each knight repaired to his post, and at the head of the few followers whom they were able to muster, and who were in numbers inadequate to defend the whole extent of the walls, they awaited with calm determination the threatened assault.

不幸的梦想者哟！你还要讲什么？
你的一生无非是悲伤、耻辱和罪孽！
它们都已证实——这便是你的命运；
如果你一定要讲，那就快讲吧。
但我有的是另一种不幸，
那是更严重的烦恼和忧郁；
让我吐一吐心中的苦水吧，
你要耐心地听我诉说；
即使我找不到一个同情的朋友，
至少可以有一个人听到这一切。
克雷布：《正义的公堂》(注)
--------
(注)乔治•克雷布（1754—1832），英国韵文故事作家，擅长写日常生活故事。《正义的公堂》是《会堂故事集》中的一篇。
厄弗利德又是吆喝，又是威胁，把丽贝卡赶回了她刚才离开的那间屋子，随即带着迫不得已的塞德里克走进一个小房间，小心翼翼地闩上了门。然后她从食品柜中取出一罐酒和两只酒杯，放在桌上，开始说话，那口气像是在说明事实，不是在提出问题：“你是撒克逊人，神父。不要否认，”她看到塞德里克不想马上回答，又说道，“我家乡的语言对我是亲切的，尽管近来已不大听到了，只有不幸和下贱的奴隶还在讲它，他们在傲慢的诺曼人的支使下，担负着这幢房子里最沉重的苦役。你是撒克逊人，神父，一个撒克逊人，除了你是上帝的仆人以外，你是一个自由人。你的口音在我的耳中是亲切的。”
“那么没有撒克逊教士访问这个城堡吗？”塞德里克问。“我想，他们是有责任安慰这一带受尽欺压和无家可归的人们的。”
“他们没有来，或者说，即使来，也只爱在征服者的餐桌上饮酒作乐，不愿倾听同胞们的痛苦呻吟，”厄弗利德答道，“至少人们这么讲，我自己知道得不多。十年来，城堡的门没有为教士开过，只有一个道德败坏的诺曼神父在这里分享牛面将军灯红酒绿的生活，可是他早已回了老家，向魔鬼交差去了。但你是撒克逊人——一个撒克逊教士，因此我有一个问题要问你。”
“我是撒克逊人，”塞德里克答道，“但无疑不配称作真正的神父。你还是让我走吧。我起誓我会再回来，或者派一个更合格的神父来听取你的忏悔。”
“再待一会儿吧，”厄弗利德说，“你现在听到的这嗓子，不久就会被寒冷的泥土塞住了；我像牲畜一般活了一辈子，我不愿还像牲畜一般进入地狱。但我必须喝点酒，才有勇气讲我这些骇人的经历。”她倒了一杯酒，迫不及待地一口气喝干了，仿佛一滴也不愿剩下似的。“酒能使人麻醉，”她喝完以后，抬起头来说道，“但不能给人带来欢乐。神父，如果你肯听我讲，也喝一杯吧，免得我的故事把你吓得瘫倒在地上。”塞德里克不想在这不祥的酒宴上与她干杯，但是她向他露出了不耐烦和不满意的表情，于是他顺从了她的要求，用一大杯酒回答了她的提议。她对他的顺服似乎感到欣慰，便继续讲她的故事。
“我不是生来就是你看到的这副潦倒堕落的样子，神父，”她说，“我从前自由自在，幸福快活，受到尊重，爱别人，也得到别人的爱。后来我成了一个奴隶，可怜而卑贱的奴隶，当我还年轻漂亮的时候，我是满足主人们的情欲的玩物，那个时期过去之后，我便只是鄙视、嘲笑和厌恶的对象。神父，我憎恨人类，尤其是那个把我糟蹋成这副样子的民族，这难道是奇怪的吗？站在你面前的这个满脸皱纹的老太婆，这个只能靠无力的诅咒发泄满腹愤怒的老太婆，怎么能忘记她本来是托奎尔斯通的高贵庄主的女儿，一个皱一皱眉头就能使千百个仆役发抖的人呢？”
“你是托奎尔•沃尔夫岗格的女儿？”塞德里克说，吓得倒退了一步，“你……你……那个高贵的撒克逊人，我父亲的战友和伙伴的女儿！”
“你父亲的战友！”厄弗利德惊叫道，“那么站在我面前的便是诨号撒克逊人的塞德里克？因为罗瑟伍德庄园高贵的赫里沃德只有一个儿子，他的名字在这一带的老乡中是无人不知的。但是如果你是罗瑟伍德的塞德里克，为什么会穿上教士的衣服？难道你对拯救你的国家已经绝望，为了逃避压迫，躲进了修道院不成？”
“我是谁这无关紧要，”塞德里克说，“继续讲你那可怕的罪恶故事吧，不幸的女人！罪恶，这是一定的；你现在还能活着讲出这一切，这本身便是罪恶。”
“是的，是的，”不幸的女人答道，“那是深重的不可饶恕的罪恶——像石块一样压在我心头的罪恶——连地狱中一切赎罪的火焰也不能洗净的罪恶。是的，在这些大厅里，这些给我的父亲和弟兄们高贵纯洁的鲜血染红过的大厅里，我却成了屠杀他们的凶手的情妇，既是他的奴隶，又是他的享乐生活的参与者，这使我吸入的每一口空气都充满了罪恶和诅咒。”
“自甘堕落的女人！”塞德里克喊道。“正当你父亲的朋友们，正当每一颗正直的撒克逊良心，都在为他的灵魂低唱安魂曲的时候，正当他勇敢的儿子们的朋友没有忘记在他们的祈祷中，为被杀害的乌尔莉加祈求安息的时候，正当所有的人都在哀悼和颂扬死者的时候，你却苟且偷安，过着令我们痛恨和咒骂的生活，与杀害你的父兄和亲人的邪恶暴徒，那个不仅把高贵的托奎尔•沃尔夫岗格一家的男人统统杀死，而且企图斩草除根，连孩子也不放过的邪恶暴徒混在一起，与他同流合污，谈情说爱，非法姘居！”
“是的，这是荒淫无耻的非法生活，但不是爱情！”老太婆答道，“爱情也许会降临在永恒的地狱中，但决不会诞生在这个罪恶的城堡中。是的，在这一点上，至少我不应受到谴责，对牛面将军的父亲和他的民族的憎恨深深控制着我的心灵，哪怕在他向我献殷勤的时候也不例外。”
“你憎恨他，可是你却活着，”塞德里克答道。“无耻的女人！难道你没有匕首，没有刀，没有一只可以刺死他的锥子！不过诺曼人的城堡像一座坟墓，它的秘密不会外传，这对你说来还是幸运的，因为你贪生怕死，乐于这样生活下去。要是我早知道，托奎尔的女儿与她父亲的凶手苟且结合，那么一个正直的撒克逊人的剑一定会找到你，把你杀死在你情人的怀抱中！”
“你真的有这决心，要为托奎尔家报仇吗？”乌尔莉加说——我们现在可以丢开她那个假名厄弗利德了。“那么你确实像人们传说的那样，是一个真正的撒克逊人！尽管在这些该死的高墙内，正如你说的，罪恶像藏在坟墓里一样不会泄漏，然而哪怕在这里也能听到塞德里克的名字；我这个堕落的、下贱的女人，也为我们不幸的民族还有一个能为它报仇的人感到庆幸。我自己也有过复仇的举动。我曾在我的敌人之间制造纠纷，把狂欢的酒筵变成互相残杀的战场。我看到过他们的流血，听到过他们死亡的呻吟！你瞧我吧，塞德里克，这张腌（月赞）伸的脸上，不是还残留着一点托奎尔家族的特征吗？”
“不要问我这些啦，乌尔莉加，”塞德里克答道，悲怆的口气中混合着厌恶，“这点特征不过像靠魔鬼的法术，从坟墓中起死回生的僵尸脸上留下的一点痕迹而已。”
“就算这样吧，”乌尔莉加答道，“然而当这张丑八怪似的脸上，还戴着光艳娇嫩的面具时，它却能在牛面将军父子两人中播下不和的种子！它的后果本来会被地狱的黑暗所掩盖，但是为了复仇，必须撩起面纱，把可以让死人从棺材里爬起来大声疾呼的事，隐隐透露一些。不和的火焰在残暴的父亲和野蛮的儿子之间潜伏了很久，我也把这种违反伦常的仇恨暗中培育了很久；这样，它终于在一次狂欢作乐的酒筵上爆发了，我的压迫者被他亲生儿子的手杀死在他自己的酒席上；这就是隐藏在这些拱顶下的秘密。你们这些该死的拱顶，倒塌吧，”她抬起头，望着屋顶又说，“把一切了解这丑恶的秘密的人，统统埋在地下吧！”
“你这个罪恶而不幸的女人，”塞德里克说，“在蹂躏你的暴徒死后，你又变得怎样呢？”
“你自己猜吧，这不必问。我住在这儿，终于老了，过早的衰老了，我的面容给打上了岁月的可怕烙印——在我本来一呼百诺的地方，我遭到了侮辱和嘲笑，我的报复本来有广阔的活动范围，现在却只能局限于一个不满的奴仆玩弄的小花招上，或者作为一个无能为力的老太婆，发出几句没人理睬的无用的诅咒。我给关在孤独的塔楼里，再也不能参加热闹的酒宴，只能听到它的喧闹声，或者受尽摧残的新的牺牲者的啼哭和呻吟了。”
“乌尔莉加，”塞德里克说道，“我看你还在为你失去的罪恶的果实感到惋惜，为你获得那种优待所干的事感到留恋，那么你怎么敢来找一个身穿教士长袍的人呢？想想吧，不幸的女人，哪怕圣徒爱德华本人(注)来到这里，他又能为你做什么呢？上帝赋予了这位仟海的君王清除肉体溃疡的力量，但是只有上帝本人才能医治灵魂的堕落。”
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(注)即前面提到过的英王仟梅者爱德华，他死后于1161年被罗马教廷封为圣徒。
“然而不要抛弃我，上帝的惩罚的严厉预言者，”她喊道，“如果可能，请告诉我，我在孤独中迸发的那些新的可怕的情绪，最后会怎么结束。为什么很久以前做的事，会变得这么可怕，以不可抗拒的新的力量出现在我面前？这个给上帝命定，要在人间承担这种不堪述说的罪恶命运的人，在她进入坟墓以后，等待着她的是什么呢？我宁可投靠奥丁，赫尔撒和泽恩博克，投靠米斯塔和斯科格拉，投靠我们的祖先受洗以前信奉的各种神，也不愿忍受最近我不论睡着还是醒着，一直在困扰着我的那些可怕的预感！”
“我不是神父，”塞德里克说，感到厌恶，不想再听她描绘这幅罪恶、堕落和绝望的骇人图画了，“尽管我穿着教士的衣衫，但我不是神父。”
“不论你是教士还是俗人，”乌尔莉加说，“你是我二十年来看到的第一个敬畏上帝。关心人类的人，难道你认为我已经无可指望了吗？”
“我认为你应该忏悔，”塞德里克说。“在祈祷和苦行中寻求补赎吧，那么你也许还能得救！但是我不能，也不想再与你待在一起了。”
“再等一会儿吧广乌尔莉加说，“不要马上离开我，我父亲的朋友的儿子啊，否则主宰着我一生的魔鬼会诱使我对你铁面无情的鄙视实行报复。你想过没有，要是牛面将军发现，撒克逊人塞德里克乔装改扮，来到了他的城堡中，你的生命还能保全吗？他的眼睛已经像老鹰抓小鸡一样盯住你了。”
“随它去吧，”塞德里克说，“让他用他的鹰嘴和爪子把我撕成碎片，我决不讲一句违心的话。我死也要死得像一个撒克逊人——忠诚可靠，光明磊落。现在请你走开！不要碰我，不要拦住我！对我说来，牛面将军本人的形象也不如你那么丑恶，你的蜕化堕落叫我无法容忍。”
“那就算了，”乌尔莉加答道，不再拦阻他，“走你的路吧，你这么自命不凡，盛气凌人，你已经忘记站在你面前的这个憔悴的人，是你父亲的朋友的女儿了。走你的路吧；如果我的痛苦经历使我脱离了人们，脱离了我有理由指望得到帮助的人，那么，我也不想通过我的报复得到他们的原谅！没有人帮助我，但是我要做的事，会使每一个听到的人感到震惊！再见！我本以为我的悲伤会得到我的人民的同情，但是你的鄙视把我与我的民族联结在一起的最后一条纽带割断了。”
“乌尔莉加，”塞德里克说，听了这番话心有些软了，“你经历了这么多的罪恶，这么多的灾难，仍然能忍受下来，坚持到今天，难道在你睁开眼睛面对你的罪行时，在你正应该进行忏悔时，你却会向绝望低头吗？”
“塞德里克，”乌尔莉加答道，“你不懂得人的心理。要像我过去做的那么做，像我过去想的那么想，就必须对享乐怀有疯狂的爱好，但它是与复仇的强烈欲望，与骄傲的权力意识结合在一起的——这是一杯我不想喝、但又不得不喝的使心灵感到陶醉的酒。现在它的力量早已消失了。年老谈不到享乐，皱纹不会有魅力，复仇的意志也消耗殆尽，只剩下无力的诅咒。于是悔恨到来了，随之而来的是它的一切毒汁，对过去的无可奈何的抱憾，对未来的无可指望的迷茫。这样，当其他一切强烈冲动销声匿迹之后，我们像落进地狱的魔鬼一样，只会觉得遗憾，却绝不会忏悔。但是你的话唤醒了我身上新的灵魂。你讲得很对，不怕死的人是什么都可以做的！你向我指出了复仇的途径，你可以相信，我会这么做的。它在这颗憔悴的心灵中，本来和别的、与它敌对的情欲，混杂在一起；今后它将会全部占有我，有一天你也会说，不论乌尔莉加的一生怎样，她的死是完全配得上尊贵的托奎尔的女儿这一称号的。现在这个罪恶的城堡已给外面的力量包围，赶快带领那支队伍进攻吧；在你看到城堡东面一角的塔楼上升起一面红旗时，就可以猛力攻打诺曼人，这时他们的内部已困难重重，不要怕他们的弓箭和（石雷）石，你们会攻破城墙的。去吧，请你快走；你按照你的命运行事，也让我按照我的命运做吧。”
塞德里克本来还想追问她那些隐晦的话的含义，但这时传来了牛面将军严厉的声令他在问：“那个吊儿郎当的教士跑哪儿去了？我凭康博斯特洛的海扇壳起誓(注)，要是他到处游荡，在我的奴仆中煽风点火，我非送他上百天不可！”
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(注)康博斯特洛是西班牙一个滨海的城市。据说耶稣的弟于使徒雅各在巴勒斯坦传道时被希律工处死后，神把他的尸体放在一只石船上送回了西班牙（因为他一直在西班牙传教），放在康博斯特洛海边遍地皆是的海扇壳上，从此海扇壳被当作雅各的象征，朝圣者往往在帽檐上装饰海扇壳（参看本书第四章关于朝圣者的描写）。因此康博斯特洛的海扇壳是基督教的一种圣物，与圣徒的遗骸差不多。
“他倒猜对了，”乌尔莉加说，“真是做贼心虚！但是你不要理睬他，回到你的人民那里去，号召撒克逊人发动进攻吧。如果他们乐意唱罗洛的战歌(注)，让他们唱好了，复仇是不怕他们虚张声势的。”
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(注)罗洛是古代斯堪的纳维亚的著名海盗，据说诺曼底公国最早便是由他建立的。
她这么说完，便从一扇暗门中溜走了，牛面将军雷金纳德走进了屋子。塞德里克迫不得已，向傲慢的男爵敬了礼，男爵稍微点了点头，表示还礼。
“神父，那些家伙的忏悔拖得太久了，不过也好，这已是他们最后一次忏悔了。他们作好死的准备了吧？”
“一点不错，”塞德里克尽量用他所掌握的法语回答道，一从他们知道落进了谁的手中起，他们已作好了最坏的打算。”
“修士先生，”牛面将军说，“我觉得你讲话好像带了一些撒克逊口音，这是怎么回事？”
“我是在伯顿的圣维索尔特修道院长大的，”塞德里克答道。
“是吗？”男爵说，“可惜你不是诺曼人，否则就更适合给我办事了，不过现在别无选择，只得让你权且充当信使了。伯顿的圣维索尔特修道院是猫头鹰的窝，应该铲除。这日子不会太久，到那时，教士的长袍也像战士的盔甲一样不能保护撤克逊人了。”
“上帝的意旨是不可违抗的，”塞德里克说，气得声音有些发抖，但牛面将军认为这是他害怕的表现。
“我看到，”他说，“你已经在想像我们的军人怎样进入你的食堂，你的酒窖了。但是只要你凭你的圣职替我办事，我不会亏待你，不论别人的遭遇怎样，你在你的修道院里可以稳如磐石，就像蜗牛待在它的壳里一样。”
“请您下命令吧，”塞德里克说，忍住了心头的怒火。
“你跟着我从这条过道走，待会儿我让你从边门出去。”
牛面将军迈开大步，带着假想的修士朝前直走，一边交代他要他办的事。
“你看到了，修士先生，那群撒克逊猪猡居然敢包围托奎尔斯通城堡。随你对他们怎么讲，说这个小城堡不堪一击也好，或者别的也好，只要能拖住他们，在二十四个钟头以内不致动手就成。同时你把这封信带去。但是别出声——神父先生，你认得字吗？”
“除了祈祷书，我一个大字也不认得，”塞德里克答道。“不过我认得字母，我能背诵祈祷文，多谢圣母和圣维索尔特，我是靠背诵行使圣职的。”
“这样你更适合作我的信使。你把这信送往菲利普•马尔沃辛的城堡，说这是我叫你送去的，它是圣殿骑士布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔写的，请他们马上把它送往约克城，愈快愈好；火速骑马前去。同时告诉他们的主人，不要听信谣言，我们在城堡内安然无恙，什么事也没有。丢脸的是给一伙歹徒包围了，逼得我们只好躲在城堡内。但是可想而知，这些混蛋一望见我们的旗帜，一听到我们的马蹄声，就会四散达命！我告诉你，神父，你必须运用你的花言巧语，说服那些歹徒待在原地别动，等我们的朋友一到就收拾他们。我的报复随时注意着他们，它是一只鹰，不吃饱肚子是不会睡觉的。”
“凭我的保护神起誓，”塞德里克说，忽然变得精神抖擞，与他的身分不太相称了，“凭生在英国和死在英国的每一个圣徒起誓，您的命令一定会照办！我会用尽一切办法，把那些撒克逊人留在城堡前面，不让一个人离开。”
“哈！”牛面将军说，“你的口气有些变了，你讲得又干脆又果断，好像你巴不得消灭那伙撒克逊畜生呢，可你与他们不是属于同一民族的吗？”
塞德里克并不善于弄虚作假，编造谎话，这时他真恨不得汪八的灵活头脑能帮他一把，出个主意。但是老话说得好：急中生智；他在风帽中嘀咕了几句，意思是说他谈到的那些人都是开除教籍的不法之徒，早已失去教会和国家的保护了。
“凭上帝的名义起誓，”牛面将军答道，“你讲的话千真万确；我忘记了一件事：有一伙歹徒居然剥光了一个胖长老的衣服，这跟生长在盐海南边的人(注)有什么不同。不是吗？圣艾夫斯修道院的长老便曾给绑在一棵株树上，那些人一边搜刮他的行囊和钱包，一边强迫他唱赞美诗。啊，我记错了，我的圣母，这是我们自己的一个雇佣兵米德尔顿的戈蒂埃开的玩笑。但是在圣皮斯，抢劫教堂的杯盘、烛台和圣餐杯的，难道不就是他们撒克逊人吗？”
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(注)指巴勒斯坦人，盐海即今死海。
“他们是不敬上帝的人，”塞德里克答道。
“对，你们储藏的葡萄酒和麦酒都给他们喝光了，这本来是你们假装守夜和做早祷的时候，预备偷偷喝的，不是吗？神父，对这种读圣罪，你是必须报复的。”
“真的，必须报复，这毫无疑问，”塞德里克嘟哝道，“圣维索尔特了解我的心情。”
这时牛面将军带着他来到一扇小门，那里的壕沟上有一块木板通往一个小碉楼，这是外围防御工事，它的出击口外便是广阔的田野了。
“现在去吧。如果你执行了我的使命，等我们大功告成，你回到这儿的时候，就会看到，撒克逊人的肉比设菲尔德屠宰场的猪肉还不值钱呢。还有，听着，你看来是一个快活的忏悔神父，那么等我们杀退撒克逊人以后，你再来吧，我一定用最好的葡萄酒款待你，让你喝个痛快。”
“当然，我一定会来的，”塞德里克答道。
“暂时先给你这点酬劳，”诺曼人继续说，在小门附近分手时，把一枚金币塞进了塞德里克不愿伸出的手中。“不过记住，如果你欺骗我，办不成我的事，我不仅要剥掉你的衣服，还要剥掉你的皮。”
“要是我们下次见面的时候，我办不好我的事，那么我是活该，要剥皮也是罪有应得，”塞德里克一边回答，一边赶紧离开小门，欢天喜地地迈开大步，走进了田野。然后他回过头来，对着城堡，把手中的金币朝那位施主扔了过去，同时大声喊道：“你这个诺曼骗子，让你的钱跟你一起灭亡吧！”
牛面将军听不清他的话，但他的动作令他怀疑
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Chapter 28
This wandering race, sever'd from other men, Boast yet their intercourse with human arts; The seas, the woods, the deserts, which they haunt, Find them acquainted with their secret treasures: And unregarded herbs, and flowers, and blossoms, Display undreamt-of powers when gather'd by them. The Jew
Our history must needs retrograde for the space of a few pages, to inform the reader of certain passages material to his understanding the rest of this important narrative. His own intelligence may indeed have easily anticipated that, when Ivanhoe sunk down, and seemed abandoned by all the world, it was the importunity of Rebecca which prevailed on her father to have the gallant young warrior transported from the lists to the house which for the time the Jews inhabited in the suburbs of Ashby.
It would not have been difficult to have persuaded Isaac to this step in any other circumstances, for his disposition was kind and grateful. But he had also the prejudices and scrupulous timidity of his persecuted people, and those were to be conquered.
"Holy Abraham!" he exclaimed, "he is a good youth, and my heart bleeds to see the gore trickle down his rich embroidered hacqueton, and his corslet of goodly price---but to carry him to our house!---damsel, hast thou well considered?---he is a Christian, and by our law we may not deal with the stranger and Gentile, save for the advantage of our commerce."
"Speak not so, my dear father," replied Rebecca; "we may not indeed mix with them in banquet and in jollity; but in wounds and in misery, the Gentile becometh the Jew's brother."
"I would I knew what the Rabbi Jacob Ben Tudela would opine on it," replied Isaac;---"nevertheless, the good youth must not bleed to death. Let Seth and Reuben bear him to Ashby."
"Nay, let them place him in my litter," said Rebecca; "I will mount one of the palfreys."
"That were to expose thee to the gaze of those dogs of Ishmael and of Edom," whispered Isaac, with a suspicious glance towards the crowd of knights and squires. But Rebecca was already busied in carrying her charitable purpose into effect, and listed not what he said, until Isaac, seizing the sleeve of her mantle, again exclaimed, in a hurried voice---"Beard of Aaron!---what if the youth perish!---if he die in our custody, shall we not be held guilty of his blood, and be torn to pieces by the multitude?"
"He will not die, my father," said Rebecca, gently extricating herself from the grasp of Isaac "he will not die unless we abandon him; and if so, we are indeed answerable for his blood to God and to man."
"Nay," said Isaac, releasing his hold, "it grieveth me as much to see the drops of his blood, as if they were so many golden byzants from mine own purse; and I well know, that the lessons of Miriam, daughter of the Rabbi Manasses of Byzantium whose soul is in Paradise, have made thee skilful in the art of healing, and that thou knowest the craft of herbs, and the force of elixirs. Therefore, do as thy mind giveth thee---thou art a good damsel, a blessing, and a crown, and a song of rejoicing unto me and unto my house, and unto the people of my fathers."
The apprehensions of Isaac, however, were not ill founded; and the generous and grateful benevolence of his daughter exposed her, on her return to Ashby, to the unhallowed gaze of Brian de Bois-Guilbert. The Templar twice passed and repassed them on the road, fixing his bold and ardent look on the beautiful Jewess; and we have already seen the consequences of the admiration which her charms excited when accident threw her into the power of that unprincipled voluptuary.
Rebecca lost no time in causing the patient to be transported to their temporary dwelling, and proceeded with her own hands to examine and to bind up his wounds. The youngest reader of romances and romantic ballads, must recollect how often the females, during the dark ages, as they are called, were initiated into the mysteries of surgery, and how frequently the gallant knight submitted the wounds of his person to her cure, whose eyes had yet more deeply penetrated his heart.
But the Jews, both male and female, possessed and practised the medical science in all its branches, and the monarchs and powerful barons of the time frequently committed themselves to the charge of some experienced sage among this despised people, when wounded or in sickness. The aid of the Jewish physicians was not the less eagerly sought after, though a general belief prevailed among the Christians, that the Jewish Rabbins were deeply acquainted with the occult sciences, and particularly with the cabalistical art, which had its name and origin in the studies of the sages of Israel. Neither did the Rabbins disown such acquaintance with supernatural arts, which added nothing (for what could add aught?) to the hatred with which their nation was regarded, while it diminished the contempt with which that malevolence was mingled. A Jewish magician might be the subject of equal abhorrence with a Jewish usurer, but he could not be equally despised. It is besides probable, considering the wonderful cures they are said to have performed, that the Jews possessed some secrets of the healing art peculiar to themselves, and which, with the exclusive spirit arising out of their condition, they took great care to conceal from the Christians amongst whom they dwelt.
The beautiful Rebecca had been heedfully brought up in all the knowledge proper to her nation, which her apt and powerful mind had retained, arranged, and enlarged, in the course of a progress beyond her years, her sex, and even the age in which she lived. Her knowledge of medicine and of the healing art had been acquired under an aged Jewess, the daughter of one of their most celebrated doctors, who loved Rebecca as her own child, and was believed to have communicated to her secrets, which had been left to herself by her sage father at the same time, and under the same circumstances. The fate of Miriam had indeed been to fall a sacrifice to the fanaticism of the times; but her secrets had survived in her apt pupil.
Rebecca, thus endowed with knowledge as with beauty, was universally revered and admired by her own tribe, who almost regarded her as one of those gifted women mentioned in the sacred history. Her father himself, out of reverence for her talents, which involuntarily mingled itself with his unbounded affection, permitted the maiden a greater liberty than was usually indulged to those of her sex by the habits of her people, and was, as we have just seen, frequently guided by her opinion, even in preference to his own.
When Ivanhoe reached the habitation of Isaac, he was still in a state of unconsciousness, owing to the profuse loss of blood which had taken place during his exertions in the lists. Rebecca examined the wound, and having applied to it such vulnerary remedies as her art prescribed, informed her father that if fever could be averted, of which the great bleeding rendered her little apprehensive, and if the healing balsam of Miriam retained its virtue, there was nothing to fear for his guest's life, and that he might with safety travel to York with them on the ensuing day. Isaac looked a little blank at this annunciation. His charity would willingly have stopped short at Ashby, or at most would have left the wounded Christian to be tended in the house where he was residing at present, with an assurance to the Hebrew to whom it belonged, that all expenses should be duly discharged. To this, however, Rebecca opposed many reasons, of which we shall only mention two that had peculiar weight with Isaac. The one was, that she would on no account put the phial of precious balsam into the hands of another physician even of her own tribe, lest that valuable mystery should be discovered; the other, that this wounded knight, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, was an intimate favourite of Richard Coeur-de-Lion, and that, in case the monarch should return, Isaac, who had supplied his brother John with treasure to prosecute his rebellious purposes, would stand in no small need of a powerful protector who enjoyed Richard's favour.
"Thou art speaking but sooth, Rebecca," said Isaac, giving way to these weighty arguments---"it were an offending of Heaven to betray the secrets of the blessed Miriam; for the good which Heaven giveth, is not rashly to be squandered upon others, whether it be talents of gold and shekels of silver, or whether it be the secret mysteries of a wise physician---assuredly they should be preserved to those to whom Providence hath vouchsafed them. And him whom the Nazarenes of England call the Lion's Heart, assuredly it were better for me to fall into the hands of a strong lion of Idumea than into his, if he shall have got assurance of my dealing with his brother. Wherefore I will lend ear to thy counsel, and this youth shall journey with us unto York, and our house shall be as a home to him until his wounds shall be healed. And if he of the Lion Heart shall return to the land, as is now noised abroad, then shall this Wilfred of Ivanhoe be unto me as a wall of defence, when the king's displeasure shall burn high against thy father. And if he doth not return, this Wilfred may natheless repay us our charges when he shall gain treasure by the strength of his spear and of his sword, even as he did yesterday and this day also. For the youth is a good youth, and keepeth the day which he appointeth, and restoreth that which he borroweth, and succoureth the Israelite, even the child of my father's house, when he is encompassed by strong thieves and sons of Belial."
It was not until evening was nearly closed that Ivanhoe was restored to consciousness of his situation. He awoke from a broken slumber, under the confused impressions which are naturally attendant on the recovery from a state of insensibility. He was unable for some time to recall exactly to memory the circumstances which had preceded his fall in the lists, or to make out any connected chain of the events in which he had been engaged upon the yesterday. A sense of wounds and injury, joined to great weakness and exhaustion, was mingled with the recollection of blows dealt and received, of steeds rushing upon each other, overthrowing and overthrown---of shouts and clashing of arms, and all the heady tumult of a confused fight. An effort to draw aside the curtain of his couch was in some degree successful, although rendered difficult by the pain of his wound.
To his great surprise he found himself in a room magnificently furnished, but having cushions instead of chairs to rest upon, and in other respects partaking so much of Oriental costume, that he began to doubt whether he had not, during his sleep, been transported back again to the land of Palestine. The impression was increased, when, the tapestry being drawn aside, a female form, dressed in a rich habit, which partook more of the Eastern taste than that of Europe, glided through the door which it concealed, and was followed by a swarthy domestic.
As the wounded knight was about to address this fair apparition, she imposed silence by placing her slender finger upon her ruby lips, while the attendant, approaching him, proceeded to uncover Ivanhoe's side, and the lovely Jewess satisfied herself that the bandage was in its place, and the wound doing well. She performed her task with a graceful and dignified simplicity and modesty, which might, even in more civilized days, have served to redeem it from whatever might seem repugnant to female delicacy. The idea of so young and beautiful a person engaged in attendance on a sick-bed, or in dressing the wound of one of a different sex, was melted away and lost in that of a beneficent being contributing her effectual aid to relieve pain, and to avert the stroke of death. Rebecca's few and brief directions were given in the Hebrew language to the old domestic; and he, who had been frequently her assistant in similar cases, obeyed them without reply.
The accents of an unknown tongue, however harsh they might have sounded when uttered by another, had, coming from the beautiful Rebecca, the romantic and pleasing effect which fancy ascribes to the charms pronounced by some beneficent fairy, unintelligible, indeed, to the ear, but, from the sweetness of utterance, and benignity of aspect, which accompanied them, touching and affecting to the heart. Without making an attempt at further question, Ivanhoe suffered them in silence to take the measures they thought most proper for his recovery; and it was not until those were completed, and this kind physician about to retire, that his curiosity could no longer be suppressed.---"Gentle maiden," he began in the Arabian tongue, with which his Eastern travels had rendered him familiar, and which he thought most likely to be understood by the turban'd and caftan'd damsel who stood before him---"I pray you, gentle maiden, of your courtesy------"
But here he was interrupted by his fair physician, a smile which she could scarce suppress dimpling for an instant a face, whose general expression was that of contemplative melancholy. "I am of England, Sir Knight, and speak the English tongue, although my dress and my lineage belong to another climate."
"Noble damsel,"---again the Knight of Ivanhoe began; and again Rebecca hastened to interrupt him.
"Bestow not on me, Sir Knight," she said, "the epithet of noble. It is well you should speedily know that your handmaiden is a poor Jewess, the daughter of that Isaac of York, to whom you were so lately a good and kind lord. It well becomes him, and those of his household, to render to you such careful tendance as your present state necessarily demands."
I know not whether the fair Rowena would have been altogether satisfied with the species of emotion with which her devoted knight had hitherto gazed on the beautiful features, and fair form, and lustrous eyes, of the lovely Rebecca; eyes whose brilliancy was shaded, and, as it were, mellowed, by the fringe of her long silken eyelashes, and which a minstrel would have compared to the evening star darting its rays through a bower of jessamine. But Ivanhoe was too good a Catholic to retain the same class of feelings towards a Jewess. This Rebecca had foreseen, and for this very purpose she had hastened to mention her father's name and lineage; yet---for the fair and wise daughter of Isaac was not without a touch of female weakness ---she could not but sigh internally when the glance of respectful admiration, not altogether unmixed with tenderness, with which Ivanhoe had hitherto regarded his unknown benefactress, was exchanged at once for a manner cold, composed, and collected, and fraught with no deeper feeling than that which expressed a grateful sense of courtesy received from an unexpected quarter, and from one of an inferior race. It was not that Ivanhoe's former carriage expressed more than that general devotional homage which youth always pays to beauty; yet it was mortifying that one word should operate as a spell to remove poor Rebecca, who could not be supposed altogether ignorant of her title to such homage, into a degraded class, to whom it could not be honourably rendered.
But the gentleness and candour of Rebecca's nature imputed no fault to Ivanhoe for sharing in the universal prejudices of his age and religion. On the contrary the fair Jewess, though sensible her patient now regarded her as one of a race of reprobation, with whom it was disgraceful to hold any beyond the most necessary intercourse, ceased not to pay the same patient and devoted attention to his safety and convalescence. She informed him of the necessity they were under of removing to York, and of her father's resolution to transport him thither, and tend him in his own house until his health should be restored. Ivanhoe expressed great repugnance to this plan, which he grounded on unwillingness to give farther trouble to his benefactors.
"Was there not," he said, "in Ashby, or near it, some Saxon franklin, or even some wealthy peasant, who would endure the burden of a wounded countryman's residence with him until he should be again able to bear his armour?---Was there no convent of Saxon endowment, where he could be received?---Or could he not be transported as far as Burton, where he was sure to find hospitality with Waltheoff, the Abbot of St Withold's, to whom he was related?"
"Any, the worst of these harbourages," said Rebecca, with a melancholy smile, "would unquestionably be more fitting for your residence than the abode of a despised Jew; yet, Sir Knight, unless you would dismiss your physician, you cannot change your lodging. Our nation, as you well know, can cure wounds, though we deal not in inflicting them; and in our own family, in particular, are secrets which have been handed down since the days of Solomon, and of which you have already experienced the advantages. No Nazarene---I crave your forgiveness, Sir Knight ---no Christian leech, within the four seas of Britain, could enable you to bear your corslet within a month."
"And how soon wilt THOU enable me to brook it?" said Ivanhoe, impatiently.
"Within eight days, if thou wilt be patient and conformable to my directions," replied Rebecca.
"By Our Blessed Lady," said Wilfred, "if it be not a sin to name her here, it is no time for me or any true knight to be bedridden; and if thou accomplish thy promise, maiden, I will pay thee with my casque full of crowns, come by them as I may."
"I will accomplish my promise," said Rebecca, "and thou shalt bear thine armour on the eighth day from hence, if thou will grant me but one boon in the stead of the silver thou dost promise me."
"If it be within my power, and such as a true Christian knight may yield to one of thy people," replied Ivanhoe, "I will grant thy boon blithely and thankfully."
"Nay," answered Rebecca, "I will but pray of thee to believe henceforward that a Jew may do good service to a Christian, without desiring other guerdon than the blessing of the Great Father who made both Jew and Gentile."
"It were sin to doubt it, maiden," replied Ivanhoe; "and I repose myself on thy skill without further scruple or question, well trusting you will enable me to bear my corslet on the eighth day. And now, my kind leech, let me enquire of the news abroad. What of the noble Saxon Cedric and his household?---what of the lovely Lady---" He stopt, as if unwilling to speak Rowena's name in the house of a Jew---"Of her, I mean, who was named Queen of the tournament?"
"And who was selected by you, Sir Knight, to hold that dignity, with judgment which was admired as much as your valour," replied Rebecca.
The blood which Ivanhoe had lost did not prevent a flush from crossing his cheek, feeling that he had incautiously betrayed a deep interest in Rowena by the awkward attempt he had made to conceal it.
"It was less of her I would speak," said he, "than of Prince John; and I would fain know somewhat of a faithful squire, and why he now attends me not?"
"Let me use my authority as a leech," answered Rebecca, "and enjoin you to keep silence, and avoid agitating reflections, whilst I apprize you of what you desire to know. Prince John hath broken off the tournament, and set forward in all haste towards York, with the nobles, knights, and churchmen of his party, after collecting such sums as they could wring, by fair means or foul, from those who are esteemed the wealthy of the land. It is said he designs to assume his brother's crown."
"Not without a blow struck in its defence," said Ivanhoe, raising himself upon the couch, "if there were but one true subject in England I will fight for Richard's title with the best of them ---ay, one or two, in his just quarrel!"
"But that you may be able to do so," said Rebecca touching his shoulder with her hand, "you must now observe my directions, and remain quiet."
"True, maiden," said Ivanhoe, "as quiet as these disquieted times will permit---And of Cedric and his household?"
"His steward came but brief while since," said the Jewess, "panting with haste, to ask my father for certain monies, the price of wool the growth of Cedric's flocks, and from him I learned that Cedric and Athelstane of Coningsburgh had left Prince John's lodging in high displeasure, and were about to set forth on their return homeward."
"Went any lady with them to the banquet?" said Wilfred.
"The Lady Rowena," said Rebecca, answering the question with more precision than it had been asked---"The Lady Rowena went not to the Prince's feast, and, as the steward reported to us, she is now on her journey back to Rotherwood, with her guardian Cedric. And touching your faithful squire Gurth------"
"Ha!" exclaimed the knight, "knowest thou his name?---But thou dost," he immediately added, "and well thou mayst, for it was from thy hand, and, as I am now convinced, from thine own generosity of spirit, that he received but yesterday a hundred zecchins."
"Speak not of that," said Rebecca, blushing deeply; "I see how easy it is for the tongue to betray what the heart would gladly conceal."
"But this sum of gold," said Ivanhoe, gravely, "my honour is concerned in repaying it to your father."
"Let it be as thou wilt," said Rebecca, "when eight days have passed away; but think not, and speak not now, of aught that may retard thy recovery."
"Be it so, kind maiden," said Ivanhoe; "I were most ungrateful to dispute thy commands. But one word of the fate of poor Gurth, and I have done with questioning thee."
"I grieve to tell thee, Sir Knight," answered the Jewess, "that he is in custody by the order of Cedric."---And then observing the distress which her communication gave to Wilfred, she instantly added, "But the steward Oswald said, that if nothing occurred to renew his master's displeasure against him, he was sure that Cedric would pardon Gurth, a faithful serf, and one who stood high in favour, and who had but committed this error out of the love which he bore to Cedric's son. And he said, moreover, that he and his comrades, and especially Wamba the Jester, were resolved to warn Gurth to make his escape by the way, in case Cedric's ire against him could not be mitigated."
"Would to God they may keep their purpose!" said Ivanhoe; "but it seems as if I were destined to bring ruin on whomsoever hath shown kindness to me. My king, by whom I was honoured and distinguished, thou seest that the brother most indebted to him is raising his arms to grasp his crown;---my regard hath brought restraint and trouble on the fairest of her sex;---and now my father in his mood may slay this poor bondsman but for his love and loyal service to me!---Thou seest, maiden, what an ill-fated wretch thou dost labour to assist; be wise, and let me go, ere the misfortunes which track my footsteps like slot-hounds, shall involve thee also in their pursuit."
"Nay," said Rebecca, "thy weakness and thy grief, Sir Knight, make thee miscalculate the purposes of Heaven. Thou hast been restored to thy country when it most needed the assistance of a strong hand and a true heart, and thou hast humbled the pride of thine enemies and those of thy king, when their horn was most highly exalted, and for the evil which thou hast sustained, seest thou not that Heaven has raised thee a helper and a physician, even among the most despised of the land?---Therefore, be of good courage, and trust that thou art preserved for some marvel which thine arm shall work before this people. Adieu---and having taken the medicine which I shall send thee by the hand of Reuben, compose thyself again to rest, that thou mayest be the more able to endure the journey on the succeeding day."
Ivanhoe was convinced by the reasoning, and obeyed the directions, of Rebecca. The drought which Reuben administered was of a sedative and narcotic quality, and secured the patient sound and undisturbed slumbers. In the morning his kind physician found him entirely free from feverish symptoms, and fit to undergo the fatigue of a journey.
He was deposited in the horse-litter which had brought him from the lists, and every precaution taken for his travelling with ease. In one circumstance only even the entreaties of Rebecca were unable to secure sufficient attention to the accommodation of the wounded knight. Isaac, like the enriched traveller of Juvenal's tenth satire, had ever the fear of robbery before his eyes, conscious that he would be alike accounted fair game by the marauding Norman noble, and by the Saxon outlaw. He therefore journeyed at a great rate, and made short halts, and shorter repasts, so that he passed by Cedric and Athelstane who had several hours the start of him, but who had been delayed by their protracted feasting at the convent of Saint Withold's. Yet such was the virtue of Miriam's balsam, or such the strength of Ivanhoe's constitution, that he did not sustain from the hurried journey that inconvenience which his kind physician had apprehended.
In another point of view, however, the Jew's haste proved somewhat more than good speed. The rapidity with which he insisted on travelling, bred several disputes between him and the party whom he had hired to attend him as a guard. These men were Saxons, and not free by any means from the national love of ease and good living which the Normans stigmatized as laziness and gluttony. Reversing Shylock's position, they had accepted the employment in hopes of feeding upon the wealthy Jew, and were very much displeased when they found themselves disappointed, by the rapidity with which he insisted on their proceeding. They remonstrated also upon the risk of damage to their horses by these forced marches. Finally, there arose betwixt Isaac and his satellites a deadly feud, concerning the quantity of wine and ale to be allowed for consumption at each meal. And thus it happened, that when the alarm of danger approached, and that which Isaac feared was likely to come upon him, he was deserted by the discontented mercenaries on whose protection he had relied, without using the means necessary to secure their attachment.
In this deplorable condition the Jew, with his daughter and her wounded patient, were found by Cedric, as has already been noticed, and soon afterwards fell into the power of De Bracy and his confederates. Little notice was at first taken of the horse-litter, and it might have remained behind but for the curiosity of De Bracy, who looked into it under the impression that it might contain the object of his enterprise, for Rowena had not unveiled herself. But De Bracy's astonishment was considerable, when he discovered that the litter contained a wounded man, who, conceiving himself to have fallen into the power of Saxon outlaws, with whom his name might be a protection for himself and his friends, frankly avowed himself to be Wilfred of Ivanhoe.
The ideas of chivalrous honour, which, amidst his wildness and levity, never utterly abandoned De Bracy, prohibited him from doing the knight any injury in his defenceless condition, and equally interdicted his betraying him to Front-de-Boeuf, who would have had no scruples to put to death, under any circumstances, the rival claimant of the fief of Ivanhoe. On the other hand, to liberate a suitor preferred by the Lady Rowena, as the events of the tournament, and indeed Wilfred's previous banishment from his father's house, had made matter of notoriety, was a pitch far above the flight of De Bracy's generosity. A middle course betwixt good and evil was all which he found himself capable of adopting, and he commanded two of his own squires to keep close by the litter, and to suffer no one to approach it. If questioned, they were directed by their master to say, that the empty litter of the Lady Rowena was employed to transport one of their comrades who had been wounded in the scuffle. On arriving at Torquilstone, while the Knight Templar and the lord of that castle were each intent upon their own schemes, the one on the Jew's treasure, and the other on his daughter, De Bracy's squires conveyed Ivanhoe, still under the name of a wounded comrade, to a distant apartment. This explanation was accordingly returned by these men to Front-de-Boeuf, when he questioned them why they did not make for the battlements upon the alarm.
"A wounded companion!" he replied in great wrath and astonishment. "No wonder that churls and yeomen wax so presumptuous as even to lay leaguer before castles, and that clowns and swineherds send defiances to nobles, since men-at-arms have turned sick men's nurses, and Free Companions are grown keepers of dying folk's curtains, when the castle is about to be assailed.---To the battlements, ye loitering villains!" he exclaimed, raising his stentorian voice till the arches around rung again, "to the battlements, or I will splinter your bones with this truncheon!"
The men sulkily replied, "that they desired nothing better than to go to the battlements, providing Front-de-Boeuf would bear them out with their master, who had commanded them to tend the dying man."
"The dying man, knaves!" rejoined the Baron; "I promise thee we shall all be dying men an we stand not to it the more stoutly. But I will relieve the guard upon this caitiff companion of yours.---Here, Urfried---hag---fiend of a Saxon witch---hearest me not?---tend me this bedridden fellow since he must needs be tended, whilst these knaves use their weapons.---Here be two arblasts, comrades, with windlaces and quarrells*
* The arblast was a cross-bow, the windlace the machine * used in bending that weapon, and the quarrell, so called * from its square or diamond-shaped head, was the bolt * adapted to it.
---to the barbican with you, and see you drive each bolt through a Saxon brain."
The men, who, like most of their description, were fond of enterprise and detested inaction, went joyfully to the scene of danger as they were commanded, and thus the charge of Ivanhoe was transferred to Urfried, or Ulrica. But she, whose brain was burning with remembrance of injuries and with hopes of vengeance, was readily induced to devolve upon Rebecca the care of her patient.

这个流浪的民族与众人隔绝，
但自诩他们擅长人间的各种技艺；
他们出没在江海、树林和沙漠之间，
熟知了包含在它们中间的奥秘；
他们采集无人注目的花卉草木，
使它们发挥了梦想不到的奇异力量。
《犹太人》
我们的叙述必须回到几页以前，向读者交代一下某些过程，否则他们就无法理解这些重要情节的来龙去脉了。读者凭自己的智慧，想必已经猜到，在艾文荷伤重倒下，似乎全世界都抛弃了他的时候，那是由于丽贝卡的再三要求，才打动了她的父亲，把英勇的年轻武士从比武场上抬到了家中；当时以撒父女俩寓居在阿什贝镇的郊区。
要说服以撒采取这一步行动，在任何情况下都是并不困难的，因为他天性仁慈，注重情义。但是他也接受了他那个被迫害民族的偏见，胆小怕事，顾虑重重，这些便是需要克服的。
“神圣的亚伯拉罕啊！”他喊道，“他是一个好青年，看到鲜血流下他贵重的绣花袄子和价钱昂贵的盔甲，我的心也酸了。但是把他带到我们家里！闺女，你有没有郑重考虑过？他是个基督徒，按照我们的律法，我们是不能与异乡人和外邦人来往的，除非为了商业利益。”
“不要这么讲，亲爱的爸爸，”丽贝卡答道，“我们确实不能与他们一起喝酒，一起娱乐，但是受了伤，正处在危难中的外邦人，应该也是犹太人的弟兄。”
“但愿我知道，雅各•本•图德拉拉比(注)对这个问题是怎么想的，”以撤答道。“不过决不能让一个好青年流血死去。让塞特和鲁本把他抬到阿什贝去吧。”
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(注)拉比是犹太教中主持宗教仪式和执行教规及律法的人，意为“老师”。
“不，让他们把他安置在我的驮轿里，”丽贝卡说，“我可以骑马。”
“那会把你暴露在以实玛利和以东(注)的那些狗面前，”以撒小声说，向一群骑士和扈从投出了怀疑的一瞥。但是丽贝卡已在把她的仁慈计划付诸实施了，没有听到他的话；最后以撒拉住她的衣袖，又慌张地喊道：“老祖宗亚伦啊！万一这年轻人死了，怎么办！如果他在我们的保护下死去，会不会要我们承担责任？‘说不定我还会给他们碎尸万段呢！”
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(注)以实玛利已见前，据说他是阿拉伯人的祖先。以东本来也是亚伯拉罕的后裔，后来他们建立了以东国，但在摩西率领以色列人逃离埃及时，以东人不准他们通过，因而成为仇敌，最后犹太王大卫灭亡了以东国。在这里，以实玛利人和以东人均指欺压犹太民族的人。
“他不会死，我的父亲，”丽贝卡说，轻轻从以撒手中掣回衣袖。“他不会死，除非我们丢下他不管；如果那样，我们确实应该为他的死向上帝和世人负责了。”
“好吧，”以撒说，放开了手，“我看到他的血一滴滴流掉，心里难过极了，就像那么多金币从我的钱袋中流走一样。我很清楚，拜占庭的拉比马纳塞斯的女儿米莉亚姆——愿她的灵魂在天上安息——教育了你，让你懂得了医术，还知道了草药的功能和配剂的作用。因此，你想怎么做就怎么做吧，你是一个好闺女，是上帝对我的恩赐，是我和我的家，以至我祖先的民族的荣誉，是我的一首欢乐的歌。”
然而以撒的顾虑不是毫无根据的，在返回阿什贝的途中，他女儿慷慨无私的仁慈行为，果然把她的美貌呈露到了众人面前，这自然没有逃过布里恩印布瓦吉贝尔那不怀好意的目光。他在他们旁边来来回回走了两次，把邪恶放肆的眼睛盯住了漂亮的犹太姑娘，这种爱慕引起的后果，我们已经看到了，那便是她无意之间落进了那个荒淫无耻的酒色之徒的魔掌。
丽贝卡毫不拖延，把病人带到了他们的临时寓所，亲自替他检查和包扎伤口。传奇小说和爱情歌谣的年轻读者自然知道，在那个所谓的黑暗时代中，外科手术往往是在妇女中间传授的，英勇的骑士负了伤，时常便有一位深深打动他心灵的女子替他诊治。
但是犹太人不论男女，对医学的各个部门都掌握着一定的知识和实践技能，当时的国王和王公贵族生了病或者受了伤，往往得在他们所鄙视的这个民族中，物色一位经验丰富的高手替他们医治。尽管在基督徒中间，大家普遍认为，犹太拉比所熟悉的是东方的各种秘传妖术，尤其是犹太教的玄妙魔法，它们的名称和渊源无非来自以色列圣哲们的著作，但是一旦患病，他们依然要求助于犹太医生，其急切程度并不因而稍减。同时拉比们也并不否认他们了解超自然的事物，反正他们的民族受到的歧视已无以复加，这并不能给他们带来什么坏处，相反倒能减轻那种恶毒攻击中的鄙薄成分。一个犹太术士在人们的心目中，可能与一个犹太高利贷者同样可恨，但他不会遭到同样的蔑视。此外，据说这些犹太人治愈过各种疑难杂症，因此很可能他们确实掌握了某些医疗技术的奥妙，这成了他们的独得之秘，他们的处境养成的排外精神，又使他们虽然生活在基督徒中，却严加防范，不让它们泄露给基督徒。
美丽的丽贝卡从小获得了良好的教养，接受了她的民族所固有的各种知识，加上她聪明好学，理解能力强，经过几年的学习，把这些知识融会贯通之后，她已显得出类拔革，超过了她的年龄、性别、甚至她生活的那个时代所达到的一般水平。她的医药知识和医疗技术，是一个年长的犹太妇女传授的，这是当时一位名医的女儿，她喜欢丽贝卡，把她看作自己的孩子；据说她也是在这样的年龄，这样的情况下继承渊博的父亲的衣钵的，现在她便把这些秘密传给了丽贝卡。确实，米莉亚姆的一生是不幸的，她成了那个宗教狂热时代的牺牲者，然而她的学问却由她聪明伶俐的学生继承下来了。
这样，丽贝卡的知识也像她的美貌一样，在她的部族中赢得了普遍的尊敬和赞美，大家几乎把她看作圣贤传记中提到的那些天资聪颖的女性之一。她的父亲崇拜她的才能，又不由自主地把她看作掌上明珠，对她十分宠爱，因此给了她充分的自由，超过了他的民族习惯通常所允许的限度，正如我们已看到的，他常常按照她的主意行事，甚至不惜违背他原来的看法。
艾文荷到达以撒的寓所时，仍处在昏迷状态，这是由于在比武场上努力拼搏，流血过多造成的。丽贝卡检查了伤口，按照她学到的医疗方法，给它敷上了创伤药；她告诉父亲，她担心的只是大出血可能引起的高烧，如果热度消退，米莉亚姆的药膏发挥预期的疗效，这位客人的生命便没有危险，下一天他还可保无虞，与他们一起旅行，前往约克。以撒一听傻了眼。他的慈悲心肠本来只限于把他带到阿什贝，至多也只是把这个重伤的基督徒留在目前的寓所里，托人照料一下，同时向那个希伯来房东保证，所有费用他会随时奉上。然而丽贝卡不同意这么办，她的理由很多，我们只想提一下以撒认为特别重要的两点。首先，她无论如何不能把珍贵的药品交给另一个医生，哪怕这是她本民族的人，她担心这贵重的秘方会泄漏；其次，这位负伤的骑士艾文荷的威尔弗莱德，是狮心王理查十分器重的一个亲信，万一这位国王回到国内，得知以撒曾资助他的兄弟阴谋叛乱，便难免要治他的罪，到那时唯有这个得到理查宠爱的骑士可以保护他，让他度过难关。
“你讲的确是实情，丽贝卡，”以撒说，开始向这些有力的论点屈服了，“把故世的米莉亚姆的秘方泄漏给别人，那是违背天意的；上帝的恩赐不能任意挥霍，送给不相干的人，不论那是黄金白银，还是一个明哲医生的秘方；毫无疑问，上天把它们托付给什么人，这些人便应该把它们保管好。至于英国的拿撒勒人称作狮心工的那个人——很清楚，我宁可遇见以东的大狮子，也不愿落在他的手中，说不定他已知道我跟他兄弟的那些交易呢。所以我愿意听从你的主张，让这个年轻人跟我们一起前往约克，住在我们家里，一直住到他的伤治好为止。现在外面都在纷纷传说，那个狮心王已经回国，要是真的这样，万一国王的不满落到你父亲的头上，那么唯有艾文荷的威尔弗莱德是我可靠的保护人。如果国王不回来，这个威尔弗莱德凭他的一身武艺，也能像昨天和今天那样，挣得不少钱财，然后把欠我们的钱归还我们。因为这人是个好青年，很守信用，借了钱从不赖账，还肯搭救以色列人，哪怕你的父亲落进了彼列的门徒和强人们手中，他也会伸出援助之手的。”
几乎到了天快黑的时候，艾文荷才恢复知觉。他从时断时续的睡眠中醒来时，头脑还昏昏沉沉的，这是摆脱昏迷状态后必然有的情形。一时间他怎么也想不起，他在比武场上倒下以前发生了什么；对昨天经历的事，他总觉得隐隐约约，模模糊糊，理不出一个头绪。他只知道他受了伤，身上疼痛，又十分虚弱，毫无力气；进攻和反击，战马的迎面奔突、冲击和倒下．呐喊和武器的撞击，在他的记忆中构成了一幅天翻地覆似的混乱景象。他努力拉开帐子，这在一定程度上做到了，但伤口的疼痛使他几乎忍受不住。
令他惊异不止的，是他发现他睡在一间陈设豪华的屋子里，一眼望去没有椅子，只有一个个座垫，从各方面看，它的布置带有浓郁的东方色彩，以致他开始怀疑，是否在他睡着的时候，他又给送回到了巴勒斯坦的土地上。后来这种印象更深了，他看到遮在门上的帷幔拉开了，一个少女的身影飘进了屋子，她的服饰华丽，带有东方风味，不像欧洲人穿的，少女的后面跟着一个皮肤黝黑的仆人。
受伤的骑士正想向这个美丽的幽灵提出疑问时，她把一根细细的手指按在鲜红的嘴唇上，示意他别说话，这时那个仆人走到床边，揭开了艾文荷胁边的被子，秀丽的犹太姑娘端详了一会，觉得很满意；伤口还包扎得好好的，情况不坏。她开始工作，尽管在较为文明的时代，这种事也被看作是不适合女性做的，然而她的动作那么优美而庄重，神态又那么单纯而朴实，她没有想到这是一个年轻漂亮的少女在侍候一个病人，或者在为一个异性包扎伤口，她的一切思想都集中在这个仁慈的行动上，要用她的悉心护理减轻病人的痛苦，战胜死亡的威胁。丽贝卡用希伯来语向老仆人作了简单扼要的指示，后者在类似的情况下一向充当她的助手，因此不用多问便照办了。
一种陌生的语言，不论出自别人的口中听来会如何刺耳，可是出自漂亮的丽贝卡之口，却会产生一种美妙而快乐的效果，这是幻想赋予了它魅力，使它变得仿佛是一位仁慈的仙女发出的声音，确实，耳朵听不懂它的意义，只是伴随它的那种甜蜜的音调和温柔的表情，引起了心灵的愉快反应和共鸣。艾文荷不想再问什么，只是在沉默中，听任他们采取他们认为对他的复原最有利的措施；直到一切结束之后，那位亲切的医生打算告辞时，他的好奇心才终于克制不住。他在东方之行中学会了一些阿拉伯语，现在站在他面前的这位小姐既然戴着头巾，穿着系腰带的长袍，他可以用这种语言与她说话，因此他开口道：“请问，温柔的小姐，您这么照料我……”
但是美丽的医生立刻打断了他的话，她那平时显得忧郁和凝重的面容上，一时间浮起了一抹克制不住的微笑：“我是生在英国的，骑士先生，能讲英语，虽然我的衣着和血统属于另一地区。”
“尊贵的小姐，”艾文荷骑士又开始道，但丽贝卡又匆忙打断了他的话。
“不要用‘尊贵’这个词称呼我，”她说。“我还是应该马上让你明白，侍候你的小女子是可怜的犹太人，约克的以撒的女儿；最近他得到过你真诚亲切的关照，因此在你处在目前这种状况，需要帮助的时候，他和他的家人理应尽力照料你。”
我不知道，美丽的罗文娜对她的忠诚骑士刚才的表现，是否会完全满意，因为他脉脉含情，注视着可爱的丽贝卡那姣好的容貌，那窈窕的身材，那熠熠生辉的眼睛，而这对发亮的眼睛在纤细的长睫毛的掩映下，显得若明若暗，光线柔和，一个行吟诗人见了，会把它比作夜空中透过茉莉花丛向外窥探的星光。但艾文荷是一个正宗的天主教徒，不可能对犹太姑娘保持同样的观感；丽贝卡也早已预见到这点，正因为这样，她才急于提到她父亲的名字和她的血统。然而，以撒的这位漂亮聪明的女儿，也不能没有一点女性的弱点，当她发现，那尊敬爱慕的目光一下子发生了变化时，不免在心中暗暗叹息，因为这目光尽管仍在一定程度上保持着刚才对陌生的女恩人所流露的温情，神色已显得冷淡、平静和矜持了，它不再包含深刻的感情，不过是表示对来自一个意想不到的外人，一个弱小民族的一分子的悉心照料，不胜感激而已。这不是说，艾文荷以前的态度，除了一般的真诚敬意；那种年轻人必然会给予一位美女的敬意而外，还有什么别的意思；然而一句话竟会像符咒一样，顿时把可怜的丽贝卡，那个根本并不认为自己不配得到尊敬的丽贝卡，贬抑到了低人一等的地位，这终究是令人寒心的。
但是丽贝卡天生温柔而坦率，对艾文荷也怀有时代和宗教造成的偏见，她不想责怪。相反，这位美貌的犹太女子尽管已意识到，她的病人现在只是把她看作堕落的民族中的一个人，与她的交往超出必要的限度是不光彩的，她仍耐心地、全心全意地关心他，希望他痊愈和康复。她通知他，他们必须前往约克，她的父亲决定挈他同行，让他在恢复健康以前，一直住在他的家中。艾文荷对这个计划却大不以为然，理由是他不想再麻烦他的恩人们了。
“我可以留在阿什贝，或者它的附近，”他说，“不妨找一个撒克逊庄主，或者一个富裕的农民也可以，只要他愿意接待一个受伤的同胞，让我在伤势痊愈，可以重新穿上盔甲以前，暂时在他家中住下便行了。甚至也可以找一家撒克逊人捐助的修道院，只要它肯接待我。或者是否可以把我送往伯顿，那里的圣维索尔特修道院院长沃尔西奥夫是一定能收留我的，我与他有些亲戚关系。”
“毫无疑问，”丽贝卡说，露出了一丝伤心的微笑，“作为你的避难所，所有这些地方都比一个遭人唾弃的犹太人的家，更适合你居住；然而，骑士先生，除非你要赶走你的医生，你就无法改变你的住所。你很清楚，我们的民族能够治疗刀伤，虽然我们从不使熗弄棒；尤其在我们的家庭里，还保存着那些秘方，这是从所罗门时代一直传到今天的，它们的效力，你已经体会到了。在英伦三岛这片土地上，没有一个拿撒勒人——请你原谅，骑士先生——没有一个基督徒医生，可以在一个月以内让你重新穿上盔甲。”
“那么你能用多少日子给我治好？”艾文荷焦急地问。
“不超过八天，只要你耐心一些，完全按照我的话做，”丽贝卡回答。
“我以圣母的名义起誓——如果在这里提到她不算罪孽——这不是我或任何真正的骑士躺在床上养伤的时候；只要你的保证能够兑现，小姐，我会尽一切力量，找到满满一头盔的金币报答你。”
“我的保证是一定会兑现的，”丽贝卡说，“从现在起八天以内，你便能披上你的盔甲，但是我不要你的金银，我只要求你答应我一件事。”
“只要我能办到，又是一个真正的基督徒可以答应犹太人的事，”文文荷答道，“我一定答应你，满足你的要求。”
“我不要你什么，”丽贝卡答道，“我只要求你今后相信，犹太人对基督徒也可以大有用处，他们不需要任何报酬，只希望大家明白，犹太人和外邦人同样是上帝创造的，他们同样应该得到上天的保佑。”
“不相信这点是有罪的，小姐，”艾文荷答道，“那么我就依靠你的技术，不再犹豫和怀疑了；我相信，在你的治疗下，到了第八天，我便能穿上盔甲了。现在，仁慈的医生，让我询问一下外面的消息，高贵的撒克逊人塞德里克和他的家人怎么样了？还有那位可爱的小姐……”他住口了，似乎不愿在犹太人的家中讲出罗文娜的名字，“我是指在比武大会上当选为女王的那位小姐，她怎么样了？”
“也就是你选出的那位小姐吧，骑士先生？”丽贝卡答道，“你的眼力确实也像你的勇敢一样，得到了大家的赞赏。”
尽管艾文荷流了不少血，这时一抹红晕还是涌上了他的面颊，他发觉，虽然他尽力掩饰他对罗文娜的深刻感情，由于一时性急，还是在不经意间泄漏了秘密。
“我要打听的主要不是她，是约翰亲王，”他说。“还有，我想知道，我那个忠实扈从怎么样了，为什么他不来侍候我？”
“现在我得运用医生的权力，责令你保持沉默了，”丽贝卡答道。“你不能再胡思乱想，你要知道的一些事，我现在可以告诉你。约翰亲王中止了比武大会，带着他手下那班贵族、骑士和教士，匆匆忙忙赶往约克了；离开以前，他还运用一切合法的和不合法的手段，从当地一些有钱的人那里，搜刮了尽量多的钱财。据说他在图谋起事，夺取他哥哥的王位。”
“这必然会引起一场战斗，”艾文荷说，从病床上撑起了身子，“只要英国还有一个真正的臣民，他便应该挺身而出。为了保卫理查的权利，我要与那些人战斗到底——是的，为了他的正义事业，一个对付他们两个！”
“但是为了你能那么做，”丽贝卡说，把手按住了他的肩膀，“你现在必须遵从我的指导，保持平静。”
“对，姑娘，”艾文荷说，“在这个不平静的时代中尽量保持平静。那么塞德里克和他的一家人呢？”
“他的管家后来匆匆忙忙来过一会，”犹太姑娘说，“他跑得气喘吁吁，向我父亲索取一笔钱，那是塞德里克一批羊毛的货款；我从他那里听得，塞德里克和科宁斯堡的阿特尔斯坦，离开约翰亲王的住处时非常生气，当时正预备赶回家去。”
“有没有哪位小姐与他们一起参加宴会？”威尔弗莱德问。
“你是问罗文娜小姐吧，”丽贝卡回答时提得比较明确了，“罗文娜小姐没有去参加亲王的宴会，据管家告诉我们，她现在正与她的监护人塞德里克一起回罗瑟伍德。至于你那个忠实的扈从葛四……”
“哈！”骑士喊道，“你知道他的名字？对，你知道，”他马上又道，“你当然知道，因为他是从你的手中——对，现在我相信，那只是出于你自己的慷慨，他昨天才从你手中收到了一百枚金币。”
“不要再提那件事，”丽贝卡说，脸色涨得通红，“我发现，内心希望隐藏的事，舌头会多么轻易地泄露出来。”
“但是这些金币，”艾文荷说，“它涉及我的荣誉，我必须归还你的父亲。”
“等八天过去以后，随你要怎么办吧，”丽贝卡说，“但是现在不要想它，也不必谈它，这会影响你的康复。”
“可以，仁慈的姑娘，”艾文荷说，“如果我不听你的话，那真是不知好歹了。但是请你讲讲可怜的葛四怎么样，此外我不会再向你打听什么了。”
“我很难过，不得不照实告诉你，骑士先生，”犹太姑娘答道，“他给塞德里克下令监禁了。”接着她发现威尔弗莱德听到这消息便愁容满面，马上又道：“不过据管家奥斯瓦尔德说，如果没有什么事重新弓愧主人对他的不满，他相信塞德里克会宽恕葛四，因为他是一个忠实的奴仆，一向得到主人的宠爱，何况他之所以犯这错误，只是出于他对塞德里克的儿子的爱护。他还说，万一塞德里克对他的怒火无法减轻，他和他的伙伴们，尤其是小丑汪八，决定事先通知葛四，让他设法逃走。”
“但愿上帝保佑，他们不致改变主意吧！”艾文荷说。 “但是我总觉得，好像我是注定要给任何关心我的人带来灾难的。我的国王器重我和提拔我，可是你瞧，他对他的兄弟恩重如山，这位兄弟却拿起武器，要篡夺他的王位；我的关心又给一位最美丽的小姐带来了约束和麻烦；现在我的父亲在一怒之下又几乎杀死这个可怜的奴仆，这又仅仅因为他爱我，忠诚地为我办事！你瞧，姑娘，你尽力帮助的是这么一个命运不济的家伙；还是明智一些，放我走吧，免得跟随我的恶运像猎狗一样，把你也当作了它捕捉的猎物。”
“不，骑士先生，”丽贝卡说，“你的虚弱和你的忧虑使你曲解了上天的意图。你想，正当你的国家最需要坚强的战士和忠诚的心灵的时候，你回到了国内；正当你国王的敌人专横跋扈，不可一世的时候，你煞住了他们的嚣张气焰。至于你经受的厄运，你没有看到正是在这个时候，上帝甚至从遭到唾弃的民族中，给你派来了一个救护你的医生吗？因此你得鼓起勇气，相信你是为了某种惊天动地的事业。由上天派来为这个国家尽你的力量的。再见，我会派鲁本送药给你，你要按时服用，安心静养，使你经得起明天的旅行。”
艾文荷给这番道理说服了，接受了丽贝卡的指导。鲁本给他的药是带有止痛和麻醉作用的，它使病人度过了沉睡和没有痛苦的一夜。到了早上，那位仁慈的医生发现他的热度已完全退尽，适合旅途的劳顿了。
他给安置在驮舆中，这就是他离开比武场时用的，还为他的旅途舒适采取了一切措施。只有一件事，虽然经过而贝卡的再三恳求，仍未引起足够的重视，按照受伤的骑士的需要行事。原来以撤正如尤维纳利斯(注)在第十首讽刺诗中描写的有钱旅客，总是担心强盗的拦路抢劫，觉得掠夺成性的诺曼贵族和撒克逊土匪，都可能把他当作一块肥肉，随时出现在他眼前，因此他必须马不停蹄，加紧赶路，缩短休息和吃饭的时间。结果尽管塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦比他早几个钟头动身，他却超过了他们，何况他们在圣维索尔特修道院的丰盛筵席还耽误了不少工夫。然而由于米莉亚姆的药膏的神奇疗效，也由于艾文荷的体力的强壮，他顶住了兼程赶路的劳累，没有引起那位仁慈的医生担忧的不利后果。
--------
(注)尤维纳利斯（约60一约140），古罗马讽刺诗人，他的作品仅留下十六首讽刺诗，由后人编为五卷《讽刺诗》。第十首属于社会性的讽刺作品。
可是从另一角度看，犹太人的赶路只是欲速不达，适得其反。他坚持快速的做法，在他和他雇佣的护送人员之间，引起了几次争执。那些人都是撒克逊人。带有这个民族无法改变的贪图安逸享乐的特点，诺曼人曾把这称之为好吃懒做的劣根性。他们与夏洛克(注)的立场正好相反，是想靠犹太财主大吃大喝才接受雇佣的，现在发现这位财主只顾赶路，便大失所望，十分恼火。他们还提出了抗议，认为这么不停地奔跑，他们的马有受伤的危险。最后，以撒和他的护卫人员，为每顿饭供应的麦酒数量发生了激烈争吵。这样，在已经看到危险的迹象，以撒心惊胆战，唯恐祸事来临的时候，那些胸怀不满的雇佣兵却丢下他扬长而去了。他指望依靠他们的保护但没有采取必要的手段，笼络住他们的心。
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(注)莎士比亚的喜剧《威尼斯商人》中的犹太人，在这里即指以撒。
犹太人父女俩和他们的伤员，便是在这种无计可施的状况中遇到塞德里克的，这事前面已经交代过了，不久他们便全部落进了德布拉西一伙人的手中。起先那个驮舆没有引起注意，要不是德布拉西的好奇，它本来可以没有事。可是他偏偏向驮舆内张了一下，觉得他要追逐的猎物说不定藏在这里边，因为罗文娜一直戴着面纱。这么一来，德布拉西吃了一惊，发现驮舆内躺的是一个受伤的男人，而这个男人以为他是落进了撒克逊强人的手中，那么他的名字也许可以对他自己和他的朋友们发生保护作用，因此他坦率地承认他便是艾文荷的威尔弗莱德。
德布拉西尽管粗野、轻浮，骑士的荣誉观念还没有被他完全抛弃，这使他不想伤害处在无力自卫状态的骑士，同样也不愿向牛面将军告密，他知道，后者作为艾文荷封地的争夺者，会不顾一切，毫不迟疑地把那个人处死。另一方面，比武场上的情形，还有尽人皆知的威尔弗莱德被父亲赶出家门的原因，又使德布拉西不愿释放罗文娜小姐心目中的情人，这已大大超出他的宽容心理的最大限度。在善与恶之间，他所能采取的唯一折衷办法，便是命令他的两名扈从守在驮舆旁边，不让任何人接近它。如果有人问起，他们便得按照主人的吩咐，答说这是罗文娜小姐的驮舆，是她让给他们在混战中受伤的一个家人乘坐的。到达托奎尔斯通后，圣殿骑士和城堡的主人都忙于实行自己的计划，一个要敲榨犹太人的财产，另一个要霸占他的女儿，因此德布拉西的两个扈从得以在运送一个受伤的伙伴的名义下，把艾文荷送进了一间偏僻的屋子。在牛面将军向他们查问，为什么听到警报还不上城楼时，他们也是那么解释的。
“一个受伤的伙伴！”牛面将军答道，十分生气和诧异。“难怪那些乡巴佬和庄稼汉这么嚣张，居然敢来围攻城堡，那些小丑和猪倌居然敢给贵族下战书，就因为在城堡即将遭到攻击的时候，我们的战士竟还在给病人当护士，我们的自由战士竟在守卫伤员的病床！上城楼去，你们这些游手好闲的混蛋！”他拉开洪亮的嗓门大声吆喝，震得屋顶部发出了回声，“上城楼去，别叫我用这根大棒打断你们的脊梁骨！”
那两个人哭丧着脸答道，他们宁可上城楼打仗，只要牛面将军肯替他们在主人面前说句话就成了，因为是他们的主人命令他们在这里照料垂死的人的。
“垂死的人！你们这些混蛋，”男爵答道，“我告诉你们，要是我们守不住这个城堡，我们大家都得变成死人。但是我可以把守护这个混蛋的任务交给别人。喂，厄弗利德，老虔婆，撒克逊巫婆，听见我喊你没有？你来侍候这个病人，因为他必须有人照料，这两个流氓得跟我去打仗。伙计们，这里有两张石弩，弩机和方镞箭也齐备，你们马上带着它们到碉堡上去，看准了撒克逊人的头颅狠狠射箭。”
两个扈从与干这行当的多数人一样，喜爱厮打，不愿闲着，马上欢天喜地的上城楼去执行命令了。这样，守护艾文荷的责任落到了厄弗利德，即乌尔莉加身上。但是她的头脑里充满了屈辱的回忆和复仇的愿望，这使她马上把照料病人的任务交给了丽贝卡。
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Chapter 29
Ascend the watch-tower yonder, valiant soldier, Look on the field, and say how goes the battle. Schiller's Maid of Orleans
A moment of peril is often also a moment of open-hearted kindness and affection. We are thrown off our guard by the general agitation of our feelings, and betray the intensity of those, which, at more tranquil periods, our prudence at least conceals, if it cannot altogether suppress them. In finding herself once more by the side of Ivanhoe, Rebecca was astonished at the keen sensation of pleasure which she experienced, even at a time when all around them both was danger, if not despair. As she felt his pulse, and enquired after his health, there was a softness in her touch and in her accents implying a kinder interest than she would herself have been pleased to have voluntarily expressed. Her voice faltered and her hand trembled, and it was only the cold question of Ivanhoe, "Is it you, gentle maiden?" which recalled her to herself, and reminded her the sensations which she felt were not and could not be mutual. A sigh escaped, but it was scarce audible; and the questions which she asked the knight concerning his state of health were put in the tone of calm friendship. Ivanhoe answered her hastily that he was, in point of health, as well, and better than he could have expected ---"Thanks," he said, "dear Rebecca, to thy helpful skill."
