Harley Beckford

Chapter I. The Alehouse

" This sigD hangs well, and hinders none ; Refresh and pay, and travel on." The pithy and plain-speaking couplet we have quoted was inscribed in gilt characters, somewhat tarnished with exposure to the weather, at the foot of a sign, on the upper part of which was more largely written, " The Pilgrim's Rest." To make this sentence clear to the humblest understanding, the viUage Van Daub had adorned the sign with a goodly painting, showing the sort of pilgrim and the nature of the rest typified therein : for, in a comfortable chair, two armed and wide-shouldered, sat a very portly per sonage, with a huge walking-stick reared up beside VOL. i. b him ; and before him, on a sturdy table, stood a large stone jug and a capacious glass, foaming with ale, a small dish of tobacco, and a clean pipe. Whatever ideas romantic people may have of pilgrims, the painter had his own notion of what they should be ; rightly comprehending the interests of his employer, and the sort of guests he wished to see.

The tokens of refreshment thus liberally exhibited had their effect on the passing traveller, and were attractive enough to bring many a straggling thirsty soul to the PUgrim's Rest. It is true that the traditions of the house told a different tale to the latter half of the first line ; for many a solitary pilgrim had been hindered for hours in pursuing his journey, when duty and interest equaUy urged him on, by the aUurements of that potent pot of ale and that clean pipe, which quenched the fever of travel and calmed the troubled spirit of the traveller. Yet, for aU this, it was certain that the worthy landlord looked well after the character of his house, and the character of his customers, at the same time. Of payment, it is reported, he always took good care ; and in addition to the precept on the sign, he had with his own hand chalked up, in large Roman capitals, right over the chimney-piece, the most conspicuous place in the house, these emphatic words "no tick," which, however inexphcable to the unlearned, were weU understood by those for whose edification they were written.

Men not over-friendly to the host would now and then insinuate that that portion of his motto which spoke of traveUing on was seldom adverted to whUe the pilgrim had wherewithal to meet his demands ; but that no sooner had he discovered, by some profound intuition known only to himself, that that singularly interesting nook in a man's apparel, commonly and therefore vulgarly caUed the breeches-pocket, was becoming empty, than he peremptorily referred to his sign, and insisted that the pilgrim should not only " pay," but " travel on." Be this as it may, we can testify of our own knowledge, that the pUgrim who would well and duly discharge the moderate tax levied by Jabez Thrift and his good lady, might make himself quite at home at the PUgrim's Rest. The house so designated stood on the side of one of the great highways of England, which traversed the midland counties in an easterly direction, a Uttle apart b from a populous viUage which, from the thriving state of the manufactures carried on therein, was fast rising to the magnitude of a town.

It was one of those old fashioned houses which show that, if our ancestors knew little of exterior elegance, they understood the art of making their habitations both strong and com fortable. Four ample windows were in front, where the fragile glass was supported by heavy partitions of stone, intersected by iron bars, which defied the in trusion of unwelcome visitors, and admitted only what were wanted- — light and air. The entrance to the house was a projecting porch of stone, lined with benches of the same material, so roomy as to afford resting-places for a dozen pilgrims, or more, in a warm summer evening, to quaff their nut-brown ale and burn their Virginian weed. Over this porch was a stone tablet, which bore an inscription markinothe puritanical time of its erection, and much at variance with the habits of the pilgrims of these latter days, and ran as follows : — BESOBERBEVIGILANTFORYOTJR ADVERSARY Y^DEVIL&OETHABOUTLIKEAROARING LIONSEEKINGWHOMHEMAYDEVOURTOMSTEVENSON.

Passing through the porch, a heavy oaken door, wellstudded with iron knobs, admitted the guests into a room called the house-place ; an apartment of large size, having a floor of slabs of Yorkshire stone, and furnished with substantial benches of oak, black with age. The mantel-piece, as it was called, stretched aU across the room, and was of oak also, rudely carved into the faces of cherubs, whose sweUed cheeks seemed plumped out with good living, and whose cheerful countenances seemed to answer to the merri ment about them with dimpled smiles. An iron grate projected from the wall, of such ample dimen sions, that a whole sheep might have been roasted be fore it with ease ; but, for economy's sake, this ample space was contracted by an upright slab of stone, so placed as to be movable at pleasure, and make room for a large fire when a httle one was of no use.

