In rough magnificence array'd, When ancient Chivalry display'd The pomp of her heroic games, And crested chiefs and tissued dames Assembled, at the clarion's call, In some proud castle's high arch'd hall. Warton
Prince John held his high festival in the Castle of Ashby. This was not the same building of which the stately ruins still interest the traveller, and which was erected at a later period by the Lord Hastings, High Chamberlain of England, one of the first victims of the tyranny of Richard the Third, and yet better known as one of Shakspeare's characters than by his historical fame. The castle and town of Ashby, at this time, belonged to Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, who, during the period of our history, was absent in the Holy Land. Prince John, in the meanwhile, occupied his castle, and disposed of his domains without scruple; and seeking at present to dazzle men's eyes by his hospitality and magnificence, had given orders for great preparations, in order to render the banquet as splendid as possible.
The purveyors of the Prince, who exercised on this and other occasions the full authority of royalty, had swept the country of all that could be collected which was esteemed fit for their master's table. Guests also were invited in great numbers; and in the necessity in which he then found himself of courting popularity, Prince John had extended his invitation to a few distinguished Saxon and Danish families, as well as to the Norman nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood. However despised and degraded on ordinary occasions, the great numbers of the Anglo-Saxons must necessarily render them formidable in the civil commotions which seemed approaching, and it was an obvious point of policy to secure popularity with their leaders.
It was accordingly the Prince's intention, which he for some time maintained, to treat these unwonted guests with a courtesy to which they had been little accustomed. But although no man with less scruple made his ordinary habits and feelings bend to his interest, it was the misfortune of this Prince, that his levity and petulance were perpetually breaking out, and undoing all that had been gained by his previous dissimulation.
Of this fickle temper he gave a memorable example in Ireland, when sent thither by his father, Henry the Second, with the purpose of buying golden opinions of the inhabitants of that new and important acquisition to the English crown. Upon this occasion the Irish chieftains contended which should first offer to the young Prince their loyal homage and the kiss of peace. But, instead of receiving their salutations with courtesy, John and his petulant attendants could not resist the temptation of pulling the long beards of the Irish chieftains; a conduct which, as might have been expected, was highly resented by these insulted dignitaries, and produced fatal consequences to the English domination in Ireland. It is necessary to keep these inconsistencies of John's character in view, that the reader may understand his conduct during the present evening.
In execution of the resolution which he had formed during his cooler moments, Prince John received Cedric and Athelstane with distinguished courtesy, and expressed his disappointment, without resentment, when the indisposition of Rowena was alleged by the former as a reason for her not attending upon his gracious summons. Cedric and Athelstane were both dressed in the ancient Saxon garb, which, although not unhandsome in itself, and in the present instance composed of costly materials, was so remote in shape and appearance from that of the other guests, that Prince John took great credit to himself with Waldemar Fitzurse for refraining from laughter at a sight which the fashion of the day rendered ridiculous. Yet, in the eye of sober judgment, the short close tunic and long mantle of the Saxons was a more graceful, as well as a more convenient dress, than the garb of the Normans, whose under garment was a long doublet, so loose as to resemble a shirt or waggoner's frock, covered by a cloak of scanty dimensions, neither fit to defend the wearer from cold or from rain, and the only purpose of which appeared to be to display as much fur, embroidery, and jewellery work, as the ingenuity of the tailor could contrive to lay upon it. The Emperor Charlemagne, in whose reign they were first introduced, seems to have been very sensible of the inconveniences arising from the fashion of this garment. "In Heaven's name," said he, "to what purpose serve these abridged cloaks? If we are in bed they are no cover, on horseback they are no protection from the wind and rain, and when seated, they do not guard our legs from the damp or the frost."
Nevertheless, spite of this imperial objurgation, the short cloaks continued in fashion down to the time of which we treat, and particularly among the princes of the House of Anjou. They were therefore in universal use among Prince John's courtiers; and the long mantle, which formed the upper garment of the Saxons, was held in proportional derision.
The guests were seated at a table which groaned under the quantity of good cheer. The numerous cooks who attended on the Prince's progress, having exerted all their art in varying the forms in which the ordinary provisions were served up, had succeeded almost as well as the modern professors of the culinary art in rendering them perfectly unlike their natural appearance. Besides these dishes of domestic origin, there were various delicacies brought from foreign parts, and a quantity of rich pastry, as well as of the simnel-bread and wastle cakes, which were only used at the tables of the highest nobility. The banquet was crowned with the richest wines, both foreign and domestic.