"He calls me DEAR Rebecca," said the maiden to herself, "but it is in the cold and careless tone which ill suits the word. His war-horse---his hunting hound, are dearer to him than the despised Jewess!"
"My mind, gentle maiden," continued Ivanhoe, "is more disturbed by anxiety, than my body with pain. From the speeches of those men who were my warders just now, I learn that I am a prisoner, and, if I judge aright of the loud hoarse voice which even now dispatched them hence on some military duty, I am in the castle of Front-de-Boeuf---If so, how will this end, or how can I protect Rowena and my father?"
"He names not the Jew or Jewess," said Rebecca internally; "yet what is our portion in him, and how justly am I punished by Heaven for letting my thoughts dwell upon him!" She hastened after this brief self-accusation to give Ivanhoe what information she could; but it amounted only to this, that the Templar Bois-Guilbert, and the Baron Front-de-Boeuf, were commanders within the castle; that it was beleaguered from without, but by whom she knew not. She added, that there was a Christian priest within the castle who might be possessed of more information.
"A Christian priest!" said the knight, joyfully; "fetch him hither, Rebecca, if thou canst---say a sick man desires his ghostly counsel---say what thou wilt, but bring him---something I must do or attempt, but how can I determine until I know how matters stand without?"
Rebecca in compliance with the wishes of Ivanhoe, made that attempt to bring Cedric into the wounded Knight's chamber, which was defeated as we have already seen by the interference of Urfried, who had also been on the watch to intercept the supposed monk. Rebecca retired to communicate to Ivanhoe the result of her errand.
They had not much leisure to regret the failure of this source of intelligence, or to contrive by what means it might be supplied; for the noise within the castle, occasioned by the defensive preparations which had been considerable for some time, now increased into tenfold bustle and clamour. The heavy, yet hasty step of the men-at-arms, traversed the battlements or resounded on the narrow and winding passages and stairs which led to the various bartisans and points of defence. The voices of the knights were heard, animating their followers, or directing means of defence, while their commands were often drowned in the clashing of armour, or the clamorous shouts of those whom they addressed. Tremendous as these sounds were, and yet more terrible from the awful event which they presaged, there was a sublimity mixed with them, which Rebecca's high-toned mind could feel even in that moment of terror. Her eye kindled, although the blood fled from her cheeks; and there was a strong mixture of fear, and of a thrilling sense of the sublime, as she repeated, half whispering to herself, half speaking to her companion, the sacred text,---"The quiver rattleth---the glittering spear and the shield---the noise of the captains and the shouting!"
But Ivanhoe was like the war-horse of that sublime passage, glowing with impatience at his inactivity, and with his ardent desire to mingle in the affray of which these sounds were the introduction. "If I could but drag myself," he said, "to yonder window, that I might see how this brave game is like to go---If I had but bow to shoot a shaft, or battle-axe to strike were it but a single blow for our deliverance!---It is in vain---it is in vain---I am alike nerveless and weaponless!"
"Fret not thyself, noble knight," answered Rebecca, "the sounds have ceased of a sudden---it may be they join not battle."
"Thou knowest nought of it," said Wilfred, impatiently; "this dead pause only shows that the men are at their posts on the walls, and expecting an instant attack; what we have heard was but the instant muttering of the storm---it will burst anon in all its fury.---Could I but reach yonder window!"
"Thou wilt but injure thyself by the attempt, noble knight," replied his attendant. Observing his extreme solicitude, she firmly added, "I myself will stand at the lattice, and describe to you as I can what passes without."
"You must not---you shall not!" exclaimed Ivanhoe; "each lattice, each aperture, will be soon a mark for the archers; some random shaft---"
"It shall be welcome!" murmured Rebecca, as with firm pace she ascended two or three steps, which led to the window of which they spoke.
"Rebecca, dear Rebecca!" exclaimed Ivanhoe, "this is no maiden's pastime---do not expose thyself to wounds and death, and render me for ever miserable for having given the occasion; at least, cover thyself with yonder ancient buckler, and show as little of your person at the lattice as may be."
Following with wonderful promptitude the directions of Ivanhoe, and availing herself of the protection of the large ancient shield, which she placed against the lower part of the window, Rebecca, with tolerable security to herself, could witness part of what was passing without the castle, and report to Ivanhoe the preparations which the assailants were making for the storm. Indeed the situation which she thus obtained was peculiarly favourable for this purpose, because, being placed on an angle of the main building, Rebecca could not only see what passed beyond the precincts of the castle, but also commanded a view of the outwork likely to be the first object of the meditated assault. It was an exterior fortification of no great height or strength, intended to protect the postern-gate, through which Cedric had been recently dismissed by Front-de-Boeuf. The castle moat divided this species of barbican from the rest of the fortress, so that, in case of its being taken, it was easy to cut off the communication with the main building, by withdrawing the temporary bridge. In the outwork was a sallyport corresponding to the postern of the castle, and the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade. Rebecca could observe, from the number of men placed for the defence of this post, that the besieged entertained apprehensions for its safety; and from the mustering of the assailants in a direction nearly opposite to the outwork, it seemed no less plain that it had been selected as a vulnerable point of attack.
These appearances she hastily communicated to Ivanhoe, and added, "The skirts of the wood seem lined with archers, although only a few are advanced from its dark shadow."
"Under what banner?" asked Ivanhoe.
"Under no ensign of war which I can observe," answered Rebecca.
"A singular novelty," muttered the knight, "to advance to storm such a castle without pennon or banner displayed!---Seest thou who they be that act as leaders?"
"A knight, clad in sable armour, is the most conspicuous," said the Jewess; "he alone is armed from head to heel, and seems to assume the direction of all around him."
"What device does he bear on his shield?" replied Ivanhoe.
"Something resembling a bar of iron, and a padlock painted blue on the black shield."*
* Note F. Heraldry
"A fetterlock and shacklebolt azure," said Ivanhoe; "I know not who may bear the device, but well I ween it might now be mine own. Canst thou not see the motto?"
"Scarce the device itself at this distance," replied Rebecca; "but when the sun glances fair upon his shield, it shows as I tell you."
"Seem there no other leaders?" exclaimed the anxious enquirer.
"None of mark and distinction that I can behold from this station," said Rebecca; "but, doubtless, the other side of the castle is also assailed. They appear even now preparing to advance---God of Zion, protect us!---What a dreadful sight! ---Those who advance first bear huge shields and defences made of plank; the others follow, bending their bows as they come on. ---They raise their bows!---God of Moses, forgive the creatures thou hast made!"
Her description was here suddenly interrupted by the signal for assault, which was given by the blast of a shrill bugle, and at once answered by a flourish of the Norman trumpets from the battlements, which, mingled with the deep and hollow clang of the nakers, (a species of kettle-drum,) retorted in notes of defiance the challenge of the enemy. The shouts of both parties augmented the fearful din, the assailants crying, "Saint George for merry England!" and the Normans answering them with loud cries of "En avant De Bracy!---Beau-seant! Beau-seant!---Front-de-Boeuf a la rescousse!" according to the war-cries of their different commanders.
It was not, however, by clamour that the contest was to be decided, and the desperate efforts of the assailants were met by an equally vigorous defence on the part of the besieged. The archers, trained by their woodland pastimes to the most effective use of the long-bow, shot, to use the appropriate phrase of the time, so "wholly together," that no point at which a defender could show the least part of his person, escaped their cloth-yard shafts. By this heavy discharge, which continued as thick and sharp as hail, while, notwithstanding, every arrow had its individual aim, and flew by scores together against each embrasure and opening in the parapets, as well as at every window where a defender either occasionally had post, or might be suspected to be stationed,---by this sustained discharge, two or three of the garrison were slain, and several others wounded. But, confident in their armour of proof, and in the cover which their situation afforded, the followers of Front-de-Boeuf, and his allies, showed an obstinacy in defence proportioned to the fury of the attack and replied with the discharge of their large cross-bows, as well as with their long-bows, slings, and other missile weapons, to the close and continued shower of arrows; and, as the assailants were necessarily but indifferently protected, did considerably more damage than they received at their hand. The whizzing of shafts and of missiles, on both sides, was only interrupted by the shouts which arose when either side inflicted or sustained some notable loss.
"And I must lie here like a bedridden monk," exclaimed Ivanhoe, "while the game that gives me freedom or death is played out by the hand of others!---Look from the window once again, kind maiden, but beware that you are not marked by the archers beneath --Look out once more, and tell me if they yet advance to the storm."
With patient courage, strengthened by the interval which she had employed in mental devotion, Rebecca again took post at the lattice, sheltering herself, however, so as not to be visible from beneath.
"What dost thou see, Rebecca?" again demanded the wounded knight.
"Nothing but the cloud of arrows flying so thick as to dazzle mine eyes, and to hide the bowmen who shoot them."
"That cannot endure," said Ivanhoe; "if they press not right on to carry the castle by pure force of arms, the archery may avail but little against stone walls and bulwarks. Look for the Knight of the Fetterlock, fair Rebecca, and see how he bears himself; for as the leader is, so will his followers be."
"I see him not," said Rebecca.
"Foul craven!" exclaimed Ivanhoe; "does he blench from the helm when the wind blows highest?"
"He blenches not! he blenches not!" said Rebecca, "I see him now; he leads a body of men close under the outer barrier of the barbican.*
* Every Gothic castle and city had, beyond the outer-walls, * a fortification composed of palisades, called the * barriers, which were often the scene of severe * skirmishes, as these must necessarily be carried before * the walls themselves could be approached. Many of those * valiant feats of arms which adorn the chivalrous pages of * Froissart took place at the barriers of besieged places.
---They pull down the piles and palisades; they hew down the barriers with axes.---His high black plume floats abroad over the throng, like a raven over the field of the slain.---They have made a breach in the barriers---they rush in---they are thrust back!---Front-de-Boeuf heads the defenders; I see his gigantic form above the press. They throng again to the breach, and the pass is disputed hand to hand, and man to man. God of Jacob! it is the meeting of two fierce tides---the conflict of two oceans moved by adverse winds!"
She turned her head from the lattice, as if unable longer to endure a sight so terrible.
"Look forth again, Rebecca," said Ivanhoe, mistaking the cause of her retiring; "the archery must in some degree have ceased, since they are now fighting hand to hand.---Look again, there is now less danger."
Rebecca again looked forth, and almost immediately exclaimed, "Holy prophets of the law! Front-de-Boeuf and the Black Knight fight hand to hand on the breach, amid the roar of their followers, who watch the progress of the strife---Heaven strike with the cause of the oppressed and of the captive!" She then uttered a loud shriek, and exclaimed, "He is down!---he is down!"
"Who is down?" cried Ivanhoe; "for our dear Lady's sake, tell me which has fallen?"
"The Black Knight," answered Rebecca, faintly; then instantly again shouted with joyful eagerness---"But no---but no!---the name of the Lord of Hosts be blessed!---he is on foot again, and fights as if there were twenty men's strength in his single arm ---His sword is broken---he snatches an axe from a yeoman---he presses Front-de-Boeuf with blow on blow---The giant stoops and totters like an oak under the steel of the woodman---he falls ---he falls!"
"Front-de-Boeuf?" exclaimed Ivanhoe.
"Front-de-Boeuf!" answered the Jewess; "his men rush to the rescue, headed by the haughty Templar---their united force compels the champion to pause---They drag Front-de-Boeuf within the walls."
"The assailants have won the barriers, have they not?" said Ivanhoe.
"They have---they have!" exclaimed Rebecca---"and they press the besieged hard upon the outer wall; some plant ladders, some swarm like bees, and endeavour to ascend upon the shoulders of each other---down go stones, beams, and trunks of trees upon their heads, and as fast as they bear the wounded to the rear, fresh men supply their places in the assault---Great God! hast thou given men thine own image, that it should be thus cruelly defaced by the hands of their brethren!"
"Think not of that," said Ivanhoe; "this is no time for such thoughts---Who yield?---who push their way?"
"The ladders are thrown down," replied Rebecca, shuddering; "the soldiers lie grovelling under them like crushed reptiles---The besieged have the better."
"Saint George strike for us!" exclaimed the knight; "do the false yeomen give way?"
"No!" exclaimed Rebecca, "they bear themselves right yeomanly ---the Black Knight approaches the postern with his huge axe ---the thundering blows which he deals, you may hear them above all the din and shouts of the battle---Stones and beams are hailed down on the bold champion---he regards them no more than if they were thistle-down or feathers!"
"By Saint John of Acre," said Ivanhoe, raising himself joyfully on his couch, "methought there was but one man in England that might do such a deed!"
"The postern gate shakes," continued Rebecca; "it crashes---it is splintered by his blows---they rush in---the outwork is won---Oh, God!---they hurl the defenders from the battlements---they throw them into the moat---O men, if ye be indeed men, spare them that can resist no longer!"
"The bridge---the bridge which communicates with the castle ---have they won that pass?" exclaimed Ivanhoe.
"No," replied Rebecca, "The Templar has destroyed the plank on which they crossed---few of the defenders escaped with him into the castle--- the shrieks and cries which you hear tell the fate of the others---Alas!---I see it is still more difficult to look upon victory than upon battle."
"What do they now, maiden?" said Ivanhoe; "look forth yet again ---this is no time to faint at bloodshed."
"It is over for the time," answered Rebecca; "our friends strengthen themselves within the outwork which they have mastered, and it affords them so good a shelter from the foemen's shot, that the garrison only bestow a few bolts on it from interval to interval, as if rather to disquiet than effectually to injure them."
"Our friends," said Wilfred, "will surely not abandon an enterprise so gloriously begun and so happily attained.---O no! I will put my faith in the good knight whose axe hath rent heart-of-oak and bars of iron.---Singular," he again muttered to himself, "if there be two who can do a deed of such derring-do!*
* "Derring-do"---desperate courage.
---a fetterlock, and a shacklebolt on a field sable---what may that mean?---seest thou nought else, Rebecca, by which the Black Knight may be distinguished?"
"Nothing," said the Jewess; "all about him is black as the wing of the night raven. Nothing can I spy that can mark him further ---but having once seen him put forth his strength in battle, methinks I could know him again among a thousand warriors. He rushes to the fray as if he were summoned to a banquet. There is more than mere strength, there seems as if the whole soul and spirit of the champion were given to every blow which he deals upon his enemies. God assoilize him of the sin of bloodshed! ---it is fearful, yet magnificent, to behold how the arm and heart of one man can triumph over hundreds."
"Rebecca," said Ivanhoe, "thou hast painted a hero; surely they rest but to refresh their force, or to provide the means of crossing the moat---Under such a leader as thou hast spoken this knight to be, there are no craven fears, no cold-blooded delays, no yielding up a gallant emprize; since the difficulties which render it arduous render it also glorious. I swear by the honour of my house---I vow by the name of my bright lady-love, I would endure ten years' captivity to fight one day by that good knight's side in such a quarrel as this!"
"Alas," said Rebecca, leaving her station at the window, and approaching the couch of the wounded knight, "this impatient yearning after action---this struggling with and repining at your present weakness, will not fail to injure your returning health ---How couldst thou hope to inflict wounds on others, ere that be healed which thou thyself hast received?"
"Rebecca," he replied, "thou knowest not how impossible it is for one trained to actions of chivalry to remain passive as a priest, or a woman, when they are acting deeds of honour around him. The love of battle is the food upon which we live---the dust of the 'melee' is the breath of our nostrils! We live not---we wish not to live---longer than while we are victorious and renowned ---Such, maiden, are the laws of chivalry to which we are sworn, and to which we offer all that we hold dear."
"Alas!" said the fair Jewess, "and what is it, valiant knight, save an offering of sacrifice to a demon of vain glory, and a passing through the fire to Moloch?---What remains to you as the prize of all the blood you have spilled---of all the travail and pain you have endured---of all the tears which your deeds have caused, when death hath broken the strong man's spear, and overtaken the speed of his war-horse?"
"What remains?" cried Ivanhoe; "Glory, maiden, glory! which gilds our sepulchre and embalms our name."
"Glory?" continued Rebecca; "alas, is the rusted mail which hangs as a hatchment over the champion's dim and mouldering tomb---is the defaced sculpture of the inscription which the ignorant monk can hardly read to the enquiring pilgrim---are these sufficient rewards for the sacrifice of every kindly affection, for a life spent miserably that ye may make others miserable? Or is there such virtue in the rude rhymes of a wandering bard, that domestic love, kindly affection, peace and happiness, are so wildly bartered, to become the hero of those ballads which vagabond minstrels sing to drunken churls over their evening ale?"
"By the soul of Hereward!" replied the knight impatiently, "thou speakest, maiden, of thou knowest not what. Thou wouldst quench the pure light of chivalry, which alone distinguishes the noble from the base, the gentle knight from the churl and the savage; which rates our life far, far beneath the pitch of our honour; raises us victorious over pain, toil, and suffering, and teaches us to fear no evil but disgrace. Thou art no Christian, Rebecca; and to thee are unknown those high feelings which swell the bosom of a noble maiden when her lover hath done some deed of emprize which sanctions his flame. Chivalry!---why, maiden, she is the nurse of pure and high affection---the stay of the oppressed, the redresser of grievances, the curb of the power of the tyrant ---Nobility were but an empty name without her, and liberty finds the best protection in her lance and her sword."
"I am, indeed," said Rebecca, "sprung from a race whose courage was distinguished in the defence of their own land, but who warred not, even while yet a nation, save at the command of the Deity, or in defending their country from oppression. The sound of the trumpet wakes Judah no longer, and her despised children are now but the unresisting victims of hostile and military oppression. Well hast thou spoken, Sir Knight,---until the God of Jacob shall raise up for his chosen people a second Gideon, or a new Maccabeus, it ill beseemeth the Jewish damsel to speak of battle or of war."
The high-minded maiden concluded the argument in a tone of sorrow, which deeply expressed her sense of the degradation of her people, embittered perhaps by the idea that Ivanhoe considered her as one not entitled to interfere in a case of honour, and incapable of entertaining or expressing sentiments of honour and generosity.
"How little he knows this bosom," she said, "to imagine that cowardice or meanness of soul must needs be its guests, because I have censured the fantastic chivalry of the Nazarenes! Would to heaven that the shedding of mine own blood, drop by drop, could redeem the captivity of Judah! Nay, would to God it could avail to set free my father, and this his benefactor, from the chains of the oppressor! The proud Christian should then see whether the daughter of God's chosen people dared not to die as bravely as the vainest Nazarene maiden, that boasts her descent from some petty chieftain of the rude and frozen north!"
She then looked towards the couch of the wounded knight.
"He sleeps," she said; "nature exhausted by sufferance and the waste of spirits, his wearied frame embraces the first moment of temporary relaxation to sink into slumber. Alas! is it a crime that I should look upon him, when it may be for the last time? ---When yet but a short space, and those fair features will be no longer animated by the bold and buoyant spirit which forsakes them not even in sleep!---When the nostril shall be distended, the mouth agape, the eyes fixed and bloodshot; and when the proud and noble knight may be trodden on by the lowest caitiff of this accursed castle, yet stir not when the heel is lifted up against him!---And my father!---oh, my father! evil is it with his daughter, when his grey hairs are not remembered because of the golden locks of youth!---What know I but that these evils are the messengers of Jehovah's wrath to the unnatural child, who thinks of a stranger's captivity before a parent's? who forgets the desolation of Judah, and looks upon the comeliness of a Gentile and a stranger?---But I will tear this folly from my heart, though every fibre bleed as I rend it away!"
She wrapped herself closely in her veil, and sat down at a distance from the couch of the wounded knight, with her back turned towards it, fortifying, or endeavouring to fortify her mind, not only against the impending evils from without, but also against those treacherous feelings which assailed her from within.

勇敢的战士，登上那边的瞭望塔，
看看田野上的情形，把战况告诉我。
席勒：《奥尔良的姑娘》(注)
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(注)席勒的剧本，描写英法百年战争时期，法国女英雄贞德抗击英军的故事。
危险的时刻往往也是胸怀磊落、真诚相待的时刻。心情的焦急不安使我们丢开顾虑，流露真实的感情，可是在较为平静的时期，谨慎的心理虽然不致完全扼杀它们，至少也会隐瞒它们。丽贝卡又来到了艾文荷的病榻旁边，发现自己竟会这么高兴，尽管他们的处境即使不能说绝望，也是危机四伏，这使她觉得诧异，不能理解。她给他诊脉和询问病情时，态度和口气显得那么温柔，包含着一种她自己也不愿坦率承认的亲切感情。她讲话吞吞吐吐，手有些发抖，只是艾文荷那句冷冷的问话。“这是你吗，好心的姑娘？”才唤醒了她，使她想起，她意识到的那种感情不是，也不可能是他们彼此共同的。她发出了一声叹息，但轻得几乎听不见；她询问他的病情时，声调变得平静了，只是友谊的表现。艾文荷匆匆回答说，从健康状况看，他觉得很好，甚至比他预期的更好，最后说道：“谢谢你、亲爱的丽贝卡，你的医术给了我很大的帮助。”
“他叫我亲爱的丽贝卡，”姑娘在心里琢磨，“但口气又那么冷淡和漫不经心，与那个称呼并不协调。在他眼中，他的战马，他的猎犬，比一个下贱的犹太姑娘是更可爱的。”
“好心的姑娘，”艾文荷继续道，“现在我受不了的主要是心情烦躁，不是身体上的疼痛。从刚才看守我的两个人的谈话中，我知道我成了一个俘虏；如果我判断得不错，那么把他们派去打仗的声音嘶哑的大嗓门家伙，便是牛面将军，我是关在他的城堡内。如果这样，后果会怎样，我又怎么能保护罗文娜和我的父亲呢？”
“他没有想到犹太人或犹太姑娘，”丽贝卡又在心中嚼咕道，“对他说来我们算得了什么，我却老是惦记着他，这真是罪孽，老天爷对我的惩罚！”对自己作了这简单的谴责之后，她便向艾文荷谈了她所知道的一些情况，这无非是：圣殿骑士布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔和牛面将军在城堡内指挥战斗，它遭到了围攻，但围攻的是什么人，她不知道。接着她又说，城堡内来了一个基督教神父，他可能知道得比较清楚。
“一个基督教神父！”骑士说，非常兴奋。“丽贝卡，请你想想办法，把他找来。你就对他说，有一个病人需要他作安魂祈祷——随你怎么说都可以，必须把他带来；有些事我应当做，或者早作安排，但不知道外面的情形，我怎么决定呢？”
丽贝卡顺从了艾文荷的要求，便去找塞德里克，想带他到伤员屋里来；我们已经看到，这事她没办成，她遭到了厄弗利德的阻挠，后者也在寻找机会，想拦住那位假神父。丽贝卡只得回到艾文荷身边，告诉他使命没有完成。
打听消息失败之后，他们没有时间感到遗憾，或者另想别法，因为城堡内为了准备防御，嘈杂声一直持续不断，现在更变得响了十倍，似乎大家都在忙碌张罗，奔走叫喊。军人沉重而匆忙的脚步声，在城楼上来来去去，也在通向各个碉堡和防御点的狭窄曲折的过道中，或楼梯上回旋震荡；还有骑士们催促部下或指挥布防的吆喝声，但他们的命令往往湮没在销甲的碰撞声，或者接受命令的那些人的叫嚷声中。这各种各样的吵闹声由于预示着可怕的事件，更显得惊心动魄，然而它也包含着一种庄严的情调，这是丽贝卡那高昂的心灵，哪怕在这恐怖的时刻也能感受到的。她的脸颊虽然失去了血色，眼睛却那么明亮，她既害怕，又为这个庄严的时刻而激动不已，反复念诵着经书中的句子，既像哺哺自语，又像在小声念给她的同伴听：“箭袋刷刷出声……长熗和盾牌闪闪发亮……首领在吆喝和呐喊！”
艾文荷也像这段庄严的经文中的战马，对自己的无能为力感到烦躁不安，恨不得立即投身到这些声浪所预告的战斗中去。“要是我能走动，”他说，“能到那扇窗口去，我就可以看到这场勇敢的搏斗可能怎么进行了！要是我能拿起弓来射一枝箭，或者举起战斧挥舞一下，为我们的得救出一把力，那就好了！可是这都是痴心妄想——我既没有力气，也没有武器！”
“不要折磨自己，尊贵的骑士，”丽贝卡答道。“叫喊声突然停止了，也许他们不打啦。”
“你根本不懂，”威尔弗莱德焦躁地说，“这沉寂只是显示大家已在城墙上各就各位，等待着进攻随时开始。我们听到的只是风暴在远处的呼啸，但它立刻可能来临，变成一场狂风暴雨。我真想到那边窗口看看！”
“你这么做只能害你自己，尊贵的骑士，”他的护士答道。看到他焦急万分，她又坚定地说道：“还是让我站在格子窗前，把外面发生的情形告诉你吧。”
“不能这么做——千万不能！”艾文荷喊道。“每个窗口，每个窟窿，很快就会成为弓箭手射击的目标；一支流矢也可能……”
“我不怕！”丽贝卡嘟哝道，马上迈着坚定的步子，向他们所说的那扇格子窗走去，跨上了两三级石阶。
“丽贝卡——亲爱的丽贝卡！”艾文荷喊道，“这不是小姑娘玩的游戏；不要冒险，这可能造成伤亡，万一发生什么，我会终生遗憾的；至少用那个旧盾牌挡一下，尽量使自己不致暴露在格子窗前面。”
丽贝卡以出奇的敏捷，按照艾文荷的指导，把一面巨大的旧盾牌遮住窗口的下半部，这样她既可以用它保护自己，又可以躲在它后面，窥察城堡外面的活动，向艾文荷报告攻城部队进行的各种部署。确实，她这时所处的位置对这目的是特别有利的，因为这时她与主楼构成的角度，使她不仅可以看到城堡周围的区域，而且那个可能成为第一个进攻目标的外围工事，也在她的视线之内。这个外部碉楼并不太高，也不太大，它的作用只是保护城堡的边门，也就是最近牛面将军送走塞德里克的那个门。这类碉楼由城堡的壕沟与主堡隔开，万一它被攻占，随时可以曳起临时吊桥，切断它与主要建筑的交通。碉楼有一个出击口，与城堡的边门处在一直线上，整个小楼周围筑有一道坚固的木栅。从驻守这个据点的人数上，丽贝卡不难发现，守城部队对它的安全比较担心；进攻者几乎就集结在与工事遥遥相对的地方，从这点看，很清楚，它已被选定为进攻的突破口。
这些现象，她迅速通知了艾文荷，并且告诉他：“树林的边缘地带布置了弓箭手，尽管露出在树荫外的人不多。”
“打着什么旗子？”艾文荷问。
“我没有看到什么旗子，”丽贝卡回答。
“简直是咄咄怪事，”骑士咕哝道，“要进攻这么一个城堡，却没有一面军旗，不打旗号！你看到指挥这行动的人吗？”
“那是一个骑士，穿一身黑盔黑甲，十分明显，”犹太姑娘说。“只有他从头到脚全副武装，由此可见，整个行动是他指挥的。”
“他的盾牌上画的什么纹章？”艾文荷问。
“好像在黑色的盾牌上画着一根铁条，还有一把蓝色的挂锁。”(注)
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(注)见作者附注五。——原注
“那是表示淡青色的手铐和脚镣，”艾文荷说。“我不知道谁会用这种纹章，不过它与我目前的状况倒有些相似。你能看到它的题词吗？”
“在这么远的地方，连图样也不太清楚呢，”丽贝卡答道。“只因刚才太阳光直射在盾牌上，我才看到一些图样，告诉了你。”
“那么没有别的领导人吗？”骑士又焦急地问。
“从我这个位置，我看不到别的有特殊标志的人，”丽贝卡说。“不过很清楚，进攻的锋芒也指向城堡的另一边。他们好像随时在准备冲锋——锡恩的上帝保佑我们吧！多么可怕的景象！冲在最前面的都手拿巨大的盾牌，头上顶着防御用的木板；跟在后面的便挽着弓前进。他们举起了引摩西的上帝啊，饶恕你所创造的人类吧！”
就在这时，她的描述突然给进攻的号音打断了，那是一阵尖厉的号角声；诺曼人也立即从城楼上吹响了军号，那是对敌人的进攻表示藐视的号音，其中还夹杂着沉闷的冬冬声，一种铜鼓发出的声音。双方的呐喊更扩大了那恐怖的声浪，进攻的一边喊的是：“圣乔治万岁，快活的英格兰万岁！”诺曼人根据指挥官的不同，有的大喊：“杀啊，德布拉西在这里！”有的大喊：“黑白旗万岁！黑白旗万岁！”也有的喊的是：“牛面将军前来支援啦！”
然而决定胜负的不是呐喊，城外发动了猛烈的进攻，被围困的城堡也展开了同样猛烈的抵抗。弓箭手们在森林的狩猎活动中训练有素，现在发挥了弓弩的强大优势，用当时恰如其分的说法，真可谓“箭如雨下”，防守者全身的任何部分一旦暴露，立刻会给他们的长箭射中。这密集的射击气势凌厉，持续不断，每校箭既有各自的目标，又几十枝的同时射向胸墙上的每个洞眼或窟窿，射向每个窗口，不论那里有没有人防守，只要可能有人，都会遭到射击，结果守兵死了两三个，还有几个受了伤。但是牛面将军和两个伙伴的部下，自恃盔甲在身，而且有城墙掩护，在防守中表现得相当顽强，几乎与进攻者不相上下。他们用强弓硬弩、投石器和各种射击武器，回答对方密集的飞矢。由于进攻者缺乏必要的掩护，他们的伤亡比他们造成的伤亡大得多。箭和飞射物的啸鸣，只有在某一方遭受重大损失引起惊叫时，才会暂时停止一会。
“我只能躺在这里，像一个卧床不起的修士，”艾文荷喊道，“这是一场决定我生死存亡的战斗，我却无能为力，只得靠别人去进行！仁慈的姑娘，请你再看一下窗外，但要注意，别给下面的弓箭手当作射击的目标。请你再张一下，看他们是不是还在进攻。”
丽贝卡经过这段时间的精神准备，已把生死置之度外，重又坚定地走到了格子窗前，但把身子隐蔽在一边，不让下边的人发现。
“丽贝卡，你看到了什么？”受伤的骑士又问道。
“什么也看不见，只有一片密集的飞箭，使我的眼睛都花了，连射箭的弓手也看不到。”
“这样不成，”艾文荷说，“如果他们不能靠强大的实力向城堡发动攻势，单凭射箭是攻不破石墙和堡垒的。找找那个盾牌上画镣铐的骑士，美丽的丽贝卡，看他在做什么，因为领导人怎么做，他的部下也会怎么做。”
“我没有看到他，”丽贝卡说。
“无耻的懦夫！”艾文荷喊道，“难道在暴风雨到来的时候，这个舵手却离开了岗位？”
“他没有离开，没有离开！”丽贝卡答道。“现在我看见他了，他带着一小队人逼近了碉楼外面的屏障篱。他们正在拔除木桩和栅栏，用斧头砍倒屏障篱。他那高高的黑翎饰在众人头顶飘动，像乌鸦在堆积尸体的战场上盘旋。他们在篱墙上打开了一个缺口——他们冲进去了——又给顶回来了！牛面将军率领一队兵守在那里，我在密集的人群中看到了他高大的身子。他们又向缺口冲去，双方展开了肉搏，一个对一个争夺通道。雅各的上帝啊！这是两股猛烈的潮水在搏斗——两股相反的风浪在互相冲击！”
她从窗口别转了头，仿佛再也不敢看这可怕的场面了。。
“再向外边望一下，丽贝卡，”艾文荷说，误会了她回过头来的原因，“现在大概放箭不多了，因为双方已在展开肉搏。你再看看，现在危险不大了。”
丽贝卡又向外望了一下，马上惊叫道：“神圣的先知啊！牛面将军和黑甲骑士在缺口搏斗呢，他们的部下在旁边呐喊助威，注视着搏斗的进展。上帝啊，救救被压迫被囚禁的人吧！”接着她发出了一声尖叫，大喊道；“他摔倒了！……他摔倒了！”
“谁摔倒了？”艾文荷大声问，“看在圣母分上，快告诉我谁摔倒了！”
“黑甲骑士，”丽贝卡答道，有些泄气，但接着又高兴得大喊起来，“不对……不对！光荣归于万军之主的耶和华！他又站起来战斗了，他一条胳膊仿佛有二十个人的力气似的。他的剑断了——他从一个庄户人手里夺过一把战斧——他不断挥舞着它，把牛面将军逼得步步后退。大个子弯一下了腰，站不稳了，像一棵栎树已给樵夫砍得摇摇欲坠——他倒下了——他倒下了！”
“牛面将军吗？”艾文荷喊道。
“对，牛面将军，”犹太姑娘答道。“他的人赶来救他了，傲慢的圣殿骑士跑在前面，他们人多，逼得那位勇士只得住手。他们夺走牛面将军，把他抬进了城堡。”
“进攻的人已拿下了屏障篱，是不是？”艾文荷问。
“拿下了，拿下了！”丽贝卡喊道，“他们已在攻打外堡的城楼；一些人在架云梯，其他的人蜂拥而上，拼命想踩着彼此的肩膀爬上城楼；石头、圆木、树杆纷纷落到了他们头顶，受伤的人马上给送往后方，新来的人又代替他们参加进攻。伟大的上帝啊！你把自己的形象给了人类，为什么他们这么残忍，要消灭自己的弟兄呢！”
“别那么想，”艾文荷说，“现在没有时间想这些事。谁退却了？谁在向前推进？”
“云梯给推倒了，”丽贝卡答道，身子索索发抖，“战士们趴在地上，跟压伤的爬虫似的。守城的一边占了上风。”
“圣乔治啊，帮助我们吧！”骑士嚷道。“不中用的庄稼人，他们退却了吗？”
“没有！”丽贝卡大声回答，“他们表现得很英勇。黑甲骑士提着大战斧逼近了小门；他把门打得震天价响，在一片喊杀声中还可听到。石头和圆木冰雹般向这位勇士打来，可是他毫不理会，只当它们是飞蓬或鸡毛！”
“凭阿克的圣约翰起誓，”艾文荷说，兴奋得从病榻上撑起了身子，“我敢说，全英国只有一个人能够这么战斗！”
“小门摇动了，”丽贝卡继续道，“它坍了——给他的斧头砍成碎片了——他们冲了进去——碉堡给占领了。啊，上帝！他们把守兵从城楼上扔了下来——扔进了壕沟。人啊，如果你们真的是人，就饶了他们吧，他们已不能反抗！”
“那吊桥——那连接城堡的吊桥，他们拿下它没有？”艾文荷大声问。
“没有，”丽贝卡答道，“圣殿骑士一过桥，就把它破坏了；只有不多几个守兵与他一起逃进城堡——你听到的尖叫和喊声，便说明了另一些人的命运。哎哟！我看，要在战斗中取得胜利还很困难呢。”
“姑娘，他们这会儿在干什么啦？”艾文荷问。“再向外看看——现在不是害怕流血的时候。”
“进攻暂时停顿了，”丽贝卡答道。“我们的朋友们占领了碉堡，正在休整呢。这是很好的隐蔽所，守城部队虽然还在断断续续向他们射箭，可是不能真的伤害他们，只能发挥一些骚扰作用。”
“战斗已取得了这么辉煌的成绩，这么可喜的结果，我们的朋友们肯定不会半途而废，”威尔弗莱德说道。“决不会！我相信那个出色的骑士，他的斧头可以砍断株树和铁栅呢。唯独他有这本领，”他又自言自语似的咕哝道，“我敢说，没有第二个人会这么勇敢，力气会这么大！在黑色背景上的一副手铐，一副脚镣——那可能是什么意义？丽贝卡，你没看到黑甲骑士还有什么别的标志吗？”
“没有，”犹太姑娘答道， “他全身黑得像一只夜间出没的渡鸦。我看不到他还有什么其他标志；不过只要看到他打仗时那浑身是劲的样子，我想，哪怕他在千军万马中，我也能识别他。他对冲锋陷阵满不在乎，好像那是参加一次宴会。他有的不仅仅是力气，似乎这位勇士把自己的全部心灵和精力，都集中在对敌人的每一下打击中了。上帝宽恕他，别计较他杀人的罪孽吧！看到一个人怎么凭他的臂力和勇气，能战胜几百个人，这是可怕的，但也十分壮观。”
“丽贝卡，”艾文荷说，“你描绘出了一个英雄的风貌；毫无疑问，他们只是休息一下，以便积蓄力量，跨越壕沟。在你所说的这样一个骑士的领导下，是不会因循退缩，不会迟疑犹豫，不会让一场英勇的战斗前功尽弃的，因为困难固然使战斗变得艰巨，也使它变得光荣了。我以我家族的荣誉起誓，以我光辉的情人起誓，我可以忍受十年的监禁，只要有一天能与那位杰出的骑士并肩战斗，夺取胜利！”
“唉！”丽贝卡转身离开了窗口，走近伤员的卧榻旁边，说道，“这种对行动的无法忍耐的渴望，这种对目前的虚弱状态无能为力的怨恨，必然会对你的复原产生不利影响。在你自己的伤没有养好以前，你怎么能指望打伤别人呢？”
“丽贝卡，”他答道，“你不知道，一个用骑士精神培养出来的军人，当他周围的人都在从事荣誉的事业时，要他像一个教士或妇人那样袖手旁观，那是不可能的。对战斗的热爱是我们赖以生存的食物，战场的尘土是我们的鼻孔不可缺少的气息！除了取得胜利和荣誉以外，我们没有，也不希望有别的生活。姑娘，这便是我们立誓遵守的骑士精神的信条，我们必须为它们贡献我们的一切。”
“哎哟！”美丽的犹太姑娘说，“勇敢的骑士，这是什么，难道不是把自己的一生献给虚荣这个魔鬼，让自己的生命在战火中烧化，献给摩洛(注)吗？你的事业除了使你流尽鲜血，受尽辛劳和痛苦，流尽眼泪以外，还能给你什么呢？当死亡使坚强的战士的长矛折断，快速的战马倒毙时，它又能留给他什么呢？”
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(注)摩洛，《圣经》中提到的亚扣人的神，必须用烧死的儿童向他献祭，见《列王纪下》第23章。
“留给他什么？”艾文荷喊道。“荣誉，姑娘——荣誉！它可以给我们的坟墓增添光彩，让我们的名字永垂不朽。”
“荣誉！”丽贝卡继续道。“唉！难道把生锈的盔甲像纹章一样，挂在勇士凄凉萧条的坟前，难道那磨损的碑文，连无知的修士在询问的旅人面前，也无从念诵的碑文，便是给你们的报答吗？难道牺牲一切美好的感情，给自己的一生，也给别人的一生制造悲痛，便是为了这些吗？再说，难道一个流浪歌手的粗俗诗句真的这么宝贵，值得一个人为了它们把温暖的天伦之乐，真挚的家庭感情，以及和睦幸福的生活，统统弃置不顾吗？难道人生的目的只是要成为那些歌谣中的英雄，好让漂泊各地的行吟诗人，在晚上唱给饮酒作乐的乡巴佬们听吗？”
“凭赫里沃德的英灵起誓！”骑士不耐烦地答道，“姑娘，你是在议论你根本不懂的事。你是要扼杀骑士精神的纯洁光辉，可是只有它才是区分高贵和低贱，区分文雅的骑士和粗俗野蛮的乡巴佬的标志；它把我们的荣誉看得比我们的生命更贵重干百倍，它使我们可以战胜痛苦、困难和折磨，它教导我们不怕邪恶，只怕失去荣誉。你不是基督徒，丽贝卡，你不能理解这些高尚的感情；当一个人出生入死赢得他的荣誉时，只有他尊贵的情人才能理解他，鼓励他如火如茶的热情。骑士精神！是的，姑娘，它是纯洁高尚的感情的保姆，受压迫者的救星，为人伸冤雪恨的使者，专制暴力的拦路石。丧失了它，贵族只是徒有虚名，自由也只有在它的长熗和刀剑的保护下才能生存。”
“我出生的民族在保卫自己的国土中，确实也有过英勇的表现，”丽贝卡说，“但是哪怕在它还作为一个完整的国家存在时，除了遵照上帝的命令，或者从压迫下保卫祖国以外，它不想打仗。现在军号声已不能唤醒犹太王国的后代(注1)，它的儿女遭到了凌辱，成了仇恨和军事镇压的牺牲品。骑士先生，你说得很对，在雅各的上帝为他的选民派来第二个基甸(注2)，或者新的马加比(注3)以前，一个犹太姑娘已不配谈论战争或荣誉了。”
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(注1)犹太王国于公元前586年被巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒灭亡，从此犹太人便失去了国家。
(注2)基甸，《旧约全书》中提到的以色列人的士师，曾领导以色列人反抗外族侵犯，见《士师记》。
(注3)马加比，犹太王国灭亡后，领导犹太人反抗外族压迫的军事领袖。
谈到最后，这个品格高尚的姑娘用伤感的声调这么说，这表明她深深意识到了她的民族的屈辱地位，也许，艾文荷的观点也使她感到委屈，因为他认为她不配在荣誉问题上发表意见，也不可能对荣誉或慷慨怀有高尚的感情。
“他多么不了解我的内心，”她自言自语道，“我批评了拿撒勒人充满幻想的骑士精神，他便认为我心中有的只是懦弱或卑贱！其实，只要能从屈辱中挽救犹太人的后代，哪怕我的血一滴一滴地流掉，流干，我也心甘情愿！是的，只要上帝能使我的父亲，还有他的这个恩人，从压迫者的锁链下获得自由，我什么都可以牺牲！到那时，这个骄傲的基督徒才会看到，上帝的选民的这个女儿是不是怕死，是不是也像那个拿撒勒少女一样勇敢，尽管我不像她那么自命不凡，自诩是粗野冰冻的北方某个小酋长的后裔！”
接着她向负伤的骑士的卧榻看了一眼。
“他睡着了，”她说，“折磨和精力的消耗己弄得他疲乏不堪，暂时的松弛一出现便使他沉入睡乡了。哎呀！我这么看他，尽管这可能已是最后一次，这是罪恶吗？瞧，即使在睡眠中，那种英勇而轻快的情绪也没有离开他的脸，可是再过一会儿，它们也许就再也不会出现在这美好的容貌上了！他的鼻孔会变得肿胀，嘴巴会张开，眼睛会呆滞充血，这个该死的城堡内最卑贱的奴仆，也可以用脚踩踏这个骄傲高贵的骑士，举起脚跟踢他，他却不再动弹！还有我的父亲！——啊，我的父亲！你的女儿真是罪孽深重，为了年轻人的金黄鬈发，忘记了你的苍苍白发！我是个丧失天良的孩子，把囚禁的外族人看得比父亲更重，也许我的罪过正是耶和华的愤怒降临在我身上的表现吧？我忘记了犹太民族的灾难，却把目光注视在一个外邦人和异族人的秀丽面容上！我一定得把这种愚蠢的念头从我心中赶走，哪怕这会使我的每一条神经都感到不能忍受！”
她用面纱紧紧蒙住了脸，在远离病榻的地方坐了下去，背对着它，下定决心，或者努力下定决心，不仅要对抗威胁她的罪恶从外面袭击她，也要抵制邪恶的感情从内部侵蚀她。
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Chapter 30
Approach the chamber, look upon his bed. His is the passing of no peaceful ghost, Which, as the lark arises to the sky, 'Mid morning's sweetest breeze and softest dew, Is wing'd to heaven by good men's sighs and tears!--- Anselm parts otherwise. Old Play
During the interval of quiet which followed the first success of the besiegers, while the one party was preparing to pursue their advantage, and the other to strengthen their means of defence, the Templar and De Bracy held brief council together in the hall of the castle.
"Where is Front-de-Boeuf?" said the latter, who had superintended the defence of the fortress on the other side; "men say he hath been slain."
"He lives," said the Templar, coolly, "lives as yet; but had he worn the bull's head of which he bears the name, and ten plates of iron to fence it withal, he must have gone down before yonder fatal axe. Yet a few hours, and Front-de-Boeuf is with his fathers---a powerful limb lopped off Prince John's enterprise."
"And a brave addition to the kingdom of Satan," said De Bracy; "this comes of reviling saints and angels, and ordering images of holy things and holy men to be flung down on the heads of these rascaille yeomen."
"Go to---thou art a fool," said the Templar; "thy superstition is upon a level with Front-de-Boeuf's want of faith; neither of you can render a reason for your belief or unbelief."
"Benedicite, Sir Templar," replied De Bracy, "pray you to keep better rule with your tongue when I am the theme of it. By the Mother of Heaven, I am a better Christian man than thou and thy fellowship; for the 'bruit' goeth shrewdly out, that the most holy Order of the Temple of Zion nurseth not a few heretics within its bosom, and that Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert is of the number."
"Care not thou for such reports," said the Templar; "but let us think of making good the castle.---How fought these villain yeomen on thy side?"
"Like fiends incarnate," said De Bracy. "They swarmed close up to the walls, headed, as I think, by the knave who won the prize at the archery, for I knew his horn and baldric. And this is old Fitzurse's boasted policy, encouraging these malapert knaves to rebel against us! Had I not been armed in proof, the villain had marked me down seven times with as little remorse as if I had been a buck in season. He told every rivet on my armour with a cloth-yard shaft, that rapped against my ribs with as little compunction as if my bones had been of iron---But that I wore a shirt of Spanish mail under my plate-coat, I had been fairly sped."
"But you maintained your post?" said the Templar. "We lost the outwork on our part."
"That is a shrewd loss," said De Bracy; "the knaves will find cover there to assault the castle more closely, and may, if not well watched, gain some unguarded corner of a tower, or some forgotten window, and so break in upon us. Our numbers are too few for the defence of every point, and the men complain that they can nowhere show themselves, but they are the mark for as many arrows as a parish-butt on a holyday even. Front-de-Boeuf is dying too, so we shall receive no more aid from his bull's head and brutal strength. How think you, Sir Brian, were we not better make a virtue of necessity, and compound with the rogues by delivering up our prisoners?"
"How?" exclaimed the Templar; "deliver up our prisoners, and stand an object alike of ridicule and execration, as the doughty warriors who dared by a night-attack to possess themselves of the persons of a party of defenceless travellers, yet could not make good a strong castle against a vagabond troop of outlaws, led by swineherds, jesters, and the very refuse of mankind?---Shame on thy counsel, Maurice de Bracy!---The ruins of this castle shall bury both my body and my shame, ere I consent to such base and dishonourable composition."
"Let us to the walls, then," said De Bracy, carelessly; "that man never breathed, be he Turk or Templar, who held life at lighter rate than I do. But I trust there is no dishonour in wishing I had here some two scores of my gallant troop of Free Companions? ---Oh, my brave lances! if ye knew but how hard your captain were this day bested, how soon should I see my banner at the head of your clump of spears! And how short while would these rabble villains stand to endure your encounter!"
"Wish for whom thou wilt," said the Templar, "but let us make what defence we can with the soldiers who remain---They are chiefly Front-de-Boeuf's followers, hated by the English for a thousand acts of insolence and oppression."
"The better," said De Bracy; "the rugged slaves will defend themselves to the last drop of their blood, ere they encounter the revenge of the peasants without. Let us up and be doing, then, Brian de Bois-Guilbert; and, live or die, thou shalt see Maurice de Bracy bear himself this day as a gentleman of blood and lineage."