Over the grate was an iron bar, which, turning on a swivel, would either lie flat against the waU when not wanted, or when it was would stand out stoutly, and hold the hooks from whence were suspended spits, pans, kettles, and whatever else was required for culinary purposes. Both iron bar and hooks were extremely bright: for Mrs. Thrift held the honour of her house as especially identified with the polish of her pothooks; and, adopting as her maxim for every day a proverb of her own, " A dirty pothook shows a dirty cook," would have no such disgraceful inference drawn from the condition of her implements of housewifery. Along the walls and from the sturdy rafters were sus pended those striking portions of the picture of old English comfort — flitches of home-cured bacon, bacon-hams, and dried tongues, numerous enough to sustain a garrison during a long siege.

The room was likewise furnished with strong, high backed chairs, and huge, clumsy tables to correspond, all made of oak, and all more or less carved with quaint devices of chubby cherubs and long-tailed dragons of great antiquity, and of such stout stuff that they had defied the dislocations and fractures to which such articles are commonly exposed. On one side of this room was a dresser, from whence arose shelf over shelf up to the very ceiUng, on which were ranged, in comely rows, many pewter platters and dishes. And woe to the unlucky wight who dared prosanely to touch these sacred objects of her care, never used but on high days and holidays — such as the anniversary of her wedding ; on which great day they did many a good yeoman service : for, with a liber ality uncommon to landlords, old Thrift kept open house to aU comers who had the proper pilgrim garb on and could show the cockle-shell of old acquaintance.

And in this liberality was he seconded by his good hearted wife, who was no niggard when need was for hospitality. Nor did Jabez Thrift lose sight of the every-other-day prosperity of the PUgrim's Rest, in this one day of prodigaUty : on the contrary, he con trived to make it productive of profit in the increase of staple and stable customers thus drawn in for a day's entertainment. In a passage out of this place a door opened into a smaU weU-furnished apartment, the sanctum sanctorum of landlords and landladies, in common parlance called the Bar, where our gracious hostess was wont to dis tribute her delicious draughts, and brew her enchant ments. There, as if indigenous to the spot, was a smaU leaden recess, in which shone a brightly-bur nished copper flagon, foaming at the top with mighty home-brewed ale.

Round about, on hooks sacred to such purposes, hung sundry pewter tankards and measures of large and small capacity, made expressly for the contentation of Old England's ancient and brave barley-wine. Over these goodly vessels, at due distances, stood several portly-bellied bottles, with sUver labels round their necks, bearing the agreeable inscriptions of rum, brandy, hollands, shrub, sherry, &c. ; and flanking these were all sorts of jugs and mugs and glasses, to carry the fragrant contents of the aforesaid bottles to whoever caUed for them. The position of the bar was admirably adapted to answer aU the purposes of a good landlady. A window on one side enabled her to overlook the room already described, where her guests met and mus tered ; while another window opened to the kitchen, which gave her eyes, ever on the look round, con stant command over the goings-on of her servants.

At the end of the passage before mentioned there was yet another room, an inscription on whose door informed you that this was the parlour, or place sa cred from the common vulgar. It was in width and breadth somewhat less than the house-place ; but everything appertaining to it had an air of neatness and comfort, which made such as entered therein not much in a hurry to emerge therefrom. There was a good warm carpet on the floor, some choice old paintings, and a head of Lord Nelson, after Hoffner, on the waUs, an old-fashioned pier-glass over the fire - place, a weU-stored buffet, and some highly-pohshed chairs and tables, all evidences to the comfort a man might hope to enjoy while a parlour guest under the roof-tree of honest Master Jabez Thrift. As to the rest of the house, nothing more need be said at present, than that the beds were soft and weU-aired, and models of cleanUness. b5

Chapter II. Saturday Night

" The night drave on wi' sangs and clatter." — Burns. Whoever has not seen the inside of a country ale house on a Saturday night, has a very imperfect knowledge of the character of the working-man and labouring peasant of Old England : for it is there, and at this particular time, that a truer developement of each man's peculiarity is seen than anywhere else at any other time. See them engaged in their daily task, and there is but the one uniform appearance of plodding industry and close application to their calling ; but on Saturday night, when the toils of the week are over, their wages received, and their families provided for, a loose is given to the pent-up feehngs, and a more open display is made of the pecuUar bias of individual character. The untaught wit, the formal pedant, and the foolish and the wise politician, have each their respective sphere ; and, with the same regularity as the revolutions of time, each proceeds to his accustomed station, and resumes the accustomed theme.

