Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor
everywhere (be they wild or tame) for fodder and for shelter; and to
whinny to the forest ponies, miles away from home perhaps, and lead
them all with rare appetites and promise of abundance, to her master's
homestead. He shod good Winnie in such a manner that she could not sink
in the snow; and he clad her over the loins with a sheep-skin dyed to
her own colour, which the wild horses were never tired of coming up and
sniffing at; taking it for an especial gift, and proof of inspiration.
And Winnie never came home at night without at least a score of ponies
trotting shyly after her, tossing their heads and their tails in turn,
and making believe to be very wild, although hard pinched by famine. Of
course Tom would get them all into his pound in about five minutes,
for he himself could neigh in a manner which went to the heart of the
wildest horse. And then he fed them well, and turned them into his great
cattle pen, to abide their time for breaking, when the snow and frost
should be over.
He had gotten more than three hundred now, in this sagacious manner; and
he said it was the finest sight to see their mode of carrying on, how
they would snort, and stamp, and fume, and prick their ears, and rush
backwards, and lash themselves with their long rough tails, and shake
their jagged manes, and scream, and fall upon one another, if a strange
man came anigh them. But as for feeding time, Tom said it was better
than fifty plays to watch them, and the tricks they were up to, to cheat
their feeders, and one another. I asked him how on earth he had managed
to get fodder, in such impassable weather, for such a herd of horses;
but he said that they lived upon straw and sawdust; and he knew that I
did not believe him, any more than about his star-shavings. And this was
just the thing he loved--to mystify honest people, and be a great deal
too knowing. However, I may judge him harshly, because I myself tell
everything.
I asked him what he meant to do with all that enormous lot of horses,
and why he had not exerted his wits to catch the red deer as well. He
said that the latter would have been against the laws of venery, and
might have brought him into trouble, but as for disposing of his stud,
it would give him little difficulty. He would break them, when the
spring weather came on, and deal with them as they required, and keep
the handsomest for breeding. The rest he would despatch to London, where
he knew plenty of horse-dealers; and he doubted not that they would
fetch him as much as ten pounds apiece all round, being now in great
demand. I told him I wished that he might get it; but as it proved
afterwards, he did.
Then he pressed us both on another point, the time for his marriage to
Annie; and mother looked at me to say when, and I looked back at mother.
However, knowing something of the world, and unable to make any further
objection, by reason of his prosperity, I said that we must even do as
the fashionable people did, and allow the maid herself to settle, when
she would leave home and all. And this I spoke with a very bad grace,
being perhaps of an ancient cast, and over fond of honesty--I mean, of
course, among lower people.
But Tom paid little heed to this, knowing the world a great deal better
than ever I could pretend to do; and being ready to take a thing, upon
which he had set his mind, whether it came with a good grace, or whether
it came with a bad one. And seeing that it would be awkward to provoke
my anger, he left the room, before more words, to submit himself to
Annie.
Upon this I went in search of Lorna, to tell her of our cousin's
arrival, and to ask whether she would think fit to see him, or to dine
by herself that day; for she should do exactly as it pleased her in
everything, while remaining still our guest. But I rather wished that
she might choose not to sit in Tom's company, though she might be
introduced to him. Not but what he could behave quite as well as could,
and much better, as regarded elegance and assurance, only that his
honesty had not been as one might desire. But Lorna had some curiosity
to know what this famous man was like, and declared that she would by
all means have the pleasure of dining with him, if he did not object to
her company on the ground of the Doones' dishonesty; moreover, she said
that it would seem a most foolish air on her part, and one which would
cause the greatest pain to Annie, who had been so good to her, if she
should refuse to sit at table with a man who held the King's pardon, and
was now a pattern of honesty.
Against this I had not a word to say; and could not help acknowledging
in my heart that she was right, as well as wise, in her decision. And
afterwards I discovered that mother would have been much displeased, if
she had decided otherwise.
Accordingly she turned away, with one of her very sweetest smiles (whose
beauty none can describe) saying that she must not meet a man of such
fashion and renown, in her common gardening frock; but must try to look
as nice as she could, if only in honour of dear Annie. And truth to
tell, when she came to dinner, everything about her was the neatest
and prettiest that can possibly be imagined. She contrived to match
the colours so, to suit one another and her own, and yet with a certain
delicate harmony of contrast, and the shape of everything was so nice,
so that when she came into the room, with a crown of winning modesty
upon the consciousness of beauty, I was quite as proud as if the Queen
of England entered.
My mother could not help remarking, though she knew that it was not
mannerly, how like a princess Lorna looked, now she had her best things
on; but two things caught Squire Faggus's eyes, after he had made a
most gallant bow, and received a most graceful courtesy; and he kept his
bright bold gaze upon them, first on one, and then on the other, until
my darling was hot with blushes, and I was ready to knock him down if he
had not been our visitor. But here again I should have been wrong, as I
was apt to be in those days; for Tom intended no harm whatever, and his
gaze was of pure curiosity; though Annie herself was vexed with it. The
two objects of his close regard, were first, and most worthily, Lorna's
face, and secondly, the ancient necklace restored to her by Sir Ensor
Doone.