But, though luxurious, the Norman nobles were not generally speaking an intemperate race. While indulging themselves in the pleasures of the table, they aimed at delicacy, but avoided excess, and were apt to attribute gluttony and drunkenness to the vanquished Saxons, as vices peculiar to their inferior station. Prince John, indeed, and those who courted his pleasure by imitating his foibles, were apt to indulge to excess in the pleasures of the trencher and the goblet; and indeed it is well known that his death was occasioned by a surfeit upon peaches and new ale. His conduct, however, was an exception to the general manners of his countrymen.
With sly gravity, interrupted only by private signs to each other, the Norman knights and nobles beheld the ruder demeanour of Athelstane and Cedric at a banquet, to the form and fashion of which they were unaccustomed. And while their manners were thus the subject of sarcastic observation, the untaught Saxons unwittingly transgressed several of the arbitrary rules established for the regulation of society. Now, it is well known, that a man may with more impunity be guilty of an actual breach either of real good breeding or of good morals, than appear ignorant of the most minute point of fashionable etiquette. Thus Cedric, who dried his hands with a towel, instead of suffering the moisture to exhale by waving them gracefully in the air, incurred more ridicule than his companion Athelstane, when he swallowed to his own single share the whole of a large pasty composed of the most exquisite foreign delicacies, and termed at that time a "Karum-Pie". When, however, it was discovered, by a serious cross-examination, that the Thane of Coningsburgh (or Franklin, as the Normans termed him) had no idea what he had been devouring, and that he had taken the contents of the Karum-pie for larks and pigeons, whereas they were in fact beccaficoes and nightingales, his ignorance brought him in for an ample share of the ridicule which would have been more justly bestowed on his gluttony.
The long feast had at length its end; and, while the goblet circulated freely, men talked of the feats of the preceding tournament,---of the unknown victor in the archery games, of the Black Knight, whose self-denial had induced him to withdraw from the honours he had won,---and of the gallant Ivanhoe, who had so dearly bought the honours of the day. The topics were treated with military frankness, and the jest and laugh went round the hall. The brow of Prince John alone was overclouded during these discussions; some overpowering care seemed agitating his mind, and it was only when he received occasional hints from his attendants, that he seemed to take interest in what was passing around him. On such occasions he would start up, quaff a cup of wine as if to raise his spirits, and then mingle in the conversation by some observation made abruptly or at random.
"We drink this beaker," said he, "to the health of Wilfred of Ivanhoe, champion of this Passage of Arms, and grieve that his wound renders him absent from our board---Let all fill to the pledge, and especially Cedric of Rotherwood, the worthy father of a son so promising."
"No, my lord," replied Cedric, standing up, and placing on the table his untasted cup, "I yield not the name of son to the disobedient youth, who at once despises my commands, and relinquishes the manners and customs of his fathers."
"'Tis impossible," cried Prince John, with well-feigned astonishment, "that so gallant a knight should be an unworthy or disobedient son!"
"Yet, my lord," answered Cedric, "so it is with this Wilfred. He left my homely dwelling to mingle with the gay nobility of your brother's court, where he learned to do those tricks of horsemanship which you prize so highly. He left it contrary to my wish and command; and in the days of Alfred that would have been termed disobedience---ay, and a crime severely punishable."
"Alas!" replied Prince John, with a deep sigh of affected sympathy, "since your son was a follower of my unhappy brother, it need not be enquired where or from whom he learned the lesson of filial disobedience."
Thus spake Prince John, wilfully forgetting, that of all the sons of Henry the Second, though no one was free from the charge, he himself had been most distinguished for rebellion and ingratitude to his father.
"I think," said he, after a moment's pause, "that my brother proposed to confer upon his favourite the rich manor of Ivanhoe."
"He did endow him with it," answered Cedric; "nor is it my least quarrel with my son, that he stooped to hold, as a feudal vassal, the very domains which his fathers possessed in free and independent right."
"We shall then have your willing sanction, good Cedric," said Prince John, "to confer this fief upon a person whose dignity will not be diminished by holding land of the British crown. ---Sir Reginald Front-de-Boeuf," he said, turning towards that Baron, "I trust you will so keep the goodly Barony of Ivanhoe, that Sir Wilfred shall not incur his father's farther displeasure by again entering upon that fief."
"By St Anthony!" answered the black-brow'd giant, "I will consent that your highness shall hold me a Saxon, if either Cedric or Wilfred, or the best that ever bore English blood, shall wrench from me the gift with which your highness has graced me."
"Whoever shall call thee Saxon, Sir Baron," replied Cedric, offended at a mode of expression by which the Normans frequently expressed their habitual contempt of the English, "will do thee an honour as great as it is undeserved."
