CHAPTER 1 BABY DRINA
CHAPTER 1 BABY DRINA
“Elizabeth would be a good name for her，”said the Duke of Kent. “Elizabeth was the greatest woman who ever sat on the throne of England. The English people are used to the name，and they like it.”
“But would the Emperor Alexander be pleased? ”asked the Duchess. “If he is to be godfather，ought she not to be named for him? ”
“Alexandra? No，Alexandrina，”said the Duke thoughtfully. “Perhaps you are right. ‘Queen Alexandrina’has a good sound，and the day may come when the sovereign of England will be as glad of the friendship of the Emperor of Russia as the Regent is today.”
“Are you so sure，Edward，that she will be a sovereign? ”asked his wife with a smile.
“Doesn't she look like a queen? ”demanded the Duke. “Look at her golden hair and her blue eyes！There，see how she put her hand out，just as if she was giving a command！I don't believe any baby a week old ever did that before. The next time I review the troops she shall go with me. You're a soldier's daughter，little one. Come and see the world that you are to conquer.”He lifted the tiny baby，much to the displeasure of the nurse，and carried her across the room to the window that looked out upon Kensington Garden. “Now，little one，”he whispered into the baby's ear，“they don't believe us and we won't talk about it，but you'll be queen some day.”
“Is that the way every father behaves with his first baby? ”asked the Duchess.
“They're much alike，your Grace，”replied the nurse rather grimly，as she followed the Duke to the window with a blanket on her arm. The Duke was accustomed to commanding thousands of men，and every one of them trembled if his weapons and uniform were not spotless，or if he had been guilty of the least neglect of duty. In more than one battle the Duke had stood so firmly that he had received the thanks of Parliament for his bravery. He would never have surrendered a city to an attacking army，but now he had met his match，and he laid the baby obediently in the nurse's arms.
The question of a name for the child was not yet decided，for the wishes of someone else had to be considered，and that was the Prince Regent，the Duke's elder brother，George. He thought it proper that his niece should be named Georgiana in honor of himself.
“Georgiana let it be，”said the Duke of Kent，“her first name shall be Alexandrina.”
“Then Georgiana it shall not be，”declared the Prince Regent. “No niece of mine shall put my name second to any king or emperor here in my own country. Call her Alexandrina Alexandra Alexander，if you choose，but she'll not be called Alexandrina Georgiana.”
When the time for the baptism had arrived，the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London came to Kensington in company with the red velvet curtains from the chapel at St. James’and a beautiful golden bowl，which had been taken from the Tower for the baptism of the royal baby. The Archbishop and the Bishop，the Prince Regent，and another brother of the Duke of Kent，who was to represent the Emperor of Russia as godfather，all stood together. The godmothers were the child's grandmother and aunt，and they were represented by English princesses. All the royal family were present.
After the prayers had been said and the promises of the sponsors made，the Archbishop took the little Princess in his arms and，turning to the godfathers and the godmothers，he said：“Name this child.”
“Alexandrina，”responded the Duke of York.
“Give her another name，”bade the Duke of Kent in a low tone.
“Name her for her mother，then，”said the Prince Regent to the Archbishop，and the baby was called Alexandrina Victoria.
It made little difference to either the Duke or the baby how the Prince Regent might feel about her name，for the Duke was the happiest of fathers，and the little Drina，as the Princess was called，was a merry，sweet-tempered baby. Everyone at Kensington loved her，and over the sea was grandmother，the Dowager Duchess of Coburg，who could hardly wait for the day to come when she would be able to see the child.
“How pretty the little Mayflower will be，”she wrote，“when I see it in a year's time.”Another letter said：“The English like queens，and the niece of the beloved Princess Charlotte will be most dear to them.”Princess Charlotte was the only child of Prince George，and the nation had loved her and longed to have her for their queen. She had married Leopold，the brother of the Duchess of Kent，and had died only two years before“Princess Drina”was born.
The succession to the English crown was in a peculiar condition. The king，George Ⅲ，had become insane，and his oldest son，George，was ruling as Prince Regent. If the Regent lived longer than his father，he would become George Ⅳ. His next younger brother was Frederick，Duke of York；then came William，Duke of Clarence；and then the Duke of Kent. George and Frederick had no children，and William's baby girl died on the very day that the Princess Alexandrina was born. If these three brothers died without children，the Duke of Kent would become king；but even then，if the Duke should have a son，the law was that he，rather than the daughter，should inherit the crown. The baby Princess，then，stood fifth in the succession to the throne，and a child born to any one of these three uncles，or a son born to her father，would remove her still further from rule.
