JamesI,KingofEnglandintheearly17thcentury,andhisqueenwereoncepresentatacombatbetweenbulldogsandlions,atthattimefrequentinLondon.Oneofthemaidsofhonourtothequeenwasattendedbyayoungman,whowasmuchattachedtoher,butwhomshetreatedwithindifference.Thelady,eithertoprovethestrengthofhispassion,ortogetridofhim,droppedoneofherglovesuponthestage,andturningtothegentleman,affectedtobeextremelyconcernedatherloss.
Theyoungmanknewwhatthismeant,andquittinghisseatverycoolly,walkeduponthestagewithhissworddrawn.Hethenpickeduptheglove,returnedtohisseat,andrestoredtotheladyherglove,toeveryone'sadmiration.Havingvindicatedhiscourage,heveryproperlypunishedthecoquettebytakingnofurthernoticeofher.
十七世紀初英王詹姆斯一世有一次和王后一起,觀看當時倫敦流行的鬥牛犬與獅子決鬥。王后有一名侍女,獲一年輕人殷勤照顧,但不為所動。也不知是要考驗他的愛意還是要打發他離去,那侍女把一隻手套掉到獅犬決鬥臺上,轉頭望着那年輕人,裝出很不開心的樣子。
那年輕人明白她的意思,不動聲色,起身離座,拔出佩劍,走到決鬥臺上,拾起手套,回到座席,把手套交還那侍女,贏得全場讚歎。他證實了自己的勇氣之後,就不再理睬那賣弄風情的侍女,給了她應得的懲罰。
【附注】Vindicate常解作「證明清白」或「為……辯護」,例如:Freshevidencecompletelyvindicatedthedefendant(新的證據,證實被告完全無罪)。