_A shooting proposed--All afraid of the gun but one private
guard--His behaviour---Pendlehamby, at Peter's request, makes him a
general--Peter's discourse thereon--Remainder of his story--The colambs
return._
THIS being the fifth morning, I cleaned up my best gun, and prepared my
balls, and we all took a walk towards the bridge, every one admiring my
gun as we went; but I could get none of them to carry it, and we had at
least five hundred questions proposed about it. I told them they need
not be afraid of it, for it was only wood and iron; but they knew
nothing of iron. I then showed them how I made it give fire, by snapping
the cock; they thought it was very strange. I then put a little powder
in the pan, and made it flash, and showing them the empty pan, they
would not be persuaded but I had taken away the powder before the flash,
or else, they said, it was impossible that should be all gone upon
flashing only; for they said it was a little nut, using the same word
to express both nut and seed. I then desired one of them to put in some
powder and snap it himself; but having prevailed with him to try the
experiment, if I had not through caution held my hand upon the barrel,
the gun had been on the ground, for the moment it flashed, he let go and
ran for it.
I had a great inclination to gain the better of their prejudices, and
used abundance of arguments to prove the gun as innocent a thing as a
twig I took up; and that it was the powder which, when set on fire,
the flame thereof wanting more room than the powder itself did, forced
itself, and all that opposed it, out of the mouth of the gun with such
fury as to make the noise they heard; and being just come to the rock,
"Now," says I, "you shall see that what I tell you is true." They told
me they desired nothing more than that I would make them understand it,
for it was the strangest thing they had ever seen. "Well, then," says
I, "observe; I put in this much powder only, and with this rag I stop it
down close. Now," says I, "you see by the length of this stick that the
rag and powder take up the space only of a finger's depth on the inside
of the gun." They saw that plainly they said; "But how could that kill
anything?"--"Now, look again," says I, "I put in a little more powder,
as I did before when I made a flash, and you see there is a little hole
from this powder through the side of the gun to the powder within. Do
you observe that this communicates with that through this hole?"--"Yes,"
said they, they did.--"Now," says I, "when I put fire to this, it sets
fire to that within, which fire turning to flame, and wanting room,
bursts out at the mouth of the gun; and to show you with what force it
comes out, here handle this round ball," giving them a bullet to handle;
"you feel how heavy it is: now, can any of you throw this ball as far
as that rock?" for I stood a good hundred paces from it.--They told me
No.--"And don't you think," says I, "that if the force of the fire made
by this powder can throw this ball to that rock, that force must be
very great?"--They said, they thought it must, but believed it to be
impossible.--"But," says I, "if it not only throws it to the rock but
beats out a piece of the stone, must not that be much more violent?"
They agreed it must.--Then putting in the ball, "Now," says I, "we will
try." I then ordered one to daub a part of the rock, about breast high,
with some mud, and first to observe about it if the rock was anywhere
fresh broken, or not; who, returning, reported that the rock was all of
a colour and sound, but somewhat ragged all about the mud.--"Did you lay
the mud on smooth?" says I. He replied, "Yes."--Then lifting up my
gun, I perceived they were creeping off; so I took it down again, and
calling, reasoned with them upon their fears. "What mischief," says I,
"can you apprehend from this gun in my hand! Should I be able to hurt
you with it, are you not all my friends or relations--could I be willing
to do it? If the gun of itself could hurt, would I handle it as I do?
For shame! be more courageous; rouse your reason, and stand by me; I
shall take care not to hurt you. It looks as if you mistrust my love to
you, for this gun can do nothing but what I direct it to." By such like
persuasions, rough and smooth, I prevailed upon the major part of the
colambs and officers to stand near me to see me fire, and then I shot;
but though my words had engaged them to stand it, I had no sooner
snapped but the graundees flew all open, though they closed again
immediately; and then we fell to question and answer again. I desired
them to walk to the rock; and sent the person who put up the mark
before, to see and show us exactly what alteration there was. He told
us there was a round hole in the mud, pointing to it, which he did
not leave there, and taking away the mud, a thick shiver of the rock
followed it. They then all agreed that the ball must have made both the
hole in the mud and also splintered the rock, and stood in amaze at it,
not being able to comprehend it: but, by all the art I had, I could not
prevail with a man of them to fire the gun himself, till it had been
buzzed about a good while, and at last came to my ears, that a common
soldier behind said he should not be afraid of it if the gentleman would
show him how.
