Higgledy-Piggledy E-Book

Edward Hugessen Knatchbull-Hugessen

• Herausgeber: Word Well Books
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen presents us with his usual Christmas contribution in the shape of six stories in a volume bearing the title of ‘Higgledy-Piggledy.’ In the ‘Crone of Charing’ we have a real witch of the older kind who victimizes an honest carrier, puts life into milestones and sign-posts, scoffs at Justices of the Peace, and despises constables. ‘The Squirrel and the Hedgehog’ is a tale of woodland life, whilst ‘The Pig of Cheriton’ relates the adventures of a camel who was captured by fairies, and only released (under the directions of the pig) by certain difficult and curious methods, one of which required the silence of a respectable female for a longer period than females (respectable or not) are won’t to remain silent. In ‘The Mermaid’s Boy’ a lost prince receives a marine education at the hands of the sisters of the sea; and in ‘Prince Merimel,’ the ‘Faun of the Capitol’ and other statues, appear in a totally new character. The last tale is ‘Billy’s Story,’ which may be left to speak for itself. Includes nine illustrations from original images by Richard Doyle engraved on wood by G. Pearson. —Notes on Books, 1875

Leseprobe

The Crone of Charing.

It was a very cold afternoon. During the previous night a great quantity of snow had fallen, and then Jack Frost had come in to play his part, and bind the snow firmly on to the face of the earth, telling it fairly enough that, as it had chosen to come where it had not been invited, there it should stay and act as a white great-coat to the fields and roads, and trees and hedges, which it had invaded. Then the wind had risen, and, not finding things as cheerful as it expected, had risen higher and higher still, as if determined to blow them into a more pleasant condition. Did it blow? Just didn't it! I believe it did—just as if it thought it had got one chance to do so which inight not occur again, and had better be made the most of. At all events, whatever the reason, the wind blew keenly and bitterly from the northeast, and hurried the clouds over the face of the sky much faster than any cloud, gifted with the smallest atom of self-respect, could have wished to travel. Not that there was much object for clouds to stay and dawdle in such a sky as there was on this particular afternoon. The sun, after making a faint pretence of rising at his usual hour in the morning, had apparently tucked his head altogether under the bedclothes and turned in again, as some young people whom I know would not unfrequently like to do on a cold winter's morning. At all events, he had only come out for a very short time, and had evidently found the world much too dull a place to be worth lighting up with his genial rays. For all one could see, there might just as well have been no sun at all, and the clouds had it all their own way, and drove on before the wind in great, dark, heavy masses, covering the whole face of the sky, and apparently becoming heavier and darker as the day wore away and the evening began to approach.

I began by saying that it was a very cold afternoon, and I said that which was strictly the truth. So, at least, thought old Job Spurling, the carrier from Maidstone to Ashford, as he walked by the side of his horse along the road between Lenham and Charing, and found it a difficult task to keep from freezing as he did so. Anyone who is fortunate enough to know the locality of which I speak, will bear me out in the assertion that a colder or bleaker road would be difficult to find. Sufficiently far from the hill (that famous Back-bone of Kent so often chronicled by the recounter of truthful Fairy legends) to prevent the latter from affording shelter to the traveller, the road runs, for the most of the way, near enough to receive the full effect of the cold breezes which, in winter weather, sweep along the hillside with chilling influence upon man and beast. Trees are few, hedges small, fields large, and, if bad weather is ever to be encountered, this is one of the places where he who has to encounter it had need to be well prepared beforehand in the matter of great-coats, thick handkerchiefs, and any other device by which cold can be prevented from chilling the bones of frail humanity.Job Spurling knew the road right well, and knew, moreover, that he had need of all the protection which his great-coat could afford him, to say nothing of the woollen 'comforter' with which the care of his excellent wife had provided him in years gone by, before she had left this world for one in which Job affectionately hoped she would be free from cold. Nevertheless, so bitterly cold was the evening, and so piercing the wind, that no covering seemed effectual to resist its attack. As to sitting in his cart, that had long ago been out of the question, and, as he trudged by the side of his horse, Job felt constrained, every now and then, to stanıp violently upon the ground, and even to resort to a species of dance, which ill-accorded with the natural dignity of a carrier, but which was absolutely necessary to prevent his feet from freezing as he went.

It may well be imagined that, under these circumstances, worthy Job was in a frame of mind by no means cheerful, and that his temper was less placid and easy than might have been the case in a different position of affairs. Not to mince matters, Job was becoming decidedly cross as the evening advanced and his cart did not, or, at all events, advanced so slowly as to promise a longer journey than he had expected. Old Sultan the grey horse which for the last five years (ever since he had been sold off from Sir Edward Dering’s stable, and bought by Job at a bargain) had drawn this well-known vehicle, found it difficult to stand, more so to move, and, most of all, to draw the cart along at a faster rate than that which is usually known as ‘a snail’s pace.’ He did the best he could, poor old fellow; but even a horse can do no more; and Job knew better than to hurry him, as, should accident befall him, he would have difficulty in replacing so welltried and useful an animal. So there was nothing for it but to plod wearily on, longing for the time when the little town of Charing should be reached, and a mug of ale have been earned and drank, which would cheer him forward on his road to Ashford.