"To the walls!" answered the Templar; and they both ascended the battlements to do all that skill could dictate, and manhood accomplish, in defence of the place. They readily agreed that the point of greatest danger was that opposite to the outwork of which the assailants had possessed themselves. The castle, indeed, was divided from that barbican by the moat, and it was impossible that the besiegers could assail the postern-door, with which the outwork corresponded, without surmounting that obstacle; but it was the opinion both of the Templar and De Bracy, that the besiegers, if governed by the same policy their leader had already displayed, would endeavour, by a formidable assault, to draw the chief part of the defenders' observation to this point, and take measures to avail themselves of every negligence which might take place in the defence elsewhere. To guard against such an evil, their numbers only permitted the knights to place sentinels from space to space along the walls in communication with each other, who might give the alarm whenever danger was threatened. Meanwhile, they agreed that De Bracy should command the defence at the postern, and the Templar should keep with him a score of men or thereabouts as a body of reserve, ready to hasten to any other point which might be suddenly threatened. The loss of the barbican had also this unfortunate effect, that, notwithstanding the superior height of the castle walls, the besieged could not see from them, with the same precision as before, the operations of the enemy; for some straggling underwood approached so near the sallyport of the outwork, that the assailants might introduce into it whatever force they thought proper, not only under cover, but even without the knowledge of the defenders. Utterly uncertain, therefore, upon what point the storm was to burst, De Bracy and his companion were under the necessity of providing against every possible contingency, and their followers, however brave, experienced the anxious dejection of mind incident to men enclosed by enemies, who possessed the power of choosing their time and mode of attack.
Meanwhile, the lord of the beleaguered and endangered castle lay upon a bed of bodily pain and mental agony. He had not the usual resource of bigots in that superstitious period, most of whom were wont to atone for the crimes they were guilty of by liberality to the church, stupefying by this means their terrors by the idea of atonement and forgiveness; and although the refuge which success thus purchased, was no more like to the peace of mind which follows on sincere repentance, than the turbid stupefaction procured by opium resembles healthy and natural slumbers, it was still a state of mind preferable to the agonies of awakened remorse. But among the vices of Front-de-Boeuf, a hard and griping man, avarice was predominant; and he preferred setting church and churchmen at defiance, to purchasing from them pardon and absolution at the price of treasure and of manors. Nor did the Templar, an infidel of another stamp, justly characterise his associate, when he said Front-de-Boeuf could assign no cause for his unbelief and contempt for the established faith; for the Baron would have alleged that the Church sold her wares too dear, that the spiritual freedom which she put up to sale was only to be bought like that of the chief captain of Jerusalem, "with a great sum," and Front-de-Boeuf preferred denying the virtue of the medicine, to paying the expense of the physician.
But the moment had now arrived when earth and all his treasures were gliding from before his eyes, and when the savage Baron's heart, though hard as a nether millstone, became appalled as he gazed forward into the waste darkness of futurity. The fever of his body aided the impatience and agony of his mind, and his death-bed exhibited a mixture of the newly awakened feelings of horror, combating with the fixed and inveterate obstinacy of his disposition;---a fearful state of mind, only to be equalled in those tremendous regions, where there are complaints without hope, remorse without repentance, a dreadful sense of present agony, and a presentiment that it cannot cease or be diminished!
"Where be these dog-priests now," growled the Baron, "who set such price on their ghostly mummery?---where be all those unshod Carmelites, for whom old Front-de-Boeuf founded the convent of St Anne, robbing his heir of many a fair rood of meadow, and many a fat field and close---where be the greedy hounds now?---Swilling, I warrant me, at the ale, or playing their juggling tricks at the bedside of some miserly churl.---Me, the heir of their founder ---me, whom their foundation binds them to pray for---me ---ungrateful villains as they are!---they suffer to die like the houseless dog on yonder common, unshriven and unhouseled!---Tell the Templar to come hither---he is a priest, and may do something ---But no!---as well confess myself to the devil as to Brian de Bois-Guilbert, who recks neither of heaven nor of hell.---I have heard old men talk of prayer---prayer by their own voice---Such need not to court or to bribe the false priest---But I---I dare not!"
"Lives Reginald Front-de-Boeuf," said a broken and shrill voice close by his bedside, "to say there is that which he dares not!"
The evil conscience and the shaken nerves of Front-de-Boeuf heard, in this strange interruption to his soliloquy, the voice of one of those demons, who, as the superstition of the times believed, beset the beds of dying men to distract their thoughts, and turn them from the meditations which concerned their eternal welfare. He shuddered and drew himself together; but, instantly summoning up his wonted resolution, he exclaimed, "Who is there? ---what art thou, that darest to echo my words in a tone like that of the night-raven?---Come before my couch that I may see thee."
"I am thine evil angel, Reginald Front-de-Boeuf," replied the voice.
"Let me behold thee then in thy bodily shape, if thou be'st indeed a fiend," replied the dying knight; "think not that I will blench from thee.---By the eternal dungeon, could I but grapple with these horrors that hover round me, as I have done with mortal dangers, heaven or hell should never say that I shrunk from the conflict!"
"Think on thy sins, Reginald Front-de-Boeuf," said the almost unearthly voice, "on rebellion, on rapine, on murder!---Who stirred up the licentious John to war against his grey-headed father---against his generous brother?"
"Be thou fiend, priest, or devil," replied Front-de-Boeuf, "thou liest in thy throat!---Not I stirred John to rebellion---not I alone---there were fifty knights and barons, the flower of the midland counties---better men never laid lance in rest---And must I answer for the fault done by fifty?---False fiend, I defy thee! Depart, and haunt my couch no more---let me die in peace if thou be mortal---if thou be a demon, thy time is not yet come."
"In peace thou shalt NOT die," repeated the voice; "even in death shalt thou think on thy murders---on the groans which this castle has echoed--- on the blood that is engrained in its floors!"
"Thou canst not shake me by thy petty malice," answered Front-de-Boeuf, with a ghastly and constrained laugh. "The infidel Jew---it was merit with heaven to deal with him as I did, else wherefore are men canonized who dip their hands in the blood of Saracens?---The Saxon porkers, whom I have slain, they were the foes of my country, and of my lineage, and of my liege lord. ---Ho! ho! thou seest there is no crevice in my coat of plate ---Art thou fled?---art thou silenced?"
"No, foul parricide!" replied the voice; "think of thy father! ---think of his death!---think of his banquet-room flooded with his gore, and that poured forth by the hand of a son!"
"Ha!" answered the Baron, after a long pause, "an thou knowest that, thou art indeed the author of evil, and as omniscient as the monks call thee!---That secret I deemed locked in my own breast, and in that of one besides---the temptress, the partaker of my guilt.---Go, leave me, fiend! and seek the Saxon witch Ulrica, who alone could tell thee what she and I alone witnessed. ---Go, I say, to her, who washed the wounds, and straighted the corpse, and gave to the slain man the outward show of one parted in time and in the course of nature---Go to her, she was my temptress, the foul provoker, the more foul rewarder, of the deed ---let her, as well as I, taste of the tortures which anticipate hell!"
"She already tastes them," said Ulrica, stepping before the couch of Front-de-Boeuf; "she hath long drunken of this cup, and its bitterness is now sweetened to see that thou dost partake it. ---Grind not thy teeth, Front-de-Boeuf---roll not thine eyes ---clench not thine hand, nor shake it at me with that gesture of menace!---The hand which, like that of thy renowned ancestor who gained thy name, could have broken with one stroke the skull of a mountain-bull, is now unnerved and powerless as mine own!"
"Vile murderous hag!" replied Front-de-Boeuf; "detestable screech-owl! it is then thou who art come to exult over the ruins thou hast assisted to lay low?"
"Ay, Reginald Front-de-Boeuf," answered she, "it is Ulrica!---it is the daughter of the murdered Torquil Wolfganger!---it is the sister of his slaughtered sons!---it is she who demands of thee, and of thy father's house, father and kindred, name and fame ---all that she has lost by the name of Front-de-Boeuf!---Think of my wrongs, Front-de-Boeuf, and answer me if I speak not truth. Thou hast been my evil angel, and I will be thine---I will dog thee till the very instant of dissolution!"
"Detestable fury!" exclaimed Front-de-Boeuf, "that moment shalt thou never witness---Ho! Giles, Clement, and Eustace! Saint Maur, and Stephen! seize this damned witch, and hurl her from the battlements headlong---she has betrayed us to the Saxon!---Ho! Saint Maur! Clement! false-hearted, knaves, where tarry ye?"
"Call on them again, valiant Baron," said the hag, with a smile of grisly mockery; "summon thy vassals around thee, doom them that loiter to the scourge and the dungeon---But know, mighty chief," she continued, suddenly changing her tone, "thou shalt have neither answer, nor aid, nor obedience at their hands. ---Listen to these horrid sounds," for the din of the recommenced assault and defence now rung fearfully loud from the battlements of the castle; "in that war-cry is the downfall of thy house---The blood-cemented fabric of Front-de-Boeuf's power totters to the foundation, and before the foes he most despised! ---The Saxon, Reginald!---the scorned Saxon assails thy walls! ---Why liest thou here, like a worn-out hind, when the Saxon storms thy place of strength?"
"Gods and fiends!" exclaimed the wounded knight; "O, for one moment's strength, to drag myself to the 'melee', and perish as becomes my name!"
"Think not of it, valiant warrior!" replied she; "thou shalt die no soldier's death, but perish like the fox in his den, when the peasants have set fire to the cover around it."
"Hateful hag! thou liest!" exclaimed Front-de-Boeuf; "my followers bear them bravely---my walls are strong and high---my comrades in arms fear not a whole host of Saxons, were they headed by Hengist and Horsa!---The war-cry of the Templar and of the Free Companions rises high over the conflict! And by mine honour, when we kindle the blazing beacon, for joy of our defence, it shall consume thee, body and bones; and I shall live to hear thou art gone from earthly fires to those of that hell, which never sent forth an incarnate fiend more utterly diabolical!"
"Hold thy belief," replied Ulrica, "till the proof reach thee ---But, no!" she said, interrupting herself, "thou shalt know, even now, the doom, which all thy power, strength, and courage, is unable to avoid, though it is prepared for thee by this feeble band. Markest thou the smouldering and suffocating vapour which already eddies in sable folds through the chamber?---Didst thou think it was but the darkening of thy bursting eyes---the difficulty of thy cumbered breathing?---No! Front-de-Boeuf, there is another cause---Rememberest thou the magazine of fuel that is stored beneath these apartments?"
"Woman!" he exclaimed with fury, "thou hast not set fire to it? ---By heaven, thou hast, and the castle is in flames!"
"They are fast rising at least," said Ulrica, with frightful composure; "and a signal shall soon wave to warn the besiegers to press hard upon those who would extinguish them.---Farewell, Front-de-Boeuf!---May Mista, Skogula, and Zernebock, gods of the ancient Saxons---fiends, as the priests now call them---supply the place of comforters at your dying bed, which Ulrica now relinquishes!---But know, if it will give thee comfort to know it, that Ulrica is bound to the same dark coast with thyself, the companion of thy punishment as the companion of thy guilt.---And now, parricide, farewell for ever!---May each stone of this vaulted roof find a tongue to echo that title into thine ear!"
So saying, she left the apartment; and Front-de-Boeuf could hear the crash of the ponderous key, as she locked and double-locked the door behind her, thus cutting off the most slender chance of escape. In the extremity of agony he shouted upon his servants and allies--"Stephen and Saint Maur!---Clement and Giles!---I burn here unaided!---To the rescue---to the rescue, brave Bois-Guilbert, valiant De Bracy!---It is Front-de-Boeuf who calls!---It is your master, ye traitor squires!---Your ally ---your brother in arms, ye perjured and faithless knights!---all the curses due to traitors upon your recreant heads, do you abandon me to perish thus miserably!---They hear me not---they cannot hear me---my voice is lost in the din of battle.---The smoke rolls thicker and thicker---the fire has caught upon the floor below---O, for one drought of the air of heaven, were it to be purchased by instant annihilation!" And in the mad frenzy of despair, the wretch now shouted with the shouts of the fighters, now muttered curses on himself, on mankind, and on Heaven itself. ---"The red fire flashes through the thick smoke!" he exclaimed; "the demon marches against me under the banner of his own element ---Foul spirit, avoid!---I go not with thee without my comrades ---all, all are thine, that garrison these walls---Thinkest thou Front-de-Boeuf will be singled out to go alone?---No---the infidel Templar---the licentious De Bracy---Ulrica, the foul murdering strumpet---the men who aided my enterprises---the dog Saxons and accursed Jews, who are my prisoners---all, all shall attend me---a goodly fellowship as ever took the downward road ---Ha, ha, ha!" and he laughed in his frenzy till the vaulted roof rang again. "Who laughed there?" exclaimed Front-de-Boeuf, in altered mood, for the noise of the conflict did not prevent the echoes of his own mad laughter from returning upon his ear ---"who laughed there?---Ulrica, was it thou?---Speak, witch, and I forgive thee---for, only thou or the fiend of hell himself could have laughed at such a moment. Avaunt---avaunt!------"
But it were impious to trace any farther the picture of the blasphemer and parricide's deathbed.

走近卧室，朝他的床铺看看吧，
这不是平静的灵魂在安然离去；
平静的灵魂是像云雀飞上天空一样，
在清晨甜蜜的微风和圆润的露水中，
由善人们的叹息和眼泪送往天堂的！
安塞姆的离开人间却不是这样。
古戏剧
在围城者取得初步胜利后的暂时平静阶段，一方在准备扩大战果，另一方则在加强防御设施。这时，圣殿骑士和德布拉西在城堡的大厅中，举行了一次简短的磋商。
“牛面将军在哪里？”德布拉西问，他是在另一边的碉堡上指挥防务的，“有人说他给杀死了。”
“他还活着，”圣殿骑士冷冷地说，“现在还活着，但是他号称牛面将军，这一次哪怕他真的生着一个牛头，再围上十层钢板，挨了那致命的一斧头，也不得不倒下了。不消几个钟头，牛面将军就要去见他的老祖宗——这无异砍断了约翰亲王的一条臂膀。”
“也给撒旦的王国增添了一员猛将，”德布拉西说，“这是咒骂圣徒和天使的结果，他居然还命令把圣器和神像当（石雷）石使用，朝那些混账的庄稼汉头上扔呢。”
“去你的，你这个傻瓜，”圣殿骑士说，“你是盲目信仰，牛面将军是什么也不信，你们两个没什么差别，可是谁也说不出一个道理。”
“上帝保佑你吧，圣殿骑士阁下，”德布拉西答道，“我劝你说话要注意分寸，别对我信口雌黄。凭圣母起誓，我跟你和你那一帮人比起来，是更正宗的基督徒；那些传说不是毫无根据的，人们说，锡恩圣殿的骑士团自以为十分虔诚，它内部却包庇了一些邪教徒，布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔便是其中之一。”
“请你少讲这些无稽之谈，”圣殿骑士道，“目前还是考虑怎么守住这个城堡要紧。在你的一边，那些混账的庄户人打得怎么样？”
“简直像一群恶魔，”德布拉西说。“他们蜂拥而上，来势凶猛，为首的那个人，据我看，就是在比箭中获胜的家伙，因为我认得出他的号角和肩带。这都怪老菲泽西，他吹嘘的策略只是纵容那班无法无天的东西犯上作乱，反对我们！要是我没有销甲保护，那温蛋早把我射死七次了，他真是毫不留情，好像我是一头鹿，正好作他的猎物。他瞄准我盔甲上每一个铆接的地方射箭，差点打断我的肋骨，可他一点也不手软，好像我的骨头都是铁打的。要不是我里边衬着一套西班牙紧身锁子甲，我早完蛋了。”
“但是你守住了阵地吧？”圣殿骑士说。“我们那边却丢掉了碉堡。”
“那是一个重大的损失，”德布拉西说，“那些混蛋可以用它作掩护，从那里就近攻打城堡，要是我们不好好防守，他们还可能攻取塔楼守卫不严的一角，或者某个被遗忘的窗口，然后扑向我们。我们的人数太少，无法在每一点上都设兵防守；而且士兵们都在叫苦，说他们一露面就成了靶子，许多箭纷纷射了过来，好像他们是祈祷日晚上的教堂，大家都要奔向那里。牛面将军又快死了，我们不能再指望从他的牛头和蛮力得到支援了。因此我想，布里恩老兄，识时务者为俊杰，我们何不与那些无赖讲和算了，把抓来的俘虏交还他们？”
“什么！”圣殿骑士大喊道，“把抓来的俘虏交还他们，成为他们的话柄，给他们嘲笑和咒骂？他们会说，我们是软骨头武士，只会趁天黑绑架一群手无寸铁的旅人，却无法守卫坚固的城堡，对付一群由放猪的、小丑和人类的残渣余孽领导的亡命之徒！真丢人，出这种好主意，莫里斯•德布拉西！我宁可让我的身体和我的耻辱，一起埋葬在这城堡的废墟中，也不愿接受这种屈辱的、可耻的和解。”
“那么我们到城墙上去吧，”德布拉西满不在乎地说，“没有一个人，不论他是土耳其人还是圣殿骑士，会像我这样把生命看得轻如鸿毛的。但是我想，我希望我的自由团队，现在有四五十个出色的战士在我身边，这算不得丢脸吧？啊，英勇的长矛骑兵们！你们一旦知道你们的队长今天的处境多么危险，你们一定会马上拿起长矛，跨上战马，打着我的旗号，前来给我们解围！那些乌合之众在你们面前，真是不堪一击啊！”
“随你希望什么，”圣殿骑士说，“但是我们只能按照现有的兵力布置防务。他们大多是牛面将军的部下，平时敲榨勒索，作恶累累，英国人对他们早已恨之入骨了。”
“那样更好，”德布拉西说。“这些粗暴的奴才会抵抗到底，宁可流尽最后一滴血，也不愿遭到外面那些农民的报复。那么让我们上去干吧，布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔；不论生还是死，你会看到，莫里斯•德布拉西今天的表现，不会辱没他名门望族的绅士身分。”
“上城楼去！”圣殿骑士回答。于是两人登上城墙，为保卫这个地方，按照战术的要求，做了他们力所能及的一切。他们一致同意，面对已被进攻者占领的碉堡的那个地点，是最危险的。不错，城堡与碉堡之间还隔着一条壕沟，围攻者不越过这个障碍，便无法攻打与碉堡隔沟相望的那扇边门。但圣殿骑士和德布拉西两人都相信，如果进攻者仍按照他们的领导人已显示过的既定方针行事，他们一定会发动强大的攻势，以便把守城部队的注意力吸引到这地点，然后利用别处防线上可能出现的任何疏忽，进行袭击。为了防止这种不利局面，他们在人力不足的情况下，只能沿城墙每隔一段布置一个哨兵，让他们互相呼应，一旦出现危险，马上发出警报。这时，他们共同决定，边门的防务由德布拉西指挥，圣殿骑士则率领二十来人作为后备力量，随时支援可能突然告急的任何地点。碉堡的失守还造成了另一个不幸后果，即尽管城堡的城墙非常高，被围困在里边的人从城墙上眺望敌人的活动，已不如以前那么清晰；因为有些矮树丛枝叶蔓延，离碉堡的出击口这么近，成了进攻者的藏身之所，他们需要在这里隐蔽多少力量都成，在这样的掩护下，守城部队无法觉察他们的存在。这样，由于根本不能确定，进攻可能在哪里爆发，德布拉西和他的朋友必须为一切可能的意外作好准备，他们的部下不论如何勇敢，也必然会体验到处在敌人围困下的焦急消沉的心情，因为进攻的时间和方式都掌握在敌人手里。
与此同时，这个被围困的危急城堡的主人却躺在床上，忍受着身体的痛苦和精神的折磨。他不具备那些罪恶累累的人通常拥有的解脱方法——在那个迷信的时代，这些人为了赎罪，大多向教会作出慷慨的施舍，靠这办法麻痹他们的恐怖感，认为这样他们便可获得赦免和宽恕了；尽管他们所购得的这种庇护，与真诚的忏悔带来的心灵平静大相径庭，就像靠鸦片取得的充满噩梦的麻木昏迷，与健康而自然的睡眠大不相同一样，然而这种精神状态毕竟比悔恨交加的痛苦心理略胜一筹。可是牛面将军是个心狠手辣，贪得无厌的人，在他的各种恶习中占主导地位的是贪婪；他一向不把教会和教士放在眼里，自然不会用金银和土地作代价，购买赦免和赎罪的权利。圣殿骑士也是个假教徒，但那是另一种类型，他曾批评牛面将军，说他什么也不信，蔑视教会的权威，自己却讲不出一个道理；其实这批评并不完全对，那位爵爷也是有理由的，他是觉得教会出售的商品太贵，它推销的精神解脱法，像耶路撒冷的大酋长要的价钱一样，“太昂贵了。”他是不愿给医生付巨大的诊费，才否定药物的效力的。
但是那个可怕的时刻终于到来了，土地和一切金银财宝即将从他的眼前消失，这个野蛮的领主的心固然硬如铁石，现在展望未来的茫茫黑暗，也不禁毛骨惊然。身体的高热助长了心灵的焦躁和痛苦，临终的病榻让他体验到了一种新觉醒的恐怖意识，它与他长期形成的根深蒂固的本性在进行搏斗；这是一种可怕的心理状态，处在这种状态，一个人仿佛陷入了万劫不复的深渊，在那里只有怨恨，没有希望，只有良心的谴责，没有悔改的道路，不仅要为眼前的痛苦惶惶不安，而且看不到它终止或减轻的任何迹象！
“现在那些狗娘养的教士都上哪儿去了？”领主咆哮道，“他们把念经的价钱抬得这么高，现在却不知去向！卡尔默罗会的赤脚修士都跑哪儿去了？我的父亲为他们建造了圣安妮修道院，害我失去了大片牧场，无数的田地和围场，可如今，这些贪得无厌的狗在哪儿？我保证，一定在喝酒，或者跑到哪个守财奴的床边耍他们的鬼花招去了。他们的修道院是我父亲修建的，我是他的继承人，他们有义务为我祈祷！可是这些忘恩负义的混蛋，却让我像一条无家可归的野狗那样死去，没有人替我忏悔，没有人给我的灵魂指引归宿！让圣殿骑士到这儿来，他也是教士，他可以干这差使。但是不！向布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔忏悔，那还不如去向魔鬼忏悔，天堂和地狱都不在他的话下。我听老人们说过，我们可以自己祷告——自己为自己祷告，那就不必恳求和贿赂那些假教士了。但是我，我不敢这么做！”
“牛面将军雷金纳德活到今天，终于也承认他有不敢做的事了？”一个破嗓子在他床边尖声叫了起来。
牛面将军的自言自语给这奇怪的声音打断了，他那颗罪恶的心，那些惊恐不定的神经，以为这是哪个妖魔在作祟，因为按照当时的迷信观念，人到了弥留状态，妖魔就会光顾，扰乱他们的情绪，转移他们对永恒的幸福的向往。他打了个冷噤，缩紧了身子；但是马上又鼓起平时的勇气，大声喝道：“谁在那里？你是什么人，敢像乌鸦一样在我面前呱呱乱叫，跟我顶撞？跑到前面来，让我看看。”
“我是你的催命鬼，牛面将军雷金纳德，”那声音答道。
“如果你真的是鬼，那么把你的嘴脸露给我看，”垂死的骑士答道，“不要以为我会怕你。凭永恒的地狱起誓，我一向出生入死，不怕危险，你的精神折磨不能使我屈服，不论天堂还是地狱，我从来不知道退缩！”
“想想你的罪恶吧，牛面将军雷金纳德，”那个阴魂般的声音又道，“想想你的叛逆行为，你的烧杀掳掠，你的谋财害命！是谁怂恿无法无天的约翰发动战争，反对他白发苍苍的父亲，反对他宽宏大量的哥哥的？”
“不论你是魔鬼、神父，还是妖怪，”牛面将军答道，“你说的都是弥天大谎！不是我撺掇约翰叛乱的一不是我一个人；有五十个骑士和贵族参加了这阴谋，他们都是中部各郡的精华，从没有过比他们更好的骑士了。难道应该我一个人为五十个人的错误承担责任吗？胡言乱语的魔鬼，我不买你的账！滚开，不要再在我的床边纠缠。如果你是个活人，就让我安静地死去，如果你是个鬼魂，那么你的时候还没有到。”
“你不可能安静地死去，”那声音又说道，“哪怕你死了，你也不能忘记你那些血腥的屠杀，那些死在你刀下的人的呻吟，那些留在这城堡地上的血迹！”
“你这些恶毒的指责毫不足道，我根本不在乎，”牛面将军回答，勉强发出了一阵阴险的笑声。“那个犹太人是邪教徒，我对待他的态度应该得到上天的赞许，否则为什么那些手上沾满萨拉森人鲜血的人，会给封为圣徒呢？我杀害的那些撒克逊猪秽——他们是我的国家，我的家族，我的亲王的仇敌。哈哈！你瞧，你在我的战袍上是找不到污点的。你溜走了吗？你没有话说了吧？”
“我没有走，你这个丧尽天良的弑父暴徒！”那声音答道，“想想你的父亲吧！——想想他是怎么死的！想想他怎样倒在宴会大厅的血泊中，怎样给他的儿子亲手刺死吧！”
“啊！”男爵沉默了好大一会，才答道，“你连这事也知道，那么你确实是魔鬼，因为据修士们说，你是无所不知的！那个秘密我以为是藏在我心中的，谁也不会知道，除了一个人——那个引诱我犯罪的妖妇，我的同谋犯。去吧，离开我，魔鬼！去找那个撒克逊女巫乌尔莉加，我和她一起干的事，只有她能告诉你。去，告诉你，去找她，是她洗净了伤口，拉直了尸体，使被害的人保持了因年老而正常死亡的外表。去找她，是她引诱我干的，她是阴险的教唆犯，她的罪恶更大，她向我许了愿，答应作我的情妇。让她也像我一样，在进入地狱以前先尝尝精神折磨的滋味吧！”
“她已经尝到了，”乌尔莉加说道，跨到了牛面将军的病床前面，“她早已尝到这杯苦酒，但是现在这杯苦酒有了甜味，因为我看到你终于也得喝它了。牛面将军，不必磨你的牙齿，不必转动你的眼珠，不必挥舞拳头，做出威胁的姿势！这只手尽管力大无穷，可以一拳打破一头公牛的头颅，像你那个著名的父亲一样，但是现在它已经衰老，没有力气，跟我的一样了！”
“阴险毒辣的老虔婆！”牛面将军答道，“喋喋不休的、讨厌的猫头鹰！那么这是你，是你在幸灾乐祸，为我的城堡的覆灭拍手叫好？”
“对，牛面将军雷金纳德，”她答道，“我是乌尔莉加！被你杀害的托奎尔•沃尔夫岗格的女儿！他那些殉难的儿子的同胞姊妹！是她要你，要你父亲的全家，偿还血债，为她的父亲和亲人，为他们的名声和荣誉，为牛面将军一家给他们造成的损害报仇！想想我的冤屈，牛面将军，回答我，我讲的是不是事实？你是我的魔鬼，我也要作你的魔鬼，我要钉住你不放，直到你毁灭为止！”
“狠心的女人！”牛面将军喊道，“但是你看不到那个时刻。来人呀，贾尔斯，克莱门特，尤斯塔斯！圣莫尔和斯蒂芬！抓住这个该死的女巫，把她从城楼上倒头扔下去；她把我们出卖给了撒克逊人！喂，圣莫尔，克莱门特！这些没有良心的混蛋，你们都滚到哪儿去啦？”
“大声喊吧，勇敢的爵爷，”老太婆说，露出了险恶的冷笑，“召集你的奴仆吧，谁不听话，就把他鞭打一顿，送入地牢。但是要知道，强大的头领，”她继续说，突然改变了声音，“你不会得到回答，他们已自顾不暇，无力来帮助你，听你发号施令了。听听这些可怕的声音，”因为进攻已重新开始，双方的呐喊声愈来愈响，不断从城堡上空传来，“你的巢穴就要葬送在这一片喊杀声中了。牛面将军靠鲜血建立的权力已摇摇欲坠，马上会在他所鄙视的敌人面前彻底毁灭了！雷金纳德！撒克逊人，你所嘲笑的撒克逊人，在进攻你的城堡了！为什么你还躺在这儿，像一只筋疲力尽的野兽，听任撒克逊人攻打你的要塞啊？”
“天神也罢，恶鬼也罢，帮助我吧，”负伤的骑士喊道，“哪怕给我一分钟的力气也好呀，让我走上城楼，死在战斗中，免得辱没我的一世英名吧！”
“别指望这个啦，勇敢的武士！”她答道，“你不会死在沙场上，只能像狐狸一样躺在洞里，让农夫在它周围放火焚烧，把你烧死在洞内。”
“可恶的老婆子！你在撒谎！”牛面将军嚷道，“我的部下英勇无敌，我的城墙坚固高大，我的伙伴不怕撒克逊人的干军万马，哪怕那是亨吉斯特和霍尔萨(注)指挥的！听吧，圣殿骑士和自由兵团的呐喊声多么响亮！凭我的荣誉起誓，等我们燃起熊熊篝火，庆祝我们的胜利时，我要把你丢在火中烧成灰烬；我要活到那一天，亲眼看到你这个比魔鬼还凶恶的巫婆，从人间的烈火中走进地狱的烈火！”
--------
(注)亨吉斯特的兄弟，曾与亨吉斯特一起，率领第一批盎格鲁一撒克逊人进入英格兰，因而成为传说中的英雄。
“保持你的信念，等事实向你证明一切吧，”乌尔莉加答道，但马上又改变了主意，“不！应该让你现在就知道你的命运，你的全部权势、力量和勇气都无法改变它，尽管它是这双衰弱的手为你准备的。你发觉没有，令人窒息的烟雾正在回旋卷动，一缕缕的渗入这间屋子？你以为这是你眼睛模糊、呼吸困难造成的错觉吗？不！牛面将军，这来自别的原因。你还记得那个木柴仓库吗？它就在这些房间下面。”
“妖妇！”他急得大喊道，“你没放火吧？我的天，你放火了，城堡陷在火焰中了！”
“至少人会越烧越旺，”乌尔莉加说，安静得令人害怕，“一个信号马上会升起，它要通知围城的人加紧进攻，让这里的人来不及救火。再见，牛面将军！让米斯塔、斯科格拉和泽恩博克那些古代撒克逊人的神——也就是现代教士所说的魔鬼，来到你的床前陪伴你吧，乌尔莉加现在不想奉陪了！但是不妨告诉你，这对你也许是个安慰：乌尔莉加也会跟你一起走向黑暗的彼岸，她以前与你一起犯罪，现在也与你一起接受惩罚。永别了，你这个弑父的叛逆！愿这间屋子的每一块石头都有一张嘴，对着你的耳朵宣布你弑父的罪孽！”
这么说完，她走出了房间；牛面将军听到她咯哒咯哒转动着笨重的钥匙，在门上加了两把锁，这样，把他逃跑的最后一线希望也斩断了。他急得无计可施，大喊着他的仆人和伙伴的名字：“斯蒂芬和圣莫尔！克莱门特和贾尔斯！我在这里烧死，却没有人救我！救命啊，救命啊，勇敢的布瓦吉贝尔，勇敢的德布拉西！这是牛面将军在叫你们啊！我是你们的主人，你们这些丧尽天良的扈从！我是你们的盟友——你们的兄弟和战友，你们这些讲话不算数的背信弃义的骑士！你们这么抛弃我，让我这么悲惨地死去，凡是叛徒应该得到的诅咒，都会落到你们这些胆小鬼的头上！他们听不到——不可能听到，我的声音淹没在战斗的叫嚣中了。烟雾滚滚，越来越浓了，大火一定已从下面烧到了楼板上。啊，天哪，给我一口新鲜空气吧，哪怕这得马上付出生命的代价广在疯狂的绝望中，这个垂死的人一会儿像战士一样大声呼叫，一会儿小声诅咒，诅咒自己，诅咒人类，甚至诅咒上帝。“鲜红的火舌穿过浓烟了！”他惊叫道，“魔鬼已经赤膊上阵，向我进攻了。你这恶鬼，滚开！我没有伙伴不跟你走——守在城墙上的人都是我的伙伴，你都可以带走。你单单挑选牛面将军一个人跟你走吗？不，那个假教徒圣殿骑士，那个放荡的德布拉酉，还有乌尔莉加，那个怂恿我谋杀父亲的婊于，还有那些与我一起烧杀掳掠的帮凶，还有我的俘虏，那些下贱的撒克逊言生和该死的犹太人——所有这些人都应该作我的伙伴，陪我一起下地狱。哈哈哈！”他发出了一阵狂笑，声浪在屋顶下久久回旋。“谁在发笑？”牛面将军鼓起勇气大叫道，因为战斗的喧闹声虽然响，不能阻挡他自己的狂笑发出的回声传进他的耳朵。“谁在发笑？乌尔莉加，这是你吗？老巫婆，开口呀，我饶恕你；我知道只有你和地狱的魔鬼，才会在这种时候还这么大笑。滚开——滚开！”
但是再把这个不敬上帝的弑父者的临终景象描写下去，不免是对神明的亵读了。
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Chapter 31
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, Or, close the wall up with our English dead. --------------- And you, good yeomen, Whose limbs were made in England, show us here The mettle of your pasture---let us swear That you are worth your breeding. King Henry V
Cedric, although not greatly confident in Ulrica's message, omitted not to communicate her promise to the Black Knight and Locksley. They were well pleased to find they had a friend within the place, who might, in the moment of need, be able to facilitate their entrance, and readily agreed with the Saxon that a storm, under whatever disadvantages, ought to be attempted, as the only means of liberating the prisoners now in the hands of the cruel Front-de-Boeuf.
"The royal blood of Alfred is endangered," said Cedric.
"The honour of a noble lady is in peril," said the Black Knight.
"And, by the Saint Christopher at my baldric," said the good yeoman, "were there no other cause than the safety of that poor faithful knave, Wamba, I would jeopard a joint ere a hair of his head were hurt."
"And so would I," said the Friar; "what, sirs! I trust well that a fool---I mean, d'ye see me, sirs, a fool that is free of his guild and master of his craft, and can give as much relish and flavour to a cup of wine as ever a flitch of bacon can---I say, brethren, such a fool shall never want a wise clerk to pray for or fight for him at a strait, while I can say a mass or flourish a partisan." And with that he made his heavy halberd to play around his head as a shepherd boy flourishes his light crook.
"True, Holy Clerk," said the Black Knight, "true as if Saint Dunstan himself had said it.---And now, good Locksley, were it not well that noble Cedric should assume the direction of this assault?"
"Not a jot I," returned Cedric; "I have never been wont to study either how to take or how to hold out those abodes of tyrannic power, which the Normans have erected in this groaning land. I will fight among the foremost; but my honest neighbours well know I am not a trained soldier in the discipline of wars, or the attack of strongholds."
"Since it stands thus with noble Cedric," said Locksley, "I am most willing to take on me the direction of the archery; and ye shall hang me up on my own Trysting-tree, an the defenders be permitted to show themselves over the walls without being stuck with as many shafts as there are cloves in a gammon of bacon at Christmas."
"Well said, stout yeoman," answered the Black Knight; "and if I be thought worthy to have a charge in these matters, and can find among these brave men as many as are willing to follow a true English knight, for so I may surely call myself, I am ready, with such skill as my experience has taught me, to lead them to the attack of these walls."
The parts being thus distributed to the leaders, they commenced the first assault, of which the reader has already heard the issue.
When the barbican was carried, the Sable Knight sent notice of the happy event to Locksley, requesting him at the same time, to keep such a strict observation on the castle as might prevent the defenders from combining their force for a sudden sally, and recovering the outwork which they had lost. This the knight was chiefly desirous of avoiding, conscious that the men whom he led, being hasty and untrained volunteers, imperfectly armed and unaccustomed to discipline, must, upon any sudden attack, fight at great disadvantage with the veteran soldiers of the Norman knights, who were well provided with arms both defensive and offensive; and who, to match the zeal and high spirit of the besiegers, had all the confidence which arises from perfect discipline and the habitual use of weapons.
The knight employed the interval in causing to be constructed a sort of floating bridge, or long raft, by means of which he hoped to cross the moat in despite of the resistance of the enemy. This was a work of some time, which the leaders the less regretted, as it gave Ulrica leisure to execute her plan of diversion in their favour, whatever that might be.
When the raft was completed, the Black Knight addressed the besiegers:---"It avails not waiting here longer, my friends; the sun is descending to the west---and I have that upon my hands which will not permit me to tarry with you another day. Besides, it will be a marvel if the horsemen come not upon us from York, unless we speedily accomplish our purpose. Wherefore, one of ye go to Locksley, and bid him commence a discharge of arrows on the opposite side of the castle, and move forward as if about to assault it; and you, true English hearts, stand by me, and be ready to thrust the raft endlong over the moat whenever the postern on our side is thrown open. Follow me boldly across, and aid me to burst yon sallyport in the main wall of the castle. As many of you as like not this service, or are but ill armed to meet it, do you man the top of the outwork, draw your bow-strings to your ears, and mind you quell with your shot whatever shall appear to man the rampart---Noble Cedric, wilt thou take the direction of those which remain?"
"Not so, by the soul of Hereward!" said the Saxon; "lead I cannot; but may posterity curse me in my grave, if I follow not with the foremost wherever thou shalt point the way---The quarrel is mine, and well it becomes me to be in the van of the battle."
"Yet, bethink thee, noble Saxon," said the knight, "thou hast neither hauberk, nor corslet, nor aught but that light helmet, target, and sword."
"The better!" answered Cedric; "I shall be the lighter to climb these walls. And,---forgive the boast, Sir Knight,---thou shalt this day see the naked breast of a Saxon as boldly presented to the battle as ever ye beheld the steel corslet of a Norman."
"In the name of God, then," said the knight, "fling open the door, and launch the floating bridge."
The portal, which led from the inner-wall of the barbican to the moat, and which corresponded with a sallyport in the main wall of the castle, was now suddenly opened; the temporary bridge was then thrust forward, and soon flashed in the waters, extending its length between the castle and outwork, and forming a slippery and precarious passage for two men abreast to cross the moat. Well aware of the importance of taking the foe by surprise, the Black Knight, closely followed by Cedric, threw himself upon the bridge, and reached the opposite side. Here he began to thunder with his axe upon the gate of the castle, protected in part from the shot and stones cast by the defenders by the ruins of the former drawbridge, which the Templar had demolished in his retreat from the barbican, leaving the counterpoise still attached to the upper part of the portal. The followers of the knight had no such shelter; two were instantly shot with cross-bow bolts, and two more fell into the moat; the others retreated back into the barbican.
The situation of Cedric and of the Black Knight was now truly dangerous, and would have been still more so, but for the constancy of the archers in the barbican, who ceased not to shower their arrows upon the battlements, distracting the attention of those by whom they were manned, and thus affording a respite to their two chiefs from the storm of missiles which must otherwise have overwhelmed them. But their situation was eminently perilous, and was becoming more so with every moment.
"Shame on ye all!" cried De Bracy to the soldiers around him; "do ye call yourselves cross-bowmen, and let these two dogs keep their station under the walls of the castle?---Heave over the coping stones from the battlements, an better may not be---Get pick-axe and levers, and down with that huge pinnacle!" pointing to a heavy piece of stone carved-work that projected from the parapet.
At this moment the besiegers caught sight of the red flag upon the angle of the tower which Ulrica had described to Cedric. The stout yeoman Locksley was the first who was aware of it, as he was hasting to the outwork, impatient to see the progress of the assault.
"Saint George!" he cried, "Merry Saint George for England!---To the charge, bold yeomen!---why leave ye the good knight and noble Cedric to storm the pass alone?---make in, mad priest, show thou canst fight for thy rosary,---make in, brave yeomen!---the castle is ours, we have friends within---See yonder flag, it is the appointed signal---Torquilstone is ours!---Think of honour, think of spoil---One effort, and the place is ours!"
With that he bent his good bow, and sent a shaft right through the breast of one of the men-at-arms, who, under De Bracy's direction, was loosening a fragment from one of the battlements to precipitate on the heads of Cedric and the Black Knight. A second soldier caught from the hands of the dying man the iron crow, with which he heaved at and had loosened the stone pinnacle, when, receiving an arrow through his head-piece, he dropped from the battlements into the moat a dead man. The men-at-arms were daunted, for no armour seemed proof against the shot of this tremendous archer.
"Do you give ground, base knaves!" said De Bracy; "'Mount joye Saint Dennis!'---Give me the lever!"
And, snatching it up, he again assailed the loosened pinnacle, which was of weight enough, if thrown down, not only to have destroyed the remnant of the drawbridge, which sheltered the two foremost assailants, but also to have sunk the rude float of planks over which they had crossed. All saw the danger, and the boldest, even the stout Friar himself, avoided setting foot on the raft. Thrice did Locksley bend his shaft against De Bracy, and thrice did his arrow bound back from the knight's armour of proof.
"Curse on thy Spanish steel-coat!" said Locksley, "had English smith forged it, these arrows had gone through, an as if it had been silk or sendal." He then began to call out, "Comrades! friends! noble Cedric! bear back, and let the ruin fall."
His warning voice was unheard, for the din which the knight himself occasioned by his strokes upon the postern would have drowned twenty war-trumpets. The faithful Gurth indeed sprung forward on the planked bridge, to warn Cedric of his impending fate, or to share it with him. But his warning would have come too late; the massive pinnacle already tottered, and De Bracy, who still heaved at his task, would have accomplished it, had not the voice of the Templar sounded close in his ears:---
"All is lost, De Bracy, the castle burns."
"Thou art mad to say so!" replied the knight.
"It is all in a light flame on the western side. I have striven in vain to extinguish it."
With the stern coolness which formed the basis of his character, Brian de Bois-Guilbert communicated this hideous intelligence, which was not so calmly received by his astonished comrade.
"Saints of Paradise!" said De Bracy; "what is to be done? I vow to Saint Nicholas of Limoges a candlestick of pure gold---"
"Spare thy vow," said the Templar, "and mark me. Lead thy men down, as if to a sally; throw the postern-gate open---There are but two men who occupy the float, fling them into the moat, and push across for the barbican. I will charge from the main gate, and attack the barbican on the outside; and if we can regain that post, be assured we shall defend ourselves until we are relieved, or at least till they grant us fair quarter."
"It is well thought upon," said De Bracy; "I will play my part ---Templar, thou wilt not fail me?"
"Hand and glove, I will not!" said Bois-Guilbert. "But haste thee, in the name of God!"
De Bracy hastily drew his men together, and rushed down to the postern-gate, which he caused instantly to be thrown open. But scarce was this done ere the portentous strength of the Black Knight forced his way inward in despite of De Bracy and his followers. Two of the foremost instantly fell, and the rest gave way notwithstanding all their leader's efforts to stop them.
"Dogs!" said De Bracy, "will ye let TWO men win our only pass for safety?"
"He is the devil!" said a veteran man-at-arms, bearing back from the blows of their sable antagonist.
"And if he be the devil," replied De Bracy, "would you fly from him into the mouth of hell?---the castle burns behind us, villains!---let despair give you courage, or let me forward! I will cope with this champion myself"
And well and chivalrous did De Bracy that day maintain the fame he had acquired in the civil wars of that dreadful period. The vaulted passage to which the postern gave entrance, and in which these two redoubted champions were now fighting hand to hand, rung with the furious blows which they dealt each other, De Bracy with his sword, the Black Knight with his ponderous axe. At length the Norman received a blow, which, though its force was partly parried by his shield, for otherwise never more would De Bracy have again moved limb, descended yet with such violence on his crest, that he measured his length on the paved floor.
"Yield thee, De Bracy," said the Black Champion, stooping over him, and holding against the bars of his helmet the fatal poniard with which the knights dispatched their enemies, (and which was called the dagger of mercy,)---"yield thee, Maurice de Bracy, rescue or no rescue, or thou art but a dead man."
"I will not yield," replied De Bracy faintly, "to an unknown conqueror. Tell me thy name, or work thy pleasure on me---it shall never be said that Maurice de Bracy was prisoner to a nameless churl."
The Black Knight whispered something into the ear of the vanquished.
"I yield me to be true prisoner, rescue or no rescue," answered the Norman, exchanging his tone of stern and determined obstinacy for one of deep though sullen submission.
"Go to the barbican," said the victor, in a tone of authority, "and there wait my further orders."
"Yet first, let me say," said De Bracy, "what it imports thee to know. Wilfred of Ivanhoe is wounded and a prisoner, and will perish in the burning castle without present help."
"Wilfred of Ivanhoe!" exclaimed the Black Knight---"prisoner, and perish!---The life of every man in the castle shall answer it if a hair of his head be singed---Show me his chamber!"
"Ascend yonder winding stair," said De Bracy; "it leads to his apartment---Wilt thou not accept my guidance?" he added, in a submissive voice.
"No. To the barbican, and there wait my orders. I trust thee not, De Bracy."
During this combat and the brief conversation which ensued, Cedric, at the head of a body of men, among whom the Friar was conspicuous, had pushed across the bridge as soon as they saw the postern open, and drove back the dispirited and despairing followers of De Bracy, of whom some asked quarter, some offered vain resistance, and the greater part fled towards the court-yard. De Bracy himself arose from the ground, and cast a sorrowful glance after his conqueror. "He trusts me not!" he repeated; "but have I deserved his trust?" He then lifted his sword from the floor, took off his helmet in token of submission, and, going to the barbican, gave up his sword to Locksley, whom he met by the way.
As the fire augmented, symptoms of it became soon apparent in the chamber, where Ivanhoe was watched and tended by the Jewess Rebecca. He had been awakened from his brief slumber by the noise of the battle; and his attendant, who had, at his anxious desire, again placed herself at the window to watch and report to him the fate of the attack, was for some time prevented from observing either, by the increase of the smouldering and stifling vapour. At length the volumes of smoke which rolled into the apartment---the cries for water, which were heard even above the din of the battle made them sensible of the progress of this new danger.
"The castle burns," said Rebecca; "it burns!---What can we do to save ourselves?"
"Fly, Rebecca, and save thine own life," said Ivanhoe, "for no human aid can avail me."
"I will not fly," answered Rebecca; "we will be saved or perish together---And yet, great God!---my father, my father---what will be his fate!"
At this moment the door of the apartment flew open, and the Templar presented himself,---a ghastly figure, for his gilded armour was broken and bloody, and the plume was partly shorn away, partly burnt from his casque. "I have found thee," said he to Rebecca; "thou shalt prove I will keep my word to share weal and woe with thee---There is but one path to safety, I have cut my way through fifty dangers to point it to thee---up, and instantly follow me!"*
* The author has some idea that this passage is imitated * from the appearance of Philidaspes, before the divine * Mandane, when the city of Babylon is on fire, and he * proposes to carry her from the flames. But the theft, * if there be one, would be rather too severely punished * by the penance of searching for the original passage * through the interminable volumes of the Grand Cyrus.
"Alone," answered Rebecca, "I will not follow thee. If thou wert born of woman---if thou hast but a touch of human charity in thee ---if thy heart be not hard as thy breastplate---save my aged father---save this wounded knight!"
"A knight," answered the Templar, with his characteristic calmness, "a knight, Rebecca, must encounter his fate, whether it meet him in the shape of sword or flame---and who recks how or where a Jew meets with his?"
"Savage warrior," said Rebecca, "rather will I perish in the flames than accept safety from thee!"
"Thou shalt not choose, Rebecca---once didst thou foil me, but never mortal did so twice."
So saying, he seized on the terrified maiden, who filled the air with her shrieks, and bore her out of the room in his arms in spite of her cries, and without regarding the menaces and defiance which Ivanhoe thundered against him. "Hound of the Temple---stain to thine Order---set free the damsel! Traitor of Bois-Guilbert, it is Ivanhoe commands thee!---Villain, I will have thy heart's blood!"
"I had not found thee, Wilfred," said the Black Knight, who at that instant entered the apartment, "but for thy shouts."
"If thou be'st true knight," said Wilfred, "think not of me ---pursue yon ravisher---save the Lady Rowena---look to the noble Cedric!"
"In their turn," answered he of the Fetterlock, "but thine is first."
And seizing upon Ivanhoe, he bore him off with as much ease as the Templar had carried off Rebecca, rushed with him to the postern, and having there delivered his burden to the care of two yeomen, he again entered the castle to assist in the rescue of the other prisoners.
One turret was now in bright flames, which flashed out furiously from window and shot-hole. But in other parts, the great thickness of the walls and the vaulted roofs of the apartments, resisted the progress of the flames, and there the rage of man still triumphed, as the scarce more dreadful element held mastery elsewhere; for the besiegers pursued the defenders of the castle from chamber to chamber, and satiated in their blood the vengeance which had long animated them against the soldiers of the tyrant Front-de-Boeuf. Most of the garrison resisted to the uttermost---few of them asked quarter---none received it. The air was filled with groans and clashing of arms---the floors were slippery with the blood of despairing and expiring wretches.
Through this scene of confusion, Cedric rushed in quest of Rowena, while the faithful Gurth, following him closely through the "melee", neglected his own safety while he strove to avert the blows that were aimed at his master. The noble Saxon was so fortunate as to reach his ward's apartment just as she had abandoned all hope of safety, and, with a crucifix clasped in agony to her bosom, sat in expectation of instant death. He committed her to the charge of Gurth, to be conducted in safety to the barbican, the road to which was now cleared of the enemy, and not yet interrupted by the flames. This accomplished, the loyal Cedric hastened in quest of his friend Athelstane, determined, at every risk to himself, to save that last scion of Saxon royalty. But ere Cedric penetrated as far as the old hall in which he had himself been a prisoner, the inventive genius of Wamba had procured liberation for himself and his companion in adversity.
When the noise of the conflict announced that it was at the hottest, the Jester began to shout, with the utmost power of his lungs, "Saint George and the dragon!---Bonny Saint George for merry England!---The castle is won!" And these sounds he rendered yet more fearful, by banging against each other two or three pieces of rusty armour which lay scattered around the hall.
A guard, which had been stationed in the outer, or anteroom, and whose spirits were already in a state of alarm, took fright at Wamba's clamour, and, leaving the door open behind them, ran to tell the Templar that foemen had entered the old hall. Meantime the prisoners found no difficulty in making their escape into the anteroom, and from thence into the court of the castle, which was now the last scene of contest. Here sat the fierce Templar, mounted on horseback, surrounded by several of the garrison both on horse and foot, who had united their strength to that of this renowned leader, in order to secure the last chance of safety and retreat which remained to them. The drawbridge had been lowered by his orders, but the passage was beset; for the archers, who had hitherto only annoyed the castle on that side by their missiles, no sooner saw the flames breaking out, and the bridge lowered, than they thronged to the entrance, as well to prevent the escape of the garrison, as to secure their own share of booty ere the castle should be burnt down. On the other hand, a party of the besiegers who had entered by the postern were now issuing out into the court-yard, and attacking with fury the remnant of the defenders who were thus assaulted on both sides at once.
Animated, however, by despair, and supported by the example of their indomitable leader, the remaining soldiers of the castle fought with the utmost valour; and, being well-armed, succeeded more than once in driving back the assailants, though much inferior in numbers. Rebecca, placed on horseback before one of the Templar's Saracen slaves, was in the midst of the little party; and Bois-Guilbert, notwithstanding the confusion of the bloody fray, showed every attention to her safety. Repeatedly he was by her side, and, neglecting his own defence, held before her the fence of his triangular steel-plated shield; and anon starting from his position by her, he cried his war-cry, dashed forward, struck to earth the most forward of the assailants, and was on the same instant once more at her bridle rein.
Athelstane, who, as the reader knows, was slothful, but not cowardly, beheld the female form whom the Templar protected thus sedulously, and doubted not that it was Rowena whom the knight was carrying off, in despite of all resistance which could be offered.
"By the soul of Saint Edward," he said, "I will rescue her from yonder over-proud knight, and he shall die by my hand!"
"Think what you do!" cried Wamba; "hasty hand catches frog for fish---by my bauble, yonder is none of my Lady Rowena---see but her long dark locks!---Nay, an ye will not know black from white, ye may be leader, but I will be no follower---no bones of mine shall be broken unless I know for whom.---And you without armour too!---Bethink you, silk bonnet never kept out steel blade. ---Nay, then, if wilful will to water, wilful must drench. ---'Deus vobiscum', most doughty Athelstane!"---he concluded, loosening the hold which he had hitherto kept upon the Saxon's tunic.
To snatch a mace from the pavement, on which it lay beside one whose dying grasp had just relinquished it---to rush on the Templar's band, and to strike in quick succession to the right and left, levelling a warrior at each blow, was, for Athelstane's great strength, now animated with unusual fury, but the work of a single moment; he was soon within two yards of Bois-Guilbert, whom he defied in his loudest tone.
"Turn, false-hearted Templar! let go her whom thou art unworthy to touch---turn, limb of a hand of murdering and hypocritical robbers!"
"Dog!" said the Templar, grinding his teeth, "I will teach thee to blaspheme the holy Order of the Temple of Zion;" and with these words, half-wheeling his steed, he made a demi-courbette towards the Saxon, and rising in the stirrups, so as to take full advantage of the descent of the horse, he discharged a fearful blow upon the head of Athelstane.
Well said Wamba, that silken bonnet keeps out no steel blade. So trenchant was the Templar's weapon, that it shore asunder, as it had been a willow twig, the tough and plaited handle of the mace, which the ill-fated Saxon reared to parry the blow, and, descending on his head, levelled him with the earth.
"'Ha! Beau-seant!'" exclaimed Bois-Guilbert, "thus be it to the maligners of the Temple-knights!" Taking advantage of the dismay which was spread by the fall of Athelstane, and calling aloud, "Those who would save themselves, follow me!" he pushed across the drawbridge, dispersing the archers who would have intercepted them. He was followed by his Saracens, and some five or six men-at-arms, who had mounted their horses. The Templar's retreat was rendered perilous by the numbers of arrows shot off at him and his party; but this did not prevent him from galloping round to the barbican, of which, according to his previous plan, he supposed it possible De Bracy might have been in possession.
"De Bracy! De Bracy!" he shouted, "art thou there?"
"I am here," replied De Bracy, "but I am a prisoner."
"Can I rescue thee?" cried Bois-Guilbert.
"No," replied De Bracy; "I have rendered me, rescue or no rescue. I will be true prisoner. Save thyself---there are hawks abroad ---put the seas betwixt you and England---I dare not say more."
"Well," answered the Templar, "an thou wilt tarry there, remember I have redeemed word and glove. Be the hawks where they will, methinks the walls of the Preceptory of Templestowe will be cover sufficient, and thither will I, like heron to her haunt."
Having thus spoken, he galloped off with his followers.
Those of the castle who had not gotten to horse, still continued to fight desperately with the besiegers, after the departure of the Templar, but rather in despair of quarter than that they entertained any hope of escape. The fire was spreading rapidly through all parts of the castle, when Ulrica, who had first kindled it, appeared on a turret, in the guise of one of the ancient furies, yelling forth a war-song, such as was of yore raised on the field of battle by the scalds of the yet heathen Saxons. Her long dishevelled grey hair flew back from her uncovered head; the inebriating delight of gratified vengeance contended in her eyes with the fire of insanity; and she brandished the distaff which she held in her hand, as if she had been one of the Fatal Sisters, who spin and abridge the thread of human life. Tradition has preserved some wild strophes of the barbarous hymn which she chanted wildly amid that scene of fire and of slaughter:---
1. Whet the bright steel, Sons of the White Dragon! Kindle the torch, Daughter of Hengist! The steel glimmers not for the carving of the banquet, It is hard, broad, and sharply pointed; The torch goeth not to the bridal chamber, It steams and glitters blue with sulphur. Whet the steel, the raven croaks! Light the torch, Zernebock is yelling! Whet the steel, sons of the Dragon! Kindle the torch, daughter of Hengist!
2. The black cloud is low over the thane's castle The eagle screams--he rides on its bosom. Scream not, grey rider of the sable cloud, Thy banquet is prepared! The maidens of Valhalla look forth, The race of Hengist will send them guests. Shake your black tresses, maidens of Valhalla! And strike your loud timbrels for joy! Many a haughty step bends to your halls, Many a helmed head.
3. Dark sits the evening upon the thanes castle, The black clouds gather round; Soon shall they be red as the blood of the valiant! The destroyer of forests shall shake his red crest against them. He, the bright consumer of palaces, Broad waves he his blazing banner, Red, wide and dusky, Over the strife of the valiant: His joy is in the clashing swords and broken bucklers; He loves to lick the hissing blood as it bursts warm from the wound!
4. All must perish! The sword cleaveth the helmet; The strong armour is pierced by the lance; Fire devoureth the dwelling of princes, Engines break down the fences of the battle. All must perish! The race of Hengist is gone--- The name of Horsa is no more! Shrink not then from your doom, sons of the sword! Let your blades drink blood like wine; Feast ye in the banquet of slaughter, By the light of the blazing halls! Strong be your swords while your blood is warm, And spare neither for pity nor fear, For vengeance hath but an hour; Strong hate itself shall expire I also must perish! *
* Note G. Ulrica's Death Song
The towering flames had now surmounted every obstruction, and rose to the evening skies one huge and burning beacon, seen far and wide through the adjacent country. Tower after tower crashed down, with blazing roof and rafter; and the combatants were driven from the court-yard. The vanquished, of whom very few remained, scattered and escaped into the neighbouring wood. The victors, assembling in large bands, gazed with wonder, not unmixed with fear, upon the flames, in which their own ranks and arms glanced dusky red. The maniac figure of the Saxon Ulrica was for a long time visible on the lofty stand she had chosen, tossing her arms abroad with wild exultation, as if she reined empress of the conflagration which she had raised. At length, with a terrific crash, the whole turret gave way, and she perished in the flames which had consumed her tyrant. An awful pause of horror silenced each murmur of the armed spectators, who, for the space of several minutes, stirred not a finger, save to sign the cross. The voice of Locksley was then heard, "Shout, yeomen!---the den of tyrants is no more! Let each bring his spoil to our chosen place of rendezvous at the Trysting-tree in the Harthill-walk; for there at break of day will we make just partition among our own bands, together with our worthy allies in this great deed of vengeance."

