Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor
and declare to us all he knew, I was to set out for Watchett, riding
upon horseback, and there to hire a cart with wheels, such as we had not
begun, as yet, to use on Exmoor. For all our work went on broad wood,
with runners and with earthboards; and many of us still looked upon
wheels (though mentioned in the Bible) as the invention of the evil one,
and Pharoah's especial property.
Now, instead of getting better, Colonel Stickles grew worse and worse,
in spite of all our tendance of him, with simples and with nourishment,
and no poisonous medicine, such as doctors would have given him. And the
fault of this lay not with us, but purely with himself and his unquiet
constitution. For he roused himself up to a perfect fever, when through
Lizzie's giddiness he learned the very thing which mother and Annie were
hiding from him, with the utmost care; namely, that Sergeant Bloxham had
taken upon himself to send direct to London by the Chancery officers,
a full report of what had happened, and of the illness of his chief,
together with an urgent prayer for a full battalion of King's troops,
and a plenary commander.
This Sergeant Bloxham, being senior of the surviving soldiers, and a
very worthy man in his way, but a trifle over-zealous, had succeeded to
the captaincy upon his master's disablement. Then, with desire to serve
his country and show his education, he sat up most part of three nights,
and wrote this very wonderful report by the aid of our stable lanthorn.
It was a very fine piece of work, as three men to whom he read it (but
only one at a time) pronounced, being under seal of secrecy. And all
might have gone well with it, if the author could only have held his
tongue, when near the ears of women. But this was beyond his sense as it
seems, although so good a writer. For having heard that our Lizzie was
a famous judge of literature (as indeed she told almost every one), he
could not contain himself, but must have her opinion upon his work.
Lizzie sat on a log of wood, and listened with all her ears up, having
made proviso that no one else should be there to interrupt her. And she
put in a syllable here and there, and many a time she took out one (for
the Sergeant overloaded his gun, more often than undercharged it; like
a liberal man of letters), and then she declared the result so good,
so chaste, and the style to be so elegant, and yet so fervent, that the
Sergeant broke his pipe in three, and fell in love with her on the spot.
Now this has led me out of my way; as things are always doing, partly
through their own perverseness, partly through my kind desire to give
fair turn to all of them, and to all the people who do them. If any one
expects of me a strict and well-drilled story, standing “at attention”
all the time, with hands at the side like two wens on my trunk, and eyes
going neither right nor left; I trow that man has been disappointed
many a page ago, and has left me to my evil ways; and if not, I love his
charity. Therefore let me seek his grace, and get back, and just begin
again.
That great despatch was sent to London by the Chancery officers, whom
we fitted up with clothes, and for three days fattened them; which in
strict justice they needed much, as well as in point of equity. They
were kind enough to be pleased with us, and accepted my new shirts
generously; and urgent as their business was, another week (as they both
declared) could do no harm to nobody, and might set them upon their legs
again. And knowing, although they were London men, that fish do live
in water, these two fellows went fishing all day, but never landed
anything. However, their holiday was cut short; for the Sergeant, having
finished now his narrative of proceedings, was not the man to let it
hang fire, and be quenched perhaps by Stickles.
Therefore, having done their business, and served both citations,
these two good men had a pannier of victuals put up by dear Annie, and
borrowing two of our horses, rode to Dunster, where they left them, and
hired on towards London. We had not time to like them much, and so we
did not miss them, especially in our great anxiety about poor Master
Stickles.
Jeremy lay between life and death, for at least a fortnight. If the link
of chain had flown upwards (for half a link of chain it was which took
him in the mouth so), even one inch upwards, the poor man could have
needed no one except Parson Bowden; for the bottom of his skull, which
holds the brain as in the egg-cup, must have clean gone from him. But
striking him horizontally, and a little upon the skew, the metal
came out at the back of his neck, and (the powder not being strong, I
suppose) it lodged in his leather collar.
Now the rust of this iron hung in the wound, or at least we thought so;
though since I have talked with a man of medicine, I am not so sure of
it. And our chief aim was to purge this rust; when rather we should have
stopped the hole, and let the oxide do its worst, with a plug of new
flesh on both sides of it.
At last I prevailed upon him by argument, that he must get better, to
save himself from being ignobly and unjustly superseded; and hereupon
I reviled Sergeant Bloxham more fiercely than Jeremy's self could have
done, and indeed to such a pitch that Jeremy almost forgave him, and
became much milder. And after that his fever and the inflammation of his
wound, diminished very rapidly.
However, not knowing what might happen, or even how soon poor Lorna
might be taken from our power, and, falling into lawyers' hands, have
cause to wish herself most heartily back among the robbers, I set forth
one day for Watchett, taking advantage of the visit of some troopers
from an outpost, who would make our house quite safe. I rode alone,
being fully primed, and having no misgivings. For it was said that even
the Doones had begun to fear me, since I cast their culverin through the
door, as above related; and they could not but believe, from my being
still untouched (although so large an object) in the thickest of their
fire, both of gun and cannon, that I must bear a charmed life, proof
against ball and bullet. However, I knew that Carver Doone was not
a likely man to hold any superstitious opinions; and of him I had an
instinctive dread, although quite ready to face him.
