Lavengro

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"Very much," said I; "where did you get them?"

The beldame leered upon me for a moment, then, nodding her head thrice,
with a knowing look, said, "Who knows better than yourself, my tawny?"

Now, I knew nothing about the matter; but I saw that these strange people
had conceived a very high opinion of the abilities of their visitor,
which I was nothing loath to encourage. I therefore answered boldly,
"Ah! who indeed!"

"Certainly," said the man; "who should know better than yourself, or so
well? And now, my tiny one, let me ask you one thing--you didn't come to
do us any harm?"

"No," said I, "I had no dislike to you; though, if you were to meddle
with me--"

_Man_. Of course, my gorgeous, of course you would; and quite right too.
Meddle with you!--what right have we? I should say, it would not be
quite safe. I see how it is; you are one of them there;--and he bent his
head towards his left shoulder.

_Myself_. Yes, I am one of them--for I thought he was alluding to the
soldiers,--you had best mind what you are about, I can tell you.

_Man_. Don't doubt we will for our own sake; Lord bless you, wifelkin,
only think that we should see one of them there when we least thought
about it. Well, I have heard of such things, though I have never thought
to see one; however, seeing is believing. Well! now you are come, and
are not going to do us any mischief, I hope you will stay; you can do us
plenty of good if you will.

_Myself_. What good can I do you?

_Man_. What good? plenty! Would you not bring us luck? I have heard
say, that one of them there always does, if it will but settle down. Stay
with us, you shall have a tilted cart all to yourself if you like. We'll
make you our little God Almighty, and say our prayers to you every
morning!

_Myself_. That would be nice; and if you were to give me plenty of these
things, I should have no objection. But what would my father say? I
think he would hardly let me.

_Man_. Why not? he would be with you; and kindly would we treat him.
Indeed, without your father you would be nothing at all.

_Myself_. That's true; but I do not think he could be spared from his
regiment. I have heard him say that they could do nothing without him.

_Man_. His regiment! What are you talking about?--what does the child
mean?

_Myself_. What do I mean!--why, that my father is an officer-man at the
barracks yonder, keeping guard over the French prisoners.

_Man_. Oh! then that sap is not your father?

_Myself_. What, the snake? Why, no! Did you think he was?

_Man_. To be sure we did. Didn't you tell me so?

_Myself_. Why, yes; but who would have thought you would have believed
it? It is a tame one. I hunt vipers, and tame them.

_Man_. O-h!

"O-h!" grunted the woman, "that's it, is it?"

The man and woman, who during this conversation had resumed their former
positions within the tent, looked at each other with a queer look of
surprise, as if somewhat disconcerted at what they now heard. They then
entered into discourse with each other in the same strange tongue which
had already puzzled me. At length the man looked me in the face, and
said, somewhat hesitatingly, "So you are not one of them there, after
all?"

_Myself_. One of them there? I don't know what you mean.

_Man_. Why, we have been thinking you were a goblin--a devilkin!
However, I see how it is; you are a sapengro, a chap who catches snakes,
and plays tricks with them! Well, it comes very nearly to the same
thing; and if you please to list with us, and bear us pleasant company,
we shall be glad of you. I'd take my oath upon it that we might make a
mort of money by you and that sap, and the tricks it could do; and, as
you seem fly to everything, I shouldn't wonder if you would make a prime
hand at telling fortunes.

"I shouldn't wonder," said I.

_Man_. Of course. And you might still be our God Almighty, or at any
rate our clergyman, so you should live in a tilted cart by yourself, and
say prayers to us night and morning--to wifelkin here, and all our
family; there's plenty of us when we are all together; as I said before,
you seem fly, I shouldn't wonder if you could read?

"Oh, yes!" said I, "I can read;" and, eager to display my
accomplishments, I took my book out of my pocket, and, opening it at
random, proceeded to read how a certain man, whilst wandering about a
certain solitary island, entered a cave, the mouth of which was overgrown
with brushwood, and how he was nearly frightened to death in that cave by
something which he saw.

"That will do," said the man; "that's the kind of prayers for me and my
family, ar'n't they, wifelkin? I never heard more delicate prayers in
all my life! Why, they beat the rubricals hollow!--and here comes my son
Jasper. I say, Jasper, here's a young sap-engro that can read, and is
more fly than yourself. Shake hands with him; I wish ye to be two
brothers."