勇敢一些，再一次向缺口冲杀，
不妨踩着我们英国人的尸首登上城墙。
……还有你们，好庄户人，
你们的身体是靠英国的大地养育的，
让大家看看祖国健儿的身手，
我们起誓，你们是毫无愧色的英国人。
《亨利五世》(注)
--------
(注)见莎士比亚的历史剧《亨利五世》第三幕第一场．
塞德里克虽然不太相信乌尔莉加的话，还是没有忘记把她的诺言转告黑甲骑士和洛克斯利。他们很高兴，觉得在城堡内有一个朋友，这是好事，必要的时候，也许她还能给他们的攻城带来一些方便。撒克逊人的看法也立即得到了他们的赞同，大家一致认为，不论情况如何不利，必须立即发动进攻，这是搭救落在残酷的牛面将军手中的俘虏的唯一办法。
“阿尔弗烈德大王的后裔随时有生命危险，”塞德里克说。
“一个高贵的小姐的荣誉也处在千钧一发中，”黑甲骑士说道。
“凭我肩带上的圣克利斯托弗神像起誓，”善良的庄户人说，“哪怕仅仅为了那个可怜的忠诚的汪八，别无其他原因，我也要冒险搭救他，不让他的一根头发受到伤害。”
“我也一样，”修士说，“告诉你们，各位，这样一个傻瓜——我是说，诸位，这个小丑已经出师，学会了一套说笑逗限的本领，他可以使你在喝酒的时候，好像有一块腌猪肉在下酒——我说，老弟们，这样一个傻瓜，只要我还能念经，弄熗使棒，他就永远不愁没有一个教士为他祈祷，对他拔刀相助。”
他一边这么说，一边拉起那把分量不轻的战钺，在头顶上抡了一圈，它在他手中显得跟牧童的弯柄杖那么轻。
“不错，神父，”黑甲骑士说，“你的话就像圣邓斯坦亲口讲的一样正确。现在，洛克斯利朋友，这次进攻是不是请尊贵的塞德里克负责指挥？”
“这件事我一窍不通，”塞德里克答道，“诺曼人在这片苦难的土地上建立的这些暴力活动的中心，应该怎么攻打，怎么防守，我从没研究过。我可以冲锋陷阵，但我那些正直的乡亲都知道，我不是一个受过训练的军人，不懂得怎么打仗，怎么进攻城堡。”
“既然尊贵的塞德里克这么想，”洛克斯利说道，“我很愿意担负起指挥弓箭手的责任；我保证，只要守城的人从城墙上一露脸，他们身上马上会射满箭，就像圣诞节的腌猪腿上撒满丁香子一样；要是做不到这点，你们可以把我吊死在我们的集会树上。”
“说得好，勇敢的庄户人，”黑甲骑士答道。“那么我，如果大家信得过我，认为我担当得了这项任务，那些勇敢的小伙子又愿意跟我一起干，相信我是一个真正的英国骑士——因为我确实觉得我称得上这样的人，那么我愿意凭我过去积累的经验，率领他们攻打城堡。”
领导人的任务就这么分配定当，于是展开了第一次进攻，它的结果读者已经知道了。
占领碉堡以后，黑甲骑士派人把这个喜讯通知了洛克斯利，同时要求他严密监视城堡上的动静，防止守城部队集中兵力突然出击，收复他们失去的碉堡。这是骑士最关心的事，因为他明白，他所率领的那支队伍是匆忙组成的，其中都是未经训练的志愿者，武器既不齐备，纪律又较松懈，如果遭到突然袭击，必然手忙脚乱，无法抵挡诺曼骑士的那些老兵，他们装备精良，能攻能守，尽管士气不如进攻者旺盛，但他们受过良好的训练，又久经沙场，能征惯战，自以为有必胜的把握。
骑士利用这段间歇，着手建造一座浮桥，那种长木筏似的东酉，指望不顾敌人的抵抗，靠它通过壕沟。这得花一定工夫，但指挥官们并不后悔，因为这也可以给乌尔莉加从容的时间，实施她的计划，牵制敌人的兵力，这对进攻者不论怎样总是有利的。
木筏制成后，黑甲骑士便向围攻者说：“现在不宜再等待了，朋友们，太阳已经偏西，我负的责任不允许我再拖延，等到明天了。再说，约克来的骑兵随时可能出现，从背后攻打我们，除非我们能迅速完成任务。因此，你们中间得有一个人去通知洛克斯利，让他开始向城堡的另一边射箭，并逐步向前移动，装出即将发动进攻的姿态。你们这些忠诚的英国人，得紧紧跟着我，只等我们这边的后门一打开，马上把木筏直插到壕沟对面去。你们要勇敢地随我冲到对面，帮助我攻打对面城堡的主墙，拿下它的出击口。你们中间凡是不愿干这事的，或者缺乏装备不宜干这事的，都可以到碉堡顶上担任警戒，拉开弓，作好射箭准备，一旦发现对面城头出现守兵，马上用箭把他们歼灭。尊贵的塞德里克，你愿意指挥留在这儿的人吗？”
“凭赫里沃德的在天之灵起誓，我不愿留在这儿！”撒克逊人说。“带领队伍我不成，但是如果我不能在你的指挥下冲锋陷阵，哪怕我进了坟墓，也会遭到子孙后代的唾骂。这场纠纷是我引起的，我应该走在战斗的最前面。”
“然而你得考虑，尊贵的撒克逊人，”骑士说，“你既没有锁子甲，也没有胸甲，没有任何护身物，只有一顶轻便帽盔，一个小盾牌，一把剑。”
“这更好！”塞德里克答道，“我爬城时可以更轻快。再说，骑士老弟，恕我夸口，你今天就能看到，一个撒克逊人不穿盔甲照样可以身先士卒，参加战斗，与一个诺曼人穿上全副盔甲一样勇敢。”
“那么好吧，愿上帝保佑我们，”骑士说，“打开门，把浮桥抬出去，直插对岸。”
从碉堡内墙通往壕沟的门立刻打开了，它与城堡主墙的出击口位于一直线上。临时桥梁随即直插过去，横亘在水面上，跨越了碉堡和城堡之间的距离，形成了一条晃动的危险的通道，可以容纳两个人并排越过壕沟。黑甲骑士完全明白对敌人攻其不备的重要性，带着塞德里克飞快地跳上浮桥，直奔对岸，一到那里马上举起战斧，捶打城门，把它打得隆隆直响。圣殿骑士从碉堡撤退时，破坏了原有的吊桥，但仍留下了半截，它附着在城门上端，正好对黑甲骑士和塞德里克起了掩护作用，挡住了从城墙上发出的箭和石块。但是跟在骑士后面的人，却得不到这种掩护，其中两个马上中了箭，还有两个掉进了壕沟，其余的人只得退回碉堡。
现在塞德里克和黑甲骑士的处境确实十分危险，幸亏碉堡顶上的弓箭手不断向对面的城楼射箭，分散了驻守在那里的士兵的注意力，这才使他们的两个首领在矢石交加下，获得了喘息的机会；否则他们恐怕也难免被击中。但是他们的处境仍危如累卵，而且随着每一分钟的过去，危险都在增加。
“你们这些窝囊废！”德布拉西朝他身边的士兵大喝道，“还算是射箭的能手呢，这两只狗躲在城墙脚下，你们居然奈何他们不得？如果没有别的办法，至少可以举起城墙上的石头往下砸。把十字镐和杠杆找来，把墙上这个大尖顶往下扔！”他说，指指城楼胸墙上耸起的一大块石头雕刻。
就在这时，围攻的人看到塔楼一角升起了一面红旗，那就是乌尔莉加向塞德里克讲的信号。第一个发现它的，便是勇敢的庄户人洛克斯利，当时他正赶往碉堡，想亲自察看一下围攻的进展情况。
“圣乔治啊！”他大喊道，“快活的圣乔治保佑英格兰吧！勇敢的朋友们，冲上去！为什么要让好心的骑士和尊贵的塞德里克单独攻打城门？过去，疯修士，显显本领，让大家看到念经的人也能打仗——过去，勇敢的庄稼人！我们一定可以拿下城堡，我们在里边有内应。瞧，那面旗子，它是约定的信号——托奎尔斯通是我们的！为了荣誉，为了战利品，冲过去！再加一把劲，城堡便属于我们了！”
他一边说，一边挽起弓，峻的一箭，射中了城墙上一个守兵的胸口，那人在德布拉西的指挥下，正准备撬起一块大石头，向塞德里克和黑甲骑士头顶砸去。第二个兵从死人手中夺下铁棍，继续撬松那块大石雕，但就在这时，又一支箭穿透了他的帽盔，他随即从城墙上掉进壕沟死了。守兵们害怕了，看来任何盔甲都抵挡不住那个可怕的射手的利箭。
“你们这些孬种，想逃走不成！”德布拉西喊道，“圣但尼斯万岁！把杠杆给我！”
他抓起杠杆，又开始撬已经松动的大石块，它这么重，如果扔下去，不仅足以摧毁残留的吊桥，使躲在它下面的两个进攻者失去藏身之地，而且可以把通过壕沟的浮桥上那些粗糙的木板砸烂。大家都看到了这危险，甚至勇猛的修士也提高警惕，不敢踏上木筏了。洛克斯利拉开弓，向德布拉酉接连射了三箭，但三箭都遇到了骑士的防身铠甲，弹了回来。
“该死的西班牙护身钢甲！”洛克斯利嚷道。“要是英国铁匠铸造的，它早像丝绸一样给这些箭射穿了。”于是他大叫道：“伙伴们！朋友们！尊贵的塞德里克！快退下，让破桥板掉下来。”
他的警告没有人听到，在黑甲骑士使劲捶击城门的声浪中，哪怕二十只军号同时吹响也无济于事。忠诚的葛四确实跳上了浮桥，想提醒塞德里克面临的危险，或者与他同归于尽。但是他的警告也许来得太迟了，那块大石头已经摇摇欲坠，可是这时出现了一个新情况，使德布拉西的计谋未能如愿以偿，原来他耳边突然响起了圣殿骑士说话的声音：
“一切都完了，德布拉西，城堡起火了。”
“你疯了不成，胡说什么！”骑士答道。
“西边已经烟雾迷漫，一片火光；我尽力扑救，但没有成功。”
严峻冷静是布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔性格的基本特点，现在他便以他特有的沉着传达了这个可怕的消息，然而他的朋友却不能以同样的沉着听取这个消息，马上慌了手脚。
“天上的圣徒啊！”德布拉酉说，“现在怎么办？我起誓，我愿意向利库日的圣尼古拉捐献一个纯金烛台……”
“废话！”圣殿骑士说。“照我说的做。你带着你的人下去，装出打算突围的样子，打开边门。门外只有两个人在浮桥上，你把他们推下壕沟，然后冲向碉堡。我会冲出正门，从外面攻打碉堡。只要我们能夺回这个据点，我们便可以守住城堡，万无一失，等待援兵的到来，至少等他们答应我们的条件，与我们讲和。”
“这主意不错，”德布拉西说，“我保证办到。圣殿骑士，你不会骗我吧？”
“我保证与你配合，决不骗你！”布瓦吉贝尔说。“但是看在上帝分上，你得赶快！”
德布拉西赶紧把他的人召集到一起，冲下城墙，直奔边门，命令立即把它打开。但是门刚开了一条缝，黑甲骑士便凭他惊人的膂力挤了进来，德布拉西和他的部下怎么也阻挡不住，前面两人马上倒下了，其余几个也不顾首领的吆喝，纷纷躲避。
“你们这些狗东西！”德布拉西喝道，“你们就让两个人把我们的唯一出路堵住不成？”
“他是魔鬼！”一个久经沙场的老兵回答，在黑甲勇士的战斧前步步后退。
“如果他是魔鬼，难道你就让他把你送进地狱不成？”德布拉西答道。“城堡在我们后面起火了，你们这些混蛋！我们只能从绝望中杀开一条生路，向前突围！让我亲自来对付这个大汉。”
德布拉西那一天的表现确实勇猛无比，不愧是那个可怕的时代中一员身经百战的骁将。边门的入口处有一个拱顶过道，两个凶猛的勇士便在这里肉搏，德布拉西挥舞着剑，黑甲骑士用沉重的战斧厮杀，你来我往，打得难解难分，武器的碰击声在过道里回旋不断。最后，诺曼人挨了一斧头，尽管它的力量给盾牌抵消了一部分，没有使他一命呜呼，但那千钧压力落到了他的帽盔上，还是打得他直挺挺躺在地下了。
“投降吧，德布拉西，”黑甲骑士说，俯下身子，拔出匕首，举在对方的脸甲前，这种匕首是骑士们用来结果敌人性命的，它锋利无比，被称为“仁慈之剑”。“投降吧，莫里斯•德布拉西，只有无条件投降才是你的唯一生路。”
“我不能向一个无名无姓的胜利者投降，”德布拉西回答，声音微弱，“把你的名字告诉我，否则就一切听便。我绝不能让人说，莫里斯•德布拉西当了一个无名的乡巴佬的俘虏。”
黑甲骑士凑在战败者的耳边，小声说了句什么。
“我无条件投降，听候处置，”诺曼人回答，那严厉坚定的口吻一下子变得灰心丧气、诚惶诚恐了。
“到碉堡中去，”胜利者用威严的声音说，“在那里等待我的进一步命令。”
“然而首先让我告诉你一件你应该知道的事，”德布拉西说。“艾文荷的威尔弗莱德受了伤，关在城堡里，不马上救出，便会死在大火中。”
“艾文荷的威尔弗莱德！”黑甲骑士惊叫道，“关在城堡里，死在大火中！如果他的头发烧焦一根，城堡中的每个人都得为他抵命。把他住的房间告诉我！”
“从那边盘旋的楼梯上去，便可以到达他的屋子，”德布拉西说。“你要我给你带路吗？”他又用讨好的口气说。
“不用。到碉堡去，在那里等我的命令。我不信任你，德布拉西。”
在这场搏斗和随后的简短谈话进行时，塞德里克看到边门已经大开，马上带领一队人，其中包括高大的修士，冲过浮桥，打退了德布拉西那些垂头丧气、失去斗志的部下，他们有的乞求饶命，有的作了无益的反抗，大部分逃进了院子。德布拉西本人则从地上爬了起来，向他的胜利者投出了伤心的一瞥，便摘下帽盔作为投降的标志，然后向碉堡走去，半路上遇到洛克斯利，向他交出了剑。
随着火势的扩大，它的迹象从犹太姑娘护理和照料艾文荷的那间屋子里，也很快就能看清楚了。他刚睡下不久，便给战斗的喧闹声惊醒。犹太姑娘又在他的再三要求下，站到窗口，一边观察，一边向他报告进攻的情况了。但是烟雾的增加使她透不出气，她的观察中断了一会。最后大量浓烟卷进了屋子，战斗的喧闹声中甚至夹杂着要水喝的呼喊声，这使他们意识到了这新的危险的到来。
“城堡着火了，”丽贝卡说，“它在燃烧！我们怎样才能搭救自己呢？”
“快走，丽贝卡，你还是自己逃命吧，”艾文荷说，“因为没有任何力量能救我了。”
“我不走，”丽贝卡回答，“我们或者一起获救，或者一起烧死。还有，伟大的上帝啊！我的父亲——我的父亲，他不知怎么样啦？”
正在这时，房门打开了，圣殿骑士出现在门口，他的样子那么可怕，那身镀金铠甲破了，沾满了血迹，头上的羽饰一部分脱落了，一部分烧焦了。“我终于找到了你，”他对丽贝卡说，“你可以证明，我讲话是算数的，我会与你同甘共苦。现在只有一条路是安全的，我历尽艰险才来到这儿，给你带路；起来吧，马上跟我走！”
“我一个人不跟你走，”丽贝卡答道。“如果你是妇女生的，如果你还有一点人性，如果你的心还没有硬得像你的胸甲一样，那么你也应搭救我年迈的父亲，还有这个受伤的骑士！”
“一个骑士，”圣殿骑士用他特有的冷静答道，“丽贝卡，一个骑士，他应族自己面对他的命运，不论那是以剑或火的形式出现；至于犹太人，谁管得了他遇到什么命运？”
“野蛮的武士！”丽贝卡说，“我宁可烧死，也不接受你的拯救！”
“这由不得你自己选择，丽贝卡；你拒绝过我一次，但是第二次，你休想再用死来要挟我。”
他这么说着，一把抓起吓得战战兢兢、大喊大叫的少女，挟住她往外就走，不管她如何哭喊，也不管艾文荷如何在他后面大声咒骂和威胁：“你这只圣殿的野狗，你玷污了你们的旗号——放下小姑娘！你是叛贼，布瓦吉贝尔，这是艾文荷在命令你！你是无赖，你得用鲜血偿还这笔债！”
就在这时，黑甲骑士跨进了房间，一边说道：“多亏你的喊叫，我总算找到你了，威尔弗莱德。”
“如果你是真正的骑士，不要顾到我，”威尔弗莱德答道，“快去追赶那个强盗——快去搭救罗文娜小姐——快去找尊贵的塞德里克！”
“我会去找他们，”黑甲骑士答道，“但救你是首要的。”
他抱起艾文荷，挟着他走出了屋子，显得那么轻松，就像圣殿骑士带走丽贝卡一样。然后他直奔边门，把伤员交给了两个庄户人照料，重又返回堡内，帮助搭救其他俘虏。
这时一个塔楼已笼罩在火光中，烈焰不断冒出窗洞和射击日。但是在城堡的其余部分，厚实的墙壁和拱形屋顶阻止了火势的蔓延，在那些屋子里，人们仍在互相杀戮，这与已经控制了别处的自然力量相比，也许同样可怕；因为围城的人正从一个房间到另一个房间，追杀城堡的守兵，他们对暴虐成性的牛面将军的部下早已恨入骨髓，现在正是报仇泄恨的机会，哪里肯轻饶他们。大多数守兵抵抗到了最后一息，不多的人乞求饶命，但没有一人得到宽恕。空中回荡着惨叫声和武器的碰击声，地上到处是绝望和垂死的人留下的粘滑的血泊。
在这幅混乱的景象中，塞德里克东奔西走地寻找着罗文娜，忠诚的葛四不顾危险，紧跟在他后面，穿过混战的场合时，尽力挡开瞄准他主人的刀熗。尊贵的撒克逊人很幸运，终于找到了义女的房间，这时她已抛弃了一切逃生的希望，在痛苦中把一个耶稣受难十字架抱在胸前，坐在椅上但求快些死去。他把她交给葛四，让他把她安全地带往碉堡，那条路现在已没有敌人，而且还没有给火焰阻断。办完这事后，忠诚的塞德里克又赶紧去寻找他的朋友阿特尔斯坦，决心不顾自身的危险，务必救出英国王室的最后一个苗裔。但是在塞德里克到达他自己禁闭过的那间古老大厅以前，汪八这个精灵鬼已救出了他自己和他的难友。
原来外面的一阵阵喊杀声，说明战斗已进入白热阶段，于是小丑用尽平生的力气，开始大叫：“圣乔治和白龙万岁！强大的圣乔治保佑快活的英格兰！城堡陷落了！”与此同时，他从丢在大厅周围地上的生锈的盔甲中，抓起两三件，把它们敲得砰砰直响，这使他的喊叫更显得惊心动魄。
大厅外面的前室驻守着一队卫兵，他们早已惶惶不安，丧魂落魄，汪八的吵闹更把他们吓得屁滚尿流，顾不上关门，便离开那里，要找圣殿骑士报告战况，声称敌人已进入旧大厅。这样，两个囚徒轻而易举地走出牢房，进了前室，又从那里走进了城堡的院子，这时最后的战斗正在那里进行。凶狠的圣殿骑士坐在马上，周围簇拥着几个骑马和徒步的卫士，这些人跟随着那位著名的将领，打算在他的率领下冲出重围，争取最后的逃生机会。根据他的命令，吊桥放下了，但通道已被包围；因为弓箭手们本来只从对面射击，对城堡进行骚扰，一看到火焰冲天，吊桥又放下了，马上成群结队拥向人口处，这既是为了不让守兵逃跑，也是指望趁城堡还没烧成灰烬之前，进入里面掠夺战利品。另一方面，从边门进来的一支攻城队伍，现在已拥进院子，猛烈攻打残余的守兵，使他们陷入了腹背受敌的困境。
然而这些士兵在绝望的驱使下，又得到了他们那位毫不气馁的领导人以身作则的鼓舞，打得非常顽强，而且他们武器精良，虽然人数寥寥无几，还是不只一次打退了对方的进攻。丽贝卡给圣殿骑士的一个萨拉森奴隶挟持在马背上，处在这一小队人的中央；尽管这场血战已乱成一片，布瓦吉贝尔仍密切注意着她的安全。他不时来到她旁边，不顾自身的安危，把他的三角形钢板盾牌挡在她前面；又不时从她旁边冲出去，一边呐喊，一边向前疾驰，把挡在前面的不少进攻者打翻在地，然后重新回到她的身边。
读者知道，阿特尔斯坦一向行动迂缓懒散，然而他并不胆小，看到圣殿骑士在不遗余力地保护一个妇女，怀疑这便是罗文娜，那个骑士正企图把她抢走，于是不顾可能遇到的一切反抗，冲了过去。
“凭圣爱德华的英灵起誓，”他喊道，“我一定得从那个狂妄自大的骑上手中搭救她，让他死在我的面前！”
“想想你在干什么！”汪八喊道，“看看清楚，不要把青蛙当鱼；我敢对大起誓，那不是我们的罗文娜小姐，你瞧她那一络络长长的黑头发！不成，既然你分不清黑白，你可以当你的首领，我却不想跟着你送死；我要死也得知道我是为谁牺牲的。何况你身上没有盔甲！要知道，丝绸帽子是经不起刀熗一击的。不过，既然你执迷不悟要跳水，那就只得让你跳了。愿上帝保佑你吧，不怕死的阿特尔斯坦！”他最后说，放开了他一直抓紧的撒克逊人的袍角。
后者这时已从地上抓起一把狼牙棒，那是躺在它旁边的一个快死的人刚从手中放下的。这样，他举着它，向圣殿骑士一伙人冲去，一边忽左忽右地接连挥舞着它，每一下都打倒了一个守兵，因为阿特尔斯坦力大无穷，此刻又怒不可遏，更显得勇猛异常；不过一会儿工夫，他已来到离布瓦吉贝尔不过两码的地方，用他的洪亮嗓音大喊：
“回来，阴险的圣殿骑士！放开她，你不配碰她；回来，你们这群奸淫掳掠、丧尽天良的强盗！”
“你这畜生！”圣殿骑士咬牙切齿地答道，“我得教训教训你，让你知道诽谤圣殿骑士是怎么回事。”他一边说，一边调转马头，让它朝着撒克逊人稍稍举起前腿，自己则踩住脚楼，挺直身子，借着马向前扑下的势头，举起刀朝阿特尔斯坦头上狠狠砍来。
“不得了，”汪八喊道，“绸帽子可挡不住钢刀啊！”圣殿骑士的武器那么锋利，不幸的撒克逊人刚举起狼牙棒，想挡开它，狼牙棒那坚韧粗大的柄，已像一条柳枝那么给砍断，于是钢刀落到了阿特尔斯坦的头上，他当即倒在了地上。
“哈！黑白旗万岁！”布瓦吉贝尔喊道，“谁诽谤圣殿骑士，这就是他的下场！”他利用阿特尔斯坦倒下所造成的沮丧气氛，大声叫道：“要活命的人快跟我来！” 随即冲过吊桥，驱散了拦阻他的弓箭手们。跟他一起突围的有他的萨拉森奴隶，还有大约五六个士兵，他们都骑着马。这些人撤退时虽然遭到了密集的矢石的攻击，十分危险，但圣殿骑士依然不顾一切骑马飞驰，绕到碉堡那里，按照原定的计划要找德布拉西，他以为他可能已占领碉堡。
“德布拉西！德布拉西！”他喊道，“你在那儿吗？”
一我在这儿，”德布拉酉答道，一但我已成了俘虏。”
“我救得了你吗？”布瓦吉贝尔叫道。
“不必了，”德布拉西回答，“我是自己投降的，无条件投降的。我得做一个诚实的俘虏。你自己逃命吧；注意，鹰隼已逃出笼子。还是让大海把你和英国隔开吧；其余我不便多说了。”
“好吧，”圣殿骑士答道，“这是你自己要待在那儿的，记住，我没有失约，没有抛弃朋友。那些鹰隼爱在哪儿就在哪儿，我不管，圣殿会堂的墙壁就足够保护我了，我一到那儿，就像苍鹭回到了窠中。”
这么说完，他便带领他的部下飞驰而去了。
那些没有骑上马的守兵，在圣殿骑士离开后，仍继续与进攻的人作着拼死的搏斗，但这主要是由于得不到宽恕，不是对逃生还抱有希望；大火迅速蔓延到了城堡的各个部分，点燃这场大火的乌尔莉加站在塔楼顶上，那副样子就像古代的复仇女神在高唱战歌，这种歌是撒克逊人皈依基督教以前，他们的吟唱诗人常在战场上引吭高歌的。她没戴帽子，满头白发披散在脑后，眼睛炯炯发亮，报仇泄恨的快感与精神错乱的怒火交织在一起。她举起纺线竿，在头顶挥舞，仿佛她是一个命运女神，掌握和操纵着人的生命之线(注1)。在那场大火和屠杀中，她高唱着粗野的赞歌，它有几节保存在我们的传说中：
白龙的儿子们，
把钢刀磨得快快的！
亨吉斯特的女儿们，
让火把烧得亮亮的！
磨快钢刀不是为了在宴会上切肉！
这是锋利无比的战斗的大刀；
点亮火炬不是为了照明新婚的闺房，
它发出的是蕴藏着怒火的青光。
磨快钢刀吧，乌鸦在啼叫了！
点亮火把吧，魔鬼在吼叫了！
白龙的儿子们，把钢刀磨得快快的！
亨吉斯特的女儿们，让火炬烧得亮亮的！
乌云覆盖了撒克逊庄主的城堡；
雄鹰驾驭着乌云在啸叫。
不要叫啦，驾驭乌云的灰色骑士，
你的筵席已经摆好！
瓦尔哈拉(注2)的姊妹们正翘首以待，
准备迎接亨吉斯特的民族送来的客人。
瓦尔哈拉的姊妹们，摇动你们的一绺绺黑发
打响你们欢迎的铃鼓吧！
许多高贵的脚正迈向你们的大厅，
许多戴帽盔的头颅要在这里安息。
黑暗降临在撒克逊庄主的城堡中，
浓密的乌云笼罩在它的周围；
但勇士的鲜血马上会把一切染红！
毁灭森林的大火摇动红色的盔缨，
高举明亮的军旗滚滚向前，
它会把豪华的府即吞噬一空，
它会把浴血奋战的勇士
淹没在一片森严的红色海洋中，
它的欢乐来自砍杀的刀剑和破裂的盾牌，
它的喜悦便是吸食伤口中咝咝流出的鲜血！
一切全得灭亡！
剑劈开了帽盔，
长熗刺穿了坚固的铠甲，
火焰吞没了王侯的住宅，
兵器摧毁了战斗的防线。
一切全得灭亡！
亨吉斯特的民族消失了，
霍尔萨的名字不再存在！
但是战斗的孩子们，不要向命运屈服！
让你们的刀剑像喝酒一样痛饮鲜血，
在熊熊燃烧的大厅中，
尽情享受屠杀的盛筵吧！
只要一息尚存就得拼命战斗，
既不怜悯也不畏缩，
因为复仇的机会转瞬即逝，
憎恨本身也难免烟消云散！
我同样必然死亡！(注3)
--------
(注1)希腊神话中的命运女神一共三个，一个纺织生命之线，一个决定生命之线的长短，一个负责切断生命之线，厄弗利德的纺纱便是由此而来。
(注2)北欧神话中接待阵亡的英灵的神殿。
(注3)见作者附注六。——原注
现在烈焰奔腾，什么也阻挡不住了，它像巨大的烽火冲向夜空，把周围遥远广袤的一片乡村照得通明。塔楼挟带着烧红的屋顶和椽子，一个接一个地倒坍，战斗的人被迫退入了院子。战败的一方只剩了不多几人，他们纷纷逃窜，躲进了附近的树林。一群群战胜者汇集在各处，望着这场大火，有些惊异，也有些害怕，火光把他们和他们的武器都照得泛出了暗红的光泽。在很长一段时间内，大家可以看到，撒克逊人乌尔莉加疯疯癫癫地凌空站立着，从她选择的高处挥舞胳臂，发出一阵阵狂笑，仿佛她是一位女王，正在指挥她点燃的这场大火。最后，随着一场骇人的巨响，整个塔楼塌陷了，她也葬身在火窟中，与残害她的暴君同归于尽了。一时间，旁观的战士们吓得不敢作声，沉静统治了一切，几分钟内，他们除了划十字，没有动过一根手指。这时传来了洛克斯利的声音：“欢呼吧，老乡们！恶霸的巢穴覆灭了！请大家带着各自的战利品，前往我们预定的集合地点——哈特山林区约会树；因为天亮以后，我们便要在我们自己的伙伴之间，以及参加这次伟大复仇行动的朋友们之间，进行公正的分配了。”
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Chapter 32
Trust me each state must have its policies: Kingdoms have edicts, cities have their charters; Even the wild outlaw, in his forest-walk, Keeps yet some touch of civil discipline; For not since Adam wore his verdant apron, Hath man with man in social union dwelt, But laws were made to draw that union closer. Old Play
The daylight had dawned upon the glades of the oak forest. The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. The hind led her fawn from the covert of high fern to the more open walks of the greenwood, and no huntsman was there to watch or intercept the stately hart, as he paced at the head of the antler'd herd.
The outlaws were all assembled around the Trysting-tree in the Harthill-walk, where they had spent the night in refreshing themselves after the fatigues of the siege, some with wine, some with slumber, many with hearing and recounting the events of the day, and computing the heaps of plunder which their success had placed at the disposal of their Chief.
The spoils were indeed very large; for, notwithstanding that much was consumed, a great deal of plate, rich armour, and splendid clothing, had been secured by the exertions of the dauntless outlaws, who could be appalled by no danger when such rewards were in view. Yet so strict were the laws of their society, that no one ventured to appropriate any part of the booty, which was brought into one common mass, to be at the disposal of their leader.
The place of rendezvous was an aged oak; not however the same to which Locksley had conducted Gurth and Wamba in the earlier part of the story, but one which was the centre of a silvan amphitheatre, within half a mile of the demolished castle of Torquilstone. Here Locksley assumed his seat---a throne of turf erected under the twisted branches of the huge oak, and the silvan followers were gathered around him. He assigned to the Black Knight a seat at his right hand, and to Cedric a place upon his left.
"Pardon my freedom, noble sirs," he said, "but in these glades I am monarch---they are my kingdom; and these my wild subjects would reck but little of my power, were I, within my own dominions, to yield place to mortal man.---Now, sirs, who hath seen our chaplain? where is our curtal Friar? A mass amongst Christian men best begins a busy morning."---No one had seen the Clerk of Copmanhurst. "Over gods forbode!" said the outlaw chief, "I trust the jolly priest hath but abidden by the wine-pot a thought too late. Who saw him since the castle was ta'en?"
"I," quoth the Miller, "marked him busy about the door of a cellar, swearing by each saint in the calendar he would taste the smack of Front-de-Boeuf's Gascoigne wine."
"Now, the saints, as many as there be of them," said the Captain, "forefend, lest he has drunk too deep of the wine-butts, and perished by the fall of the castle!---Away, Miller!---take with you enow of men, seek the place where you last saw him---throw water from the moat on the scorching ruins ---I will have them removed stone by stone ere I lose my curtal Friar."
The numbers who hastened to execute this duty, considering that an interesting division of spoil was about to take place, showed how much the troop had at heart the safety of their spiritual father.
"Meanwhile, let us proceed," said Locksley; "for when this bold deed shall be sounded abroad, the bands of De Bracy, of Malvoisin, and other allies of Front-de-Boeuf, will be in motion against us, and it were well for our safety that we retreat from the vicinity.---Noble Cedric," he said, turning to the Saxon, "that spoil is divided into two portions; do thou make choice of that which best suits thee, to recompense thy people who were partakers with us in this adventure."
"Good yeoman," said Cedric, "my heart is oppressed with sadness. The noble Athelstane of Coningsburgh is no more---the last sprout of the sainted Confessor! Hopes have perished with him which can never return!---A sparkle hath been quenched by his blood, which no human breath can again rekindle! My people, save the few who are now with me, do but tarry my presence to transport his honoured remains to their last mansion. The Lady Rowena is desirous to return to Rotherwood, and must be escorted by a sufficient force. I should, therefore, ere now, have left this place; and I waited---not to share the booty, for, so help me God and Saint Withold! as neither I nor any of mine will touch the value of a liard,---I waited but to render my thanks to thee and to thy bold yeomen, for the life and honour ye have saved."
"Nay, but," said the chief Outlaw, "we did but half the work at most---take of the spoil what may reward your own neighbours and followers."
"I am rich enough to reward them from mine own wealth," answered Cedric.
"And some," said Wamba, "have been wise enough to reward themselves; they do not march off empty-handed altogether. We do not all wear motley."
"They are welcome," said Locksley; "our laws bind none but ourselves."
"But, thou, my poor knave," said Cedric, turning about and embracing his Jester, "how shall I reward thee, who feared not to give thy body to chains and death instead of mine!---All forsook me, when the poor fool was faithful!"
A tear stood in the eye of the rough Thane as he spoke---a mark of feeling which even the death of Athelstane had not extracted; but there was something in the half-instinctive attachment of his clown, that waked his nature more keenly than even grief itself.
"Nay," said the Jester, extricating himself from master's caress, "if you pay my service with the water of your eye, the Jester must weep for company, and then what becomes of his vocation?---But, uncle, if you would indeed pleasure me, I pray you to pardon my playfellow Gurth, who stole a week from your service to bestow it on your son."
"Pardon him!" exclaimed Cedric; "I will both pardon and reward him.---Kneel down, Gurth."---The swineherd was in an instant at his master's feet---"THEOW and ESNE*
* Thrall and bondsman.
art thou no longer," said Cedric touching him with a wand; "FOLKFREE and SACLESS*
* A lawful freeman.
art thou in town and from town, in the forest as in the field. A hide of land I give to thee in my steads of Walbrugham, from me and mine to thee and thine aye and for ever; and God's malison on his head who this gainsays!"
No longer a serf, but a freeman and a landholder, Gurth sprung upon his feet, and twice bounded aloft to almost his own height from the ground. "A smith and a file," he cried, "to do away the collar from the neck of a freeman!---Noble master! doubled is my strength by your gift, and doubly will I fight for you!---There is a free spirit in my breast---I am a man changed to myself and all around.---Ha, Fangs!" he continued,---for that faithful cur, seeing his master thus transported, began to jump upon him, to express his sympathy,---"knowest thou thy master still?"
"Ay," said Wamba, "Fangs and I still know thee, Gurth, though we must needs abide by the collar; it is only thou art likely to forget both us and thyself."
"I shall forget myself indeed ere I forget thee, true comrade," said Gurth; "and were freedom fit for thee, Wamba, the master would not let thee want it."
"Nay," said Wamba, "never think I envy thee, brother Gurth; the serf sits by the hall-fire when the freeman must forth to the field of battle---And what saith Oldhelm of Malmsbury---Better a fool at a feast than a wise man at a fray."
The tramp of horses was now heard, and the Lady Rowena appeared, surrounded by several riders, and a much stronger party of footmen, who joyfully shook their pikes and clashed their brown-bills for joy of her freedom. She herself, richly attired, and mounted on a dark chestnut palfrey, had recovered all the dignity of her manner, and only an unwonted degree of paleness showed the sufferings she had undergone. Her lovely brow, though sorrowful, bore on it a cast of reviving hope for the future, as well as of grateful thankfulness for the past deliverance---She knew that Ivanhoe was safe, and she knew that Athelstane was dead. The former assurance filled her with the most sincere delight; and if she did not absolutely rejoice at the latter, she might be pardoned for feeling the full advantage of being freed from further persecution on the only subject in which she had ever been contradicted by her guardian Cedric.
As Rowena bent her steed towards Locksley's seat, that bold yeoman, with all his followers, rose to receive her, as if by a general instinct of courtesy. The blood rose to her cheeks, as, courteously waving her hand, and bending so low that her beautiful and loose tresses were for an instant mixed with the flowing mane of her palfrey, she expressed in few but apt words her obligations and her gratitude to Locksley and her other deliverers.---"God bless you, brave men," she concluded, "God and Our Lady bless you and requite you for gallantly perilling yourselves in the cause of the oppressed!---If any of you should hunger, remember Rowena has food---if you should thirst, she has many a butt of wine and brown ale---and if the Normans drive ye from these walks, Rowena has forests of her own, where her gallant deliverers may range at full freedom, and never ranger ask whose arrow hath struck down the deer."
"Thanks, gentle lady," said Locksley; "thanks from my company and myself. But, to have saved you requites itself. We who walk the greenwood do many a wild deed, and the Lady Rowena's deliverance may be received as an atonement."
Again bowing from her palfrey, Rowena turned to depart; but pausing a moment, while Cedric, who was to attend her, was also taking his leave, she found herself unexpectedly close by the prisoner De Bracy. He stood under a tree in deep meditation, his arms crossed upon his breast, and Rowena was in hopes she might pass him unobserved. He looked up, however, and, when aware of her presence, a deep flush of shame suffused his handsome countenance. He stood a moment most irresolute; then, stepping forward, took her palfrey by the rein, and bent his knee before her.
"Will the Lady Rowena deign to cast an eye---on a captive knight ---on a dishonoured soldier?"
"Sir Knight," answered Rowena, "in enterprises such as yours, the real dishonour lies not in failure, but in success."
"Conquest, lady, should soften the heart," answered De Bracy; "let me but know that the Lady Rowena forgives the violence occasioned by an ill-fated passion, and she shall soon learn that De Bracy knows how to serve her in nobler ways."
"I forgive you, Sir Knight," said Rowena, "as a Christian."
"That means," said Wamba, "that she does not forgive him at all."
"But I can never forgive the misery and desolation your madness has occasioned," continued Rowena.
"Unloose your hold on the lady's rein," said Cedric, coming up. "By the bright sun above us, but it were shame, I would pin thee to the earth with my javelin---but be well assured, thou shalt smart, Maurice de Bracy, for thy share in this foul deed."
"He threatens safely who threatens a prisoner," said De Bracy; "but when had a Saxon any touch of courtesy?"
Then retiring two steps backward, he permitted the lady to move on.
Cedric, ere they departed, expressed his peculiar gratitude to the Black Champion, and earnestly entreated him to accompany him to Rotherwood.
"I know," he said, "that ye errant knights desire to carry your fortunes on the point of your lance, and reck not of land or goods; but war is a changeful mistress, and a home is sometimes desirable even to the champion whose trade is wandering. Thou hast earned one in the halls of Rotherwood, noble knight. Cedric has wealth enough to repair the injuries of fortune, and all he has is his deliverer's---Come, therefore, to Rotherwood, not as a guest, but as a son or brother."
"Cedric has already made me rich," said the Knight,---"he has taught me the value of Saxon virtue. To Rotherwood will I come, brave Saxon, and that speedily; but, as now, pressing matters of moment detain me from your halls. Peradventure when I come hither, I will ask such a boon as will put even thy generosity to the test."
"It is granted ere spoken out," said Cedric, striking his ready hand into the gauntleted palm of the Black Knight,---"it is granted already, were it to affect half my fortune."
"Gage not thy promise so lightly," said the Knight of the Fetterlock; "yet well I hope to gain the boon I shall ask. Meanwhile, adieu."
"I have but to say," added the Saxon, "that, during the funeral rites of the noble Athelstane, I shall be an inhabitant of the halls of his castle of Coningsburgh---They will be open to all who choose to partake of the funeral banqueting; and, I speak in name of the noble Edith, mother of the fallen prince, they will never be shut against him who laboured so bravely, though unsuccessfully, to save Athelstane from Norman chains and Norman steel."
"Ay, ay," said Wamba, who had resumed his attendance on his master, "rare feeding there will be---pity that the noble Athelstane cannot banquet at his own funeral.---But he," continued the Jester, lifting up his eyes gravely, "is supping in Paradise, and doubtless does honour to the cheer."
"Peace, and move on," said Cedric, his anger at this untimely jest being checked by the recollection of Wamba's recent services. Rowena waved a graceful adieu to him of the Fetterlock ---the Saxon bade God speed him, and on they moved through a wide glade of the forest.
They had scarce departed, ere a sudden procession moved from under the greenwood branches, swept slowly round the silvan amphitheatre, and took the same direction with Rowena and her followers. The priests of a neighbouring convent, in expectation of the ample donation, or "soul-scat", which Cedric had propined, attended upon the car in which the body of Athelstane was laid, and sang hymns as it was sadly and slowly borne on the shoulders of his vassals to his castle of Coningsburgh, to be there deposited in the grave of Hengist, from whom the deceased derived his long descent. Many of his vassals had assembled at the news of his death, and followed the bier with all the external marks, at least, of dejection and sorrow. Again the outlaws arose, and paid the same rude and spontaneous homage to death, which they had so lately rendered to beauty ---the slow chant and mournful step of the priests brought back to their remembrance such of their comrades as had fallen in the yesterday's array. But such recollections dwell not long with those who lead a life of danger and enterprise, and ere the sound of the death-hymn had died on the wind, the outlaws were again busied in the distribution of their spoil.
"Valiant knight," said Locksley to the Black Champion, "without whose good heart and mighty arm our enterprise must altogether have failed, will it please you to take from that mass of spoil whatever may best serve to pleasure you, and to remind you of this my Trysting-tree?"
"I accept the offer," said the Knight, "as frankly as it is given; and I ask permission to dispose of Sir Maurice de Bracy at my own pleasure."
"He is thine already," said Locksley, "and well for him! else the tyrant had graced the highest bough of this oak, with as many of his Free-Companions as we could gather, hanging thick as acorns around him.---But he is thy prisoner, and he is safe, though he had slain my father."
"De Bracy," said the Knight, "thou art free---depart. He whose prisoner thou art scorns to take mean revenge for what is past. But beware of the future, lest a worse thing befall thee. ---Maurice de Bracy, I say BEWARE!"
De Bracy bowed low and in silence, and was about to withdraw, when the yeomen burst at once into a shout of execration and derision. The proud knight instantly stopped, turned back, folded his arms, drew up his form to its full height, and exclaimed, "Peace, ye yelping curs! who open upon a cry which ye followed not when the stag was at bay---De Bracy scorns your censure as he would disdain your applause. To your brakes and caves, ye outlawed thieves! and be silent when aught knightly or noble is but spoken within a league of your fox-earths."
This ill-timed defiance might have procured for De Bracy a volley of arrows, but for the hasty and imperative interference of the outlaw Chief. Meanwhile the knight caught a horse by the rein, for several which had been taken in the stables of Front-de-Boeuf stood accoutred around, and were a valuable part of the booty. He threw himself upon the saddle, and galloped off through the wood.
When the bustle occasioned by this incident was somewhat composed, the chief Outlaw took from his neck the rich horn and baldric which he had recently gained at the strife of archery near Ashby.
"Noble knight." he said to him of the Fetterlock, "if you disdain not to grace by your acceptance a bugle which an English yeoman has once worn, this I will pray you to keep as a memorial of your gallant bearing---and if ye have aught to do, and, as happeneth oft to a gallant knight, ye chance to be hard bested in any forest between Trent and Tees, wind three mots*
* The notes upon the bugle were anciently called mots, and * are distinguished in the old treatises on hunting, not by * musical characters, but by written words.
upon the horn thus, 'Wa-sa-hoa!' and it may well chance ye shall find helpers and rescue."
He then gave breath to the bugle, and winded once and again the call which be described, until the knight had caught the notes.
"Gramercy for the gift, bold yeoman," said the Knight; "and better help than thine and thy rangers would I never seek, were it at my utmost need." And then in his turn he winded the call till all the greenwood rang.
"Well blown and clearly," said the yeoman; "beshrew me an thou knowest not as much of woodcraft as of war!---thou hast been a striker of deer in thy day, I warrant.---Comrades, mark these three mots---it is the call of the Knight of the Fetterlock; and he who hears it, and hastens not to serve him at his need, I will have him scourged out of our band with his own bowstring."
"Long live our leader!" shouted the yeomen, "and long live the Black Knight of the Fetterlock!---May he soon use our service, to prove how readily it will be paid."
Locksley now proceeded to the distribution of the spoil, which he performed with the most laudable impartiality. A tenth part of the whole was set apart for the church, and for pious uses; a portion was next allotted to a sort of public treasury; a part was assigned to the widows and children of those who had fallen, or to be expended in masses for the souls of such as had left no surviving family. The rest was divided amongst the outlaws, according to their rank and merit, and the judgment of the Chief, on all such doubtful questions as occurred, was delivered with great shrewdness, and received with absolute submission. The Black Knight was not a little surprised to find that men, in a state so lawless, were nevertheless among themselves so regularly and equitably governed, and all that he observed added to his opinion of the justice and judgment of their leader.
When each had taken his own proportion of the booty, and while the treasurer, accompanied by four tall yeomen, was transporting that belonging to the state to some place of concealment or of security, the portion devoted to the church still remained unappropriated.
"I would," said the leader, "we could hear tidings of our joyous chaplain---he was never wont to be absent when meat was to be blessed, or spoil to be parted; and it is his duty to take care of these the tithes of our successful enterprise. It may be the office has helped to cover some of his canonical irregularities. Also, I have a holy brother of his a prisoner at no great distance, and I would fain have the Friar to help me to deal with him in due sort---I greatly misdoubt the safety of the bluff priest."
"I were right sorry for that," said the Knight of the Fetterlock, "for I stand indebted to him for the joyous hospitality of a merry night in his cell. Let us to the ruins of the castle; it may be we shall there learn some tidings of him."
While they thus spoke, a loud shout among the yeomen announced the arrival of him for whom they feared, as they learned from the stentorian voice of the Friar himself, long before they saw his burly person.
"Make room, my merry-men!" he exclaimed; "room for your godly father and his prisoner---Cry welcome once more.---I come, noble leader, like an eagle with my prey in my clutch."---And making his way through the ring, amidst the laughter of all around, he appeared in majestic triumph, his huge partisan in one hand, and in the other a halter, one end of which was fastened to the neck of the unfortunate Isaac of York, who, bent down by sorrow and terror, was dragged on by the victorious priest, who shouted aloud, "Where is Allan-a-Dale, to chronicle me in a ballad, or if it were but a lay?---By Saint Hermangild, the jingling crowder is ever out of the way where there is an apt theme for exalting valour!"
"Curtal Priest," said the Captain, "thou hast been at a wet mass this morning, as early as it is. In the name of Saint Nicholas, whom hast thou got here?"
"A captive to my sword and to my lance, noble Captain," replied the Clerk of Copmanhurst; "to my bow and to my halberd, I should rather say; and yet I have redeemed him by my divinity from a worse captivity. Speak, Jew---have I not ransomed thee from Sathanas?---have I not taught thee thy 'credo', thy 'pater', and thine 'Ave Maria'?---Did I not spend the whole night in drinking to thee, and in expounding of mysteries?"
"For the love of God!" ejaculated the poor Jew, "will no one take me out of the keeping of this mad---I mean this holy man?"
"How's this, Jew?" said the Friar, with a menacing aspect; "dost thou recant, Jew?---Bethink thee, if thou dost relapse into thine infidelity, though thou are not so tender as a suckling pig---I would I had one to break my fast upon---thou art not too tough to be roasted! Be conformable, Isaac, and repeat the words after me. 'Ave Maria'!---"
"Nay, we will have no profanation, mad Priest," said Locksley; "let us rather hear where you found this prisoner of thine."
"By Saint Dunstan," said the Friar, "I found him where I sought for better ware! I did step into the cellarage to see what might be rescued there; for though a cup of burnt wine, with spice, be an evening's drought for an emperor, it were waste, methought, to let so much good liquor be mulled at once; and I had caught up one runlet of sack, and was coming to call more aid among these lazy knaves, who are ever to seek when a good deed is to be done, when I was avised of a strong door---Aha! thought I, here is the choicest juice of all in this secret crypt; and the knave butler, being disturbed in his vocation, hath left the key in the door ---In therefore I went, and found just nought besides a commodity of rusted chains and this dog of a Jew, who presently rendered himself my prisoner, rescue or no rescue. I did but refresh myself after the fatigue of the action, with the unbeliever, with one humming cup of sack, and was proceeding to lead forth my captive, when, crash after crash, as with wild thunder-dint and levin-fire, down toppled the masonry of an outer tower, (marry beshrew their hands that built it not the firmer!) and blocked up the passage. The roar of one falling tower followed another---I gave up thought of life; and deeming it a dishonour to one of my profession to pass out of this world in company with a Jew, I heaved up my halberd to beat his brains out; but I took pity on his grey hairs, and judged it better to lay down the partisan, and take up my spiritual weapon for his conversion. And truly, by the blessing of Saint Dunstan, the seed has been sown in good soil; only that, with speaking to him of mysteries through the whole night, and being in a manner fasting, (for the few droughts of sack which I sharpened my wits with were not worth marking,) my head is well-nigh dizzied, I trow.---But I was clean exhausted.---Gilbert and Wibbald know in what state they found me ---quite and clean exhausted."
"We can bear witness," said Gilbert; "for when we had cleared away the ruin, and by Saint Dunstan's help lighted upon the dungeon stair, we found the runlet of sack half empty, the Jew half dead, and the Friar more than half---exhausted, as he calls it."
"Ye be knaves! ye lie!" retorted the offended Friar; "it was you and your gormandizing companions that drank up the sack, and called it your morning draught---I am a pagan, an I kept it not for the Captain's own throat. But what recks it? The Jew is converted, and understands all I have told him, very nearly, if not altogether, as well as myself."
"Jew," said the Captain, "is this true? hast thou renounced thine unbelief?"
"May I so find mercy in your eyes," said the Jew, "as I know not one word which the reverend prelate spake to me all this fearful night. Alas! I was so distraught with agony, and fear, and grief, that had our holy father Abraham come to preach to me, he had found but a deaf listener."
"Thou liest, Jew, and thou knowest thou dost." said the Friar; "I will remind thee of but one word of our conference---thou didst promise to give all thy substance to our holy Order."
"So help me the Promise, fair sirs," said Isaac, even more alarmed than before, "as no such sounds ever crossed my lips! Alas! I am an aged beggar'd man---I fear me a childless---have ruth on me, and let me go!"
"Nay," said the Friar, "if thou dost retract vows made in favour of holy Church, thou must do penance."
Accordingly, he raised his halberd, and would have laid the staff of it lustily on the Jew's shoulders, had not the Black Knight stopped the blow, and thereby transferred the Holy Clerk's resentment to himself.
"By Saint Thomas of Kent," said he, "an I buckle to my gear, I will teach thee, sir lazy lover, to mell with thine own matters, maugre thine iron case there!"
"Nay, be not wroth with me," said the Knight; "thou knowest I am thy sworn friend and comrade."
"I know no such thing," answered the Friar; "and defy thee for a meddling coxcomb!"
"Nay, but," said the Knight, who seemed to take a pleasure in provoking his quondam host, "hast thou forgotten how, that for my sake (for I say nothing of the temptation of the flagon and the pasty) thou didst break thy vow of fast and vigil?"
"Truly, friend," said the Friar, clenching his huge fist, "I will bestow a buffet on thee."
"I accept of no such presents," said the Knight; "I am content to take thy cuff*
* Note H. Richard Coeur-de-Lion.
as a loan, but I will repay thee with usury as deep as ever thy prisoner there exacted in his traffic."
"I will prove that presently," said the Friar.
"Hola!" cried the Captain, "what art thou after, mad Friar? brawling beneath our Trysting-tree?"
"No brawling," said the Knight, "it is but a friendly interchange of courtesy.---Friar, strike an thou darest---I will stand thy blow, if thou wilt stand mine."
"Thou hast the advantage with that iron pot on thy head," said the churchman; "but have at thee---Down thou goest, an thou wert Goliath of Gath in his brazen helmet."
The Friar bared his brawny arm up to the elbow, and putting his full strength to the blow, gave the Knight a buffet that might have felled an ox. But his adversary stood firm as a rock. A loud shout was uttered by all the yeomen around; for the Clerk's cuff was proverbial amongst them, and there were few who, in jest or earnest, had not had the occasion to know its vigour.
"Now, Priest," said, the Knight, pulling off his gauntlet, "if I had vantage on my head, I will have none on my hand---stand fast as a true man."
"'Genam meam dedi vapulatori'---I have given my cheek to the smiter," said the Priest; "an thou canst stir me from the spot, fellow, I will freely bestow on thee the Jew's ransom."
So spoke the burly Priest, assuming, on his part, high defiance. But who may resist his fate? The buffet of the Knight was given with such strength and good-will, that the Friar rolled head over heels upon the plain, to the great amazement of all the spectators. But he arose neither angry nor crestfallen.
"Brother," said he to the Knight, "thou shouldst have used thy strength with more discretion. I had mumbled but a lame mass an thou hadst broken my jaw, for the piper plays ill that wants the nether chops. Nevertheless, there is my hand, in friendly witness, that I will exchange no more cuffs with thee, having been a loser by the barter. End now all unkindness. Let us put the Jew to ransom, since the leopard will not change his spots, and a Jew he will continue to be."
"The Priest," said Clement, "is not half so confident of the Jew's conversion, since he received that buffet on the ear."
"Go to, knave, what pratest thou of conversions?---what, is there no respect?---all masters and no men?---I tell thee, fellow, I was somewhat totty when I received the good knight's blow, or I had kept my ground under it. But an thou gibest more of it, thou shalt learn I can give as well as take."
"Peace all!" said the Captain. "And thou, Jew, think of thy ransom; thou needest not to be told that thy race are held to be accursed in all Christian communities, and trust me that we cannot endure thy presence among us. Think, therefore, of an offer, while I examine a prisoner of another cast."
"Were many of Front-de-Boeuf's men taken?" demanded the Black Knight.
"None of note enough to be put to ransom," answered the Captain; "a set of hilding fellows there were, whom we dismissed to find them a new master---enough had been done for revenge and profit; the bunch of them were not worth a cardecu. The prisoner I speak of is better booty---a jolly monk riding to visit his leman, an I may judge by his horse-gear and wearing apparel.---Here cometh the worthy prelate, as pert as a pyet." And, between two yeomen, was brought before the silvan throne of the outlaw Chief, our old friend, Prior Aymer of Jorvaulx.

