give the names of the animals which they respectively bestrode. If any
of my readers desire to know more than I tell, the matter can be easily
arranged, for the daily journals of that country inserted the fullest
particulars, and were doubtless filed by many racing-men of the time,
so that reference can be made to them by the curious inquirer. It is
sufficient for me to chronicle the fact that cards were everywhere sold
upon the day of the race, which contained the names, weights and
colours of the riders, and from these every information could be
gleaned. The names of the favourite pigs were Lubin, Toby,
Trough-lover, Wallower and Hogwash, and it was thought by those who
had, or who assumed to have, most knowledge of such matters, that none
of the other competitors had much chance. How far the event realised
these expectations will be presently seen. For the first few seconds
after the start there was a breathless silence, whilst all eyes were
eagerly fixed upon the advancing animals. Two or three could hardly be
said to have earned that epithet, for they only advanced a few yards
before they stopped, set their fore feet firmly in the ground and stood
there squealing loudly and defying every effort of their riders to urge
them forward. Another presently turned sharply aside and charged into
the crowd of bystanders, grunting fiercely, and as he was a large hog
of savage aspect and mighty bristles, the people scattered right and
left and he disappeared from the course. But the other pigs pushed on
for a while, until some six or seven appeared to have decidedly
outstripped the others and to be those from whom the winner would
undoubtedly be taken. The "knowing ones" seemed to be pretty right, for
all the five animals whose names I have given were among those who led.
Trough-lover, a rough built, sandy-coloured pig, with a rider in a
violet jacket with white sleeves, came on with a long steady gallop
which augured well for his chance; the scarlet jacket of the boy who
rode Toby, also a sandy pig, showed well to the front, and Wallower's
dark and bony frame, bestridden by a jockey in pink and white was also
well up. But the principal interest of the race was concentrated upon
Hogwash and Lubin, who were running neck and neck together in the
foremost place, whilst the three already named, with a couple of
"outsiders" were several yards behind. The two favourites were both
black pigs; Lubin, a remarkably well-shaped animal, whose jockey showed
dark blue colours, whilst Hogwash was a beast of huge dimensions,
ridden by a boy of complexion almost as dark as his own, whose jacket
of lilac had been conspicuous in the front rank from the first moment
of the start. They ran on in the order which I have mentioned, after
they had shaken off the "ruck" of pigs, until within about a couple of
hundred yards from home, when Lubin gradually came back to his pigs,
and Hogwash forged slowly but surely ahead. The shouting on all sides
was tremendous, and the excitement of the spectators was at its height,
when at about a hundred yards from the winning post the position of the
leading pigs appeared unaltered, save that Toby seemed to have somewhat
gained on the others in the second rank, and Trough-lover was coming
along by the rails with a stealthy, steady gallop, which made the
backers of Hogwash tremble in their shoes. So it was until within fifty
yards from the finish, when a totally unexpected incident suddenly
changed the aspect of affairs. Out from the second rank darted a pig of
a sandy colour, and with a squeal hardly to be expected from an animal
which had gone nearly half a mile at best pace, shot forward from the
others and rapidly gained upon the leading pig. The shouts from the
crowd now rent the skies, and as the sandy pig closed up with Hogwash,
the rider of the latter was observed to be using his whip freely,
whilst his rival, a boy of light hair and complexion, displaying a
cherry-coloured jacket and black cap, sat firmly but quietly in his
saddle, to all appearance neither using nor requiring whip or spur. At
twenty yards from home he collared Hogwash, at ten yards they were neck
and neck, racing for dear life, and when, amid the most maddening scene
of excitement the sandy-coloured pig galloped past the winning post
nearly a length ahead, the shout that went up from the crowd was
something appalling in its vehemence. There was no doubt about it.
Hogwash was beaten and so were all the favourites, and an outsider had
won. Who was it? The faces of the book-makers fell, and people looked
eagerly to see what number went up, for no one had an idea of what was
the name of the winner, except those who were sufficiently calm to
consult their cards, and ascertain what pig it was that the "cherry and
black" jockey had ridden. It was soon known, Number 17 had won, and
Number 17 was "Sandy Sue," the property of Giles Dickson, a small
farmer very little known among the great pig-breeders of the kingdom.