Front-de-Boeuf would have replied, but Prince John's petulance and levity got the start.
"Assuredly," said be, "my lords, the noble Cedric speaks truth; and his race may claim precedence over us as much in the length of their pedigrees as in the longitude of their cloaks."
"They go before us indeed in the field---as deer before dogs," said Malvoisin.
"And with good right may they go before us---forget not," said the Prior Aymer, "the superior decency and decorum of their manners."
"Their singular abstemiousness and temperance," said De Bracy, forgetting the plan which promised him a Saxon bride.
"Together with the courage and conduct," said Brian de Bois-Guilbert, "by which they distinguished themselves at Hastings and elsewhere."
While, with smooth and smiling cheek, the courtiers, each in turn, followed their Prince's example, and aimed a shaft of ridicule at Cedric, the face of the Saxon became inflamed with passion, and he glanced his eyes fiercely from one to another, as if the quick succession of so many injuries had prevented his replying to them in turn; or, like a baited bull, who, surrounded by his tormentors, is at a loss to choose from among them the immediate object of his revenge. At length he spoke, in a voice half choked with passion; and, addressing himself to Prince John as the head and front of the offence which he had received, "Whatever," he said, "have been the follies and vices of our race, a Saxon would have been held 'nidering'," *
* There was nothing accounted so ignominious among the * Saxons as to merit this disgraceful epithet. Even William * the Conqueror, hated as he was by them, continued to draw * a considerable army of Anglo-Saxons to his standard, by * threatening to stigmatize those who staid at home, as * nidering. Bartholinus, I think, mentions a similar phrase * which had like influence on the Danes. L. T.
(the most emphatic term for abject worthlessness,) "who should in his own hall, and while his own wine-cup passed, have treated, or suffered to be treated, an unoffending guest as your highness has this day beheld me used; and whatever was the misfortune of our fathers on the field of Hastings, those may at least be silent," here he looked at Front-de-Boeuf and the Templar, "who have within these few hours once and again lost saddle and stirrup before the lance of a Saxon."
"By my faith, a biting jest!" said Prince John. "How like you it, sirs?---Our Saxon subjects rise in spirit and courage; become shrewd in wit, and bold in bearing, in these unsettled times ---What say ye, my lords?---By this good light, I hold it best to take our galleys, and return to Normandy in time."
"For fear of the Saxons?" said De Bracy, laughing; "we should need no weapon but our hunting spears to bring these boars to bay."
"A truce with your raillery, Sir Knights," said Fitzurse;---"and it were well," he added, addressing the Prince, "that your highness should assure the worthy Cedric there is no insult intended him by jests, which must sound but harshly in the ear of a stranger."
"Insult?" answered Prince John, resuming his courtesy of demeanour; "I trust it will not be thought that I could mean, or permit any, to be offered in my presence. Here! I fill my cup to Cedric himself, since he refuses to pledge his son's health."
The cup went round amid the well-dissembled applause of the courtiers, which, however, failed to make the impression on the mind of the Saxon that had been designed. He was not naturally acute of perception, but those too much undervalued his understanding who deemed that this flattering compliment would obliterate the sense of the prior insult. He was silent, however, when the royal pledge again passed round, "To Sir Athelstane of Coningsburgh."
The knight made his obeisance, and showed his sense of the honour by draining a huge goblet in answer to it.
"And now, sirs," said Prince John, who began to be warmed with the wine which he had drank, "having done justice to our Saxon guests, we will pray of them some requital to our courtesy. ---Worthy Thane," he continued, addressing Cedric, "may we pray you to name to us some Norman whose mention may least sully your mouth, and to wash down with a goblet of wine all bitterness which the sound may leave behind it?"
Fitzurse arose while Prince John spoke, and gliding behind the seat of the Saxon, whispered to him not to omit the opportunity of putting an end to unkindness betwixt the two races, by naming Prince John. The Saxon replied not to this politic insinuation, but, rising up, and filling his cup to the brim, he addressed Prince John in these words: "Your highness has required that I should name a Norman deserving to be remembered at our banquet. This, perchance, is a hard task, since it calls on the slave to sing the praises of the master---upon the vanquished, while pressed by all the evils of conquest, to sing the praises of the conqueror. Yet I will name a Norman---the first in arms and in place---the best and the noblest of his race. And the lips that shall refuse to pledge me to his well-earned fame, I term false and dishonoured, and will so maintain them with my life.---I quaff this goblet to the health of Richard the Lion-hearted!"
