A Child's History of England.41

When intelligence of this new affront [hit in the face, c-o-n-frontation!] was carried to the King in his chamber, his passion was so furious that he tore his clothes, and rolled like a madman on his bed of straw and rushes [穿越要慎重，宋朝才有炒菜的]. But he was soon up and doing. He ordered all the ports and coasts of England to be narrowly watched, that no letters of Interdict might be brought into the kingdom; and sent messengers and bribes to the Pope's palace at Rome. Meanwhile, Thomas à Becket, for his part, was not idle at Rome [也没闲着，这么像中文，莫非狄大人穿越到英国了？], but constantly employed [work自己干，employ雇人干，整。此处employ保留了古意: 自己干] his utmost arts [战争/政治... 艺术] in his own behalf. Thus the contest stood, until there was peace between France and England (which had been for some time at war), and until the two children of the two Kings were married in celebration of it. Then, the French King brought about a meeting between Henry and his old favourite, [省略being?] so long his enemy.

六级/考研单词: intellect, chamber, fury, clothe, straw, bribe, meanwhile, idle, utmost, behalf, thereby, contest

Even then, though Thomas à Becket knelt before the King, he was obstinate and immovable as to those words about his order. King Louis of France was weak enough in his veneration for Thomas à Becket and such men, but this was a little too much for him. He said that à Becket 'wanted to be greater than the saints and better than St. Peter,' and rode away from him with the King of England. His poor French Majesty [queen] asked à Becket's pardon for so doing, however, soon afterwards, and cut a very pitiful figure [cut a figure: 具有某种形象]. soon afterwards不是说queen也很快走掉了，而是说在“两个国王走掉了”这件事之后不久。王后可怜巴巴地去请求阿贝原谅。

[LODCE] save: in the Christian church, to free sb from the power of evil and bring them into the Christian religion. "save my order"应该是教会人士要不受国王和法律管辖的意思。

At last, and after a world of trouble, it came to this. There was another meeting on French ground between King Henry and Thomas à Becket, and it was agreed that Thomas à Becket should be Archbishop of Canterbury, according to the customs of former Archbishops, and that the King should put him in possession of the revenues of that post [position]. And now, indeed, you might suppose the struggle at an end, and Thomas à Becket at rest. No, not even yet. For Thomas à Becket hearing, by some means, that King Henry, when he was in dread of his kingdom being placed under an interdict, had had his eldest son Prince Henry [亨利八世应该不是亨利一世的直系子孙，第8个叫亨利的国王。Anyway, smurf smurf 六级/考研单词 smurf] secretly crowned, not only persuaded the Pope to suspend the Archbishop of York who had performed that ceremony, and to excommunicate the Bishops who had assisted at it, but {also} sent a messenger of his own into England, in spite of all the King's precautions along the coast, who delivered the letters of excommunication into the Bishops' own hands. Thomas à Becket then came over to England himself, after an absence of seven years. He was privately warned that it was dangerous to come, and that an ireful [angry. ire=anger. wrath, fury] knight, named Ranulf de Broc, had threatened that he should not live to eat a loaf of bread in England; but he came.

六级/考研单词: kneel, saint, majesty, wicked, accord, struggle, dread, elder, princess, suspend, ceremony, bishop, precaution, knight, loaf

The common people received him well, and marched about with him in a soldierly way, armed with such rustic weapons as they could get. He tried to see the young prince who had once been his pupil, but was prevented. He hoped for some little support among the nobles and priests, but found none. He made the most of the peasants who attended him, and feasted them, and went from Canterbury to Harrow-on-the-Hill, and from Harrow-on-the-Hill back to Canterbury, and on Christmas Day preached in the Cathedral there, and told the people in his sermon that he had come to die among them, and that it was likely he would be murdered. He had no fear, however - or, if he had any, he had much more obstinacy - for he, then and there, excommunicated three of his enemies, of whom Ranulf de Broc, the ireful knight, was one.

make the most of sth: get as much advantage as you can from a situation while you are able to

As men in general had no fancy for being cursed, in their sitting and walking, and gaping and sneezing, and all the rest of it, it was very natural in the persons so freely excommunicated [随意地被exc...] to complain to the King. It was equally natural in the King, who had hoped that this troublesome opponent was at last quieted, to fall into a mighty rage when he heard of these new affronts; and, on the Archbishop of York telling him that he never could hope for rest while Thomas à Becket lived, to cry out hastily before his court, 'Have I no one here who will deliver [save] me from this man?' There were four knights present, who, hearing the King's words, looked at one another, and went out.

六级/考研单词: march, princess, noble, priest, peasant, feast, preach, cathedral, knight, situate, curse, rage, haste

欲知后事如何，且听下回分解。For what happens next, read the next post.