With a swift but stealthy pace Jasper came towards us from the farther
part of the lane; on reaching the tent he stood still, and looked fixedly
upon me as I sat upon the stool; I looked fixedly upon him. A queer look
had Jasper; he was a lad of some twelve or thirteen years, with long
arms, unlike the singular being who called himself his father; his
complexion was ruddy, but his face was seamed, though it did not bear the
peculiar scar which disfigured the countenance of the other; nor, though
roguish enough, a certain evil expression which that of the other bore,
and which the face of the woman possessed in a yet more remarkable
degree. For the rest, he wore drab breeches, with certain strings at the
knee, a rather gay waistcoat, and tolerably white shirt; under his arm he
bore a mighty whip of whalebone with a brass knob, and upon his head was
a hat without either top or brim.

"There, Jasper! shake hands with the sap-engro."

"Can he box, father?" said Jasper, surveying me rather contemptuously. "I
should think not, he looks so puny and small."

"Hold your peace, fool!" said the man; "he can do more than that--I tell
you he's fly: he carries a sap about, which would sting a ninny like you
to dead."

"What, a sap-engro!" said the boy, with a singular whine, and stooping
down, he leered curiously in my face, kindly, however and then patted me
on the head. "A sap-engro," he ejaculated; "lor!"

"Yes, and one of the right sort," said the man; "I am glad we have met
with him, he is going to list with us, and be our clergyman and God
Almighty, a'n't you, my tawny?"

"I don't know," said I; "I must see what my father will say."

"Your father; bah!"--but here he stopped, for a sound was heard like the
rapid galloping of a horse, not loud and distinct as on a road, but dull
and heavy as if upon a grass sward; nearer and nearer it came, and the
man, starting up, rushed out of the tent, and looked around anxiously. I
arose from the stool upon which I had been seated, and just at that
moment, amidst a crashing of boughs and sticks, a man on horseback
bounded over the hedge into the lane at a few yards' distance from where
we were: from the impetus of the leap the horse was nearly down on his
knees; the rider, however, by dint of vigorous handling of the reins,
prevented him from falling, and then rode up to the tent. "'Tis Nat,"
said the man; "what brings him here?" The new comer was a stout burly
fellow, about the middle age; he had a savage determined look, and his
face was nearly covered over with carbuncles; he wore a broad slouching
hat, and was dressed in a grey coat cut in a fashion which I afterwards
learnt to be the genuine Newmarket cut, the skirts being exceedingly
short; his waistcoat was of red plush, and he wore broad corduroy
breeches and white top-boots. The steed which carried him was of iron
grey, spirited and powerful, but covered with sweat and foam. The fellow
glanced fiercely and suspiciously around, and said something to the man
of the tent in a harsh and rapid voice. A short and hurried conversation
ensued in the strange tongue. I could not take my eyes off this new
comer. Oh, that half jockey half bruiser countenance, I never forgot it!
More than fifteen years afterwards I found myself amidst a crowd before
Newgate; a gallows was erected, and beneath it stood a criminal, a
notorious malefactor. I recognised him at once; the horseman of the lane
is now beneath the fatal tree, but nothing altered; still the same man;
jerking his head to the right and left with the same fierce and under
glance, just as if the affairs of this world had the same kind of
interest to the last; grey coat of Newmarket cut, plush waistcoat,
corduroys, and boots, nothing altered; but the head, alas! is bare, and
so is the neck. Oh, crime and virtue, virtue and crime!--it was old John
Newton, I think, who, when he saw a man going to be hanged, said, "There
goes John Newton, but for the grace of God!"

But the lane, the lane, all was now in confusion in the lane; the man and
woman were employed in striking the tents and in making hurried
preparations for departure; the boy Jasper was putting the harness upon
the ponies and attaching them to the carts; and, to increase the
singularity of the scene, two or three wild-looking women and girls, in
red cloaks and immense black beaver bonnets, came from I know not what
direction, and, after exchanging a few words with the others, commenced
with fierce and agitated gestures to assist them in their occupation. The
rider meanwhile sat upon his horse, but evidently in a state of great
impatience; he muttered curses between his teeth, spurred the animal
furiously, and then reined it in, causing it to rear itself up nearly
perpendicular. At last he said, "Curse ye, for Romans, how slow ye are!
well, it is no business of mine, stay here all day if you like; I have
given ye warning, I am off to the big north road. However, before I go,
you had better give me all you have of that."

"Truly spoken, Nat, my pal," said the man; "give it him, mother. There
it is; now be off as soon as you please, and rid us of evil company."