Prince John, who had expected that his own name would have closed the Saxon's speech, started when that of his injured brother was so unexpectedly introduced. He raised mechanically the wine-cup to his lips, then instantly set it down, to view the demeanour of the company at this unexpected proposal, which many of them felt it as unsafe to oppose as to comply with. Some of them, ancient and experienced courtiers, closely imitated the example of the Prince himself, raising the goblet to their lips, and again replacing it before them. There were many who, with a more generous feeling, exclaimed, "Long live King Richard! and may he be speedily restored to us!" And some few, among whom were Front-de-Boeuf and the Templar, in sullen disdain suffered their goblets to stand untasted before them. But no man ventured directly to gainsay a pledge filled to the health of the reigning monarch.
Having enjoyed his triumph for about a minute, Cedric said to his companion, "Up, noble Athelstane! we have remained here long enough, since we have requited the hospitable courtesy of Prince John's banquet. Those who wish to know further of our rude Saxon manners must henceforth seek us in the homes of our fathers, since we have seen enough of royal banquets, and enough of Norman courtesy."
So saying, he arose and left the banqueting room, followed by Athelstane, and by several other guests, who, partaking of the Saxon lineage, held themselves insulted by the sarcasms of Prince John and his courtiers.
"By the bones of St Thomas," said Prince John, as they retreated, "the Saxon churls have borne off the best of the day, and have retreated with triumph!"
"'Conclamatum est, poculatum est'," said Prior Aymer; "we have drunk and we have shouted,---it were time we left our wine flagons."
"The monk hath some fair penitent to shrive to-night, that he is in such a hurry to depart," said De Bracy.
"Not so, Sir Knight," replied the Abbot; "but I must move several miles forward this evening upon my homeward journey."
"They are breaking up," said the Prince in a whisper to Fitzurse; "their fears anticipate the event, and this coward Prior is the first to shrink from me."
