A Child's History of England.73
CHAPTER 17 ENGLAND UNDER EDWARD THE SECOND
King Edward the Second, the first Prince of Wales, was twenty-three years old when his father died. There was a certain favourite of his, a young man from Gascony, named Piers Gaveston, of whom his father had so much disapproved that he had ordered him out of England, and had made his son swear by the side of his sick-bed, never to bring him back. But, the Prince no sooner found himself King, than he broke his oath, as so many other Princes and Kings did (they were far too ready to take oaths), and sent for his dear friend immediately.
Now, this same Gaveston was handsome enough, but was a reckless, insolent [粗鲁], audacious [放肆] fellow. He was detested [厌恶] by the proud English Lords: not only because he had such power over the King, and made the Court such a dissipated place, but, also, because he could ride better than they at tournaments, and was used, in his impudence, to cut very bad jokes on them; calling one, the old hog; another, the stage-player; another, the Jew; another, the black dog of Ardenne. This was as poor wit [俏皮话] as need be, but it made those Lords very wroth; and the surly [坏脾气的] Earl of Warwick, who was the black dog, swore that the time should come when Piers Gaveston should feel the black dog's teeth.
dissipated: spending too much time enjoying physical pleasures such as drinking alcohol in a way that is harmful
impudent: rude and showing no respect to other people =cheeky
wroth: angry. wrath: 愤怒
It was not come yet, however, nor did it seem to be coming. The King made him Earl of Cornwall, and gave him vast riches; and, when the King went over to France to marry the French Princess, Isabella, daughter of Philip le Bel: who was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world: he made Gaveston, Regent [摄政] of the Kingdom. His splendid marriage-ceremony in the Church of Our Lady at Boulogne, where there were four Kings and three Queens present (quite a pack of Court Cards, for I dare say the Knaves [红桃J, 王子] were not wanting [缺,少]), being over, he seemed to care little or nothing for his beautiful wife; but was wild with impatience to meet Gaveston again.
When he landed at home, he paid no attention to anybody else, but ran into the favourite's arms before a great concourse [聚集] of people, and hugged him, and kissed him, and called him his brother. At the coronation which soon followed, Gaveston was the richest and brightest of all the glittering company [来宾] there, and had the honour of carrying the crown. This made the proud Lords fiercer than ever; the people, too, despised [鄙视] the favourite, and would never call him Earl of Cornwall, however much he complained to the King and asked him to punish them for not doing so, but persisted in styling [以称号称呼] him plain Piers Gaveston.
六级/考研单词: princess, disapprove, handsome, reckless, fellow, tournament, wit, physics, rude, gorgeous, splendid, parcel, dare, impatient, hug, glitter, despise, punish, persist
