Chapter Twelve: Battle, Fire, and Plague in England / 第十二章：英格兰的战争、火灾与瘟疫

Charles Loses His Head / 查理失去头颅

While the English were building trading posts in India, England itself was in turmoil.

当英国人在印度建造贸易站时，英格兰本土正处于动乱之中。

James I, the king of England and Scotland, had died, and his son Charles had inherited the throne. But right from the beginning of his reign, Charles started to make the people of England angry.

英格兰与苏格兰的国王詹姆斯一世去世了，他的儿子查理继承了王位。但从他统治开始，查理就让英格兰人民感到愤怒。

His first mistake was to marry the French princess Henrietta Maria. Henrietta was a beautiful, high-spirited girl, but she was also a devout Catholic who had promised the pope that she would try to spread Catholicism throughout England.

他的第一个错误是娶了法国公主亨利埃塔·玛丽亚。亨利埃塔是一个美丽、活泼的女孩，但她也是一个虔诚的天主教徒，她向教皇承诺要在英格兰传播天主教。

Most Englishmen, especially English Puritans, hated and feared Catholicism. When Charles got ready for his formal coronation ceremony, he was afraid to hold the traditional parade through the streets of London. He thought Puritans might gather along the way and shout out insults!

大多数英国人，特别是英国清教徒，憎恨并恐惧天主教。当查理准备举行正式的加冕礼仪式时，他不敢举行传统的穿越伦敦街道的游行。他担心清教徒可能会聚集在路边高喊侮辱！

Instead, Charles planned to get to the church by sailing down the Thames River on a barge. But the coronation day was filled with chaos. When it was time for the king and queen to leave the palace, Henrietta refused to come out of her room.

相反，查理计划乘坐驳船沿泰晤士河到达教堂。但加冕日充满了混乱。当国王和王后该离开宫殿时，亨利埃塔拒绝走出她的房间。

She declared that she couldn't attend a Protestant ceremony. When Charles's noblemen tried to force her through the door, Henrietta punched her fists through the glass windows of her room!

她宣称不能参加新教的仪式。当查理的贵族试图强迫她出门时，亨利埃塔用拳头打破了房间的玻璃窗！

So Charles went to be crowned all by himself. He paraded out to the Thames, but the royal barge missed its landing and went aground. Charles had to ride in a much smaller boat instead. When he arrived at the church, he tripped at the threshold and nearly fell on his face.

所以查理独自去接受加冕。他向泰晤士河游行而去，但王室驳船错过了着陆点并搁浅了。查理不得不改乘一艘小得多的船。当他到达教堂时，他在门槛处绊倒了，差点脸朝下摔倒。

When he tried to put on the coronation ring, a large jewel fell out of it and disappeared. Near the end of the ceremony, the Archbishop told the gathered crowd to shout, "God Save King Charles"—but since most of them didn't hear him, Charles was greeted with silence. And as the ceremony ended, a small earthquake shook England!

当他试图戴上加冕戒指时，一颗大宝石从戒指上掉下来消失了。在仪式接近尾声时，大主教让聚集的人群高喊"上帝保佑查理国王"——但由于大多数人没有听到，查理只得到了寂静的迎接。当仪式结束时，一场小地震震动了英格兰！

The troublesome coronation was only the beginning of a troubled reign. Like his father James, Charles believed that God had placed him on his throne and that his subjects should obey him without question. But Parliament believed that its members, who represented the people of England, should make the laws.

麻烦的加冕礼只是麻烦统治的开始。像他的父亲詹姆斯一样，查理相信上帝让他登上王位，他的臣民应该毫无疑问地服从他。但议会认为其代表英格兰人民的成员应该制定法律。

When Parliament met after the coronation, it refused to give Charles all of the money he wanted. Charles was furious. He dismissed Parliament and ruled without it for eleven long years! In those years, he fought wars and made laws all by himself.

当议会在加冕后召开时，它拒绝给查理他想要的全部资金。查理非常愤怒。他解散了议会，在十一年漫长的时间里独自统治！在那些年里，他独自发动战争和制定法律。

He even told English and Scottish Christians how to worship God! He passed so many restrictions on Puritans that hundreds left England and went to the American colonies. He forced the Scottish church to use the English prayer book and ceremonies.

他甚至告诉英格兰和苏格兰的基督徒如何崇拜上帝！他对清教徒施加了如此多的限制，以至于数百人离开英格兰前往美洲殖民地。他强迫苏格兰教会使用英格兰的祈祷书和仪式。

The Scots hated this English command. In one Scottish church, the minister had to bring two loaded pistols with him and point them at the congregation while he read the English prayer book!

苏格兰人憎恨这个英格兰命令。在一个苏格兰教会里，牧师不得不带着两把装弹的手枪，在他读英格兰祈祷书时将枪指向会众！

But while Charles was making the Scots and the English Puritans hate him, he was also running out of money. At the end of eleven years, he was forced to call Parliament back into session to beg for more cash. This Parliament refused to dissolve when Charles became angry. Because it went on meeting for eight years, it became known as the Long Parliament.

