River Legends; Or, Father Thames and Father Rhine
wells when the Daddyroarer happened to be thirsty as he passed by them.
It was no unusual thing for him to empty a pond at a draught, and I have
known a whole village affected with drought for weeks together because
old Bramble-buffer had taken a fancy to drink of the wells by which it
was supplied with water.
“In his journey at last the old fellow came to the seashore, and having
never before visited the blue ocean, he was abundantly delighted at all
he saw. Even the coarse and blunted nature of a giant cannot fail to be
struck with admiration at the first sight of the glorious sea. The waves
breaking with regular and solemn force upon the shore, as if protesting
ever against their enforced {147}restraint within prescribed limits: the
foam dancing lightly upon the water far away out at sea; the bright rays
of the sun reflected in varying lights upon the shifting waters; the
ships riding at anchor, or merrily cleaving the waves asunder in their
onward course; the sea-birds skimming along the bosom of the sea, ever
and anon with shrill scream dipping their long wings in the spray of the
wave, and mounting again in high air with joyous flight; the huge fish
showing his scaled form for an instant in the light of day, and the next
moment burying himself fathoms deep in the world of waters below;
all these things, passing before the eye at the same moment with the
rapidity of thought, strike the beholder, be he giant or man, with
mingled awe and wonder.
“In the case of old Bramble-buffer, however, neither feeling lasted
long, and after a very short space of time the spirit of mischief arose
within his breast, and tempted him to try his powers of doing evil
under the new circumstances before him. Placing himself in a recumbent
posture, and supporting his huge frame upon his two stalwart arms, he
began to blow violently down upon the sea below, with all the force of
his mighty lungs. The effect was instantaneous. The bosom of the deep
was troubled as with a terrible hurricane. The waves reared up their
heads, the foam danced higher than ever, the sea-birds shrieked more
loudly, and the fishes were astonished at the wondrous commotion which
had arisen upon the surface of their watery home. The poor mariners,
who were taken totally unawares by the extraordinary suddenness of the
storm, were, as may well be supposed, in considerable trouble. Their
ships were {148}driven from their moorings, masts were snapt asunder,
sails and rigging rent and injured irreparably, and several men and boys
blown overboard by the violence of the terrible blast. Indeed, more
than one vessel was lost, and an immense amount of property utterly
destroyed; and all because of this mad freak of the mischievous old
giant.
“But the best of the joke in this case was that the poor mortals had
no idea whatever of the cause of the disaster which had so unexpectedly
befallen them, and a lengthy correspondence was carried on in the
newspapers {149}of a certain country whose inhabitants think themselves
wiser than anybody else, as to the cause of storms, the efficacy of
storm signals, and the possibility of foretelling when the weather is
going to be calm or rough. Some people wrote letters which appeared to
the world exceedingly wise, whilst others published ideas which every
one agreed to be remarkably foolish, but none of them ever hit upon
the right cause of this catastrophe, and possibly many others of a like
character, nor did any person ever dream for a moment that the whole of
the affair was owing to the whim of old Bramble-buffer and his desire to
try his strength upon the waves of the ocean. When he had accomplished
his purpose, put everybody and everything into the greatest confusion,
and done all the mischief he could in the shortest possible time, the
fellow sat up, folded his arms, and indulged in a series of hearty
laughs and strange roars of pleasure which the innocent people of the
neighbourhood took for claps of thunder, and said it was a good thing;
that the thunder-storm would clear the air, and the wind would soon be
lulled.
“Giants, however, like men, find pleasures greater in anticipation than
in realisation, and our old friend thought it too much trouble to repeat
the experiment of raising the wind, which is one never to be performed
without a certain amount of difficulty. Accordingly, he resolved to seek
for some other amusement, and turning away from the sea-shore, again
penetrated into the interior of the country. It would be endless to
tell: you all the strange pranks he played, and how gradually his name
became known and detested throughout the whole country through which
the river which bears my name holds {150}its course. It he desired
notoriety, he certainly had it to his heart’s content, and never was
there a being more feared and hated since the beginning of the world.
“At last, having travelled far enough, he returned by easy stages to the
country from whence he had set out, and there recommenced his old
evil practices with the smallest possible delay. He had always a spite
against my beautiful river, I suppose because he had failed in emptying
it; but, whatever the reason may have been, he liked it not, and used to
vary his occupations sometimes by pitching pieces of mountain into
it, and close by its side, so as to make its shores if possible
unapproachable by mortal foot, in doing which he added greatly to the
wild beauty of the scenery, without in reality doing the smallest harm
either to the river or to mankind.