The woman had handed him two bags formed of stocking, half full of
something heavy, which looked through them for all the world like money
of some kind. The fellow, on receiving them, thrust them without
ceremony into the pockets of his coat, and then, without a word of
farewell salutation, departed at a tremendous rate, the hoofs of his
horse thundering for a long time on the hard soil of the neighbouring
road, till the sound finally died away in the distance. The strange
people were not slow in completing their preparations, and then, flogging
their animals terrifically, hurried away seemingly in the same direction.

The boy Jasper was last of the band. As he was following the rest, he
stopped suddenly, and looked on the ground appearing to muse; then,
turning round, he came up to me where I was standing, leered in my face,
and then, thrusting out his hand, he said, "Good-bye, Sap, I dare say we
shall meet again, remember we are brothers; two gentle brothers."

Then whining forth, "What a sap-engro, lor!" he gave me a parting leer,
and hastened away.

I remained standing in the lane gazing after the retreating company. "A
strange set of people," said I at last; "I wonder who they can be."

CHAPTER VI.

Three Years--Lilly's Grammar--Proficiency--Ignorant of Figures--The
School Bell--Order of Succession--Persecution--What are we to
do?--Northward--A Goodly Scene--Haunted Ground--Feats of
Chivalry--Rivers--Over the Brig.

Years passed on, even three years; during this period I had increased
considerably in stature and in strength, and, let us hope, improved in
mind; for I had entered on the study of the Latin language. The very
first person to whose care I was intrusted for the acquisition of Latin
was an old friend of my father's, a clergyman who kept a seminary at a
town the very next we visited after our departure from "the Cross." Under
his instruction, however, I continued only a few weeks, as we speedily
left the place. "Captain," said this divine, when my father came to take
leave of him on the eve of our departure, "I have a friendship for you,
and therefore wish to give you a piece of advice concerning this son of
yours. You are now removing him from my care; you do wrong, but we will
let that pass. Listen to me: there is but one good school book in the
world--the one I use in my seminary--Lilly's Latin Grammar, in which your
son has already made some progress. If you are anxious for the success
of your son in life, for the correctness of his conduct and the soundness
of his principles, keep him to Lilly's Grammar. If you can by any means,
either fair or foul, induce him to get by heart Lilly's Latin Grammar,
you may set your heart at rest with respect to him; I, myself, will be
his warrant. I never yet knew a boy that was induced, either by fair
means or foul, to learn Lilly's Latin Grammar by heart, who did not turn
out a man, provided he lived long enough."

My father, who did not understand the classical languages, received with
respect the advice of his old friend, and from that moment conceived the
highest opinion of Lilly's Latin Grammar. During three years I studied
Lilly's Latin Grammar under the tuition of various schoolmasters, for I
travelled with the regiment, and in every town in which we were stationed
I was invariably (God bless my father!) sent to the classical academy of
the place. It chanced, by good fortune, that in the generality of these
schools the grammar of Lilly was in use; when, however, that was not the
case, it made no difference in my educational course, my father always
stipulating with the masters that I should be daily examined in Lilly. At
the end of the three years I had the whole by heart; you had only to
repeat the first two or three words of any sentence in any part of the
book, and forthwith I would open cry, commencing without blundering and
hesitation, and continue till you were glad to beg me to leave off, with
many expressions of admiration at my proficiency in the Latin language.
Sometimes, however, to convince you how well I merited these encomiums, I
would follow you to the bottom of the stair, and even into the street,
repeating in a kind of sing-song measure the sonorous lines of the golden
schoolmaster. If I am here asked whether I understood anything of what I
had got by heart, I reply--"Never mind, I understand it all now, and
believe that no one ever yet got Lilly's Latin Grammar by heart when
young, who repented of the feat at a mature age."

And, when my father saw that I had accomplished my task, he opened his
mouth, and said, "Truly, this is more than I expected. I did not think
that there had been so much in you, either of application or capacity;
you have now learnt all that is necessary, if my friend Dr. B---'s
opinion was sterling, as I have no doubt it was. You are still a child,
however, and must yet go to school, in order that you may be kept out of
evil company. Perhaps you may still contrive, now you have exhausted the
barn, to pick up a grain or two in the barnyard. You are still ignorant
of figures, I believe, not that I would mention figures in the same day
with Lilly's Grammar."

These words were uttered in a place called ---, in the north, or in the
road to the north, to which, for some time past, our corps had been
slowly advancing. I was sent to the school of the place, which chanced
to be a day school. It was a somewhat extraordinary one, and a somewhat
extraordinary event occurred to me within its walls.

