The Prince and the Pauper Mark Twain (readict books .TXT) đ
- Author: Mark Twain
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âThat was he, truly. Black Bess, his dell, is of us yet, but absent on the eastward tramp; a fine lass, of nice ways and orderly conduct, none ever seeing her drunk above four days in the seven.â
âShe was ever strictâ âI remember it wellâ âa goodly wench and worthy all commendation. Her mother was more free and less particular; a troublesome and ugly-tempered beldame, but furnished with a wit above the common.â
âWe lost her through it. Her gift of palmistry and other sorts of fortune-telling begot for her at last a witchâs name and fame. The law roasted her to death at a slow fire. It did touch me to a sort of tenderness to see the gallant way she met her lotâ âcursing and reviling all the crowd that gaped and gazed around her, whilst the flames licked upward toward her face and catched her thin locks and crackled about her old gray headâ âcursing them! why anâ thou shouldâst live a thousand years thoudâst never hear so masterful a cursing. Alack, her art died with her. There be base and weakling imitations left, but no true blasphemy.â
The Ruffler sighed; the listeners sighed in sympathy; a general depression fell upon the company for a moment, for even hardened outcasts like these are not wholly dead to sentiment, but are able to feel a fleeting sense of loss and affliction at wide intervals and under peculiarly favoring circumstancesâ âas in cases like to this, for instance, when genius and culture depart and leave no heir. However, a deep drink all round soon restored the spirits of the mourners.
âHave any others of our friends fared hardly?â asked Hobbs.
âSomeâ âyes. Particularly newcomersâ âsuch as small husbandmen turned shiftless and hungry upon the world because their farms were taken from them to be changed to sheep ranges. They begged, and were whipped at the cartâs tail, naked from the girdle up, till the blood ran; then set in the stocks to be pelted; they begged again, were whipped again, and deprived of an ear; they begged a third timeâ âpoor devils, what else could they do?â âand were branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, then sold for slaves; they ran away, were hunted down, and hanged. âTis a brief tale, and quickly told. Others of us have fared less hardly. Stand forth, Yokel, Burns, and Hodgeâ âshow your adornments!â
These stood up and stripped away some of their rags, exposing their backs, crisscrossed with ropy old welts left by the lash; one turned up his hair and showed the place where a left ear had once been; another showed a brand upon his shoulderâ âthe letter Vâ âand a mutilated ear; the third saidâ â
âI am Yokel, once a farmer and prosperous, with loving wife and kidsâ ânow am I somewhat different in estate and calling; and the wife and kids are gone; mayhap they are in heaven, mayhap inâ âin the other placeâ âbut the kindly God be thanked, they bide no more in England! My good old blameless mother strove to earn bread by nursing the sick; one of these died, the doctors knew not how, so my mother was burnt for a witch, whilst my babes looked on and wailed. English law!â âup, all, with your cups!â ânow all together and with a cheer!â âdrink to the merciful English law that delivered her from the English hell! Thank you, mates, one and all. I begged, from house to houseâ âI and the wifeâ âbearing with us the hungry kidsâ âbut it was crime to be hungry in Englandâ âso they stripped us and lashed us through three towns. Drink ye all again to the merciful English law!â âfor its lash drank deep of my Maryâs blood and its blessed deliverance came quick. She lies there, in the potterâs field, safe from all harms. And the kidsâ âwell, whilst the law lashed me from town to town, they starved. Drink, ladsâ âonly a dropâ âa drop to the poor kids, that never did any creature harm. I begged againâ âbegged, for a crust, and got the stocks and lost an earâ âsee, here bides the stump; I begged again, and here is the stump of the other to keep me minded of it. And still I begged again, and was sold for a slaveâ âhere on my cheek under this stain, if I washed it off, ye might see the red S the branding-iron left there! A slave! Do you understand that word? An English slave!â âthat is he that stands before ye. I have run from my master, and when I am foundâ âthe heavy curse of heaven fall on the law of the land that hath commanded it!â âI shall hang!â17
A ringing voice came through the murky airâ â
âThou shalt not!â âand this day the end of that law is come!â
All turned, and saw the fantastic figure of the little king approaching hurriedly; as it emerged into the light and was clearly revealed, a general explosion of inquiries broke outâ â
âWho is it? What is it? Who art thou, manikin?â
The boy stood unconfused in the midst of all those surprised and questioning eyes, and answered with princely dignityâ â
âI am Edward, King of England.â
A wild burst of laughter followed, partly of derision and partly of delight in the excellence of the joke. The king was stung. He said sharplyâ â
âYe mannerless vagrants, is this your recognition of the royal boon I have promised?â
He said more, with angry voice and excited gesture, but it was lost in a whirlwind of laughter and mocking exclamations. âJohn Hobbsâ made several attempts to make himself heard above the din, and at last succeededâ âsayingâ â
âMates, he is my son, a dreamer, a fool, and stark madâ âmind him notâ âhe thinketh he is the king.â
âI am the king,â said Edward, turning toward him, âas thou shalt know to thy cost, in good time. Thou hast confessed a murderâ âthou shalt swing for it.â
âThouâlt betray me?â âthou? Anâ I get my hands upon theeâ ââ
âTut-tut!â said the burley Ruffler, interposing in time to save the king, and emphasizing this service by knocking Hobbs down with his fist, âhast respect for
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