In Jabez Thrift's common room assembled every Saturday evening at least a dozen of the people of Belford, whose coming might be expected with certainty. Others came occasionaUy, but these were the standard guests ; and so punctual was their at tendance, that Thrift always had their chairs set in those places where they were accustomed to fix, and no casual visitors were suffered to disturb the arrangement. Occasionally, parties not acquainted with the rules had disputed them ; but they were soon silenced by the sagacious Jabez, who sternly refused to draw his liquor tiU the refractory vacated the privileged chairs. It was Saturday evening, in the month of October, 1817, that the usual party were met in the PUgrim's Rest. The fire had been trimmed for the night, the hearth-stone swept, and the ashes carefuUy removed : the landlord had, without orders, furnished the accustomed beverage to every guest, he knew their habits so well : a tray of pipes was on the table, be side a japanned tin box, which bore this limping in scription : — " A halfpenny pay before you fill, Then smoke away as fast as you will and the company seemed duly to have paid toll, and were smoking away as fast as they could smoke.

There was nothing remarkable in the appearance of the greater number of the guests : they were aver age looking men — nature's commonplace men, of various ages, and following different callings : some seemed to be employed in agriculture, others were artisans or small shopkeepers in the neighbouring town. Among the latter, there was one man distinguished from the rest, partly by the singular in teUigence of his countenance, and partly by the peculiarity of his garb, which consisted of a light grey coat, with straight collar, single-breasted, and shaped in the laps like a quaker's ; the waistcoat, long and plain, of the same material; while that portion of attire which modern fastidiousness has set down as inexpressible, was of the same prevail ing grey, and terminating a little below the knees, where two large sUver buckles were seen smartly shining ; while the legs, below, as if to carry out the individuaUty of this man's appearance to the end, were cased in light-grey worsted stockings.

What originally led him to adopt this singular garb it is not now necessary to inquire ; but, whatever other" fitness it might possess, it certainly became well the name he bore, which was John Gray. Attractive as the dress might be from its singular unity, it was less so than the face of the wearer. His chin and mouth were rather small ; the nose large and aquiUne ; the forehead broad and lofty ; and the coal-black eyes of such peculiar power, that they fastened the attention of whoever looked at them on the instant. His hair was combed back, which gave a fuUer view of the upper portions of his countenance, and added somewhat to its intellectuaUty. By a sort of tacit consent of the company, this John Gray was considered president whenever he came, and, as he had most to say, their principal spokesman.

" Any news stirring to-day, John?" inquired a Uttle man, in rusty black, from the other side of the room, whose appearance was strongly indicative of the schoolmaster. " You were at the market to-day : is corn coming down ? " " No, neighbour," replied Gray : " nor wiU it, if our great landlords can help it. And they can ; for, as they have the making of the laws, we may be sure they wUl contrive to turn them to their own benefit ; and their new corn-law, what is it but a law to keep up their old rent ? Ay, ay ! small chance of anything happening to befriend the poor, and benefit their interests, till they have a hand, too, in this law-making." " That is not likely to happen in a hurry," said the schoolmaster : " nor do I think it needful. Poor men have enough to do in minding their daily labour.

Their attention should be occupied with what concerns their families. Uneducated, or ill educated, they are not the men to enact laws for the common good. This must be the work of gen tlemen, who, exempted from the necessity of labour ing for themselves, can devote their time and their enlarged knowledge to the good of the community. Besides, to condemn all these landlord law-makers, as you do, is too sweeping a censure. They are men moulded and made up of the common ma terials of humanity ; and are less likely, in their station, to be swayed by selfish motives than are the poor, to whom matters of small moment are of the gravest importance." " Why, what a thrice sodden ass art thou, Mas ter Birchem," cried Gray, laughing, " thus to plead the cause of our oppressors ! They have gotten thy nose down to the grindstone, and are grind, grind, grinding it, and yet thou speakest for them as if they were thy best benefactors !

Poor men, thou sayest, have enough to do to earn bread for their famiUes : they have no leisure, thou sayest, to weigh matters affecting the public weal ? Well, that is true : they have enough to do to earn their bread, and have no leisure for the pubhc good. But answer me this — Why have they no leisure ? Why is all their time engrossed in severe labour for scanty reward ? Why, but because your taskmasters have contrived to make all your labour more conducive to their profit than to your own ? And while you, and your wives, and your children toU hard for Uttle bread, do not your labours maintain in idleness and profusion your lords and your ladies, your dukes and your earls, your princes and your kings, and I know not who besides, down to the fiftieth cousin of a lord ? Is there a high post in the army ? my Lord Lubberly has a son.

Is there a fat Uving in the church ? Sir Booby Blockhead has a brother. Is there an office unfilled in the state ? the Earl of Rottenborough has a first cousin. And thus, with out regard to merit and fitness for office, these high gorging cormorants batten on the pubhc weal : while we, forsooth, whose labour makes all their riches, are to be taunted with the ignorance this very state of slavery keeps us in ! We are first debarred the opportunity of becoming wise, and then the misfor tune of our involuntary ignorance is to be the rea son why the curse should be perpetuated upon us ! No, no," Gray went on, warming with the subject ; " this wiU never hold ! There is a spirit abroad in the world, whose mighty wings are fanning the fire which will consume these laws of the rich which write down the poor as slaves of the land, as easily and as entirely as fire shrivels up a parchment-scroll tiU it is cinder, and nothing more.