He was more than half-way between Lenham and Charing, and was pushing on steadily, encouraging Sultan as he went, when a fresh gust of wind, sharper and colder than any he had yet experienced, swept from the hills, and seemed to penetrate to his very marrow. It was really beyond the endurance of mortal carrier, and Job’s temper completely gave way under this last assault. ‘Burn my old grandfather's boots!’ he exclaimed, in tones both loud and vehement; ‘how the darned old wind do blow, sure-ly! I never knowed such a night afore, not since I was a born man—drat the weather, say I!’

This outburst on the part of worthy Job had, as may be supposed, not the smallest effect upon the elements. On the contrary, the wind seemed to howl and rage, if possible, more fiercely than before, and whirled the snow, wherever the latter lay loosely enough for it to do so, into Job's face, as if it had a special spite against him which it had determined to take that opportunity of venting once for all by the most savage and well-sustained assault. ‘Drat the wind!’ repeated the carrier with renewed energy, and would probably have proceeded to the use of other language, of a similar and even less refined character, had not the current of his thoughts been suddenly changed, and his attention directed to matters which caused him for the moment to forget even the coldness of the weather and the acuteness of his own sufferings.

Sultan, who had been manfully—or rather I should say horsefully--doing his best to drag his master's cart along the snow-encumbered road, now suddenly stopped, set his fore-feet firmly in the ground, and snorted fearfully. Evidently he saw something which surprised or frightened him, and Job Spurling had not long to wait before he saw something too. Approaching from the direction of Charing, and advancing slowly down the middle of the road, came a procession which appeared to be one of considerable length. It was some thirty or forty yards before his cart when Job first became aware of its approach, and for a moment or two he could not, for the life of him, make out what it was. As it drew nearer and nearer, however, and the dim light enabled him to see the objects before him somewhat more distinctly, he perceived, to his intense astonishment, that the procession was one composed entirely of milestones. Yes! impossible though it seemed, there could be no doubt of the fact. Walking two-and-two, in solemn silence, like mourners at a funeral, came an apparently interminable procession of real, actual, unmistakable milestones. There could be no doubt about it, and, what was more, they were milestones all more or less connected with that part of the country; for as they came on, Job could see upon their faces, or fronts, or whatever is the proper name by which to call the upper part of a milestone, letters and figures plainly carved, which indicated the distance from certain places, to show which these stones had been set up at various parts of the road. The number of miles to London, Faversham, Dover, Folkestone, Ashford, and other places, was inscribed on the different milestones, and the astonished carrier almost fancied that he could swear to particular stones which he remembered at particular points in the roads with which he was best acquainted. He had plenty of opportunity, too, of observing them all, for when they came to the spot at which the affrighted Sultan had stopped with the cart in the middle of the road, the procession divided in two, one milestone going on one side, and the other on the other side, of the vehicle, coming together again as soon as they had passed it. Whether they had feet or not was more than Job Spurling was ever able to declare with certainty; if they had, he did not see them; if they had not, it was marvellous to see how quietly and gracefully they moved over the ground. Not a milestone stumbled or fell, not one fell out of line, loitered, or interfered with the regular order of their march, but all went silently and steadily forward, as if they were only taking that natural exercise which, for all I know, may be as good for milestones as for men.

Job was lost in amazement. The first thought that crossed his mind (which was not unnatural for a carrier) was the great trouble which would be caused to travellers by the absence from their places of so many indicators of distance; they would certainly be terribly missed all along the road, and unless they had warned the local authorities of their intended absence, great inconvenience would inevitably result. This thought, however, was speedily forgotten in the intense wonder which Job felt at so remarkable an occurrence as that which was thus passing under his very eyes. It struck him as more than probable that no human being had ever seen such a thing before. In the tales and legends of Fairy times which had reached the ears of the worthy carrier, animals had been made to speak, trees had been changed, into men, and strange mysterious sights had been witnessed by trembling mortals. But surely the wildest imagination which had ever invented a fairy legend had never depicted to itself such an extraordinary incident as that of a grave, sober, generally immoveable milestone being suddenly endued with powers of animation, leaving its accustomed position, and abandoning its sacred duty of declaring to travellers their distance from the town to which they journeyed.

And when this appeared to have, nay, certainly had (if he was to believe the evidence of his own eyes) been the case not only with one, but with many milestones at once, it passed even the bounds of ordinary witchcraft, and became something too vast, too wonderful, too awful for human comprehension! With eyes as wide open as a codfish-with trembling limbs and sinking heart, did Job Spurling gaze upon the procession which thus passed him, and it was not until nearly the whole of it had gone by that he plucked up courage to try and discover what was the meaning of the affair, and the reason of the unusual course taken by those who formed the procession.

