Lesson 1 The Judge’s Debt

1、About three hundred years ago, there were two little boys at a famous school in London, called Westminster School. Their names were Nicholas and Wake, and although they were quite different in character, they were great friends.

2、Nicholas was a shy, timid boy. He was also very idle, and, I am sorry to say, he did not always speak the truth. Wake, on the other hand, was as upright and honest as the day, and although he was full of fun and mischief, he always owned up if he did anything wrong.

3、One day, when the boys were all seated at their desks in the great hall of the school, the master left the room for a few minutes. As soon as his back was turned, the boys jumped up, and began to play pranks as hard as they could.

4、The hall was divided into two parts by a heavy curtain, and as Nicholas was passing this curtain, he gave it a tug. He did not pull it very hard, but the curtain was old,and, to his horror, a great rent appeared in it.

5、He turned quite white with terror, for the master was a harsh man, and Nicholas knew that he would be punished severely if he were found out. The rest of the boys crowded round him, trying to hide the damage that had been done. At last they arranged the folds of the curtain, so that the rent was hidden, and then they crept back in silence to their seats.

6、Perhaps the stillness made the master think that something had happened, for as soon as he came back, he looked around him, and his eye fell on the ruffled curtain.He went up to it and shook it, and in a moment he saw the great tear.

7、In a stern voice he asked the boy who had done the mischief to stand up. But no one moved. Every boy sat still in his place; no one spoke. Then he began to ask each boy in turn if he had been the culprit.

8、When it came to Nicholas’s turn to be asked, his tongue seemed to cleave to the roof of his mouth. He would gladly have told the truth, but his courage failed him.

9、“I did not do it,” he muttered. The master passed on, and he was left sitting, trembling and miserable, knowing that all his school-fellows knew that he had told an untruth.

10、Wake was sitting not far off. Nicholas was his friend, and he determined to shield him. For he knew that if the master found out that Nicholas had both told a lie and torn the curtain, he would not only be flogged, but he would be turned out of the school as well. And that might ruin his chance in life, for his father was a stern man.

11、So, when Wake was asked, he remained silent, and the master thought that he was guilty. He ordered him to come into the middle of the hall, and gave him a good flogging in the sight of all his school-fellows.

12、When it was over, Wake went back to his seat. His face was flushed, and his hands clenched, but he felt very happy. He had by his generous action saved his friend from the evil result of his wrong-doing. As for the flogging—well, a flogging did not so much matter.

13、But, as you may fancy, Nicholas felt very wretched. He knew that he was a coward,and he knew that all the other boys knew it too. After lessons were over, and they were all in the playground, he noticed how they shunned him, and whispered to one another as he passed; while they carried Wake round the school on their shoulders, to show him what they thought of him.

14、Nicholas crept away to his room, and there Wake found him, crying bitterly. “Oh,Wake !” he sobbed, “I will never, never forget what you have done. You have saved me,for my father would have driven me from home if I had been turned out of the school. I will try to grow more like you, and one day, if I live, I will repay you.”

15、Forty years passed away, and the two little Westminister scholars had long since lost sight of each other. Their ways in life lay far apart. England was divided into two parties. The Royalists had been defeated, and the King, CharleⅠ, had been put to death.The Roundheads were in power, and Oliver Cromwell was ruler of England.

16、Nicholas had become a great lawyer, and as he was a Roundhead, he had been made a judge. Wake, who had always been fond of fighting, had 1become a soldier. He was an officer in the Royalist army.

17、He had been defeated in a battle in the west of England, and, along with other officers,he was put in Exeter prison as he tried for treason. The punishment for treason was death.

18、The day of the trial came on, and the judge whom Cromwell sent down from London was Judge Nicholas. He looked very grand and solemn, as he sat on a raised platform,wearing his white wig, and his scarlet robes trimmed with ermine. Very worn and weary were the poor, mud-stained soldiers, who were led in to receive their sentence.

19、Their names were read out. It was noticed that the judge startled when he heard the name of Colonel Wake.