I then ordered the fellow to me, and he told me, with a composed look,
that it had always been his way of thinking, that what he saw another do
he could do himself, and could not rest till he had tried. "And, sir,"
says he, "if this gun, as you call it, does not hurt you, why should it
hurt me? And if you can make it hit that rock, why should not I, when
you have told me how you manage it?"--"Are not you the man that first
helped me up with the large fish yesterday?" says I. He told me he was.
I was prodigiously pleased with the fellow's spirit, "And," says I, "my
friend, if you will, and I live, you will hit it before you have done."
I then showed him the sight of the gun, and how to hold it; and being
perfect in that, "Now," says I, "shut your left eye, and observe with
your right, till this knob and that notch are exactly even with each
other and the middle of that mark; and when they are so, pull this bit
with your fore-finger, holding the gun tight to your shoulder." He so
exactly pursued my directions that he hit the very middle of the mud;
and then, without any emotion, walked up with the gun in his hand, as I
had done before; and turning to me very gravely, "Sir," says he, "it is
hit." I told him the best marksman on earth could not be sure of coming
so near his mark. He stroked his chin, and giving me the gun again, was
walking to his place; but I stopped him, and seeing something so modest
and sincere in his countenance and behaviour, and so generous in his
spirit, I asked him to which colamb he belonged. He told me to colamb
Pendlehamby.--"To my father?" says I; "then sure I shall not be denied."
I took him with me to my father, who was not yet come up to the rock.
"Sir," says I, "there is a favour I would beg of you."--"Son," says
he, "what is it you can ask that I can refuse you?" Says I, "'This man
belongs to your guards; now there is something so noble and daring in
his spirit, and yet so meek and deserving in his deportment, that if you
will load me with obligation, it is to make him an officer; he is not
deserving of so ill a station as a private man."
My father looking at me, "Son," says he, "there is something to be done
before he can be qualified for what you require." This, thinks I, is a
put-off. "Pray, sir," says I, "what can a man of courage, sense, and a
cool temper, want to qualify him for what I ask?"--"'Something," says
he, "which none but myself can give; and that, at your desire, I will
supply him with." Then, my father calling him, "Lask Nasgig, bonyoe,"
says he; that is, Slave Nasgig, lie down. Nasgig (for that was his name)
immediately fell on his face, with his arms and hands straight by
his sides; when my father, setting his left foot on Nasgig's neck,
pronounced these words: "Lask, I give thee life, thou art a filgay!"
Then Nasgig, raising himself on his knees, made obeisance to my father,
and standing up, stroked his chin; and my father taking him by the hand
in token of equality, the ceremony ceased.
"Now, son," says my father, "let me hear your request."--"It is only,
sir," said I, "preferment for the deserving, equal to his merit." My
father asked him if he understood the duty of a gorpell. He did not
reply yes, but beginning, gave a compendious sort of history of his
whole duty; at which all the colambs were very much surprised, for
even his comrades were not apprised, or ever imagined, he knew more of
military affairs than themselves. My father then asked him if he knew
how to behave as a duff; but he made as little difficulty of that as
the other, going through the several parts of duty in all the different
branches, in peace and war, at home and abroad. "Son," says my father,
"it is a mystery to me you should have found out more in an hour than I
myself could in half an age; for this man was born in my palang, of my
own lask, and has been mine and my father's these forty years. I shall
be glad if you will look on the rest of my lasks, and give me your
opinion; I may have more as deserving." I told him such as Nasgig were
not to be met with very often; but when they were found, ought to be
cherished accordingly.