“After a while, old Bramble-buffer began to find that the effects of his
bad and cruel conduct towards mankind had so diminished the number
of those who used to dwell in houses, that he had some difficulty in
obtaining supplies from farms and homesteads as before. He therefore,
much against his will, was obliged to take to hunting and trapping wild
animals, in which he was not very skilful, but for this he was in
some measure compensated by the advantages of size and strength, which
enabled him to catch creatures which his skill alone would never have
brought within reach of his devouring jaws.
“In his search after game he was in the habit of roaming far and wide
over the mountains and through the forests of Rhine-land, and his loud
cries and roars were often heard for miles, sending the frightened
people into their holes and caves, where with trembling hearts they
sought {151}a refuge from the mighty Daddyroarer. At last, one day, the
old fellow had been more than commonly successful in his hunting. Chance
had thrown in his way several roe-buck and sundry hares, of which he had
made a very hearty meal, and naturally felt rather sleepy afterwards.
He therefore wandered slowly through the forest, looking for some
convenient and comfortable spot upon which he might deposit his huge
carcase, and indulge in that after-dinner nap which is ordinarily so
agreeable to persons of a certain age. In a giant’s case, such naps are
almost always unnaturally long and deep, and in fact these vast beings
have been known not unfrequently to sleep round from one dinnertime to
another, when their repast has happened to be somewhat larger and more
satisfactory to themselves than common.
“Old Bramble-buffer looked about, and not seeing any eligible
resting-place at hand, determined to make one for himself by pulling
up a tree or two, and so finding a pillow in their roots and the earth
which would be upturned therewith. So taking hold of a large tree near
him, he gave it a twist and a turn, such as a gardener might do in
pulling up a radish, or a labourer in performing the same office upon a
turnip, and produced precisely the same effect. The tree was uprooted,
and remained in the hands of its destroyer. But it so happened that this
was not an ordinary tree, or rather that there were some extraordinary
circumstances connected with it. It was of very great size, and growing
on the side of a hill; in which a large cave had been excavated beneath
and among the roots of the trees, which served as props and supports for
the sides and roof of the same.
“This {152}cave was inhabited by a number of unhappy mortals, who had
been driven hither by the careless cruelty of the great giant, and who
little thought that the tyranny of their oppressor would follow them
even into this dark and hidden retreat. They, of course, were thrown
into the most terrible consternation by his present feat. The uprooting
of the tree was to them the destruction of their home once more, the
ruin of all they loved, the literal annihilation of their property,
and the loss of all that could still make life dear to them. Fancy the
miserable, the extraordinary results which would happen if one’s house
were suddenly lifted up, and the walls, ceilings, beams, and rafters
fell in around us on every side. Well, this was precisely what happened
to these unfortunate creatures. Nor had they the smallest time for
preparation. It all came upon them in a moment.
“As we have seen, it was only the desire of the giant to provide himself
with a pillow which caused him to pull up the tree, and although he
would probably have done so just the same, or perhaps all the more, if
he had known what the result would be, there is no reason to suppose
that of such result he had the least idea, or indeed that he ever
troubled his head about the possible or probable result of his action to
anybody but himself. As soon, however, as he had pulled up the tree, and
perceived the effects which he had thus produced, the old rascal burst
into a roar of laughter. Indeed the sight was probably as amusing to him
as it must have been horrible to one of the sufferers. The poor little
mortals were running to and fro, each with the most woebegone expression
of countenance, unable to make out {153}what had happened to them. Some,
indeed, were entangled in the roots of the tree, and whirled up aloft
with it in the giant’s hands, some were half smothered by the fallen
earth, and the rest were endeavouring to make their escape best manner
that they could to repair the injury he had done, or leaving the poor
creatures whom he had so cruelly disturbed to repair it for themselves
if they could.
On the contrary, he made matters worse, and just for the fun of the
thing, stamped several of the mortals into the earth as they were wildly
flying from the ruins of their home, and thus put an {154}end to their
lives and troubles together. Probably, out of mere mischief, he would
have destroyed more of them, if he had happened to have fallen in with
the pastime before dinner. Having dined, however, he was much less
inclined to any active exertion, and therefore contented himself with
putting his foot upon those who were more immediately within his reach,
and then, feeling somewhat fatigued, sat down on that very spot and
prepared for his usual nap. First, however, he indulged in another laugh
at the curious incident which had just occurred; then he peered down
into the cave below, and wondered how any living creatures could exist
in such a dark, dismal place, and what the nature and habits of such
creatures could be. This being a subject too vast and deep for the
intellect of a giant, he could not entertain it without giving a
tremendous yawn, which still more inclined him to sleep. So, arranging
his position as comfortably as he could upon his back, which is a
giant’s natural posture when about to turn in for the night, he composed
himself to slumber, without a thought of remorse for the unhappy beings
whom he had just treated in so ruthless a manner, and in a very short
time was buried in the land of dreams.
“Now, amongst those who had been driven from the shelter of the cave,