Before I go further, I may as well explain the clever manner in which
this great race was actually won, which was thought to reflect
considerable credit upon those who had contrived it. Farmer Dickson,
though not in a large way of business, had plenty of brains, and it has
been remarked by men of undoubted sagacity that there are two classes
of men into which the world may be divided, namely those who have
brains and no money, and those who have money and no brains, the latter
being created principally for the benefit of the former. Now Farmer
Dickson belonged emphatically to the former class, and as soon as ever
the race was announced and the course fixed, he conceived a project
which he immediately carried into execution.
At the end of the course, and not above a hundred yards or so
therefrom, was a fence, beyond which was situated a small farm, the
homestead of which was thus very near the winning post, or at least not
above three or four hundred yards distant. Being well acquainted with
the tenant of this farm, the sagacious farmer made known his plan to
him and they agreed to carry it out together. "Sandy Sue," as the large
sow was called upon whom Farmer Dickson had resolved to set his hopes
and stake his money, had not long since presented her owner with a fine
litter of pigs. These were all removed forthwith to the farm near the
racecourse, and their mother was also comfortably housed in the
farmyard. Day by day she took her gentle exercise, and day by day was
she well fed at a spot as near to the racecourse as could be managed.
More than this, her favourite food was always given to her about the
time at which the race had been fixed to come off, and to this
precaution the strictest attention was given. The consequence was
exactly that which the confederates had expected.
Although her condition was probably not quite so good as that of some
of the pigs with whom she had to contend, it was sufficiently so to
enable her to run her best for a course so short as half a mile. Then,
when she came near to the finish, recollections of feeding time not
only crowded upon her, but she had directly before her the very spot
where her daily food was served out to her, and where she was
accustomed to receive the visits of her beloved children. Stimulated to
renewed exertions by these facts, she did exactly that which was
expected from her, and forgetting every other consideration, made such
a splendid "spirt" as to carry her triumphantly to the victory in the
manner which I have described. These things all came out afterwards,
but they did not affect the decision of those who had to judge upon the
race, and "Sandy Sue" was without objection or protest hailed as the
winner.
As soon as her jockey had dismounted and been duly weighed, he was
summoned to the presence of the king, who was not unnaturally desirous
to behold his future son-in-law. The boy accordingly mounted the stairs
which led to the royal stand, and was forthwith ushered into the
presence of his sovereign. As soon as he appeared, Fridolin advanced a
few steps to meet him, and then stood still and regarded him with a
curious eye.
He was, as I have said, a boy of light complexion, with light brown
hair and light blue eyes, and by no means of an unprepossessing
appearance, especially in his jockey dress. He stood bashfully before
the king, with blushing cheeks and eyes cast down, until, after a few
moments of silence, Fridolin addressed him.
"Well, boy," he said, "thou hast won the race and hast gained the
prize. Of what house and lineage dost thou come?"
"Please, sir, my lord, your kingship's majesty," said the boy in
trembling accents, entirely mistaking the question, "our house bean't
but a small one, and as for linen, mother does the washing and I don't
know nothing about it."
At this reply the king burst into a fit of laughter, in which his
courtiers joined, although some of them felt a sensation of regret
within their hearts when they considered the illiterate ignorance of
the youth to whom the Princess Belinda was to be sacrificed. This
reflection apparently did not trouble the king greatly, for he
presently remarked, "the bridegroom must be introduced to his bride
without delay. Come hither, boy," and with these words advanced towards
the spot where Belinda was sitting. The poor child, understanding but
too well what had happened and what was about to follow, trembled with
visible emotion as they came near, and would gladly have made her
escape. But Fridolin did not intend that this should be the case by any
means. He called to her as she rose from her seat and bade her be ready
to receive the winner of the race and her future husband. Meekly and
humbly she obeyed, taking her seat again, and fixing her eyes modestly
upon the floor.
"There," cried the king as he pushed the boy forward towards the
princess, "there is the youth who will one day be your husband, child.
Kiss her, boy, and make friends at once."
