C·S·路易斯提示您:看后求收藏(宜小说jmvip2.com),接着再看更方便。

AFTER this,Caspian and his Tutor had many more secret conversations on the top of the Great Tower,and at each conversation Caspian learned more about Old Narnia,so that thinking and dreaming about the old days,and longing that they might come back,filled nearly all his spare hours.But of course he had not many hours to spare,for now his education was beginning in earnest.He learned sword-fighting and riding,swimming and diving,how to shoot with the bow and play on the recorder and the theorbo,how to hunt the stag and cut him up when he was dead,besides Cosmography,Rhetoric,Heraldry,Versification,and of course History,with a little Law,Physic,Alchemy,and Astronomy.Of Magic he learned only the theory,for Doctor Cornelius said the practical part was not proper study for princes.“And I myself,”he added,“am only a very imperfect magician and can do only the smallest experiments.”Of Navigation (“Which is a noble and heroical art,”said the Doctor) he was taught nothing,because King Miraz disapproved of ships and the sea.

He also learned a great deal by using his own eyes and ears.As a little boy he had often wondered why he disliked his aunt,Queen Prunaprismia; he now saw that it was because she disliked him.He also began to see that Narnia was an unhappy country.The taxes were high and the laws were stern and Miraz was a cruel man.

After some years there came a time when the Queen seemed to be ill and there was a great deal of bustle and pother about her in the castle and doctors came and the courtiers whispered.This was in early summertime.And one night,while all this fuss was going on,Caspian was unexpectedly wakened by Doctor Cornelius after he had been only a few hours in bed.

“Are we going to do a little Astronomy,Doctor?”said Caspian.

“Hush!”said the Doctor.“Trust me and do exactly as I tell you.Put on all your clothes; you have a long journey before you.”

Caspian was very surprised,but he had learned to have confidence in his Tutor and he began doing what he was told at once.When he was dressed the Doctor said,“I have a wallet for you.We must go into the next room and fill it with victuals from your Highness’s supper table.”

“My gentlemen-in-waiting will be there,”said Caspian.

“They are fast asleep and will not wake,”said the Doctor.“I am a very minor magician but I can at least contrive a charmed sleep.”

They went into the antechamber and there,sure enough,the two gentlemen-in-waiting were,sprawling on chairs and snoring hard.Doctor Cornelius quickly cut up the remains of a cold chicken and some slices of venison and put them,with bread and an apple or so and a little flask of good wine,into the wallet which he then gave to Caspian.It fitted on by a strap over Caspian’s shoulder,like a satchel you would use for taking books to school.

“Have you your sword?”asked the Doctor.

“Yes,”said Caspian.

“Then put this mantle over all to hide the sword and the wallet.That’s right.And now we must go to the Great Tower and talk.”

When they had reached the top of the Tower (it was a cloudy night,not at all like the night when they had seen the conjunction of Tarva and Alambil) Doctor Cornelius said,

“Dear Prince,you must leave this castle at once and go to seek your fortune in the wide world.Your life is in danger here.”

“Why?”asked Caspian.

"Because you are the true King of Narnia: Caspian the Tenth,the true son and heir of Caspian the Ninth.Long life to your Majesty’—and suddenly,to Caspian’s great surprise,the little man dropped down on one knee and kissed his hand.

“What does it all mean? I don’t understand,”said Caspian.

“I wonder you have never asked me before,”said the Doctor,“why,being the son of King Caspian,you are not King Caspian yourself.Everyone except your Majesty knows that Miraz is a usurper.When he first began to rule he did not even pretend to be the King: he called himself Lord Protector.But then your royal mother died,the good Queen and the only Telmarine who was ever kind to me.And then,one by one,all the great lords,who had known your father,died or disappeared.Not by accident,either.Miraz weeded them out.Belisar and Uvilas were shot with arrows on a hunting party: by chance,it was pretended.All the great house of the Passarids he sent to fight giants on the northern frontier till one by one they fell.Arlian and Erimon and a dozen more he executed for treason on a false charge.The two brothers of Beaversdam he shut up as madmen.And finally he persuaded the seven noble lords,who alone among all the Telmarines did not fear the sea,to sail away and look for new lands beyond the Eastern Ocean,and,as he intended,they never came back.And when there was no one left who could speak a word for you,then his flatterers (as he had instructed them) begged him to become King.And of course he did.”