Now wishing to save my darling's comfort, and to keep things quiet, I
shouted out that dinner was ready, so that half the parish could hear
me; upon which my mother laughed, and chid me, and despatched her guests
before her. And a very good dinner we made, I remember, and a very
happy one; attending to the women first, as now is the manner of eating;
except among the workmen. With them, of course, it is needful that
the man (who has his hours fixed) should be served first, and make the
utmost of his time for feeding, while the women may go on, as much as
ever they please, afterwards. But with us, who are not bound to time,
there is no such reason to be quoted; and the women being the weaker
vessels, should be the first to begin to fill. And so we always arranged
it.
Now, though our Annie was a graceful maid, and Lizzie a very learned
one, you should have seen how differently Lorna managed her dining; she
never took more than about a quarter of a mouthful at a time, and she
never appeared to be chewing that, although she must have done so.
Indeed, she appeared to dine as if it were a matter of no consequence,
and as if she could think of other things more than of her business. All
this, and her own manner of eating, I described to Eliza once, when I
wanted to vex her for something very spiteful that she had said; and
I never succeeded so well before, for the girl was quite outrageous,
having her own perception of it, which made my observation ten times as
bitter to her. And I am not sure but what she ceased to like poor Lorna
from that day; and if so, I was quite paid out, as I well deserved, for
my bit of satire.
For it strikes me that of all human dealings, satire is the very lowest,
and most mean and common. It is the equivalent in words of what bullying
is in deeds; and no more bespeaks a clever man, than the other does a
brave one. These two wretched tricks exalt a fool in his own low esteem,
but never in his neighbour's; for the deep common sense of our nature
tells that no man of a genial heart, or of any spread of mind, can take
pride in either. And though a good man may commit the one fault or the
other, now and then, by way of outlet, he is sure to have compunctions
soon, and to scorn himself more than the sufferer.
Now when the young maidens were gone--for we had quite a high dinner of
fashion that day, with Betty Muxworthy waiting, and Gwenny Carfax at the
gravy--and only mother, and Tom, and I remained at the white deal table,
with brandy, and schnapps, and hot water jugs; Squire Faggus said quite
suddenly, and perhaps on purpose to take us aback, in case of our hiding
anything,--“What do you know of the history of that beautiful maiden,
good mother?”
“Not half so much as my son does,” mother answered, with a soft smile at
me; “and when John does not choose to tell a thing, wild horses will not
pull it out of him.”
“That is not at all like me, mother,” I replied rather sadly; “you know
almost every word about Lorna, quite as well as I do.”
“Almost every word, I believe, John; for you never tell a falsehood. But
the few unknown may be of all the most important to me.”
To this I made no answer, for fear of going beyond the truth, or else
of making mischief. Not that I had, or wished to have, any mystery with
mother; neither was there in purest truth, any mystery in the matter;
to the utmost of my knowledge. And the only things that I had kept back,
solely for mother's comfort, were the death of poor Lord Alan Brandir
(if indeed he were dead) and the connection of Marwood de Whichehalse
with the dealings of the Doones, and the threats of Carver Doone against
my own prosperity; and, may be, one or two little things harrowing more
than edifying.
“Come, come,” said Master Faggus, smiling very pleasantly, “you two
understand each other, if any two on earth do. Ah, if I had only had a
mother, how different I might have been!” And with that he sighed,
in the tone which always overcame mother upon that subject, and had
something to do with his getting Annie; and then he produced his pretty
box, full of rolled tobacco, and offered me one, as I now had joined the
goodly company of smokers. So I took it, and watched what he did with
his own, lest I might go wrong about mine.
But when our cylinders were both lighted, and I enjoying mine
wonderfully, and astonishing mother by my skill, Tom Faggus told us that
he was sure he had seen my Lorna's face before, many and many years ago,
when she was quite a little child, but he could not remember where it
was, or anything more about it at present; though he would try to do so
afterwards. He could not be mistaken, he said, for he had noticed her
eyes especially; and had never seen such eyes before, neither
again, until this day. I asked him if he had ever ventured into the
Doone-valley; but he shook his head, and replied that he valued his life
a deal too much for that. Then we put it to him, whether anything might
assist his memory; but he said that he knew not of aught to do so,
unless it were another glass of schnapps.
This being provided, he grew very wise, and told us clearly and candidly
that we were both very foolish. For he said that we were keeping Lorna,
at the risk not only of our stock, and the house above our heads, but
also of our precious lives; and after all was she worth it, although so
very beautiful? Upon which I told him, with indignation, that her beauty