CHAPTER XXI

An Adventure on the Road--The Six Flint Stone--A Rural Scene--Mead--The

Old Man and His Bees.

I bent my course in the direction of the north, more induced by chance

than any particular motive; all quarters of the world having about equal

attractions for me. I was in high spirits at finding myself once more on

horse-back, and trotted gaily on, until the heat of the weather induced

me to slacken my pace, more out of pity for my horse than because I felt

any particular inconvenience from it--heat and cold being then, and

still, matters of great indifference to me. What I thought of I scarcely

know, save and except that I have a glimmering recollection that I felt

some desire to meet with one of those adventures which upon the roads of

England are generally as plentiful as blackberries in autumn; and

Fortune, who has generally been ready to gratify my inclinations,

provided it cost her very little by so doing, was not slow in furnishing

me with an adventure, perhaps as characteristic of the English roads as

anything which could have happened.

I might have travelled about six miles amongst cross roads and lanes,

when suddenly I found myself upon a broad and very dusty road which

seemed to lead due north. As I wended along this I saw a man upon a

donkey riding towards me. The man was commonly dressed, with a broad

felt hat on his head, and a kind of satchel on his back; he seemed to be

in a mighty hurry, and was every now and then belabouring the donkey with

a cudgel. The donkey, however, which was a fine large creature of the

silver-grey species, did not appear to sympathize at all with its rider

in his desire to get on, but kept its head turned back as much as

possible, moving from one side of the road to the other, and not making

much forward way. As I passed, being naturally of a very polite

disposition, I gave the man the sele of the day, asking him, at the same

time, why he beat the donkey; whereupon the fellow eyeing me askance,

told me to mind my own business, with the addition of something which I

need not repeat. I had not proceeded a furlong before I saw seated on

the dust by the wayside, close by a heap of stones, and with several

flints before him, a respectable-looking old man, with a straw hat and a

white smock, who was weeping bitterly.

"What are you crying for, father?" said I. "Have you come to any hurt?"

"Hurt enough," sobbed the old man, "I have just been tricked out of the

best ass in England by a villain, who gave me nothing but these trash in

return," pointing to the stones before him. "I really scarcely

understand you," said I, "I wish you would explain yourself more

clearly." "I was riding on my ass from market," said the old man, "when

I met here a fellow with a sack on his back, who, after staring at the

ass and me a moment or two, asked me if I would sell her. I told him

that I could not think of selling her, as she was very useful to me, and

though an animal, my true companion, whom I loved as much as if she were

my wife and daughter. I then attempted to pass on, but the fellow stood

before me, begging me to sell her, saying that he would give me anything

for her; well, seeing that he persisted, I said at last that if I sold

her, I must have six pounds for her, and I said so to get rid of him, for

I saw that he was a shabby fellow, who had probably not six shillings in

the world; but I had better have held my tongue," said the old man,

crying more bitterly than before, "for the words were scarcely out of my

mouth, when he said he would give me what I asked, and taking the sack

from his back, he pulled out a steelyard, and going to the heap of stones

there, he took up several of them and weighed them, then flinging them

down before me, he said, 'There are six pounds, neighbour; now, get off

the ass, and hand her over to me.' Well, I sat like one dumbfoundered

for a time, till at last I asked him what he meant? 'What do I mean?'

said he, 'you old rascal, why, I mean to claim my purchase,' and then he

swore so awfully, that scarcely knowing what I did I got down, and he

jumped on the animal and rode off as fast as he could." "I suppose he

was the fellow," said I, "whom I just now met upon a fine gray ass, which

he was beating with a cudgel." "I dare say he was," said the old man, "I

saw him beating her as he rode away, and I thought I should have died."

"I never heard such a story," said I; "well, do you mean to submit to

such a piece of roguery quietly?" "Oh, dear," said the old man, "what

can I do? I am seventy-nine years of age; I am bad on my feet, and

dar'n't go after him."--"Shall I go?" said I; "the fellow is a thief, and

any one has a right to stop him." "Oh, if you could but bring her again

to me," said the old man, "I would bless you till my dying day; but have

a care; I don't know but after all the law may say that she is his lawful

purchase. I asked six pounds for her, and he gave me six pounds." "Six

flints, you mean," said I, "no, no, the law is not quite so bad as that

either; I know something about her, and am sure that she will never

sanction such a quibble. At all events, I'll ride after the fellow."

