A Child's History of England.176

His Sowship's prime Minister, Cecil (for I cannot do better than call his majesty what his favourite called him), was the enemy of Sir Walter Raleigh, and also of Sir Walter's political friend, Lord Cobham; and his Sowship's first trouble was a plot originated by these two, and entered into by some others, with the old object of seizing the King and keeping him in imprisonment until he should change his ministers. There were Catholic priests in the plot, and there were Puritan [清教徒] noblemen too; for, although the Catholics and Puritans were strongly opposed to each other, they united at this time against his Sowship, because they knew that he had a design against both, after pretending to be friendly to each; this design being to have only one high and convenient form of the Protestant religion, which everybody should be bound to belong to, whether they liked it or not. This plot was mixed up with another, which may or may not have had some reference to placing on the throne, at some time, the Lady Arabella Stuart; whose misfortune it was, to be the daughter of the younger brother of his Sowship's father, but who was quite innocent of any part in the scheme. Sir Walter Raleigh was accused on the confession of Lord Cobham - a miserable creature, who said one thing at one time, and another thing at another time, and could be relied upon in nothing. The trial of Sir Walter Raleigh lasted from eight in the morning until nearly midnight; he defended himself with such eloquence [口才], genius, and spirit against all accusations, and against the insults of Coke, the Attorney-General - who, according to the custom of the time, foully [foul:rude and offensive] abused him - that those who went there detesting [憎恶] the prisoner, came away admiring him, and declaring that anything so wonderful and so captivating [fascinating] was never heard. He was found guilty, nevertheless, and sentenced to death. Execution was deferred, and he was taken to the Tower. The two Catholic priests, less fortunate, were executed with the usual atrocity; and Lord Cobham and two others were pardoned on the scaffold. His Sowship thought it wonderfully knowing [shrewd] in him to surprise the people by pardoning these three at the very block [放被砍的头的木块]; but, blundering [careless or stupid], and bungling [笨手笨脚], as usual, he had very nearly overreached [抻着] himself. For, the messenger on horseback who brought the pardon, came so late, that he was pushed to the outside of the crowd, and was obliged to shout and roar out what he came for. The miserable Cobham did not gain much by being spared that day. He lived, both as a prisoner and a beggar, utterly despised, and miserably poor, for thirteen years, and then died in an old outhouse [附属建筑] belonging to one of his former servants.

This plot got rid of, and Sir Walter Raleigh safely shut up in the Tower, his Sowship held a great dispute with the Puritans on their presenting a petition to him, and had it all his own way [完全以他的方式进行] - not so very wonderful, as he would talk continually, and would not hear anybody else [光他说不听别人的] - and filled the Bishops with admiration {sarcasm?}. It was comfortably settled that there was to be only one form of religion, and that all men were to think exactly alike. But, although this was arranged two centuries and a half ago, and although the arrangement was supported by much fining and imprisonment, I do not find that it is quite successful, even yet.

His Sowship, having that uncommonly [very] high opinion of himself as a king, had a very low opinion of Parliament as a power that audaciously [放肆地] wanted to control him. When he called his first Parliament after he had been king a year, he accordingly thought he would take pretty high ground [advantage] with them, and told them that he commanded them 'as an absolute king.' The Parliament thought those strong words, and saw the necessity of upholding [维护] their authority. His Sowship had three children: Prince Henry, Prince Charles, and the Princess Elizabeth. It would have been well for one of these, and we shall too soon see which, if he had learnt a little wisdom concerning Parliaments from his father's obstinacy.

Now, the people still labouring under their old dread of the Catholic religion, this Parliament revived and strengthened the severe laws against it. And this so angered Robert Catesby, a restless Catholic gentleman of an old family, that he formed one of the most desperate and terrible designs ever conceived in the mind of man; no less a scheme than the Gunpowder Plot. {好像在哪里看到过类似的}

六级/考研单词: prime, majesty, plot, imprison, catholic, priest, noble, unite, bind, throne, misfortune, innocent, confess, wretched, midnight, eloquent, genius, insult, accord, foul, rude, abuse, guilt, nonetheless, execute, defer, atrocity, blunder, oblige, roar, beg, despise, miserable, petition, perpetual, bishop, sarcasm, alike, parliament, accordingly, necessity, uphold, princess, dread, revive, restless, conceive, powder