The English people had talked of all these possibilities. The Duke of Kent had also several younger brothers，but they were all middle-aged men，the youngest forty-five，and not one of them had a child. If all the children of George Ⅲ died without heirs，the English crown would descend to a line of Germans who had never walked on English soil. “We have had one king who could not speak English，”said the people，“and we do not want another.”The Duke of Kent was a general favorite among them，and they hoped that he，and after him his daughter，would become their ruler. Indeed，they hoped for this so strongly that they began to feel sure that it would come to pass.
When the Princess was six months old，the family set out for Sidmouth. Kensington was becoming cold and damp，and the precious baby must not be risked in the London chills of the late autumn. The Duchess，moreover，had devoted herself so closely to her child that she needed a change and rest.
At Sidmouth the house was so small that it was called“hardly more than a cottage，”but it was a nest of sunlight，and the baby Princess was well and strong. “She is too healthy，I fear，”wrote the Duke，“in the opinion of some members of my family by whom she is regarded as an intruder.”
Whenever the Duke had been away from the house，his first thought on returning was always the little daughter. One morning he took a long walk in the rain. He was hardly over the threshold on his return before he called，“Where's my daughter? Bring little Drina.”
“But，Edward，”the Duchess objected，“your boots must be wet through. Won't you change them first? You will surely be ill.”
“Soldiers aren't ill，my lady，”replied the Duke，laughing. “I never was ill in all my life. Where's my queen? ”
An hour of play with the merry baby followed. But then came a chill，and the strong man was overcome with swelling of the lungs. A messenger was sent to London to bring a famous doctor，but when he came the Duke was dead. “I could have done nothing else，”said the great man，“except to bleed him much more than you have done.”
Prince Leopold had come to Sidmouth a day or two earlier，and he went with the Duchess and the Princess to London. The villagers gathered about the carriage to bid a silent farewell to the sad company.
“That's the sweetest child in all England，”said one woman，wiping tears from her eyes，“and now the poor little thing will have no father.”
“Have you heard the news from London? ”another said. “The King is very ill，and the Prince Regent will soon be George Ⅳ.”
“Ah！It's too bad that the man that's gone to London in his coffin is the man that I'd have liked to see on the throne.”
So the people in the village talked，and so people were talking throughout the kingdom. After the first sad days were past the question of whether to stay on in England or return to her native land had to be decided by the Duchess and her devoted brother Leopold. The Duchess loved her family and her old home at Amorbach，near Heidelberg，Germany. There she and the Duke had spent the first months of their married life，and nothing would have helped her more to bear her loneliness than a return to the Palace there. She was a stranger in England and she could not even speak the language of the country. The Duke's sisters loved her，and Adelaide，who had been a German princess before she became the wife of the Duke of Clarence，gave her the warmest sympathy in this time of sorrow；but the Regent disliked her and had always seemed indignant at the possibility that his brother's child would inherit the throne. The Regent had now become king，for his father had died on the very day of the Duchess's return to London. Unless a child was born to either the Duke of York or the Duke of Clarence，the baby Princess would become queen at their death. The child who would rule England ought to be brought up in England.
There was something else to be considered，however. When the Duchess was only a girl of seventeen she had become the wife of the Prince of Leiningen，and at his death he had made her sole guardian of their two children，Charles and Feodore. As soon as Charles was old enough he would succeed his father as ruler of Leiningen，but until then his mother was Regent.
“Is it right for me to neglect my duties in Bavaria? ”questioned the Duchess；“Shall I neglect Charles to care for Drina's interest? ”
“Charles will be well cared for，”said Prince Leopold. His people love him already and will be true to him. England is a great kingdom. It is not an easy land to rule. A queen who has grown up in another country will never hold the hearts of the people.”
“True，”said the Duchess. “I must live in England. That is my duty to my child and to her country.”