"Sir," says I, "nature works upon the same sort of materials divers
ways; on some in sport, and some in earnest; and if the necessary
qualifications of a great man are impressed on our mass, it is odds but
we improve regularly into one, though it may never be publicly known, or
even to ourselves, till a proper occasion; for as a curious genius
will be most inquisitive after, and is most in the end retentive of
knowledge, so no man is less ostentatious of it. He covets knowledge,
not from the prospect of gain, but merely for its own sake; the very
knowing being his recompense: and if I may presume to give you a hint
how properly to bestow your favours, let it be on persons like this; for
the vain, knowing man, who is always showing it, as he for the most part
labours for it, to show out with, and procure his rise by it, were it
not for the hopes of that, would not think knowledge worth attaining;
and as his rise is his aim, if he could invent any more expeditious
method than that, he would not pretermit any ill act that might advance
him according to his lust of rising. But the man who aims at perfection,
from his natural inclination, must, to attain his end, avoid all ill
courses, as impediments to that perfection he lusts after; and that,
by Nasgig's worth being so little known, I'll answer for it is his
character. And this being true, yourself will deduce the consequence,
which is the fitter man to bear place; for with me it is a maxim, he
that labours after truth for truth's sake (and that he surely must
who proposes no worldly view in it) can't arrive at his ends by false
methods, but is always the truest friend to himself and others, the
truest subject to his lord, and the most faithful servant to his God."
My father then turning to me, "Son," says he, "you have enlightened me
more than ever I was before, and have put me on a new way of thinking,
for which I am to return you many thanks." And the whole company doing
the same, says my father, "I lost a brave general officer lately, who
was destined to the western wars which are breaking out, and have been
long debating in my mind to whom I should commit his corps; and but for
the hazard of the enterprise, I would have now given it to Nasgig; but
shall be loth to lose him so soon after I am acquainted with his
worth, so will think of some other post nearer my person for him, less
dangerous, though perhaps not so honourable."
"Great sir," says Nasgig, "I am too sensible of the honour already done
me, to think any post wherein I may continue to serve you either too
mean or too hazardous for me; and as valour is nowhere so conspicuous
as in the greatest dangers, I shall esteem my blood spent to great
advantage in any enterprise where my duty under your command leads me.
I therefore rather humbly request this dangerous post, that I may either
lose my life in your service, or live to see you justified in your
advancement of me by the whole nation. For what can I do, or how can
I demonstrate my affection to your person and pleasure, in an inactive
state?"
Here the whole level rang with applause to Nasgig.
My father then giving his hand to Nasgig, in token of friendship, and
his word for investiture in the command of that vacant post, the whole
level again resounded with, "Long live Pendlehamby, and his servant
Nasgig!"
This being the last day of my company's stay, for they had agreed to go
homewards next morning, some of them moved to return the sooner, that
they might have time to hear out my story. So that our stay was very
little longer.
In our return home, Nasgig singled me out to return his acknowledgments
for my favour; and viewing my gun told me they had no such thing growing
in his country. I told him if he had it, it would do no good without my
powder. I then, at his request, described what I had heard of our method
of fighting in battle in Europe; and mentioning our cannon, he said he
supposed they killed every man they hit. "No," says I, "not so bad as
that. Sometimes they hit the flesh only, and that is commonly cured;
sometimes break a leg or arm, and that may in time be cured--some so
well as to be useful again, and others are cut off, and healed up again;
but if the ball hits the head or vitals, it is commonly mortal."--"Oh,"
says he, "give me the head or vitals, then; no broken limbs for me."
After dinner, at their request, I went on with my story, at repairing
the castle, and my escape with Glanlepze, and so on to the crocodile;
when I repeated his speech to me on that account, and told them it had
made such an impression upon me that I had endeavoured to make it the
leading thought of my mind, and had set it down upon one of my doors at
the grotto that it might the oftener be in my sight when any difficulty
arose.