One of the last milestones which approached him was a stone of mild and peaceful appearance ; the moss which time had placed upon its face spoke of age and respectability, and as it told upon its open countenance the relative distances of Ashford, Charing, Maidstone, and London, Job felt that, although at the moment he forgot its particular position, it must doubtless be an old acquaintance, and, being connected with that part of the country, might be disposed to be friendly and communicative. Emboldened by this hope, the good man opened his mouth, and with faltering tones accosted the object which approached him. ‘Mr. Milestone,’ he said, ‘What’s up now? Whatever’s the row with all of and where the dickens be you off to?’ At the sound of his voice the milestone stopped suddenly, though at the manifest risk of throwing the whole procession out of order. It stopped, I say, shook itself so violently that Job distinctly saw several pieces of loose moss fall from it to the ground, and in a deep sepulchral voice gave utterance to these words of terrible significance: ‘The finger-posts are up!’ and then resumed its journey, leaving the honest carrier in still greater amazement and perplexity than before. He stood stock-still, alternately shivering and wondering, until the last milestone had passed out of sight, and then he began to think, not without some reason, that standing still there would never bring him on to Charing and Ashford. The worthy Sultan, too, seemed to be of the same opinion, and to have overcome, for the time at least, his objection to proceed. Giving a snort of relief, as if thankful that the strange procession was over, he commenced moving of his own accord, and being encouraged in the attempt by his master, they advanced side by side along the road as heretofore.

Not far, however, had they proceeded, when a shout of wild laughter was borne upon the blast to Job's astonished ears; this was speedily followed by another and another, and yells and shouts such as those which might have proceeded from a party of ale-house revellers who had outstayed the proper drinking hour, and imbibed more than was good for them, were plainly to be heard. Once again did Sultan suddenly stop, snort fearfully, and fix his forefeet in the ground as if he could not be induced to move forward. Once again did Job stare, fitfully and fearfully, through the dusky atmosphere, and once more was he beyond measure astonished and bewildered at the sight which greeted his eyes.

Coming up the road, nay, rather crowding up, appeared a huge army of finger-posts, evidently gathered from all the Weald of Kent and its neighbourhood. In fact, the names inscribed upon the fingers, by which I mean the cross pieces of wood at the top of the posts, sufficiently indicated the localities from which they came: Charing, Ashford, Bethersden, Egerton, Smarden and a multitude more names of parishes, well-known to Job, being plainly visible as they approached. Unlike the previous procession, these kept no order and no silence. One would have supposed that upon an occasion important enough to have drawn these public servants from their appointed places, some show of discipline would have been maintained. For instance, well-painted, sound finger-posts from main roads or turnpikes might with propriety have commanded detachments from the cross-roads. Again, the larger posts might have preceded the smaller, or the posts with three or four indicating 'fingers' might have acted as superior officers to those who could only boast of one or two. Nothing of this kind, however, was perceptible in the order of march, which was, in fact, as much of disorder as could well be imagined. Four-fingered, three-fingered, and twofingered posts were all crowded together, reeling one against another in such a way that their fingers, frequently became entangled to their mutual danger; upright, strong, new posts forced their way forward, regardless of the old, feeble, and rotten, just as in the world of men, alas! the rich and strong too often pass on their way trampling down the weak and poor who would fain move at their own quiet pace in the same direction.

And as they pressed forward, shouts and cries, cheers and laughter, broke from the approaching throng, and Job could distinctly hear the purport and tenor of some of these. ‘Down with the milestones!’ they shouted. ‘No milestones! Fingerposts for ever!’ and the carrier at once awoke to the conviction that this could be nothing else than a regular rebellion of the wooden against the stone indicators of distance. As he had hitherto been unaware of any jealousy or ill-feeling between the two classes, he was infinitely puzzled to know what to make of it, and remained staring with his mouth wide open until the advancing party was close upon him. Never had such an extraordinary sight presented itself to the honest carrier. Strange, indeed, had been the procession of milestones, but there had been something approaching to dignity and even solemnity in the steady silence with which they had gone on their way. But that a set of finger-posts should also be on the move, and should come along the road, roaring and roystering like intoxicated human beings, was altogether wonderful and beyond his powers of comprehension.

For some time he stood speechless with amazement, and very likely would not have found voice to speak nor courage to use it if one awkward lout of a post with three fingers had not knocked off his hat with one of them in passing, and continued to go forward without a word of apology. ‘Dash my wig, but that's coming it pretty strong!’ cried Job upon the impulse of the moment. 'Be you a finger-post, mate, or what be ye, running against honest folks as never harmed ye?' Now even as Job spoke, the thought came over him that if the old adage ‘as deaf as a post’ held good in the present case, his speech might very possibly remain unanswered, and therefore he raised his voice as loud as he could while he uttered the closing words of his sentence. The party addressed, however, was evidently neither deaf nor dumb, for scarcely had the words escaped him, when the carrier saw the finger-post turn round and point at him contemptuously with one of its fingers, upon which was distinctly stated that which was plainly and palpably untrue in its then position, namely, that it was two miles to Tenterden. At the same time, a harsh voice issued from the centre of the post. which said in a scornful tone: ‘Why here's a mortal! Neither finger-post nor milestone, I declare! What’s the use of it? Ha! Ha!’ and in another moment Job found himself the centre of a considerable group of posts, all pointing at him with their fingers, and making as though they would speedily crush him between them.