"Fear not, my lord," said Waldemar; "I will show him such reasons as shall induce him to join us when we hold our meeting at York. ---Sir Prior," he said, "I must speak with you in private, before you mount your palfrey."
The other guests were now fast dispersing, with the exception of those immediately attached to Prince John's faction, and his retinue.
"This, then, is the result of your advice," said the Prince, turning an angry countenance upon Fitzurse; "that I should be bearded at my own board by a drunken Saxon churl, and that, on the mere sound of my brother's name, men should fall off from me as if I had the leprosy?"
"Have patience, sir," replied his counsellor; "I might retort your accusation, and blame the inconsiderate levity which foiled my design, and misled your own better judgment. But this is no time for recrimination. De Bracy and I will instantly go among these shuffling cowards, and convince them they have gone too far to recede."
"It will be in vain," said Prince John, pacing the apartment with disordered steps, and expressing himself with an agitation to which the wine he had drank partly contributed---"It will be in vain--they have seen the handwriting on the wall---they have marked the paw of the lion in the sand---they have heard his approaching roar shake the wood---nothing will reanimate their courage."
"Would to God," said Fitzurse to De Bracy, "that aught could reanimate his own! His brother's very name is an ague to him. Unhappy are the counsellors of a Prince, who wants fortitude and perseverance alike in good and in evil!"
古老的骑士精神
在粗野而豪华的装束中粉墨登场，
扮演着绚丽多彩的英雄故事；
戴帽盔的武士和穿盛装的夫人
在号角的声声召唤下，
向雄伟的城堡中高耸的拱形大厅汇集。
沃顿(注)
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(注)托马斯·沃顿（1728—1790），英国诗人，作品以中世纪题材为主。
约翰亲王的盛大宴会是在阿什贝城堡举行。
这不是至今仍留下宏伟的遗址供游人凭吊的那座建筑，这些建筑已是后来的英国宫内大臣黑斯廷斯勋爵(注1)修建的，这人是理查三世的暴政的最早牺牲者之一，但他主要是作为莎士比亚剧本(注2)中的一个角色闻名的，在历史上他没有多大地位。在这个时期，阿什贝镇和城堡属于温切斯特伯爵罗杰·德昆西，他在我们这个故事期间，已经外出，去了圣地；于是约翰亲王住进了他的城堡，无所顾忌地支配着他的领地；现在为了用慷慨和豪华迷惑人们的眼睛，亲王命令多方张罗，务必把这次宴会办得尽善尽美。
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(注1)威廉·黑斯廷斯（约1430—1483），英国贵族，因反对理查三世被杀。
(注2)指莎士比亚的历史剧《理查三世》。