但是，当查理让苏格兰人和英格兰清教徒憎恨他时，他也在耗尽资金。十一年后，他被迫召回议会开会以乞求更多现金。这个议会在查理愤怒时拒绝解散。因为它持续开会八年，所以被称为长期议会。

The Long Parliament wanted to pass laws that would limit Charles's power. But as time went on, the Long Parliament started to bicker with itself instead. The Puritans and non-Puritans in Parliament spent more and more time arguing about whether or not the Church of England was pure enough.

长期议会想要通过法律限制查理的权力。但随着时间的推移，长期议会开始内部争吵。议会中的清教徒和非清教徒花费越来越多的时间争论英格兰教会是否足够纯洁。

Soon, Parliament was spending most of its time talking about God—not Charles. Charles could see that the Puritan members of Parliament were irritating the other members. So he assembled five hundred soldiers and marched into Parliament, hoping to arrest the five Puritans who were his fiercest enemies.

很快，议会把大部分时间都花在谈论上帝上——而不是查理。查理看到议会中的清教徒成员在激怒其他成员。所以他集结了五百名士兵冲进议会，希望逮捕五名最强烈的清教徒敌人。

But the Puritans, warned ahead of time, were gone! Charles and his soldiers faced five empty seats. Embarrassed, Charles snapped, "The birds have flown!" and strode back to his palace. This was a mistake.

但是清教徒们提前得到警告已经走了！查理和他的士兵面对的是五个空座位。尴尬的查理厉声说道："鸟儿飞走了！"然后大步走回他的宫殿。这是一个错误。

When the news spread that Charles was willing to use his English army against other Englishmen in order to get his own way, more and more people turned against him. Charles realized that a rebellion was about to explode all around him. He fled from London and went up to the north of England, where his most loyal noblemen lived. The Puritans in Parliament took control of London.

当消息传开说查理愿意用他的英格兰军队对付其他英格兰人以达到自己的目的时，越来越多的人反对他。查理意识到叛乱即将在他周围爆发。他逃离伦敦，前往英格兰北部，那里住着他最忠诚的贵族。议会中的清教徒控制了伦敦。

Civil war had begun!

内战开始了！

For six years, Charles's supporters, called Cavaliers, fought against supporters of Parliament, called Roundheads (because of their Puritan haircuts). Charles had most of the regular army on his side, but the Roundheads organized their own army, using the most modern weapons and training methods. This New Model Army was commanded by the most fervent Puritan of all, Oliver Cromwell.

六年来，查理的支持者被称为骑士党，与议会的支持者圆颅党（因为他们的清教徒发型）作战。查理拥有大部分正规军队，但圆颅党组织了自己的军队，使用最现代的武器和训练方法。这支新模范军由最狂热的清教徒奥利弗·克伦威尔指挥。

Two years after the war began, Cromwell helped lead the Roundheads into battle against Charles's soldiers at a place called Marston Moor. Twenty thousand Scotsmen marched to fight for the Roundheads—because the Roundheads had promised the Scots that, if they won, they could use their own prayer book.

战争开始两年后，克伦威尔帮助率领圆颅党在一个叫马斯顿荒原的地方与查理的士兵战斗。两万苏格兰人为圆颅党而战——因为圆颅党承诺苏格兰人，如果他们获胜，可以使用自己的祈祷书。

Charles's army was defeated. Afterward, Oliver Cromwell wrote to his brother, "Truly England and the Church of God hath had a great favour from the Lord....Give glory, all the glory, to God."

查理的军队被击败了。随后，奥利弗·克伦威尔写信给他的兄弟："真正地，英格兰和上帝的教会得到了主的极大恩惠……把荣耀，所有的荣耀，都归给上帝。"

This victory was the end of Charles's power. He avoided capture for months, but finally gave up and surrendered. The Roundheads put the king in jail. They had won the civil war!

这次胜利结束了查理的权力。他躲避俘获数月，但最终放弃并投降了。圆颅党把国王关进监狱。他们赢得了内战！

But Oliver Cromwell was worried. From his prison, Charles was constantly sending messages to his supporters, begging them to rise up and put him back on his throne. The Long Parliament itself wasn't sure what to do with Charles. Many of the non-Puritan members thought that Parliament should make an agreement with Charles and rule alongside of him.

但奥利弗·克伦威尔很担心。从监狱里，查理不断向他的支持者发送消息，乞求他们起义并让他重新登上王位。长期议会本身也不确定如何处理查理。许多非清教徒成员认为议会应该与查理达成协议并与他一起统治。

Cromwell wanted Charles and his tyranny gone for good. He and the other Puritans marched the New Model Army into Parliament and drove out everyone who had sympathy for Charles! Only about sixty members were left. This "purified" Parliament became known as the Rump Parliament, because only part of it was left!

