马斯格雷夫礼典18

“‘You must bear in mind,’ said I, ‘that the royal party made head in England  even after the death of the King, and that when they at last fled they probably  left many of their most precious possessions buried behind them, with the  intention of returning for them in more peaceful times.’

“‘My ancestor, Sir Ralph Musgrave, was a prominent Cavalier and the right-hand  man of Charles the Second in his wanderings,’ said my friend.

“‘Ah, indeed!’ I answered. ‘Well now, I think that really should give us the  last link that we wanted. I must congratulate you on coming into the possession,  though in rather a tragic¹ manner, of a relic² which is of great intrinsic value,  but of even greater importance as an historical curiosity.’

“‘What is it, then?’ he gasped³ in astonishment⁴.

“‘It is nothing less than the ancient crown of the kings of England.’

“‘The crown!’

“‘Precisely. Consider what the Ritual says: How does it run? “Whose was it?”  “His who is gone.” That was after the execution of Charles. Then, “Who shall  have it?” “He who will come.” That was Charles the Second, whose advent⁵ was  already foreseen. There can, I think, be no doubt that this battered⁶ and  shapeless diadem⁷ once encircled the brows of the royal Stuarts.’

“‘And how came it in the pond?’

“‘你一定还记得，’我说道，‘甚至在英王查理一世死后，保皇一党一还在英国进行武装 反抗，而当他们终于逃亡时，他们可能把许多极贵重的财宝埋藏起来，准备在太平时期回国 挖取。’

“‘我的祖先拉尔夫-马斯格雷夫爵士，在查理一世时代是著名的保皇一党一党一员，在查 理二世亡命途中，是查理二世的得力助手。’我的朋友说道。

“‘啊，不错！’我答道，‘现在好了，我看这才真正是我们所要找的最后环节呢。我必须 祝贺你得到这笔珍宝，虽然来得很有悲剧一性一，却是一件价值连城的遗物啊，而作为历史 珍品，其意义更为重大呢。’

“‘那到底是什么东西？’马斯格雷夫惊讶地追问道。

“‘这不是别的，正是英国的一顶古代的王冠。’

“‘王冠！’

“‘丝毫不假。想想礼典上的话吧！它怎么说来着！“它是谁的？是那个走了的人的。”这 是指查理一世被处死说的。然后是“谁应该得到它？那个即将来到的人。”这是指查理二世 说的，已经预见到查理二世要来到赫尔斯通的这座庄园了。我认为，毫无疑问，这顶一破旧 得不成样子的王冠曾经是斯图亚特帝王戴过的。’

“‘它怎么跑到湖里去了呢？’

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

3 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

5 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

6 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

7 diadem   

n.王冠，冕

参考例句：

• The diadem is the symbol of royalty.王冠就是王权的象征。
• Nature like us is sometimes caught without diadem.自然犹如我等，时常没戴皇冠。