Lesson 10 The White Ship

King Henr y Ⅰ went over to Normandy with his son Prince William and many servants to have the prince acknowledged as his successor by the Norman nobles,and to contract[1] the promised marriage between him and the daughter of a noble of Anjou. When both these things had been done with great show and rejoicing, everyone prepared to embark[2] for the voyage home.

When all was ready, there came to the king, Fitz-Stephen, a sea-captain, and said: “My king, my father served your father all his life, with his ship, in which your father sailed to conquer England. I beg you to grant me the same office. I have a fair vessel[3] in the harbour here, called the White Ship, manned by fifty sailors of renown[4].I pray you, sir, to let your servant have the honour of taking you in the White Ship to England.”

“I am sorry, friend,” replied the king, “that my vessel is already chosen, and that I cannot therefore sail with the son of the man who served my father. But the prince, with all his company, shall go along with you, in the fair White Ship, manned by the fifty sailors of renown.”

An hour or two afterward, the king set sail in the vessel he had chosen,accompanied by other vessels, and, sailing all night with a fair and gentle wind, arrived upon the coast of England in the morning. While it was yet night, the people in some of the ships heard a faint wild cry come over the sea, and wondered what it was.

The prince went aboard the White Ship with one hundred and forty youthful nobles like himself, among whom were eighteen noble ladies of the highest rank[5]. All this happy company, with their servants and the fifty sailors, made three hundred souls aboard the fair White Ship.

“Give three casks[6] of wine, Fitz-Stephen,” said the prince, “to the fifty sailors of renown. My father the king has sailed out of the harbour. What time is there to make merry here, and yet reach England with the rest?”

“Prince,” said Fitz-Stephen, “before morning my fifty and the White Ship shall over take the swiftest vessel in attendance on your father the king, if we sail at midnight.”

Then the prince commanded to make merry; and the sailors drank out the three casks of wine; and the prince and all the noble company danced in the moonlight on the deck of the White Ship.

When at last she shot out of the harbour of Barfleur, there was not a sober[7]seaman on board. But the sails were all set and the sailors all going merrily, Fitz-Stephen at the helm.

The gay young nobles, and the beautiful ladies wrapped[8] up in overcoats of various bright colours, to protect them from the cold, talked, laughed, and sang. The prince encouraged the fifty sailors to row harder yet, for the honour of the White Ship.

Crash!—a terrific cry broke from three hundred hearts. It was the cry the people in the distant vessels of the king heard faintly on the water. The White Ship had struck upon a rock, and was going down!

Fitz-Stephen hurried the prince into a boat with some few nobles. “Push off,” he whispered, “and row to the land. It is not far, and the sea is smooth. The rest of us must die.”

But, as they rowed away fast from the sinking ship, the prince heard the voice of his sister Marie calling for help. He never in his life had been so good as he was then.He cried, in great pain, “Row back at any risk! I cannot bear to leave her!”

They rowed back. As the prince held out his arms to catch his sister, such numbers leaped in that the boat was turned over. And in the same instant the White Ship went down.

Only two men floated; —a nobleman, Godfrey by name; and a poor butcher[9] of Rouen. By-and-by another man came swimming toward them, whom they knew, when he had pushed aside his long wet hair, to be Fitz-Stephen.

When he heard that the prince and all his servants had gone down, Fitz-Stephen,with a ghastly[10] face, cried, “Woe, woe to me!” and sank to the bottom.

1The other two clung to the yard for some hours. At length the young noble said faintly, “I am exhausted, and benumbed with the cold, and can hold no longer. Farewell,good friend. God save you.”

So he dropped and sank, and of all the brilliant crowd, the poor butcher of Rouen alone was saved. In the morning, some fishermen saw him floating in his sheep-skin coat, and got him into their boat, —the only teller of the sad tale.

For three days no one dared to carry the news to the king; at length they sent into his presence a little boy, who, weeping bitterly, and kneeling at his feet, told him that the White Ship was lost, with all on board.

The king fell to the ground like a dead man, and never afterwards was seen to smile.

(879 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. King Henry went to Normandy for the following reasons EXCEPT___________.

A. to discuss trade agreements with the French nobles B. to discuss the marriage of his son C. to get the acknowledgment of the local nobles for his son

2. Who is Fitz-Stephen?

A. He is the captain of the ship that the king took.

B. He is the captain of the White Ship.

C. He is the son of the captain of the White Ship.

3. What did some of the king’s people hear in the middle of the night?

A. They heard a loud sound from a nearby ship.

B. They heard a little sound of the people crying for help on the White Ship.

C. They heard a little sound of the people laughing and singing on the White Ship.

4. How many people went on board the White Ship?

A. 140. B. 300. C. 504.

5. Why did the White Ship started to sink?

A. Because it hit a rock.

B. Because it had been running too fast.

C. Because the sailors were drunk.

6. How did the prince die?

A. He didn’t get into the lifeboat.

B. He and the other survivors starved to death.

C. His lifeboat was turned over.

7. Who told the king about the death of his son?

A. The only survivor on the ship.

B. One of his servants.

C. A little boy.

8. The author’s purpose of writing this article is___________ .

A. to tell us a story

B. to tell us not to drink and drive

C. to tell us how to survive a shipwreck

Ⅱ. Read for words.

1. King Henry I went over to Normandy with his son Prince William and many servants to have the prince acknowledged as his successor by the Norman nobles... (Para. 1, Line 2)

A. 成功者 B. 继任者 C. 统治者

2. I am exhausted, and benumbed with the cold, and can hold no longer. Farewell,good friend. God save you. (Para. 17, Line 2)

A. extremely tired

B. used up

C. weak and dying

3. The White Ship had struck upon a rock, and was going down! (Para. 11, Line 3)

A. fall B. drop C. sink

4. At length the young noble said faintly, “I am exhausted, and benumbed with the cold, and can hold no longer. Farewell, good friend. God save you.” (Para. 17,Line 1)

A. in detail B. at last C. for a long time

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