克伦威尔希望查理和他的暴政永远消失。他和其他清教徒率领新模范军冲进议会，赶走了所有对查理有同情的人！只剩下大约六十名成员。这个"净化"的议会被称为残余议会，因为只剩下了一部分！

The Rump Parliament decided that England would only be at peace if Charles were dead. It charged Charles with treason against his own country. A trial was planned. Soldiers were assigned to guard the court from angry supporters of the king. Remembering the Gunpowder Plot, they searched the cellars. The presiding judge got himself a hat lined with steel, just in case someone might try to shoot him!

残余议会决定只有查理死了英格兰才会和平。它指控查理犯有对自己国家的叛国罪。计划进行审判。士兵被派去保护法庭免受国王愤怒支持者的攻击。想起火药阴谋，他们搜查了地窖。主审法官给自己准备了一顶内衬钢板的帽子，以防有人试图射杀他！

When Charles was brought into the court, he refused to answer any questions. But plenty of witnesses testified against him. "The said Charles Stuart," announced the court, "...trusted with a limited power to govern...for the good and benefit of the people....hath traitorously and maliciously levied war against the present Parliament, and the people therein represented....[M]uch innocent blood of the free people of this nation hath been spilt."

当查理被带到法庭时，他拒绝回答任何问题。但许多证人作证反对他。法庭宣布："前述查理·斯图亚特……被委托有限的权力来治理……为了人民的利益和福祉……叛逆且恶意地对现议会发动战争，以及其中代表的人民……这个国家自由人民的大量无辜鲜血已被洒出。"

The court declared Charles guilty and led him away. Three days later, on January 30th, 1649, the king of England was led out of his jail, toward a scaffold built in the center of London. The morning was dark and cold. As he walked toward the black-draped scaffold, drums beat mournfully.

法庭宣布查理有罪并带走了他。三天后，在1649年1月30日，英格兰国王被从监狱中带出，走向建在伦敦中心的断头台。那天早晨又黑又冷。当他走向黑布覆盖的断头台时，鼓声哀伤地敲打着。

Charles climbed up and took off his cloak, handing it to an official who stood nearby. "Wait until I give you the sign," he said to the executioner. "Yes, Your Majesty," the executioner answered. Charles put his head on the block. "I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown," he said. In a moment, he stretched his hand to the executioner—who swung his axe. Some of the people who crowded around were weeping; others cheered.

查理爬了上去，脱下他的斗篷，递给站在附近的官员。"等我给你信号，"他对刽子手说。"是的，陛下，"刽子手回答。查理把头放在砧板上。"我从会朽坏的王冠走向不朽的王冠，"他说。片刻后，他向刽子手伸出手——刽子手挥舞着他的斧头。围观的一些人在哭泣；其他人在欢呼。

The executioner held up Charles's head. "This is the head of a traitor!" he shouted out. For the first time in a thousand years, no king ruled in England.

刽子手举起查理的头。"这是一个叛徒的头！"他喊道。一千年来第一次，英格兰没有国王统治。

Cromwell's Protectorate / 克伦威尔的护国政府

Now that the king was dead, England was no longer a monarchy (a country ruled by a king or queen). The Rump Parliament declared that England had now become a commonwealth (a country where the people rule, by electing leaders who will represent them). Parliament was supposed to listen to the people of England and pass laws that the English wanted.

现在国王死了，英格兰不再是君主制（由国王或王后统治的国家）。残余议会宣布英格兰现在成为了共和国（人民通过选举代表他们的领导人来统治的国家）。议会应该倾听英格兰人民的意见并通过英国人想要的法律。

But the Commonwealth got off to a bad start. Many Englishmen and women hoped that Parliament's first action would be to reform (change for the better) the courts in England. It cost a tremendous amount of money to go to court, and the laws were so complicated that most English citizens had to hire expensive lawyers to help them. Only rich people could make full use of the courts.

但共和国一开始就很糟糕。许多英国男女希望议会的第一个行动是改革（改善）英格兰的法庭。上法庭要花费大量金钱，法律如此复杂，以至于大多数英国公民不得不雇用昂贵的律师来帮助他们。只有富人才能充分利用法庭。

But most of the members of Parliament were lawyers who liked the laws of England just the way they were—complicated and hard to understand. And although the Rump Parliament was supposed to dissolve itself so that new leaders could be elected by the people, it never did. Four years after Charles I was executed, the Rump Parliament was still arguing slowly about whether or not English laws should be changed.

但议会的大多数成员都是律师，他们喜欢英格兰的法律保持原样——复杂且难以理解。虽然残余议会应该自我解散以便人民能选举新的领导人，但它从未这样做。查理一世被处决四年后，残余议会仍在缓慢地争论英格兰法律是否应该改变。

Oliver Cromwell was fed up with Parliament. When one of his generals suggested that Parliament should be made up of hand-picked men, rather than elected representatives, Cromwell agreed. He and his Puritan friends decided that England's government should be an "assembly of saints"—men who agreed with the Puritan cause.

