第9章 THE TRIAL BY COMBAT (I) 决斗裁判（一）

Rebecca the Jewess, when condemned to death for sorcery by the Grand Master of the Order of Knights Templars, challenged the privilege of “Trial by Combat,” in proof of her innocence. Her challenge was accepted, and Sir Brian, a valiant Templar, was named the champion of the holy Order.

Rebecca had difficulty in finding a messenger who would undertake to carry a letter to her father, Isaac of York; at last Higg, the son of Snell, a poor cripple whom she had befriended, volunteered his services.

“I am but a maimed man,” he said, “but that I can at all stir is owing to her charitable aid.—I will do thine errand,” he added, turning to Rebecca, “as well as a crippled object can.—Alas! when I boasted of thy charity, I little thought that I was leading thee into danger.”

“God,” said Rebecca, “is the Disposer of all. He can turn back the captivity of Judah even by the weakest instrument. Seek out Isaac of York—here is that will pay for horse and man—let him have this scroll. Farewell! —Life and death are in thy haste.”

Within a quarter of a mile from the gate of the Preceptory the peasant met two riders, whom, by their dress and yellow caps, he knew to be Jews; and, on approaching more nearly, he discovered that one of them was his ancient employer, Isaac of York. The other was the Rabbi Ben Samuel; and both had approached as near to the Preceptory as they dared, on hearing that the Grand Master had summoned a chapter, or meeting of the Order, for the trial of a sorceress.-

“How now, brother?” said Ben Samuel, interrupting his harangue to look towards Isaac, who had but glanced at the scroll which Higg offered, when, uttering a deep groan, he fell from his mule like a dying man, and lay for a minute insensible.

The Rabbi now dismounted in great alarm, and hastily applied the remedies which his art suggested for the recovery of his companion. He had even taken from his pocket a cupping apparatus, and was about to use it, when the object of his solicitude suddenly revived; but it was to dash his cap from his head, and to throw dust on his gray hairs. The physician was at first inclined to ascribe this sudden and violent emotion to the effects of insanity; and, adhering to his original purpose, began once again to handle his implements. But Isaac soon convinced him of his error.

“Child of my sorrow,” he said, “well shouldst thou be called Benoni, instead of Rebecca! Why should thy death bring down my gray hairs to the grave?”

“Brother,” said the Rabbi, in great surprise, “I trust that the child of thy house yet liveth?”

“She liveth,” answered Isaac, “but she is captive unto those men of Be'lial, and they will wreak their cruelty upon her, sparing her neither for her youth nor her comely favour. Oh, she was as a crown of green palms to my gray locks; and she must wither in a night, like the gourd of Jonah! Child of my love! child of my old age! —O Rebecca, daughter of Rachel, the darkness of the shadow of death hath encompassed thee.”

“Yet read the scroll,” said the Rabbi; “peradventure it may be that we may yet find out a way of deliverance.”

“Do thou read, brother,” answered Isaac, “for mine eyes are as fountains of water.”The physician read, but in their native language, the following Words:—

“To Isaac, the son of Adoni'kam, whom the Gentiles call Isaac of York, peace and the blessing of the promise be multiplied unto thee.

“My father, I am as one doomed to die for that which my soul knoweth not —even for the crime of witchcraft. My father, if a strong man can be found to do battle for my cause with sword and spear, according to the custom of the Nazarenes, and that within the lists of Tem'plestowe, on the third day from this time, peradventure our fathers' God will give him strength to defend the innocent, and her who hath none to help her. But if this may not be, let the virgins of our people mourn for me as for one cast off, and for the hart that is stricken by the hunter, and for the flower which is cut down by the scythe of the mower. Wherefore, look now what thou doest, and whether there be any rescue.

“One Nazarene warrior might, indeed, bear arms in my behalf, even Wilfred, son of Ced'ric, whom the Gentiles call I'vanhoe. But he may not yet endure the weight of his armour. Nevertheless, send the tidings unto him, my father; for he hath favour among the strong men of his people, and as he was our companion in the house of bondage, he may find some one to do battle for my sake. And say unto him, even unto him, even unto Wilfred, the son of Cedric, that if Rebecca live, or if Rebecca die, she liveth or dieth wholly free of the guilt she is charged withal.