Riding along, I meditated upon Lorna's history; how many things were
now beginning to unfold themselves, which had been obscure and dark!
For instance, Sir Ensor Doone's consent, or to say the least his
indifference, to her marriage with a yeoman; which in a man so proud
(though dying) had greatly puzzled both of us. But now, if she not only
proved to be no grandchild of the Doone, but even descended from his
enemy, it was natural enough that he should feel no great repugnance to
her humiliation. And that Lorna's father had been a foe to the house
of Doone I gathered from her mother's cry when she beheld their leader.
Moreover that fact would supply their motive in carrying off the
unfortunate little creature, and rearing her among them, and as one of
their own family; yet hiding her true birth from her. She was a “great
card,” as we say, when playing All-fours at Christmas-time; and if one
of them could marry her, before she learned of right and wrong, vast
property, enough to buy pardons for a thousand Doones, would be at their
mercy. And since I was come to know Lorna better, and she to know me
thoroughly--many things had been outspoken, which her early bashfulness
had kept covered from me. Attempts I mean to pledge her love to this
one, or that other; some of which perhaps might have been successful, if
there had not been too many.
And then, as her beauty grew richer and brighter, Carver Doone was
smitten strongly, and would hear of no one else as a suitor for her; and
by the terror of his claim drove off all the others. Here too may the
explanation of a thing which seemed to be against the laws of human
nature, and upon which I longed, but dared not to cross-question Lorna.
How could such a lovely girl, although so young, and brave, and distant,
have escaped the vile affections of a lawless company?
But now it was as clear as need be. For any proven violence would have
utterly vitiated all claim upon her grand estate; at least as those
claims must be urged before a court of equity. And therefore all the
elders (with views upon her real estate) kept strict watch on the
youngers, who confined their views to her personality.
Now I do not mean to say that all this, or the hundred other things
which came, crowding consideration, were half as plain to me at the
time, as I have set them down above. Far be it from me to deceive you
so. No doubt my thoughts were then dark and hazy, like an oil-lamp full
of fungus; and I have trimmed them, as when they burned, with scissors
sharpened long afterwards. All I mean to say is this, that jogging along
to a certain tune of the horse's feet, which we call “three-halfpence
and twopence,” I saw my way a little into some things which had puzzled
me.
When I knocked at the little door, whose sill was gritty and grimed with
sand, no one came for a very long time to answer me, or to let me in.
Not wishing to be unmannerly, I waited a long time, and watched the sea,
from which the wind was blowing; and whose many lips of waves--though
the tide was half-way out--spoke to and refreshed me. After a while I
knocked again, for my horse was becoming hungry; and a good while after
that again, a voice came through the key-hole,--
“Who is that wishes to enter?”
“The boy who was at the pump,” said I, “when the carriage broke down
at Dulverton. The boy that lives at oh--ah; and some day you would come
seek for him.”
“Oh, yes, I remember certainly. My leetle boy, with the fair white skin.
I have desired to see him, oh many, yes, many times.”
She was opening the door, while saying this, and then she started back
in affright that the little boy should have grown so.
“You cannot be that leetle boy. It is quite impossible. Why do you
impose on me?”
“Not only am I that little boy, who made the water to flow for you, till
the nebule came upon the glass; but also I am come to tell you all about
your little girl.”
“Come in, you very great leetle boy,” she answered, with her dark eyes
brightened. And I went in, and looked at her. She was altered by time,
as much as I was. The slight and graceful shape was gone; not that I
remembered anything of her figure, if you please; for boys of twelve are
not yet prone to note the shapes of women; but that her lithe straight
gait had struck me as being so unlike our people. Now her time for
walking so was past, and transmitted to her children. Yet her face was
comely still, and full of strong intelligence. I gazed at her, and she
at me; and we were sure of one another.
“Now what will ye please to eat?” she asked, with a lively glance at
the size of my mouth: “that is always the first thing you people ask, in
these barbarous places.”
“I will tell you by-and-by,” I answered, misliking this satire upon us;
“but I might begin with a quart of ale, to enable me to speak, madam.”
“Very well. One quevart of be-or;” she called out to a little maid,
who was her eldest child, no doubt. “It is to be expected, sir. Be-or,
be-or, be-or, all day long, with you Englishmen!”
“Nay,” I replied, “not all day long, if madam will excuse me. Only a
pint at breakfast-time, and a pint and a half at eleven o'clock, and a
quart or so at dinner. And then no more till the afternoon; and half a
gallon at supper-time. No one can object to that.”
“Well, I suppose it is right,” she said, with an air of resignation;
“God knows. But I do not understand it. It is 'good for business,' as
you say, to preclude everything.”