相信我，每个国家必须有它的政策：
王国有敕令．城市有规章，
哪怕桀骜不驯的强盗在他们的山林里，
也得保持一定的公共纪律；
因为自从亚当穿上青草的围裙，
人与人就得在一起共同生活，
只有法律才能维护社会的稳固。
古戏剧
曙光照到了栎树林中的空地上。绿油油的枝树还挂满闪光的露珠。牝鹿带着它的孩子钻出茂密的树丛，来到了比较空旷的草地上，公鹿率领着它带角的家族在林中自在倘徉，暂时还不必担心猎人的窥伺和袭击。
强盗们全都到了，聚集在哈特山林区的约会树周围；经过攻打城堡的战斗，他们累了，在那里休息和过夜——有的喝酒，有的睡觉，也有不少人在回顾和叙述白天的经历，估计着那一堆堆胜利果实的价值，等待着首领的分配。
战利品确实不少，因为尽管许多东西已化为灰烬，大量的金银器皿、贵重的盔甲和豪华的衣饰，还是被那些无所畏惧的强盗抢救了出来，在这样的收获面前，他们是任何危险都吓不倒的。然而团体的纪律是严格的，没有人敢冒大不匙，私自吞没任何一件东西，现在它们全都汇集在这儿，听候首领的处置。
集合地点是在一棵老栎树周围，但不是这故事以前提到过的，洛克斯利带葛四和汪人去过的那个地方，而是在一片森林环抱的盆地中央，离他们摧毁的托奎尔斯通城堡不到半英里。洛克斯利坐在大栎树的绿荫下，一个草皮覆盖的土墩上，他的部下集合在他的周围。他让黑甲骑士坐在他的右边，塞德里克坐在他的左边。
“请原谅我的无礼，尊贵的先生们，”他说，“但是在这些草坪上我是国王，它们是我的王国；要是我在我的国土上，把我的位置让给别人，我那些粗野的臣民就会藐视我的权威。现在，各位，谁看到过我们的随军教士啦？我们那位不修边幅的修士跑哪儿去啦？在基督徒中间，忙碌的一天开始以前，最好先做一次祈祷。”没有人看到科普曼赫斯特的教士。“但愿不要出事！”头领说，“我相信，快活的教士一定找到了酒，舍不得走开了。攻下城堡以后，谁见到过他？”
“我见到过他，”磨坊掌柜说，“他正忙着要打开地窖的门，还搬出了历书上每个圣徒的名字发誓，说他非得尝尝牛面将军藏的名酒不可。”
“好吧，但愿那么多的圣徒都能保护他，”首领说，“别让他醉得不省人事，给坍下的城堡压死卜快去，磨坊老板，马上带几个人到你最后看到他的地方，用壕沟里的水浇灭还在燃烧的废墟；哪怕把石头一块块搬开，也得找到我们那位胡闹的修士。”
尽管分配战利品是人人关心的事，它即将开始，许多人还是自告奋勇，愿意去执行这任务，他们匆匆走了，由此可见，神父的安全在大家心目中多么重要。
“现在我们继续开会，”洛克斯利说，“因为这次大胆的行动传到外边，德布拉西的部队，马尔沃辛的部队，还有牛面将军的其他狐群狗党，马上都会出动，攻打我们，为了防备万一，我们得尽快撤出这一带地方。尊贵的塞德里克，”他转身向撒克逊人说，“你手下不少人与我们一起参加了这次军事行动，现在我们把战利品分成两部分，随你挑选你认为合适的一份，用它犒劳你的那些人。”
“我的好庄户人，”塞德里克说，“现在我心乱如麻，十分沉重。科宁斯堡的尊贵的阿特尔斯坦去世了，神圣的忏悔者已经没有后代！我们的希望也随着他一去不复返了！火种被他的血浇灭了，任何人也不能使它重新燃烧了。我的人，除了现在身边的这几个，都在等我，要把他的遗体运回他家的坟地。罗文娜小姐也急于返回罗瑟伍德，得有足够的力量护送她。因此我早应该离开这儿了，我还待在这儿，不是为了分战利品，因为蒙上帝和圣维索尔特保佑，不论我和我手下的人都不需要这些财富——我留下是为了向你和你的勇敢战士，表示我的谢意，因为是你们挽救了我的生命和荣誉。”
“不成，”首领说道，“这件事我们至多只有一半功劳，把战利品拿去，你可以用它们犒赏你的乡亲和部下。”
“我有足够的钱，可以用我的财物犒劳他们，”塞德里克答道。
“我们有些人相当聪明，”汪八插嘴道，“他们早已犒劳过自己了，他们不会空着双手回去。我们不全是穿彩衣的傻瓜。”
“那很好，”洛克斯利说，“我们的规矩只约束我们自己人。”
“啊，我可怜的奴仆，”塞德里克转过身去拥抱小丑，“我应该怎么报答你才好呀，你不顾自己的性命，套上锁链，愿意替我去死；我失去了一切希望，但是你，可怜的孩子，你仍对我那么忠心！”
在他讲的时候，泪水涌上了他的眼睛，这个粗鲁的庄主表现的这种感伤情绪，是连阿特尔斯坦的死也没有引起的；他的小丑那种一半出自本能的对他的依恋，深深感动了他，它唤起的不仅仅是悲伤。
“别这样，”小丑说，挣脱了主人的怀抱，“如果你用眼泪报答我，我只得陪你一道啼哭了，这跟我小丑的身分怎么相称呢？不过，老爷子，如果你真的要让我高兴，那么我求你饶恕了我的伙伴葛四吧，他从你身边溜走了一个星期，只是为了去侍候你的儿子。”
“饶恕他！”塞德里克大声说道，“我不仅要饶恕他，还要酬谢他呢。跪下吧，葛四，”放猪的马上跪到了主人的脚边。“从现在起你不再是奴隶和家仆，”塞德里克说，用一根棒作为权标按在他的身上，“不论在镇上和镇外，在森林中和田野上，你都是自由民，一个独立的人。我把我沃尔布鲁姆领地上的一块土地授予你，它永远归你所有。谁反对的话，让上帝惩罚他吧！”
不再是奴隶，而是自由人和土地的所有人，这使葛四高兴得跳了起来，跳得几乎比他本人还高。
“铁匠和挫刀，”他嚷道，“把这颈圈从自由人的脖子上拿走！高贵的主人，你的礼物使我的力气增加了一倍，我要加倍地为你战斗！我的身体里有了一个自由的灵魂，对我自己和我周围的一切说来，我都变了。哈，方斯！”他继续道，因为那只忠诚的狗看到它的主人这么高兴，扑到了他身上，表示它的同情，“你还认识你的主人吗？”
“对，”汪八说道，“方斯和我还认识你，葛四，尽管我们还得套着颈圈；除非你才会忘记我们和你自己。”
“确实，除非我忘记了自己，我才会忘记你，我的好朋友，”葛四说。“不过，只要你想得到自由，汪八，主人是不会不让你得到它的。”
“不，”汪八说，“别以为我是在羡慕你，葛四老哥；奴隶坐在大厅里烤火的时候，自由人却得上战场打仗。马姆斯伯里的奥尔德海姆(注)也是那么说的，他说：与其做一个聪明人去打仗，不如做一个傻瓜去喝酒。’”
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(注)奥尔德海姆（约639—709），英国教士，以学识渊博闻名，一生著作甚多，马姆斯伯里隐修院的创建人。
这时传来了一阵马蹄声，罗文娜小姐出现了，几个骑马的人和一大群步行的人跟随着她，大家兴高采烈，为她的获得自由挥动着长熗和铁叉。她自己也穿得雍容华贵，骑在一匹深栗色马上，恢复了原来的庄严神态，只是脸色比平时苍白一些，显示了她这几天的苦难经历。她的可爱容貌虽有些忧郁，但那神色说明，她对未来重又萌发了希望，对最近的得救也充满了衷心的感激。她知道艾文荷安然无恙，她也知道阿特尔斯坦死了。第一个消息使她从心底里感到庆幸，第二个消息也许不能使她完全高兴，但是她意识到，在她和她的监护人塞德里克之间引起分歧的那个问题，终于消失了，她不必再为它耿耿于怀，那么这种如释重负的心情也是可以理解的。
罗文娜把马骑向洛克斯利的座位，勇敢的庄户人和他的全体部下马上站起来迎接她，仿佛这种礼貌是他们的本能。她向他们挥手致意，又低低俯下身去，以致那美丽和松散的鬈发一时间几乎碰到了飘拂的马鬃毛；在她讲话时，红晕涌上了她的面颊，她的话简单扼要，表达了对洛克斯利和一切搭救她的人的感激和谢忱，最后她说：“上帝保佑你们，勇士们；你们为被迫害者出生入死的英勇行为，会得到上帝和圣母的酬报！你们中间的任何人在饥饿的时候，别忘记罗文娜这里有食物，在口渴的时候，别忘记她这里有大桶大桶的酒，在诺曼人把你们赶出这些森林的时候，别忘记罗文娜有她自己的森林，搭救她的勇士可以在那里自由来去，没有人会指责他们用箭射死了那里的鹿。”
“我感谢你，好心的小姐，”洛克斯利说，“也代表我的朋友们感谢你。其实搭救你对我们说来，只是一种补偿。我们这些生活在森林中的人，干过许多越轨的行动，搭救罗文娜小姐可以算作是将功补过。”
罗文娜在马上俯首答礼，然后转身离开，但又停了一会，等塞德里克告辞后与她同行；这时她突然发现，俘虏德布拉西就在她的附近。他站在一棵树下，正合抱着双手，在低头沉思；罗文娜本想不让他看到，便走过去。然而他抬起了头，发现她在他面前，于是羞涩的红晕布满了他那张漂亮的脸。他犹豫了一会，然后向前走来，拉住她的马缰绳，跪下了一条腿。
“罗文娜小姐愿意看一眼被俘的骑士，一个可耻的战士吗？”
“骑士阁下，”罗文娜答道，“对于你们干的那些勾当说来，失败并不可耻，成功才是可耻的。”
“小姐，胜利可以使人心肠变软，”德布拉西答道，“我不知道，罗文娜小姐是否能宽恕我一时感情用事犯下的错误，但她不久就会明白，德布拉西是知道怎么用更高尚的方式对待她的。”
“我原谅你，骑士阁下，”罗文娜说，“作为一个基督徒原谅你。”
“那是说，她根本没有原谅他，”汪八在旁边插嘴道。
“但是我决不能宽恕你们的暴行所造成的灾难和祸害，”罗文娜继续道。
“松开你的手，不要拉住缰绳，”塞德里克走上前来说道。“凭天上明亮的太阳起誓，要不是不值得与你计较，我会用梭镖把你钉死在地上；但是你要记住，莫里斯•德布拉西，你插手的这桩肮脏勾当，迟早会使你得到报应。”
“恐吓俘虏是威胁他的安全，”德布拉西说，“什么时候撒克逊人才能懂得一点礼貌呢？”
于是他退后两步，让罗文娜通过了。
塞德里克在离开以前，特地向黑甲骑士表示了他的感谢，真诚地要求他与他一同前往罗瑟伍德。
“我知道，”他说，“你们漫游各地的骑士指望靠熗尖开拓自己的命运，不把土地和财富放在眼里；但战争是一位变化莫测的情人，哪怕是一个到处流浪的勇士，有时也会需要一个家。你在罗瑟伍德庄园上已赢得了一个家，尊贵的骑士。塞德里克有足够的财富，可以医治命运给你的创伤，他的一切也就是他的搭救者的。因此，请你到罗瑟伍德来吧，不是作为客人，是作为一个儿子或者弟兄到我家中来。”
“塞德里克已使我变得富裕了，”骑士说，“他让我知道了撒克逊人的高尚品质的价值。我会到罗瑟伍德来的，勇敢的撒克逊人，而且是在不久的将来；但是目前，许多急待进行的事，使我不能立刻前去拜访。也许到那时，我向你要求的恩惠，甚至对你的慷慨也是一种考验呢。”
“我答应你，不论那是什么，”塞德里克说，立刻把手接到了黑甲骑士戴铁手套的掌心中，“我一定照办，哪怕这要牺牲我的一半家产。”
“不要轻易许诺，”那位用镣铐作标志的骑士说道，“当然，我希望我要求的恩惠能如愿以偿。现在，再见吧。”
“我还有一句话，”塞德里克又道，“在高贵的阿特尔斯坦的葬礼期间，我要前往科宁斯堡，作为一个客人暂时住在他的庄园上。它对一切人公开，凡是愿意参加丧宴的都可以去；现在我以故世亲王的母亲，尊贵的伊迪丝的名义邀请你，我相信，为了从诺曼人的铁链和诺曼人的刀熗下拯救阿特尔斯坦而英勇战斗的人，尽管他没有成功，也一定会受到欢迎的。”
“对，对，”汪八说，他又来到了主人身边，“到时候一定有许多山珍海味，只可惜阿特尔斯坦大人不能亲自品尝了。不过，”小丑继续道，庄严地望着天空，“他现在一定在天上喝酒，吃得津津有味呢。”
“别乱讲，快走，”塞德里克说，他对这不合时宜的玩笑十分恼火，但想到汪八最近的贡献，克制了愤怒。罗文娜向黑甲骑士挥手告别，撒克逊人也祝他得到上帝的保佑，然后他们走出了森林中的这片草地。
他们刚离开不久，一队人突然从树林中徐徐出现，绕过圆形盆地，朝着罗文娜等人的方向走去。原来塞德里克向附近一所修道院许诺了丰厚的布施，或者安魂弥撒费，因此它的教士全部出动了，跟在阿特尔斯坦的柜车后面，用悲哀而迂缓的调子唱着赞美诗；柩车由阿特尔斯坦的侍从们护卫，正要送往他的城堡科宁斯堡，然后埋葬在他的祖先亨吉斯特家族的墓地上。听到他的死讯，他的许多藩臣都来了，他们跟在灵枢后面，至少都保持着忧伤和哀悼的外表。强盗们又都站了起来，向死者表示了简单而自然的敬意，就像刚才向那位美女表示的一样。教士的低沉歌声和哀伤步态，从他们心头唤回了对昨天战斗中倒下的伙伴们的思念。但是对于这些生活在危险和厮杀中的人们，那样的回忆是不可能维持多久的，挽歌的声音还没随着微风飘散，他们又忙于分配战利品了。
“勇敢的骑士，”洛克斯利向黑甲骑士说道，“没有你的好心和大力帮助，我们这次行动便不可能成功，现在请你从这大量战利品中任意挑选，喜欢什么就拿什么，这也是为我们在这棵约会树下的合作留个纪念。”
“你们的好意是坦率的，我也坦率地表示接受，”骑士说，“我希望你们把处置莫里斯•德布拉西的权利交给我。”
“他已经属于你了，”洛克斯利说，“这是他的幸运！否则这个恶霸早给吊在这棵栎树的最高一根树枝上了，他的自由团队中凡是落到我们手中的人，都得像槲果一样，吊在他周围的树枝上，但他是你的俘虏，他安全了，尽管他杀死过我的父亲。”
“德布拉西，”骑士说道，“你自由了，走吧。俘虏你的人不想用低劣的报复手段对待过去的事。但是今后请你当心，别让更坏的事落到你的身上。莫里斯•德布拉西，听清楚了：当心！”
德布拉西向他深深鞠躬，没有说话；他正要离开，老乡们突然爆发了一阵咒骂和冷笑。傲慢的骑士顿时站住了，转过身来，合抱着双手，挺起胸膛嚷道：“住口，你们这些吠叫的恶狗！在围攻鹿的时候，你们却不敢上前，现在叫喊什么。德布拉西不在乎你们的责备，也瞧不起你们的赞美。回你们的狗洞和树林吧，你们这些亡命之徒！不论骑士和贵族谈论什么，你们还是躲在洞里别作声的好。”
这不合时宜的挑衅，要不是首领及时而严厉的干预，便可能使德布拉西成为一阵飞箭的目标。当时草坪周围缚着几匹马，这是从牛面将军的马厩中取得的，它们构成了战利品中贵重的一部分，现在德布拉西便抓住一匹马的缰绳，翻身一跃而上，朝树林中飞驰而去了。
等这件小事造成的紧张气氛平静之后，首领从脖子上取下了珍贵的号角和肩带，就是他在阿什贝的射箭比赛中赢得的那份奖品。
“尊贵的骑士，”他对黑甲骑士说道，“如果你肯赏脸，接受一个英国庄稼人赢得的这只号角，我会感到很光荣；希望你把它保存着，作为这次英勇行动的纪念。你作为一个武士，随时可能遇到困难，到那时，如果你是在特伦特河和提兹河之间的任何森林中，你只要在这号角上这么吹三声：‘哇——沙——嗬！’马上会有人来帮助你，搭救你。”
然后他对着号角，吹了几次他所描述的那个调子，直到骑士掌握了这些音符为止。
“多谢你的礼物，勇敢的老乡，”骑士说。“在我最需要的时候，能得到你和你的伙伴的帮助，实在太好了。”于是他也吹起了这调子，号音在整个森林中回荡。
“吹得很好，很清楚，”庄户人说，“我相信，你不仅熟悉战争，也熟悉森林中的活动！看来你当初一定是打鹿的好猎手。伙计们，别忘记这三声暗号，它表示黑甲骑士在叫你们；凡是听到这声音，不赶快去帮助他的，我非得用他自己的弓弦抽打他，把他赶出我们的队伍不可。”
“我们的首领万岁！”庄稼汉们喊道，“戴镣铐的黑甲骑士万岁！但愿他不久以后便需要我们的帮助，他就知道我们这些人多么可靠了。”
现在洛克斯利开始分配战利品，这事他办得非常公正，令人钦佩。他先从全部物品中分出十分之一，留给教会和作祈祷的费用；其次又分出二份，作为公共的储备，还有一份划归战死者留下的孤儿寡妇，也为没有留下家属的死者举办安魂弥撒等等。其余的一切便由大家按等级和功劳分配；每逢遇到疑难问题，首领总能以充分的理由提出自己的看法质而大家无不心悦诚服。黑甲骑士不免感到诧异，这些人尽管无法无天，在他们内部一切却井井有条，公平合理；他目睹的一切增强了他的信念，觉得这位首领确实是一个是非分明、公正无私的人。
每个人都拿到自己的一份以后，划归公有的那份，便由四个身强力壮的小伙子送往一个地方储藏或保管，分给教会的那份仍留在原地没动。
“我真想打听一下，我们那位快活的随军教士究竟怎么啦，”首领说，“每逢吃肉或者分配战利品的时候，他是从不缺席的；这十分之一的胜利果实，应该由他保管，这是他的职责。说不定他借此机会，去干什么违反教规的勾当了。另外，我们还抓到了一个教士，现在扣押在离此不远的地方，我得找修士帮忙，用合适的办法对付他。我非常担心，我们那个鲁莽的家伙有没有遇到危险。”
“我也非常焦急呢，”镣铐骑士说，“因为我还欠他一份人情，蒙他在他的小屋中款待我，让我度过了愉快的一夜。我们不如到城堡的废墟中找找他，也许能发现一些线索。”
大家正在这么议论时，庄户人中间突然发出了欢呼声，这说明他们所担心的那个人回来了，因为修士的洪亮嗓音是大家所熟悉的，它总是在他的肥大身躯出现之前先行到达。
“让开，快活的小伙子们！”他喊道，“快给你们的神父和他的俘虏让路。再喊一次欢迎。我来了，尊贵的首领，我像一只鹰，爪子上还带来了一名俘虏。”在一片哄笑声中，他挤过一圈人群，像凯旋而归的将军一般出现在众人面前，一只手提着一把大戟，另一只手拉着一根绳索，绳索的另一头便缚在倒霉的约克的以撒的脖子上，以撒俯下了头，又伤心又害怕，教士却得意扬扬，牵着他大声嚷嚷。“阿伦阿代尔在哪儿？他得把我写进歌谣中，至少也得编成一首短诗。凭圣赫曼吉尔德起誓，每逢有一个歌颂勇士的合适题材出现，总是找不到这个叮叮咚咚的琴师！”
“修士，别胡闹，”首领说，“你今天不做礼拜，却一早就跑去喝酒。我以圣尼古拉的名义问你，你带来的是什么人？”
“我刀下的俘虏，我熗下的囚徒，高贵的首领，”科普曼赫斯特的教士回答，“也就是说，向我的弓和朝投诚的一个小子；不过实际是我救了他．免得他继续当魔鬼的俘虏。犹太佬，你说，我有没有替你从撒旦那里赎身？我有没有教你念使徒信经，念主祷文，念万福马利亚？我有没有化了一夜工夫，一边喝酒，一边给你讲解教义？”
“上帝保佑吧！”可怜的犹太人呼叫道，“没有人能救我，让我脱离这个疯……这个神父吗？”
“怎么回事，犹太佬？”修士说，露出了威吓的架势，“你反悔了，犹太佬？你可得仔细想想，要是你三心两意，再信邪教，尽管你的肉不像小猪那么嫩，也不见得会老得煮不烂，我非把你一口吞下不可！还是皈依基督吧，以撒，跟着我念，万福马利亚！……”
“不成，我们不允许亵读神灵，疯修士，”洛克斯利说。“你还是讲讲，你是在哪里弄到这个俘虏的？”
“凭圣邓斯坦起誓，”修士答道，“我是在寻找更合适的用具时，偶然碰到他的！我走进地窖，想看看有没有什么可以抢救的，因为对我说来，一杯煮热的酒加上香料，这就够了，哪怕皇帝喝的也不过如此；要是让这么多好酒一下子全都煮热，未免太浪费了，于是我抓起一小桶葡萄酒，要找人帮忙打开它，可是那些懒虫，有好差使给他们干，偏偏找不到他们。正在这时，我发现了一扇大铁门，我想：‘哼，原来最好的酒藏在这个秘密的所在，幸好管地窖的混蛋要紧逃命，把钥匙忘在门上了。’于是我走了进去，发现那里啥也没有，只有一堆生锈的锁链和这只犹太狗，他马上向我无条件投降，当了我的俘虏。我跟这个不信基督的家伙蘑菇了半天，实在累了，这才喝了一杯葡萄酒，正打算带着我的俘虏回来，忽然屋子里轰隆轰隆大响起来，震得天摇地动，火光烛天，原来外面的塔楼坍了 ——那些混蛋真该死，不把房子造得牢固一些！——它堵住了过道。塔楼一个接一个倒坍，跟打雷似的。我已经不再抱生还的希望，但想起要与一个犹太佬一起离开这个世界，对我的职业未免是奇耻大辱，于是我举起战斧，想先把他送往地狱，但看到他的满头白发，我又心软了，觉得最好还是放下战斧，用我的宗教武器开导他皈依我们。确实，多亏圣邓斯坦的保佑，我的播种还有些收获；只是为了开导他，我忙了一整夜，什么吃的也没有，只喝了几口葡萄酒提提神，这根本算不得什么，可是我的脑袋不知怎么昏昏沉沉的，一定是我太累了。吉尔伯特和威伯尔特知道，他们找到我时，我是什么样子。我确确实实是累坏了。”
“我可以证明，”吉尔伯特说，“我们清除了砖瓦，靠圣邓斯坦的帮助，见到地窖的楼梯后，发现那桶葡萄酒已只剩了一半，犹太人吓得半死，修士迷迷糊糊的，甚至超过了半死——用他的话说，那是累坏了。”
“你们这些混蛋，胡说八道！”修士气急败坏地反驳道，“是你们和你们那些贪嘴的伙伴把葡萄酒喝光的，还说这是你们早上的第一顿酒呢。我是要把它留给首领尝尝的，如果这不是实话，我就是个异教徒。但是这算得什么？犹太人皈依了我们，明白了我讲的一切，即使不像我那么完全明白，至少差不多了。”
“犹太人，”首领说道，“这是真的吗？你改变了信仰，不再不信基督？”
“但愿我能得到您的宽恕，”犹太人说，“这位神父在可怕的一夜中对我讲的话，我实在一句也不懂。唉！我当时心里又难过，又悲伤，又害怕，哪里有心思听他的，那时哪怕我们的老祖宗亚伯拉罕来向我说教，也只是对牛弹琴，我一句也不会懂得。”
“你撒谎，犹太佬，你知道你是在撒谎，”修士说，“我只想提醒你一件事，那是我们谈话时你亲口许的愿，你说你决定把全部财产捐给我们的教会。”
“我的天，这是从何说起呀，各位老爷，”以撒说，显得比刚才更加惶恐了，“我的嘴从来没有讲过这样的话！哎哟！我又老又穷，已经倾家荡产——恐怕连孩子也没有了；可怜可怜我，放我走吧。”
“不行，”修士说，“那是你向神圣的教会许的愿，现在想赖账，非得惩罚你不可。”
他一边说，一边举起那把大戟，正要把它的柄朝犹太人的肩上狠狠打去，但给黑甲骑士挡开了，这样，修士把一腔怒火发泄到了他身上。
“凭肯特的圣托马斯起誓，”他嚷道，“要是我穿着盔甲，懒惰的朋友，我非得教训你一顿不可，让你别管闲事，尽管你头上套着那只铁箩筐我也不怕！”
“嗨晦，别发脾气呀，”骑士说，“要知道，我们是情投意合的好朋友呢。”
“我不认识你这种朋友，”修士答道，“你是个爱管闲事的花花公子，我非教训你不可。”
“算了，”骑士说，好像存心要作弄这位以前款待过他的主人，拿他逗乐似的，“你难道忘了，你曾经为了我——当然也是为了那坛酒和那个大馅饼，连斋也不守，经也不念的那回事吗？”
“告诉你，老弟，”修士说，攥紧了他的大拳头，“我非得请你尝尝我的手劲不可。”
“但我不想白尝，”骑士答道(注)，“那就算我欠了你一笔账，不过你得让我加倍奉还，给你一巴掌，就像你这位俘虏干的高利贷买卖一样。”
--------
(注)见作者附注七。——原注
“那就当场试试，看究竟谁厉害，”修士说。
“别胡闹！”首领喝道，“你要干什么，疯修士——要在约会树下打架不成？”
“不是打架，”骑士说，“这只是礼尚往来的友好较量。修士，你先打吧，我挨你一拳，你也得挨我一巴掌。”
“你占了便宜，头上戴着那个铁箩筐，”教士说，“不过我不怕你。哪怕你是迦特的歌利亚(注)戴上了钢盔，我也得把你打扁。”
--------
(注)《圣经》中提到的大力士，见本书第16章。《撒母耳记上》第17章第4节说：“歌利亚是迦特人……头戴铜盔，身穿铠甲……”
修士撩起衣袖，把粗壮的胳臂露出了大半截，使出浑身力气，朝骑士打去，那是可以把一头公牛打翻在地的一拳。但是对方却像一块磐石，一动不动。周围的老乡全都大声喝起彩来，因为教士的拳头在他们中间是有口皆碑的，不论真打还是假打，都有不少人尝过它的味道。
“修士，”骑士说，拉下了铁臂销，“我的脑袋占了便宜，我不想让我的胳膊也占便宜；现在请你站稳了，摆出真正的人样来。”
“来，朝着我的面颊狠狠地打——我把整个脸全伸给你啦，”教士说，“只要你能叫我晃动一步，我就把犹太人的赎金全部让给你。”
这个粗壮的大汉一边这么说，一边摆好姿势，露出满不在乎的神气。可是谁能对抗命运呢？骑士那一巴掌虽然并无恶意，力量却那么大，修士马上摔了个倒栽葱，扑到了地上，把观看的人全都惊呆了。但他站起身来，既没发怒，也没泄气。
“老弟，”他对骑士说道，“你力气这么大，可得手下留情呐。要是你把我的牙床骨打断了，叫我咋办，要知道掉了下巴颏就念不成经了。好吧，这是我的手，我们讲和了，今后也不再跟你比力气，这次我认输了。让我们言归于好。现在得给犹太人的赎金定个价钱了，因为豹子身上不会没有斑点，犹太人也永远是犹太人。”
“我们的教士挨了那一巴掌，才明白犹太人是不会皈依我们的，”克莱门特说。
“去你的，浑小子，你懂什么皈依不皈依？怎么，连礼貌也不要了，上下尊卑也不顾了？告诉你，小伙子，刚才骑士老弟那一拳打来的时候，我正好有些头晕，要不然我哪能摔倒。要是你再多嘴，我就得让你知道，我的拳头也不是好惹的。”
“大家安静！”首领说。“犹太人，你考虑一下你的赎金吧；不用我说，想必你也明白，在基督徒社会里，你这个民族总是受到鄙视的，老实说，我们不能容许你待在我们中间。因此，你得考虑愿意付多少钱，现在我要审问另一类型的俘虏了。”
“牛面将军的人，抓到的多吗？”黑甲骑士问。
“没有什么头面人物，都够不上付赎金的资格，”首领答道，“那些下贱家伙已给我们打发走了，让他们各自去投奔新主人吧；我们报了仇，得到了好处，这就够了，这些家伙分文不值。我讲的俘虏是一个有名堂的脚色——一个寻欢作乐的教士，照他那身打扮和马上的华丽装饰看，他是骑了马去会他的情妇的。瞧，我们这位长老来了，多么神气活现，跟只喜鹊似的。”两个庄户人把一个教士押到了首领的座位前面，原来这不是别人，正是我们的老朋友，茹尔沃修道院的艾默长老。
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Chapter 33
------Flower of warriors, How is't with Titus Lartius? MARCIUS.--As with a man busied about decrees, Condemning some to death and some to exile, Ransoming him or pitying, threatening the other. Coriolanus
The captive Abbot's features and manners exhibited a whimsical mixture of offended pride, and deranged foppery and bodily terror.
"Why, how now, my masters?" said he, with a voice in which all three emotions were blended. "What order is this among ye? Be ye Turks or Christians, that handle a churchman?---Know ye what it is, 'manus imponere in servos Domini'? Ye have plundered my mails---torn my cope of curious cut lace, which might have served a cardinal!---Another in my place would have been at his 'excommunicabo vos'; but I am placible, and if ye order forth my palfreys, release my brethren, and restore my mails, tell down with all speed an hundred crowns to be expended in masses at the high altar of Jorvaulx Abbey, and make your vow to eat no venison until next Pentecost, it may be you shall hear little more of this mad frolic."
"Holy Father," said the chief Outlaw, "it grieves me to think that you have met with such usage from any of my followers, as calls for your fatherly reprehension."
"Usage!" echoed the priest, encouraged by the mild tone of the silvan leader; "it were usage fit for no hound of good race ---much less for a Christian---far less for a priest---and least of all for the Prior of the holy community of Jorvaulx. Here is a profane and drunken minstrel, called Allan-a-Dale---'nebulo quidam'---who has menaced me with corporal punishment---nay, with death itself, an I pay not down four hundred crowns of ransom, to the boot of all the treasure he hath already robbed me of---gold chains and gymmal rings to an unknown value; besides what is broken and spoiled among their rude hands, such as my pouncer-box and silver crisping-tongs."
"It is impossible that Allan-a-Dale can have thus treated a man of your reverend bearing," replied the Captain.
"It is true as the gospel of Saint Nicodemus," said the Prior; "he swore, with many a cruel north-country oath, that he would hang me up on the highest tree in the greenwood."
"Did he so in very deed? Nay, then, reverend father, I think you had better comply with his demands---for Allan-a-Dale is the very man to abide by his word when he has so pledged it." *
* A commissary is said to have received similar consolation * from a certain Commander-in-chief, to whom he complained * that a general officer had used some such threat towards * him as that in the text.
"You do but jest with me," said the astounded Prior, with a forced laugh; "and I love a good jest with all my heart. But, ha! ha! ha! when the mirth has lasted the livelong night, it is time to be grave in the morning."
"And I am as grave as a father confessor," replied the Outlaw; "you must pay a round ransom, Sir Prior, or your convent is likely to be called to a new election; for your place will know you no more."
"Are ye Christians," said the Prior, "and hold this language to a churchman?"
"Christians! ay, marry are we, and have divinity among us to boot," answered the Outlaw. "Let our buxom chaplain stand forth, and expound to this reverend father the texts which concern this matter."
The Friar, half-drunk, half-sober, had huddled a friar's frock over his green cassock, and now summoning together whatever scraps of learning he had acquired by rote in former days, "Holy father," said he, "'Deus faciat salvam benignitatem vestram' ---You are welcome to the greenwood."
"What profane mummery is this?" said the Prior. "Friend, if thou be'st indeed of the church, it were a better deed to show me how I may escape from these men's hands, than to stand ducking and grinning here like a morris-dancer."
"Truly, reverend father," said the Friar, "I know but one mode in which thou mayst escape. This is Saint Andrew's day with us, we are taking our tithes."
"But not of the church, then, I trust, my good brother?" said the Prior.
"Of church and lay," said the Friar; "and therefore, Sir Prior 'facite vobis amicos de Mammone iniquitatis'---make yourselves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness, for no other friendship is like to serve your turn."
"I love a jolly woodsman at heart," said the Prior, softening his tone; "come, ye must not deal too hard with me---I can well of woodcraft, and can wind a horn clear and lustily, and hollo till every oak rings again---Come, ye must not deal too hard with me."
"Give him a horn," said the Outlaw; "we will prove the skill he boasts of."
The Prior Aymer winded a blast accordingly. The Captain shook his head.
"Sir Prior," he said, "thou blowest a merry note, but it may not ransom thee---we cannot afford, as the legend on a good knight's shield hath it, to set thee free for a blast. Moreover, I have found thee---thou art one of those, who, with new French graces and Tra-li-ras, disturb the ancient English bugle notes.---Prior, that last flourish on the recheat hath added fifty crowns to thy ransom, for corrupting the true old manly blasts of venerie."
"Well, friend," said the Abbot, peevishly, "thou art ill to please with thy woodcraft. I pray thee be more conformable in this matter of my ransom. At a word---since I must needs, for once, hold a candle to the devil---what ransom am I to pay for walking on Watling-street, without having fifty men at my back?"
"Were it not well," said the Lieutenant of the gang apart to the Captain, "that the Prior should name the Jew's ransom, and the Jew name the Prior's?"
"Thou art a mad knave," said the Captain, "but thy plan transcends!---Here, Jew, step forth---Look at that holy Father Aymer, Prior of the rich Abbey of Jorvaulx, and tell us at what ransom we should hold him?---Thou knowest the income of his convent, I warrant thee."
"O, assuredly," said Isaac. "I have trafficked with the good fathers, and bought wheat and barley, and fruits of the earth, and also much wool. O, it is a rich abbey-stede, and they do live upon the fat, and drink the sweet wines upon the lees, these good fathers of Jorvaulx. Ah, if an outcast like me had such a home to go to, and such incomings by the year and by the month, I would pay much gold and silver to redeem my captivity."
"Hound of a Jew!" exclaimed the Prior, "no one knows better than thy own cursed self, that our holy house of God is indebted for the finishing of our chancel---"
"And for the storing of your cellars in the last season with the due allowance of Gascon wine," interrupted the Jew; "but that ---that is small matters."
"Hear the infidel dog!" said the churchman; "he jangles as if our holy community did come under debts for the wines we have a license to drink, 'propter necessitatem, et ad frigus depellendum'. The circumcised villain blasphemeth the holy church, and Christian men listen and rebuke him not!"
"All this helps nothing," said the leader.---"Isaac, pronounce what he may pay, without flaying both hide and hair."
"An six hundred crowns," said Isaac, "the good Prior might well pay to your honoured valours, and never sit less soft in his stall."
"Six hundred crowns," said the leader, gravely; "I am contented ---thou hast well spoken, Isaac---six hundred crowns.---It is a sentence, Sir Prior."
"A sentence!---a sentence!" exclaimed the band; "Solomon had not done it better."
"Thou hearest thy doom, Prior," said the leader.
"Ye are mad, my masters," said the Prior; "where am I to find such a sum? If I sell the very pyx and candlesticks on the altar at Jorvaulx, I shall scarce raise the half; and it will be necessary for that purpose that I go to Jorvaulx myself; ye may retain as borrows*
* Borghs, or borrows, signifies pledges. Hence our word to * borrow, because we pledge ourselves to restore what is * lent.
my two priests."
"That will be but blind trust," said the Outlaw; "we will retain thee, Prior, and send them to fetch thy ransom. Thou shalt not want a cup of wine and a collop of venison the while; and if thou lovest woodcraft, thou shalt see such as your north country never witnessed."
"Or, if so please you," said Isaac, willing to curry favour with the outlaws, "I can send to York for the six hundred crowns, out of certain monies in my hands, if so be that the most reverend Prior present will grant me a quittance."
"He shall grant thee whatever thou dost list, Isaac," said the Captain; "and thou shalt lay down the redemption money for Prior Aymer as well as for thyself."
"For myself! ah, courageous sirs," said the Jew, "I am a broken and impoverished man; a beggar's staff must be my portion through life, supposing I were to pay you fifty crowns."
"The Prior shall judge of that matter," replied the Captain. ---"How say you, Father Aymer? Can the Jew afford a good ransom?"
"Can he afford a ransom?" answered the Prior "Is he not Isaac of York, rich enough to redeem the captivity of the ten tribes of Israel, who were led into Assyrian bondage?---I have seen but little of him myself, but our cellarer and treasurer have dealt largely with him, and report says that his house at York is so full of gold and silver as is a shame in any Christian land. Marvel it is to all living Christian hearts that such gnawing adders should be suffered to eat into the bowels of the state, and even of the holy church herself, with foul usuries and extortions."
"Hold, father," said the Jew, "mitigate and assuage your choler. I pray of your reverence to remember that I force my monies upon no one. But when churchman and layman, prince and prior, knight and priest, come knocking to Isaac's door, they borrow not his shekels with these uncivil terms. It is then, Friend Isaac, will you pleasure us in this matter, and our day shall be truly kept, so God sa' me?---and Kind Isaac, if ever you served man, show yourself a friend in this need! And when the day comes, and I ask my own, then what hear I but Damned Jew, and The curse of Egypt on your tribe, and all that may stir up the rude and uncivil populace against poor strangers!"
"Prior," said the Captain, "Jew though he be, he hath in this spoken well. Do thou, therefore, name his ransom, as he named thine, without farther rude terms."
"None but 'latro famosus'---the interpretation whereof," said the Prior, "will I give at some other time and tide---would place a Christian prelate and an unbaptized Jew upon the same bench. But since ye require me to put a price upon this caitiff, I tell you openly that ye will wrong yourselves if you take from him a penny under a thousand crowns."
"A sentence!---a sentence!" exclaimed the chief Outlaw.
"A sentence!---a sentence!" shouted his assessors; "the Christian has shown his good nurture, and dealt with us more generously than the Jew."
"The God of my fathers help me!" said the Jew; "will ye bear to the ground an impoverished creature?---I am this day childless, and will ye deprive me of the means of livelihood?"
"Thou wilt have the less to provide for, Jew, if thou art childless," said Aymer.
"Alas! my lord," said Isaac, "your law permits you not to know how the child of our bosom is entwined with the strings of our heart---O Rebecca! laughter of my beloved Rachel! were each leaf on that tree a zecchin, and each zecchin mine own, all that mass of wealth would I give to know whether thou art alive, and escaped the hands of the Nazarene!"
"Was not thy daughter dark-haired?" said one of the outlaws; "and wore she not a veil of twisted sendal, broidered with silver?"
"She did!---she did!" said the old man, trembling with eagerness, as formerly with fear. "The blessing of Jacob be upon thee! canst thou tell me aught of her safety?"
"It was she, then," said the yeoman, "who was carried off by the proud Templar, when he broke through our ranks on yester-even. I had drawn my bow to send a shaft after him, but spared him even for the sake of the damsel, who I feared might take harm from the arrow."
"Oh!" answered the Jew, "I would to God thou hadst shot, though the arrow had pierced her bosom!---Better the tomb of her fathers than the dishonourable couch of the licentious and savage Templar. Ichabod! Ichabod! the glory hath departed from my house!"
"Friends," said the Chief, looking round, "the old man is but a Jew, natheless his grief touches me.---Deal uprightly with us, Isaac---will paying this ransom of a thousand crowns leave thee altogether penniless?"
Isaac, recalled to think of his worldly goods, the love of which, by dint of inveterate habit, contended even with his parental affection, grew pale, stammered, and could not deny there might be some small surplus.
"Well---go to---what though there be," said the Outlaw, "we will not reckon with thee too closely. Without treasure thou mayst as well hope to redeem thy child from the clutches of Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, as to shoot a stag-royal with a headless shaft. ---We will take thee at the same ransom with Prior Aymer, or rather at one hundred crowns lower, which hundred crowns shall be mine own peculiar loss, and not light upon this worshipful community; and so we shall avoid the heinous offence of rating a Jew merchant as high as a Christian prelate, and thou wilt have six hundred crowns remaining to treat for thy daughter's ransom. Templars love the glitter of silver shekels as well as the sparkle of black eyes.---Hasten to make thy crowns chink in the ear of De Bois-Guilbert, ere worse comes of it. Thou wilt find him, as our scouts have brought notice, at the next Preceptory house of his Order.---Said I well, my merry mates?"
The yeomen expressed their wonted acquiescence in their leader's opinion; and Isaac, relieved of one half of his apprehensions, by learning that his daughter lived, and might possibly be ransomed, threw himself at the feet of the generous Outlaw, and, rubbing his beard against his buskins, sought to kiss the hem of his green cassock. The Captain drew himself back, and extricated himself from the Jew's grasp, not without some marks of contempt.
"Nay, beshrew thee, man, up with thee! I am English born, and love no such Eastern prostrations---Kneel to God, and not to a poor sinner, like me."
"Ay, Jew," said Prior Aymer; "kneel to God, as represented in the servant of his altar, and who knows, with thy sincere repentance and due gifts to the shrine of Saint Robert, what grace thou mayst acquire for thyself and thy daughter Rebecca? I grieve for the maiden, for she is of fair and comely countenance,---I beheld her in the lists of Ashby. Also Brian de Bois-Guilbert is one with whom I may do much---bethink thee how thou mayst deserve my good word with him."
"Alas! alas!" said the Jew, "on every hand the spoilers arise against me---I am given as a prey unto the Assyrian, and a prey unto him of Egypt."
"And what else should be the lot of thy accursed race?" answered the Prior; "for what saith holy writ, 'verbum Domini projecerunt, et sapientia est nulla in eis'---they have cast forth the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them; 'propterea dabo mulieres eorum exteris'---I will give their women to strangers, that is to the Templar, as in the present matter; 'et thesauros eorum haeredibus alienis', and their treasures to others---as in the present case to these honest gentlemen."
Isaac groaned deeply, and began to wring his hands, and to relapse into his state of desolation and despair. But the leader of the yeomen led him aside.
"Advise thee well, Isaac," said Locksley, "what thou wilt do in this matter; my counsel to thee is to make a friend of this churchman. He is vain, Isaac, and he is covetous; at least he needs money to supply his profusion. Thou canst easily gratify his greed; for think not that I am blinded by thy pretexts of poverty. I am intimately acquainted, Isaac, with the very iron chest in which thou dost keep thy money-bags---What! know I not the great stone beneath the apple-tree, that leads into the vaulted chamber under thy garden at York?" The Jew grew as pale as death---"But fear nothing from me," continued the yeoman, "for we are of old acquainted. Dost thou not remember the sick yeoman whom thy fair daughter Rebecca redeemed from the gyves at York, and kept him in thy house till his health was restored, when thou didst dismiss him recovered, and with a piece of money?---Usurer as thou art, thou didst never place coin at better interest than that poor silver mark, for it has this day saved thee five hundred crowns."
"And thou art he whom we called Diccon Bend-the-Bow?" said Isaac; "I thought ever I knew the accent of thy voice."
"I am Bend-the-Bow," said the Captain, "and Locksley, and have a good name besides all these."
"But thou art mistaken, good Bend-the-Bow, concerning that same vaulted apartment. So help me Heaven, as there is nought in it but some merchandises which I will gladly part with to you---one hundred yards of Lincoln green to make doublets to thy men, and a hundred staves of Spanish yew to make bows, and a hundred silken bowstrings, tough, round, and sound---these will I send thee for thy good-will, honest Diccon, an thou wilt keep silence about the vault, my good Diccon."
"Silent as a dormouse," said the Outlaw; "and never trust me but I am grieved for thy daughter. But I may not help it---The Templars lances are too strong for my archery in the open field ---they would scatter us like dust. Had I but known it was Rebecca when she was borne off, something might have been done; but now thou must needs proceed by policy. Come, shall I treat for thee with the Prior?"
"In God's name, Diccon, an thou canst, aid me to recover the child of my bosom!"
"Do not thou interrupt me with thine ill-timed avarice," said the Outlaw, "and I will deal with him in thy behalf."
He then turned from the Jew, who followed him, however, as closely as his shadow.
"Prior Aymer," said the Captain, "come apart with me under this tree. Men say thou dost love wine, and a lady's smile, better than beseems thy Order, Sir Priest; but with that I have nought to do. I have heard, too, thou dost love a brace of good dogs and a fleet horse, and it may well be that, loving things which are costly to come by, thou hatest not a purse of gold. But I have never heard that thou didst love oppression or cruelty. ---Now, here is Isaac willing to give thee the means of pleasure and pastime in a bag containing one hundred marks of silver, if thy intercession with thine ally the Templar shall avail to procure the freedom of his daughter."
"In safety and honour, as when taken from me," said the Jew, "otherwise it is no bargain."
"Peace, Isaac," said the Outlaw, "or I give up thine interest. ---What say you to this my purpose, Prior Aymer?"
"The matter," quoth the Prior, "is of a mixed condition; for, if I do a good deal on the one hand, yet, on the other, it goeth to the vantage of a Jew, and in so much is against my conscience. Yet, if the Israelite will advantage the Church by giving me somewhat over to the building of our dortour,*
* "Dortour", or dormitory.
I will take it on my conscience to aid him in the matter of his daughter."
"For a score of marks to the dortour," said the Outlaw,---"Be still, I say, Isaac!---or for a brace of silver candlesticks to the altar, we will not stand with you."
"Nay, but, good Diccon Bend-the-Bow"---said Isaac, endeavouring to interpose.
"Good Jew---good beast---good earthworm!" said the yeoman, losing patience; "an thou dost go on to put thy filthy lucre in the balance with thy daughter's life and honour, by Heaven, I will strip thee of every maravedi thou hast in the world, before three days are out!"
Isaac shrunk together, and was silent.
"And what pledge am I to have for all this?" said the Prior.
"When Isaac returns successful through your mediation," said the Outlaw, "I swear by Saint Hubert, I will see that he pays thee the money in good silver, or I will reckon with him for it in such sort, he had better have paid twenty such sums."
"Well then, Jew," said Aymer, "since I must needs meddle in this matter, let me have the use of thy writing-tablets---though, hold ---rather than use thy pen, I would fast for twenty-four hours, and where shall I find one?"
"If your holy scruples can dispense with using the Jew's tablets, for the pen I can find a remedy," said the yeoman; and, bending his bow, he aimed his shaft at a wild-goose which was soaring over their heads, the advanced-guard of a phalanx of his tribe, which were winging their way to the distant and solitary fens of Holderness. The bird came fluttering down, transfixed with the arrow.
"There, Prior," said the Captain, "are quills enow to supply all the monks of Jorvaulx for the next hundred years, an they take not to writing chronicles."
The Prior sat down, and at great leisure indited an epistle to Brian de Bois-Guilbert, and having carefully sealed up the tablets, delivered them to the Jew, saying, "This will be thy safe-conduct to the Preceptory of Templestowe, and, as I think, is most likely to accomplish the delivery of thy daughter, if it be well backed with proffers of advantage and commodity at thine own hand; for, trust me well, the good Knight Bois-Guilbert is of their confraternity that do nought for nought."
"Well, Prior," said the Outlaw, "I will detain thee no longer here than to give the Jew a quittance for the six hundred crowns at which thy ransom is fixed---I accept of him for my pay-master; and if I hear that ye boggle at allowing him in his accompts the sum so paid by him, Saint Mary refuse me, an I burn not the abbey over thine head, though I hang ten years the sooner!"
With a much worse grace than that wherewith he had penned the letter to Bois-Guilbert, the Prior wrote an acquittance, discharging Isaac of York of six hundred crowns, advanced to him in his need for acquittal of his ransom, and faithfully promising to hold true compt with him for that sum.
"And now," said Prior Aymer, "I will pray you of restitution of my mules and palfreys, and the freedom of the reverend brethren attending upon me, and also of the gymmal rings, jewels, and fair vestures, of which I have been despoiled, having now satisfied you for my ransom as a true prisoner."
"Touching your brethren, Sir Prior," said Locksley, "they shall have present freedom, it were unjust to detain them; touching your horses and mules, they shall also be restored, with such spending-money as may enable you to reach York, for it were cruel to deprive you of the means of journeying.---But as concerning rings, jewels, chains, and what else, you must understand that we are men of tender consciences, and will not yield to a venerable man like yourself, who should be dead to the vanities of this life, the strong temptation to break the rule of his foundation, by wearing rings, chains, or other vain gauds."
"Think what you do, my masters," said the Prior, "ere you put your hand on the Church's patrimony---These things are 'inter res sacras', and I wot not what judgment might ensue were they to be handled by laical hands."
"I will take care of that, reverend Prior," said the Hermit of Copmanhurst; "for I will wear them myself."
"Friend, or brother," said the Prior, in answer to this solution of his doubts, "if thou hast really taken religious orders, I pray thee to look how thou wilt answer to thine official for the share thou hast taken in this day's work."
"Friend Prior," returned the Hermit, "you are to know that I belong to a little diocese, where I am my own diocesan, and care as little for the Bishop of York as I do for the Abbot of Jorvaulx, the Prior, and all the convent."
"Thou art utterly irregular," said the Prior; "one of those disorderly men, who, taking on them the sacred character without due cause, profane the holy rites, and endanger the souls of those who take counsel at their hands; 'lapides pro pane condonantes iis', giving them stones instead of bread as the Vulgate hath it."
"Nay," said the Friar, "an my brain-pan could have been broken by Latin, it had not held so long together.---I say, that easing a world of such misproud priests as thou art of their jewels and their gimcracks, is a lawful spoiling of the Egyptians."
"Thou be'st a hedge-priest,"*
* Note I. Hedge-Priests.
said the Prior, in great wrath, "'excommunicabo vos'."
"Thou be'st thyself more like a thief and a heretic," said the Friar, equally indignant; "I will pouch up no such affront before my parishioners, as thou thinkest it not shame to put upon me, although I be a reverend brother to thee. 'Ossa ejus perfringam', I will break your bones, as the Vulgate hath it."
"Hola!" cried the Captain, "come the reverend brethren to such terms?---Keep thine assurance of peace, Friar.---Prior, an thou hast not made thy peace perfect with God, provoke the Friar no further.---Hermit, let the reverend father depart in peace, as a ransomed man."
The yeomen separated the incensed priests, who continued to raise their voices, vituperating each other in bad Latin, which the Prior delivered the more fluently, and the Hermit with the greater vehemence. The Prior at length recollected himself sufficiently to be aware that he was compromising his dignity, by squabbling with such a hedge-priest as the Outlaw's chaplain, and being joined by his attendants, rode off with considerably less pomp, and in a much more apostolical condition, so far as worldly matters were concerned, than he had exhibited before this rencounter.
It remained that the Jew should produce some security for the ransom which he was to pay on the Prior's account, as well as upon his own. He gave, accordingly, an order sealed with his signet, to a brother of his tribe at York, requiring him to pay to the bearer the sum of a thousand crowns, and to deliver certain merchandises specified in the note.
"My brother Sheva," he said, groaning deeply, "hath the key of my warehouses."
"And of the vaulted chamber," whispered Locksley.
"No, no---may Heaven forefend!" said Isaac; "evil is the hour that let any one whomsoever into that secret!"
"It is safe with me," said the Outlaw, "so be that this thy scroll produce the sum therein nominated and set down.---But what now, Isaac? art dead? art stupefied? hath the payment of a thousand crowns put thy daughter's peril out of thy mind?"
The Jew started to his feet---"No, Diccon, no---I will presently set forth.---Farewell, thou whom I may not call good, and dare not and will not call evil."
Yet ere Isaac departed, the Outlaw Chief bestowed on him this parting advice:---"Be liberal of thine offers, Isaac, and spare not thy purse for thy daughter's safety. Credit me, that the gold thou shalt spare in her cause, will hereafter give thee as much agony as if it were poured molten down thy throat."
Isaac acquiesced with a deep groan, and set forth on his journey, accompanied by two tall foresters, who were to be his guides, and at the same time his guards, through the wood.
The Black Knight, who had seen with no small interest these various proceedings, now took his leave of the Outlaw in turn; nor could he avoid expressing his surprise at having witnessed so much of civil policy amongst persons cast out from all the ordinary protection and influence of the laws.
"Good fruit, Sir Knight," said the yeoman, "will sometimes grow on a sorry tree; and evil times are not always productive of evil alone and unmixed. Amongst those who are drawn into this lawless state, there are, doubtless, numbers who wish to exercise its license with some moderation, and some who regret, it may be, that they are obliged to follow such a trade at all."
"And to one of those," said the Knight, "I am now, I presume, speaking?"
"Sir Knight," said the Outlaw, "we have each our secret. You are welcome to form your judgment of me, and I may use my conjectures touching you, though neither of our shafts may hit the mark they are shot at. But as I do not pray to be admitted into your mystery, be not offended that I preserve my own."
"I crave pardon, brave Outlaw," said the Knight, "your reproof is just. But it may be we shall meet hereafter with less of concealment on either side.---Meanwhile we part friends, do we not?"
"There is my hand upon it," said Locksley; "and I will call it the hand of a true Englishman, though an outlaw for the present."
"And there is mine in return," said the Knight, "and I hold it honoured by being clasped with yours. For he that does good, having the unlimited power to do evil, deserves praise not only for the good which he performs, but for the evil which he forbears. Fare thee well, gallant Outlaw!" Thus parted that fair fellowship; and He of the Fetterlock, mounting upon his strong war-horse, rode off through the forest.

战士中的英华，
我们的泰特斯•拉歇斯怎样啦？
马歇斯：他正忙得跟法官似的，
一会儿处死这个，一会儿放逐那个，
有的要罚款，有的要赦免或者警告。
《科利奥兰纳斯》(注)
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(注)莎士比亚的剧本，引文见第一幕第六场。
长老被俘以后，只觉得尊严遭到了凌辱，服饰受到了摧残，身体面临着威胁，几种情绪纠结在一起，使他的神色和举止变得一反常态。
“先生们，这是怎么回事？”他说，声音中流露了那三种情绪。“这算是什么规矩？你们是土耳其人还是基督徒，这么对待一个教士？这是对上帝的仆人使用暴力，你们明白吗？你们抢走了我的行囊，撕破了我的镶边绣花披风，那是哪怕给红衣主教穿也不算丢脸的呢。要是换了别人，他非开除你们的教籍不可；但是我慈悲为怀，只要你们送还我的马匹，释放我的修士们，交回我的行囊，立即付给我一百金币，让我在茹尔沃修道院的祭台上，给你们举行一场赎罪弥撒，由你们许下心愿，在下一个五旬节到来以前不吃鹿肉，我便可以既往不咎，饶恕你们这次疯狂的恶作剧。”
“神圣的长老，”首领说道，“我很遗憾，我的部下中有人会这么对待您，以致引起了您的谴责。”
“对待！”长者答道，首领的温和语调使他的胆子大了一些。“哪怕对一只良种猎狗也不兴这样呀，何况对一个基督徒，更何况对一个教士；对茹尔沃修道院的长老，那就特别不应该了。这里有一个不敬上帝，只知喝酒的行吟歌手，名叫阿伦阿代尔——这是一个二流子——他甚至威胁说，如果我除了他已经抢走的那些宝贝，那些贵重的金链子和双环戒指以外，不肯再付四百枚金币的赎金，他就要对我实施体罚——不，要处死我；不仅如此，我还有一些珍贵的东西，例如我的香盒和银卷发夹子，在他们粗糙的手里给打断了，损坏了。”
“不会这样吧，阿伦阿代尔不会这么对待您这样高贵的教士，”首领说。
“这是真的，就像《尼哥底母福音》(注)那么可靠，”长老说，“他还讲了许多北方的粗话，发誓说要在树林里找一棵最高的树，把我吊死。”
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(注)基督教的一部没有编人《圣经》正典中的福音书，传说为耶稣的门徒圣尼哥底母所写。
“他真的这么讲过？唉，那么，尊敬的长老，我想，阿伦阿代尔既然这么讲了，您还是照他的要求办好，因为阿伦阿代尔这个人是说得到做得到的。”
“您这是跟我开玩笑吧，”长老吃了一惊，这么说，勉强露出了笑容，“我也是喜欢讲笑话的，真的。不过，哈哈哈，玩笑开了整整一夜，到了早晨应该言归正传啦。”
“我是像忏悔神父一样认真呢，”首领答道。“长老，您得付一大笔赎金才成，要不，您的修道院就得另选新的住持了，因为您的位置恐怕得另请高明了。”
“你们是基督徒吗，怎么能对一位教士这么讲话？”长老说道。
“当然是基督徒啊！不信，您就瞧瞧，我们中间也有神父呢，”首领答道。“来，我们的大胖子教士，给这位长老讲解一下有关这问题的经文。”
那位随军教士还半醉半醒的，在草绿衣衫上披了一件修士袍子，尽量回忆着从前背熟的一些字句。“愿上帝保佑您一切顺利，长老，”他说，“我们欢迎您到森林中来。”
“你这是在胡扯什么？”长老说。“朋友，如果你真的是教会的人，你不如告诉我，我怎么才能逃出这些人的手掌，不要装神弄鬼的，跟我磨嘴皮，扮鬼脸。”
“说真的，长老，”修士答道，“我知道你只有一个脱身的办法。今天是我们的圣安得烈日，是收什一税的时候(注)。”
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(注)圣安得烈是耶稣的十二门徒之一，圣安得烈日在十一月三十日，什一税是《旧约》中说的每人应献给耶和华的份额，这两者并无联系，只是塔克修士随口胡诌的。
“但是，兄弟，我想这不是向教会收的吧？”长老说。
“向俗人收，也向教会收，”修士说。“因此，长老，你还是得仰仗不义之财给你帮忙，只有它能够搭救你，别的都不成。”
“我打心底里喜欢你们这些绿林好汉，”长老说，口气变得温和了，“得啦，你们不必对我这么凶。我也懂得森林中的玩意儿，号角吹得又响又清楚，能叫每一棵栎树发出回声。算了，你们何必这么难为我呢。”
“给他一只号角，”首领说，“我们得考考他，看他是不是吹牛。”
艾默长老吹了一遍号角。首领直摇头。
“长老，”他说，“你吹的调子很动听，但它不能替你赎身：我们不能像一个骑士的盾牌上写的那样，因为你吹得动听就释放你。另外，我还发现，你吹的是法国的柔和音调，它搅乱了苍劲有力的英国号角声。长老，凭你那最后一声花腔，我得判你增加五十枚金币的赎金，因为它把原来雄壮的号音弄得面目全非了。”
“得啦，朋友，”长老说，有些不耐烦了，“你是个不好伺候的猎人。我希望你在赎金问题上，还是将就一些的好。一句话，这次算我倒霉，不得不向魔鬼进贡，你们说吧，我得付多少赎金，才不用给五十个人押送，便能在沃特林大道(注)上自由行走？”
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(注)英国古代的一条交通要道，后来往往用它泛指所有的大路。
一个小头目凑在首领耳边说道：“我看，是不是让长老给犹太佬，犹太佬给长老，互相定一下各人的赎金数目？”
“你是个糊涂虫，”首领说，“不过你的主意倒不错！听着，犹太人，走前一步。你瞧瞧那位艾默长老，他是富裕的茹尔沃修道院的院长，你说，我们应该向他要多少赎金？我保证，你了解这修道院的收入。”
“哦，当然了解，”以撒说，“我跟那里的神父做过买卖，经手过他们的小麦和大麦，树上的果子，还有不少羊毛。哦，那是一所富饶的大修道院，茹尔沃的那些神父都生活阔绰，地窖里有的是上好的美酒。像我这种无家可归的人，要是有这么一个安身之处，每年每月都有那么多收入，那不论要我拿多少金银来赎身，我都愿意。”
“你这只犹太狗！”长老嚷道，“没有人比你知道得更清楚，为了装修圣坛，我们的修道院欠了多少债……”
“这也是为了要在上一季度把你们的地窖装满葡萄酒，”犹太人打断他的话道，“不过这都……这都算不得什么。”
“别听这不信基督的野狗胡诌！”长老说。“他血口喷人，好像我们修道院是为那些酒欠的债；我们有权喝酒，这是必要的时候御寒用的。这个行过割礼的无赖诬陷神圣的教会，基督徒听了却不加申斥！”
“这一切都说明不了什么，”首领说道。“以撒，你讲吧，他付多少钱还不致影响他们的日常开支？”
“六百枚金币，”以撒说道，“用这点钱犒赏各位勇士，对这位长老说来算不得什么，不致影响他的舒适生活。”
“六百枚金币，”首领说，声音严肃，“很好，这够了；以撒，你讲得对，六百枚金币。这就是我的判决，长老阁下。”
“对，这是宣判，宣判！”大伙嚷道，“所罗门也不会判得这么合理。”
“你听到宣判了，长老，”首领说道。
“你们疯了，各位朋友，”长老说，“请问，我上哪儿去弄这么一笔钱？哪怕我把我们修道院祭台上的圣器和烛台全都卖了，也凑不到一半数目；何况要办这事，还得我亲自回茹尔沃才成，你们可以留下我的两个教士作人质。”
“这靠不住，”首领说，“我们得扣留你，长老，派你的教士去取赎金。你在这里不愁没有酒喝，没有肉吃；如果你喜欢在森林里玩玩，这里景色迷人，比你们北方强多了。”
“或者，如果长老愿意，”以撒说，想讨好那些庄户人，“我可以派人前往约克，从他们修道院存在我处的钱中，取出六百枚金币交上，只要长老肯写一张收据给我。”
“你要他写，他会写的，以撒，”首领说，“不过你得把艾默长老的和你自己的赎金一起付清。”
“我自己的！呀，各位勇士，”犹太人说，“我已经破产，成了穷光蛋；如果要我付五十枚金币，我便只能靠讨饭棒度过一生了。”
“这不妨让长老来判断，”首领说。“艾默长老，你怎么说？犹太人付得起一笔赎金吗？”
“付得起赎金？”长者答道。一他不是约克的以撒吗？谁不知道他是个大老板，哪怕要他给掳往亚述的以色列十大部族出赎金(注)，他也出得起呢。我自己跟他来往不多，但我们管地窖和库房的教士跟他常打交道，据他们讲，他在约克的住宅里堆满了金银，可以使任何基督教国家相形见细。一切活着的基督徒都不得不感到诧异，我们怎么会容忍这些蝰蛇盘踞在我们的国土上，靠卑鄙的高利贷和巧取豪夺，吸我们的血，甚至把手伸进了神圣的教会。”
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(注)指公元前722年，亚述国王灭亡以色列王国的事。以色列人本来有十二部族，以色列王国由其中的十大部族组成。以色列王国灭亡后，以色列王和臣民两万七千多人被俘往两河流域。
“别说了，长老，”犹太人答道，“还是请你平心静气想想吧。你知道，我从没强迫别人向我借钱。但是教士和俗人，亲王和长老，骑士和神父来敲以撒家的门，向他借钱的时候，从来不是这么不客气的。那时是：‘以撒老兄，请您在这件事上帮帮忙吧，凭上帝作证，到期我一定归还。’还有：‘仁慈的以撒，您一向助人为乐，这次真像朋友一样解决了我的困难！’可是期限一到，我去讨债时，听到的却是：‘该死的犹太佬’和‘但愿埃及的灾难(注)永远降临在你们的部族中’；总之，恨不得把粗暴无礼的百姓都煽动起来，迫害我们这些可怜的外乡人！”
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(注)以色列人早期曾遭到埃及法老的奴役，见《旧约•出埃及记》。
“长老，”首领说，“他虽然是犹太人，这句话可讲得不错。因此不必再争吵了，就像他指定你的赎金数目一样，你也指定一下他的数目。”
“除了latro famosus(注)——它的意思我可以在以后适当的时候再行奉告——谁也不会对一个基督教高级教士与一个没有受过洗礼的犹太人一视同仁，”长老说道。“但是既然你们要我给这贱人定个价钱，我可以坦率告诉你们，你们至少得向他要一千枚金币，少一个也不成，否则就是便宜了他。”
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(注)拉丁文：臭名昭著的强盗。这话是对洛克斯利讲的，因此长老故意用了拉丁文，不让他们听懂。
“好，这就是我们的判决，我们的判决！”首领大声宣告。
“对，这是我们的宣判，我们的宣判！”他的陪审官们一致嚷嚷。“基督徒是有良好修养的，他对我们比犹太人大方得多。”
“我们祖先的上帝保佑我吧！”犹太人说，“你们忍心逼死一个穷困潦倒的人吗？今天我已经失去了孩子，你们还要剥夺我活命的手段吗？”
“犹太佬，你失去了孩子，你的负担也减轻啦，”艾默说。
“哎哟！我的老天爷，”以撒说，“你们的法律使你们不能明白，我们的亲生骨肉怎样与我们的心千丝万缕地联结在一起。啊，丽贝卡！我亲爱的拉雪儿的女儿呀！哪怕那棵树上的每片叶子都是金币，每个金币都是我的，我也宁愿把这全部财富拿出来，只要谁能告诉我，你是不是还活着，没有遭到那个拿撒勒人的毒手！”
“你的女儿是黑头发吧？”一个强盗问，“戴一块丝织的面纱，上面有银线绣花的？”
“对，是这样，是这样！”老人说，声音有些发抖，但这是由于兴奋，不是像以前那样由于害怕。“但愿雅各赐福给你！你能告诉我，她现在平安无事吗？”
“那么这是她，”那个庄稼汉说，“她给骄傲的圣殿骑士带走了，是昨天傍晚从我们的队伍中冲出去的。我曾拉开弓，想射他一箭，但为了那个姑娘，没敢射出，我怕我的箭会射在她的身上。”
“啊！”犹太人答道，“我真希望你能射出，哪怕射中她的心脏也好！对她说来，躺在她祖先的坟墓里，还比遭到无耻而野蛮的圣殿骑士的凌辱好一些。以迦博！以迦博！荣耀离开我的家了(注)！”
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(注)有一次以色列人与非利士人作战失败，死了不少人，一个以色列人非尼哈也战死了，他的妻子正好临产，生下一个孩子，她便给孩子起名叫以迹博，意为“失去荣誉”，说道：“以迦博，荣耀离开以色列了”，见《旧约•撒母耳记上》第4章。
“朋友们，”首领看看周围的人说道，“这老人只是一个犹太人，可是他的不幸使我同情。以撒，要对我们讲老实话，你付了这一千金币赎金，真的一个钱也不剩了吗？”
以撒经这一问，想起了自己的财产；他只因根深蒂固的习惯，对金钱的爱好甚至可以与他的父女之情对抗；现在他变得脸色苍白，吞吞吐吐，但是不能否认，他付了赎金仍有一些剩余。
“好吧，算了，随你还剩多少，”首领说，“我们不想跟你算得太苛刻。你没有钱，要想从布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔手中救出孩子，那是痴心妄想，好比用没有箭头的箭射鹿一样。我们可以答应你，你的赎金与艾默长老的一样，甚至再减少一百金币，这一百金币作为我个人的损失，不算在我们的公账上。这样也免得人家骂我们抬高犹太人的身价，把他与基督教的高级教士一视同仁。以撒，现在你可以留下五百金币，作你女儿的赎金了。圣殿骑士不仅喜欢闪闪发亮的黑眼睛，同样喜欢闪闪发亮的黄金白银。你得趁早把你的金币拿到布瓦吉贝尔耳边去，叮叮当当敲给他听，免得发生更坏的事。根据我的侦察员送来的消息，你可以在附近的圣殿会堂里找到他。我说得合理吗，小伙子们？”
老乡们对首领一向言听计从，现在也作了这样的表示。以撒由于得知他的女儿还活着，还可以用钱赎回，忧虑减轻了一半，赶紧扑在慷慨的首领脚下，把胡须挨到了他的靴子上，想吻他那件绿大褂的衣襟。首领缩回身子，挣脱了犹太人的手，同时不免露出了一点鄙夷的神色。
“别这样，你这家伙，站起来！我是英国人，不喜欢东方人的叩头。应该向上帝跪拜，不是向我这样的罪人。”
“对，犹太人，”艾默长老说，“应该向上帝跪拜，向侍候上帝的教士跪拜，他知道，只要你诚心悔改，向圣罗贝尔(注)的神龛献上一份合适的礼物，你就可以为你自己和你的女儿丽贝卡求得上帝的保佑。我怜悯这位少女，知道她生得又漂亮又文静，我曾经在阿什口比武场上见到过她。而且布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔这人，我的话对他还是有些作用的，你考虑吧，要不要我替你讲讲情。”
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(注)罗贝尔是诺曼底公爵，征眼者威廉的父亲。
“哎哟！不得了！”犹太人说，“劫掠的手从四面八方伸向了我，我成了亚述的掠夺物，成了埃及的掠夺物。”
“你这个被诅咒的民族还能指望别的命运不成？”长老答道，“《圣经》上就这么说：‘他们抛弃了上帝的话，他们就失去了智慧。’还说：‘我要把他们的妇人给予外人’——在目前这件事上，就是给予圣殿骑士；又说：‘把他们的财产给予别人’——从目前来说，也就是给予这些高尚的先生。”
以撒长吁短叹的，绞着双手，重又陷入了凄凉和绝望的状态。但是首领把他带到一边。
“我得劝劝你，以撒，”洛克斯利说，“不论你打算怎么办，我的意思是你得跟这位教士交个朋友。他很自负，以撒，又很贪婪；至少他需要钱供他挥霍。你完全有力量满足他的欲望，因为你不要以为我相信你穷苦的鬼话。以撒，我了解你的底细，你的大铁箱里藏着一大袋一大袋的银钱。怎么！难道我不知道苹果树下的那块大石头，从那里可以通往你约克家花园的地下室，不是吗？”犹太人的脸变得死一般苍白了。“但是放心，我不会害你，”庄户人继续道，“因为我们是老朋友啦。你还记得那个生病的乡下佬吗？你的漂亮女儿丽贝卡在约克城把他从镣铐下救了出来，让他住在你家中养病，等身体好了，才打发他走，还资助了他一枚银币，不是吗？你放高利贷，可这次才是一本万利呢，这一枚银币给你今天省下了五百枚金币。”
“那么你就是我们称做弯弓迪康的那个人？”以撒说。“难怪我觉得你的口音有些熟呢。”
“我是弯弓，”首领说，“也叫洛克斯利，除此以外还有别的名字。”
“但是，我的好兄弟，关于那个地下室的事，你误解了。上帝知道，那里其实没什么，只是存放着一些货物，我很乐意分一些给你们，比如一百码草绿色衣料，让你们做紧身上衣，一百根西班牙紫杉做弓，还有一百根弓弦，都是又坚韧又牢固又光滑的；这些我全是为了表示感谢送给你的，正直的迪康；但是那个地下室，请你务必保守秘密，我的好迪康。”
“我一定替你保守秘密，”首领说，“不过不要指望我什么，我只是同情你的女儿。我对这事无能为力。圣殿骑士那班人太厉害了，在空旷的平地上我的弓箭手奈何他们不得，会给他们打得七零八落。当时要是我知道，给带走的是丽贝卡，我也许会想想办法，但现在你得靠策略对付他了。好吧，要我为你跟长老谈谈吗？”
“看在上帝份上，迪康，想想法子，帮助我找回我的亲生孩子吧！”
“可是你别跟我打岔，不要吝啬，这在目前不合适，”首领说，“我会替你跟他好好谈的。”
于是他转身走了，可是犹太人钉住了他，跟影子似的。
“艾默长老，”首领说，“跟我到这棵树下来。听说你爱喝酒，也爱跟女人调情，这与你的身分不太合适，长老；不过，我不想干涉。我还听说，你爱养养猎犬，还喜欢骑马，这都不坏，只是玩这些东西得花钱，由此看来，你是不会嫌弃一袋金币的。但是我从没听说，你喜欢压迫或者残忍的行为。现在这个以撒，他愿意为你的消遣和娱乐提供一些帮助，给你一袋一百枚银币的钱，只要你肯出面调停一下，让你的朋友圣殿骑士释放他的女儿。”
“得保证她的平安和贞洁，像她离开我的时候一样，”以撒插口道，“不然，这笔交易就做不成。”
“别多嘴，以撤，”首领说，“否则我就不管你的事了。艾默长老，你说我这个主意怎么样？”
“这件事有些复杂，”长者答道，“因为一方面这是件好事，可是另一方面，占便宜的是一个犹太人，这又大大违背了我的良心。不过，如果这个以色列人肯捐一笔钱给教堂，让我修建几间禅房，那么我就可以问心无愧，帮助他解决他女儿的事了。”
“叫他拿出二十马克金币修理房屋……”首领说，“喂，以撒，别打岔！……或者给祭台捐一对银烛台，这都可以办到。”
“不，但是，我的弯弓迪康，”以撤又想插嘴了。
“老兄，你是畜生，你是虫子！”首领说，失去了耐心，“如果你还要把你那些肮脏钱，看得跟你女儿的生命和荣誉一样重，那么我起誓，我非在三天内弄得你倾家荡产不可！”
以撒把话缩回去了，吓得再也不敢作声。
“这一切怎么保证？”长老问。
“等你斡旋成功，以撒平安回来，”首领说，“我凭圣休伯特起誓，一定督促他向你兑付全部金银，分文不少，否则我会找他算账，让他觉得不如拿出二十倍的钱更好。”
“那就这么办，犹太人，”艾默说，“既然要我插手这件事，我得用一下你的纸笔——哦，且慢，我宁可斋戒二十四个钟头，也不用你的笔，那叫我上哪儿找笔呢？”
“如果长老觉得犹太人的纸还可以将就，那么现成的笔我能找到，”首领说。这时一群大雁正从他们头顶经过，要飞往遥远的霍尔德内斯沼泽，于是他挽起弓，一箭射去，领头的那只雁便带着射中的箭，摇摇晃晃的掉到了地上。
“长老，”首领说，“除非你们要写编年史，这些羽毛尽够茹尔沃修道院的全体修士用上一百年了。”
长老坐了下去，不慌不忙地动手给布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔写信，然后小心翼翼封好信纸，交给犹太人，一边说道：“这可以作你前往圣殿会堂的通行证；照我想，凭这封信，你的女儿多半便可获得释放；不过你还得备上一份厚礼，这得靠你自己了，告诉你，这位布瓦吉贝尔骑士属于这类人，他们是从来不做赔本生意的。”
“好啦，长老，”首领说，“我不想多留你了，只要你再写一张收据交给犹太人，就可以走了——我接受他作我的代理人；以后如果我听说，你跟他吵闹，不承认他从你账上付出的这笔钱，那就别怪我不客气，我会把你的修道院烧成平地，哪怕我要为此提前十年上绞架，我也不怕！”
现在长老不像刚才给布瓦吉贝尔写信那么悠闲自在了，垂头丧气地写了收据，说明他为了支付赎金，向约克的以撒预支了六百枚金币，该款已如数领迄，并将从修道院的账目中给予扣除，决不食言。
“我满足了你们的要求，”艾默长老说，“像一个真正的俘虏那样付了赎金，现在得请你们归还我的骡子和马，释放我的随从人员，退回从我身上搜去的双环戒指、珠宝和珍贵服饰等等了。”
“关于你的随从人员，长老，”洛克斯利说，“他们马上就会获得自由，再扣留他们是不对的；关于你的马和骡子，它们也应全部奉还，另外还给你一些必要的零花钱，让你可以返回约克城，如果连路费也不给，未免太残忍了。至于那些戒指、珠宝、项链等等，那么你必须理解，我们是心地慈善的，考虑到你是一位看破红尘、德高望重的教士，我们不忍心让你戴上这些戒指、项链和其他无聊的装饰品，受到它们的强烈诱惑，因而破坏教会的清规戒律。”
“各位朋友，”长老答道，“在你们把手伸向教会的财物以前，先想想你们在干什么。这些东西都是属于教会的圣物，如果它们落到俗人手中，我不知道这会引起什么报应。”
“我们会注意这点的，尊敬的长老，”科普曼赫斯特的隐士插嘴道，“因为我可以自己戴这些东西。”
“朋友，也许你是教会的人，”长老答道，对这个解决办法表示不满‘“但我不知道，教会是否真的对你行过授职礼，如果那样，那么请你注意。你今天参加的这种活动，你是得向教会承担责任的。”
“长老朋友，”隐士答道，“不妨让你知道，我是属于一个小小的主教管区的，在那里我自己便是主教，我既不受约克主教的管辖，也不必茹尔沃修道院长老和整个修道院为我操心。”
“你根本不是一个真正的教士，”长老说，“你属于那种不守规矩的人，这种人不经正式手续便自封为圣职人员，亵读教会的圣礼，危害向他们仔悔的人的灵魂，正如《武甘大圣经》(注)上说的：他们给人的不是食物，是石头。”
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(注)即《通俗拉丁文圣经》，它通称《武甘大圣经》，曾被教会定为正式拉丁文本，后来才发现它错误甚多，不足为据。
“不对，”修上答道，“你的拉丁文奈何不了我，我的脑袋里有的是。我可以说，对你这种自以为是的教士，没收你的珠宝和装饰品，只是剥夺你的不义之财，是合法的。”
“你是个草包教士(注)，”长老说，勃然大怒，“我开除你的教籍。”
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(注)见作者附注八。——原注
“你自己更像一个流氓和异教徒，”修士同样怒气冲冲地说。“尽管我和你都是教会中人，你居然不顾体面，在我的教徒面前这么侮辱我，我决不会轻饶你。正如《武甘大圣经》上说的，我得打断你的骨头。”
“好啦！”首领喊道，“同是教会的人，这么争吵像样吗？修士，请你保持冷静。长老，哪怕你不愿看在上帝份上言归于好，也别再跟修士斗嘴啦。隐士，让长老作为一个付了赎金的人，与我们好好告别吧。”
但是两个愤愤不平的教士，仍在用不连贯的拉丁文互相诋毁，只是长老讲得流利一些，隐士讲得激烈一些罢了。最后老乡们总算把他们分开了，这时长老才静下心来，想起跟这个草包，这个强盗们的随军教士互相谩骂，实在有失尊严，于是带着随从人员，骑马走了，尽管已不像来的时候那么豪华阔绰，但从世俗的观点看来，比他在这次奇遇前的表现，却更符合一个使徒的身分了。
现在犹太人也得为他自己的赎金，以及他代为支付的长老的赎金，提供书面凭证了。于是他给约克城的一个朋友，另一个犹太人，写了一张条子，盖了印，要求他付给来人一千一百枚金币，另外还特别注明了要供应的几种商品。
“我的朋友谢瓦有我货仓的钥匙，”他说，深深叹了口气。
“还有地下室的钥匙吧，”洛克斯利小声道。
“不，不，老天保佑！”以撤说，“让人知道那个秘密，我就要大祸临头啦！”
“你放心，我不会泄漏，”首领说，“只要你把信上指定的数目付清，就没事了。喂，以撒，你怎么啦？你死了吗？还愣在那儿干吗？损失了一千金币就急得失魂落魄似的，把女儿的危险也忘记了吗？”
以撒跳起身来就走。“不，迪康，我马上去办。你呀，我不能说你是好人，又不敢、也不愿说你是坏人；再见吧！”
然而在以撒动身以前，首领还是给了他几句临别赠言：“为了你女儿的安全，要大方一些，不要舍不得花钱。相信我，在这件事上如果小气，省下的钱会变成熔化的金银，硬在你的喉咙口，叫你一辈子都过不安稳。”
以撒唉声叹气地默认了这点，便出发了；首领派两个高大的汉子送他离开森林，既是保护他，也是当他的向导。
在这一幕幕情景进行时，黑甲骑士一直饶有趣味地在旁观看，现在他也得向首领告辞了，然而临走前他不能不表示他的惊异，因为他万万没有想到，在这些处于法律以外，不受法律保护的人中间，居然也有一套处理公共事务的方针政策。
“一棵有病的树上，有时也会结出健全的果实，”首领说，“罪恶的时代不见得永远只能产生清一色的罪恶。在被迫走上这条不法道路的人中间，有不少人无疑并不愿做过分越轨的事，也有的人干这营生可能完全是不得已的。”
“现在跟我说话的人，可能便是这样吧？”骑士问。
“骑士老弟，”首领答道，“我们每人都有自己的秘密。你可以对我作出自己的判断，我也可以对你作出我的推测，尽管我们的箭可能都没有射中目标，这也没什么。但是正如我并不想要求你公开你的秘密，我也希望你允许我保留我的秘密。”
“请原谅，勇敢的首领，”骑士说，“你的责备是公正的。但是也许我们今后再见面的时候，双方都会坦率一些了。现在让我们作为朋友分手吧，好吗？”
“很好，我向你伸出我的手，”洛克斯利说，“尽管目前，这是一个强盗的手，但它是一个真正的英国人的手。”
“我也向你伸出我的手，”骑士说，“这只手能与你的手握在一起，我认为这是它的光荣。因为一个拥有无限权力可以干坏事的人，不仅应该为他所做的好事，也应该为他所没有做的坏事，得到赞扬。再见吧，英勇的壮士！”
这样，他们在友好中分别了，黑甲骑士随即跳上强壮的战马，向森林中疾驰而去了。
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Chapter 34
KING JOHN.---I'll tell thee what, my friend, He is a very serpent in my way; And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread, He lies before me.---Dost thou understand me? King John
There was brave feasting in the Castle of York, to which Prince John had invited those nobles, prelates, and leaders, by whose assistance he hoped to carry through his ambitious projects upon his brother's throne. Waldemar Fitzurse, his able and politic agent, was at secret work among them, tempering all to that pitch of courage which was necessary in making an open declaration of their purpose. But their enterprise was delayed by the absence of more than one main limb of the confederacy. The stubborn and daring, though brutal courage of Front-de-Boeuf; the buoyant spirits and bold bearing of De Bracy; the sagacity, martial experience, and renowned valour of Brian de Bois-Guilbert, were important to the success of their conspiracy; and, while cursing in secret their unnecessary and unmeaning absence, neither John nor his adviser dared to proceed without them. Isaac the Jew also seemed to have vanished, and with him the hope of certain sums of money, making up the subsidy for which Prince John had contracted with that Israelite and his brethren. This deficiency was likely to prove perilous in an emergency so critical.