“And if it be the will of God that thou shalt be deprived of thy daughter, do not thou tarry, old man, in this land of bloodshed and cruelty; but betake thyself to Cordo'va, where thy brother liveth in safety, under the shadow of the throne, even of the throne of Boab'dil the Sar'acen: for less cruel are the cruelties of the Moors unto the race of Jacob than the cruelties of the Nazarenes of England.”

Isaac listened with tolerable composure while Ben Samuel read the letter, and then again resumed the gestures and exclamations of Oriental sorrow, tearing his garments, besprinkling his head with dust, and ejaculating, “My daughter! my daughter!”

“Yet,” said the Rabbi, “take courage, for this grief availeth nothing. Seek out this Wilfred, the son of Cedric. It may be he will help thee with counsel or with strength;for the youth hath favour in the eyes of Richard, called of the Nazarenes the Lion-Heart, and the tidings that he hath returned are constant in the land. It may be that he may obtain his letter, and his signet, commanding these men of blood, who take their name from the Temple, to the dishonour thereof, that they proceed not in their purposed wickedness.”

“I will seek him out,” said Isaac; “for he is a good youth, and hath compassion for the exile of Jacob. But he cannot bear his armour, and what other Christian shall do battle for the oppressed of Zion?”

—Sir W. Scott

Words

availeth,profiteth.

bondage,slavery.

challenged,claimed.

companion,associate.

compassion,pity.

cruelties,atrocities.

deliverance,release.

deprived,bereft.

discovered,found.

dishonour,shame.

ejaculating,exclaiming.

employer,master.

encompassed,surrounded.

gestures,actions.

harangue,speech.

implements,apparatus.

insanity,delirium.

insensible,unconscious.

multiplied,increased.

peradventure,perchance.

physician,healer.

privilege,right.

remedies,restoratives.

solicitude,anxiety.

sorcery,witchcraft.

summoned,called.

volunteered,offered freely.

Questions

What privilege did Rebecca claim when she had been condemned? Who was named the champion of the Temple? Who at last volunteered to carry her letter? Where did he meet Isaac? What effect had the perusal of Rebecca's letter upon the latter? Who accompanied him? Whose help did Rebecca ask him to obtain?

犹太女人丽贝卡，当被骑士团团长因其使用巫术而判处死刑时，挑战决斗裁判的特权，以证明自己的清白。兵团接收了她的挑战，布莱恩爵士——一位英勇的圣殿骑士，被任命为维护神圣秩序的战士。

丽贝卡在万难之中，终于找到一个人，愿意帮她把信带给她的父亲艾萨克·约克，最终，她认识的一个可怜的跛子——斯奈尔的孩子海格，自愿完成这项任务。

“我只是一个残疾人，”他说道，“但是我的所有行动都归功于你对我仁慈的帮助。我将做你吩咐的事，”他转身面向丽贝卡补充道，“像我这样的残疾人，虽然我赞美你的仁慈，但是我不认为我会把你带入危险之中。”

丽贝卡说道：“上帝是处置一切的人。他甚至可以用最无理的手段，把犹大给带走。找到艾萨克·约克，让他看看这个卷轴。这是用来支付你需要的马匹和人手的钱。再见了！我的生死全取决于你的速度了。”

在离开圣殿骑士的大门四分之一英里远的时候，这个农民遇到了两个骑士。从他们的衣着和那显眼的黄帽子上，他可以看出他们是犹太人。他们慢慢地走近了，他发现其中一个是他原来的雇主艾萨克·约克，另一个是拉比本·赛弥尔，他们两人冒险接近圣骑士的领地。他们能够听见骑士团长在宣布一件大事，要对一个女巫进行审判。

“怎么样了，兄弟？”本·赛弥尔打断了他的长篇大论，看向艾萨克。艾萨克只瞥了一眼海格给他的卷轴，然后闷哼了一声。他像一个奄奄一息的人一样，从驴子上掉了下来，一分钟之内都毫无知觉地躺着。