It is not among the noble and the wealthy that the great strength of the national wiU and inteUect exists ; it lies lower down, if you Uke to say so, in the under-stratas of society ; and, in spite of them, the great shall soon see startling proofs of the rising energies of man. The impulse given to mind has aroused the young giant from his sleep : he begins to stretch his limbs, and feel his growing strength : the bands wliich swaddled him are powerless to hold him ; and expect ere long to see him tower in the majesty of his might, and demand, with the stern voice of a resistless wUl, the birthright of man. Thou saidst, Master Birchem, that I attributed selfishness ex clusively to the upper classes ; but I ascribe it not to them alone. I know too weU that it is the leaven that leaveneth aU men, high and low ; that all men in possession of power naturaUy wrest it to their own advantage as exclusively as they can.

The poor and the rich are ahke in this : they are aU in herent rascals ; and it is only by playing off the selfishness of opposing classes against each other, that we can hope for anything Uke getting our own ultimately in the world. Let not the rich alone make laws for the poor ; let not the poor make laws for the rich ; but let rich and poor make laws together for both, and thus estabUsh justice on the broad basis of the common brotherhood of man. "Bravo, bravo, John!" cried several voices as one. " Thou hast hit the right nail on the head." " And you seem disposed to give it a clencher," said Birchem. " WeU, be it so ; and for my part, whenever neighbour Gray puts up to represent Bel ford in parliament, I shall give him a plumper. Meanwhile, here's to thee, John Gray." " Thanks, thanks !

" said Gray, smiling. " But, lightly as you treat the matter, Birchem, things as strange have happened. We are not to judge of what is to take place by what has gone by : the past is not the model for the future ; each new discovery is a stepping-stone to something still greater ; coming ages wiU enjoy a brighter glory than has yet 3hone upon the world. Hitherto, deep night has mantled the universe, and men have walked by starlight only ; but the grey dawn is coming fast ; the sun will soon arise, and shine forth in cloudless glory. Yes, yes, Birchem, the schoolmaster is indeed abroad ; and first form and second form, to the last form and least urchin in the school, will feel his power ere long, take my word for it. The new-breeched schoolboy knows more of useful knowledge in these days than the oldest greybeard of the town a century since.

In chemistry, geology, mechanics, commerce, in every thing that tends to embeUish life, we are on the move forward : and shaU poUtical science alone stand stUl ? No : the movement is too mighty ; mind is fermenting, the leaven is working. FeudaUsm and barbarism, toryism and whiggism, and every other ism, are waning away ; and society shall be regulated and governed hy principles of equality of rights and justice to aU. A man shaU be weighed by his moral and mental worth ; rank shall sink into insignificance, and wealth shall confer no other influence than that of greater usefulness." " And pr'ythee, John," said an old farmer in a fustian frock, who had been gaping open-mouthed aU the while Gray was speaking, " when is aU this to take place ?" " Aye, there thou posest me, old friend," said Gray.

" I know not when folly will die. She's far older than either thou or I, and will outlast us both. Well, so be it; we must e'en be fools like the rest sometimes ; and so here goes for a night on't. Let's club for a bowl of Thrift's punch, and bid care go drown himself. What say ye, hearties ? Birchem, discreetest of men, shall we troU the brown bowl about ? Eh, thou conjugator of boy and birch 9 " " We can agree there," said Birchem. And general assent being given by the mouths present that a bowl should be brewed, the materials were ordered to lie on the table as soon as possible ; and these were soon produced by the ever-ready hostess, as well as a ponderous China bowl, a shining silver ladle, and a proper complement of clean glasses worthy to be filled with so precious a compound. " There is but one man in these parts who knows how to brew a bowl of punch worth drinking," said Gray ; "and here he is.

To thine office, friend Pestlewood, for thou art the man. Many a draught hast thou mixed, of which neither man nor angel knew the use. I could never abide aught of thy mingUng but a glass of punch ; and of that I care not how much or how often I take quantum suff., as the learned say. Make physic for the dogs, Pestle wood, but make me a jorum of punch, if you love me." The person deputed to this delicate task was a long-visaged man, of saUow complexion, and an obhque cast of the eye. He was not one of your talking men : that which is such an unruly member in other men rarely wagged with him ; and when it did, it was shortly, in words of one syllable, and one at a time. But he was an eloquent smoker ; the pipe was rarely out of his mouth ; and even the most important parts of his avocation were carried on without interrupting that interminable indulgence.