It was on the morning after the fall of Torquilstone, that a confused report began to spread abroad in the city of York, that De Bracy and Bois-Guilbert, with their confederate Front-de-Boeuf, had been taken or slain. Waldemar brought the rumour to Prince John, announcing, that he feared its truth the more that they had set out with a small attendance, for the purpose of committing an assault on the Saxon Cedric and his attendants. At another time the Prince would have treated this deed of violence as a good jest; but now, that it interfered with and impeded his own plans, he exclaimed against the perpetrators, and spoke of the broken laws, and the infringement of public order and of private property, in a tone which might have become King Alfred.
"The unprincipled marauders," he said---"were I ever to become monarch of England, I would hang such transgressors over the drawbridges of their own castles."
"But to become monarch of England," said his Ahithophel coolly, "it is necessary not only that your Grace should endure the transgressions of these unprincipled marauders, but that you should afford them your protection, notwithstanding your laudable zeal for the laws they are in the habit of infringing. We shall be finely helped, if the churl Saxons should have realized your Grace's vision, of converting feudal drawbridges into gibbets; and yonder bold-spirited Cedric seemeth one to whom such an imagination might occur. Your Grace is well aware, it will be dangerous to stir without Front-de-Boeuf, De Bracy, and the Templar; and yet we have gone too far to recede with safety."
Prince John struck his forehead with impatience, and then began to stride up and down the apartment.
"The villains," he said, "the base treacherous villains, to desert me at this pinch!"
"Nay, say rather the feather-pated giddy madmen," said Waldemar, "who must be toying with follies when such business was in hand."
"What is to be done?" said the Prince, stopping short before Waldemar.
"I know nothing which can be done," answered his counsellor, "save that which I have already taken order for.---I came not to bewail this evil chance with your Grace, until I had done my best to remedy it."
"Thou art ever my better angel, Waldemar," said the Prince; "and when I have such a chancellor to advise withal, the reign of John will be renowned in our annals.---What hast thou commanded?"
"I have ordered Louis Winkelbrand, De Bracy's lieutenant, to cause his trumpet sound to horse, and to display his banner, and to set presently forth towards the castle of Front-de-Boeuf, to do what yet may be done for the succour of our friends."
Prince John's face flushed with the pride of a spoilt child, who has undergone what it conceives to be an insult. "By the face of God!" he said, "Waldemar Fitzurse, much hast thou taken upon thee! and over malapert thou wert to cause trumpet to blow, or banner to be raised, in a town where ourselves were in presence, without our express command."
"I crave your Grace's pardon," said Fitzurse, internally cursing the idle vanity of his patron; "but when time pressed, and even the loss of minutes might be fatal, I judged it best to take this much burden upon me, in a matter of such importance to your Grace's interest."
"Thou art pardoned, Fitzurse," said the prince, gravely; "thy purpose hath atoned for thy hasty rashness.---But whom have we here?---De Bracy himself, by the rood!---and in strange guise doth he come before us."
It was indeed De Bracy---"bloody with spurring, fiery red with speed." His armour bore all the marks of the late obstinate fray, being broken, defaced, and stained with blood in many places, and covered with clay and dust from the crest to the spur. Undoing his helmet, he placed it on the table, and stood a moment as if to collect himself before he told his news.
"De Bracy," said Prince John, "what means this?---Speak, I charge thee!---Are the Saxons in rebellion?"
"Speak, De Bracy," said Fitzurse, almost in the same moment with his master, "thou wert wont to be a man---Where is the Templar? ---where Front-de-Boeuf?"
"The Templar is fled," said De Bracy; "Front-de-Boeuf you will never see more. He has found a red grave among the blazing rafters of his own castle and I alone am escaped to tell you."
"Cold news," said Waldemar, "to us, though you speak of fire and conflagration."
"The worst news is not yet said," answered De Bracy; and, coming up to Prince John, he uttered in a low and emphatic tone ---"Richard is in England---I have seen and spoken with him."
Prince John turned pale, tottered, and caught at the back of an oaken bench to support himself---much like to a man who receives an arrow in his bosom.
"Thou ravest, De Bracy," said Fitzurse, "it cannot be."
"It is as true as truth itself," said De Bracy; "I was his prisoner, and spoke with him."
"With Richard Plantagenet, sayest thou?" continued Fitzurse.
"With Richard Plantagenet," replied De Bracy, "with Richard Coeur-de-Lion---with Richard of England."
"And thou wert his prisoner?" said Waldemar; "he is then at the head of a power?"
"No---only a few outlawed yeomen were around him, and to these his person is unknown. I heard him say he was about to depart from them. He joined them only to assist at the storming of Torquilstone."
"Ay," said Fitzurse, "such is indeed the fashion of Richard ---a true knight-errant he, and will wander in wild adventure, trusting the prowess of his single arm, like any Sir Guy or Sir Bevis, while the weighty affairs of his kingdom slumber, and his own safety is endangered.---What dost thou propose to do De Bracy?"
"I?---I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances, and he refused them---I will lead them to Hull, seize on shipping, and embark for Flanders; thanks to the bustling times, a man of action will always find employment. And thou, Waldemar, wilt thou take lance and shield, and lay down thy policies, and wend along with me, and share the fate which God sends us?"
"I am too old, Maurice, and I have a daughter," answered Waldemar.
"Give her to me, Fitzurse, and I will maintain her as fits her rank, with the help of lance and stirrup," said De Bracy.
"Not so," answered Fitzurse; "I will take sanctuary in this church of Saint Peter---the Archbishop is my sworn brother."
During this discourse, Prince John had gradually awakened from the stupor into which he had been thrown by the unexpected intelligence, and had been attentive to the conversation which passed betwixt his followers. "They fall off from me," he said to himself, "they hold no more by me than a withered leaf by the bough when a breeze blows on it! --- Hell and fiends! can I shape no means for myself when I am deserted by these cravens?"---He paused, and there was an expression of diabolical passion in the constrained laugh with which he at length broke in on their conversation.
"Ha, ha, ha! my good lords, by the light of Our Lady's brow, I held ye sage men, bold men, ready-witted men; yet ye throw down wealth, honour, pleasure, all that our noble game promised you, at the moment it might be won by one bold cast!"
"I understand you not," said De Bracy. "As soon as Richard's return is blown abroad, he will be at the head of an army, and all is then over with us. I would counsel you, my lord, either to fly to France or take the protection of the Queen Mother."
"I seek no safety for myself," said Prince John, haughtily; "that I could secure by a word spoken to my brother. But although you, De Bracy, and you, Waldemar Fitzurse, are so ready to abandon me, I should not greatly delight to see your heads blackening on Clifford's gate yonder. Thinkest thou, Waldemar, that the wily Archbishop will not suffer thee to be taken from the very horns of the altar, would it make his peace with King Richard? And forgettest thou, De Bracy, that Robert Estoteville lies betwixt thee and Hull with all his forces, and that the Earl of Essex is gathering his followers? If we had reason to fear these levies even before Richard's return, trowest thou there is any doubt now which party their leaders will take? Trust me, Estoteville alone has strength enough to drive all thy Free Lances into the Humber."---Waldemar Fitzurse and De Bracy looked in each other's faces with blank dismay.---"There is but one road to safety," continued the Prince, and his brow grew black as midnight; "this object of our terror journeys alone---He must be met withal."
"Not by me," said De Bracy, hastily; "I was his prisoner, and he took me to mercy. I will not harm a feather in his crest."
"Who spoke of harming him?" said Prince John, with a hardened laugh; "the knave will say next that I meant he should slay him! ---No---a prison were better; and whether in Britain or Austria, what matters it?---Things will be but as they were when we commenced our enterprise---It was founded on the hope that Richard would remain a captive in Germany---Our uncle Robert lived and died in the castle of Cardiffe."
"Ay, but," said Waldemar, "your sire Henry sate more firm in his seat than your Grace can. I say the best prison is that which is made by the sexton---no dungeon like a church-vault! I have said my say."
"Prison or tomb," said De Bracy, "I wash my hands of the whole matter."
"Villain!" said Prince John, "thou wouldst not bewray our counsel?"
"Counsel was never bewrayed by me," said De Bracy, haughtily, "nor must the name of villain be coupled with mine!"
"Peace, Sir Knight!" said Waldemar; "and you, good my lord, forgive the scruples of valiant De Bracy; I trust I shall soon remove them."
"That passes your eloquence, Fitzurse," replied the Knight.
"Why, good Sir Maurice," rejoined the wily politician, "start not aside like a scared steed, without, at least, considering the object of your terror.---This Richard---but a day since, and it would have been thy dearest wish to have met him hand to hand in the ranks of battle---a hundred times I have heard thee wish it."
"Ay," said De Bracy, "but that was as thou sayest, hand to hand, and in the ranks of battle! Thou never heardest me breathe a thought of assaulting him alone, and in a forest."
"Thou art no good knight if thou dost scruple at it," said Waldemar. "Was it in battle that Lancelot de Lac and Sir Tristram won renown? or was it not by encountering gigantic knights under the shade of deep and unknown forests?"
"Ay, but I promise you," said De Bracy, "that neither Tristram nor Lancelot would have been match, hand to hand, for Richard Plantagenet, and I think it was not their wont to take odds against a single man."
"Thou art mad, De Bracy---what is it we propose to thee, a hired and retained captain of Free Companions, whose swords are purchased for Prince John's service? Thou art apprized of our enemy, and then thou scruplest, though thy patron's fortunes, those of thy comrades, thine own, and the life and honour of every one amongst us, be at stake!"
"I tell you," said De Bracy, sullenly, "that he gave me my life. True, he sent me from his presence, and refused my homage---so far I owe him neither favour nor allegiance---but I will not lift hand against him."
"It needs not---send Louis Winkelbrand and a score of thy lances."
"Ye have sufficient ruffians of your own," said De Bracy; "not one of mine shall budge on such an errand."
"Art thou so obstinate, De Bracy?" said Prince John; "and wilt thou forsake me, after so many protestations of zeal for my service?"
"I mean it not," said De Bracy; "I will abide by you in aught that becomes a knight, whether in the lists or in the camp; but this highway practice comes not within my vow."
"Come hither, Waldemar," said Prince John. "An unhappy prince am I. My father, King Henry, had faithful servants---He had but to say that he was plagued with a factious priest, and the blood of Thomas-a-Becket, saint though he was, stained the steps of his own altar.---Tracy, Morville, Brito *
* Reginald Fitzurse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville, * and Richard Brito, were the gentlemen of Henry the * Second's household, who, instigated by some passionate * expressions of their sovereign, slew the celebrated * Thomas-a-Becket.
loyal and daring subjects, your names, your spirit, are extinct! and although Reginald Fitzurse hath left a son, he hath fallen off from his father's fidelity and courage."
"He has fallen off from neither," said Waldemar Fitzurse; "and since it may not better be, I will take on me the conduct of this perilous enterprise. Dearly, however, did my father purchase the praise of a zealous friend; and yet did his proof of loyalty to Henry fall far short of what I am about to afford; for rather would I assail a whole calendar of saints, than put spear in rest against Coeur-de-Lion.---De Bracy, to thee I must trust to keep up the spirits of the doubtful, and to guard Prince John's person. If you receive such news as I trust to send you, our enterprise will no longer wear a doubtful aspect.---Page," he said, "hie to my lodgings, and tell my armourer to be there in readiness; and bid Stephen Wetheral, Broad Thoresby, and the Three Spears of Spyinghow, come to me instantly; and let the scout-master, Hugh Bardon, attend me also.---Adieu, my Prince, till better times." Thus speaking, he left the apartment. "He goes to make my brother prisoner," said Prince John to De Bracy, "with as little touch of compunction, as if it but concerned the liberty of a Saxon franklin. I trust he will observe our orders, and use our dear Richard's person with all due respect."
De Bracy only answered by a smile.
"By the light of Our Lady's brow," said Prince John, "our orders to him were most precise---though it may be you heard them not, as we stood together in the oriel window---Most clear and positive was our charge that Richard's safety should be cared for, and woe to Waldemar's head if he transgress it!"
"I had better pass to his lodgings," said De Bracy, "and make him fully aware of your Grace's pleasure; for, as it quite escaped my ear, it may not perchance have reached that of Waldemar."
"Nay, nay," said Prince John, impatiently, "I promise thee he heard me; and, besides, I have farther occupation for thee. Maurice, come hither; let me lean on thy shoulder."
They walked a turn through the hall in this familiar posture, and Prince John, with an air of the most confidential intimacy, proceeded to say, "What thinkest thou of this Waldemar Fitzurse, my De Bracy?---He trusts to be our Chancellor. Surely we will pause ere we give an office so high to one who shows evidently how little he reverences our blood, by his so readily undertaking this enterprise against Richard. Thou dost think, I warrant, that thou hast lost somewhat of our regard, by thy boldly declining this unpleasing task---But no, Maurice! I rather honour thee for thy virtuous constancy. There are things most necessary to be done, the perpetrator of which we neither love nor honour; and there may be refusals to serve us, which shall rather exalt in our estimation those who deny our request. The arrest of my unfortunate brother forms no such good title to the high office of Chancellor, as thy chivalrous and courageous denial establishes in thee to the truncheon of High Marshal. Think of this, De Bracy, and begone to thy charge."
"Fickle tyrant!" muttered De Bracy, as he left the presence of the Prince; "evil luck have they who trust thee. Thy Chancellor, indeed!---He who hath the keeping of thy conscience shall have an easy charge, I trow. But High Marshal of England! that," he said, extending his arm, as if to grasp the baton of office, and assuming a loftier stride along the antechamber, "that is indeed a prize worth playing for!"
De Bracy had no sooner left the apartment than Prince John summoned an attendant.
"Bid Hugh Bardon, our scout-master, come hither, as soon as he shall have spoken with Waldemar Fitzurse."
The scout-master arrived after a brief delay, during which John traversed the apartment with, unequal and disordered steps.
"Bardon," said he, "what did Waldemar desire of thee?"
"Two resolute men, well acquainted with these northern wilds, and skilful in tracking the tread of man and horse."
"And thou hast fitted him?"
"Let your grace never trust me else," answered the master of the spies. "One is from Hexamshire; he is wont to trace the Tynedale and Teviotdale thieves, as a bloodhound follows the slot of a hurt deer. The other is Yorkshire bred, and has twanged his bowstring right oft in merry Sherwood; he knows each glade and dingle, copse and high-wood, betwixt this and Richmond."
"'Tis well," said the Prince.---"Goes Waldemar forth with them?"
"Instantly," said Bardon.
"With what attendance?" asked John, carelessly.
"Broad Thoresby goes with him, and Wetheral, whom they call, for his cruelty, Stephen Steel-heart; and three northern men-at-arms that belonged to Ralph Middleton's gang---they are called the Spears of Spyinghow."
"'Tis well," said Prince John; then added, after a moment's pause, "Bardon, it imports our service that thou keep a strict watch on Maurice De Bracy---so that he shall not observe it, however---And let us know of his motions from time to time ---with whom he converses, what he proposeth. Fail not in this, as thou wilt be answerable."
Hugh Bardon bowed, and retired.
"If Maurice betrays me," said Prince John---"if he betrays me, as his bearing leads me to fear, I will have his head, were Richard thundering at the gates of York."

约翰王。我告诉你，我的朋友，
他是挡在我路上的一条毒蛇，
不论我的脚瑞到哪里，
他总是在我面前，你明白我的意思吗？
《约翰王》(注)
--------
(注)莎士比亚的历史剧，引文见第三幕第三场。
在约克城堡中，约翰亲王举办了盛大的宴会，凡是他认为可以帮助他实现他的野心计划，篡夺他兄长的王位的人，包括贵族、主教和军事首脑，都在他邀请之列。他那位长袖善舞、足智多谋的助手沃尔德马•菲泽西，在这些人中进行秘密串联，鼓舞大家的勇气，为公开宣布他们的意图作了必要的准备。但是他们的冒险活动，由于这个集团中不多几个主要人物的缺席，不得不推迟了。虽然野蛮、但坚定而骁勇的牛面将军，性情浮躁、行为鲁莽的德布拉西，精明强干、富有作战经验的著名勇士布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔，对这次阴谋的成功具有举足轻重的作用；对他们情况不明的无故缺席，约翰和他的首席大臣只能暗中咒骂，却不敢丢开他们自行起事。犹太人以撒仿佛也消失了，因而断绝了一定的财政来源，本来这是约翰亲王与他那一伙犹太人早已讲定的。在这紧要关头，经费的短缺可能成为致命的打击。
托奎尔斯通城堡陷落的第二天早上，混乱的消息开始在约克城中传播，据说德布拉西和布瓦吉贝尔，以及他们的同伙牛面将军，已被擒住或杀死。沃尔德马把谣言报告了约翰亲王，说他担心这消息是真的，因为他知道，他们曾带了不多几个人，预备对撒克逊人塞德里克和他的随从进行袭击。在别的时候，亲王听到这种暴力活动，会当作有趣的谈笑资料，但现在，它于扰和妨碍了他的计划，他不禁大声责骂这些人胡作非为，还说这触犯了法律，扰乱了社会秩序，侵害了私有财产，那声色俱厉的口气大可与阿尔弗烈德大王相比。
“这些无法无天的强盗！”他说，“我一旦作了英国的国王，非把这些违法分子绞死在他们各自的城堡吊桥上不可。”
“但是要当上英国国王，”他的亚希多弗(注)冷冷地说道，“殿下不仅必须容忍这些无法无天的强盗干的违法勾当，而且得为他们提供庇护，尽管他们常常会破坏您所颂扬和沤歌的法律。如果撒克逊乡巴佬得知殿下想把封建庄园的吊桥变成绞架，他们一定会拥戴我们；那个狂妄自大的塞德里克，也许就是怀有这种幻想的人。殿下完全清楚，没有牛面将军、德布拉西和圣殿骑士，我们的起事便很难成功；然而我们已走得太远，无法安全退却了。”
--------
(注)亚希多弗，《圣经》中以色列王大卫的谋臣，但他背叛了大卫，帮助大卫的儿子沙龙谋反，见《撒母耳记下》第16章。
约翰亲王心烦意乱，连连打着额头，然后开始在屋里踱来踱去。
“这些混蛋，”他说，“背信弃义的卑鄙混蛋，在这节骨眼上抛弃了我！”
“不，应该说这是些轻浮、糊涂的疯子，”沃尔德马说，“他们丢下了这件大事不干，却一心要找娘儿们谈情说爱。”
“现在怎么办？”亲王说，蓦地在沃尔德马面前站住了。
“除了我已经做的以外，我不知道还有什么办法？”他的大臣答道。“我是在尽力采取了一些补救措施以后，才来向殿下报告这不幸消息的。”
“你永远是我的得力助手，沃尔德马，”亲王说，“有你这么一位大臣为我出谋划策，约翰王朝一定会名垂史册。那么你已经做了些什么呢？”
“我已下令，由德布拉西的副将路易•温克尔布兰德执掌号令，集合人马，打起旗号，立刻向牛面将军的城堡进发，尽一切可能，救援我们那些朋友。”
约翰亲王的脸色蓦地涨红了，他像一个娇生惯养的孩子，自以为受了欺侮，别人没把他放在眼里。
“凭上帝的名义起誓！”他说，“沃尔德马•菲泽西，你怎么这么自作主张！在我坐镇的城里，没有我的命令，也不向我请示，便擅自下令集合人马，打出旗号，这太冒失了。”
“请殿下原谅，”菲泽西说，心里却在咒骂他的上司妄自尊大，“但是时间紧迫，耽误几分钟就可能无法挽救，因此我考虑只得自行承担责任，这件事这么重大，关系到殿下的成败得失呢。”
“我原谅你，菲泽西，”亲王严厉地说，“你的意图抵偿了你的鲁莽冒失。但这是谁来啦？我的天，这是德布拉西啊！他怎么穿得这么奇奇怪怪的跑来见我。”
那真的是德布拉西，他满脸通红，气喘吁吁，仿佛长途跋涉，刚跨下马背。他的盔甲似乎刚经历了一场艰苦的血战，又破又旧，血迹斑斑，从头到脚沾满了污泥和尘土。他摘下头盔，把它放在桌上，站了一会，仿佛要定下伸来，才能报告他的消息。
“德布拉西，”约翰亲王说，“这是怎么回事？讲啊，我命令你讲！是撒克逊人造反了吗？”
“讲呀，德布拉西，”菲泽西几乎与他的主人同时开口道，“你一向是勇敢的啊。圣殿骑士在哪儿？牛面将军在哪儿？”
“圣殿骑士逃走了，”德布拉西说，“牛面将军你们是再也见不到啦。他的城堡烧成了灰烬，他自己也葬身在火窟中了，只有我跑了出来，向你们报告消息。”
“尽管你讲的是燃烧和大火，我们听了却只觉得浑身发冷，”沃尔德马说。
“最坏的消息还没讲呢，”德布拉西答道，于是他走到约翰亲王面前，用轻轻的、十分郑重的声音说道：“理查回到英国了，我亲自看到了他，还与他讲了话。”
约翰亲王的脸色霎时变白了，两腿索索发抖，他只得抓住栎木椅背支撑自己，仿佛有一支箭射中了他的胸口。
“你在胡诌，德布拉西，”菲泽西说，“这不可能。”
“事情千真万确，”德布拉西说，“我还当了他的俘虏，与他讲话来着。”
“你是说与金雀花王朝的理查讲过话？”菲泽西继续问。
勺｝，与金雀花王朝的理查，与狮心王理查，与英国的理查王讲过话，”德布拉西答道。
“你还当了他的俘虏？”沃尔德马说，“那么他率领着一支军队？”
“不，他的周围只有一些乡巴佬，一些亡命之徒，他们不知道他的身分。我听他说，他马上就要离开他们。他与他们在一起，只是要帮助他们攻打托奎尔斯通。”
“对，”菲泽西说，“这确实是理查的作风；他是真正的游侠骑士，愿意漂泊各地，凭他的一身武艺扶危济困，就像盖依和贝维斯(注)那类人物，却把国家大事丢在脑后，也不顾自身的安危。德布拉西，那么你打算怎么办呢？”
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(注)英国古代民间传说和歌谣中的英雄和游侠，但不一定实有其人。
“我？我向理查表示，愿意把我的自由团队供他驱策，但他拒绝了。现在我只得把他们带往赫尔，伺机渡海，前往佛兰德，好在目前兵荒马乱，一个人只要肯干，不怕找不到雇佣他的人。至于你，沃尔德马，你愿意抛弃政治，拿起长熗和盾牌跟我一起干，共同分担上帝给我们的命运吗？”
“我太老了，莫里斯，而且我还有一个女儿，”沃尔德马答道。
“把她嫁给我，菲泽西，她不会吃亏，我凭一匹战马和一支熗，便能让她过得舒舒服服的，”德布拉西说。
“这不成，”菲泽西答道，“我要在这里圣彼得教堂中寻求庇护，它的大主教与我是结义弟兄。”
在他们这么谈论时，约翰亲王已逐渐镇静，从那个意外消息引起的震惊中醒来了，他注意听着两个部下的谈话，心里想：“他们打算离开我了，他们与我的关系就像树上的枯叶，只要一缕微风吹过，便会脱离树枝！这些恶鬼应该入地狱！在这些懦夫抛弃我的时候，难道我就束手无策了吗？”他停了一会，怀着恶毒阴险的心情，竭力发出了一阵狂笑，这终于打断了他们的谈话。
“哈哈哈！我的大臣们，凭圣母的光辉起誓，我一直把你们看作明达的人，勇敢的人，足智多谋的人，对来之不易的成就会真心爱护，谁知正当我们高贵的事业，只要再加一把劲，便可大功告成的时候，你们却想临阵脱逃，把唾手可得的荣华富贵统统抛弃了！”
“我不懂您的意思，”德布拉西说。“理查回来的消息只要一传开，他马上会拥有一支军队，于是我们便一切都完了。我的殿下，我劝您还是赶紧逃往法国，或者设法取得母后的保护吧。”
“我不是为自己的安全考虑，”约翰亲王傲慢地说，“我只要跟我的哥哥说一声就没事了。但是你，德布拉西，还有你，沃尔德马•菲泽西，尽管你们随时准备抛弃我，我却不忍心看到你们的头颅挂在克利福德监狱门口示众。沃尔德马，你想，那位诡计多端的大主教，为了与理查国王言归于好，不会让你从他的祭台旁边抓走吗？德布拉西，你难道忘记，在你和赫尔之间，驻扎着罗伯特•埃斯托特维尔的大批军队，而且埃塞克斯伯爵正在招兵买马，扩充实力？如果在理查回国以前，我们有理由提防他们的这些活动，那么现在，他们会站在哪一边，难道还有疑问吗？相信我，埃斯托特维尔一个人就有足够的力量，把你的自由团队赶进亨伯河中了。” 沃尔德马•菲泽西和德布拉酉面面相觑，垂头丧气。“安全的道路只有一条，”亲王继续道，脸色变得像黑夜一样阴沉可怕，“使我们不安的这个人是单身旅行，我们应该主动找他。”
“我不干，”德布拉西马上说，“我是他的俘虏，他宽恕了我。我不愿伤害他的一根毫毛。”
“谁说要害他啦？”约翰亲王说，露出了阴险的冷笑，“说不定哪个无赖还会说我想暗杀他呢！不，还是牢房比较好；它在英国还是在奥地利，这有什么不同？这样，一切便与我们开始这场冒险以前完全一样。我们的前提只是假定理查仍在德国当他的俘虏。我们有一个亲族罗伯特(注)便是给囚禁以后，死在加的夫城堡的。”
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(注)指征服者威廉的长子罗伯特，见本书第十五章。
“对，”沃尔德马说，“但是你的祖先亨利的王位很稳定，殿下可不同。我认为最可靠的监牢，还是教堂司事管辖的墓地，没有一间牢房比教堂的墓穴更坚固。我的话完了。”
“不论监牢或坟墓，这件事我决不插手，”德布拉西说。
“混蛋！”约翰亲王说，“你想出卖我们的计划不成？”
“我不想出卖你们，”德布拉西骄傲地说，“但是我也不准别人把混蛋这个称呼加在我的身上！”
“不要争吵，我的骑士！”沃尔德马说。“殿下，我也希望您原谅勇敢的德布拉西，他只是有些顾虑，我相信我会很快说服他的。”
“你的口才在我这里没有用，菲泽西，”骑士答道。
“我的莫里斯爵爷，”狡猾的大臣接口道，“干吗要像一只受惊的马那么逃之夭夭，至少考虑一下啊。这个理查，不过一天以前，你还口口声声说，要跟他在战场上一对一地决一死战；这样的话我已听你讲过一百遍了。”
“对，”德布拉西说，“但正如你讲的，那是一个对一个，是在战场上！我叭没说过，我要趁他单身一人的时候，在森林中袭击他。”
“如果你对这种事有顾虑，你就不是一个出色的骑士，”沃尔德马说。
“朗斯洛和特里斯特拉姆(注)是在战场上赢得荣誉的吗？他们不是也躲在无人知晓的森林中，从暗处袭击强大的武士吗？”
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(注)英国中世纪故事亚瑟王传奇中的两个著名骑士，一向被看作骑士的典范。
“对，但我可以告诉你，”德布拉西说，“不论特里斯特拉姆还是朗斯洛，如果一个对一个，都不是金雀花王朝的理查的对手，而且我相信，他们人来不想几个人攻打一个人。”
“你疯了不成，德布拉西？我们要你招募这支自由团队的雇佣兵，还不是要他们用自己的剑，为约翰亲王效力吗？可是现在我们要你对我们的敌人采取行动，你却迟疑不决，尽管你的保护人，你的朋友和你自己的命运，我们每一个人的生命和荣誉，都面临着千钧一发的危险！”
“我告诉你，”德布拉西绷着脸说，“他给了我一条生路。确实，他不要我跟随他，拒绝我为他效力，因此我不欠他的情，也不必对他效忠；但是我不能用我的手害他。”
“这用不到，你可以派路易•温克尔布兰德带二十个部下去干。”
“你们手下有的是杀人不眨眼的暴徒，”德布拉酉说。“我一个也不派，不想让我的部下介入这事。”
“德布拉西，你怎么这么固执？”约翰亲王说。“你讲过不少要为我出生入死的话，可现在却袖手旁观吗？”
“不能这么说，”德布拉西答道，“只要是适合一个骑士干的，不论在比武场上还是在战场上，我都乐意为您效劳，但那种盗匪行为不在我的誓言之内。”
“到这儿来，沃尔德马，”约翰亲王说，“我是一个不幸的亲王。我的父亲亨利国王身边的人都忠心耿耿，他只要说一声，那个闹独立的教士弄得他寝食不安，托马斯•贝克特(注1)尽管是个圣徒，他的血马上流在自己的祭台脚下了。除了特拉西、莫维尔、布里托(注2)这些忠诚而英勇的人，其中也有你的家族，可是现在这种精神在你身上消失了！雷金纳德•菲泽西虽然留下了一个儿子，但他已失去了他父亲的忠诚和勇敢。”
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(注1)托马斯•贝克特（ill一1170），英国教士，曾任亨利二世的枢密大臣，后又被任命为坎特伯雷大主教。但在任大主教期间，他站在罗马教皇一边，主张君主不得干预教会的事务，因而被亨利二世派人杀死。
(注2)雷金纳德•菲泽西，威廉•特拉西，休•莫维尔，以及理查•布里托，都是亨利二世的卫士，由于国王对托马斯•贝克特的行为表示了强烈的不满，他们便把那位著名的大主教杀死了。——原注
“他什么也没失去，”沃尔德马•菲泽西说。“既然没有更好的办法，我愿意亲自承担这项危险的任务。不过，虽然我的父亲付出了很高代价，才博得一位亲切的朋友的赞美，他为证明他对亨利的忠诚所作的事，比起我要做的，还是差得很远，因为我宁可举起熗来进攻所有的圣徒，也不愿与狮心王对抗。德布拉酉，我只能要求你提高警惕，保护约翰亲王的安全了。我相信我会给你们带来好消息，到那时我们的事业便万无一失了。侍从，”他又道，“赶快回我的住宅去，告诉我的军械师作好一切准备；同时传我的话，叫斯蒂芬•韦瑟拉尔和布罗德•托雷斯比，还有斯派豪的三名长熗手，马上前来见我；让侦察队长休•巴登也等着我。再见，亲王，我们会面的时候情况就会好转了。”这么说完，他便走出了屋子。
“他要去把我的哥哥关进牢房，”约翰亲王对德布拉酉说，“可是他一点也不觉得良心有愧，好像这涉及的仅仅是一个撒克逊庄主的自由。我希望他能按照我的指示行事，用应有的礼貌对待我亲爱的理查哥哥。”
德布拉西的回答只是微微一笑。
“凭圣母的荣光起誓，”约翰亲王说，“我给他的命令十分明确，不过你可能没有听到，当时我们是一起站在那扇凸肚窗前谈的。我给他的任务非常清晰和精确，那就是必须保证理查的安全；如果沃尔德马越出这条界线，我便得要他的脑袋！”
“我想我还是到他的寓所走一次，”德布拉西说，“把殿下的意思再明确叮嘱他一下，因为我既然没有听到这话，沃尔德马可能也没有听到。”
“不，不，”约翰亲王不耐烦地说，“我保证他听到了，再说，我还有别的任务交代你，莫里斯，到这儿来，让我靠在你的肩上。”
他们在大厅里绕了一圈，保持着这种亲密的姿势；约翰亲王操起十分机密的口气，开始说道：“我的德布拉西，你觉得这个沃尔德马•菲泽西怎么样？他是指望担任首相呢。可是在我任命一个人担当这么高的职务时，我自然得郑重考虑一下，你想，这个人居然毫不犹豫便自告奋勇，要去拘捕理查，可见他对我们王族是缺乏必要的尊敬的。我敢说你一定以为，你这么大胆拒绝了这个不愉快的任务，必然会失去我的宠信。其实不然，莫里斯！我倒是对你的坚贞操守十分钦佩。有许多不得不做的事，做的人不一定能得到我们的尊敬和喜爱；可是拒绝这么做的人却会得到我们的器重，尽管他不愿照我们的要求行事。逮捕我不幸的兄长这件事，对任命首相这样的高级职务，不能构成有利的条件，可是你的拒绝却表现了英勇的骑士风度，使你完全有资格接受大元帅的权杖。记住这点，德布拉西，去办你的事吧。”
“阴险多变的暴君！”德布拉西一边向亲王告辞，一边在心里嘀咕，“谁相信你，便活该倒霉。首相，确实不错！但是，谁当你的心腹大臣，恐怕非吃苦头不可。不过英国的大元帅！这……”他说，伸出了胳臂，仿佛在接受那根权杖，一边昂首阔步地走出了前室，“这倒确实不坏，值得争取！”
德布拉西刚离开屋子，约翰亲王立刻召来他的侍卫。
“命令我的侦察队长休•巴登与沃尔德马•菲泽西谈完以后，马上前来见我。”
他在屋里踱来踱去，显得心绪不宁，脚步趔趔趄趄的，但隔不多久，侦察队长便进屋来了。
“巴登，”亲王说，“沃尔德马要你干什么啦？”
“要我派两名得力的人给他，必须熟悉这一带北方荒野，善于辨认人和马的踪迹的。”
“你提供了合适的人没有？”
“这种事殿下放心好了，”侦察队长答道。“我派的人，一个是从赫克瑟姆郡来的，一向在泰恩河谷和蒂维厄特河谷侦查盗贼，行动像猎狗跟踪受伤的鹿那么灵敏。另一个是在约克郡长大的，时常在快活的谢尔伍德森林中打猎，熟悉从这里到里士满之间每一片森林的地理形势和树木位置。”
“这很好，”亲王说，“沃尔德马跟他们动身没有？”
“马上动身，”巴登说。
“随行的有谁？”约翰漫不经心似的问。
“布罗德•托雷斯比与他一起去，还有韦瑟拉尔，这人心狠手辣涸此大家称他铁石心肠的斯蒂芬，还有原来属于拉尔夫•米德尔顿一伙的三名北方士兵，人称斯派豪的长熗手的。”
“很好，”约翰亲王说，停了一会又道，“巴登，有一件事很重要，你必须密切注意莫里斯•德布拉西的行动，但不能让他发觉。你得把他的行踪随时向我报告，他与什么人谈话，谈了些什么等等。这事不能疏忽，否则你得负责。”
休•巴登鞠躬告退了。
“如果莫里斯出卖我……”约翰亲王在心中说，“他的行动使我不得不担忧，但是如果他出卖我，哪怕理查已攻到约克的城门口，我也非处死他不可。”
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Chapter 35
Arouse the tiger of Hyrcanian deserts, Strive with the half-starved lion for his prey; Lesser the risk, than rouse the slumbering fire Of wild Fanaticism. Anonymus
Our tale now returns to Isaac of York.---Mounted upon a mule, the gift of the Outlaw, with two tall yeomen to act as his guard and guides, the Jew had set out for the Preceptory of Templestowe, for the purpose of negotiating his daughter's redemption. The Preceptory was but a day's journey from the demolished castle of Torquilstone, and the Jew had hoped to reach it before nightfall; accordingly, having dismissed his guides at the verge of the forest, and rewarded them with a piece of silver, he began to press on with such speed as his weariness permitted him to exert. But his strength failed him totally ere he had reached within four miles of the Temple-Court; racking pains shot along his back and through his limbs, and the excessive anguish which he felt at heart being now augmented by bodily suffering, he was rendered altogether incapable of proceeding farther than a small market-town, were dwelt a Jewish Rabbi of his tribe, eminent in the medical profession, and to whom Isaac was well known. Nathan Ben Israel received his suffering countryman with that kindness which the law prescribed, and which the Jews practised to each other. He insisted on his betaking himself to repose, and used such remedies as were then in most repute to check the progress of the fever, which terror, fatigue, ill usage, and sorrow, had brought upon the poor old Jew.
On the morrow, when Isaac proposed to arise and pursue his journey, Nathan remonstrated against his purpose, both as his host and as his physician. It might cost him, he said, his life. But Isaac replied, that more than life and death depended upon his going that morning to Templestowe.
"To Templestowe!" said his host with surprise again felt his pulse, and then muttered to himself, "His fever is abated, yet seems his mind somewhat alienated and disturbed."
"And why not to Templestowe?" answered his patient. "I grant thee, Nathan, that it is a dwelling of those to whom the despised Children of the Promise are a stumbling-block and an abomination; yet thou knowest that pressing affairs of traffic sometimes carry us among these bloodthirsty Nazarene soldiers, and that we visit the Preceptories of the Templars, as well as the Commanderies of the Knights Hospitallers, as they are called." *
* The establishments of the Knight Templars were called * Preceptories, and the title of those who presided in the * Order was Preceptor; as the principal Knights of Saint * John were termed Commanders, and their houses * Commanderies. But these terms were sometimes, it would * seem, used indiscriminately.
"I know it well," said Nathan; "but wottest thou that Lucas de Beaumanoir, the chief of their Order, and whom they term Grand Master, is now himself at Templestowe?"
"I know it not," said Isaac; "our last letters from our brethren at Paris advised us that he was at that city, beseeching Philip for aid against the Sultan Saladine."
"He hath since come to England, unexpected by his brethren," said Ben Israel; "and he cometh among them with a strong and outstretched arm to correct and to punish. His countenance is kindled in anger against those who have departed from the vow which they have made, and great is the fear of those sons of Belial. Thou must have heard of his name?"
"It is well known unto me," said Isaac; "the Gentiles deliver this Lucas Beaumanoir as a man zealous to slaying for every point of the Nazarene law; and our brethren have termed him a fierce destroyer of the Saracens, and a cruel tyrant to the Children of the Promise."
"And truly have they termed him," said Nathan the physician. "Other Templars may be moved from the purpose of their heart by pleasure, or bribed by promise of gold and silver; but Beaumanoir is of a different stamp---hating sensuality, despising treasure, and pressing forward to that which they call the crown of martyrdom---The God of Jacob speedily send it unto him, and unto them all! Specially hath this proud man extended his glove over the children of Judah, as holy David over Edom, holding the murder of a Jew to be an offering of as sweet savour as the death of a Saracen. Impious and false things has he said even of the virtues of our medicines, as if they were the devices of Satan---The Lord rebuke him!"
"Nevertheless," said Isaac, "I must present myself at Templestowe, though he hath made his face like unto a fiery furnace seven times heated."
He then explained to Nathan the pressing cause of his journey. The Rabbi listened with interest, and testified his sympathy after the fashion of his people, rending his clothes, and saying, "Ah, my daughter!---ah, my daughter!---Alas! for the beauty of Zion!---Alas! for the captivity of Israel!"
"Thou seest," said Isaac, "how it stands with me, and that I may not tarry. Peradventure, the presence of this Lucas Beaumanoir, being the chief man over them, may turn Brian de Bois-Guilbert from the ill which he doth meditate, and that he may deliver to me my beloved daughter Rebecca."
"Go thou," said Nathan Ben Israel, "and be wise, for wisdom availed Daniel in the den of lions into which he was cast; and may it go well with thee, even as thine heart wisheth. Yet, if thou canst, keep thee from the presence of the Grand Master, for to do foul scorn to our people is his morning and evening delight. It may be if thou couldst speak with Bois-Guilbert in private, thou shalt the better prevail with him; for men say that these accursed Nazarenes are not of one mind in the Preceptory ---May their counsels be confounded and brought to shame! But do thou, brother, return to me as if it were to the house of thy father, and bring me word how it has sped with thee; and well do I hope thou wilt bring with thee Rebecca, even the scholar of the wise Miriam, whose cures the Gentiles slandered as if they had been wrought by necromancy."
Isaac accordingly bade his friend farewell, and about an hour's riding brought him before the Preceptory of Templestowe.
This establishment of the Templars was seated amidst fair meadows and pastures, which the devotion of the former Preceptor had bestowed upon their Order. It was strong and well fortified, a point never neglected by these knights, and which the disordered state of England rendered peculiarly necessary. Two halberdiers, clad in black, guarded the drawbridge, and others, in the same sad livery, glided to and fro upon the walls with a funereal pace, resembling spectres more than soldiers. The inferior officers of the Order were thus dressed, ever since their use of white garments, similar to those of the knights and esquires, had given rise to a combination of certain false brethren in the mountains of Palestine, terming themselves Templars, and bringing great dishonour on the Order. A knight was now and then seen to cross the court in his long white cloak, his head depressed on his breast, and his arms folded. They passed each other, if they chanced to meet, with a slow, solemn, and mute greeting; for such was the rule of their Order, quoting thereupon the holy texts, "In many words thou shalt not avoid sin," and "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." In a word, the stern ascetic rigour of the Temple discipline, which had been so long exchanged for prodigal and licentious indulgence, seemed at once to have revived at Templestowe under the severe eye of Lucas Beaumanoir.
Isaac paused at the gate, to consider how he might seek entrance in the manner most likely to bespeak favour; for he was well aware, that to his unhappy race the reviving fanaticism of the Order was not less dangerous than their unprincipled licentiousness; and that his religion would be the object of hate and persecution in the one case, as his wealth would have exposed him in the other to the extortions of unrelenting oppression.
Meantime Lucas Beaumanoir walked in a small garden belonging to the Preceptory, included within the precincts of its exterior fortification, and held sad and confidential communication with a brother of his Order, who had come in his company from Palestine.
The Grand Master was a man advanced in age, as was testified by his long grey beard, and the shaggy grey eyebrows overhanging eyes, of which, however, years had been unable to quench the fire. A formidable warrior, his thin and severe features retained the soldier's fierceness of expression; an ascetic bigot, they were no less marked by the emaciation of abstinence, and the spiritual pride of the self-satisfied devotee. Yet with these severer traits of physiognomy, there was mixed somewhat striking and noble, arising, doubtless, from the great part which his high office called upon him to act among monarchs and princes, and from the habitual exercise of supreme authority over the valiant and high-born knights, who were united by the rules of the Order. His stature was tall, and his gait, undepressed by age and toil, was erect and stately. His white mantle was shaped with severe regularity, according to the rule of Saint Bernard himself, being composed of what was then called Burrel cloth, exactly fitted to the size of the wearer, and bearing on the left shoulder the octangular cross peculiar to the Order, formed of red cloth. No vair or ermine decked this garment; but in respect of his age, the Grand Master, as permitted by the rules, wore his doublet lined and trimmed with the softest lambskin, dressed with the wool outwards, which was the nearest approach he could regularly make to the use of fur, then the greatest luxury of dress. In his hand he bore that singular "abacus", or staff of office, with which Templars are usually represented, having at the upper end a round plate, on which was engraved the cross of the Order, inscribed within a circle or orle, as heralds term it. His companion, who attended on this great personage, had nearly the same dress in all respects, but his extreme deference towards his Superior showed that no other equality subsisted between them. The Preceptor, for such he was in rank, walked not in a line with the Grand Master, but just so far behind that Beaumanoir could speak to him without turning round his head.
"Conrade," said the Grand Master, "dear companion of my battles and my toils, to thy faithful bosom alone I can confide my sorrows. To thee alone can I tell how oft, since I came to this kingdom, I have desired to be dissolved and to be with the just. Not one object in England hath met mine eye which it could rest upon with pleasure, save the tombs of our brethren, beneath the massive roof of our Temple Church in yonder proud capital. O, valiant Robert de Ros! did I exclaim internally, as I gazed upon these good soldiers of the cross, where they lie sculptured on their sepulchres,---O, worthy William de Mareschal! open your marble cells, and take to your repose a weary brother, who would rather strive with a hundred thousand pagans than witness the decay of our Holy Order!"
"It is but true," answered Conrade Mont-Fitchet; "it is but too true; and the irregularities of our brethren in England are even more gross than those in France."
"Because they are more wealthy," answered the Grand Master. "Bear with me, brother, although I should something vaunt myself. Thou knowest the life I have led, keeping each point of my Order, striving with devils embodied and disembodied, striking down the roaring lion, who goeth about seeking whom he may devour, like a good knight and devout priest, wheresoever I met with him---even as blessed Saint Bernard hath prescribed to us in the forty-fifth capital of our rule, 'Ut Leo semper feriatur'.*
* In the ordinances of the Knights of the Temple, this * phrase is repeated in a variety of forms, and occurs in * almost every chapter, as if it were the signal-word of the * Order; which may account for its being so frequently put * in the Grand Master's mouth.
But by the Holy Temple! the zeal which hath devoured my substance and my life, yea, the very nerves and marrow of my bones; by that very Holy Temple I swear to thee, that save thyself and some few that still retain the ancient severity of our Order, I look upon no brethren whom I can bring my soul to embrace under that holy name. What say our statutes, and how do our brethren observe them? They should wear no vain or worldly ornament, no crest upon their helmet, no gold upon stirrup or bridle-bit; yet who now go pranked out so proudly and so gaily as the poor soldiers of the Temple? They are forbidden by our statutes to take one bird by means of another, to shoot beasts with bow or arblast, to halloo to a hunting-horn, or to spur the horse after game. But now, at hunting and hawking, and each idle sport of wood and river, who so prompt as the Templars in all these fond vanities? They are forbidden to read, save what their Superior permitted, or listen to what is read, save such holy things as may be recited aloud during the hours of refaction; but lo! their ears are at the command of idle minstrels, and their eyes study empty romaunts. They were commanded to extirpate magic and heresy. Lo! they are charged with studying the accursed cabalistical secrets of the Jews, and the magic of the Paynim Saracens. Simpleness of diet was prescribed to them, roots, pottage, gruels, eating flesh but thrice a-week, because the accustomed feeding on flesh is a dishonourable corruption of the body; and behold, their tables groan under delicate fare! Their drink was to be water, and now, to drink like a Templar, is the boast of each jolly boon companion! This very garden, filled as it is with curious herbs and trees sent from the Eastern climes, better becomes the harem of an unbelieving Emir, than the plot which Christian Monks should devote to raise their homely pot-herbs. ---And O, Conrade! well it were that the relaxation of discipline stopped even here!---Well thou knowest that we were forbidden to receive those devout women, who at the beginning were associated as sisters of our Order, because, saith the forty-sixth chapter, the Ancient Enemy hath, by female society, withdrawn many from the right path to paradise. Nay, in the last capital, being, as it were, the cope-stone which our blessed founder placed on the pure and undefiled doctrine which he had enjoined, we are prohibited from offering, even to our sisters and our mothers, the kiss of affection---'ut omnium mulierum fugiantur oscula'. --I shame to speak---I shame to think---of the corruptions which have rushed in upon us even like a flood. The souls of our pure founders, the spirits of Hugh de Payen and Godfrey de Saint Omer, and of the blessed Seven who first joined in dedicating their lives to the service of the Temple, are disturbed even in the enjoyment of paradise itself. I have seen them, Conrade, in the visions of the night---their sainted eyes shed tears for the sins and follies of their brethren, and for the foul and shameful luxury in which they wallow. Beaumanoir, they say, thou slumberest---awake! There is a stain in the fabric of the Temple, deep and foul as that left by the streaks of leprosy on the walls of the infected houses of old.*
* See the 13th chapter of Leviticus.
The soldiers of the Cross, who should shun the glance of a woman as the eye of a basilisk, live in open sin, not with the females of their own race only, but with the daughters of the accursed heathen, and more accursed Jew. Beaumanoir, thou sleepest; up, and avenge our cause!---Slay the sinners, male and female!---Take to thee the brand of Phineas!---The vision fled, Conrade, but as I awaked I could still hear the clank of their mail, and see the waving of their white mantles.---And I will do according to their word, I WILL purify the fabric of the Temple! and the unclean stones in which the plague is, I will remove and cast out of the building."