奥利弗·克伦威尔对议会感到厌烦。当他的一位将军建议议会应该由精心挑选的人组成，而不是民选代表时，克伦威尔同意了。他和他的清教徒朋友决定英格兰的政府应该是"圣徒集会"——同意清教徒事业的人。

So Cromwell marched into the Rump Parliament with his soldiers from the New Model Army behind him and declared it dissolved. "You have sat here too long for the good you do!" he shouted. "In the name of God, go!" The soldiers drove the members of the Rump Parliament out at sword-point!

所以克伦威尔率领新模范军的士兵冲进残余议会并宣布其解散。"你们在这里坐得太久，却没有做什么好事！"他喊道。"以上帝的名义，走！"士兵们用剑尖赶走了残余议会的成员！

Just like Charles, Cromwell had used an English army to threaten other Englishmen. But Cromwell believed that his use of force pleased God. "Perceiving the spirit of God so strong upon me," he remarked later, "I would not consult with flesh and blood at all."

就像查理一样，克伦威尔用英格兰军队威胁其他英格兰人。但克伦威尔相信他使用武力是为了取悦上帝。"感受到上帝的灵如此强烈地在我身上，"他后来说，"我根本不会咨询肉体和血气。"

Now that Parliament had been dissolved by force, Cromwell and his army generals appointed a new Parliament, made up of 139 men "fearing God and of approved fidelity and honesty." This Parliament became known as the Barebones Parliament, after one of its members, a Puritan minister named Praise-God Barebones. It was also called the Nominated Assembly, because its members were hand-picked, or "nominated," by Cromwell.

现在议会被武力解散了，克伦威尔和他的军队将军们指定了一个新议会，由139名"敬畏上帝且被认可忠诚诚实"的人组成。这个议会被称为白骨议会，以其一位名叫"赞美上帝·白骨"的清教徒牧师成员命名。它也被称为指定集会，因为其成员是由克伦威尔精心挑选或"指定"的。

Cromwell still called England a commonwealth, but now it was being ruled by his own hand-picked men, not by the people of England. Six months later, this Nominated Assembly of men loyal to Cromwell passed a new bill. This bill announced, "Parliament now gives all of its powers to Oliver Cromwell, to act on behalf of the people of England!"

克伦威尔仍然称英格兰为共和国，但现在它是由他自己精心挑选的人统治的，而不是由英格兰人民统治。六个月后，这个由忠于克伦威尔的人组成的指定集会通过了一项新法案。这项法案宣布："议会现在将其所有权力交给奥利弗·克伦威尔，代表英格兰人民行事！"

Oliver Cromwell had become the new king of England. He was never called "king." Instead, he was given the title Lord Protector of England. And he was supposed to call Parliament every two years and listen to what the members of Parliament advised him to do.

奥利弗·克伦威尔成为了英格兰的新国王。他从不被称为"国王"。相反，他被授予英格兰护国公的头衔。他应该每两年召集议会并听取议会成员给他的建议。

But Cromwell certainly seemed like a king. He moved his family into the royal palace. The ceremony to make him Lord Protector looked an awful lot like a coronation ceremony. His advisors often called him "Your Highness." And when Parliament refused to do exactly what he said, he scolded its members, telling them that he spoke for God and that they were opposing God Himself when they opposed the Lord Protector.

但克伦威尔确实看起来像一个国王。他把家人搬进了王宫。让他成为护国公的仪式看起来很像加冕仪式。他的顾问经常称他为"殿下"。当议会拒绝完全按照他说的做时，他训斥其成员，告诉他们他为上帝发言，当他们反对护国公时就是在反对上帝本人。

"I undertook this government in the simplicity of my heart and as before God...to do the part of an honest man," he explained. "I speak for God and not for men." When Parliament continued to oppose Cromwell, he announced, "I think...that it is not for the profit of [England], nor for [the] common and public good, for you to continue here any longer. And therefore I do declare unto you, that I do dissolve this Parliament."

"我以我心灵的纯朴和在上帝面前承担这个政府……尽一个诚实人的本分，"他解释说。"我为上帝发言，不为人发言。"当议会继续反对克伦威尔时，他宣布："我认为……对于[英格兰]的利益，也不为了[共同]和公共利益，你们继续待在这里不再合适。因此我向你们宣布，我解散这个议会。"

Cromwell had the power to dismiss Parliament and the power to rule England as he pleased. But his power didn't make him popular. He directed his soldiers to break up all of the royal regalia used to crown kings (the crown, scepter, coronation ring, and bracelets)—and even though many Englishmen had hated Charles, they also disliked seeing these English treasures destroyed.

克伦威尔有权解散议会和按自己的意愿统治英格兰的权力。但他的权力并没有让他受欢迎。他指示士兵们打碎所有用于加冕国王的王室珍宝（王冠、权杖、加冕戒指和手镯）——尽管许多英国人憎恨查理，他们也不喜欢看到这些英格兰珍宝被毁坏。

He allowed his army to wreck churches which seemed too "Catholic." So wherever the New Model Army went, stained glass was broken, beautiful wooden carvings and statues were hacked apart, and lead ornaments were melted and made into bullets. And Cromwell made his Puritan convictions the law of the land. He believed that playing cards was ungodly—so cards became illegal. He thought that going to plays was ungodly—so all of the theatres in England were closed. He believed that God approved only of hymns—so the English were allowed to sing only hymns.