One of the colambs begged pardon for interrupting, but told me, though
he understood what Glanlepze meant, he could not tell how I could set
what he said down at my grotto, or have it in my sight, and desired me
to explain that. I would have told my guest I took it down in writing,
if that would not have puzzled the cause more; but to go the nearest way
I could, I told him we had a method in my country of conveying to a man
at a great distance whatever we have a mind to say to him, and in such
a manner that nobody but himself would know what we would have him
know. And pausing here a little to consider the easiest method of
demonstrating this to their senses, they told me they had gone as far
as their conjectures could carry them, but could conclude on nothing so
improbable as sending it by a messenger. I told them that in part was
my way, but my messenger should not know the message he carried. That
gravelled them quite, and they were unanimous that was what could not
be done. By this time I had sent for a wood-coal, to write with upon my
deal table, and kneeling down to the table, I began to write, "Honoured
sir, I send this to gain by your answer to it an account of your arrival
at Arndrumnstake." I then called them all to me. "Now," says I, "suppose
I want to know how my father gets back to Arndrumnstake, my way is
this--I set down so many words as will express my meaning to my father,
after the manner you see on this table, and make a little distance
between each word, which is the same thing as you do in speaking; for
there, if you run one word into another, and don't give each its proper
sound, who can understand you? For though you speak what contains all
the words, yet without the proper sound and distinction it is only
confusion. Do you understand that?" They told me they did. "Then," says
I, "these are the words I would have my father know, I being at this
arkoe, and he at Arndrumnstake. Honoured sir," and so I read on. "Here,"
says I, "you must take us to be countrymen, and that he and I understand
both the same method. Now look, this word, which ends where you see the
gap, stands for _honoured_, and this next for _sir_, the next for _I_,
and so on; and we both using the same method, and seeing each other's
words, are able to open our minds at a distance." I was now in hopes
I had done, and was going on with my story: "But," says one of
the colambs, "Mr. Peter, though this is a matter that requires
consideration, I plainly see how you do it, by agreeing that all these
strokes put into this form shall stand for the word honoured, and so on,
as you say, let who will make them; but have not you set down there the
word Arndrumnstake?"--"Yes," says I.--"Why then," says he, "none of your
countrymen could understand what that means."--"No," says I, smiling;
"but they could."--Says he, "You say you agree what strokes shall stand
for one word, and what for another; but then how could your countrymen,
who never knew what strokes you would set down for Arndrumnstake, know
that your strokes meant that very country? for that you could not have
agreed upon before either of you knew there was any such place."
I was at a loss, without spending more words than I was willing about
it, how to answer this close reasoner; and talking of syllables and
letters would only have perplexed the affair more, so I told him the
readiest for despatch; that as every word consisted of one or more
distinct sounds, and as some of the same sounds happened in different
words, we did not agree so much upon making our strokes stand for
several words, as for several sounds; and those sounds, more or less of
them, added together, made the particular words. "As, for example,"
says I, "_Arn_ is one sound, _drumn_ is another sound, and _stake_ is
another; now, by our knowing how to set down these several sounds by
themselves, we can couple them, and apply them to the making up any
word, in the manner we please; and therefore he, by seeing those three
sounds together, knows I mean _Arndrumnstake_, and can speak it as well,
though he never heard the whole word spoken together, as if he heard me
speak to him."--"I have some little notion of what you mean," says he,
"but not clear enough to express myself upon it; and so go on! go on!
And pray what did you do about the reeds?"
I then resuming my discourse where I left off, completed my narration
that night; but I could perceive the water in my father's eyes when I
came to the account of Youwarkee's fall and the condition I took her up
in.
When I had done, they adjusted the order of their flight, for avoiding
confusion, one to go so long before another, and the junior colambs to
go first.
In the morning nothing was to be heard but the gripsacks: the men were
all ranged in order to go off with their respective colambs; and after
all compliments passed, the junior colamb arising, walked half-way to
the wood, where his gripsack standing to wait for him, preceded him
to the level, the next gripsack standing ready to sound as soon as the
first removed; and this was the signal for the second colamb to move, so
that each colamb was a quarter of a mile before the other.
My father was the last but two; but I shall never forget his tenderness
at parting with his daughter and grandchildren, and I may say with
myself too; for by this time he had a high opinion of me. Patty went
with my father, she so much resembling my wife, that my father said he
should still have his two daughters in his sight, having her with him.
At parting, I presented Nasgig with a broadsword; and showing him the
use of it, with many expressions of gratitude on his part, and respect
on mine, he took flight after the rest.
[Illustration: 5094]
[Illustration: 0095]