to the Bass Rock，round whose solid mass the gulls and the geese are always screaming.In it sat a little boy，and a man to whose care he had been intrusted.The boy was a Prince ofScotland，called James，Earl of Carrick；cTHE BASS ROCK.
the man was Sir David Fleming of
Cumbernauld.
Fleming had been deputed by old King Robert of Scotland tocarry the royal child to France，lest Albany，his cruel uncle，should murder him，as there is too much reason to suspect he had done young Rothesay，James‘s brother.
2.Soon afterwards，a ship came sailing to the Bass，and，taking the boy on board，turned her prow southward.Off the coast of Yorkshire，however，some English ships appeared and captured the Scottish vessel.The Prince was taken to the Tower of London，and after some changes of residence was lodged in a tower of Windsor Castle.
a North Berwick.-Now a fashionable watering-place.
b Car’rick.-The southern division of Ayrshire.The title Earl of Carrick descended from Robert the Bruce.
c Cumbernauld‘.-In Dumbartonshire，14miles from Glasgow.
3.The time of his captivity was not wasted.He learned，of course，all the knightly arts of the time-to fence，to ride，to run，to play and sing，to hunt，to shoot with the bow，and to handle the lance in tilt.
4.But he learned more than these customary things.He learned to read and admire the poetry of Chaucer and Gower，the earliest English poets；and，when his mind was filled with the spirit of their verse，he too began to write.In The King’s Quair，a his principal poem，which was written during the time of his imprisonment，he describes the history of a morning in May，which left its mark on his whole life，and had no small share in making him a poet.
5.Awaking from sleep，he began to read a famous book，which King Alfred had translated；but soon tiring of study，he lay down again to think.And of what do prisoners think but of their prison walls and of the free green fields they cannot see？At the sound of the bell，ringing for early prayers，he rose again and went to the window，in order to hear the song of a nightingale that sat on the green boughs of a juniper tree.
6.Below，walking in the garden，he saw a young lady of the Court，who seemed to him the loveliest flower there.Her dress was very rich and splendid.Made of white tissue，it shone with precious stones-pearls，emeralds，and sapphires.Round her white neck was a chain of gold-work，from which hung a ruby shaped like a heart.Her head，all decked with golden spangles，was also adorned with feathers，red，white，and blue，woven into the form of a chaplet.But her personal beauty was far beyond that of her dress；and when，turning her face away，she wandered on out of sight，the poet felt as if day had been turned into night.
7.This is the account we have from King James the First of Scotland concerning the first glimpse he caught of the Lady Joan Beaufort，who afterwards became his wife.Between that May morning and the February day in 1424on which the marriage took place，which made Joan a Queen，James took a share in the war which Henry the Fifth waged in France.
中文阅读
1.一艘小船离开北布里克b的一座小渔村，慢慢向巴斯岩划去，那里常年有许多海鸥和天鹅飞来飞去，阵阵尖叫声此起彼伏。船上坐着一个小男孩，还有一个受托关照这个男孩的男人。这个男孩就是苏格兰王子，也即卡里克c伯爵詹姆士；而这个a The King‘s Quair.-That is，the King’s Book.Quair，or quhair，is the same word as quire，a bundle of paper.
b 北布里克：如今已成为一个著名的温泉胜地。
c 卡里克：即埃尔郡的南部，卡里克伯爵的名号是从罗伯特·布鲁斯承袭而来。
男人就是来自坎伯诺尔德a的大卫·弗莱明。他受老国王的委托陪同这位王子去往法国，以防他残暴的叔叔奥尔巴尼对他下毒手，因为有很多理由相信就是他害死了詹姆士的亲兄弟罗西斯。
2.不久一艘大船也朝巴斯岩驶来，把这个男孩带上了船，然后调转船头向南驶去。但是离开约克郡海岸之后，不一会儿就出现了一些英国舰船，很快就把这艘苏格兰舰船挡获下来。这位王子被关在伦敦塔，后来又几经辗转，囚禁于温莎城堡的一个塔楼中。
3.但他在囚禁期间可没有白白耗费时光，几乎学完了当时骑士需要学习的各方面技能--击剑、骑马、长跑、表演与唱歌、打猎、射箭，以及长矛枪法。
4.不过他所学的还不止于此，他还能读书认字，甚至能品鉴乔叟与高尔b的诗歌，这可是英国最早期的诗歌作品。在他饱读诗书之后，还开始自己写诗。在他于囚禁期间写下的代表作《国王的书》中，他描述了在一个五月的早晨所发生的故事，在他的一生中留下了深深的印记，并让他由此成为了一名诗人。
5.某天一早醒来詹姆士便开始读书，这书乃是阿尔弗雷德大帝翻译的经典之作；但不一会儿他又徒生厌倦，于是放下书本，躺下来陷入沉思。作为一个囚徒，除了反复琢磨监狱的高墙以及那高墙之外的自由绿地之外，他还能想些什么呢？此刻窗外提醒早祷的晨钟响起，他又翻起身来走到窗边，静静凝听不远处栖息在杜松枝桠上的一只夜莺的美妙歌声。
6.就在这时，他看见一位宫女正在楼下的花园中悠闲散步，在他眼里这简直就是一朵美丽的鲜花。她一身华服全由白纱制成，上面还镶嵌着珍珠、绿宝石和蓝宝石，在阳光照耀下光彩夺目。她那洁白如雪的脖子上戴着一条金项链，上面还有一颗心形的红宝石链坠。头上也到处装饰着闪闪发光的金饰片，还有红白蓝的各色羽毛头饰，相互编织成了一个美丽的花环。但她的美貌却远远胜于这些外在服饰，因此当她转过脸去，慢慢走远最后消失于视野之时，窗里的诗人顿时觉得似乎白昼已逝夜晚来临。
7.这就是我们所知的苏格兰王国詹姆士一世与他后来的妻子琼·贝尔福德一见钟情的故事。从这个五月的早晨直到1424年2月大婚琼成为王后期间，詹姆士还参加了亨利五世国王对法国的战争。
a 坎伯诺尔德：位于丹巴顿郡，距离格拉斯哥14英里。
b 高尔：即约翰·高尔（1330~1408），英国著名诗人，也是乔叟的好友之一。--译者注70HENRY V.-MONMOUTH亨利五世--蒙默斯王
1413to 1422A.D.-9years（公元1413~1422年，在位9年）ambition，strong desire.disease，sickness.fatigue，toil.
get possession of，rule over.
lead a new life，do better.
regent，governor.voted，agreed to give.wasted，thinned.
1.When young Henry became King，his first act was to send for his wild friends.He told them that he meant to lead a new life，and begged them to follow his example.He took into his favour the judge who had sent him to prison，and called to his help the wisest and best men in the land.But he treated the Lollards very cruelly，and even put some of them to death.
2.His great ambition was to get possession of France.He thereforeinvaded it with a large army，and took one of the chief sea-ports.But his armyawas soon wasted by disease.On his march to Calais he was met at Agincourtby the French army of 100，000men under the Duke of Orleans.Henry could not raise more than 12，000，and these were almost worn out by hunger and fatigue.
3.During a dark and rainy night Henry‘s little army lay encamped in sight of the French watchfires.The French soldiers passed the night in idle jollity；but Henry，like a wise general，laid down his plans for battle.