20、But he had to do his duty. The men before him were guilty, and he sentenced them to death. They were to be shot in four days.

21、But when the trial was over, and the men had been led back to their cells, the judge was strangely troubled. “Is there anyone here who knows this Colonel Wake?” he asked.

22、A man stepped forward. “I do, your worship,” he said.“I knew him when he was a boy.”

23、“Was he at Westminster School?”

24、“Yes,” said the man. “His father lived in London at that time.”

25、The judge hurried to his room. His servant wondered to see him throw off his scarlet robes, and toss aside his wig. He threw down a handful of silver on the table.

26、“Fetch me meat and drink,” he said, “and then go out and get me a horse, and, let me remind you, it should be the swiftest horse in Exeter.”

27、Two hours later, a rider, booted and spurred, galloped out of the old town, and turned his horse’s head towards London. The watchman at the gate looked at him as he passed, but he did not know the stately judge, who had sat all day in the town hall,robed in scarlet and ermine. And yet it was he, riding for dear life, to save the life of his friend.

28、On and on he rode. All through that night, through the next day, and through the next night, he went as fast as the horse could gallop. He stopped only three times, and each time it was to get a fresh horse. All the way he repeated one sentence over and over again: “Let me be in time; only let me be in time.”

29、He arrived in London in the morning, and went straight to the great ruler’s house.Cromwell stared as the mud-stained rider was shown into his room.

30、“It is Judge Nicholas!” he said in surprise. “What has caused your worship to ride in such a haste?”

31、“I have an old debt to pay,” said the judge, “and I come to you to ask liberty to pay it.” Then he told the story of the torn curtain, and how Wake had shielded him from blame.

32、“It was not only the flogging that he saved me from, my lord,” he went on. “He set me an example, and he made me think. I saw the difference between a coward and a brave boy. I determined from that day that I would never tell another lie, and, thank God, I have succeeded. Whatever good there is in me today is due to my friend’s example.

33、“And now, unless your lordship pardons him, he must die in two days—or I must.For if you cannot grant his pardon, at least grant me leave to suffer in his stead.”

34、The tears stood in Cromwell’s eyes. Without a word he took pen and paper, and wrote out a free pardon. “Take it,” he said, handing it to the judge. “In such a matter as this, I cannot refuse you.”

35、Once more Judge Nicholas flung himself on his horse’s back, and galloped away.He forgot how stiff his limbs were, and how tired he was. For had he not the precious paper safe inside his coat?

36、When he arrived in Exeter, he lost no time in going to the prison, and demanding to be taken to Colonel Wake’s cell. You can fancy how the condemned man looked at him, wondering, as Cromwell had done, what his visitor wanted.

37、But he soon found out. Pulling the pardon from his pocket, the judge handed it to him, and then, with a sob, he flung his arms round the soldier’s neck. “You have forgotten me,” he said, “and I deserved to be forgotten. But I have never forgotten you, or what you did for me, and, thank God, I have been able to keep the promise that I made long ago at Westminster School, I have paid my debt.”

(1,618 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Note the reason]Why didn’t Nicholas tell the truth to the master?

A. He knew his friend would cover for him.

B. He was too scared to say anything.

C. He was afraid of the punishment.

2. [Check the details]Wake would be sentenced to death because ______.

A. he publicly criticized the Roundheads B. he had lost his battle as a Royalist C. he had betrayed his country

3. [See the purpose]Nicholas visited Cromwell to ______.

A. ask for permission to free Wake B. ask for permission to let him die C. ask for money to repay his old debt

4. [Note the reason]Cromwell gave Nicholas a free pardon because______ .

A. he had no intention of killing Wake 

B. he was touched by the story of the two 

C. he wanted Wake to do the same for him

Ⅱ. Read for words.

Find underlined words/expressions from the passage to replace the italicized part below:

1. He was seriously injured in the accident.

2. He frankly admitted that he had broken the window.

3. She has been avoiding me lately. I don’t know why.

4. The house is decorated with flowers.

Ⅲ. Writing practice.

Imagine you were Wake, what would you say to Nicholas after being offered freedom?