Thereupon turning my horse round, I put him to his very best trot; I rode

nearly a mile without obtaining a glimpse of the fellow, and was becoming

apprehensive that he had escaped me by turning down some by-path, two or

three of which I had passed. Suddenly, however, on the road making a

slight turning, I perceived him right before me, moving at a tolerably

swift pace, having by this time probably overcome the resistance of the

animal. Putting my horse to a full gallop, I shouted at the top of my

voice, "Get off that donkey, you rascal, and give her up to me, or I'll

ride you down." The fellow hearing the thunder of the horse's hoofs

behind him, drew up on one side of the road. "What do you want?" said

he, as I stopped my charger, now almost covered with sweat and foam close

beside him. "Do you want to rob me?" "To rob you?" said I. "No! but to

take from you that ass, of which you have just robbed its owner." "I

have robbed no man," said the fellow; "I just now purchased it fairly of

its master, and the law will give it to me; he asked six pounds for it,

and I gave him six pounds." "Six stones, you mean, you rascal," said I;

"get down, or my horse shall be upon you in a moment;" then with a motion

of my reins, I caused the horse to rear, pressing his sides with my heels

as if I intended to make him leap. "Stop," said the man, "I'll get down,

and then try if I can't serve you out." He then got down, and confronted

me with his cudgel; he was a horrible-looking fellow, and seemed prepared

for anything. Scarcely, however, had he dismounted, when the donkey

jerked the bridle out of his hand, and probably in revenge for the usage

she had received, gave him a pair of tremendous kicks on the hip with her

hinder legs, which overturned him, and then scampered down the road the

way she had come. "Pretty treatment this," said the fellow, getting up

without his cudgel, and holding his hand to his side, "I wish I may not

be lamed for life." "And if you be," said I, "it will merely serve you

right, you rascal, for trying to cheat a poor old man out of his property

by quibbling at words." "Rascal!" said the fellow, "you lie, I am no

rascal; and as for quibbling with words--suppose I did! What then? All

the first people does it! The newspapers does it! the gentlefolks that

calls themselves the guides of the popular mind does it! I'm no

ignoramus. I read the newspapers, and knows what's what." "You read

them to some purpose," said I. "Well, if you are lamed for life, and

unfitted for any active line--turn newspaper editor; I should say you are

perfectly qualified, and this day's adventure may be the foundation of

your fortune," thereupon I turned round and rode off. The fellow

followed me with a torrent of abuse. "Confound you," said he--yet that

was not the expression either--"I know you; you are one of the

horse-patrol come down into the country on leave to see your relations.

Confound you, you and the like of you have knocked my business on the

head near Lunnon, and I suppose we shall have you shortly in the

country." "To the newspaper office," said I, "and fabricate falsehoods

out of flint stones;" then touching the horse with my heels, I trotted

off, and coming to the place where I had seen the old man, I found him

there, risen from the ground, and embracing his ass.

I told him that I was travelling down the road, and said, that if his way

lay in the same direction as mine he could do no better than accompany me

for some distance, lest the fellow who, for aught I knew, might be

hovering nigh, might catch him alone, and again get his ass from him.

After thanking me for my offer, which he said he would accept, he got

upon his ass, and we proceeded together down the road. My new

acquaintance said very little of his own accord; and when I asked him a

question, answered rather incoherently. I heard him every now and then

say, "Villain!" to himself, after which he would pat the donkey's neck,

from which circumstance I concluded that his mind was occupied with his

late adventure. After travelling about two miles, we reached a place

where a drift-way on the right led from the great road; here my companion

stopped, and on my asking him whether he was going any farther, he told

me that the path to the right was the way to his home.

I was bidding him farewell, when he hemmed once or twice, and said, that

as he did not live far off, he hoped that I would go with him and taste

some of his mead. As I had never tasted mead, of which I had frequently

read in the compositions of the Welsh bards, and, moreover, felt rather

thirsty from the heat of the day, I told him that I should have great

pleasure in attending him. Whereupon, turning off together, we proceeded

about half a mile, sometimes between stone walls, and at other times

hedges, till we reached a small hamlet, through which we passed, and

presently came to a very pretty cottage, delightfully situated within a

garden, surrounded by a hedge of woodbines. Opening a gate at one corner

of the garden he led the way to a large shed, which stood partly behind

the cottage, which he said was his stable; thereupon he dismounted and

led his donkey into the shed, which was without stalls, but had a long

rack and manger. On one side he tied his donkey, after taking off her

caparisons, and I followed his example, tying my horse at the other side

with a rope halter which he gave me; he then asked me to come in and

taste his mead, but I told him that I must attend to the comfort of my

horse first, and forthwith, taking a wisp of straw, rubbed him carefully

down. Then taking a pailful of clear water which stood in the shed, I

allowed the horse to drink about half a pint; and then turning to the old

man, who all the time had stood by looking at my proceedings, I asked him

whether he had any oats? "I have all kinds of grain," he replied; and,

going out, he presently returned with two measures, one a large and the

other a small one, both filled with oats, mixed with a few beans, and

handing the large one to me for the horse, he emptied the other before

the donkey, who, before she began to despatch it, turned her nose to her

master's face, and fairly kissed him. Having given my horse his portion,

I told the old man that I was ready to taste his mead as soon as he

pleased, whereupon he ushered me into his cottage, where, making me sit

down by a deal table in a neatly sanded kitchen, he produced from an old-

fashioned closet a bottle, holding about a quart, and a couple of cups,

which might each contain about half a pint, then opening the bottle and

filling the cups with a brown-coloured liquor, he handed one to me, and

taking a seat opposite to me, he lifted the other, nodded, and saying to

me--"Health and welcome," placed it to his lips and drank.