This prospect was by no means pleasant, nor was Job at all prepared to suffer without resistance. In what manner, however, he could or would have resisted an attack of the kind threatened, was a point which he might have found some difficulty in determining. Fortunately for him, he was not called upon to do so, for at that very moment a remarkably clean, new, spruce finger-post came hurrying up and urged his companions forward. ‘Gentlemen,’ he said, ‘we have sure intelligence that the enemy is in force a few miles further on. Pray do not stand dallying here. Every post will be required in the coming struggle, and delay is treason to the cause!’

At these words, the finger-posts around Job appeared to be struck with a sense of shame at their conduct in remaining trifling there when duty required them elsewhere. Turning from Job as from an object unworthy of further notice, and turning, too, so hastily that the unhappy carrier's head ran the greatest risk of being summarily knocked off by their protruding fingers,' they formed at once into some kind of line, and pursued their course along the road in the direction previously taken by the milestones.

Job Spurling stood as one thunderstruck, gazing after the retreating finger-posts in the most utter bewilderment. Was he asleep or awake? Was that which had just happened a real, actual occurrence, or was it a dream, a fancy, or something which might have happened a long time ago, in the days of fairies and witches, of which some old woman had told him in his childhood, and which he had just recollected and seen with his 'mind's eye?' The shouts were still in his ears, the sight had scarcely vanished from before his eyes, and his mind was in such a state of confusion as the mind of no carrier had probably ever been before. Ere long, however, the reality of the cold wind was such that he could stand where he was no longer, and after one more appeal to Sultan, to which the latter readily responded, man, horse, and cart steadily advanced upon their road. Their rate of progress, however, was but slow, and nearly an hour elapsed before Charing was approached by the travellers.

Just before they reached that ancient town, Job became aware of a running, shuffling noise behind him, which caused him at once to turn round in order to ascertain from whence it could possibly proceed. He had not long to look before he perceived the very selfsame finger-post which had so lately jeered at and derided him as a mere mortal. Changed, however, was its appearance and demeanour as it now hurried along the road, sobbing and groaning as it went. Not without cause were its lamentations, as Job speedily perceived. One of its fingers had been wrenched or knocked violently off, another had the letters upon it almost effaced as if by blows, and its whole frame appeared bruised and marked with notches and indentations. Evidently the poor thing had been subjected to severe treatment, and it seemed as though flying in haste from those who had inflicted the same.

Such, indeed, was the case, as Job gathered from the words which the finger-post let fall as it pursued its retreating course: ‘Oh dear! oh dear!’ it cried; ‘how hard these milestones are! I wish I was a hurdle!—I wish I was a gate—I wish I was a hog-backed stile! Who’d have thought of an ambush there? Oh dear! oh dear! how I ache all over!’ and so it passed along, and disappeared amid the shades of the now rapidly-approaching night.

Job at once perceived what had happened: the noisy procession of rebellious finger-posts had evidently fallen into an ambush prepared for them by their enemies, and, from the condition of the fugitive whom he had seen, they had in all probability suffered severely. But if the sagacious carrier had entertained any doubts upon the point, they would speedily have been set at rest by that which immediately followed. A great and increasing tumult arose behind him, and in a few moments he was overtaken and passed by the whole body of flying finger-posts. Helter-skelter they came on, rushing in mad confusion down the road, with broken fingers, maimed bodies, defaced inscriptions, and bearing the sure and visible tokens of a defeated army.

Poor old Sultan was so terribly alarmed by this noisy column, that his master could with difficulty prevent him from bolting, cart and all, which would certainly have resulted in a serious accident. By standing at his head, however, and keeping tight hold of him, the old horse was kept quiet whilst the fingerposts swept by, although their cries and gesticulations were more than sufficient to have frightened any horse who was not perfectly regardless of all that passed around him. The routed army, moreover, was not unpursued. Hot and heavy upon their heels (if finger-posts can be fairly said to have heels) came the infuriated but triumphant milestones. With hoarse and eager cries they pressed forward upon the flanks of the defeated foe, jumping weightily upon the hindmost, smashing fingers and damaging posts wherever they could come up with them.

Job Spurling stood aghast at this extraordinary spectacle, the like of which he had never imagined even in his wildest dreams. ·’Death to traitors!’ ‘Down with the wooden slaves!’ were the cries which rang in his ears, and among the crowd of milestones who presently pounded by him he recognised beyond all doubt the milestone on Hothfield Heath, who, for many years past, so long as Job knew, had quietly and unobtrusively maintained his position by the side of the turnpike road, charged with the sole and solitary duty of announcing to the world the relative distances of Ashford, Maidstone, and London. Yes; there it was, beyond all doubt. Job recognised it by several well-known marks, and then and there determined that if that stone ever resumed its original position, he would endeavour to ascertain the meaning of that night’s performance by earnest and searching inquiry of one of the actors. He flattered himself that he could see as far into a millstone as any of his neighbours, and although a milestone was not exactly the same thing, he could but do his best, and that best was well worth doing in order to unravel so strange a mystery.