How the Duchess and her child were to live was a question of much importance. The King could not refuse to allow them to occupy their old apartments in Kensington Palace，but the Duchess had no money. Nearly all the money which her first husband had left her had gone to paying her second husband's debts. Some money had been settled upon her when she married the Duke，but that was so tied up that it would be many months before she could touch it. The only plea that she could make to the King would be on the ground that her child might become his heir，and nothing would have angered him so much as to suggest such a thing. Whatever Parliament might appropriate to the Princess would be given against the wishes of the King，and there would，at any rate，be a long delay. It was a strange condition of affairs. The child would probably have millions at her command before many years had passed，but for the present there was no money even to pay the wages of the servants for their care of her.
It was Prince Leopold who came to the rescue. He was not rich，but he was glad to help his sister as much as possible，and after the death of the Duke of Kent he made her and her children his first care.
It was decided，then，that the Duchess would remain in England，and that Kensington Palace should become the home of the Princess Alexandrina Victoria. This was a large，comfortable-looking home，and had been a favorite home of several of the English sovereigns.
The life at Kensington was very quiet. No one would have guessed from seeing the royal baby that the fate which lay before her was different from that to be expected for any other child who was not the daughter of a Prince.
The little girl was happy，but life was hard for the mother. She had given up her home and her friends，and now she had to give up even her own language，for English and not German must be her child's mother tongue，and she set to work bravely to conquer the mysteries of English. Her greatest comfort in her loneliness was the company of the Duchess Adelaide，wife of the Duke of Clarence. For many weeks after the death of the Duke of Kent，the Duchess drove to Kensington every day to spend some time with her sister-in-law. When the Princess was about a year and a half old，a little daughter was born to the Duchess Adelaide，but in three months she was again childless. She had none of the royal brothers’jealousy of the baby at Kensington，and she wrote to the Duchess of Kent，“My little girls are dead，but your child lives，and she shall be mine，too.”
注释
Drina德琳娜（亚历山德琳娜的爱称）
Duke[djuːk]n. 公爵（尤指英国贵族五等爵中具有最高等级身份的人，也可用于指某些欧洲国家统治独立公国的国君。注：其余四等为：侯爵、爵伯、子爵、男爵。）
throne[θrəun]n. 王座，君主，王权
Duchess[´dʌtʃis]n. 公爵夫人
godfather[´ɡɔdfαːðə（r）]n. 教父
regent[´riːdʒənt]n. 摄政王：在君主因年幼、生病等无能力执政期间代理政务的人
conquer[´kɔŋkə]vt. 征服，战胜
displeasure[dis´pleʒə]n. 不愉快，不满意
alike[ə´laik]adj. 相似的
Grace大人，夫人（与his，her，或your连用，作为公爵，公爵夫人或大主教的头衔或称谓）
grimly[´ɡrimli]adv. 严厉地，冷酷地
accustomed[ə´kʌstəmd]adj. 习惯于的，适应的（常用结构：be accustomed to＋名词或动名词）
e.g. She is not accustomed to the new life abroad.
spotless[´spɔtlis]adj. 没有污点的，无瑕的
neglect[ni´ɡlekt]n. 忽视，疏忽
parliament[´pαːləmənt]n. 议会（尤指英国由上议院和下议院构成的国家立法机关），国会