"Health and thanks," I replied; and being very thirsty, emptied my cup at

a draught; I had scarcely done so, however, when I half repented. The

mead was deliciously sweet and mellow, but appeared strong as brandy; my

eyes reeled in my head, and my brain became slightly dizzy. "Mead is a

strong drink," said the old man, as he looked at me, with a half smile on

his countenance. "This is at any rate," said I, "so strong, indeed, that

I would not drink another cup for any consideration." "And I would not

ask you," said the old man; "for, if you did, you would most probably be

stupid all day, and wake the next morning with a headache. Mead is a

good drink, but woundily strong, especially to those who be not used to

it, as I suppose you are not." "Where do you get it?" said I. "I make

it myself," said the old man, "from the honey which my bees make." "Have

you many bees?" I inquired. "A great many," said the old man. "And do

you keep them," said I, "for the sake of making mead with their honey?"

"I keep them," he replied, "partly because I am fond of them, and partly

for what they bring me in; they make me a great deal of honey, some of

which I sell, and with a little I make some mead to warm my poor heart

with, or occasionally to treat a friend with like yourself." "And do you

support yourself entirely by means of your bees?" "No," said the old

man; "I have a little bit of ground behind my house, which is my

principal means of support." "And do you live alone?" "Yes," said he;

"with the exception of the bees and the donkey, I live quite alone." "And

have you always lived alone?" The old man emptied his cup, and his heart

being warmed with the mead, he told his history, which was simplicity

itself. His father was a small yeoman, who, at his death, had left him,

his only child, the cottage, with a small piece of ground behind it, and

on this little property he had lived ever since. About the age of twenty-

five he had married an industrious young woman, by whom he had one

daughter, who died before reaching years of womanhood. His wife,

however, had survived her daughter many years, and had been a great

comfort to him, assisting him in his rural occupations; but, about four

years before the present period, he had lost her, since which time he had

lived alone, making himself as comfortable as he could; cultivating his

ground, with the help of a lad from the neighbouring village, attending

to his bees, and occasionally riding his donkey to market, and hearing

the word of God, which he said he was sorry he could not read, twice a

week regularly at the parish church. Such was the old man's tale.

When he had finished speaking, he led me behind his house, and showed me

his little domain. It consisted of about two acres in admirable

cultivation; a small portion of it formed a kitchen garden, while the

rest was sown with four kinds of grain, wheat, barley, peas, and beans.

The air was full of ambrosial sweets, resembling those proceeding from an

orange grove; a place which though I had never seen at that time, I since

have. In the garden was the habitation of the bees, a long box,

supported upon three oaken stumps. It was full of small round glass

windows, and appeared to be divided into a great many compartments, much

resembling drawers placed sideways. He told me that, as one compartment

was filled, the bees left it for another; so that, whenever he wanted

honey, he could procure some without injury to the insects. Through the

little round windows I could see several of the bees at work; hundreds

were going in and out of the doors; hundreds were buzzing about on the

flowers, the woodbines, and beans. As I looked around on the

well-cultivated field, the garden, and the bees, I thought I had never

before seen so rural and peaceful a scene.

When we returned to the cottage we again sat down, and I asked the old

man whether he was not afraid to live alone. He told me that he was not,

for that, upon the whole, his neighbours were very kind to him. I

mentioned the fellow who had swindled him of his donkey upon the road.

"That was no neighbour of mine," said the old man, "and, perhaps, I shall

never see him again, or his like." "It's a dreadful thing," said I, "to

have no other resource, when injured, than to shed tears on the road."

"It is so," said the old man; "but God saw the tears of the old, and sent

a helper." "Why did you not help yourself?" said I. "Instead of getting

off your ass, why did you not punch at the fellow, or at any rate use

dreadful language, call him villain, and shout robbery?" "Punch!" said

the old man, "shout! what, with these hands, and this voice--Lord, how

you run on! I am old, young chap, I am old!" "Well," said I, "it is a

shameful thing to cry even when old." "You think so now," said the old

man, "because you are young and strong; perhaps when you are as old as I,

you will not be ashamed to cry."

Upon the whole I was rather pleased with the old man, and much with all

about him. As evening drew nigh, I told him that I must proceed on my

journey; whereupon he invited me to tarry with him during the night,

telling me that he had a nice room and bed above at my service. I,

however, declined; and bidding him farewell, mounted my horse, and

departed. Regaining the road, I proceeded once more in the direction of

the north; and, after a few hours, coming to a comfortable public-house,

I stopped, and put up for the night.