为了举办这样的宴会，亲王的采办大员自然会充分行使王室的特权，在全国各地大事搜罗，凡是他们认为他们主人的宴会上需要的一切，无不具备。邀请的客人也特别多；当时约翰亲王意识到他必须获得人心，因此把邀请的范围扩大到了少数撒克逊人和丹麦人的知名家族，不仅限于附近的诺曼贵族和绅士。尽管在一般情况下，盎格鲁一撒克逊人都遭到蔑视和侮辱，然而必须承认，他们人多势众，在即将来临的内乱中，具有举足轻重的作用，拉拢他们的领袖人物，从策略上看显然是必要的。
就因为这样，亲王在一段时间内坚持着自己的做法，对素无来往的客人也尽量以礼相待，以致使他们受宠若惊。但是尽管所有的人为了自身的利益，几乎都毫不迟疑地改变了平素对他的态度和情绪，不幸的是这位亲王一向反复无常、刚愎自用，往往使他原来的伪装前功尽弃。
他在爱尔兰的一件事，是这种轻浮浅薄性格的一个难忘的例子。他是奉父王亨利二世之命到那里去的，目的是要在英国王室新取得的这块重要领土上收买人心。当时爱尔兰的部族领袖竞相讨好这位青年王子，向他请安问候，表示忠诚。但他对他们的进见不是以礼相待，却伙同他那些骄横自大的随员任意戏弄他们，拉他们的长胡须；可想而知，这样的行为招致了爱尔兰部族领袖们的极大愤怒，给英国在爱尔兰的统治造成了严重的后果。读者必须记住约翰性格中这种随心所欲的特点，才能理解他今天晚上的表现。
约翰亲王根据他在比较冷静的时刻作出的决定，彬彬有礼地接待了塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦，听到塞德里克说，罗文娜小姐由于身体不适，未能前来参加亲王的宴会时，只是表示了失望，没有动怒。塞德里克和阿特尔斯坦都穿着撒克逊服装，这种服装本身并不难看，它们又都是用贵重衣料做的，然而在式样和外观上，它们又与其他宾客的衣服截然不同，不过约翰亲王看到这种在当时已显得可笑的服饰，还是像沃尔德马·菲泽西一样，强迫自己顾全大局，没有把它当作调笑的材料。其实平心而论，撒克逊人的束腰短上衣和长披风，比诺曼人的服装更美观，也更方便，诺曼人的内衣是长坎肩，它这么宽大，有些像衬衫或者马车夫穿的外衣，外面又罩一件短小的外套，既不能御寒，也不能挡雨，它的唯一目的，似乎只是为了炫耀身上的裘皮、绣花和珠宝工艺，那些心灵手巧的裁缝赋予它们的东西。查理大帝(注)——它们是在他的统治时期开始流行的——似乎对这种衣服式样的不方便也深有感触，曾说道：“我不明白，这些截短的外套有什么好处？我们躺在床上，不能用它作被子；骑在马上，又不能靠它遮挡风雨；坐在椅子上，它又不能保护我们的腿，抵御潮气或寒冷。”
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(注)法兰克王国的一位伟大君主，公元768一814年在位。经过他的统治，法兰克王国扩张成了所谓“查理帝国”，它的版图几乎与西罗马帝国相仿。
然而尽管这位大皇帝对此颇有非议，短外套仍继续风行，直到我们描写的这个时期依然如此，尤其是在安茹家的王孙公子中间。因此约翰亲王的臣僚普遍采用这样的服饰，撒克逊人作为外套穿的长大褂自然会受到相应的嘲笑。
餐桌上堆满了山珍海味，宾客们围坐在它的四周。亲王巡行时随同侍候的许多厨师，费尽心机把平常的食物装点得千奇百怪，就像当今的烹任大师总要把它们弄得面目全非，失去它们的自然形态才行。除了本地出产的菜肴，还有来自国外的各种珍馐美味，大量的精美糕点，以及只有在名门望族的盛大酒筵上才能见到的细巧面包和精致蛋糕。各色名酒，包括本国的和外国的，更是应有尽有，为宴会增色不少。
不过诺曼贵族虽然生活奢华，一般说来在饮食上不是毫无节制的。他们沉湎于灯红酒绿之中，但要求的是高雅精致，不是大吃大喝，相反，他们总是把贪食和酗酒看作撒克逊人的作风，认为这是他们作为战败者的下等地位赋予他们的恶劣品质。确实，约翰亲王，以及他身边那些迎合他的爱好，模仿他的缺点的人，在满足口腹之欲方面都是无所顾忌的；大家知道，这位亲王后来便是因为贪吃桃子和新酿的麦酒，结果导致死亡的。不过，从他的国人的一般作风而言，他的行为毋宁说是一个例外。
诺曼贵族和骑士装出一副谦谦君子的外表，只是有时偷偷使个眼色，要大家注意阿特尔斯坦和塞德里克的粗俗表现，可是阿特尔斯坦和塞德里克不习惯宴会上的那套礼节和规矩，他们没有受过这方面的教育，因此往往违反交际活动中任意制定的一些准则，成为人们嘲笑的目标。而且众所周知，一个人在真正的良好修养或道德方面犯了错误，还能得到谅解，唯独对上流社会的礼数稍有忽略，便会受到指责，成为笑柄。这样，塞德里克用毛巾擦干手，而不是把手在空中轻轻挥动，让水分自行蒸发，便招来了耻笑，似乎这比他的朋友阿特尔斯坦独自狼吞虎咽，把一大块馅饼吃光，更加不雅观。那种馅饼当时称为“杂碎馅饼”，是用国外最精致的食物制作的。不过后来经过仔细盘问，大家却发现，那位科宁斯堡的庄园主——或者诺曼人所说的土财主——根本不知道他吞下的是什么，他把那些杂碎当作了云雀和鸽子肉，其实它们却是用一种小鸣禽和夜鸟肉做的。他对外国这类精致食品的无知，引起了普遍的嘲笑，而大家对他真的不大雅观的狼吞虎咽，反倒不以为意。