surrender[sə´rendə]vt. 交出，放弃，投降
obediently[əu´biːdiəntli]adv. 服从地，顺从地
prince[prins]n. 王子，亲王，王室中非君主的男性成员，尤指君主的儿子
second（to）次于（second adj. 位居第一之后的，其后常接to）
baptism[´bæptizəm]n. （基督教）洗礼，浸礼
archbishop[´αːtʃ´biʃəp]n. 大主教（最高级别的主教，领导一大主教区或一个省）
bishop[´biʃəp]n. 主教（基督教高等牧师，在现代教堂主管一个教区）
velvet[´velvit]n. 丝绒，天鹅绒
chapel[´tʃæp∂l]n. 小教堂，（医院、监狱的）附属教堂
royal[´rɔi∂l]adj. 王室的，皇家的
represent[ˌrepri´zent]vt. 代表
e.g. We chose a committee to represent us. 我们选出一个委员会来代表我们。
godmother[´ɡɔdmʌðə（r）]n. 教母
princess[pri´ses]公主，王妃，王族女性成员
sponsor[´spɔnsə]n. 教父，教母
bid[bid]vt. 吩咐（某人做某事）（其过去式为bade或bid，过去分词为bidden）
e.g. Do as you are bidden. 按吩咐你的去做。
tone[təun]n. 音调，语调
make a difference（to）有关系/影响；make a great difference（to）有很大影响，很重要；make no/little difference（to）对…没有/没什么关系
sweet-tempered adj. 性情温和的
-tempered[-´tempəd]adj. （用以构成复合词）有气质的，有脾气的
e.g. good-tempered好脾气的；hot-tempered脾气暴躁的
over the sea was grandmother，...这是一个倒装句，将主语置于系动词后，以便紧接其后的同位语。
the Dowager Duchess公爵遗孀（dowager n. 因亡夫之地位而持有称号或财产的寡妇）
Coburg[´kɔbəːɡ]科堡：德国中部城市，在纽伦堡北面
succession[sək´seʃ∂n]n. 继承，继任（其后常接to）；in succession to继…之后（担任），继位（任）
e.g. be first in succession to the throne王位的第一继承人
peculiar[pi´kjuːljə]adj. 特别的，特有的
e.g. Language is peculiar to mankind. 语言是人类所特有的。
George Ⅲ：乔治三世（读作：George the third）
insane[in´sein]adj. 患精神病的
e.g. go insane发疯
inherit[in´herit]vt. 继承
heir[ɛə]n. 继承人，后嗣
descend（from/to）[di´send]v. （王位、财产等）传给，遗传
e.g. He（is）descended from a good family. 他出自名门。
line[lain]n. 家系，血统
e.g. He comes from a long line of bankers. 他来自银行世家。
a line of monarchs皇族
come to pass发生，实现
damp[dæmp]adj. 潮湿的
chill[tʃil]n. 寒冷
e.g. There is quite a chill in the air this morning. 今天早晨的空气颇有寒意。
moreover[mɔː´rəuvə]adv. 而且，此外
intruder[in´truːdə]n. 闯入者，入侵者，妨碍者
threshold[´θreʃhəuld]n. 门槛，门口
surely[´ʃuəli]adv. 一定地，想必
e.g. He'll surely fail. 他必定失败。
swelling[´sweliŋ]n. 肿大，肿胀
messenger[´mesindʒə]n. 使者，送信人
e.g. The robin is the messenger of spring. 知春鸟是报春的使者。
“I could have done nothing else，”said the great man，“except to...”该句中“said the great man，”是插入语，原句为：“I could have done nothing else except to...”
bleed[bliːd]v. 放血，流血
bid[bid]vt. 祝愿，说（问候、打招呼等的话）
e.g. bid farewell道别，辞行；bid sb. welcome欢迎某人
farewell[fɛə´wel]n. 再见，离别（常用于修饰另一个名词）
e.g. a farewell party/dinner告别晚会/宴会
coffin[´kɔfin]n. 灵柩，棺材
indignant[in´diɡnənt]adj. 气愤，愤慨的
the Prince of Leiningen莱宁恩公国君王（prince也用于指世袭王室统治者，尤指小国国王）欧洲封建时代的诸侯国家称作公国，以公爵为国家元首。
sole[səul]adj. 唯一的
guardian[´ɡαːdiən]n. 监护人
Bavaria[bə´vɛəriə]n. 巴伐利亚（位于德国南部，昔时为一独立王国）
be true to（sb. ）忠实/忠诚于（某人）
occupy[´ɔkjupai]vt. 在…居住，占用
settle（sth. on/uponsb. ）[´setl]vi. 依法获得或转让（财产或权利）
e.g. He settled part of his estate on his son. 他把部分财产转让给儿子了。
tie up管制，冻结（金钱、财物）
plea[pliː]n. 请求，借口，托辞
on the ground（s）以…为理由ground n. 理由，原因
e.g. Her claim was disallowed on the ground（s）that she had not aid her premium. 她要求赔款遭到拒绝，原因是她没有交纳保险费。
appropriate[ə´prəupriit]vt. 拨出（作特殊用途）
e.g. appropriating funds for education拨款作教育基金
at any rate无论如何，无论情况是什么；rate n. 比率，费用
at/by one's command受某人指挥，奉某人之命
e.g. I'm here at the King's command. 在下奉谕旨至此。
come to the rescue前往救援/救助
rescue[´reskjuː]n. 援救，营救
fate[feit]n. 命运
mystery[´mist∂ri]n. 神秘，神秘的事物
jealousy[´dʒeləsi]n. 嫉妒，羡慕；jealous adj. 常与of搭配使用
e. g. She is jealous of other people's success.