In a very short time the whole array of victors and vanquished had passed beyond the sight and ken of the worthy carrier. Once more he roused the faithful Sultan to action, and in a short quarter of an hour they entered the little town of Charing. At the foot of the hill was the hostelry at which honest Job invariably stayed for refreshment alike for man and beast, and hither accordingly he betook. himself at once, benumbed in body by the cold and sore disturbed in mind at the extraordinary occurrences of the evening. So much time had been consumed upon the journey that it was nigh upon eight o'clock before Job drew up at the door of the inn, and, having taken Sultan out for that hour's rest and feed of corn which the good horse had so well earned, walked into the tap-room and called for a hot glass of grog, of which, indeed, he stood strongly in need.

Several other people were in the room, of whom he took little notice until he had obtained and taken a hearty gulp of the liquor which he had ordered. Then he looked round upon the yokels who were seated comfortably over their pipes, ale, and other commodities which the house afforded for the warming of the body and the cheering of the soul, and heaved such a deep sigh as had the effect of immediately attracting to himself the attention of everyone in the room.

‘Why, Master Spurling!’ observed the host, a short, fat, red-faced, bustling little man, who had for the moment seated himself at the end of a form hard by where the carrier stood, but who watched with eager eye the mugs and pots of his company, ready to replenish them at the shortest notice; ‘Why, Master Spurling, what ar’t sighing and groaning about? Methinks ‘tis a precious good job for thee to be out of the cold for a while, and a time rather for mirth and jollity than for such doleful sounds!’

‘Alas and alack a day!’ replied the carrier. ‘Thou sayest well, friend Skinner’ (for such was the name by which mine host was known). ‘There is truth in thy words, as ever. But for those who have seen the sight which has greeted mine eyes this blessed night, there is no mirth nor jollity until the matter has been further explained.’

‘What sight?’ ‘What matter?’ eagerly exclaimed half a dozen voices at once, and the host himself quickly replied, ‘An thou has seen ought that may be held to be marvellous or uncommon, Job Spurling, tell it, I pray thee, to this good company forthwith. It ill befits a inan to keep such things within his own breast, and if they are named at all they should be told outright.’

‘True,’ returned Job with another sigh. ‘True; and yet what I have to tell is so passing strange that I know not how to tell it.’

At these words the company, whose curiosity had now become thoroughly aroused, began vehemently to ply the carrier with questions, until he declared that he could by no means tell his tale by means of answers, but that if they would but be silent for a while, they should know all. Thus adjured, the party became silent and allowed Job to tell his tale, which he did without further delay, and thumped his hand so hard upon the table in corroboration of his recital, that the contents of several glasses were summarily reduced by the jar which followed. All listened with breathless interest until Job had quite finished, and then began a titter, which presently broke out into a loud laugh from several present.

‘Why, Job, man, you've been dreaming!’ said one. ‘I reckon he took a good spell and a long drink at the “Dog and Bear afore he left Lenham,’ remarked another. What’s the good of ro-mancing like that ‘ere?’ asked a third; and it was but too evident to Job that his story had been received with almost universal incredulity.

He heaved a deep sigh. ‘Well, mates,’ he said, ‘there’s no call for ye to believe without ye please. But inasmuch as seeing is believing, I must fain believe what I’ve seen with my own mortial eyes—and that’s all about it!’

‘Now, come, Job, man,’ remarked the landlord, ‘we’re all friends here, and no one wishes to disbelieve a worthy old friend such as thou art; but was there ever such a tale as that which thou proposest to us? Milestones and finger-posts to be roaring and rampaging about the country like living creatures? How could such a thing come to pass?’

‘I know not, Master Skinner, I know not,’ replied Job, shaking his head mournfully as he spoke. ‘Truth to tell, had another told me that such a sight had been seen by himself, I would scarce have believed it, had it been my own brother—which, by the way, it could scarce have been, since poor Tom has been dead and buried this forty year come Michaelmas. But when a thing happens to oneself, what can one say or do?’

‘The man speaks fair enough,’ said an old rustic who had hitherto kept silence; ‘and, to my mind, there’s no drink about him. Perchance there is more in this tale than we wot of.’

‘Ay? say you so, Master Chambers?’ rejoined the host. ‘Thou art well skilled in matters of ancient learning, and knowest much of what perplexes and puzzles younger men. Can'st thou say ought which may throw light upon this strange occurrence?’