It occupied part of the farther end of a small plain, or square, at the
outskirts of the town, close to some extensive bleaching fields. It was
a long low building of one room, with no upper story; on the top was a
kind of wooden box, or sconce, which I at first mistook for a
pigeon-house, but which in reality contained a bell, to which was
attached a rope, which, passing through the ceiling, hung dangling in the
middle of the school-room. I am the more particular in mentioning this
appurtenance, as I had soon occasion to scrape acquaintance with it in a
manner not very agreeable to my feelings. The master was very proud of
his bell, if I might judge from the fact of his eyes being frequently
turned to that part of the ceiling from which the rope depended. Twice
every day, namely, after the morning and evening tasks had been gone
through, were the boys rung out of school by the monotonous jingle of
this bell. This ringing out was rather a lengthy affair, for, as the
master was a man of order and method, the boys were only permitted to go
out of the room one by one; and as they were rather numerous, amounting,
at least, to one hundred, and were taught to move at a pace of suitable
decorum, at least a quarter of an hour elapsed from the commencement of
the march before the last boy could make his exit. The office of bell-
ringer was performed by every boy successively; and it so happened that,
the very first day of my attendance at the school, the turn to ring the
bell had, by order of succession, arrived at the place which had been
allotted to me; for the master, as I have already observed, was a man of
method and order, and every boy had a particular seat, to which he became
a fixture as long as he continued at the school.

So, upon this day, when the tasks were done and completed, and the boys
sat with their hats and caps in their hands, anxiously expecting the
moment of dismissal, it was suddenly notified to me, by the urchins who
sat nearest to me, that I must get up and ring the bell. Now, as this
was the first time that I had been at the school, I was totally
unacquainted with the process, which I had never seen, and, indeed, had
never heard of till that moment. I therefore sat still, not imagining it
possible that any such duty could be required of me. But now, with not a
little confusion, I perceived that the eyes of all the boys in the school
were fixed upon me. Presently there were nods and winks in the direction
of the bell-rope; and, as these produced no effect, uncouth visages were
made, like those of monkeys when enraged; teeth were gnashed, tongues
thrust out, and even fists were bent at me. The master, who stood at the
end of the room, with a huge ferule under his arm, bent full upon me a
look of stern appeal; and the ushers, of whom there were four, glared
upon me, each from his own particular corner, as I vainly turned, in one
direction and another, in search of one reassuring look.

But now, probably in obedience to a sign from the master, the boys in my
immediate neighbourhood began to maltreat me. Some pinched me with their
fingers, some buffeted me, whilst others pricked me with pins, or the
points of compasses. These arguments were not without effect. I sprang
from my seat, and endeavoured to escape along a double line of benches,
thronged with boys of all ages, from the urchin of six or seven, to the
nondescript of sixteen or seventeen. It was like running the gauntlet;
every one, great or small, pinching, kicking, or otherwise maltreating me
as I passed by.

Goaded on in this manner, I at length reached the middle of the room,
where dangled the bell-rope, the cause of all my sufferings. I should
have passed it--for my confusion was so great, that I was quite at a loss
to comprehend what all this could mean, and almost believed myself under
the influence of an ugly dream--but now the boys, who were seated in
advance in the row, arose with one accord, and barred my farther
progress; and one, doubtless more sensible than the rest, seizing the
rope, thrust it into my hand. I now began to perceive that the dismissal
of the school, and my own release from torment, depended upon this self
same rope. I therefore, in a fit of desperation, pulled it once or
twice, and then left off, naturally supposing that I had done quite
enough. The boys who sat next the door, no sooner heard the bell, than
rising from their seats, they moved out at the door. The bell, however,
had no sooner ceased to jingle, than they stopped short, and, turning
round, stared at the master, as much as to say, "What are we to do now?"
This was too much for the patience of the man of method, which my
previous stupidity had already nearly exhausted. Dashing forward into
the middle of the room, he struck me violently on the shoulders with his
ferule, and snatching the rope out of my hand, exclaimed, with a
stentorian voice, and genuine Yorkshire accent. "Prodigy of ignorance!
dost not even know how to ring a bell? Must I myself instruct thee?" He
then commenced pulling at the bell with such violence, that long before
half the school was dismissed the rope broke, and the rest of the boys
had to depart without their accustomed music.