他允许他的军队破坏看起来太"天主教"的教堂。所以无论新模范军走到哪里，彩色玻璃被打破，美丽的木雕和雕像被砍成碎片，铅装饰品被融化制成子弹。克伦威尔让他的清教徒信念成为国家法律。他相信打牌是不敬神的——所以纸牌变成非法的。他认为看戏是不敬神的——所以英格兰所有的剧院都被关闭。他相信上帝只赞成赞美诗——所以英国人只被允许唱赞美诗。

Cromwell became so unpopular that, three years after he became Lord Protector, an anonymous booklet was published, encouraging someone to assassinate him! But no one needed to assassinate Cromwell, because he was already growing ill. He had been wounded in battle many times and had never truly recovered. And he was suffering from malaria. When his favorite daughter died, in the fourth year of the Protectorate, Cromwell became even sicker with grief.

克伦威尔变得如此不受欢迎，以至于在他成为护国公三年后，出版了一本匿名小册子，鼓励某人暗杀他！但没有人需要暗杀克伦威尔，因为他已经在生病了。他在战斗中多次受伤，从未真正康复。他还患有疟疾。当他最喜爱的女儿在护国政府第四年去世时，克伦威尔因悲伤而病得更重。

In September of 1658, Oliver Cromwell died. He was embalmed so that he could have a royal funeral, with his body lying in state while all of England filed past to see him one last time. But the embalming didn't work. Cromwell's body was too disgusting to put on view! So it was hastily buried in Westminster Abbey, and a wax figure was put on display. Afterward, an empty coffin was the center of a huge funeral. One observer remarked, "[It was] the joyfullest funeral that I ever saw; for there was none cried but dogs."

在1658年9月，奥利弗·克伦威尔去世了。他被防腐处理以便能举行王室葬礼，他的遗体停灵供全英格兰人最后瞻仰。但防腐处理没有奏效。克伦威尔的遗体太恶心了不能展示！所以它被匆忙埋葬在威斯敏斯特教堂，一个蜡像被展出。之后，一个空棺材成为盛大葬礼的中心。一位观察者说："[这是]我见过的最快乐的葬礼；因为除了狗没有人哭泣。"

Oliver Cromwell's son Richard claimed the title Lord Protector. But the English were tired of the protectorate. It was just like a monarchy—except with more rules! Noblemen who served in the army started to argue with each other about who should rule England next.

奥利弗·克伦威尔的儿子理查德声称获得护国公头衔。但英国人厌倦了护国政府。它就像君主制一样——只是规则更多！在军队中服役的贵族开始互相争论谁应该成为英格兰的下一任统治者。

One of the army generals realized that England was on the brink of the greatest civil war yet. He marched into London and called the members of the old Long Parliament back into session. This Parliament met together and decided to send a message to Charles I's son, who had fled England and was living in France, far away from Cromwell and his soldiers. "Come back and become king!" Parliament begged. But even while it planned to welcome Charles II back, Parliament also began to pass laws that would restrict the king's power. From now on, English kings would have to answer to Parliament for their actions.

一位军队将军意识到英格兰正处于迄今为止最大内战的边缘。他进军伦敦并召回长期议会的老成员开会。这个议会聚集在一起并决定向查理一世的儿子发送消息，他已经逃离英格兰并住在法国，远离克伦威尔和他的士兵。"回来当国王吧！"议会恳求道。但即使在计划欢迎查理二世回来的同时，议会也开始通过限制国王权力的法律。从现在开始，英格兰国王必须为他们的行为向议会负责。

On May 23rd, 1660, Charles's son, Charles II, returned to England. The English, tired of war and Puritan laws, welcomed him with cheers of joy. The years of the Protectorate were over. The king was back!

在1660年5月23日，查理的儿子查理二世回到了英格兰。厌倦了战争和清教徒法律的英国人用欢呼声欢迎他。护国政府时代结束了。国王回来了！

Plague and Fire / 瘟疫与火灾

Now that Charles II was on the throne, the theatres reopened. England's noblemen crowded to concerts, plays, and balls. The experiment of the Commonwealth had failed, but most Englishmen and women felt relief. The constant battles and upsets of Cromwell's years were finally over! The years of Charles II's reign are now called the Restoration, because England's traditional monarchy was restored to the throne—and England's traditional way of life was restored as well.

现在查理二世登上了王位，剧院重新开放。英格兰的贵族们拥挤到音乐会、戏剧和舞会上。共和国的实验失败了，但大多数英国男女感到宽慰。克伦威尔时代的持续战斗和动乱终于结束了！查理二世统治的年代现在被称为复辟，因为英格兰传统的君主制恢复了王位——英格兰传统的生活方式也得到了恢复。

But although the first years of the Restoration were joyful, catastrophe was just around the corner. London, England's largest city, had grown, and grown, and grown. At the time of the Restoration, London had nearly half a million people living in it! It was filled with rows and rows of wooden buildings, shoved close together. The houses even jutted out over the narrow streets, so that you could reach out your hand from a window and almost touch the house across the way.

