第15章 THE SPANISH CHAMPION 西班牙战士

The warrior bowed his crested head, and tamed his heart of fire,

And sued the haughty king to free his long-imprisoned sire:

“I bring thee here my fortress keys, I bring my captive train;

I pledge my faith, my liege, my lord—oh! break my father's chain.”

“Rise! rise! even now thy father cornea, a ransomed man this day;

Mount thy good steed, and thou and I will meet him on his way:”

Then lightly rose that loyal son, and bounded on his steed;

And urged, as if with lance in hand, his charger's foaming speed.

And lo! from far, as on they pressed, there came a glittering band,

With one that 'mid them stately rode, as a leader in the land:

“Now haste, Bernardo, haste! for there, in very truth, is he,

The father—whom thy grateful heart hath yearned so long to see.”

His dark eye flashed, his proud breast heaved, his cheek's blood came and went;

He reached that gray-haired chieftain's side, and there dismounting, bent:

A lowly knee to earth he bent, his father's hand he took; —

What was there in its touch that all his fiery spirit shook?

That hand was cold, a frozen thing—it dropped from his like lead;

He looked up to the face above—the face was of the dead;

A plume waved o'er that noble brow—the brow was fixed and white;

He met at length his father's eyes, but in them was no sight!

Up from the ground he sprang, and gazed; but who can paint that gaze?

They hushed their very hearts who saw its horror and amaze:

They might have chained him, as before that noble form he stood;

For the power was stricken from his arm, and from his cheek the blood.

“Father!” at length he murmured low, and wept like childhood then—

(Talk not of grief till thou hast seen the tears of warlike men—)

He thought on all his glorious hopes, on all his high renown

Then flung the falchion from his side, and in the dust sat down;

And, covering with his steel-gloved hand his darkly mournful brow,

“No more, there is no more,” he said, “to lift the sword for now:

My king is false! my hope betrayed! my father—oh! the worth:

The glory, and the loveliness, are passed away from earth!”

Up from the ground he sprang once more, and seized the monarch's rein

A mid the pale and wildered looks of all the courtier train;

And with a fierce, o'ermastering grasp, the rearing war-horse led,

And sternly set them face to face—the king before the dead!

“Came I not forth upon thy pledge, my father's hand to kiss? —

Be still, and gaze thou on, false king! and tell me what is this?

The voice, the glance, the heart I sought—give answer, where are they?

If thou wouldst clear thy perjured soul, send life through this cold clay!

“Into these glassy eyes put light—be still, keep down thine ire! —

Bid these white lips a blessing speak—this earth is not my sire!

Give me back him for whom I strove, for whom my blood was shed!

Thou canst not? —and a king! —His dust be mountains on thy head!”

He loosed the steed—his slack hand fell; upon the silent face

He cast one long, deep, troubled look, then turned from that sad place:

His hope was crushed—his after-fate untold in martial strain—

His banner led the spears no more amidst the hills of Spain!

—MRS. HEMANS (1793-1835).

Words

betrayed,deceived.

bounded,leapt.

Captive,enslaved.

courtlier,knightly.

glittering,sparkling.

glorious,splendid.

grateful,thankful.

haughty,proud.

horror,repugnance.

loveliness,beauty.

martial,warlike.

mournful,sorrowful.

o'ermastering,overpowering.

prejured,forsworn.

ransomed,redeemed.

renown,celebrity.

sternly,auterely.

troubled,disturbed.

wildered,perplexed.

yearned,longed.

Questions

Who was the “warrior” referred to? Who was the “king”? What did the former beg of the latter? What was his father's name? On what condition had the king promised to deliver up Don Sancho? How did he keep his promise? What effect had this event on Bernardo's future?

那战士低下自己高贵的头，把心中的火焰抚灭，

向无上的国王祈求释放他那被长期囚禁的父亲：

“我给您带来了我城堡的钥匙，带来了我的俘虏；

我祈求您，我的陛下，我的君王，我的国王——哦！打开我父亲的锁链吧。”

“平身！平身！你父亲马上就来了，今天他就被赎为自由身；

跨上你那骏马，和我一起去迎接他的到来。”

然后那忠诚的臣子轻轻直起身子，跳上自己的骏马；

快马加鞭，好像手中握着长矛似的，他的战马飞驰向前。

天啊！从远处，他们先前走的时候，传来了叮叮当当的队伍的声响，

在他们中间有一个人威严坐在马上，就像这片土地的领袖一样：

“赶快，博尔纳多，赶快！就在那儿，绝对没错，就是他

父亲——你那颗感恩的心一直以来期望见到的人儿。”

他的黑眼睛闪动着，骄傲的胸脯剧烈起伏着，他的脸颊上血液翻涌；

他到达了白发苍苍的领袖身边，从马上下来俯下身子，

他跪在地上，拿起了父亲的手；

他摸到了什么，让他那炽烈的劲头发生动摇？

是冰冷冰冷的手——从他手中垂落；

他抬头望望那张脸——那分明是死去的人的脸庞；

一阵风吹过那苍老的额头——那额头一动不动，颜色惨白；

他终于看到了父亲的双眼，但它们已经毫无光泽！

他从地上一跃而起，凝望着，可是谁能描画

他凝望的神色呢？

看到这神色中的恐惧和惊讶的人们都静默下来，

他们本来可以在这位高贵的勇士站立前把他锁起来；

因为他双臂无力，脸上毫无血色。

“父亲！”他最后低声呢喃，然后向孩子一样哭泣，

（没看到战士的眼泪的话，不要谈悲伤。）

他想到自己所有光荣的希望，所有高贵的名声，

然后从自己身边抽出了刀，坐在地上。

戴着钢丝手套的手搭在他那深色的忧伤的额头上，

“不能再这样了，不能再这样了”，他说道，“现在应该举起剑来；

我的国王是骗子！他夺走了我的希望，我的父亲——

哦！那些价值，光荣和爱戴，都从世间消失了！”

他再一次从地上一跃而起，抓住了君王的缰绳，

在脸色发白，疑惑不解的群臣中间；

他大喘着气，骑着战马飞奔，

让他们面对国王和死去的人！

“我来到这儿为了亲吻我父亲的手，

镇定些，看看你，撒谎的国王！告诉我，

我寻找的是什么声音，什么眼神，什么心？告诉我答案，

它们在哪里？

如果你不把欺骗的性格改掉的话，我就把你埋进这冰冷的泥土里！

“在那明亮的眼睛前点上灯，镇定些，压下你的怒火！

向这苍白的双唇说一下祝福的话语——这土地不是我的父亲！

把我努力寻找的父亲还给我，因为我是他的血脉！

你做不到吗？你还是国王呢！我要把他的骨灰撒落在你的头顶！”

他停下马，他那松懈的手垂下；向着那静静的脸庞，

他投去了悠长、深沉而复杂的眼神，然后离开这个伤心之地。

他的希望都破灭了，在战士们中间，没有人说起他以后的命运，

他引领戟矛的战旗不再飘扬在西班牙山地的上空！

——赫曼斯夫人（1793-1835）