"Yet bethink thee, reverend father," said Mont-Fitchet, "the stain hath become engrained by time and consuetude; let thy reformation be cautious, as it is just and wise."
"No, Mont-Fitchet," answered the stern old man---"it must be sharp and sudden---the Order is on the crisis of its fate. The sobriety, self-devotion, and piety of our predecessors, made us powerful friends---our presumption, our wealth, our luxury, have raised up against us mighty enemies.---We must cast away these riches, which are a temptation to princes---we must lay down that presumption, which is an offence to them---we must reform that license of manners, which is a scandal to the whole Christian world! Or---mark my words---the Order of the Temple will be utterly demolished---and the Place thereof shall no more be known among the nations."
"Now may God avert such a calamity!" said the Preceptor.
"Amen," said the Grand Master, with solemnity, "but we must deserve his aid. I tell thee, Conrade, that neither the powers in Heaven, nor the powers on earth, will longer endure the wickedness of this generation---My intelligence is sure---the ground on which our fabric is reared is already undermined, and each addition we make to the structure of our greatness will only sink it the sooner in the abyss. We must retrace our steps, and show ourselves the faithful Champions of the Cross, sacrificing to our calling, not alone our blood and our lives---not alone our lusts and our vices---but our ease, our comforts, and our natural affections, and act as men convinced that many a pleasure which may be lawful to others, is forbidden to the vowed soldier of the Temple."
At this moment a squire, clothed in a threadbare vestment, (for the aspirants after this holy Order wore during their noviciate the cast-off garments of the knights,) entered the garden, and, bowing profoundly before the Grand Master, stood silent, awaiting his permission ere he presumed to tell his errand.
"Is it not more seemly," said the Grand Master, "to see this Damian, clothed in the garments of Christian humility, thus appear with reverend silence before his Superior, than but two days since, when the fond fool was decked in a painted coat, and jangling as pert and as proud as any popinjay?---Speak, Damian, we permit thee---What is thine errand?"
"A Jew stands without the gate, noble and reverend father," said the Squire, "who prays to speak with brother Brian de Bois-Guilbert."
"Thou wert right to give me knowledge of it," said the Grand Master; "in our presence a Preceptor is but as a common compeer of our Order, who may not walk according to his own will, but to that of his Master---even according to the text, 'In the hearing of the ear he hath obeyed me.'---It imports us especially to know of this Bois-Guilbert's proceedings," said he, turning to his companion.
"Report speaks him brave and valiant," said Conrade.
"And truly is he so spoken of," said the Grand Master; "in our valour only we are not degenerated from our predecessors, the heroes of the Cross. But brother Brian came into our Order a moody and disappointed man, stirred, I doubt me, to take our vows and to renounce the world, not in sincerity of soul, but as one whom some touch of light discontent had driven into penitence. Since then, he hath become an active and earnest agitator, a murmurer, and a machinator, and a leader amongst those who impugn our authority; not considering that the rule is given to the Master even by the symbol of the staff and the rod---the staff to support the infirmities of the weak---the rod to correct the faults of delinquents.---Damian," he continued, "lead the Jew to our presence."
The squire departed with a profound reverence, and in a few minutes returned, marshalling in Isaac of York. No naked slave, ushered into the presence of some mighty prince, could approach his judgment-seat with more profound reverence and terror than that with which the Jew drew near to the presence of the Grand Master. When he had approached within the distance of three yards, Beaumanoir made a sign with his staff that he should come no farther. The Jew kneeled down on the earth which he kissed in token of reverence; then rising, stood before the Templars, his hands folded on his bosom, his head bowed on his breast, in all the submission of Oriental slavery.
"Damian," said the Grand Master, "retire, and have a guard ready to await our sudden call; and suffer no one to enter the garden until we shall leave it."---The squire bowed and retreated. ---"Jew," continued the haughty old man, "mark me. It suits not our condition to hold with thee long communication, nor do we waste words or time upon any one. Wherefore be brief in thy answers to what questions I shall ask thee, and let thy words be of truth; for if thy tongue doubles with me, I will have it torn from thy misbelieving jaws."
The Jew was about to reply, but the Grand Master went on.
"Peace, unbeliever!---not a word in our presence, save in answer to our questions.---What is thy business with our brother Brian de Bois-Guilbert?"
Isaac gasped with terror and uncertainty. To tell his tale might be interpreted into scandalizing the Order; yet, unless he told it, what hope could he have of achieving his daughter's deliverance? Beaumanoir saw his mortal apprehension, and condescended to give him some assurance.
"Fear nothing," he said, "for thy wretched person, Jew, so thou dealest uprightly in this matter. I demand again to know from thee thy business with Brian de Bois-Guilbert?"
"I am bearer of a letter," stammered out the Jew, "so please your reverend valour, to that good knight, from Prior Aymer of the Abbey of Jorvaulx."
"Said I not these were evil times, Conrade?" said the Master. "A Cistertian Prior sends a letter to a soldier of the Temple, and can find no more fitting messenger than an unbelieving Jew. ---Give me the letter."
The Jew, with trembling hands, undid the folds of his Armenian cap, in which he had deposited the Prior's tablets for the greater security, and was about to approach, with hand extended and body crouched, to place it within the reach of his grim interrogator.
"Back, dog!" said the Grand Master; "I touch not misbelievers, save with the sword.---Conrade, take thou the letter from the Jew, and give it to me."
Beaumanoir, being thus possessed of the tablets, inspected the outside carefully, and then proceeded to undo the packthread which secured its folds. "Reverend father," said Conrade, interposing, though with much deference, "wilt thou break the seal?"
"And will I not?" said Beaumanoir, with a frown. "Is it not written in the forty-second capital, 'De Lectione Literarum' that a Templar shall not receive a letter, no not from his father, without communicating the same to the Grand Master, and reading it in his presence?"
He then perused the letter in haste, with an expression of surprise and horror; read it over again more slowly; then holding it out to Conrade with one hand, and slightly striking it with the other, exclaimed---"Here is goodly stuff for one Christian man to write to another, and both members, and no inconsiderable members, of religious professions! When," said he solemnly, and looking upward, "wilt thou come with thy fanners to purge the thrashing-floor?"
Mont-Fitchet took the letter from his Superior, and was about to peruse it.
"Read it aloud, Conrade," said the Grand Master,---"and do thou" (to Isaac) "attend to the purport of it, for we will question thee concerning it."
Conrade read the letter, which was in these words: "Aymer, by divine grace, Prior of the Cistertian house of Saint Mary's of Jorvaulx, to Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a Knight of the holy Order of the Temple, wisheth health, with the bounties of King Bacchus and of my Lady Venus. Touching our present condition, dear Brother, we are a captive in the hands of certain lawless and godless men, who have not feared to detain our person, and put us to ransom; whereby we have also learned of Front-de-Boeuf's misfortune, and that thou hast escaped with that fair Jewish sorceress, whose black eyes have bewitched thee. We are heartily rejoiced of thy safety; nevertheless, we pray thee to be on thy guard in the matter of this second Witch of Endor; for we are privately assured that your Great Master, who careth not a bean for cherry cheeks and black eyes, comes from Normandy to diminish your mirth, and amend your misdoings. Wherefore we pray you heartily to beware, and to be found watching, even as the Holy Text hath it, 'Invenientur vigilantes'. And the wealthy Jew her father, Isaac of York, having prayed of me letters in his behalf, I gave him these, earnestly advising, and in a sort entreating, that you do hold the damsel to ransom, seeing he will pay you from his bags as much as may find fifty damsels upon safer terms, whereof I trust to have my part when we make merry together, as true brothers, not forgetting the wine-cup. For what saith the text, 'Vinum laetificat cor hominis'; and again, 'Rex delectabitur pulchritudine tua'.
"Till which merry meeting, we wish you farewell. Given from this den of thieves, about the hour of matins,
"Aymer Pr. S. M. Jorvolciencis.
"'Postscriptum.' Truly your golden chain hath not long abidden with me, and will now sustain, around the neck of an outlaw deer-stealer, the whistle wherewith he calleth on his hounds."
"What sayest thou to this, Conrade?" said the Grand Master---"Den of thieves! and a fit residence is a den of thieves for such a Prior. No wonder that the hand of God is upon us, and that in the Holy Land we lose place by place, foot by foot, before the infidels, when we have such churchmen as this Aymer.---And what meaneth he, I trow, by this second Witch of Endor?" said he to his confident, something apart. Conrade was better acquainted (perhaps by practice) with the jargon of gallantry, than was his Superior; and he expounded the passage which embarrassed the Grand Master, to be a sort of language used by worldly men towards those whom they loved 'par amours'; but the explanation did not satisfy the bigoted Beaumanoir.
"There is more in it than thou dost guess, Conrade; thy simplicity is no match for this deep abyss of wickedness. This Rebecca of York was a pupil of that Miriam of whom thou hast heard. Thou shalt hear the Jew own it even now." Then turning to Isaac, he said aloud, "Thy daughter, then, is prisoner with Brian de Bois-Guilbert?"
"Ay, reverend valorous sir," stammered poor Isaac, "and whatsoever ransom a poor man may pay for her deliverance------"
"Peace!" said the Grand Master. "This thy daughter hath practised the art of healing, hath she not?"
"Ay, gracious sir," answered the Jew, with more confidence; "and knight and yeoman, squire and vassal, may bless the goodly gift which Heaven hath assigned to her. Many a one can testify that she hath recovered them by her art, when every other human aid hath proved vain; but the blessing of the God of Jacob was upon her."
Beaumanoir turned to Mont-Fitchet with a grim smile. "See, brother," he said, "the deceptions of the devouring Enemy! Behold the baits with which he fishes for souls, giving a poor space of earthly life in exchange for eternal happiness hereafter. Well said our blessed rule, 'Semper percutiatur leo vorans'.---Up on the lion! Down with the destroyer!" said he, shaking aloft his mystic abacus, as if in defiance of the powers of darkness---"Thy daughter worketh the cures, I doubt not," thus he went on to address the Jew, "by words and sighs, and periapts, and other cabalistical mysteries."
"Nay, reverend and brave Knight," answered Isaac, "but in chief measure by a balsam of marvellous virtue."
"Where had she that secret?" said Beaumanoir.
"It was delivered to her," answered Isaac, reluctantly, "by Miriam, a sage matron of our tribe."
"Ah, false Jew!" said the Grand Master; "was it not from that same witch Miriam, the abomination of whose enchantments have been heard of throughout every Christian land?" exclaimed the Grand Master, crossing himself. "Her body was burnt at a stake, and her ashes were scattered to the four winds; and so be it with me and mine Order, if I do not as much to her pupil, and more also! I will teach her to throw spell and incantation over the soldiers of the blessed Temple.---There, Damian, spurn this Jew from the gate---shoot him dead if he oppose or turn again. With his daughter we will deal as the Christian law and our own high office warrant."
Poor Isaac was hurried off accordingly, and expelled from the preceptory; all his entreaties, and even his offers, unheard and disregarded. He could do not better than return to the house of the Rabbi, and endeavour, through his means, to learn how his daughter was to be disposed of. He had hitherto feared for her honour, he was now to tremble for her life. Meanwhile, the Grand Master ordered to his presence the Preceptor of Templestowe.

哪怕激怒希尔卡尼亚(注)沙漠的猛虎，
与饥肠辘辘的狮子争夺它的食物，
危险也不如让疯狂野蛮的信念死灰复燃。
无名氏
--------
(注)古代地名，在里海东南。
现在我们又得回过头来谈约克的以撒氏他骑着首领赠送的骡子，在两个高大的庄户人的护送和引导下，前往圣殿会堂商量赎回女儿的事。从被毁的托奎尔斯通城堡到圣殿会堂不过一天路程，犹太人指望在天黑以前赶到那里，因此到了树林边缘，便给了向导一枚银币，打发了他们，然后在疲劳允许的限度内，尽快向前赶路。可是在离会堂不到四英里的时候，他的体力终于支撑不住了，背脊和四肢像要裂开似的。这样，焦急万分的心情加上浑身的酸痛，使他再也无法前进，不得不在一个小市镇上停下，这里住着一个犹太族的拉比，以精通医术闻名，本来是以撒所熟识的。于是纳桑•本•以色列接待了这位生病的同胞，对他关怀备至，因为按照他们的律法，犹太人必须互相帮助。他坚持要以撒躺下休息，用当时认为最有效的药物给他治病，使这位可怜的老人在恐怖、劳累、虐待和忧郁的交互作用下出现的热度不致恶化。
第二天以撒打算起床，继续赶路。纳桑作为他的主人和医生，表示怎么也不同意，声称“这会送掉他的命”。但是以撒答说，“不论死活，他这天早上必须赶到圣殿会堂。”
“圣殿会堂！”那位主人吃了一惊。又按了按他的脉，然后在心里捉摸：“他的热度退了一些，然而他的神志不太正常，显得心事重重。”
“为什么不能上圣殿会堂？”病人问道。“我承认，纳桑，住在那里的人歧视我们，把上帝的选民看作绊脚石和眼中钉；然而你知道，有时为了做买卖，我们不得不跟杀人不眨眼的拿撒勒军人打交道，拜访圣殿会堂和医护骑士团的所谓总部。”
“这我完全明白，”纳桑说，“但是他们那个首领，也就是他们称作大宗师的卢加斯•博马诺，目前正在圣殿会堂，你知道吗？”
“这我不知道，”以撒说，“根据我们的弟兄最近从巴黎的来信看，他似乎是在那里，正要求腓力二世出兵攻打萨拉了苏丹呢。”
“但以后他便来到了英国，这是连他们自己人也没料到的，”纳桑说。“据说他是要来大刀阔斧的整顿会务，处罚违法乱纪的败类。他看到谁背弃誓言，便怒不可遏，以致那些彼列的子孙都惶惶不安呢。你一定听到过他的名字吧？”
“这一切我很清楚，”以撒说，“外邦人把这个卢加斯•博马诺说得非常厉害，似乎他为了不折不扣地推行拿撒勒人的律法，不惜大开杀戒，因此我们的弟兄称他是萨拉森人的凶恶刽子手，我们犹太人的残酷迫害者。”
“他们讲得不错，”纳桑医生说。“其他圣殿骑士可能为了寻欢作乐，背弃他们的宗旨，也可能接受金银财宝的贿赂，但博马诺是另一种人——他憎恨肉欲，鄙视金钱，一心想得到他们所说的殉道的桂冠，但愿雅各的上帝快些让他和他们所有的人得到这顶桂冠吧！尤其是这个骄傲自大的人，他把手伸向了犹太人，就像当年神圣的大卫征服以东一样，认为杀害一个犹太人与杀死一个萨拉森人并无不同，是对上帝的贡献。他甚至还低毁和诬蔑我们的医药的功效，仿佛它们是魔鬼的花招——愿上帝惩罚他！”
“然而不论怎样，”以撒说，“我必须亲自前往圣殿会堂，哪怕他的脸比魔鬼还可怕，我也只得见他。”
于是他向纳桑说明了他此行的紧迫原因。拉比听得很仔细，并按照他们的民族习惯表示了他的同情，即一边撕开衣服，一边说道：“啊，我的闺女！啊，我的闺女！哎约！救救锡安的少女吧！哎哟，救救被掳的以色列人吧！”
“你瞧，”以撒说，“我的处境就是这样，我不能拖延。说不定这个卢加斯•博马诺的在场，他作为他们这伙人的首脑，还能制上布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔企图干的坏事，把我亲爱的丽贝卡交还给我。”
“那么去吧，”纳桑•本•以色列说，“但是要明智一些，你知道，但以理给投进狮子坑，也是靠智慧得救的(注)；但愿你一切顺利，像你的心所希望的那样。但是如果可能，你还是不要去见那位大宗师，因为侮辱我们犹太人是他的爱好，不论早晚他都会以此取乐。也许你找布瓦吉贝尔私下谈谈，对你更有利；因为人们说，这些拿撒勒人在会堂内不是一条心的——但愿他们争争吵吵，闹得丢尽脸皮才好！但是，兄弟，你可以再回到我这儿来，把我的家当作你的家，也让我知道你的事办得怎么样了。希望你能把丽贝卡也带来，她是聪明的米莉亚姆的学生，她治愈了不少外邦人，可是她的医术却被诬蔑为巫术。”
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(注)以色列先知但以理给丢进狮子坑的事，见们日约•但以理书》第6章，这里的智慧是指坚信上帝。
这样，以撒告别了他的朋友，骑上骡于走了大约一小时，便来到了圣殿会堂前面。
这座会堂位在碧绿的草坪和牧场中间，房屋是前任会督出于虔诚，向骑士团捐献的。它建筑坚固，防备严密，这是当时的骑士组织绝对不会忽略的，对于正处在动乱状态的英国说来也特别重要。两名身穿黑衣的执戟卫士把守着吊桥，另一些兵穿着同样的黑衣服，迈着送殡的步子，幽灵似的在城墙上走来走去。圣殿骑士团的下级军官都是这副打扮，他们本来也穿白衣，与骑士和扈从一样，但后来其中有一部分人，在巴勒斯坦山区冒充圣殿骑士，这大大损害了骑士团的声誉，于是他们只得改穿黑衣。不时有一个身着白大褂的骑士穿过院子，他低着头，合抱着双手，如果有两个人互相遇到，便用迂缓而庄严的姿势彼此招呼一下，但并不讲话，因为这是他们的规则，它来自经文：“话多必失”，“祸从口出”。总之，圣殿骑士坚持苦行修炼的严格纪律，本来早已被奢侈挥霍和放荡逸乐所取代，现在由于卢加斯•博马诺的严密监视，它似乎又在这里一下子复活了。
以撒站在大门外，考虑着应该以什么方式进入这个地方，对他最为有利；因为他很清楚，复活的宗教狂热精神，对于他这个不幸的民族，是与他们的荒淫无耻、巧取豪夺同样危险的，前者用仇视和迫害对待他的宗教，而后者使他的财富成为他们掠夺和榨取的目标。
这时，卢加斯•博马诺正在会堂内一个小花园中散步，它位在外围堡垒的高墙内；他的身旁是与他一起从巴勒斯坦来的一位修会弟兄，他显得忧心忡忡，正与后者密谈。
这位大宗师年事已高，他颔下的灰白长须，眼睛上蓬松的灰白眉毛，都足以证明这点，然而年龄并不能扑灭那双眼睛中的火焰。这是一个令人望而生畏的战士，消瘦而严峻的容貌依然保持着军人的凶猛表情；只是作为一个禁欲主义的斗士，这张脸上同样留下了节制饮食的憔悴痕迹，流露出为自己的虔诚精神感到洋洋得意的神色。但是与这种外貌上的严峻特点结合在一起的，还有一种令人瞩目的高贵气息，这显然来自他的崇高地位，它要求他在国王和贵族中间扮演重要的角色，也在自己的团体中对出身高贵的英勇骑士行使最高的权威。他身材高大，走路时身体笔直，姿态庄重，并不显得衰老和疲惫。他的白长袍是按照圣伯尔纳(注)亲自规定的式样，根据他的身材，用当时一种粗布一丝不苟地缝制的，因此显得非常合身，它的左肩上有一个用红布做的八角十字架，作为这个骑士组织的标志。他的衣服上没有灰鼠或貂皮的边饰，但按规定，大宗师这样的年纪，可以穿最柔软的羊皮衬里或镶边的、羊毛向外的紧身上衣——当时皮毛制品是最奢侈的服饰，这样的衣服已达到了他所能接受的最大限度。他的手中拿着一根独特的权杖，那种圣殿骑士平时随身携带的东西，它的顶端有一个圆盘，盘上刻着他们的十字架，周围是一个圆圈，或者纹章官们称作边框的图形。跟随这位大人物的那个教士，穿的衣服几乎与他的一模一样，但他对那位上司恭恭敬敬的外表，说明他们的关系不是平等的。这人的身分是会堂的会督，他跟在大宗师后面，保持着一定距离，但又不太远，使博马诺不必回头，便能与他讲话。
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(注)圣伯尔纳（明谷的）（1090—1153），中世纪基督教神学家，西多会修士，在第二次十字军东侵时期组建圣殿骑士团，并亲自制定该团章程，奉行西多会的严格教规，号召骑士过禁欲生活，屠杀穆斯林，扩大基督教的势力。
“康拉德，”大宗师开口道，“你是我战斗和工作中的亲密朋友，我的忧虑只能向你忠诚的心灵倾诉。我只能对你一个人说，自从我来到这个王国，我有多少次但愿离开这个世界，与正直的先贤们待在一起。我的眼睛在英国接触的一切，都不能使我感到愉快，在那个骄傲的首都，唯有长眠在我们圣殿教堂雄伟的屋顶下的我们弟兄们的坟墓，能给我带来一些安慰。每逢我看到他们的坟墓和雕像，想起安息在那里的优秀的十字军战士，我便不禁在内心呼唤：‘英勇的罗贝尔•德•罗斯啊！杰出的威廉•德•马雷夏尔啊！打开你们的大理石墓穴吧，让一个心力交瘁的弟兄与你们一起安眠吧，我宁可与千万名异教徒战斗，也不愿看到我们的神圣团体这么腐败堕落！’
“您讲得太对了，”康拉德•蒙特菲舍答道，“太对了；我们的弟兄在英国甚至比在法国更不守规矩，更肆无忌惮。”
“因为他们更富裕，”大宗师答道。“兄弟，请原谅，也许我有些像夸耀自己。你知道我是怎么生活的，我像一个正直的骑士和虔诚的教士那样，遵守我们骑士团的每一条规则，与有形无形的魔鬼斗争，打退张牙舞爪、到处觅食的狮子，无论在哪里遇到它，我总是按照我们进入天国的圣伯尔纳的遗言做，他在他制定的章程第四十五章中说：‘要同狮子不断进行搏斗’(注1)。我为圣殿骑士团倾注了我的全部力量和生命，是的，我为它殚精竭虑，费尽了心血——现在我可以用它的名义向你起誓，除了你和不多几个人还保持着我们骑士团早先的严格操守，我看不到一个弟兄是我可以心安理得地用那个神圣的名宇称呼他的。我们的章程怎么说，我们的弟兄们又是怎么遵守它们的呢？他们不能佩戴奢侈品或世俗的装饰品，不能在帽盔上用羽翎，在鞍镫和笼头上用金银，然而现在那些穿戴豪华、行为放荡的人，又有谁像我们贫苦的圣殿骑士呢？按照我们的规定，他们不得用鹰隼猎取飞禽，不得用弓箭射杀走兽，不得吹狩猎的号角，不得策马追赶猎物，但是现在，各种打猎活动，山林江河间的一切娱乐，一切争奇斗胜满足虚荣心的事，还有谁比圣殿骑士干得更多呢？按照规定，除了上级允许的以外，他们不得阅读任何东西，除了在休息的时候让人朗读一些圣徒故事以外，也不得听人朗读任何东西，可是你瞧！现在他们的耳朵只知听行吟诗人的无聊故事，他们的眼睛只知阅读荒唐的爱情小说。他们的责任是根除魔法和异端，可是瞧！他们却去研究犹太人该受诅咒的巫法妖术，萨拉森人背离基督的旁门左道。按照规定，他们的饮食必须简单——植物根茎，浓汤，稀糊，一周只吃三次向，因为经常吃肉会腐蚀身体，萌发邪念，可是你瞧，现在他们的餐桌上堆满了山珍海味。他们应该只喝清水，可现在，像圣殿骑士一样饮酒作乐，已成了酒徒们竞相夸耀的榜样。就说这片花园吧，现在到处是来自东方的奇花异草，简直成了不信基督的埃米尔(注2)的后宫，不再像基督教修士种植蔬菜的园地。但是唉，康拉德，不守纪律的事还不止这些呢！你很清楚，我们的修会起先是允许虔诚的妇女参加的，但后来我们不得不拒绝接纳她们，因为正如第四十六章所说的，魔鬼常常利用妇女把许多人引入歧途，使他们不能进入天国。不仅如此，最后一章作为全部章程的总结，我们的创始人为了保证他所制定的教理的纯洁和不被玷污，在这里禁止我们用亲吻表示自己的感情，哪怕对自己的姊妹和母亲也不例外，他说；‘要禁止与任何女人亲吻。’我讲到或者想到，腐败的风气像洪水一样冲进了我们中间，我便感到羞愧。我们纯洁的创始人休•德•帕扬和戈德弗雷•德•圣奥梅尔，还有那七个最早加入这行列，把生命献给圣殿事业的圣徒(注3)——连他们在天上也为这些情形感到了不安。康拉德，他们曾在夜里托梦给我，我看到他们神圣的眼睛，为我们弟兄的罪孽和堕落，为他们沉湎在肮脏奢靡的生活中，流下了眼泪。他们对我说： ‘博马诺，你还在睡觉，醒醒吧！圣殿骑士团的肌体已被法污，这污垢是深刻的，严重的，就像麻风病人在他们住过的房子墙上留下的斑纹(注4)。十字军战士应该像躲避蛇妖的眼睛一样，躲避女人的目光，可是他们现在却不仅与本民族的妇女，而且与罪恶的邪教徒，与十恶不赦的犹太人的女儿公开姘居。博马诺，你还在睡觉；起来，为我们的事业洗刷耻辱吧！杀死犯罪的人，不论他们是男的还是女的！接过我们的剑吧！’幻景消失了，康拉德，但是我醒来时，还能听到他们的盔甲的铮铮声，还看到他们的白大褂在我眼前飘动。我要照他们的话做，肃清圣殿骑士团肌体上的污垢，把染了灾病的不洁净的石头挖除，把它们清洗出我们的建筑物。”
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(注1)在圣殿骑士团的章程中，这句话以各种不同的方式一再出现，几乎在每一章中都能见到，仿佛这是它的一条基本口号，因此难怪大宗师会常常提到它。——原注
(注2)伊斯兰国家王公贵族的称号。
(注3)圣殿骑士团成立于1119年，当时参加的只有九名骑士，帕扬和奥梅尔是其中最著名的两个。他们都十分贫苦，而且宣誓要永远保持“忠诚、贫苦和服从”的作风，因此他们的标志是两个骑士骑在一匹马上，表示他们很贫穷，只能两人骑一匹马。但后来在十字军东侵中，这个骑士团逐步扩大，发了大财，作风便完全变了。
(注4)见《利未记》第13章。——原注
按《旧约•利未记》第13章和第14章都是谈麻风病的，第14章第37节说：“灾病后在房子的墙上有发绿或发红的斑纹”等等。
“但是，尊敬的大宗师，”蒙特菲舍答道，“污垢已根深蒂固，成了习惯，改革必须谨慎从事，既公正又稳妥才好。”
“不，蒙特菲舍，”严厉的老人答道，“不，必须大张旗鼓，雷厉风行，骑士团已到了生死存亡的关头。我们前辈的严肃正直、自我牺牲和虔诚精神，使我们成了强大友好的组织；我们的骄傲自大、富贵荣华和奢侈生活，给我们招来了众多的敌人。我们必须抛弃这些财产，免得引起王公贵族的觊觎；我们必须放下骄傲自大的架子，免得触犯他们的忌讳；我们必须改变荒淫无耻的作风，免得给整个基督教世界造成耻辱！否则，注意我的话，圣殿骑士团就会彻底崩溃，它在各国的影响也会随之化为乌有。”
“但愿上帝别让这种灾难发生吧！”会督说。
“阿门！”大宗师庄严地说，“但必须我们值得帮助，他才会帮助我们。告诉你，康拉德，不论天上的权力，还是人间的权力，都不会长期容忍这一代人的罪恶行径。我完全相信，哺育我们这个机构的基础已遭到破坏，在这个庞大的建筑上增加的任何罪孽，都只能使它更快地沉入深渊。我们必须悬崖勒马，痛改前非，做一个忠诚的十字军战士，不仅要为我们的天职献出我们的血肉和生命，也不仅要放弃我们的欲望和恶习，而且要牺牲我们的安乐和福扯，我们天赋的感情，让自己相信，有许多娱乐对别人是合法的，可是一个信守誓言的圣殿战士，却是禁止问津的。”
这时，一个穿着破旧制服的扈从——因为这个圣教团体中的新人，在见习期只能穿骑士们丢弃的旧衣服——走进花园，在大宗师前面站住，深深弯下了腰，等待他允许他开口说话。
“你瞧，这个达米恩，”大宗师说道，“他穿着这身表示基督教谦卑精神的衣服，比起两天前他穿了那件花花绿绿的上衣，一脸洋洋得意、自命不凡的样子，跟只鹦鹉似的，不是更合适吗？讲吧，达米恩，我允许你讲了。你要报告什么事？”
“高贵而尊敬的大宗师，”扈从说，“一个犹太人来到了大门外，要求面见布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔师兄。”
“你先向我报告，这做得很对，”大宗师说，“在我面前，一个会督只是我们骑士团中一名普通成员，不能自行其是，必须先向他的上司请示，因为按照规定，他的耳朵听取什么，得服从我的命令。现在尤为必要的是，我得了解一下这位布瓦吉贝尔平素的行为，”他又口头对他的同伴说。
“据大家说，他是一位英勇无畏的骑士，”康拉德答道。
“这话是可信的，”大宗师说，“如今只有在勇敢这一点上，我们还没有退步，可以与我们的前辈，那些十字军的英雄相比。但是布里恩兄弟当年参加我们骑士团时，是一个潦倒落魄、很不得意的人，我怀疑他动机不纯，不是真心接受我们的誓约，抛弃尘世，只是出于一些细小的不满，才走上苦行赎罪之路。这以后他一贯不遗余力地煽惑人心，散布谣言，策划阴谋，在低毁我的权威的人中成了首脑人物；他没有想想，大宗师的权力是明文规定的，牧杖和权标便是它的标志——牧杖是要帮助软弱的人克服缺点，权标是要敦促有罪的人改正错误。达米恩，”他继续道，“把犹太人带来见我。”
扈从弯着腰恭恭敬敬地退下后，过了几分钟，便领着约克的以撒回来了。哪怕一个光身子的奴隶，给带到一个手握生杀大权的君主面前接受审判，也不会像这个犹太人来到大宗师面前那么诚惶诚恐，觳觫不安。在他离大宗师还有三码远时，博马诺便用牧杖示意他不得再走近一步。犹太人当即跪下，吻了一下地面表示敬意，然后立起身来，站在两位圣殿骑士面前，合抱着双手，低垂着头，表现了东方奴隶的恭顺姿态。
“达米思，退下，”大宗师开口道，“派一个卫士守在外面，听候我的随时传唤；在我离开花园以前，不准放任何人入内。”扈从鞠躬退下了。“犹太人，”傲慢的老人继续道，“听着，我的身分不允许我与你进行长时间的谈话，我也从来不为任何人浪费言语或时间。因此我问你什么，你便回答什么，必须简单明了，又句句都是实情。如果你对我花言巧语，我便得下令，从你不信基督的嘴巴中割下你的舌头。”
犹太人正要回答，大宗师又讲了下去：
“住口，不信基督的邪教徒！在我面前，除了回答我的问题，你不准开口。你有什么事，要找我们的弟兄布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔？”
以撒吓得张口结舌，不知说什么好。照实陈述，可能被认为破坏他们骑士团的名誉，可是不说明事实，又怎么能指望他的女儿获得释放？博马诺发现他顾虑重重，只得格外迁就，要他放心。
“不用怕，”他说，“尽管你是邪恶的犹太人，只要你老老实实，不讲假话便成。我再问一遍，你有什么事要找布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔？”
“禀报尊敬的大宗师，”犹太人结结巴巴地说，“我有一封信要交给那位杰出的骑士，信是茹尔沃修道院院长艾默长老写的。”
“康拉德，我不是说这是个邪恶的时代吗？”大宗师说。“一个西多会长老写信给圣殿的战士、不找别人，却找不信基督的犹太人送信。把信给我。”
犹太人用哆嗦的手，把他为了万无一失，藏在亚美尼亚式帽子夹层里的长老的信掏了出来，伸直手，哈着腰，正预备走前两步，以便把它递给那位严厉的审判官。
“退后，你这只狗！”大宗师说，“除了我的剑，我不会接触不信基督的人。康拉德，从犹太人手里接下信交给我。”
通过这样的手续，信到了博马诺手里，他仔细端详了一会它的外表，然后动手解开扎信的丝线。“尊敬的大宗师，”康拉德想拦住他，但态度十分恭敬，“您要拆开封蜡吗？”
“为什么不？”博马诺说，蹙紧了眉头。“第四十二章关于阅读信函一事这么规定：‘圣殿骑士收到的所有信件，包括他亲生父亲的信，均应向大宗师报告，并当着后者的面拆阅’，不是吗？”
于是他匆匆看了一遍信，露出惊讶和惶恐的神色；又慢慢看了一遍，然后伸出一只手把信递给康拉德，同时用另一只手轻轻拍了它一下，惊叹道：“这真是太好了，一个基督徒给另一个基督徒写这样的信，而且两人都不是一般人员，是负有重要责任的！上帝啊，”他望着天上，又严肃地说，“你什么时候才能用你的扬谷机，清除打麦场上的糠批啊？”
蒙特菲舍从上司手中接了信，正预备阅读。“大声念，康拉德，”大宗师说，又对着以撒道：“你仔细听着它的内容，因为我还要问你。”
康拉德念了信，它是这么写的：“西多会茹尔沃圣马利亚修道院长老艾默，致书圣殿骑士团骑士布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔阁下，祝他身体健康，在巴科斯国王和维纳斯娘娘之照顾下(注)，生活愉快。至于鄙人，目前已陷入一群无法无天之强人手中，渠等竟不畏上帝，扣留鄙人，勒索赎金；在此处鄙人并获悉牛面将军已身遭不幸，而阁下竟得以挟带一犹太妖妇远走高飞，实为万幸，想必足下已为该美女之黑眼珠所迷惑也。老兄之安全脱险固值得庆贺，但此事涉及又一个隐多环女巫，万望多加小心，因鄙人获得密报，知贵团之大宗师已从诺曼底潜来贵会，渠对樱桃口及黑眼珠从来不屑一顾，而且此行目的，据说即在制止享乐，整肃纲纪，因此依鄙人之见，足下务必有所警惕，未雨绸缨，如《圣经》所云，避祸趋福为是。该女子之父为约克之以撒，此犹太人广有钱财，再三央求鄙人致书阁下，若能释放其闺女，渠愿献上大量赎金，可供足下买得五十个同类美女，又不必冒此风险，足下何乐而不为。为此特致书如上，并愿下次相见时，得以开怀畅饮，共享人间欢乐。因为正如经文所说：‘美酒令人心旷神恰’，又云：‘美女可使人飘飘欲仙’也。
--------
(注)巴科斯为罗马神话中的酒神，维纳斯为罗马神话中的爱神。
“再见，但愿早日相会。茹尔沃修道院长老艾默于清晨早祷之时书于匪窟中。
“又，足下之金项链确实不能长久归我所有，因已被一盗鹿强人劫夺，挂在该人脖子上，供其系嗾狗之哨子矣。”
“你对此有什么看法，康拉德？”大宗师问。“匪窟！对于这样一位长老，匪窟倒是合适的住所。我们教会中出了艾默这种人，难怪上帝要惩罚我们，使我们在圣地面对异教徒的侵犯步步失利，节节败退了。这位长老说什么来着？哦，‘又一个隐多珥女巫’，这什么意思？”
康拉德由于耳儒日染，对这些骑士的隐语，比他的上司了解一些，他向困惑的大宗师解释了这段话，说这是俗人的用语，是指他们心目中的情妇；但这解释并不能使执拗的博马诺完全满意。
“你还没有猜到它的全部意义，康拉德；你太老实，对这个万恶的深渊是无法了解它的底细的。约克的这个丽贝卡是米莉亚姆的学生，那个人你听到过。现在这个犹太人也会向你供认这点。”于是他转向以撒，大声说道：“那么你的女儿给布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔掳走啦？”
“对，尊敬的大宗师，”可怜的以撒结结巴巴地说，“我是个穷苦的人，但不论要我出多少赎金，只要能救出……”
“住口！”大宗师喝道，“你的女儿懂得医术，是不是？”
“是的，仁慈的大宗师，”犹太人答道，安心了一些，“不论骑士和村民，乡绅和仆人，她都用上天赐给她的这项技能，给他们治病。许多人都可以证明，在别人的帮助不能奏效时，她医好了他们，这是雅各的上帝赐予她的福分。”
博马诺向蒙特菲舍露出了狞笑。“瞧，兄弟，”他说，“这便是吃人的魔鬼玩弄的骗局。他用这诱饵猎取我们的灵魂，用人间短暂的生命换取他们来世的永恒幸福。我们神圣的章程说得好；必须消灭吃人的狮子。打倒狮子！铲除祸根！”他一边说，一边举起那根神秘的牧杖挥了几挥，仿佛在用它驱除黑暗的势力。“你的女儿在给人治病，这我不怀疑，”他继续对犹太人说，“用咒语和魔法，用符箓和其他犹太教的妖术给人治病。”
“不，英勇尊敬的骑士，”以撒回答，“主要是用一种有神奇疗效的药膏。”
“她是从哪里得到这秘方的？”博马诺说。
“这是我们部族的一个贤明女子米莉亚姆传授给她的，”以撒回答，有些不服气。
“哼，不老实的犹太人！”大宗师说，“难道这不就是那个女巫米莉亚姆吗？这个人玩弄的妖术，在整个基督教世界已臭名远扬，”他大喝道，在身上划了个十字。“她的身体在火刑中烧死了，她的骨灰随风飘散了；今天我和我的骑士团的责任，便是要用同样的办法对付她的学生，而且更加严厉！如果我不这么做，便是鼓励她继续对圣殿骑士团的战士施行巫术和妖法！听着，达米恩，把这个犹太人赶出大门；如果他不服从，或者重新回来，就用箭把他射死。至于他的女儿，我们会按照基督教的律法，根据我们崇高职责的要求，予以处置。”
就这样，可怜的以撒给赶走了，离开了圣殿会堂，他的一切请求，甚至他的赎买意图，也遭到拒绝，无人理睬。他走投无路，只得回到了拉比的家中，通过各种办法竭力打听他女儿的命运。这以前他担心的只是她的荣誉，现在却得为她的生命战栗不安了。就在这时，大宗师命令圣殿会堂的会督前来见他。
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Chapter 36
Say not my art is fraud---all live by seeming. The beggar begs with it, and the gay courtier Gains land and title, rank and rule, by seeming; The clergy scorn it not, and the bold soldier Will eke with it his service.---All admit it, All practise it; and he who is content With showing what he is, shall have small credit In church, or camp, or state---So wags the world. Old Play
Albert Malvoisin, President, or, in the language of the Order, Preceptor of the establishment of Templestowe, was brother to that Philip Malvoisin who has been already occasionally mentioned in this history, and was, like that baron, in close league with Brian de Bois-Guilbert.
Amongst dissolute and unprincipled men, of whom the Temple Order included but too many, Albert of Templestowe might be distinguished; but with this difference from the audacious Bois-Guilbert, that he knew how to throw over his vices and his ambition the veil of hypocrisy, and to assume in his exterior the fanaticism which he internally despised. Had not the arrival of the Grand Master been so unexpectedly sudden, he would have seen nothing at Templestowe which might have appeared to argue any relaxation of discipline. And, even although surprised, and, to a certain extent, detected, Albert Malvoisin listened with such respect and apparent contrition to the rebuke of his Superior, and made such haste to reform the particulars he censured, ---succeeded, in fine, so well in giving an air of ascetic devotion to a family which had been lately devoted to license and pleasure, that Lucas Beaumanoir began to entertain a higher opinion of the Preceptor's morals, than the first appearance of the establishment had inclined him to adopt.
But these favourable sentiments on the part of the Grand Master were greatly shaken by the intelligence that Albert had received within a house of religion the Jewish captive, and, as was to be feared, the paramour of a brother of the Order; and when Albert appeared before him, he was regarded with unwonted sternness.
"There is in this mansion, dedicated to the purposes of the holy Order of the Temple," said the Grand Master, in a severe tone, "a Jewish woman, brought hither by a brother of religion, by your connivance, Sir Preceptor."
Albert Malvoisin was overwhelmed with confusion; for the unfortunate Rebecca had been confined in a remote and secret part of the building, and every precaution used to prevent her residence there from being known. He read in the looks of Beaumanoir ruin to Bois-Guilbert and to himself, unless he should be able to avert the impending storm.
"Why are you mute?" continued the Grand Master.
"Is it permitted to me to reply?" answered the Preceptor, in a tone of the deepest humility, although by the question he only meant to gain an instant's space for arranging his ideas.
"Speak, you are permitted," said the Grand Master---"speak, and say, knowest thou the capital of our holy rule,---'De commilitonibus Templi in sancta civitate, qui cum miserrimis mulieribus versantur, propter oblectationem carnis?'"*
* The edict which he quotes, is against communion with * women of light character.
"Surely, most reverend father," answered the Preceptor, "I have not risen to this office in the Order, being ignorant of one of its most important prohibitions."
"How comes it, then, I demand of thee once more, that thou hast suffered a brother to bring a paramour, and that paramour a Jewish sorceress, into this holy place, to the stain and pollution thereof?"
"A Jewish sorceress!" echoed Albert Malvoisin; "good angels guard us!"
"Ay, brother, a Jewish sorceress!" said the Grand Master, sternly. "I have said it. Darest thou deny that this Rebecca, the daughter of that wretched usurer Isaac of York, and the pupil of the foul witch Miriam, is now---shame to be thought or spoken! ---lodged within this thy Preceptory?"
"Your wisdom, reverend father," answered the Preceptor, "hath rolled away the darkness from my understanding. Much did I wonder that so good a knight as Brian de Bois-Guilbert seemed so fondly besotted on the charms of this female, whom I received into this house merely to place a bar betwixt their growing intimacy, which else might have been cemented at the expense of the fall of our valiant and religious brother."
"Hath nothing, then, as yet passed betwixt them in breach of his vow?" demanded the Grand Master.
"What! under this roof?" said the Preceptor, crossing himself; "Saint Magdalene and the ten thousand virgins forbid!---No! if I have sinned in receiving her here, it was in the erring thought that I might thus break off our brother's besotted devotion to this Jewess, which seemed to me so wild and unnatural, that I could not but ascribe it to some touch of insanity, more to be cured by pity than reproof. But since your reverend wisdom hath discovered this Jewish queen to be a sorceress, perchance it may account fully for his enamoured folly."
"It doth!---it doth!" said Beaumanoir. "See, brother Conrade, the peril of yielding to the first devices and blandishments of Satan! We look upon woman only to gratify the lust of the eye, and to take pleasure in what men call her beauty; and the Ancient Enemy, the devouring Lion, obtains power over us, to complete, by talisman and spell, a work which was begun by idleness and folly. It may be that our brother Bois-Guilbert does in this matter deserve rather pity than severe chastisement; rather the support of the staff, than the strokes of the rod; and that our admonitions and prayers may turn him from his folly, and restore him to his brethren."
"It were deep pity," said Conrade Mont-Fitchet, "to lose to the Order one of its best lances, when the Holy Community most requires the aid of its sons. Three hundred Saracens hath this Brian de Bois-Guilbert slain with his own hand."
"The blood of these accursed dogs," said the Grand Master, "shall be a sweet and acceptable offering to the saints and angels whom they despise and blaspheme; and with their aid will we counteract the spells and charms with which our brother is entwined as in a net. He shall burst the bands of this Delilah, as Sampson burst the two new cords with which the Philistines had bound him, and shall slaughter the infidels, even heaps upon heaps. But concerning this foul witch, who hath flung her enchantments over a brother of the Holy Temple, assuredly she shall die the death."
"But the laws of England,"---said the Preceptor, who, though delighted that the Grand Master's resentment, thus fortunately averted from himself and Bois-Guilbert, had taken another direction, began now to fear he was carrying it too far.
"The laws of England," interrupted Beaumanoir, "permit and enjoin each judge to execute justice within his own jurisdiction. The most petty baron may arrest, try, and condemn a witch found within his own domain. And shall that power be denied to the Grand Master of the Temple within a preceptory of his Order? ---No!---we will judge and condemn. The witch shall be taken out of the land, and the wickedness thereof shall be forgiven. Prepare the Castle-hall for the trial of the sorceress."
Albert Malvoisin bowed and retired,---not to give directions for preparing the hall, but to seek out Brian de Bois-Guilbert, and communicate to him how matters were likely to terminate. It was not long ere he found him, foaming with indignation at a repulse he had anew sustained from the fair Jewess. "The unthinking," he said, "the ungrateful, to scorn him who, amidst blood and flames, would have saved her life at the risk of his own! By Heaven, Malvoisin! I abode until roof and rafters crackled and crashed around me. I was the butt of a hundred arrows; they rattled on mine armour like hailstones against a latticed casement, and the only use I made of my shield was for her protection. This did I endure for her; and now the self-willed girl upbraids me that I did not leave her to perish, and refuses me not only the slightest proof of gratitude, but even the most distant hope that ever she will be brought to grant any. The devil, that possessed her race with obstinacy, has concentrated its full force in her single person!"
"The devil," said the Preceptor, "I think, possessed you both. How oft have I preached to you caution, if not continence? Did I not tell you that there were enough willing Christian damsels to be met with, who would think it sin to refuse so brave a knight 'le don d'amoureux merci', and you must needs anchor your affection on a wilful, obstinate Jewess! By the mass, I think old Lucas Beaumanoir guesses right, when he maintains she hath cast a spell over you."
"Lucas Beaumanoir!"---said Bois-Guilbert reproachfully---"Are these your precautions, Malvoisin? Hast thou suffered the dotard to learn that Rebecca is in the Preceptory?"
"How could I help it?" said the Preceptor. "I neglected nothing that could keep secret your mystery; but it is betrayed, and whether by the devil or no, the devil only can tell. But I have turned the matter as I could; you are safe if you renounce Rebecca. You are pitied---the victim of magical delusion. She is a sorceress, and must suffer as such."
"She shall not, by Heaven!" said Bois-Guilbert.
"By Heaven, she must and will!" said Malvoisin. "Neither you nor any one else can save her. Lucas Beaumanoir hath settled that the death of a Jewess will be a sin-offering sufficient to atone for all the amorous indulgences of the Knights Templars; and thou knowest he hath both the power and will to execute so reasonable and pious a purpose."
"Will future ages believe that such stupid bigotry ever existed!" said Bois-Guilbert, striding up and down the apartment.
"What they may believe, I know not," said Malvoisin, calmly; "but I know well, that in this our day, clergy and laymen, take ninety-nine to the hundred, will cry 'amen' to the Grand Master's sentence."
"I have it," said Bois-Guilbert. "Albert, thou art my friend. Thou must connive at her escape, Malvoisin, and I will transport her to some place of greater security and secrecy."
"I cannot, if I would," replied the Preceptor; "the mansion is filled with the attendants of the Grand Master, and others who are devoted to him. And, to be frank with you, brother, I would not embark with you in this matter, even if I could hope to bring my bark to haven. I have risked enough already for your sake. I have no mind to encounter a sentence of degradation, or even to lose my Preceptory, for the sake of a painted piece of Jewish flesh and blood. And you, if you will be guided by my counsel, will give up this wild-goose chase, and fly your hawk at some other game. Think, Bois-Guilbert,---thy present rank, thy future honours, all depend on thy place in the Order. Shouldst thou adhere perversely to thy passion for this Rebecca, thou wilt give Beaumanoir the power of expelling thee, and he will not neglect it. He is jealous of the truncheon which he holds in his trembling gripe, and he knows thou stretchest thy bold hand towards it. Doubt not he will ruin thee, if thou affordest him a pretext so fair as thy protection of a Jewish sorceress. Give him his scope in this matter, for thou canst not control him. When the staff is in thine own firm grasp, thou mayest caress the daughters of Judah, or burn them, as may best suit thine own humour."
"Malvoisin," said Bois-Guilbert, "thou art a cold-blooded---"
"Friend," said the Preceptor, hastening to fill up the blank, in which Bois-Guilbert would probably have placed a worse word, ---"a cold-blooded friend I am, and therefore more fit to give thee advice. I tell thee once more, that thou canst not save Rebecca. I tell thee once more, thou canst but perish with her. Go hie thee to the Grand Master---throw thyself at his feet and tell him---"
"Not at his feet, by Heaven! but to the dotard's very beard will I say---"
"Say to him, then, to his beard," continued Malvoisin, coolly, "that you love this captive Jewess to distraction; and the more thou dost enlarge on thy passion, the greater will be his haste to end it by the death of the fair enchantress; while thou, taken in flagrant delict by the avowal of a crime contrary to thine oath, canst hope no aid of thy brethren, and must exchange all thy brilliant visions of ambition and power, to lift perhaps a mercenary spear in some of the petty quarrels between Flanders and Burgundy."
"Thou speakest the truth, Malvoisin," said Brian de Bois-Guilbert, after a moment's reflection. "I will give the hoary bigot no advantage over me; and for Rebecca, she hath not merited at my hand that I should expose rank and honour for her sake. I will cast her off---yes, I will leave her to her fate, unless---"
"Qualify not thy wise and necessary resolution," said Malvoisin; "women are but the toys which amuse our lighter hours---ambition is the serious business of life. Perish a thousand such frail baubles as this Jewess, before thy manly step pause in the brilliant career that lies stretched before thee! For the present we part, nor must we be seen to hold close conversation ---I must order the hall for his judgment-seat."
"What!" said Bois-Guilbert, "so soon?"
"Ay," replied the Preceptor, "trial moves rapidly on when the judge has determined the sentence beforehand."
"Rebecca," said Bois-Guilbert, when he was left alone, "thou art like to cost me dear---Why cannot I abandon thee to thy fate, as this calm hypocrite recommends?---One effort will I make to save thee---but beware of ingratitude! for if I am again repulsed, my vengeance shall equal my love. The life and honour of Bois-Guilbert must not be hazarded, where contempt and reproaches are his only reward."
The Preceptor had hardly given the necessary orders, when he was joined by Conrade Mont-Fitchet, who acquainted him with the Grand Master's resolution to bring the Jewess to instant trial for sorcery.
"It is surely a dream," said the Preceptor; "we have many Jewish physicians, and we call them not wizards though they work wonderful cures."
"The Grand Master thinks otherwise," said Mont-Fitchet; "and, Albert, I will be upright with thee---wizard or not, it were better that this miserable damsel die, than that Brian de Bois-Guilbert should be lost to the Order, or the Order divided by internal dissension. Thou knowest his high rank, his fame in arms---thou knowest the zeal with which many of our brethren regard him---but all this will not avail him with our Grand Master, should he consider Brian as the accomplice, not the victim, of this Jewess. Were the souls of the twelve tribes in her single body, it were better she suffered alone, than that Bois-Guilbert were partner in her destruction."
"I have been working him even now to abandon her," said Malvoisin; "but still, are there grounds enough to condemn this Rebecca for sorcery?---Will not the Grand Master change his mind when he sees that the proofs are so weak?"
"They must be strengthened, Albert," replied Mont-Fitchet, "they must be strengthened. Dost thou understand me?"
"I do," said the Preceptor, "nor do I scruple to do aught for advancement of the Order---but there is little time to find engines fitting."
"Malvoisin, they MUST be found," said Conrade; "well will it advantage both the Order and thee. This Templestowe is a poor Preceptory---that of Maison-Dieu is worth double its value ---thou knowest my interest with our old Chief---find those who can carry this matter through, and thou art Preceptor of Maison-Dieu in the fertile Kent---How sayst thou?"
"There is," replied Malvoisin, "among those who came hither with Bois-Guilbert, two fellows whom I well know; servants they were to my brother Philip de Malvoisin, and passed from his service to that of Front-de-Boeuf---It may be they know something of the witcheries of this woman."
"Away, seek them out instantly---and hark thee, if a byzant or two will sharpen their memory, let them not be wanting."
"They would swear the mother that bore them a sorceress for a zecchin," said the Preceptor.
"Away, then," said Mont-Fitchet; "at noon the affair will proceed. I have not seen our senior in such earnest preparation since he condemned to the stake Hamet Alfagi, a convert who relapsed to the Moslem faith."
The ponderous castle-bell had tolled the point of noon, when Rebecca heard a trampling of feet upon the private stair which led to her place of confinement. The noise announced the arrival of several persons, and the circumstance rather gave her joy; for she was more afraid of the solitary visits of the fierce and passionate Bois-Guilbert than of any evil that could befall her besides. The door of the chamber was unlocked, and Conrade and the Preceptor Malvoisin entered, attended by four warders clothed in black, and bearing halberds.
"Daughter of an accursed race!" said the Preceptor, "arise and follow us."
"Whither," said Rebecca, "and for what purpose?"
"Damsel," answered Conrade, "it is not for thee to question, but to obey. Nevertheless, be it known to thee, that thou art to be brought before the tribunal of the Grand Master of our holy Order, there to answer for thine offences."
"May the God of Abraham be praised!" said Rebecca, folding her hands devoutly; "the name of a judge, though an enemy to my people, is to me as the name of a protector. Most willingly do I follow thee---permit me only to wrap my veil around my head."
They descended the stair with slow and solemn step, traversed a long gallery, and, by a pair of folding doors placed at the end, entered the great hall in which the Grand Master had for the time established his court of justice.
The lower part of this ample apartment was filled with squires and yeomen, who made way not without some difficulty for Rebecca, attended by the Preceptor and Mont-Fitchet, and followed by the guard of halberdiers, to move forward to the seat appointed for her. As she passed through the crowd, her arms folded and her head depressed, a scrap of paper was thrust into her hand, which she received almost unconsciously, and continued to hold without examining its contents. The assurance that she possessed some friend in this awful assembly gave her courage to look around, and to mark into whose presence she had been conducted. She gazed, accordingly, upon the scene, which we shall endeavour to describe in the next chapter.

