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CHAPTER XLVI
SQUIRE FAGGUS MAKES SOME LUCKY HITS
Through that season of bitter frost the red deer of
the forest, having nothing to feed upon, and no shelter
to rest in, had grown accustomed to our ricks of corn,
and hay, and clover. There we might see a hundred of
them almost any morning, come for warmth, and food, and
comfort, and scarce willing to move away. And many of
them were so tame, that they quietly presented
themselves at our back door, and stood there with their
coats quite stiff, and their flanks drawn in and
panting, and icicles sometimes on their chins, and
their great eyes fastened wistfully upon any merciful
person; craving for a bit of food, and a drink of
water; I suppose that they had not sense enough to chew
the snow and melt it; at any rate, all the springs
being frozen, and rivers hidden out of sight, these
poor things suffered even more from thirst than they
did from hunger.
But now there was no fear of thirst, and more chance
indeed of drowning; for a heavy gale of wind arose,
with violent rain from the south-west, which lasted
almost without a pause for three nights and two days.
At first the rain made no impression on the bulk of
snow, but ran from every sloping surface and froze on
every flat one, through the coldness of the earth; and
so it became impossible for any man to keep his legs
without the help of a shodden staff. After a good
while, however, the air growing very much warmer, this
state of things began to change, and a worse one to
succeed it; for now the snow came thundering down from
roof, and rock, and ivied tree, and floods began to
roar and foam in every trough and gulley. The drifts
that had been so white and fair, looked yellow, and
smirched, and muddy, and lost their graceful curves,
and moulded lines, and airiness. But the strangest
sight of all to me was in the bed of streams, and
brooks, and especially of the Lynn river. It was worth
going miles to behold such a thing, for a man might
never have the chance again.
Vast drifts of snow had filled the valley, and piled
above the river-course, fifty feet high in many places,
and in some as much as a hundred. These had frozen
over the top, and glanced the rain away from them, and
being sustained by rock and tree, spanned the water
mightily. But meanwhile the waxing flood, swollen from
every moorland hollow and from every spouting crag, had
dashed away all icy fetters, and was rolling
gloriously. Under white fantastic arches, and long
tunnels freaked and fretted, and between pellucid
pillars jagged with nodding architraves, the red
impetuous torrent rushed, and the brown foam whirled
and flashed. I was half inclined to jump in and swim
through such glorious scenery; for nothing used to
please me more than swimming in a flooded river. But I
thought of the rocks, and I thought of the cramp, and
more than all, of Lorna; and so, between one thing and
another, I let it roll on without me.
It was now high time to work very hard; both to make up
for the farm-work lost during the months of frost and
snow, and also to be ready for a great and vicious
attack from the Doones, who would burn us in our beds
at the earliest opportunity. Of farm-work there was
little yet for even the most zealous man to begin to
lay his hand to; because when the ground appeared
through the crust of bubbled snow (as at last it did,
though not as my Lorna had expected, at the first few
drops of rain) it was all so soaked and sodden, and as
we call it, 'mucksy,' that to meddle with it in any way
was to do more harm than good. Nevertheless, there was
yard work, and house work, and tendence of stock,
enough to save any man from idleness.
As for Lorna, she would come out. There was no keeping
her in the house. She had taken up some peculiar
notion that we were doing more for her than she had any
right to, and that she must earn her living by the hard
work of her hands. It was quite in vain to tell her
that she was expected to do nothing, and far worse than
vain (for it made her cry sadly) if any one assured her
that she could do no good at all. She even began upon
mother's garden before the snow was clean gone from it,
and sowed a beautiful row of peas, every one of which
the mice ate.
But though it was very pretty to watch her working for
her very life, as if the maintenance of the household
hung upon her labours, yet I was grieved for many
reasons, and so was mother also. In the first place,
she was too fair and dainty for this rough, rude work;
and though it made her cheeks so bright, it surely must
be bad for her to get her little feet so wet.
Moreover, we could not bear the idea that she should
labour for her keep; and again (which was the worst of
all things) mother's garden lay exposed to a dark
deceitful coppice, where a man might lurk and watch all
the fair gardener's doings. It was true that none
could get at her thence, while the brook which ran
between poured so great a torrent. Still the distance
was but little for a gun to carry, if any one could be
brutal enough to point a gun at Lorna. I thought that
none could be found to do it; but mother, having more
experience, was not so certain of mankind.
Now in spite of the floods, and the sloughs being out,
and the state of the roads most perilous, Squire Faggus
came at last, riding his famous strawberry mare. There
was a great ado between him and Annie, as you may well
suppose, after some four months of parting. And so we
left them alone awhile, to coddle over their raptures.
But when they were tired of that, or at least had time
enough to do so, mother and I went in to know what news
Tom had brought with him. Though he did not seem to
want us yet, he made himself agreeable; and so we sent
Annie to cook the dinner while her sweetheart should
tell us everything.
