Westward Ho [34]
his off-stirrup. In which shock off came hat and feather.
"Pardie, the bulldog-faced one is a fighting man. Dost see, Frank? he has had his head broken."
"That scar came not, my son, but by a pair of most Catholic and apostolic scissors. My gentle buzzard, that is a priest's tonsure."
"Hang the dog! O, that the sailors may but see it, and put him over the quay head. I've a half mind to go and do it myself."
"My dear Amyas," said Frank, laying two fingers on his arm, "these men, whosoever they are, are the guests of our uncle, and therefore the guests of our family. Ham gained little by publishing Noah's shame; neither shall we, by publishing our uncle's."
"Murrain on you, old Franky, you never let a man speak his mind, and shame the devil."
"I have lived long enough in courts, old Amyas, without a murrain on you, to have found out, first, that it is not so easy to shame the devil; and secondly, that it is better to outwit him; and the only way to do that, sweet chuck, is very often not to speak your mind at all. We will go down and visit them at Chapel in a day or two, and see if we cannot serve these reynards as the badger did the fox, when he found him in his hole, and could not get him out by evil savors."
"How then?"
"Stuck a sweet nosegay in the door, which turned reynard's stomach at once; and so overcame evil with good."
"Well, thou art too good for this world, that's certain; so we will go home to breakfast. Those rogues are out of sight by now."
Nevertheless, Amyas was not proof against the temptation of going over to the inn-door, and asking who were the gentlemen who went with Mr. Leigh
"Gentlemen of Wales," said the ostler, "who came last night in a pinnace from Milford-haven, and their names, Mr. Morgan Evans and Mr. Evan Morgans."
Mr. Judas Iscariot and Mr. Iscariot Judas," said Amyas between his teeth, and then observed aloud, that the Welsh gentlemen seemed rather poor horsemen.
"So I said to Mr. Leigh's groom, your worship. But he says that those parts be so uncommon rough and mountainous, that the poor gentlemen, you see, being enforced to hunt on foot, have no such opportunities as young gentlemen hereabout, like your worship; whom God preserve, and send a virtuous lady, and one worthy of you."
"Thou hast a villainously glib tongue, fellow!" said Amyas, who was thoroughly out of humor; "and a sneaking down visage too, when I come to look at you. I doubt but you are a Papist too, I do!"
"Well, sir! and what if I am! I trust I don't break the queen's laws by that. If I don't attend Northam church, I pay my month's shilling for the use of the poor, as the act directs; and beyond that, neither you nor any man dare demand of me."
"Dare! act directs! You rascally lawyer, you! and whence does an ostler like you get your shilling to pay withal? Answer me." The examinate found it so difficult to answer the question, that he suddenly became afflicted with deafness.
"Do you hear?" roared Amyas, catching at him with his lion's paw.
"Yes, missus; anon, anon, missus!" quoth he to an imaginary landlady inside, and twisting under Amyas's hand like an eel, vanished into the house, while Frank got the hot-headed youth away.
"What a plague is one to do, then? That fellow was a Papist spy!"
"Of course he was!" said Frank.
"Then, what is one to do, if the whole country is full of them?"
"Not to make fools of ourselves about them, and so leave them to make fools of themselves."
"That's all very fine: but--well, I shall remember the villain's face if I see him again."
"There is no harm in that," said Frank.
"Glad you think so."
"Don't quarrel with me, Amyas, the first day."
"Quarrel with thee, my darling old fellow! I had sooner kiss the dust off thy feet, if I were worthy of it. So now away home; my inside cries cupboard."
In the meanwhile Messrs. Evans and Morgans were riding away, as fast as the rough by-lanes would let them, along the fresh coast of the bay, steering carefully clear of Northam town on the one hand, and on
"Pardie, the bulldog-faced one is a fighting man. Dost see, Frank? he has had his head broken."
"That scar came not, my son, but by a pair of most Catholic and apostolic scissors. My gentle buzzard, that is a priest's tonsure."
"Hang the dog! O, that the sailors may but see it, and put him over the quay head. I've a half mind to go and do it myself."
"My dear Amyas," said Frank, laying two fingers on his arm, "these men, whosoever they are, are the guests of our uncle, and therefore the guests of our family. Ham gained little by publishing Noah's shame; neither shall we, by publishing our uncle's."
"Murrain on you, old Franky, you never let a man speak his mind, and shame the devil."
"I have lived long enough in courts, old Amyas, without a murrain on you, to have found out, first, that it is not so easy to shame the devil; and secondly, that it is better to outwit him; and the only way to do that, sweet chuck, is very often not to speak your mind at all. We will go down and visit them at Chapel in a day or two, and see if we cannot serve these reynards as the badger did the fox, when he found him in his hole, and could not get him out by evil savors."
"How then?"
"Stuck a sweet nosegay in the door, which turned reynard's stomach at once; and so overcame evil with good."
"Well, thou art too good for this world, that's certain; so we will go home to breakfast. Those rogues are out of sight by now."
Nevertheless, Amyas was not proof against the temptation of going over to the inn-door, and asking who were the gentlemen who went with Mr. Leigh
"Gentlemen of Wales," said the ostler, "who came last night in a pinnace from Milford-haven, and their names, Mr. Morgan Evans and Mr. Evan Morgans."
Mr. Judas Iscariot and Mr. Iscariot Judas," said Amyas between his teeth, and then observed aloud, that the Welsh gentlemen seemed rather poor horsemen.
"So I said to Mr. Leigh's groom, your worship. But he says that those parts be so uncommon rough and mountainous, that the poor gentlemen, you see, being enforced to hunt on foot, have no such opportunities as young gentlemen hereabout, like your worship; whom God preserve, and send a virtuous lady, and one worthy of you."
"Thou hast a villainously glib tongue, fellow!" said Amyas, who was thoroughly out of humor; "and a sneaking down visage too, when I come to look at you. I doubt but you are a Papist too, I do!"
"Well, sir! and what if I am! I trust I don't break the queen's laws by that. If I don't attend Northam church, I pay my month's shilling for the use of the poor, as the act directs; and beyond that, neither you nor any man dare demand of me."
"Dare! act directs! You rascally lawyer, you! and whence does an ostler like you get your shilling to pay withal? Answer me." The examinate found it so difficult to answer the question, that he suddenly became afflicted with deafness.
"Do you hear?" roared Amyas, catching at him with his lion's paw.
"Yes, missus; anon, anon, missus!" quoth he to an imaginary landlady inside, and twisting under Amyas's hand like an eel, vanished into the house, while Frank got the hot-headed youth away.
"What a plague is one to do, then? That fellow was a Papist spy!"
"Of course he was!" said Frank.
"Then, what is one to do, if the whole country is full of them?"
"Not to make fools of ourselves about them, and so leave them to make fools of themselves."
"That's all very fine: but--well, I shall remember the villain's face if I see him again."
"There is no harm in that," said Frank.
"Glad you think so."
"Don't quarrel with me, Amyas, the first day."
"Quarrel with thee, my darling old fellow! I had sooner kiss the dust off thy feet, if I were worthy of it. So now away home; my inside cries cupboard."
In the meanwhile Messrs. Evans and Morgans were riding away, as fast as the rough by-lanes would let them, along the fresh coast of the bay, steering carefully clear of Northam town on the one hand, and on