但尽管复辟的最初几年是快乐的，灾难就在拐角处。伦敦，英格兰最大的城市，不断地发展、发展、发展。在复辟时期，伦敦有近五十万人居住！它充满了一排排木制建筑，挤得很紧。房屋甚至伸出狭窄的街道上方，以至于你可以从窗户伸出手几乎触摸到对面的房子。

London was both crowded and dirty. Drains and gutters were ancient, often blocked with cracked stones and trash. Filthy water and sewage spread across the streets. Two or three poor families crowded into single rooms.

伦敦既拥挤又肮脏。排水沟和阴沟很古老，经常被破裂的石头和垃圾堵塞。污水和污水蔓延到街道上。两三个贫困家庭挤在单个房间里。

Just four years after Charles II's triumphant return, ominous rumors began to spread: A few men had died of plague on the far edges of London. The plague, also called the Black Death, was no stranger to Londoners. Londoners had died from plague before—and in great numbers. London's packed, filthy streets were the perfect place for disease to spread!

就在查理二世凯旋归来四年后，不祥的谣言开始传播：几个男人在伦敦远郊死于瘟疫。瘟疫，也被称为黑死病，对伦敦人来说并不陌生。伦敦人以前就死于瘟疫——而且数量很大。伦敦拥挤、肮脏的街道是疾病传播的完美场所！

So Londoners waited, holding their breath, for news of more illness. They hoped desperately that the plague would simply die away. "It appeared to be only in the outskirts of the town," wrote the Lord Chancellor of London, "and in the most obscure alleys, among the poorest people."

所以伦敦人屏住呼吸等待更多疾病的消息。他们迫切希望瘟疫会简单地消失。"它似乎只在城镇的外围，"伦敦的大法官写道，"在最偏僻的小巷里，在最贫穷的人中间。"

But soon horrible news filtered through London's taverns. Whole families were dying. And the sickness was spreading across the city. By Christmas, thousands of Londoners were dying every week. The plague raged on and on for months. By June of the following year, the sickness had spread into the city's center.

但很快可怕的消息通过伦敦的酒馆传播开来。整个家庭都在死亡。疾病正在全城蔓延。到圣诞节时，每周有数千伦敦人死亡。瘟疫肆虐了数月。到第二年六月，疾病已经蔓延到市中心。

Londoners tried to flee into the country, but villagers drove them away, terrified that they might bring plague with them. In London, few dared to venture from their houses. "Shops are shut in," wrote one Londoner, "…very few [people] walk about, insomuch that the grass begins to spring in some places, and a deep silence is almost every place, especially within the walls."

伦敦人试图逃到乡下，但村民们把他们赶走了，害怕他们可能带来瘟疫。在伦敦，很少有人敢冒险离开他们的房子。"商店都关门了，"一位伦敦人写道，"……很少有[人]走动，以至于草在一些地方开始生长，几乎每个地方都有深深的寂静，特别是在城墙内。"

So many people died that London began to run out of room to bury the dead. "The Churchyards are now so stuffed with dead bodies," another London observer wrote, "that in many places they are two or three feet higher than they were before." Men were hired to pull huge wagons called plague carts through the streets, shouting, "Bring out your dead!" so that the bodies could be collected and dumped into huge pits.

死了这么多人，伦敦开始没有地方埋葬死者了。"教堂墓地现在塞满了尸体，"另一位伦敦观察者写道，"在许多地方，它们比以前高出两三英尺。"人们被雇来拉着叫做瘟疫车的巨大马车穿过街道，喊着"拿出你们的死人！"以便尸体能被收集并倾倒到巨大的坑里。

The English writer Daniel Defoe was only a child during the plague, but he used the stories of others to write an account of the plague. He wrote, "London might well be said to be all in tears....The Plague defied all medicines; the very physicians were seized with it, with their [medicines]...in their mouths....There was scarce any passing by the streets but that several dead bodies would be lying here and there upon the ground....Death reigned in every corner."

英国作家丹尼尔·笛福在瘟疫期间只是个孩子，但他用其他人的故事写了瘟疫的记述。他写道："伦敦可以说是全城哭泣……瘟疫无视所有药物；医生们自己也被感染了，嘴里含着他们的[药物]……几乎不能经过街道而不看到几具尸体到处躺在地上……死亡统治着每个角落。"

The people of the seventeenth century didn't know that the Plague was spread by the fleas who lived on rats. Indeed, they thought that animals made the plague worse—but the wrong animals. The mayor of London ordered all dogs and cats killed. That meant that there were more rats, more fleas—and more plague! Samuel Pepys, an English aristocrat who kept a diary of these years, wrote, "Little noise [was] heard day or night but the tolling of [funeral] bells."