漫长的酒筵终于接近了尾声；在觥筹交错中，大家又谈起了这次比武的盛况，那个在弓箭比赛中无人认识的优胜者，那个不愿出头露面，打赢以后便悄然离场的黑甲骑士，还有为赢得荣誉付出了巨大代价的勇士艾文荷，成了议论的中心。人们谈笑风生，以军人的坦率对待这些话题，整个大厅洋溢着欢声笑语。唯独约翰亲王紧锁双眉，闷闷不乐，似乎有什么烦恼压在他心头，只是靠左右人的提醒，他才偶尔对周围的谈话表示一点兴趣。每逢这时，他会一跃而起，仿佛为了振作精神，拿起酒杯，一饮而尽，在别人的话中随意插几句。
现在他说道：“我用这一杯酒，向这次比武的优胜者艾文荷的威尔弗莱德表示祝贺，对他由于伤重未能出席宴会，我感到遗憾。让我们满饮一杯，向他祝贺，尤其要祝贺罗瑟伍德的塞德里克，祝贺这位杰出的父亲生了这么一个前途无量的儿子。”
“不，亲王，”塞德里克答道，站了起来，但是没有喝酒，把酒杯放回了桌上，“我不能承认这个不孝的年轻人是我的儿子，他既不服从我的命令，又不遵守祖宗的规矩和家法。”
“这是不可能的，”约翰亲王假装惊异，喊道，“一个这么英勇的骑士不可能是不守规矩的不孝儿子！”
“然而这个威尔弗莱德确实这样，亲王，”塞德里克答道。“他离开我的家，跟您兄长的那些亲贵重臣混在一起，出外游荡，这才学会了那一身马上功夫，赢得了您的高度赞扬。他的离开是违背了我的意愿和命令的，这在阿尔弗烈德大王的时代，便可称作忤过不孝——是的，这是一种应该严厉惩处的罪行。”
“啊！”约翰亲王答道，深深叹了口气，装出同情的样子，“既然令郎是在我不幸的王兄手下当差，那么不问也可以知道，他是从哪里学会这种忤逆不孝的行为的。”
约翰亲王这么讲，是故意要抹煞一件事：在亨利二世的所有儿子中，虽然没有一个可以免除这种指责，但是从对父亲的忘恩负义和桀骛不驯而言，亲王本人却是其中最突出的一个。(注)
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(注)狮心理查是亨利二世的第三子，约翰是第四子，早在他们的父王在位时，他们就曾为了争夺王位继承权，多次发动叛乱。
“我想，”停了一会他又说，“我的王兄曾提议，把富饶的艾文荷领地赐予他这位宠臣。”
“他是把它赐给他了，”塞德里克答道，“这也是我与我儿子争吵的一个重要原因；那些领地，他的祖先本来享有充分而独立的领主权，他却卑躬屈膝，甘愿作为一个封建藩臣接受赏赐。”
“好一个塞德里克，我们可以批准您的要求，”约翰亲王说，“把这块领地赐予另一个人，这个人是不会为了接受英国王室的封地而降低身分的。雷金纳德男爵，”他转身向牛面将军说道，“我相信你会把这块富饶的领地艾文荷保管好，这样，威尔弗莱德骑士便不致进入那里，引起他父亲的不快了。”
“凭圣安东尼起誓！”那个满脸煞气的大个子军人答道，“我可以向殿下保证，如果塞德里克或威尔弗莱德，或者任何一个英国血统的人，能把殿下赐给我的这块领地从我手中夺走，您可以把我也当作一个撒克逊人。”
这是诺曼人为了表示对英国人的蔑视，经常使用的说法，塞德里克一听不禁大怒，当即答道：“男爵先生，如果有人把你称作撒克逊人，那是大大抬举了你，让你得到了你不该得到的荣誉。”
牛面将军正要回答，但约翰亲王的急躁和轻率使他抢先开了口。
“毫无疑问，”他说道，“各位大臣，高贵的塞德里克讲的是实话；他的种族确实比我们优秀，就像他们的族谱比我们的悠久，他们的外套比我们的长一样。”
“真的，他们在战场上也总是跑在我们前面，就像鹿跑在猎犬前面一样，”马尔沃辛说道。
“他们确实有资格跑在我们前面，”艾默长者插口道，“瞧，他们在宴会上多么文雅，多么懂得礼貌。”
“他们吃东西从容不迫，喝酒从不过量呢，”德布拉西说，忘记了他要娶一位撒克逊新娘的计划。
“而且他们在黑斯廷斯和其他地方都连连得胜，表现得那么勇敢，”布里恩·布瓦吉贝尔说。
那些巨子纷纷效法亲王的榜样，露出得意的微笑，向塞德里克发出了一枝枝嘲笑的毒箭，那个撒克逊人的脸上堆起了怒火，他睁起凶恶的眼睛，瞧瞧这个又瞧瞧那个，仿佛这么多的打击纷至沓来，使他一时不知回答哪个好，就像一头遭到戏弄的公牛，面对周围的许多折磨者，不知该挑选哪一个作他首先报复的对手。最后他开口了，声音气得有些发抖；他把约翰亲王作为他受到的侮辱的主要来源，面对着他说道。；“不论我们撒克逊人多么愚蠢，多么不行，我们还不致这么卑鄙（这对下流无耻的行为是份量最重的一个词），竟然在自己的大厅中，在举起杯子互相敬酒的时候，对一个并无恶意的客人横加戏弄，或者听任别人戏弄他，像亲王今天对待我一样；也不论我们的祖先在黑斯廷斯战场上如何不幸，至少那些不多几个钟头以前，刚在一个撒克逊人的刀枪面前一再滚落马背、死里逃生的人（说到这里他看了看牛面将军和圣殿骑士），还是兔开尊口的好。”
“说真的，这是一个辛辣的玩笑！”约翰亲王答道。“各位，你们觉得怎么样？在这个动乱的时代，我们的撒克逊臣民的勇气和精神都提高了，他们变得头脑灵敏，敢作敢为了。从这个兆头看来，恐怕我们都得赶紧上船，逃回诺曼底才好。”
一因为怕这些撒克逊人？”德布拉西大笑道。一我们不必动用武器，光凭几枝校镖就可以把这些野猪赶上绝路了。”