“Do you mean he now wants to kill me too?”said Caspian.

“That is almost certain,”said Doctor Cornelius.

“But why now?”said Caspian.“I mean,why didn’t he do it long ago if he wanted to? And what harm have I done him?”

“He has changed his mind about you because of something that happened only two hours ago.The Queen has had a son.”

“I don’t see what that’s got to do with it,”said Caspian.

“Don’t see!”exclaimed the Doctor.“Have all my lessons in History and Politics taught you no more than that? Listen.As long as he had no children of his own,he was willing enough that you should be King after he died.He may not have cared much about you,but he would rather you should have the throne than a stranger.Now that he has a son of his own he will want his own son to be the next King.You are in the way.He’ll clear you out of the way.”

“Is he really as bad as that?”said Caspian.“Would he really murder me?”

“He murdered your Father,”said Doctor Cornelius.

Caspian felt very queer and said nothing.

“I can tell you the whole story,”said the Doctor.“But not now.There is no time.You must fly at once.”

“You’ll come with me?”said Caspian.

“I dare not,”said the Doctor.“It would make your danger greater.Two are more easily tracked than one.Dear Prince,dear King Caspian,you must be very brave.You must go alone and at once.Try to get across the southern border to the court of King Nain of Archenland.He will be good to you.”

“Shall I never see you again?”said Caspian in a quavering voice.

“I hope so,dear King,”said the Doctor.“What friend have I in the wide world except your Majesty? And I have a little magic.But in the meantime,speed is everything.Here are two gifts before you go.This is a little purse of gold—alas,all the treasure in this castle should be your own by rights.And here is something far better.”

He put in Caspian’s hands something which he could hardly see but which he knew by the feel to be a horn.

“That,”said Doctor Cornelius,“is the greatest and most sacred treasure of Narnia.Many terrors I endured,many spells did I utter,to find it,when I was still young.It is the magic horn of Queen Susan herself which she left behind her when she vanished from Narnia at the end of the Golden Age.It is said that whoever blows it shall have strange help—no one can say how strange.It may have the power to call Queen Lucy and King Edmund and Queen Susan and High King Peter back from the past,and they will set all to rights.It may be that it will call up Aslan himself.Take it,King Caspian: but do not use it except at your greatest need.And now,haste,haste,haste.The little door at the very bottom of the Tower,the door into the garden,is unlocked.There we must part.”

“Can I get my horse Destrier?”said Caspian.

“He is already saddled and waiting for you just at the corner of the orchard.”

During the long climb down the winding staircase Cornelius whispered many more words of direction and advice.Caspian’s heart was sinking,but he tried to take it all in.Then came the fresh air in the garden,a fervent handclasp with the Doctor,a run across the lawn,a welcoming whinny from Destrier,and so King Caspian the Tenth left the castle of his fathers.Looking back,he saw fireworks going up to celebrate the birth of the new prince.

All night he rode southward,choosing by-ways and bridle paths through woods as long as he was in country that he knew; but afterwards he kept to the high road.Destrier was as excited as his master at this unusual journey,and Caspian,though tears had come into his eyes at saying good-bye to Doctor Cornelius,felt brave and,in a way,happy,to think that he was King Caspian riding to seek adventures,with his sword on his left hip and Queen Susan’s magic horn on his right.But when day came,with a sprinkle of rain,and he looked about him and saw on every side unknown woods,wild heaths,and blue mountains,he thought how large and strange the world was and felt frightened and small.