十七世纪的人们不知道瘟疫是由生活在老鼠身上的跳蚤传播的。实际上，他们认为动物使瘟疫变得更糟——但是错误的动物。伦敦市长下令杀死所有的狗和猫。这意味着有更多的老鼠，更多的跳蚤——更多的瘟疫！塞缪尔·佩皮斯，一位英国贵族，记录了这些年的日记，写道："除了[葬礼]钟声，日夜都听不到什么声音。"

Finally, the plague began to die away. It had raged for a year. Over two hundred thousand people had died—two out of every five people in London! But as Christmas drew near, shops began to re-open. People once again walked in London's streets. Slowly, London was returning to normal.

最终，瘟疫开始消退。它肆虐了一年。超过二十万人死亡——伦敦每五个人中有两个！但当圣诞节临近时，商店开始重新开放。人们再次在伦敦街道上行走。慢慢地，伦敦正在恢复正常。

But less than nine months later, another tragedy struck. Late one September evening, in the year 1666, the king's baker was stoking his fire for the night in his bakery, in Pudding Lane. A coal fell out, unnoticed, and began to burn its way into a stack of brushwood nearby. The floor caught fire, and then the walls. The bakery dissolved into flames.

但不到九个月后，另一场悲剧降临了。在1666年九月的一个晚上，国王的面包师在布丁巷的面包房里为夜晚添火。一块煤掉了出来，没有被注意到，开始燃烧附近的一堆柴火。地板着火了，然后是墙壁。面包房被火焰吞噬。

The fire spread to the baker's house nearby. Soon the Lord Mayor of London himself was woken by his servants and told that a fire was burning in London. True, only two houses were alight—but because London's wooden houses were so dry and close together, small fires could spread quickly. The Lord Mayor had been sound asleep, and he was cranky. He got grumpily into his coach and rattled down to Pudding Lane. He got out, walked down to the fire, and gazed at it. "Pish," he said. "A woman could put that out." And he got back into his coach and ordered it back home.

火蔓延到附近面包师的房子。很快伦敦市长本人被仆人叫醒，被告知伦敦有火灾。确实，只有两栋房子着火——但因为伦敦的木房子如此干燥且靠得很近，小火可以迅速蔓延。市长一直在熟睡，他很暴躁。他愠怒地上了马车，颠簸着到布丁巷。他下车，走到火边，凝视着它。"呸，"他说。"一个女人都能扑灭这个。"然后他回到马车，命令回家。

But barely had the Lord Mayor disappeared down Pudding Lane than the fire spread to the house next door—and then the house next to that. The summer had been dry, and the wind was blowing the flames along Pudding Lane. Some of the people in nearby houses collected their precious belongings and carried them to the stone church nearby, where they might be safe from flames.

但市长刚从布丁巷消失，火就蔓延到隔壁的房子——然后是紧挨着的房子。夏天很干燥，风把火焰沿着布丁巷吹送。附近房屋的一些人收集了他们的贵重物品，把它们搬到附近的石头教堂，那里可能安全免受火焰。

Others formed lines down to the Thames River and passed water back up to the blaze in leather buckets, chamber pots, soup bowls, and every other container they could find. But the fire was spreading too quickly! Just down from the bakery, a shipbuilder's house stood, its cellar crammed with barrels of tar used to seal the seams of ships. When the cellar burned, the barrels exploded. The roof of the house blew off. Fire spouted upwards. Bits of burning shingle and wood flew out for dozens of yards and caught other houses on fire.

其他人排队到泰晤士河，用皮桶、便壶、汤碗和他们能找到的每个容器把水传回到火灾现场。但火蔓延得太快了！就在面包房下面，有一个造船工人的房子，地窖里塞满了用来密封船缝的焦油桶。当地窖燃烧时，桶爆炸了。房子的屋顶被炸飞。火焰向上喷射。燃烧的屋瓦和木头碎片飞出几十码，点燃了其他房子。

It was, in the words of Samuel Pepys, an "infinite great fire....Everything, after so long a drought, proving combustible, even the very stones of churches....The churches, houses, and all on fire and flaming at once, and a horrid noise the flames made, and the cracking of houses at their ruin."

正如塞缪尔·佩皮斯所说，这是一场"无穷大的火灾……经过如此长的干旱后，一切都被证明是易燃的，甚至连教堂的石头……教堂、房屋，所有的都同时着火燃烧，火焰发出可怕的声音，房屋毁坏时的爆裂声。"

The fire spread across the city. It burned wharfs, stacks of timber, houses, and even Baynard's Castle, a stone castle filled with wooden furnishings. Taverns, shops, churches were burned. Hundreds of people fled to the enormous stone church at London's center, St. Paul's Cathedral. But the flames swept up the walls, burning timbers and melting the lead in the roof until it ran down toward the river like molten lava. The stones in the walls themselves began to explode from the heat!

火蔓延到全城。它烧毁了码头、成堆的木材、房屋，甚至贝纳德城堡，一个装满木制家具的石头城堡。酒馆、商店、教堂都被烧毁。数百人逃到伦敦中心的巨大石头教堂圣保罗大教堂。但火焰蔓延到墙上，燃烧木材并融化屋顶的铅，直到它像熔岩一样流向河流。墙壁中的石头本身开始因高温而爆炸！

The fire burned for three days. Finally, the soldiers fighting it began to blow up houses in front of it with gunpowder, pulling away the wreckage so that the fire would have no fuel. The wind began to die down. The fire hesitated, and it finally began to flicker out.