“各位骑士，你们的胡闹可以收场了，”菲泽西开口道。“殿下，”他继续对亲王说，“应该明确告诉尊贵的塞德里克，这一切只是闹着玩的，并无侮辱他的意思，尽管在一个不了解的人听来，可能觉得有些刺耳。”
“侮辱！”约翰亲王答道，又恢复了彬彬有礼的态度，“我相信，没有人会当着我的面侮辱任何人，我不允许这么做。好啦！我敬塞德里克本人一杯酒，因为他拒绝为他的儿子举杯庆贺。”
祝酒在臣僚中间引起了一片虚情假意的喝采声，但没有在撒克逊人心头产生预期的效果。尽管他的天性并不敏感，那些人对他的领会能力仍然估计得太低了，以为只要这么奉承他几句，便可以抵消先前的侮辱留下的印象。不过他没有作声，听任亲王继续他的祝酒：“我再敬科宁斯堡的阿特尔斯坦阁下一杯。”
那位骑士随即鞠躬还礼，喝干了一大杯酒，表示接受了主人的好意。
“现在，诸位，”约翰亲王又说，连喝几杯后情绪有些激动了，一我们已经公正地对待了我们的撒克逊客人，我们要求他们也对我们的礼遇作出一些回报。”
“尊敬的庄主，”他接着对塞德里克说道，“您能够提出一个不致引起您的反感的诺曼人的名字，并且为他祝酒，表示随着这杯酒，您对诺曼人的一切嫌怨已完全消释了吗？”
在约翰亲王讲话时，菲泽西站了起来，悄悄走到塞德里克的座位背后，小声叮嘱他，不要错过消除两个民族之间的仇恨的机会，提出约翰亲王的名字。撒克逊人没有理睬他怂恿他采取的策略，只是站起身来，把酒杯斟得满满的，面对约翰亲王讲了这么一席话：“殿下要求我提出一个值得在这次宴会上想起的诺曼人的名字。这也许是一件棘手的任务，因为这是要奴隶为他的主子唱赞歌，要受尽欺凌的被征服的战败者，为征服他的人唱赞歌。然而我还是可以提出一个诺曼人，一个在武功和地位上都高人一等，在他的民族中也出类拔革的优秀人物。如果谁拒绝与我一起为他应得的荣誉祝酒，我得认为这是错误而不公正的，我要一辈子坚持这点。我用这杯酒祝狮心工理查健康长寿！”．
约翰亲王一直以为他自己的名字会出现在撒克逊人这篇讲话的最后，现在突然听到他那位受损害的兄长的名字跳了出来，不禁吃了一惊。他机械地举起酒杯，在唇边碰了一下，随即又放下了。他观看着那些臣僚对这个出乎意料的提议的反应；许多人觉得反对或附和都不保险，有些人是老奸巨滑，便完全照亲王的样子行事，把酒杯举到唇边碰一下，随即放下。但也有不少人怀着豪迈的心情高喊：“理查王万岁！祝他早日返回祖国！”只有几个人，其中包括牛面将军和圣殿骑士，露出闷闷不乐、不屑理睬的神情，听任面前的杯子放在桌上，没有动一下。然而没有一个人敢于公开反对为当今在位的国王祝福。
这一胜利使塞德里克扬扬得意，高兴了一会，然后对他的朋友说道：“起来吧，尊贵的阿特尔斯坦！我们在这儿已待得太久，对约翰亲王的盛情款待也报答过了。如果谁想对撒克逊人的粗俗作风了解得更多的话，只得请他们光临舍间，好好观察了，而我们对诺曼人的高贵宴会和礼貌，已领教得够了。”
他一边说一边站了起来，离开了宴会大厅，阿特尔斯坦和另外几个客人跟他一起走了，这几个人都是带有撒克逊血统的，约翰亲王和他的臣僚们的嘲笑也使他们感到受了侮辱。
“凭圣托马斯的遗骨起誓，”约翰亲王等他们走后说道，“这些撒克逊土包子今天占了上风，他们凯旋而归了！”
“酒喝过了，欢呼也欢呼过了，”艾默长老道，“现在得离开这些酒瓶子了。”
“修士大概今晚还得听哪位美人的忏悔，才这么忙不迭的要走吧，”德布拉西说。
“不然，骑士先生，”修道院长答道，“要知道我还得连夜赶好几英里路，才到得了家呢。”、’
“他们打算散伙了，”亲王小声对菲泽西说，“大家心里害怕，预感到大事不妙，这个胆小的长老是第一个想溜之大吉的。”’“
“不用担心，殿下，”沃尔德马说，“我会说服他，使他看到这事与他利害攸关，让他参加我们在约克城举行的会议。院长阁下，”他又道，“在您骑马离开以前，我必须与您单独谈谈。”
现在其他客人都匆匆走了，留下的只是直接参与约翰亲王一派的人和他的随从。
“瞧，这都是你出的好主意，”亲王满面怒容，转身对菲泽西说，“结果让我在自己的宴会上。遭到了一个喝醉的撒克逊乡巴佬的愚弄，大家一听到我那位兄长的名字，便慌忙要离开我，好像我是一个麻风病人。”
“耐心一些，殿下，”他的谋臣答道，“我认为您的指责不对，毛病还是出在您自己轻举妄动，把我的计划搅乱了，也妨碍了您作出清醒的估计。但现在不是互相埋怨的时候。德布拉西和我得马上出动，到那些胆小的动摇分子中间去说服他们，让他们相信，现在要后退已为时太晚了。”
“这没有用，”约翰亲王说，在屋里走来走去，脚步摇摇晃晃，显得心神不定，不过一部分也是喝酒太多造成的，“这没有用，他们看到了墙上写的字(注)——发现了狮子走过沙滩的脚印，听到了它正在临近的震动树林的吼叫；现在已无法再鼓舞起他们的勇气了。”
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(注)指不祥的预兆。据《圣经》说，巴比伦王伯沙撒在大宴群臣时看到了一只手在墙上写的字，预示巴比伦的末日已到；后来这事果然应验了。（见《但以理书》第5章）
“最重要的是他自己得鼓起勇气来！”菲泽酉对德布拉酉说。“谁一提到他哥哥的名字，他便发抖呢。一个亲王不能在顺利和不顺利的时候，同样保持勇气和毅力，那么他的大臣们非遭殃不可！”