7 Queens，Kings，and Princes
7 女王、国王和王子们
Every year we took more and more plays to court at Christmas．In 1598 one of Will's plays was Henry IV．A lot of the play was about the King's son and his friend，Sir John Falstaff．Sir John was old，fat，lazy，drank too much，talked too much，laughed too much．But you had to love him．He was a great favourite with the London playgoers，and there were a lot of Falstaff jokes going round at the time．
每年圣诞节我们要安排愈来愈多的戏剧进宫演出。1598年上演了威尔的一部历史剧《亨利四世》。剧中大多描写亨利四世之子和他的朋友约翰·福斯泰夫爵士两人。约翰爵士已是垂暮之年，身体肥胖，游手好闲，只会酗酒聊天、寻欢作乐，但这个角色挺招人喜欢。他一度成为最受伦敦观众欢迎的人物，那时街头巷尾到处流传着关于福斯泰夫的种种笑料。
After the play，the Queen wanted to speak to Will．
演完戏后，女王传令召见威尔。
‘Why？What have We done wrong？’John Heminges said to me in a very quiet voice．
“怎么啦？我们是否做错事啦？”约翰·海明轻声问我。
‘We'll find out in a minute，’I said．
“我们一会儿就知道了。”我说道。
We all watched while Will walked over to the Queen's chair．She was an old woman，she wore a red wig，and she had black teeth．But she was still a very great queen．And if the Queen was not pleased…
我们目不转睛地看着威尔走到女王的座椅前。女王已是垂暮之年，戴着红色假发，一口黑齿，但又不失女王风度。如果女王一不高兴……
She had a good，strong voice—an actor's voice．We could hear her easily．
女王天生一副演员般的好嗓子，铿锵有力，我们可以很容易地听到她讲话。
‘Mr Shakespeare，she began．Then she smiled，and suddenly you knew why all Englishmen loved the Queen．It was like the sun coming out on a spring morning．
“莎士比亚绅士，”她开口说道，接着启齿一笑，这微笑犹如春天早晨的旭日，我恍然明白，为什么全英国人民如此爱戴女王。
‘Mr Shakespeare，you are the best playwright in England．I enjoyed your play，and I thought that Sir John Falstaff was very funny．I have known many Englishmen like him．Will you write me another play？I would like to see Sir John in love．’
“莎士比亚绅士，你不愧为英国最杰出的剧作家，我非常欣赏你这部戏剧。我觉得剧中的约翰·福斯泰夫非常滑稽诙谐，我认识不少这样的英国人。你能否为我续写一部喜剧？我想看看福斯泰夫谈情说爱。”
When Will came back to us，his eyes were bright，but he was already thinking about it．
威尔回到了我们身边，双眼闪闪发亮，看得出他已在构思了。
‘Don't talk to me，’he said．‘I've got a play to write．’
“暂且别来找我说话，”他说道，“我得着手续写一部戏剧。”
He wrote it in two weeks，and we took it down to Richmond Palace and played it before the Queen on February the 20th．She laughed and laughed at The Merry Wives of Windsor．
两星期后他就把剧本赶写了出来。2月20日我们便到里士满宫为女王演出此剧《温莎的风流娘儿们》，逗得女王开怀大笑。
She didn't have much to laugh about in 1599．There was a lot of trouble in Ireland，and the Queen sent the Earl of Essex with 20，000 men to fight a war．Lord Southampton，Will's friend，went with him．All London came out on to the streets to watch when Essex and his men left for Ireland．Will wrote an exciting play about war that summer，and he put in a word or two about Ireland．That was Henry V，about a very famous English King who fought a war in France．
但1599年时就没多少事能令她开心了。爱尔兰经常发生动乱，女王派遣爱塞克斯伯爵率兵2万去征战，随同出征的还有威尔的好友索桑普敦勋爵。当爱塞克斯率兵出征爱尔兰时，所有的伦敦市民都走上街头夹道欢送。那年夏天，威尔写了一部关于战争的鼓舞斗志的历史剧《亨利五世》，其中有一两处提到了爱尔兰的动乱。这部历史剧描绘了一位在法国征战的功名显赫的英国君主形象。
But Essex was not Henry the Fifth．He didn't know how to fight a war，and he ran away back to England later that year．The Queen never spoke to him again．
爱塞克斯毕竟不是亨利五世，他压根不懂如何作战，不久就逃回英国，女王也从此不再理他。
In September we opened the Globe theatre．It was a grand，new building near the Rose．Will，Richard Burbage，and the others paid for it themselves．It was the best playhouse in London，and soon the most famous．The other companies had good theatres and some good actors，but we had the famous Richard Burbage—and the best plays．
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