火烧了三天。最后，与火战斗的士兵开始用火药炸毁它前面的房屋，清除残骸以便火没有燃料。风开始减弱。火犹豫了，最终开始熄灭。

But four-fifths of London had been burned. Thirteen thousand houses, almost a hundred churches, and almost all official buildings—courts, jails, post offices, printing presses—were gone. Londoner John Evelyn, weeping, wrote in his diary, "London was, but is no more."

但伦敦的五分之四已被烧毁。一万三千栋房屋，近一百座教堂，几乎所有的官方建筑——法庭、监狱、邮局、印刷厂——都消失了。伦敦人约翰·伊夫林哭泣着在他的日记中写道："伦敦曾经存在，但现在不再了。"

[原书插图：伦敦大火的场景图]

📚 Chapter Vocabulary / 本章词汇表

历史专业词汇 / Historical Terms

reign

/reɪn/

中文：统治期
定义：A period during which a monarch rules
例句：Charles's reign was marked by conflict with Parliament.

Parliament

/ˈpɑːrləmənt/

中文：议会
定义：The supreme legislative body of a country
例句：Parliament represented the people of England.

civil war

/ˈsɪvəl wɔːr/

中文：内战
定义：War between citizens of the same country
例句：The English Civil War lasted six years.

monarchy

/ˈmɑːnərki/

中文：君主制
定义：A form of government with a monarch as head
例句：England was no longer a monarchy after Charles I died.

commonwealth

/ˈkɑːmənwelθ/

中文：共和国
定义：A republican form of government
例句：The Commonwealth replaced the monarchy temporarily.

Restoration

/ˌrestəˈreɪʃən/

中文：复辟
定义：The return of monarchy to England
例句：The Restoration brought back traditional English life.

宗教相关词汇 / Religious Terms

Catholic

/ˈkæθəlɪk/

中文：天主教徒
定义：A member of the Roman Catholic Church
例句：Henrietta Maria was a devout Catholic.

Puritans

/ˈpjʊrɪtənz/

中文：清教徒
定义：English Protestant reformers seeking church purity
例句：The Puritans wanted simpler religious practices.

Protestant

/ˈprɑːtəstənt/

中文：新教的
定义：Christian denomination opposing Catholic authority
例句：Charles's coronation was a Protestant ceremony.

worship

/ˈwɜːrʃɪp/

中文：崇拜
定义：Religious reverence and adoration
例句：Charles told people how to worship God.

政治军事词汇 / Political & Military Terms

treason

/ˈtriːzən/

中文：叛国罪
定义：The crime of betraying one's country
例句：Charles was charged with treason against England.

executioner

/ˈeksɪkjuːʃənər/

中文：刽子手
定义：Person who carries out death sentences
例句：The executioner waited for Charles's signal.

Lord Protector

/lɔːrd prəˈtektər/

中文：护国公
定义：Title given to Oliver Cromwell as ruler
例句：Cromwell became Lord Protector of England.

Cavaliers

/ˌkævəˈlɪrz/

中文：骑士党
定义：Supporters of King Charles in the Civil War
例句：Cavaliers fought against the Roundheads.

Roundheads

/ˈraʊndhedz/

中文：圆颅党
定义：Parliamentary supporters in the Civil War
例句：Roundheads were named for their Puritan haircuts.

灾难相关词汇 / Disaster Terms

plague

/pleɪɡ/

中文：瘟疫
定义：A deadly infectious disease
例句：The plague killed thousands of Londoners.

Black Death

/blæk deθ/

中文：黑死病
定义：Another name for bubonic plague
例句：The Black Death was no stranger to London.

catastrophe

/kəˈtæstrəfi/

中文：灾难
定义：A terrible disaster or misfortune
例句：Catastrophe was just around the corner for London.

flames

/fleɪmz/

中文：火焰
定义：Hot burning gases from a fire
例句：The flames spread quickly through London.

日常生活词汇 / Daily Life Vocabulary

baker

/ˈbeɪkər/

中文：面包师
定义：A person who makes bread and cakes
例句：The king's baker was working late that night.

taverns

/ˈtævərnz/

中文：酒馆
定义：Public houses serving alcoholic drinks
例句：News spread through London's taverns.

sewage

/ˈsuːɪdʒ/

中文：污水
定义：Waste water from houses and factories
例句：Sewage spread across London's dirty streets.

timber

/ˈtɪmbər/

中文：木材
定义：Wood prepared for use in building
例句：The fire burned stacks of timber.

📊 处理统计 / Processing Statistics

总词汇标注：72个关键词汇
段落总数：56个双语对照段落
词汇表分类：5个主要类别
涵盖话题：英格兰内战、克伦威尔护国政府、伦敦瘟疫与大火
时间跨度：1625-1666年
JavaScript功能：点击发音已启用