Thus directly addressed, the old man took his pipe out of his mouth, shook his head very gravely, and then spoke as follows: ‘I know not—I know not,’ he said. ‘Folks that pretend to know more than they do, or who seek to know more than they ought, are but fools for their pains. But this I do know, that there is much going on around us which is beyond the ken of common men, Have we not heard of the witches who travel on broomsticks through the air? Have we not been told of staves and staffs which, without being held by visible hands, have sorely beaten those who had offended against the powers of magic? And know we not well that those powers have much influence and authority all along our old hill? Who can say but that magic has been at work to-night, and that Job Spurling has really seen the strange sight he tells of? Remember, friends, where we are, and who dwells near us.’

As the old man concluded his words, a visible shudder ran through his audience, and a low whisper began amongst them, as if some idea had seized upon their minds to which they had not courage to give expression in words. One word, however, was muttered through the circle, and gradually became audible to anyone who might have been listening. ‘The Crone—the Crone—he means the Crone,’ was the sentence which was whispered around, and all trembled as they spoke. For, in truth, the Crone of Charing was a formidable personage, well known and much dreaded by the peasantry of those parts. Who, what, or of what age she was might not be known; it was sufficient that she was a tall, gaunt old woman, who had her habitation in some of the fastnesses of the great Longbeach woods, and to whom was attributed every misfortune which fell upon the people of Charing and the neighbouring villages. Not that any particular damage had ever been directly traced to her, nor, indeed, had the inhabitants of that neighbourhood been especially unfortunate, but the Crone of Charing had, somehow or other, acquired that bad name which is proverbially supposed to lead to the strangling of a dog, or, at all events, to reduce him to such a condition that he might as well be hanged off-hand. No one had a good word for her, and yet few dared to say a word against her, such was the mingled fear and hatred with which folks of those days regarded a person to whom the name and character of a witch had once been given.

The only thing, however, which could at all associate the Crone with Job Spurling's story was her extraordinary habit of sitting upon milestones. Constantly during the summer afternoons, and especially when evening was coming on, the singular figure of the old dame might be seen seated upon a milestone, her fingers generally most busily employed in knitting. She selected no one milestone for her habitual seat, but sat indiscriminately upon any which she happened to fancy at the moment; and this, coupled with the fact that she was seldom seen walking to the place, and always waited until dark, when no one was about, before she left it, increased and encouraged the general idea of her supernatural character. Sometimes at one spot, sometimes at another, she was to be found by those who sought her, but invariably upon a milestone, This circumstance, which suddenly occurred to the rustic party upon the words of old Chambers, gave them some slight suspicion that, if any belief at all was to be attached to the extraordinary tale of Job Spurling, it might be connected in some mysterious manner or other with the famous Crone of Charing.

The suggestion, however, had the effect of stopping further gossip upon the subject. Mine host, fearful that what had passed might empty his taproom, and thus prevent the emptying of his bottles, made vigorous efforts to change the conversation, and succeeded sufficiently well to prevent the mischief which he had anticipated. An air of doubt and heaviness, however, appeared to pervade the party, and the talk was of a less lively and careless description than was usually the case in that pleasant little room. This became apparent to Job Spurling, who, moreover, could not but feel that he had been the unfortunate, though involuntary cause of the change. Like a worthy fellow as he was, therefore, he determined to shorten his stay, and to leave the others to enjoy themselves without the burden of his presence. One more tumbler of grog he thought he had earned, and a good strong one too, considering that he had still a six miles' journey through the cold, and this he called for without further delay.

When he had duly discussed it, and finished a pipe which he also thought might tend to enable him to face the night with greater powers of endurance, he wished the company 'good evening' and prepared to take his departure. Sultan was taken out of the stable (wherein he would doubtless much rather have stayed), and having been duly fastened to the cart, the carrier was about to recommence his journey, when a hand was laid upon his shoulder, and turning round he encountered the earnest gaze of old Chambers.

‘Job, my man,’ said the latter, ‘I would fain have one word with thee before thou startest on thy journey.’

Say on, Master Chambers, say on,’ replied the carrier, but, an’ it be your will, let the word be short and sweet, like a donkey's gallop. I am late enough already, and the good folks of Ashford are like to be put out if I reach not the town till two hours after my usual time.’

‘Care not thou for that,’ rejoined the venerable man. ‘Thou hast seen strange sights to night, and my advice to thee is to keep them to thyself. A prating tongue makes mischief to its owner, and there are things which a man may see and hear, but concerning which he does well to be silent. I have known men called warlocks and wizards—ay, and roughly treated as such, and all for having seen, or pretended to have seen, things not half so strange as those which thou hast doubtless witnessed. Keep a wist tongue, Job, keep a wist tongue, and thou wilt do well.’

So saying, the old man turned away, and was apparently about to re-enter the house, when Job, who had listened to his speech with the respect due to his years and reputed wisdom, bethought him that it would be well to thank him for the same.

‘Thank ye kindly, Master Chambers,’ he said, ‘I doubt not but that thou judgest rightly. And yet it goes against the grain for an honest out-spoken man of Kent to bury within his heart all the uncommon things he may chance to see, and keep them hidden like a kernel within a nutshell.’