拉比惊恐地下了马，马上对他的同伴实施急救。他甚至从他的口袋里拿出了一个火罐，想要用它。当他关心的同伴突然苏醒过来时，他只能匆忙将他头上戴的帽子拿下来，拂去他苍白的脸颊上的灰烬。起初，这个医生更偏向于将这种突然而强烈的情感归因于精神错乱的影响，而他还是坚持自己原来的打算，开始再一次使用他的工具来治疗他，但艾萨克马上让他相信他弄错了。

“孩子，你受苦了，”他说道，“你应该叫作贝诺尼而不是丽贝卡！为什么你的死亡，会将我的生命也带进坟墓之中？”

“兄弟，”拉比异常惊讶地说道，“我相信你家的孩子还活着。”

“她还活着，”艾萨克说道，“但她被贝利奥的人俘虏了，他们会用尽残忍的手段来虐待她，她的年轻和美丽的容貌都不可能使她得到偏袒。她就像我头上棕榈叶做成的花冠一样。但她一定会在晚上枯萎，像犹大的葫芦一样！我亲爱的孩子啊，我长大的孩子啊，哦，丽贝卡，瑞秋的女儿，死亡的黑暗阴影正笼罩着你！”

“读读卷轴吧，”拉比说道，“如果可能，我们也许会找到一个解救她的办法。”

“你看吧，兄弟，”艾萨克回答道，“因为我的眼睛已经泪如泉涌了。”

医生读着卷轴。卷轴用他们的母语写成，写了如下一段话：

“致艾萨克，安东尼·凯姆的儿子，人们都称其为艾森克·约克。和平和承诺将给你祝福。

“我的父亲，我是注定要死去的，虽然我的灵魂不这么想，我是因为巫术而犯下了罪。我的父亲，如果能够找到一个健壮的人，为了赢得我的官司，根据拿撒勒派的习俗和他们列表里的内容，从现在开始的第三天，用剑和矛为我战斗。也许我们的列祖列宗将赐予他力量，让他去保卫那些无辜的人，去保卫那个没有人可以帮助的她。但如果这些都没有发生，就让我们的人民为我哀悼，因为我得到了解脱。让他们同样为了猎人伤害的驯鹿，为了那些被大镰刀砍掉的花朵而哀悼。因此，看看是否还有什么营救我的方法。

“事实上，一个拿撒勒派的勇士可能会代表我拿起武器，可能是塞德里克的儿子威尔弗雷德。但他也许无法承受他沉重的武器。然而，发一条信息给他，我的父亲。因为他偏袒了他的人民之中的那些强壮之人，因为作为我们的朋友，他同样受到了奴役。他可能会找到一个愿意为我战斗的人。告诉他，甚至告诉塞德里克的儿子威尔弗雷德，就说，不管丽贝卡是活着还是死了，她都完全没有犯下她被判决的这些罪行。”

“如果这是上帝的旨意，要夺走你女儿的性命，那么，我的老父亲，绝对不要逗留！不要逗留在这片血腥而残酷的大地之上。你要尽快去卡多瓦，你的兄弟在那里安全地生活着，生活在王位的庇护之下。因为摩尔人对于雅各的族人，比起英国人来，没有那么残忍。”

艾萨克从容淡定地听完了本·赛弥尔读完这封信，接着，他再一次变成了那个姿势，大声地呼喊着，双手扯裂了自己的上衣，披散着头发，仰天大喊道：“我的女儿！我的女儿！”

“但是，”拉比说道，“鼓起你的勇气，现在我们需要的不是悲伤。找到塞德里克的儿子威尔弗雷德。或许他会给你一些建议和力量。在理查德的眼中，这个青年受到了青睐，被称为拿撒勒的狮心王。他一定会回到这片土地。也许他可以得到他的信和印章，继而命令那些好战的人们，那些从神庙中得到自己名字的人们，他们因此不应该向着邪恶前行。”

“我会找到他的，”艾萨克说，“他是一个好青年，他对于雅各族人的流亡表示同情。但是如果他不能拿起他的武器，而其他的基督徒，会为了锡安族人的受压迫而参与到斗争中来吗？”

——沃尔特·司各特爵士