But I must not linger here, though I could say much about the school and
the pedagogue highly amusing and diverting, which, however, I suppress,
in order to make way for matters of yet greater interest. On we went,
northward, northward! and, as we advanced, I saw that the country was
becoming widely different from those parts of merry England in which we
had previously travelled. It was wilder, and less cultivated, and more
broken with hills and hillocks. The people, too, of those regions
appeared to partake of something of the character of their country. They
were coarsely dressed; tall and sturdy of frame; their voices were deep
and guttural; and the half of the dialect which they spoke was
unintelligible to my ears.

I often wondered where we could be going, for I was at this time about as
ignorant of geography as I was of most other things. However, I held my
peace, asked no questions, and patiently awaited the issue.

Northward, northward, still! And it came to pass that, one morning, I
found myself extended on the bank of a river. It was a beautiful morning
of early spring; small white clouds were floating in the heaven,
occasionally veiling the countenance of the sun, whose light, as they
retired, would again burst forth, coursing like a racehorse over the
scene--and a goodly scene it was! Before me, across the water, on an
eminence, stood a white old city, surrounded with lofty walls, above
which rose the tops of tall houses, with here and there a church or
steeple. To my right hand was a long and massive bridge, with many
arches and of antique architecture, which traversed the river. The river
was a noble one; the broadest that I had hitherto seen. Its waters, of a
greenish tinge, poured with impetuosity beneath the narrow arches to meet
the sea, close at hand, as the boom of the billows breaking distinctly
upon a beach declared. There were songs upon the river from the fisher-
barks; and occasionally a chorus, plaintive and wild, such as I had never
heard before, the words of which I did not understand, but which at the
present time, down the long avenue of years, seem in memory's ear to
sound like "Horam, coram, dago." Several robust fellows were near me,
some knee-deep in water, employed in hauling the seine upon the strand.
Huge fish were struggling amidst the meshes--princely salmon--their
brilliant mail of blue and silver flashing in the morning beam; so goodly
and gay a scene, in truth, had never greeted my boyish eye.

And, as I gazed upon the prospect, my bosom began to heave, and my tears
to trickle. Was it the beauty of the scene which gave rise to these
emotions? Possibly; for though a poor ignorant child--a half-wild
creature--I was not insensible to the loveliness of nature, and took
pleasure in the happiness and handiworks of my fellow-creatures. Yet,
perhaps, in something more deep and mysterious the feelings which then
pervaded me might originate. Who can lie down on Elvir Hill without
experiencing something of the sorcery of the place? Flee from Elvir
Hill, young swain, or the maids of Elle will have power over you, and you
will go elf-wild!--so say the Danes. I had unconsciously laid myself
down on haunted ground; and I am willing to imagine that what I then
experienced was rather connected with the world of spirits and dreams
than with what I actually saw and heard around me. Surely the elves and
genii of the place were conversing, by some inscrutable means, with the
principle of intelligence lurking within the poor uncultivated clod!
Perhaps to that ethereal principle the wonders of the past, as connected
with that stream, the glories of the present, and even the history of the
future, were at that moment being revealed! Of how many feats of
chivalry had those old walls been witness, when hostile kings contended
for their possession?--how many an army from the south and from the north
had trod that old bridge?--what red and noble blood had crimsoned those
rushing waters?--what strains had been sung, ay, were yet being sung on
its banks?--some soft as Doric reed; some fierce and sharp as those of
Norwegian Skaldaglam; some as replete with wild and wizard force as
Finland's runes, singing of Kalevale's moors, and the deeds of
Woinomoinen! Honour to thee, thou island stream! Onward may thou ever
roll, fresh and green, rejoicing in thy bright past, thy glorious
present, and in vivid hope of a triumphant future! Flow on, beautiful
one!--which of the world's streams canst thou envy, with thy beauty and
renown? Stately is the Danube, rolling in its might through lands
romantic with the wild exploits of Turk, Polak, and Magyar! Lovely is
the Rhine! on its shelvy banks grows the racy grape; and strange old
keeps of robber-knights of yore are reflected in its waters, from
picturesque crags and airy headlands!--yet neither the stately Danube,
nor the beauteous Rhine, with all their fame, though abundant, needst
thou envy, thou pure island stream!--and far less yon turbid river of
old, not modern renown, gurgling beneath the walls of what was once proud
Rome, towering Rome, Jupiter's town, but now vile Rome, crumbling Rome,
Batuscha's town, far less needst thou envy the turbid Tiber of bygone
fame, creeping sadly to the sea, surcharged with the abominations of
modern Rome--how unlike to thee, thou pure island stream!