Tom Faggus had very good news to tell, and he told it
with such force of expression as made us laugh very
heartily. He had taken up his purchase from old Sir
Roger Bassett of a nice bit of land, to the south of
the moors, and in the parish of Molland. When the
lawyers knew thoroughly who he was, and how he had made
his money, they behaved uncommonly well to him, and
showed great sympathy with his pursuits. He put them
up to a thing or two; and they poked him in the ribs,
and laughed, and said that he was quite a boy; but of
the right sort, none the less. And so they made old
Squire Bassett pay the bill for both sides; and all he
got for three hundred acres was a hundred and twenty
pounds; though Tom had paid five hundred. But lawyers
know that this must be so, in spite of all their
endeavours; and the old gentleman, who now expected to
find a bill for him to pay, almost thought himself a
rogue, for getting anything out of them.
It is true that the land was poor and wild, and the
soil exceeding shallow; lying on the slope of rock, and
burned up in hot summers. But with us, hot summers
are things known by tradition only (as this great
winter may be); we generally have more moisture,
especially in July, than we well know what to do with.
I have known a fog for a fortnight at the summer
solstice, and farmers talking in church about it when
they ought to be praying. But it always contrives to
come right in the end, as other visitations do, if we
take them as true visits, and receive them kindly.
Now this farm of Squire Faggus (as he truly now had a
right to be called) was of the very finest pasture,
when it got good store of rain. And Tom, who had
ridden the Devonshire roads with many a reeking jacket,
knew right well that he might trust the climate for
that matter. The herbage was of the very sweetest, and
the shortest, and the closest, having perhaps from ten
to eighteen inches of wholesome soil between it and the
solid rock. Tom saw at once what it was fit for--the
breeding of fine cattle.
Being such a hand as he was at making the most of
everything, both his own and other people's (although
so free in scattering, when the humour lay upon him) he
had actually turned to his own advantage that
extraordinary weather which had so impoverished every
one around him. For he taught his Winnie (who knew his
meaning as well as any child could, and obeyed not only
his word of mouth, but every glance be gave her) to go
forth in the snowy evenings when horses are seeking
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 was the least part of
her goodness, and that I would thank him for his
opinion when I had requested it.
'Bravo, our John Ridd!' he answered; 'fools will be
fools till the end of the chapter; and I might be as
big a one, if I were in thy shoes, John. Nevertheless,
in the name of God, don't let that helpless child go
about with a thing worth half the county on her.'
'She is worth all the county herself,' said I, 'and all
England put together; but she has nothing worth half a
rick of hay upon her; for the ring I gave her cost
only,'--and here I stopped, for mother was looking, and
I never would tell her how much it had cost me; though
she had tried fifty times to find out.
'Tush, the ring!' Tom Faggus cried, with a contempt
that moved me: 'I would never have stopped a man for
that. But the necklace, you great oaf, the necklace is
worth all your farm put together, and your Uncle Ben's
fortune to the back of it; ay, and all the town of
Dulverton.'
'What,' said I, 'that common glass thing, which she has
had from her childhood!'
'Glass indeed! They are the finest brilliants ever I
set eyes on; and I have handled a good many.'
'Surely,' cried mother, now flushing as red as Tom's
own cheeks with excitement, 'you must be wrong, or the
young mistress would herself have known it.'
I was greatly pleased with my mother, for calling Lorna
'the young mistress'; it was not done for the sake of
her diamonds, whether they were glass or not; but
because she felt as I had done, that Tom Faggus, a man
of no birth whatever, was speaking beyond his mark, in
calling a lady like Lorna a helpless child; as well as
in his general tone, which displayed no deference. He
might have been used to the quality, in the way of
stopping their coaches, or roystering at hotels with
them; but he never had met a high lady before, in
equality, and upon virtue; and we both felt that he
ought to have known it, and to have thanked us for the
opportunity, in a word, to have behaved a great deal
more humbly than he had even tried to do.
'Trust me,' answered Tom, in his loftiest manner, which
Annie said was 'so noble,' but which seemed to me
rather flashy, 'trust me, good mother, and simple John,
for knowing brilliants, when I see them. I would have
stopped an eight-horse coach, with four carabined
out-riders, for such a booty as that. But alas, those
days are over; those were days worth living in. Ah, I
never shall know the like again. How fine it was by
moonlight!'
'Master Faggus,' began my mother, with a manner of some
dignity, such as she could sometimes use, by right of
her integrity, and thorough kindness to every one,
'this is not the tone in which you have hitherto spoken
to me about your former pursuits and life, I fear that
the spirits'--but here she stopped, because the spirits
were her own, and Tom was our visitor,--'what I mean,
Master Faggus, is this: you have won my daughter's
heart somehow; and you won my consent to the matter
through your honest sorrow, and manly undertaking to
lead a different life, and touch no property but your
own. Annie is my eldest daughter, and the child of a
most upright man. I love her best of all on earth,
next to my boy John here'--here mother gave me a mighty
squeeze, to be sure that she would have me at
least--'and I will not risk my Annie's life with a man
who yearns for the highway.'
Having made this very long speech (for her), mother
came home upon my shoulder, and wept so that (but for
heeding her) I would have taken Tom by the nose, and
thrown him, and Winnie after him, over our farm-yard
gate. For I am violent when roused; and freely hereby
acknowledge it; though even my enemies will own that it
takes a great deal to rouse me. But I do consider the
grief and tears (when justly caused) of my dearest
friends, to be a great deal to rouse me.
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