‘So it may, Job Spurling,’ returned the other, ‘but what is against the grain is sometimes the best and safest, and thou hast had no one to support thee as a witness in this case, so that it would be thy word against all reason and probability, wherefore thou mayest well say on the morrow that thou didst but invent an idle tale to amuse the tavern folk.’

‘That will I never!’ cried sturdy Job. ‘What? eat my own words and own me a liar? No, Father Chambers, not for Job Spurling. And as to witness—why, I’ll tell thee what! If any more should chance to occur to-night, an' thou wilt mount the cart and come with me, thou thyself shalt be witness to me! Thou shalt see, moreover, that the milestones are not in their usual places along the road, and notably the milestone on Hothfield Heath thou shalt find absent. Come, old friend, climb up, and let us be off at once.’

‘How can that be?’ exclaimed the old man, ‘when I have not prepared myself for a night journey, which to a man of my time of life is a serious matter.’

‘Never mind,’ cried Job, delighted with the sudden idea of having a companion for the rest of his journey, and determined to secure him if possible. ‘Never mind, there is plenty of straw in the cart, which, moreover, has a right good covering to keep out the cold, and with a good great-coat, and a couple of sacks over thy knees, thou wilt be as warm as a toast. Climb up.’

At these words the old man seemed to hesitate, as if half persuaded by the carrier's eloquence. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘to be sure I’ve got my greatcoat on, and living as I do all alone, there is no one to be put out or frightened at my absence from home. I have half a mind, Job, to come along with thee as thou proposest.’

‘Never think twice about it,’ exclaimed the other. ‘Up with thee, Master Chambers, up with thee!’

And so saying he took the old man by the arm, and helped him up into the front part of the cart, where he made him as comfortable a seat as he could arrange, and after having overcome Sultan's manifest disinclination to renew his journey, they set off in the direction of Ashford.

As night drew in, the weather had somewhat changed. The wind, to use a Kentish word, had ‘segged,’ i.e. lulled, and no longer swept bitterly over the open country as before, and indeed the road on the Ashford side of Charing was altogether less bleak and exposed. The sun having so entirely failed to light or cheer the day with his powerful rays, had long since retired to rest, and the moon was now trying her softer influences upon the weather. Stars had also come out in considerable numbers to see what was going on, so that upon the whole there was every appearance that the rest of the night would be bright and fine, although quite as cold as the travellers could desire. They made themselves as comfortable as they could, and Job Spurling, having mounted up by the side of Chambers, felt much the happier for having a companion. He forthwith began to enlarge upon the occurrences of the evening, and stoutly maintained the truth of every word which he had said in the taproom.

‘And you shall see, Master Chambers,’ concluded he, after an animated description of the headlong flight of the finger-posts and pursuit of the triumphant milestones, ‘you shall see that as we pass along the road we are about to travel, there will be no milestones in their places. What will have become of them I cannot say, but they never will be got back yet after such a row as they've been in to-night.’

His companion replied little to this remark. He had a long, loose greatcoat, which he kept wrapped round him as well as he could, and appeared more careful about this than about the subject which honest Job would fain have enlarged upon at greater length. Another subject, however, soon demanded the attention of the carrier, for Sultan, who had borne himself so bravely all the journey, now either became so sluggish or so weary that he could apparently hardly drag the cart along the road. This unusual failure on the part of his well-tried animal somewhat disturbed the mind of worthy Job, and he began to pay attention to his steed, to the exclusion of other matters. Sultan strained and laboured mightily, but yet the cart made slow progress, and it was evident that the good folks of Ashford would have to wait for their Maidstone parcels until a later hour than usual. All of a sudden, Job happened to look up, and saw that they were passing the spot where a milestone usually stood, and not only so, but that there stood the milestone just as usual, quietly and unobtrusively doing his duty after the fashion of his kind.

‘Odds bodikins!’ cried Job. ‘Here’s one of them, then, who wasn’t in the battle, at all events. To see him look so calm and still and quiet, one would never believe that a milestone could move from its place, would one, Master Chambers?’

‘Surely not, surely not,’ replied the other, chuckling as he spoke. ‘It’s all right, gossip Job, an’ thou stick’st to what I told thee, there's none will believe thou hast seen aught out of the common way, and no evil will befall thee.’

‘Not so,’ responded the sturdy fellow, ‘I will tell no lie, and hide no truth, friend Chambers. This milestone may have been left behind, or may have refused to leave his place, and no fool either. But as to the next we come to, just upon Hothfield Heath, I will swear that I saw him in the very thick of the battle. Over and over again have I passed him in my journeys ‘twixt Maidstone and Ashford, and should know him among a thousand. Mark my words, that stone is not in its place tonight, Master Chambers, just see if it is.’

