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075 The Two Rings
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
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- Vir
- Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
- Avtor
- Charles M. Skinner
- Jezik branja
- Slovenščina
- Jezik izvirnika
- English
- Čas branja
- 3 min branja
- Obseg
- 2 strani
- Naslov izvirnika
- 075 The Two Rings
O izvirniku
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
Obsežna zgodovinska zbirka ameriških legend, ki jih je Skinner zbral in avtorsko rekonstruiral. Bralni jezik je Slovenščina, izvirnik pa prihaja iz vira Myths and Legends of Our Own Land v jeziku English.
Besedilo
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Gabrielle de St. Pierre, hči poveljnika utrdbe Le Boeuf, današnjega Waterforda v Pensilvaniji, ki so jo Francozi postavili ob reki Ohio, je bila po rojstvu in vzgoji Parižanka, po lastni izbiri pa Američanka, saj je na tem samotnem obmejnem ozemlju uživala prav tolikšno svobodo kakor rdečelični mešanci z velikimi rokami in je bila pri svojih igrah divja kakor Indijanka. Ko se je nekega dne vračala z lova, je zagledala tri može, ki so se bližali po stezi, in ker je bilo takoj jasno, da niso Francozi, je njen vodnik položil puščico na tetivo in jo izstrelil; toda Gabrielle je bila prav tako hitra kakor on, saj je udarila po puščici v trenutku, ko je zapuščala lok, in ta se je neškodljivo zapičila v bukev ter zatrepetala. Mlajši izmed prihajajočih mož — bil je Harry Fairfax iz Virginije — je rekel svojemu vodji: »Spet si ušel smrti, George. Nebesa so poslala enega svojih angelov, da je odvrnil ta strel.«
Washington, kajti to je bil on, je lahkotno odgovoril, in ker ni bilo več nobenih sovražnih dejanj, so prišleki nadaljevali pot do utrdbe, kjer jih je St. Pierre prisrčno sprejel, čeprav je vedel, da so prišli v imenu Angležev zahtevati njegovo ozemlje in pozvati Francoze, naj se umaknejo proti jugozahodu. Dnevi, ki so jih prebili v jalovih pogajanjih, so za Fairfaxa minili vse prehitro, saj se je zaljubil v Gabrielle. V zaroko ni hotela privoliti, dokler čas ne bi preizkusil njegove ljubezni, vendar mu je v znamenje prijateljstva podarila kamnit prstan indijanske izdelave, v zameno pa prejela prstan, ki ga je nekoč nosila Fairfaxova mati.
Po vrnitvi diplomatov so Angleži sklenili svojo zahtevo uveljaviti z orožjem in Fairfax je bil med prvimi, ki so jih poslali na bojišče.
Na začetku vojaškega pohoda se je njegova četa spopadla s sovražnikom blizu reke Ohio in v vročici boja je utegnil opaziti nenavadno ravnanje enega izmed francoskih častnikov, komaj doraslega mladeniča, ter se mu začuditi: zdelo se je, da mu je bolj do tega, da bi zadržal streljanje svojih mož, kakor da bi si v boju pridobil kakršno koli prednost. Kmalu so Francozi popustili in Angleži so se z zmagoslavnimi vzkliki pognali naprej, da bi zavzeli bojišče, pri čemer so bolj surovi med njimi nemudoma začeli ropati ranjence. Ob kriku, ki je prosil za milost, je Fairfax planil tja, od koder je prihajal, odrinil roparskega vojaka in se sklonil nad drobno postavo, ki je ležala iztegnjena na tleh: nad mladega častnika, čigar nenavadno ravnanje ga je tako presenetilo. Že naslednji hip je na eni od vitkih rok prepoznal materin prstan. Bila je Gabrielle. Njen oče je padel v boju, ona pa je rešila svojega ljubega.
Čez čas je z zaročencem odšla na njegov dom v Williamsburg v Virginiji in postala gospodarica Fairfaxove graščine. Toda Angležev kot naroda ni nikoli marala in ko sta jo v poznejših letih njena krepka sinova prosila za dovoljenje, da se pridružita kontinentalni vojski, je rada privolila.
Izvirnik
075 The Two Rings
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
Gabrielle de St. Pierre, daughter of the commandant of Fort Le Boeuf, now--Waterford, Pennsylvania, that the French had setup on the Ohio River, was Parisian by birth and training, but American by choice, for she had enjoyed on this lonesome frontier a freedom equal to that of the big-handed, red-faced half-breeds, and she was as wild as an Indian in her sports. Returning from a hunt, one day, she saw three men advancing along the trail, and, as it was easy to see that they were not Frenchmen, her guide slipped an arrow to the cord and discharged it; but Gabrielle was as quick as he, for she struck the missile as it was leaving the bow and it quivered harmlessly into a beech. The younger of the men who were advancing--he was Harry Fairfax, of Virginia--said to his chief, “Another escape for you, George. Heaven sent one of its angels to avert that stroke.”
Washington, for it was he, answered lightly, and, as no other hostile demonstrations were made, the new-comers pressed on to the fort, where St. Pierre received them cordially, though he knew that their errand was to claim his land on behalf of the English and urge the French to retire to the southwest. The days that were spent in futile negotiation passed all too swiftly for Fairfax, for he had fallen in love with Gabrielle. She would not consent to a betrothal until time had tried his affection, but as a token of friendship she gave him a stone circlet of Indian manufacture, and received in exchange a ring that had been worn by the mother of Fairfax.
After the diplomats had returned the English resolved to enforce their demand with arms, and Fairfax was one of the first to be despatched to the front.
Early in the campaign his company engaged the enemy near the Ohio River, and in the heat of battle he had time to note and wonder at the strange conduct of one of the French officers, a mere stripling, who seemed more concerned to check the fire of his men than to secure any advantage in the fight. Presently the French gave way, and with a cheer the English ran forward to claim the field, the ruder spirits among them at once beginning to plunder the wounded. A cry for quarter drew Fairfax with a bound to the place whence it came, and, dashing aside a pilfering soldier, he bent above a slight form that lay extended on the earth: the young officer whose strange conduct had so surprised him. In another moment he recognized his mother's ring on one of the slender hands. It was Gabrielle. Her father had perished in the fight, but she had saved her lover.
In due time she went with her affianced to his home in Williamsburg, Virginia, and became mistress of the Fairfax mansion. But she never liked the English, as a people, and when, in later years, two sturdy sons of hers asked leave to join the Continental army, she readily consented.
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