不要说我弄虚作假，大家都在这么生活，
乞丐讨饭必须装出一副可怜的外表，
大臣升官发财得靠营私舞弊，吹牛拍马，
教士自然深谙此道，不甘落后，
哪怕勇敢的战士也得夸大自己的功劳。
大家都容忍这点，大家也照此办理，
谁不想夸耀自己便只得终生潦倒，
教堂、军营或国家，世事变过莫不如此。
古戏剧
圣殿会堂的堂长，即他们所说的会督，是艾伯特•马尔沃辛，他就是本书中已提到过几次的菲利普•马尔沃辛的兄弟，他与那位男爵一样，也是布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔的亲密朋友。
虽然圣殿骑士中有的是放荡不羁、无法无天的人，圣殿会堂的艾伯特仍称得上其中的佼佼者；他与布瓦吉贝尔的不同，只是他知道怎么给他的罪行和野心，披上一层虚伪的纱幕，装出一副虔诚的外表，掩盖他桀骛不驯的内心。要不是大宗师出乎意外的突然驾临，他确实看不出圣殿会堂有哪一点触犯了戒律。但是，尽管他有些惊慌，并在一定程度上露出了破绽，对上级的申斥，他仍然洗耳恭听，表示真诚悔改，而且对遭到批评的各点，迅速加以改正；这样，会堂中腐化堕落、寻欢作乐的风气，终于有所改观，出现了人人清心寡欲、虔诚修炼的景象。卢加斯•博马诺也开始对会督的为人有了较高的评价，不再像起先看到会堂乌烟瘴气时那么反感了。
但是现在大宗师的这些好感从根本上动摇了，他从未想到，艾伯特居然会容许一个被俘的犹太女子住在神圣的会堂里，尤其可怕的是，这个女子竟是骑士团一个弟兄的情妇，因此当艾伯特出现在他面前时，他对他一反常态，变得声色俱厉。
“这幢房子是献给纯洁的圣殿骑士团的，”大宗师说，口气严厉，“可是现在，会督阁下，有一个教友把犹太女人带到了这里，而且在你的纵容下，居住在这里。”
艾伯特。马尔沃辛一听，慌了手脚；因为不幸的丽贝卡关在一个偏僻而秘密的所在，加以防范严密，她的住处外人是不知道的。他从博马诺的神色中看到，要是不能扭转局面，他和布瓦吉贝尔便大祸临头了。
“你为什么不开口？”大宗师继续道。
“我现在可以回答吗？”会督答道，装出一副恭敬谦逊的样子，其实只是要借这个问题拖延一些时间，以便考虑对策。
“你可以回答，”大宗师说。“我先问你，你可知道我们神圣的章程中有这么一条：‘圣殿骑士团的战士与不正派女人来往，只是为了满足自己的肉欲’？”
“当然知道，尊敬的大宗师，”会督答道，“我如果连我们最重要的戒律中的这一条也不知道，那么就不配担任目前的职务了。”
“那么我再问你一次，你允许一个弟兄带着他的情妇，这情妇又是一名犹太女巫，进入这个神圣的地方，玷污和亵渎我们的会堂，这是怎么回事？”
“一名犹太女巫！”艾伯特•马尔沃辛接口道，“仁慈的天使保佑我们吧！”
“对，兄弟，一名犹太女巫，”大宗师严厉地说，“我是这么说的。你敢否认，说这个丽贝卡，约克的异教徒高利贷者以撒的女儿，邪恶的妖妇米莉亚姆的学生，现在——想到和提到这事，我便感到可耻！——不是住在你这个会堂中吗？”
“尊敬的大宗师，”会督答道，“您的智慧驱散了我的疑团，使我的心豁然开朗了。本来我一直奇怪，像布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔这么一个杰出的骑士，怎么会迷恋这个女人的姿色，不知醒悟呢？我让她暂时住在会堂中，只是为了限制她的行动，免得他们的关系进一步发展，以致铸成大错，使我们一位英勇虔诚的弟兄走上堕落的道路。”
“那么他们之间还没有发生违反他的誓约的事？”大宗师问道。
“什么！在这会堂里？”会督说，在身上划了个十字，“凭圣抹大拉和一万个童贞女起誓，没有这样的事！没有！如果我容许她待在这里是犯了罪，那么这只是出于一个错误想法，认为这可以防止我们的弟兄继续受到这个犹太女人的迷惑；在我看来，这件事这么荒唐，这么不近情理，我只能认为这是精神失常的表现，还是用同情而不是用责怪的办法医治较好。但是现在，大宗师的明智发现使我茅塞顿开，这个犹太妖妇原来是女巫，也许这便足以说明他那么迷恋她的原因了。”
“是这样！是这样！”博马诺说。“瞧，康拉德兄弟，撒旦总是先用这些手段和诱惑使人堕落的！我们观看女人只是为了满足眼睛的欲望，享受男人所说的她的美色，但魔鬼这吃人的狮子便乘虚而入，获得了控制我们的权力，可以靠魔力和巫术完成懒惰和愚昧所开始的工作了。也许在这件事上，我们的弟兄布瓦吉贝尔应该得到同情，而不是严厉的惩罚，应该得到我的牧杖的支持，而不是权杖的打击；也许我们的训诫和祈祷可以促使他迷途知返，回到他的弟兄们中间。”
“在我们的圣教会需要它的儿子们的帮助时，让我们的骑士团失去一个优秀的战士，这实在太不幸了，”康拉德•蒙特菲舍说道。“这个布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔亲手杀死过三百个萨拉森人呢。”
“这些邪恶的富生的血，对遭到异教徒鄙弃和亵读的圣徒和天使，是美好而适当的祭品，”大宗师说。“圣徒和天使会帮助我们对抗巫术和妖法，从魔鬼的罗网中搭救我们的弟兄。他会挣脱这个大利拉的绳索，就像参孙挣脱非利士人捆绑他的两条新绳一样，(注)他会杀死那些邪教徒，叫他们尸积如山。但是这个邪恶的女巫，她用妖术蛊惑圣殿骑士团的一个弟兄，她当然应该处死。”
--------
(注)参孙是大力士，以色列人的士师。非利士人包围了犹太人，要他们献出参孙，他们只得用两条新绳捆住了他，交给非利士人，但参孙一到那里便挣脱绳子，杀死了敌人。后来非利士人收买了参孙的情妇大利拉，才终于绑住他，见《旧•士师记》第15、16章（参见本书第16章注）。
“但是英国的法律……”会督说，虽然他喜出望外，发现大宗师的愤怒一下子从自己和布瓦吉贝尔这里，转移到了别人身上，但又担心这么做未免走得太远。
“英国的法律，”博马诺打断了他的话，“允许也责成每个法官在他的职责范围内，行使审判权。一个最小的贵族也可以在自己的领地上，逮捕和审问女巫，对她绳之以法。难道圣殿骑士团的大宗师在他自己的会堂里，倒没有这种权力？不！我们有权审问和判刑。我们必须从这块土地上消灭女巫，这样，她所造成的罪恶才能得到赦免。把城堡的大厅收拾一下，马上准备审问这个妖逆。”
艾伯特•马尔沃辛鞠躬告退了。但他没有下令收拾大厅，先赶紧寻找市里恩•布瓦吉贝尔，把事情可能怎么了结通知他。隔了不多久，他找到了他，只见他气得呼哧呼哧的，原来又在美丽的犹太女郎那里碰了钉子。“这个自不量力、不知好歹的娘们，”他说，“居然不把一个冒了九死一生危险，从血与火中搭救她的人放在眼里！马尔沃辛，说真的！我在那里一直待到屋顶坍了，椽子断了才离开。我成了千百支箭的靶子，它们像冰雹打在窗棂上一样，咯嗒咯嗒射在我的身上，我的盾牌完全用来保护她了。为了她，我忍受了一切，现在倒好，这个固执任性的小娘们还怪我不让她死在那里，不仅一点感激的表示也没有，而且不让我抱任何希望，斩钉截铁地拒绝了我。她的民族受了魔鬼的迷惑，变得顽固不化，现在这种力量一定全部集中到了她的身上！”
“我看，”会督说道，“你们两个人都给魔鬼迷住了。我不是常常劝你，即使不能悬崖勒马，至少也得小心一些吗？我早对你说过，在基督徒中有的是心甘情愿供你玩乐的娘们，她们见了你这么一位风流多情的英勇骑士，巴结你还来不及呢，可你偏偏一往情深，要钉住这个任性、顽固的犹太女人！凭良心说，我认为卢加斯•博马诺这老头猜得对，她是用魔法把你迷住了。”
“卢加斯•博马诺！”布瓦吉贝尔说，露出了责备的意思。“马尔沃辛，你要我小心，原来是这么回事？你把丽贝卡在会堂的消息透露给那个老糊涂了？”
“这叫我有什么办法？”会督说。“我采取了一切措施，要为你保守秘密；但它还是泄漏了，这是不是魔鬼搞的花招，只有魔鬼才知道。但我已尽力挽回这事，现在只要你放弃丽贝卡，便可以脱掉干系。你得到了同情，因为你只是魔法的受害者。她是女巫，必须受到应有的惩罚。”
“凭老天起誓，我不同意！”布瓦吉贝尔说。
“凭老天起誓，她必须，也一定会受到惩罚！”马尔沃辛说。“不论你还是任何别人，都无法救她。卢加斯•博马诺已经决定，处死犹太女子是必要的赎罪，它可以抵消圣殿骑士们犯下的种种放荡行为。要知道，他有权力也有决心实行这一合理而虔诚的意图。”
“这种愚昧而荒唐的事，我们的后代谁会相信！”布瓦吉贝尔说，在屋子里大踏步地走来走去。
“他们信不信，我不知道，”马尔沃辛安详地说，“我只知道，在我们今天，不论教士还是俗人，对大宗师的判决，一百个人中有九十九个会高喊‘阿门’。”
“我有办法了，”布瓦吉贝尔说。“艾伯特，你是我的朋友；你必须装不知道，让她逃走，马尔沃辛，我会把她送往一个更安全和秘密的地方。”
“即使我愿意，也不能这么做，”会督答道，“会堂里到处都有大宗师的随从和亲信。我可以坦率告诉你，兄弟，在这件事上我不能与你乘一条船，哪怕它有希望找到一个安全的港口。我已经为你冒了不少风险；我不想为了一个犹太女子的漂亮脸蛋，受到降级的处分，甚至失去我的会督职务。至于你，如果你肯听从我的劝告，你应该抛弃这只野鸭，用你的鹰去追逐别的猎物。你考虑吧，布瓦吉贝尔，你现在的地位，你未来的荣誉，都来自你作为骑士团成员的身分。如果你执迷不悟，非要这个丽贝卡不可，你无异使博马诺有权开除你，他不会放过你的。抓在他颤抖的手中的权标，他还不想放弃，他知道你正在把大胆的手伸向它，企图夺取他的权力。如果你坚持要保护一个犹太女巫，便是给他提供了一个最好的借口，他非把你搞得身败名裂不可。你还是让他一步为好，因为你还对付不了他。等权杖握到了你的手中，你要跟犹太女儿谈情说爱，还是烧死她们，就可以悉听尊便了。”
“马尔沃辛，”布瓦吉贝尔说，“你是一个冷酷的……”
“朋友，”会督抢先说完了那句话，免得布瓦吉贝尔用难听的话称呼他。“不错，我是一个冷酷的朋友，因此我才更适合给你提出忠告。我再向你说一遍：你救不了丽贝卡。我还得对你说：你只能与她一起毁灭。还是赶快找大宗师，跪在他的脚下，告诉他……”
“我起誓，我不想跪在他的脚下！只想指着老家伙的鼻子对他说……”
“那么就指着他的鼻子对他说吧，”马尔沃辛冷冷地继续道，“你说你俘获的这个犹太女子使你爱得发狂了；但是，你越是对你的爱情晓晚不休，他越是要加快步骤，处死漂亮的小妖精。既然你不打自招，承认犯了违背誓约的罪，你就无法指望得到弟兄们的帮助，只能抛弃你有权有势的锦绣前程，拿起你的长熗，给佛兰德或勃良第充当打手，为它们毫不足道的争执卖命了。”
“你说得对，马尔沃辛，”布瓦吉贝尔考虑了一会之后，答道。“我不能让这个老顽固得逞，把我踩在脚下；说到丽贝卡，她也不配得到我的保护，我何必为她牺牲地位和荣誉。我还是抛弃她的好；是的，随她怎样吧，除非……”
“不要给你明智而必要的决定，再附加什么条件，”马尔沃辛说。“女人只是男人消闲的玩物，功名利禄才是生命的核心。光辉的前途展开在你的面前，你应该大踏步向前走，哪怕把这个犹太女人那样的小东西踩死一千个，也毫不足惜！我们得暂时分开了，不能再让人看到我们在一起密谈；我得马上安排一下，好让他在大厅上审问案子。”
“什么！”布瓦吉贝尔说，“这么快？”
“对，”会督答道，“法官既已决定怎么判决，审问就该趁早进行。”
布瓦吉贝尔剩下一个人后，对自己说道：“丽贝卡，你把我害得够了。为什么我不能照这个冷酷的伪君子的建议，让你听任命运的摆布呢？我可以为挽救你再作一次努力；但当心，不要不知好歹！如果你再拒绝我，我的报复也会像我的爱一样强烈。布瓦吉贝尔的生命和荣誉决不能白白冒险，仅仅得到鄙视和谴责的回报。”
会督刚作了一些必要的安排，康拉德•蒙特菲舍已来找他，通知他，大宗师决定为妖术的事立即提审犹太女子。
“这实在是莫须有的罪名，”会督说，“我们有不少犹太医生，他们治好了各种疑难杂症，可是我们从没说他们是巫师。”
“大宗师不这么想，”蒙特菲舍说。“艾伯特，我可以坦率地告诉你，不论这个可怜的女子是不是巫师，让她死，比让骑士团失去布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔，或者让骑士团由于内部的争论而分裂好一些。你知道，布里恩地位很高，战功卓著；你也知道，我们的许多弟兄衷心拥戴他；但那一切不能改变大宗师对他的看法，如果他相信布里恩是犹太女子的同谋犯，不是受害者。哪怕她一个人关系着犹太十二部族的存亡，处死她一个人，总比让布瓦吉贝尔与她一起毁灭的好。”
“我刚才也一直在做他的工作，要他抛弃她，”马尔沃辛说。“但我还是觉得，要为施行妖术判处丽贝卡死罪，证据不够充分吧？大宗师一旦发觉证据不足，会不会改变主意？”
“证据必须充足，艾伯特，”蒙特菲舍答道，“它们必须充足，你明白我的意思吗？”
“明白，”会督说，“为了我们的会堂，我也什么都愿意做；但是时间太局促了，不容易找到合适的证人。”
“但必须找到，马尔沃辛，”康拉德说，“这对整个团体和你都事关重大。这个会堂是个穷会堂，天府会堂比这里富裕一倍。你知道，老首长对我言听计从；你找到了能使这案产顺利进行的证人，你也就是肯特郡富饶的天府会堂的会督了。你认为怎么样？”
“在随同布瓦吉贝尔来到这里的人中，”马尔沃辛答道，“有两个人我很熟悉，他们是我的兄弟菲利普•马尔沃辛的部下，后来投奔牛面将军的。也许他们对这个女人的妖术能提供一些情况。”
“那好，马上去找他们。听着，如果需要一两个金币促进他们的记忆力，不要舍不得花钱。”
“有了钱，他们甚至可以证明他们的亲生母亲是女巫呢，”会督说。
“那么去吧，”蒙特菲舍说，“审问在中午就得开始。我还从没看到我们的老首长这么性急的，只有一次，那还是把一个皈依穆斯林的叛教分子哈米特•阿尔法吉判处火刑的时候。”
刚到中午，城堡的大钟打响了。丽贝卡听到通往四室的小楼梯上出现了脚步声，它告诉她，来的是几个人，这使她很高兴，因为她最怕死皮赖脸、自作多情的布瓦吉贝尔单独来找她，她觉得任何危险都比这好。囚室的锁开了，康拉德与马尔沃辛走了进来，后面还跟着四个穿黑衣服的执戟卫士。
“犹太人的女儿！”会督说，“起来跟我们走。”
“上哪儿，去做什么？”丽贝卡说。
“小姑娘，”康拉德答道，“你无权提出问题，只能服从。但是不妨让你知道，你是要去接受我们骑士团大宗师的审判，供认你所犯的罪。”
“荣耀归于亚伯拉罕的上帝！”丽贝卡虔诚地说，合抱着双手，“一个法官，即使他敌视我的民族，对我说来也如同是我的保护人。我非常愿意跟你们去，只是请允许我遮上面纱。”
他们迈着缓慢而庄严的步子走下楼梯，穿过了长长的走廊，走廊尽头是一扇折门，过了折门便是大厅，大宗师的临时法庭设立在这里。
这间宽敞的屋子下首站满了乡绅和农民，他们只得勉强腾出一条路，让丽贝卡在会督和蒙特菲舍，以及执戟卫兵的弹压下，走往她指定的座位。她走过人群时，合抱着双手，低垂着头，这时一张纸条塞进了她手中，她几乎是无意识地接了纸条，一直握着它，没有想到看它的内容。但是在这个可怕的会场里她有一个朋友的信念，给了她勇气，她抬头向周围瞧了一眼，以便确定她给带到了什么人面前。这样，她看到了这个场面，但是关于它的情形，我们只能在下一章中描写了。
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Chapter 37
Stern was the law which bade its vot'ries leave At human woes with human hearts to grieve; Stern was the law, which at the winning wile Of frank and harmless mirth forbade to smile; But sterner still, when high the iron-rod Of tyrant power she shook, and call'd that power of God. The Middle Ages
The Tribunal, erected for the trial of the innocent and unhappy Rebecca, occupied the dais or elevated part of the upper end of the great hall---a platform, which we have already described as the place of honour, destined to be occupied by the most distinguished inhabitants or guests of an ancient mansion.
On an elevated seat, directly before the accused, sat the Grand Master of the Temple, in full and ample robes of flowing white, holding in his hand the mystic staff, which bore the symbol of the Order. At his feet was placed a table, occupied by two scribes, chaplains of the Order, whose duty it was to reduce to formal record the proceedings of the day. The black dresses, bare scalps, and demure looks of these church-men, formed a strong contrast to the warlike appearance of the knights who attended, either as residing in the Preceptory, or as come thither to attend upon their Grand Master. The Preceptors, of whom there were four present, occupied seats lower in height, and somewhat drawn back behind that of their superior; and the knights, who enjoyed no such rank in the Order, were placed on benches still lower, and preserving the same distance from the Preceptors as these from the Grand Master. Behind them, but still upon the dais or elevated portion of the hall, stood the esquires of the Order, in white dresses of an inferior quality.
The whole assembly wore an aspect of the most profound gravity; and in the faces of the knights might be perceived traces of military daring, united with the solemn carriage becoming men of a religious profession, and which, in the presence of their Grand Master, failed not to sit upon every brow.
The remaining and lower part of the hall was filled with guards, holding partisans, and with other attendants whom curiosity had drawn thither, to see at once a Grand Master and a Jewish sorceress. By far the greater part of those inferior persons were, in one rank or other, connected with the Order, and were accordingly distinguished by their black dresses. But peasants from the neighbouring country were not refused admittance; for it was the pride of Beaumanoir to render the edifying spectacle of the justice which he administered as public as possible. His large blue eyes seemed to expand as he gazed around the assembly, and his countenance appeared elated by the conscious dignity, and imaginary merit, of the part which he was about to perform. A psalm, which he himself accompanied with a deep mellow voice, which age had not deprived of its powers, commenced the proceedings of the day; and the solemn sounds, "Venite exultemus Domino", so often sung by the Templars before engaging with earthly adversaries, was judged by Lucas most appropriate to introduce the approaching triumph, for such he deemed it, over the powers of darkness. The deep prolonged notes, raised by a hundred masculine voices accustomed to combine in the choral chant, arose to the vaulted roof of the hall, and rolled on amongst its arches with the pleasing yet solemn sound of the rushing of mighty waters.
When the sounds ceased, the Grand Master glanced his eye slowly around the circle, and observed that the seat of one of the Preceptors was vacant. Brian de Bois-Guilbert, by whom it had been occupied, had left his place, and was now standing near the extreme corner of one of the benches occupied by the Knights Companions of the Temple, one hand extending his long mantle, so as in some degree to hide his face; while the other held his cross-handled sword, with the point of which, sheathed as it was, he was slowly drawing lines upon the oaken floor.
"Unhappy man!" said the Grand Master, after favouring him with a glance of compassion. "Thou seest, Conrade, how this holy work distresses him. To this can the light look of woman, aided by the Prince of the Powers of this world, bring a valiant and worthy knight!---Seest thou he cannot look upon us; he cannot look upon her; and who knows by what impulse from his tormentor his hand forms these cabalistic lines upon the floor?---It may be our life and safety are thus aimed at; but we spit at and defy the foul enemy. 'Semper Leo percutiatur!'"
This was communicated apart to his confidential follower, Conrade Mont-Fitchet. The Grand Master then raised his voice, and addressed the assembly.
"Reverend and valiant men, Knights, Preceptors, and Companions of this Holy Order, my brethren and my children!---you also, well-born and pious Esquires, who aspire to wear this holy Cross! ---and you also, Christian brethren, of every degree!---Be it known to you, that it is not defect of power in us which hath occasioned the assembling of this congregation; for, however unworthy in our person, yet to us is committed, with this batoon, full power to judge and to try all that regards the weal of this our Holy Order. Holy Saint Bernard, in the rule of our knightly and religious profession, hath said, in the fifty-ninth capital,*
* The reader is again referred to the Rules of the Poor * Military Brotherhood of the Temple, which occur in the * Works of St Bernard. L. T.
that he would not that brethren be called together in council, save at the will and command of the Master; leaving it free to us, as to those more worthy fathers who have preceded us in this our office, to judge, as well of the occasion as of the time and place in which a chapter of the whole Order, or of any part thereof, may be convoked. Also, in all such chapters, it is our duty to hear the advice of our brethren, and to proceed according to our own pleasure. But when the raging wolf hath made an inroad upon the flock, and carried off one member thereof, it is the duty of the kind shepherd to call his comrades together, that with bows and slings they may quell the invader, according to our well-known rule, that the lion is ever to be beaten down. We have therefore summoned to our presence a Jewish woman, by name Rebecca, daughter of Isaac of York---a woman infamous for sortileges and for witcheries; whereby she hath maddened the blood, and besotted the brain, not of a churl, but of a Knight ---not of a secular Knight, but of one devoted to the service of the Holy Temple---not of a Knight Companion, but of a Preceptor of our Order, first in honour as in place. Our brother, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, is well known to ourselves, and to all degrees who now hear me, as a true and zealous champion of the Cross, by whose arm many deeds of valour have been wrought in the Holy Land, and the holy places purified from pollution by the blood of those infidels who defiled them. Neither have our brother's sagacity and prudence been less in repute among his brethren than his valour and discipline; in so much, that knights, both in eastern and western lands, have named De Bois-Guilbert as one who may well be put in nomination as successor to this batoon, when it shall please Heaven to release us from the toil of bearing it. If we were told that such a man, so honoured, and so honourable, suddenly casting away regard for his character, his vows, his brethren, and his prospects, had associated to himself a Jewish damsel, wandered in this lewd company, through solitary places, defended her person in preference to his own, and, finally, was so utterly blinded and besotted by his folly, as to bring her even to one of our own Preceptories, what should we say but that the noble knight was possessed by some evil demon, or influenced by some wicked spell?---If we could suppose it otherwise, think not rank, valour, high repute, or any earthly consideration, should prevent us from visiting him with punishment, that the evil thing might be removed, even according to the text, 'Auferte malum ex vobis'. For various and heinous are the acts of transgression against the rule of our blessed Order in this lamentable history.---1st, He hath walked according to his proper will, contrary to capital 33, 'Quod nullus juxta propriam voluntatem incedat'.---2d, He hath held communication with an excommunicated person, capital 57, 'Ut fratres non participent cum excommunicatis', and therefore hath a portion in 'Anathema Maranatha'.---3d, He hath conversed with strange women, contrary to the capital, 'Ut fratres non conversantur cum extraneis mulieribus'.---4th, He hath not avoided, nay, he hath, it is to be feared, solicited the kiss of woman; by which, saith the last rule of our renowned Order, 'Ut fugiantur oscula', the soldiers of the Cross are brought into a snare. For which heinous and multiplied guilt, Brian de Bois-Guilbert should be cut off and cast out from our congregation, were he the right hand and right eye thereof."
He paused. A low murmur went through the assembly. Some of the younger part, who had been inclined to smile at the statute 'De osculis fugiendis', became now grave enough, and anxiously waited what the Grand Master was next to propose.
"Such," he said, "and so great should indeed be the punishment of a Knight Templar, who wilfully offended against the rules of his Order in such weighty points. But if, by means of charms and of spells, Satan had obtained dominion over the Knight, perchance because he cast his eyes too lightly upon a damsel's beauty, we are then rather to lament than chastise his backsliding; and, imposing on him only such penance as may purify him from his iniquity, we are to turn the full edge of our indignation upon the accursed instrument, which had so well-nigh occasioned his utter falling away.---Stand forth, therefore, and bear witness, ye who have witnessed these unhappy doings, that we may judge of the sum and bearing thereof; and judge whether our justice may be satisfied with the punishment of this infidel woman, or if we must go on, with a bleeding heart, to the further proceeding against our brother."
Several witnesses were called upon to prove the risks to which Bois-Guilbert exposed himself in endeavouring to save Rebecca from the blazing castle, and his neglect of his personal defence in attending to her safety. The men gave these details with the exaggerations common to vulgar minds which have been strongly excited by any remarkable event, and their natural disposition to the marvellous was greatly increased by the satisfaction which their evidence seemed to afford to the eminent person for whose information it had been delivered. Thus the dangers which Bois-Guilbert surmounted, in themselves sufficiently great, became portentous in their narrative. The devotion of the Knight to Rebecca's defence was exaggerated beyond the bounds, not only of discretion, but even of the most frantic excess of chivalrous zeal; and his deference to what she said, even although her language was often severe and upbraiding, was painted as carried to an excess, which, in a man of his haughty temper, seemed almost preternatural.
The Preceptor of Templestowe was then called on to describe the manner in which Bois-Guilbert and the Jewess arrived at the Preceptory. The evidence of Malvoisin was skilfully guarded. But while he apparently studied to spare the feelings of Bois-Guilbert, he threw in, from time to time, such hints, as seemed to infer that he laboured under some temporary alienation of mind, so deeply did he appear to be enamoured of the damsel whom he brought along with him. With sighs of penitence, the Preceptor avowed his own contrition for having admitted Rebecca and her lover within the walls of the Preceptory---"But my defence," he concluded, "has been made in my confession to our most reverend father the Grand Master; he knows my motives were not evil, though my conduct may have been irregular. Joyfully will I submit to any penance he shall assign me."
"Thou hast spoken well, Brother Albert," said Beaumanoir; "thy motives were good, since thou didst judge it right to arrest thine erring brother in his career of precipitate folly. But thy conduct was wrong; as he that would stop a runaway steed, and seizing by the stirrup instead of the bridle, receiveth injury himself, instead of accomplishing his purpose. Thirteen paternosters are assigned by our pious founder for matins, and nine for vespers; be those services doubled by thee. Thrice a-week are Templars permitted the use of flesh; but do thou keep fast for all the seven days. This do for six weeks to come, and thy penance is accomplished."
With a hypocritical look of the deepest submission, the Preceptor of Templestowe bowed to the ground before his Superior, and resumed his seat.
"Were it not well, brethren," said the Grand Master, "that we examine something into the former life and conversation of this woman, specially that we may discover whether she be one likely to use magical charms and spells, since the truths which we have heard may well incline us to suppose, that in this unhappy course our erring brother has been acted upon by some infernal enticement and delusion?"
Herman of Goodalricke was the Fourth Preceptor present; the other three were Conrade, Malvoisin, and Bois-Guilbert himself. Herman was an ancient warrior, whose face was marked with scars inflicted by the sabre of the Moslemah, and had great rank and consideration among his brethren. He arose and bowed to the Grand Master, who instantly granted him license of speech. "I would crave to know, most Reverend Father, of our valiant brother, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, what he says to these wondrous accusations, and with what eye he himself now regards his unhappy intercourse with this Jewish maiden?"
"Brian de Bois-Guilbert," said the Grand Master, "thou hearest the question which our Brother of Goodalricke desirest thou shouldst answer. I command thee to reply to him."
Bois-Guilbert turned his head towards the Grand Master when thus addressed, and remained silent.
"He is possessed by a dumb devil," said the Grand Master. "Avoid thee, Sathanus!---Speak, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, I conjure thee, by this symbol of our Holy Order."
Bois-Guilbert made an effort to suppress his rising scorn and indignation, the expression of which, he was well aware, would have little availed him. "Brian de Bois-Guilbert," he answered, "replies not, most Reverend Father, to such wild and vague charges. If his honour be impeached, he will defend it with his body, and with that sword which has often fought for Christendom."
"We forgive thee, Brother Brian," said the Grand Master; "though that thou hast boasted thy warlike achievements before us, is a glorifying of thine own deeds, and cometh of the Enemy, who tempteth us to exalt our own worship. But thou hast our pardon, judging thou speakest less of thine own suggestion than from the impulse of him whom by Heaven's leave, we will quell and drive forth from our assembly." A glance of disdain flashed from the dark fierce eyes of Bois-Guilbert, but he made no reply.---"And now," pursued the Grand Master, "since our Brother of Goodalricke's question has been thus imperfectly answered, pursue we our quest, brethren, and with our patron's assistance, we will search to the bottom this mystery of iniquity.---Let those who have aught to witness of the life and conversation of this Jewish woman, stand forth before us." There was a bustle in the lower part of the hall, and when the Grand Master enquired the reason, it was replied, there was in the crowd a bedridden man, whom the prisoner had restored to the perfect use of his limbs, by a miraculous balsam.
The poor peasant, a Saxon by birth, was dragged forward to the bar, terrified at the penal consequences which he might have incurred by the guilt of having been cured of the palsy by a Jewish damsel. Perfectly cured he certainly was not, for he supported himself forward on crutches to give evidence. Most unwilling was his testimony, and given with many tears; but he admitted that two years since, when residing at York, he was suddenly afflicted with a sore disease, while labouring for Isaac the rich Jew, in his vocation of a joiner; that he had been unable to stir from his bed until the remedies applied by Rebecca's directions, and especially a warming and spicy-smelling balsam, had in some degree restored him to the use of his limbs. Moreover, he said, she had given him a pot of that precious ointment, and furnished him with a piece of money withal, to return to the house of his father, near to Templestowe. "And may it please your gracious Reverence," said the man, "I cannot think the damsel meant harm by me, though she hath the ill hap to be a Jewess; for even when I used her remedy, I said the Pater and the Creed, and it never operated a whit less kindly---"
"Peace, slave," said the Grand Master, "and begone! It well suits brutes like thee to be tampering and trinketing with hellish cures, and to be giving your labour to the sons of mischief. I tell thee, the fiend can impose diseases for the very purpose of removing them, in order to bring into credit some diabolical fashion of cure. Hast thou that unguent of which thou speakest?"
The peasant, fumbling in his bosom with a trembling hand, produced a small box, bearing some Hebrew characters on the lid, which was, with most of the audience, a sure proof that the devil had stood apothecary. Beaumanoir, after crossing himself, took the box into his hand, and, learned in most of the Eastern tongues, read with ease the motto on the lid,---"The Lion of the tribe of Judah hath conquered."
"Strange powers of Sathanas." said he, "which can convert Scripture into blasphemy, mingling poison with our necessary food!---Is there no leech here who can tell us the ingredients of this mystic unguent?"
Two mediciners, as they called themselves, the one a monk, the other a barber, appeared, and avouched they knew nothing of the materials, excepting that they savoured of myrrh and camphire, which they took to be Oriental herbs. But with the true professional hatred to a successful practitioner of their art, they insinuated that, since the medicine was beyond their own knowledge, it must necessarily have been compounded from an unlawful and magical pharmacopeia; since they themselves, though no conjurors, fully understood every branch of their art, so far as it might be exercised with the good faith of a Christian. When this medical research was ended, the Saxon peasant desired humbly to have back the medicine which he had found so salutary; but the Grand Master frowned severely at the request. "What is thy name, fellow?" said he to the cripple.
"Higg, the son of Snell," answered the peasant.
"Then Higg, son of Snell," said the Grand Master, "I tell thee it is better to be bedridden, than to accept the benefit of unbelievers' medicine that thou mayest arise and walk; better to despoil infidels of their treasure by the strong hand, than to accept of them benevolent gifts, or do them service for wages. Go thou, and do as I have said."
"Alack," said the peasant, "an it shall not displease your Reverence, the lesson comes too late for me, for I am but a maimed man; but I will tell my two brethren, who serve the rich Rabbi Nathan Ben Samuel, that your mastership says it is more lawful to rob him than to render him faithful service."
"Out with the prating villain!" said Beaumanoir, who was not prepared to refute this practical application of his general maxim.
Higg, the son of Snell, withdrew into the crowd, but, interested in the fate of his benefactress, lingered until he should learn her doom, even at the risk of again encountering the frown of that severe judge, the terror of which withered his very heart within him.
At this period of the trial, the Grand Master commanded Rebecca to unveil herself. Opening her lips for the first time, she replied patiently, but with dignity,---"That it was not the wont of the daughters of her people to uncover their faces when alone in an assembly of strangers." The sweet tones of her voice, and the softness of her reply, impressed on the audience a sentiment of pity and sympathy. But Beaumanoir, in whose mind the suppression of each feeling of humanity which could interfere with his imagined duty, was a virtue of itself, repeated his commands that his victim should be unveiled. The guards were about to remove her veil accordingly, when she stood up before the Grand Master and said, "Nay, but for the love of your own daughters---Alas," she said, recollecting herself, "ye have no daughters!---yet for the remembrance of your mothers---for the love of your sisters, and of female decency, let me not be thus handled in your presence; it suits not a maiden to be disrobed by such rude grooms. I will obey you," she added, with an expression of patient sorrow in her voice, which had almost melted the heart of Beaumanoir himself; "ye are elders among your people, and at your command I will show the features of an ill-fated maiden."
She withdrew her veil, and looked on them with a countenance in which bashfulness contended with dignity. Her exceeding beauty excited a murmur of surprise, and the younger knights told each other with their eyes, in silent correspondence, that Brian's best apology was in the power of her real charms, rather than of her imaginary witchcraft. But Higg, the son of Snell, felt most deeply the effect produced by the sight of the countenance of his benefactress.
"Let me go forth," he said to the warders at the door of the hall,---"let me go forth!---To look at her again will kill me, for I have had a share in murdering her."
"Peace, poor man," said Rebecca, when she heard his exclamation; "thou hast done me no harm by speaking the truth---thou canst not aid me by thy complaints or lamentations. Peace, I pray thee ---go home and save thyself."
Higg was about to be thrust out by the compassion of the warders, who were apprehensive lest his clamorous grief should draw upon them reprehension, and upon himself punishment. But he promised to be silent, and was permitted to remain. The two men-at-arms, with whom Albert Malvoisin had not failed to communicate upon the import of their testimony, were now called forward. Though both were hardened and inflexible villains, the sight of the captive maiden, as well as her excelling beauty, at first appeared to stagger them; but an expressive glance from the Preceptor of Templestowe restored them to their dogged composure; and they delivered, with a precision which would have seemed suspicious to more impartial judges, circumstances either altogether fictitious or trivial, and natural in themselves, but rendered pregnant with suspicion by the exaggerated manner in which they were told, and the sinister commentary which the witnesses added to the facts. The circumstances of their evidence would have been, in modern days, divided into two classes---those which were immaterial, and those which were actually and physically impossible. But both were, in those ignorant and superstitions times, easily credited as proofs of guilt.---The first class set forth, that Rebecca was heard to mutter to herself in an unknown tongue---that the songs she sung by fits were of a strangely sweet sound, which made the ears of the hearer tingle, and his heart throb---that she spoke at times to herself, and seemed to look upward for a reply---that her garments were of a strange and mystic form, unlike those of women of good repute---that she had rings impressed with cabalistical devices, and that strange characters were broidered on her veil.
All these circumstances, so natural and so trivial, were gravely listened to as proofs, or, at least, as affording strong suspicions that Rebecca had unlawful correspondence with mystical powers.
But there was less equivocal testimony, which the credulity of the assembly, or of the greater part, greedily swallowed, however incredible. One of the soldiers had seen her work a cure upon a wounded man, brought with them to the castle of Torquilstone. She did, he said, make certain signs upon the wound, and repeated certain mysterious words, which he blessed God he understood not, when the iron head of a square cross-bow bolt disengaged itself from the wound, the bleeding was stanched, the wound was closed, and the dying man was, within a quarter of an hour, walking upon the ramparts, and assisting the witness in managing a mangonel, or machine for hurling stones. This legend was probably founded upon the fact, that Rebecca had attended on the wounded Ivanhoe when in the castle of Torquilstone. But it was the more difficult to dispute the accuracy of the witness, as, in order to produce real evidence in support of his verbal testimony, he drew from his pouch the very bolt-head, which, according to his story, had been miraculously extracted from the wound; and as the iron weighed a full ounce, it completely confirmed the tale, however marvellous.
His comrade had been a witness from a neighbouring battlement of the scene betwixt Rebecca and Bois-Guilbert, when she was upon the point of precipitating herself from the top of the tower. Not to be behind his companion, this fellow stated, that he had seen Rebecca perch herself upon the parapet of the turret, and there take the form of a milk-white swan, under which appearance she flitted three times round the castle of Torquilstone; then again settle on the turret, and once more assume the female form.
Less than one half of this weighty evidence would have been sufficient to convict any old woman, poor and ugly, even though she had not been a Jewess. United with that fatal circumstance, the body of proof was too weighty for Rebecca's youth, though combined with the most exquisite beauty.
The Grand Master had collected the suffrages, and now in a solemn tone demanded of Rebecca what she had to say against the sentence of condemnation, which he was about to pronounce.
"To invoke your pity," said the lovely Jewess, with a voice somewhat tremulous with emotion, "would, I am aware, be as useless as I should hold it mean. To state that to relieve the sick and wounded of another religion, cannot be displeasing to the acknowledged Founder of both our faiths, were also unavailing; to plead that many things which these men (whom may Heaven pardon!) have spoken against me are impossible, would avail me but little, since you believe in their possibility; and still less would it advantage me to explain, that the peculiarities of my dress, language, and manners, are those of my people---I had well-nigh said of my country, but alas! we have no country. Nor will I even vindicate myself at the expense of my oppressor, who stands there listening to the fictions and surmises which seem to convert the tyrant into the victim.---God be judge between him and me! but rather would I submit to ten such deaths as your pleasure may denounce against me, than listen to the suit which that man of Belial has urged upon me ---friendless, defenceless, and his prisoner. But he is of your own faith, and his lightest affirmance would weigh down the most solemn protestations of the distressed Jewess. I will not therefore return to himself the charge brought against me---but to himself---Yes, Brian de Bois-Guilbert, to thyself I appeal, whether these accusations are not false? as monstrous and calumnious as they are deadly?"
There was a pause; all eyes turned to Brain de Bois-Guilbert. He was silent.
"Speak," she said, "if thou art a man---if thou art a Christian, speak!---I conjure thee, by the habit which thou dost wear, by the name thou dost inherit---by the knighthood thou dost vaunt ---by the honour of thy mother---by the tomb and the bones of thy father---I conjure thee to say, are these things true?"
"Answer her, brother," said the Grand Master, "if the Enemy with whom thou dost wrestle will give thee power."
In fact, Bois-Guilbert seemed agitated by contending passions, which almost convulsed his features, and it was with a constrained voice that at last he replied, looking to Rebecca, ---"The scroll!---the scroll!"
"Ay," said Beaumanoir, "this is indeed testimony! The victim of her witcheries can only name the fatal scroll, the spell inscribed on which is, doubtless, the cause of his silence."
But Rebecca put another interpretation on the words extorted as it were from Bois-Guilbert, and glancing her eye upon the slip of parchment which she continued to hold in her hand, she read written thereupon in the Arabian character, "Demand a Champion!" The murmuring commentary which ran through the assembly at the strange reply of Bois-Guilbert, gave Rebecca leisure to examine and instantly to destroy the scroll unobserved. When the whisper had ceased, the Grand Master spoke.
"Rebecca, thou canst derive no benefit from the evidence of this unhappy knight, for whom, as we well perceive, the Enemy is yet too powerful. Hast thou aught else to say?"
"There is yet one chance of life left to me," said Rebecca, "even by your own fierce laws. Life has been miserable---miserable, at least, of late---but I will not cast away the gift of God, while he affords me the means of defending it. I deny this charge---I maintain my innocence, and I declare the falsehood of this accusation---I challenge the privilege of trial by combat, and will appear by my champion."
"And who, Rebecca," replied the Grand Master, "will lay lance in rest for a sorceress? who will be the champion of a Jewess?"
"God will raise me up a champion," said Rebecca---"It cannot be that in merry England---the hospitable, the generous, the free, where so many are ready to peril their lives for honour, there will not be found one to fight for justice. But it is enough that I challenge the trial by combat---there lies my gage."
She took her embroidered glove from her hand, and flung it down before the Grand Master with an air of mingled simplicity and dignity, which excited universal surprise and admiration.

法律是严厉的，它不准你哭，
尽管你对人世的苦难悲愤不平，心如刀割；
法律是严厉的，它不准你笑，
尽管你对骗人的鬼话了大叫旨掌，忍俊不禁；
但是暴君的铁腕更加严厉，
因为它自称它是秉承上帝的意旨行事。
《中世纪》
审判无辜的、不幸的丽贝卡的审问台，设在大厅上首较高的平台上——这种平台我们已经描写过，它是荣誉席位，专供古老住宅中最尊贵的主人和来宾使用。
平台正中有一个高高的座位，它面对被告，现在圣殿骑士团的大宗师便坐在这里，他穿着全套宽大的白长袍，手中握着带有骑士团标志的神秘权杖。他的脚边设有一张桌子，两个神父坐在桌后，他们的任务便是把当天的审问过程记录成文。教士的黑衣服、光脑壳和矜持表情，与骑士们的军人装束形成了鲜明的对照，这些骑士有的是常驻在会堂中的，也有的是随同大宗师来到这儿的。会督有四人出席，他们的座位比大宗师的略低一些，也靠后一些；地位不如他们的骑士坐在更低一些的长凳上，他们与会督也保持着会督与大宗师的距离。他们背后，但仍在大厅的平台上，站着骑士团的卫士，他们穿的是较低级别的白色大褂。
整个会场表现了庄严肃穆的气氛；在骑士们的脸上，除了可以看到慓悍的军人气概以外，还流露出一种虔诚的几乎与教士不相上下的表情，这是他们在大宗师面前必须保持的姿态。
大厅的其余部分，也就是平台以外的部分，站满了执戟的卫兵，以及出于好奇，为了观看大宗师和犹太妖女而来的其他侍从人员。这些下等人物，极大部分都在骑士团中担任着一定的职务，因此都穿着黑色制服。但是附近乡村中的农民也允许入内，因为大宗师为他主持的审判感到自豪，要让尽量多的人看到这个场面，从而接受教育。当他环视会场时，他那对蓝色的大眼睛似乎更大了，脸色也显得沾沾自喜，觉得他即将扮演的角色具有伸张正义的、神圣不可侵犯的性质。审问开始时，他与大家一起高唱了赞美诗，他虽然年老，嗓音仍很圆润，不减当年。他们唱的是“来啊，让我们向主高唱”(注)，这首庄严的诗篇是圣殿骑士每逢与尘世的仇敌战斗前经常唱的；卢加斯认为，它适合目前的场合，可以作为战胜黑暗势力的前奏。这深沉而迁缓的调子，经过一百来个习惯于合唱圣诗的男人的共同努力，升向大厅的拱形屋顶，像一片汹涌澎湃的海洋发出的悦耳而威严的涛声，在梁柱之间回荡。
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(注)这是《旧约•诗篇》第95篇的第一句。
歌声沉寂后，大宗师抬起眼睛，不慌不忙地向周围打量了一遍；他看到一个位置空着，它本来应该是布里恩。布瓦吉贝尔坐的，但现在他站在角上，靠近一般骑士坐的一条长凳的末端，用一只手把长袍撩起一些，让它遮住了一部分脸；他的另一只手握着十字剑柄，用鞘尖在栎木地板上慢慢划线条。
“不幸的人！”大宗师露出同情的目光端详了他一会以后，说道，“康拉德，你瞧，我们这神圣的工作使他多么伤心。一个轻薄的女人，在尘世的恶魔的帮助下，竟能使一个勇敢高尚的骑士落到这步田地！你瞧他不敢看我们，也不敢看她；谁知道他在地上划这些神秘的线条干什么，也许这是魔鬼要他画的吧？魔鬼想用符箓危害我们的生命和安全，可是我们根本不怕魔鬼。‘必须消灭狮子！”’
这是对他的心腹随从康拉德•蒙特菲舍一个人讲的。然后大宗师提高嗓门，向全场的人说道：
“尊敬和英勇的骑士、会督和骑士团的朋友们，我的弟兄们和我的孩子们！还有你们，出身高贵和虔诚的扈从们，期望戴上这神圣的十字架的人们！还有你们，一切等级的基督徒弟兄们！你们应该看到，我们召开这个公审大会，是因为我们有足够的力量根除一切罪恶；我本人固然并不足道，但是我手中的权杖授予了我充分的权力，对涉及我们神圣骑士团的事进行审问和处理。圣伯尔纳对我们在骑士组织和宗教方面的义务作了规定(注)，他在该章程第五十九条中说，本团的弟兄们不必经常举行会议，只在大宗师需要的时候下令召集；这就是授权给我，像授权给我以前的历任大宗师一样，根据具体情况，决定在什么时间和地点，召集一个会堂或所有各个会堂的会议。这也是说，在我们所有的会堂中，我有责任听取弟兄们的意见，并按照我个人的判断作出决定。因此当狼张牙舞爪冲进我们的羊群，带走我们的一名成员时，仁慈的牧人便有责任召集所有的会众，让大家拿起弓箭和投石器捕杀入侵者，因为按照人所共知的我们的章程，狮子是永远应该被镇压的。就这样，我现在把一个犹太女人传上法庭，她名叫丽贝卡，是约克的以撒的女儿——一个因施行妖法和巫术而声名狼藉的女人；她利用这些法术使人丧失理智，头脑糊涂，而且受害的不是一个老百姓，而是一个骑士；不是一个世俗的骑士，而是一个献身给圣殿事业的骑士；也不是一个一般的骑士，而是骑士团中享有崇高声誉和地位的一名会督。我们的兄弟布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔是我们所熟悉的，也是现在听我讲话的各级人士都熟悉的，他作为十字军的一名忠诚而热情的战士，曾凭他的武艺在圣地建立过许多卓越的功勋，并用亵读圣地的邪教徒的血洗净了一个个神圣的场所。这位弟兄的明智和谨慎，也像他的勇敢和教养一样，是有口皆碑的；因此不论在东方和西方，所有的骑士都承认，在上帝允许我放下大宗师这副沉重的担子，回到他的身边去时，布瓦吉贝尔是有资格接替我，继续执掌这根权杖的。如果我们听到这样一个人，这样一个人人尊敬、光荣正直的人，突然抛弃他的品德，他的誓言，他的弟兄和他的前途，与一个犹太女子纠缠在一起，并且在这个淫荡的女人陪伴下，在一些偏僻荒凉的地方游荡，用盾牌保护她，而不是保护自己，最后甚至不顾一切，胡乱行事，把她带进了我们的一个会堂中，那么我们除了觉得，这个高贵的骑士已被邪恶的魔鬼所控制，或者受到了某种妖法的蛊惑以外，还能说什么呢？如果我们不这么设想，那么不论地位、勇敢、崇高的声望和任何世俗的考虑，都不能阻止我们对他进行惩罚，按照经书上的要求，‘把鞭长莠草从我们中间清除出去’。因为在这件值得痛心的事件上，违反我们的章程的行为是多方面的，十分严重的。首先，他按照自己的意愿自由行事，这违背了章程的第三十三条：‘不得自行其是，任意行动。’其次，他与革出教门的人私自来往，这违反了第五十七条：‘不得与排除在教门以外之人来往，’因而也犯了革除教籍的罪。第三，他与异教的妇女结交，违反了不得与异教妇女往来交际的规定。第四，他没有回避，不，也许他甚至希求与妇女亲吻，因而违背了章程的最后一条：‘不得与女人亲吻，’因为这是会把十字军战士带进陷阶的。由于这些严重的、多方面的罪行，布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔应该被剪除，驱逐出我们的骑士团，哪怕他是我们的右手和右眼。”
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(注)请读者再参看圣殿骑士团这个军事组织的章程，它载在圣怕尔纳的《文集》中。——原注
他停止了。会场上出现了一片喊喊喳喳的低语声。年轻的那部分人中，有的听到“不准亲吻”时，甚至忍俊不禁，现在却变得严肃了，等着听大宗师接着要讲什么。
“确实，”他继续道，“一个圣殿骑士在这么重要的几点上，有意识地违背了骑士团的规则，他应该得到的惩罚是不轻的。但是，也许这个骑士只是偶然对一个女子的美貌看了一眼，魔鬼便趁机运用妖术和魔法，主宰了骑士的心灵，那么我们只能感到痛心，不是对他的堕落进行惩罚；我们对他要做的，也只限于促使他改邪归正，苦修赎罪，我们的愤怒的主要锋芒应该转向那个罪恶的工具，也正是它使他几乎走上毁灭的道路涸此现在要由目睹这些不幸事件的人上来作证，我们可以根据他们的陈述，采取相应的态度，并作出判决；确定我们是否可以只限于惩罚这个邪恶的女人，或者必须更进一步，怀着一颗悲痛的心，也对我们的兄弟实行惩罚。”
几个证人被叫了出来；他们主要证明，布瓦吉贝尔怎样冒着生命危险，从城堡的大火中搭救丽贝卡，怎样不顾自身的安全，把全部注意力集中在保护她的生命上。这些人提供的细节都极尽夸大之能事，因为庸俗的头脑对任何奇谈怪论天然具有浓厚的兴趣，何况他们发现，要他们提供证词的大人物，对他们的汇报十分满意，这又大大促进了他们天赋的猎奇心理。这样，布瓦吉贝尔经历的危险本来固然也非同寻常，现在更变得骇人听闻了。在他们的渲染下，这位骑士对丽贝卡的保护不仅超出了一般情理，而且显得不可思议，荒谬绝伦；似乎哪怕她对他疾颜厉色，大加申斥，他仍低首下心，恭恭敬敬，这样的描绘用在这个狂妄自大的人身上，简直叫人难以置信。
接着，圣殿会堂的会督奉命出场了，他得叙述布瓦吉贝尔和犹太女子到达会堂时的情形。马尔沃辛的证词是经过深思熟虑，无懈可击的。只是为了不致触痛布瓦吉贝尔的感情，他不得不插入一些模棱两可的话，暗示他当时已有些精神错乱，被他带来的那个女人弄得神魂颠倒了。会督叹了口气，表示悔罪，声称他为他允许丽贝卡和她的情人进人会堂，感到后悔莫及。“不过我已向我们最尊敬的大宗师说明了我当时的想法，”他最后说道，“他知道我并无不良的动机，尽管我的行为可能是错误的。我愿意接受他给我的任何处分，决无怨言。”
“你讲得很好，艾伯特兄弟，”博马诺说。“你的动机是好的，因为你认为这可以使一个犯了错误的兄弟不致一错再错，滑向深渊。但你的行动是错误的，就像一个人要拉住脱缰的马，不是勒紧缰绳，却去踢鞍镫，非但不能达到目的，还会使自己受害。我们虔诚的创始人规定，早祷要念主祷文十三遍，晚祷要念九遍，你的功课应该加倍。圣殿骑士一周可食肉三次，但你必须七天守斋。在今后六周内你都这么做，你的赎罪便完成了。”
会督装出诚心服从的表情，向大宗师深深鞠了一躬，便回到了座位上。
“兄弟们，”大宗师又说道，“我们刚才听到的那些事实，使我们不得不设想，在这不幸的事件中，我们的兄弟是在魔鬼的迷惑和引诱下犯的罪，那么我们是否应该审查一下，这个女人从前的生活和言谈，尤其得判明，她是否可能运用魔法和妖术，你们说对吗？”
古达尔利克的赫尔曼是出席的第四个会督——其他三人是康拉德、马尔沃辛和布瓦吉贝尔——这是一个身经百战的老兵，脸上还留着穆斯林军刀造成的伤疤，他在骑士团中地位既高，又深得人心。他站了起来，向大宗师鞠了一躬；对他的自动要求发言，后者立刻同意了。于是他说道：“最尊敬的大宗师，我要求知道，我们勇敢的兄弟布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔，对这些骇人的指控有什么要说的，他本人对他与这个犹太女子的不幸交往，有些什么看法？”
“布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔，”大宗师说道，“你听到我们古达尔利克的兄弟向你提出的问题了。我命令你回答他。”
布瓦吉贝尔听到大宗师的话，把脸转向了他，但保持着沉默。
“魔鬼剥夺了他的讲话能力，”大宗师说道，“魔鬼，离开他！布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔，讲吧，我已用我们神圣的权标从你身上赶走了魔鬼。”
布瓦吉贝尔尽量克制着心头愈来愈高涨的蔑视和愤怒，他完全明白，这种情绪的流露对他毫无好处。他答道：“最尊敬的大宗师，布里恩•布瓦占贝尔不想回答这些荒唐无稽的指责，如果他的荣誉遭到低毁，他会用他的血肉，他为基督教世界南征北战所使用的剑，保卫他自己。”
“我们宽恕你，布里恩兄弟，”大宗师说，“虽然你在我面前夸耀你的作战业绩，这是吹嘘自己的功劳，它也来自魔鬼，他诱使我们自我崇拜。但是我们原谅你，因为你讲这些话不是你自己要讲，主要是受了魔鬼的指使；只要上帝允许，我们会征服他，把他从我们的会场驱逐出去。”布瓦吉贝尔那双阴鸷凶恶的眼睛迸发了一缕蔑视的目光，但是他没有回答什么。“兄弟们，”大宗师继续道，“由于我们古达尔利克的兄弟提出的问题，已得到了部分的回答，现在我们接着审理；我希望，在我们的守护神的帮助下，能把这件邪恶的案子查个水落石出。凡是对这个犹太女人的生活和言谈能提供任何见证的人，都可以站出来向我们陈述。”
大厅下首出现了一阵骚动，当大宗师询问原因时，有人答说，这里有一个老人本来卧床不起，后来多亏女犯人用一种神奇的药膏医治后，才恢复了行走能力。
这个可怜的乡下佬，一个撒克逊人，给拉到了审判台前；他吓得索索发抖，不知会受到怎样的惩罚，因为他犯了罪，让一个犹太女子医治了他的瘫痪病。他无疑还没有完全痊愈，出庭作证时仍得拄着拐杖行走。他的证词完全是被迫的，还流了不少眼泪；但他承认，两年前他曾为犹太财主以撒于活，因为他是个木匠，有一天他突然不能下床，但经过丽贝卡的诊治，尤其是使用了一种有香味的、发热的药膏以后，便逐渐恢复，多少可以使用他的双腿了。后来，他说，她还给了他一小盒那种珍贵的油膏，又给了他一枚金币，让他返回他的老家，它便在圣殿会堂附近。“不过，请尊贵的大老爷明察，”他说道，“我认为这闺女不可能是要伤害我，虽然她命不好，是个犹太人。我在用她的药时，总要念主祷文和使徒信经，但它的效果丝毫也没有减少。”
“住口，奴才，”大宗师喝道，“滚下去，你这畜生活该倒霉，竟敢要魔鬼给你治病，拿魔鬼的钱，还跑到邪教徒家中去打工。告诉你，魔鬼可能故意让你生病，然后给你治病，这样便可以证明他有医病的本领。你讲的那种油膏，带来了没有？”
乡下佬把哆嗦的手伸进胸口，摸了一会，掏出了一个小盒子，盖子上有几个希伯来文，对于大多数听众说来，这便足以证明药是从魔鬼那儿来的。博马诺在身上划了个十字，把盒子拿在手上；他懂得好几种东方语言，完全了解盖上那几个字：“犹大部族的狮子是战无不胜的”(注)。于是他说道：“撒旦真是神通广大，居然用《圣经》的话来亵渎上帝，把毒药混入我们必需的食物中！这里有没有医生可以告诉我们这神秘油膏的成分？”
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(注)这句话见《旧约•创世记》第49章，是雅各临死前预祝犹大的子孙能像狮子一样茁壮成长（犹大是犹太人十二列祖之一），这本来只是一种比喻，与西多会和圣殿骑士团所说的狮子不同。
两个自称是医生的人走了出来，一个是修士，另一个是理发匠，他们声称他们对这种东西一无所知，只是它带有没药和樟脑的味道，那是从东方的植物中提炼的。但是出于对成功的同行的嫉妒，他们表示，这种药品既然连他们也不知道，一定是歪门邪道的非法产品；因为他们尽管不懂得魔法，但是能医治百病，只要按照基督徒的真诚信念是可以医治的。医学鉴定结束后，撒克逊农民低声下气的，要求把他认为有效的油膏还他，但大宗师皱紧了眉头，对破子说道：“乡下佬，你叫什么名字？”
“希格•斯内尔，”农夫回答。
“那么，希格•斯内尔，”大宗师说道，“我告诉你，宁可卧床不起，也比接受魔鬼的医药让你站起来行走好；宁可用强大的手掠夺邪教徒的钱财，也比接受他们的施舍，或者从他们手里领取工钱好。你去吧，记住照我的话做。”
“我的天呐！”农民说，“但是请大宗师明鉴，这教训对我来得太迟了．因为我已经残废了；但我会把您老的话转告我的两个兄弟，他们还在替富裕的犹太拉比纳桑•本•以色列做工，我要告诉他们，大人说，宁可抢他的钱，也不可老老实实替他干活。”
“把这个多嘴的混蛋撵走！”博马诺吆喝道；他一时措手不及，对他的一般格言的这种实际应用，不知怎么驳斥好。
希格•斯内尔返回了人群中，但是仍关心他的女恩人的命运，站在那里不想离开，宁可冒再度遭到严厉的法官申斥的危险，尽管这申斥把他吓得六神无主，心里直发怵。
审问进行到这个阶段，大宗师命令丽贝卡揭开面纱。现在她第一次汗口了，她耐心地、但是庄重地声明：“犹太民族的女儿单独处在陌生人中间时，不能揭开面纱，这不符合他们的风俗。”她那悦耳的嗓音，那温柔的回答，在群众中引起了怜悯和同情的反应。但是从博马诺看来，扼杀人的一切感情，不让它们干扰他行使的职责，是他应尽的义务，因此他重复了一遍他的命令，要他的受害者揭开面纱。那些卫士甚至蠢蠢欲动，想强制执行，于是她在大宗师面前挺直身子，说道：“不，请您想想自己的女儿……哦，”她想起来了，又道，“您没有女儿！那么想想您的母亲，您的姊妹，想想对待妇女的礼貌吧，不要让这些人当着您的面这么对待我，不应该让粗俗的仆人强行剥开一个少女的面纱。我可以服从您，”她又说，声音中流露了忍受委屈的心情，这甚至使博马诺那颗冷酷的心也有些软了。“在您的人民中您是一个长者，我可以服从您的命令，让您看到一个不幸的少女的面容。”
她撩开了面纱，望着人们，脸上羞涩和庄严的神色交织在一起。她超越常人的美貌引起了一阵惊讶的低语声，那些较年轻的骑士互相看看，似乎在用无声的语言说，布里恩最合理的辩解，也许便是她的真实的魅力，而不是她的虚构的巫术。但是希格•斯内尔对这位女恩人的容貌感受是最深刻的，他对站在大厅门口的卫士们说道：“让我到前面去，让我到前面去！我要再看她一眼，哪怕这会使我伤心得死去，也是罪有应得，因为我参与了谋害她的活动。”
“安静一些，可怜的人，”而贝卡听到了他的叫喊，说道，“你没有害我，你讲的是事实；你的诉说和悲伤都不能帮助我。安静一些，我求你啦，回家去，顾全你自己吧。”
卫士们出于同情，想把希格推出门外，他们担心他的哭喊会给他们招来申斥，给他自己招来惩罚。但是他答应不再开口，这才给留下了。这时两个士兵站了出来，他们是经过艾伯特•马尔沃辛疏通过的，了解他们的证词的重要性。但是，尽管他们都是铁石心肠，残忍狠毒，女犯人的可怜样子，以及她的姣好容貌．起先似乎也使他们有些犹豫，只是圣殿会堂会督含有深意的一瞥，才使他们恢复无动于衷的本性。他们提供的情况，有的完全出于虚构，有的无关紧要，可是他们却讲得头头是道，公正一些的法官听了，一定会引起怀疑；这些事本身是真实的，然而通过他们夸大的表达，以及对事实附加的恶意评注，便显得难以置信了。按照今天的看法，他们的证词大致可以分作两类，一类纯属捕风捉影，牵强附会，另一类虽然言之凿凿，实际上是不可能的。但是在那个无知和迷信的时代，它们却常常被当作罪证，信以为真。第一类证词说，丽贝卡时常用一种不可理解的语言喃喃自语；她不时哼一些歌，声音奇怪，特别甜蜜，往往使人心猿意马；有时她还自言自语，仰起了头，好像在等待回答；而且她穿的是奇装异服，与一般正派女人不同，她的戒指上刻着犹太教的神秘花纹，面纱上绣着奇怪的符号。所有这一切都这么平常，这么细小，可是却被郑重其事地听着，仿佛这便是罪证，或者至少提出了一些重大嫌疑，说明丽贝卡与某些神秘力量有着不正当的联系。
然而也有一些并不那么含糊暖昧，以致全体或大部分群众都信以为真，听得津津有味，不论它们多么不合情理。一个士兵说，他曾看见她为带进托奎尔斯通城堡的一个伤员治病。“她在伤口上作了一会法，”他说，“一边念念有词——多谢上帝，这些话我听不懂——于是一个包铁的箭头便从伤口中跳了出来，血马上止住了，伤口合拢了，不到一刻钟，那个快死的人便站了起来，走到城楼上，帮助我使用射石机投射石块了。”这则神话的根据，也许便是丽贝卡在城堡中，替负伤的艾文荷治病这件事。但是由于一件物证的出现，这故事的准确性变得更难以驳斥了，原来证人为了用事实证明他口述的话，从口袋里掏出了一个箭头，这便是从伤口中奇迹般跳出来的那个箭头，它足足有一盎司重，这就充分证实了他的证词，不论它显得多么离奇。
他的伙伴则证明，他曾在附近的城墙上，亲眼看到丽贝卡和布瓦吉贝尔的那场争吵，当时她站在塔楼顶上，正预备纵身往下跳。这夕家伙也不比他的朋友差，他说，他看到丽贝卡站在塔楼的胸墙上，突然变成了一只洁白的天鹅，绕着托奎尔斯通城堡飞了三圈，然后又落到塔楼上，恢复了女人的形状。
这个有力的证明只要一半，就足够把任何一个又穷又丑的老妇人判处死罪了，哪怕她不是犹太人。丽贝卡纵然生得天姿国色，年轻貌美，但具有生为犹太人的致命弱点，这大量证词自然足以把她置于死地了。
大宗师收集了各方面的意见，现在用庄严的声调问丽贝卡，对他即将宣布的判决，还有什么话要说。
可爱的犹太姑娘由于感情激动，嗓音有些发抖，说道：“我知道，祈求您的怜悯是没有用的，对我说来也不值得。声称为信仰其他宗教的人救死扶伤，并不违背我们两派宗教公认的造物主的意旨，这也徒劳无益；说明这些人 ——愿上帝宽恕他们——指控我的许多事是不可能的，这对我没有多大意义，因为您相信它们是可能的；至于就我的服饰、语言和行为作出解释，更是毫无必要，大家知道它们之所以与你们的不同，只是因为它们属于我的民族——我想说我的祖国，但是可惜，我们没有祖国！我甚至不想为了替自己辩护，指控欺压我的人，这个人正站在那里听着这一切无中生有、向壁虚构的话，它们的目的只是要把一个暴徒变成受害者。让上帝在他和我之间作出裁决吧！但是我宁可在您颠倒黑白的判决下死十次，也不愿接受他的要求，这个魔鬼的门徒企图把我压服，因为我没有朋友，没人保护，又是他的俘虏。然而他是信仰你们的宗教的，他微不足道的一句话，便可以推翻一个受迫害的犹太女子声嘶力竭的抗议。因此我不想为我受到的指责提出反驳；但是对他本人——是的，布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔，我要请问你，这些控告是不是真的？尽管它们要置我于死地，可是难道它们不是荒谬绝伦的诬蔑吗？”
她停了，所有的眼睛都转向了布里恩•布瓦吉贝尔。他保持着沉默。
“讲啊，”她说，“如果你是一个人，如果你是一个基督徒，讲啊！我要求你讲，为了你穿的这身衣服，为了你继承的这个姓，为了你自己夸耀的骑士身分，为了你母亲的荣誉，为了你父亲的坟墓和遗骸，请你老实说，这些事是不是真的？”
“回答她，兄弟，”大宗师说道，“如果与你搏斗的魔鬼让你开口的话。”
事实上，各种矛盾的感情，正在布瓦吉贝尔心头搏斗，使他脸部的肌肉出现了一阵阵痉挛，他几经挣扎，最后才向丽贝卡勉强发出了一个声音：“字条！……字条！”
“对，”博马诺说，“这确实是证据！她的妖术的受害人只能提出这个真凭实据，毫无疑问，字条上的咒语便是使他开不出口的原因。”
但是丽贝卡对布瓦吉贝尔口中勉强挤出的那几个字，却另有解释；她蓦地想起了那张羊皮纸条，她看了一眼它上面的几个阿拉伯字：“要求一个勇士替你决斗！”布瓦吉贝尔的离奇回答，在会场上引起了一片窃窃低语声，这正好给了她阅读字条的机会，她随即偷偷把它撕毁了。低语声平息后，大宗师说道：
“丽贝卡，我们看到，魔鬼仍在一定程度上控制着这位不幸的骑士，但很清楚，你不能从他口中得到有利的证词。你还有什么别的话要说吗？”
“哪怕按照你们的残酷法律，我也还有一线活命的希望，”丽贝卡说。“生活是悲惨的，至少我最近的这些日子是悲惨的，但是我不想抛弃上帝赐予我的生命，只要我还没有丧失他给予我的保卫它的办法。我要求凭决斗判定是非的权利(注)，我要委托一位勇士代表我进行决斗。”
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(注)在中世纪的欧洲，遇到疑难案件，往往用决斗来解决，决斗的胜负被认为是上帝的裁决，这便是所谓决斗断讼法，是“神裁法”的一种。这时当事人如为教士或妇女，可委托勇士代表他们决斗。
“丽贝卡，”大宗师答道，“谁愿意为一个女巫进行比武？谁肯作一个犹太女子的斗士呢？”
“上帝会赐给我一名勇士的，”丽贝卡说。“快活的英格兰是好客的，慷慨的，自由的，这里有许多人愿意为了荣誉冒生命危险，这里也不会没有一个人愿意为正义而战斗。但是我要求凭决斗裁定是非，这便够了；这是我的信物。”
她从手上脱下一只绣花手套，把它丢在大宗师的脚下，神色那么单纯，又那么庄严，引起了每个人的惊讶和赞赏。
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