Though he never took part in conversation, nor evinced any emotion, let what would be said, as a listener there was no man Uke him ; and the attentive way in which he regarded those that spoke won the goodwUl of every speaker. Pestlewood on this occasion proceeded to the task set for him, without showing the least sign of pride in the praise bestowed on him, in a serious, business-Uke manner. A quantity of lump-sugar was first thrown into the bowl ; then enough boUing water to dissolve it ; then brandy on one side, and rum on the other, were poured in slowly in equal quantities ; then taking a lemon, he peeled off thin transparent shavings of its pungent rind, till he had spread the surface of the liquor with little golden-coloured floating isles ; and then sent away all the rest of the lemon.

" Hot !" he said, just opening his mouth wide enough to emit the sound ; when Thrift, who knew his manner, and respected his parts in punch-making, handed him a kettle of boihng water. This he took with the same settled look as before, and pouring a part of it into the bowl, he whirled the ladle several times round and round, as if in triumph, till a creamy appearance swam on the surface of the " care-drowning stream." It was enough, his task was done ; he pushed his chair modestly back from the table, resumed his pipe, and sat with the same rigid face as ever, quietly smoking. " Bear this, the maiden glass, to our good hostess," said Gray, as he handed it to Thrift. " And now, lads, charge your glasses, and ' Let the bumper toast go round.' ' To our noble selves ! ' ; The punch justified the eulogium passed on its compounder : it was excellent ; and a loud smacking of lips, though not saying much for the refinement of the company, evinced the keen sense of enjoyment with which they swallowed it.

When two or three glasses each had thus agreeably gone down, their spirits began to rise, and an unusual glow of good humour prevailed. " Good Uquor deserves a good song," said Birchem. " Come, Gray, set us a copy ; and let us have one of the newest." " With all my heart, and as much music as I have in me," said Gray, readily ; and he proceeded to sing, with a voice of more power than melody, the verses following : — JOLLY BACCHUS When Bacchus tumbled from the sky, He was so injured by the fall, That on the earth it made him he, For he could neither stand nor crawl. Beside him, as he grovelling lay, There grew a fair, luxuriant vine ; He took the helmet from his head, And squeezed it full of rosy wine. No sooner had he quaffed the juice, Than all his pains and aches were o' er " Oh glorious fall !

" he laughing cried : " I was but half a god before ! " This Bacchus was a jolly dog, And when he found the treasure, " I will,' ' said he, " make many gods, And man shall share my pleasure." He gave the draught, and bade him take A pull till he was mellow : He gulp'd it all, and Bacchus swore Man was a jolly fellow ! " More yet ! More yet ! " the toper cried : " This suits with any weather !" They both sat down, and troll'd the bowl, Till they got drunk together. "John Gray's good health and good song !" was then given by the company, with some enthusiasm. " It is my turn to caU now," said John, gravely ; ': and I am not sorry that it falls to me to select one who really can charm the ear by the touching melody of his voice, as well as he can deUght the mind by the masterly eloquence of his discourse.

It is true that his power in these things is but Uttle known, his exceeding modesty leading him, in general to shun the applause even of his friends ; but I trust, on this occasion, that he will not forget that he is safe among us." This was said in a tone so serious, and with such gravity of face, that when he named Pestlewood as the man he meant, who had never been known to utter more than two or three words, if he could help it, since he came into the parish, the whole company burst into a shout of laughter. With imperturbable gravity, Gray affected to chide them for their ill manners, and persisted in calling on Pestlewood for the next song: while he, "good, easy man," no way disturbed by the laughter of the one, or the ironical praises of the other, went on placidly smoking as if nothing had happened.

Two words alone escaped him during the continued urgency of Gray : the first expressive of physical inability, and the second of dogged determination. " Come, neighbour Pestlewood, cough, and clear your throat, and sing," said John. " Can't !" said Pestlewood. " That we cannot believe," said Gray. " Your modesty alone prevents you. Come, sing, sing !" VOL. I. c " Shan't ! " said Pestlewood ; and not even a re petition of these short answers, after this, could be extracted from the obdurate apothecary. " There is not one grain of mirth in the compo sition of the whole man," said Birchem. " Amend thy call, John." " That I will," said Gray, who was beginning to feel the effects of drinking punch, and in its first stages was well disposed to be waggish. " Here is Obadiah Broadflap, in whose mind I can see the spirit is working, and he will anon pour forth dulcet and delectable floods of melody.