As soon as it was full daylight he left the road and found an open grassy place amid a wood where he could rest.He took off Destrier’s bridle and let him graze,ate some cold chicken and drank a little wine,and presently fell asleep.It was late afternoon when he awoke.He ate a morsel and continued his journey,still southward,by many unfrequented lanes.He was now in a land of hills,going up and down,but always more up than down.From every ridge he could see the mountains growing bigger and blacker ahead.As the evening closed in,he was riding their lower slopes.The wind rose.Soon rain fell in torrents.Destrier became uneasy; there was thunder in the air.And now they entered a dark and seemingly endless pine forest,and all the stories Caspian had ever heard of trees being unfriendly to Man crowded into his mind.He remembered that he was,after all,a Telmarine,one of the race who cut down trees wherever they could and were at war with all wild things; and though he himself might be unlike other Telmarines,the trees could not be expected to know this.

都市言情推荐阅读 More+
天眼鉴宝师

天眼鉴宝师

叩见陛下
寄人篱下的秦明融合祖传宝珠,获得天眼异能,可观看珍宝古玩的记忆画面,用宝光灵气改造身体,掌握各种不同技能,成为各个领域的宗师高人,玩转都市。亿万财富和万千珍宝,全都进入秦明怀中!...... 《天眼鉴宝师》
都市 连载 500万字
小警养成:边投资边破案

小警养成:边投资边破案

六横
简介:关于小警养成:边投资边破案:史上最不务正业的警察,读警校时赚到了钱,破案时还帮人赚钱,别人都说他精明,其实他一点都不精,反而有点老好人。主人公钱小宝还没当上警察,就阴差阳错抓了好几个坏蛋。若干年后,钱小宝大学毕业回到家乡,开启了自己人生中最光辉的时刻。他说,他当警察没想过要多么轰轰烈烈,他只想和他父亲一样,实实在在地做点好事。
都市 连载 50万字
桑雨

桑雨

青狐娘子
附:【本作品来自互联网,本人不做任何负责】内容版权归作者所有!=================书名:桑雨作者:青狐娘子章节:共 8 章,最新章节:八备注:千叶阁护法准则第一条——誓死护卫阁主。千叶阁护法准则第二条——万事阁主为先。千叶阁护法准则第三条——忍常人所不能,行常人所不能。桑雨终于明白,他不会让自己喜欢的女人挡在前头,而自己的舍命
都市 连载 2万字
深情款款花美男(缘来是你之二)

深情款款花美男(缘来是你之二)

夏乔恩
《深情款款花美男》(缘来是你之二)作者:夏乔恩内容简介:卫冀腾是个风度翩翩、家世良好的补教名师,花美男的长相更是秒杀所有雌性动物,唯韩秀除外,谁教邻居多年,她早已把他的花心面目看清楚!原本大家井水不犯河水,倒也相安无事,岂料他竟打起她的主意,日日献慇勤,风雨无阻,连全镇居民都开始下注他们何时会“有一腿”……她是这么容易动摇的
都市 连载 7万字
高门主母穿成豪门女配

高门主母穿成豪门女配

故筝
顾雪仪出身将门,生前是盛家主母,一人掌着四百余人的大家族,风光无限, 一觉醒来,却被告知穿进了一本书里,成了将要离婚并注定早死的大佬男主的前妻。 看着丈夫宴朝长歪了的三个弟弟,一个妹妹, 顾雪仪一皱眉,想当
都市 完结 78万字
剑舞长冥

剑舞长冥

宁越小茵
剑在哭泣,流的不是泪,而是血。苍茫大地之上,宗门帝国争端不断。北去十万里,魔族肆虐虎视眈眈。上有神明无道,下望群魔乱舞,天翻地覆,沉浮谁主?形单影只,宗门弃徒孤身下山。锈迹斑斓,尘封魔剑重见天日。强者路,漫漫修远。武者心,不变初衷。混沌的时代已然到来,终焉号角响彻苍穹之刻,最后的镇魂魔曲因谁而奏?... 《剑舞长冥》
都市 连载 574万字