To this observation his companion only replied by an inarticulate murmur from amid the folds of the wrapper which he had wound round his neck, and they said no more to each other until they came close upon Hothfield Heath, poor Sultan meanwhile toiling and moving forward with efforts that were visibly painful. Thus they slowly approached the spot upon which was generally to be seen the particular milestone with which Job Spurling was so intimately acquainted. Judge of his surprise and astonishment when he beheld the milestone standing in its usual place as soberly and sedately as usual, and bearing no signs of having ever moved one single inch from the position which it had filled, satisfactorily and respectably, for many years past.

‘Goodness gracious me!’ cried Job, and startled at the same moment by a groan which burst from his companion as he uttered the words, would doubtless have asked him at once whether anything ailed him, had not his attention been suddenly called elsewhere. There was something standing there besides the milestone! Leaning against it, with her arms a-kirnbo, and glaring with evil eyes at the approaching cart and its occupants, stood the figure of a woman.

It was not a tall figure, but rather the contrary—somewhat stout—very red-faced, and dressed, as far as Job could see, in a gown of ordinary materials, such as were generally worn by the peasant-women of that day, and with a scarlet cloak over its shoulders. But the expression of the features of this figure was very wicked, and it needed no second glance to tell you that she was one of a bad sort. Under her arms was tucked a long broomstick, and she glared defiantly at the travellers as they drew near.

Job, though naturally a brave man, trembled from head to foot when he perceived this unpleasant person, and was about to nudge his companion and call his attention to the figure, when something happened. so entirely unexpected as to take his very breath away with surprise. Up rose by his side the fellow-traveller with whom he had been journeying in so friendly a manner, threw off the loose greatcoat in which he had hitherto been enveloped, and disclosed to the astounded Job, not the features of old Master Chambers, but those of a tall, gaunt woman, in whom he had but little difficulty in recognising the celebrated Crone of Charing. In one single instant the truth flashed across his mind, and he understood the cause of Sultan's disinclination to start and difficulty in drawing the witch-laden cart along the road. Master Chambers had never left the tap-room! It was the Crone herself, who, in his likeness, had accosted Job at the door of the inn, had led him on to offer her a lift, and even suffered him to help her into the cart, because, thought Job (for so he had been taught), these creatures cannot enter the houses or carriages of honest mortals unless the latter shall themselves assist them over the threshold or into the vehicle.

Why or wherefore the old Crone should have desired to travel in Job Spurling's cart, when she could have gone to her destination, one would have supposed, so much more easily by some magical conveyance, is a question which Job could not then answer, and which I frankly own myself unable to determine now. The carrier's cart was the conveyance, at all events, which she preferred, and in which she travelled that night, and so it came to pass that the unlucky carrier found himself apparently in a position of very great peril and discomfort, with a witch beside him in his cart, and, as far as he could judge, another standing by the side of the road. It seemed for a moment that he was thus caught between two fires, and could scarcely expect to escape from one or other.

It was but for a moment, however, that this idea prevailed in Job’s mind, if, indeed, the fright which possessed him allowed any idea at all to be present therein. His fellow-traveller, upon whose shoulders appeared a gray cloak, similar in all but colour to that worn by the other dame, drew forth a broomstick which she had hitherto kept concealed beneath the loose great-coat, flourished it wildly above her head, in dangerous proximity to that of Job, and, as she stretched herself to her full height, cried out in shrill and unearthly tones through the night air—‘Here stands the Mother of Milestones! Hurrah for the Crone of Charing!’

Hardly were the words out of her mouth, when the figure, which had hitherto remained motionless by the milestone, stretched out its right hand and defiantly snapped its fingers at the speaker, whilst in its left hand the broom-stick appeared, tightly grasped, as if ready for immediate use if necessary. At the same time, in a gruff, deep voice, which seemed to proceed from the lower abyss of some deep pit, the following words were growled forth in answer to those which had just been spoken: ‘Ho! for the Hag of Hothfield Heath! Fix the Finger-posts and mizzle with your Milestones!’

No more words were interchanged between the two dames; with surprising agility the Crone of Charing sprang past Job, whose hat she knocked off in doing so, leapt first upon the wheel and then to the ground, and, without more ado, rushed furiously upon her adversary. It was a curious, and yet a terrible, sight. Here were two creatures, in the shape and dress of females of a certain age, in the middle of a night, beneath the wintry sky, upon the wild plain of Hothfield Heath, each armed with a stout broomstick, belabouring each other with might and main. This was curious enough, but what made it terrible was the frightful and demoniac expression of the faces of both the combatants, and the exceedingly bad language which they used towards each other—language, indeed, of too bad a character to be transcribed in the pages of a respectable book. There was no bad name under the sun which they did not apply to each other, and their vocabulary of abuse appeared to be really inexhaustible. Behind them, as they fought, the ground sloped gradually up towards the east and south-east, covered with fern, and dotted about with small thorn-trees as far as the crest of the higher knoll, upon which stood a group of larger trees, at a distance of about a quarter of a mile from the fray. To the south and south-west the Heath sloped downwards, and the ground bore plenty of rushes, and was evidently of a more soft and swampy character.