A deep blush suffused the face of the shrinking Belinda, who had not as
yet even looked upon the other's countenance, and she trembled more
than ever. But with a grace which no one had expected from the quarter
from which it came, the boy, immediately on receiving the king's
commands, stepped forward towards Belinda's chair, and, kneeling on one
knee, raised her hand gently to his lips.
"Bravo, boy!" cried the king with another laugh. "I vow you're half a
courtier already. Two or three years' training and you'll be perfect."
He then proceeded to inquire more particularly about the youth's age
and condition, and found that he was called Zachariah Dickson, or
usually "Zac" for shortness, that Farmer Dickson had several other sons
and daughters, but that this boy, being just under the limit of age,
had been selected as the rider of "Sandy Sue." He learned, moreover,
that the education of the Dickson family had been somewhat neglected,
and that though Master Zac could certainly read and write, he was no
great proficient at either accomplishment. Altogether it appeared that
the pig-race had secured for Belinda a husband so very much beneath her
in rank, position, breeding and education that her future happiness
could hardly be said to be very certain.
As, however, Fridolin had made the arrangement without any reference to
its probable effect upon his daughter's happiness, but entirely to
gratify his own whim, he was not greatly concerned with this
reflection. He told the youth, indeed, that he had something to learn,
before he could be really fit to be a king's son-in-law, but as in that
country a king's word was always sacred, and as good as his bond, he
never for one moment entertained the idea of trying to be off the
bargain.
No: "Zac" Dickson should be Belinda's husband, come what might. "He had
won her and he alone should wear her." So said the king again and
again, at the same time avowing his determination that the boy should
be forthwith sent at the royal expense to one of the best colleges in
the country, in order that he might pursue his studies, and prepare
himself to discharge the duties of that lofty position to which he had
been called by the voice of Fate. This announcement was received with
respectful submission by the boy, and with unfeigned satisfaction by
old Dickson, who, besides having won a considerable sum of money on the
race, now saw the prospect of having one of his boys entirely taken off
his hands and better educated than he could possibly have been without
such aid.
The king further declared that three years should elapse before the
wedding, but that then, when the bridegroom was seventeen and the bride
thirteen, the marriage should certainly be celebrated, youthful
marriages being always the fashion in that country. After the interview
on the royal Stand, the winner of the race was allowed to return home
for the night, but with orders that he was to take up his abode at the
palace upon the following day. Then the king ordered his carriages and
the royal party left the course. The crowd was already broken up, and
people were streaming in every direction over the common upon which the
sport had taken place.
The common was ere long left desolate and alone, only tenanted by a
grazing donkey or two, and a few wretched human creatures who wandered
over every spot upon which carriages had stood and luncheons had been
eaten, in the hope of finding something which they might convert into
money in order to aid the necessities of their miserable lives. Soon,
too, these took their departure: the crowd of people returning home
grew smaller and smaller, gradually the road was less and less
thronged, the people were only seen going along it by twos and threes,
then at last these, too, had found their way home, silence reigned
where all had so lately been talk and mirth, noise and revelry, and
night came down upon the earth with her sable cloak, extinguishing the
last flickering rays of the sun which had so gaily and brightly shone
upon the day of the great pig-race.
The Princess Belinda woke next morning with a load upon her young
heart, and a novel sense of responsibility which made her feel quite a
different being from the child of the day before. She was, indeed, no
ordinary child. Even in her appearance _that_ could hardly be said
of her, poor girl! for she was not so much ordinary as decidedly ugly,
but the epithet was even less applicable to her intellectual powers,
which were undeniably of a superior order. Having moreover been
debarred by her deformity from the more active pastimes of childhood,
she had from a very early period sought her pleasure in books, and was,
even at the early age of ten, far better acquainted with the literature
of the day than many young ladies of twice her age. Well informed,
however, as she was, and fortified as she might be against the storms
of the outside world, as much as the fortifications of a prudent heart
and well-regulated temper can avail against such adversities, she
nevertheless awoke, as I have already said, to a new feeling upon the
morning after the pig-race. Her childhood seemed to be over, and the
real cares of life to have commenced. She had no longer only her own
life to regard, the life of another was thenceforth inseparably bound
up with her own. The actual marriage, indeed, was to be deferred for
three years, but the boy who had been presented to her as her future
husband was practically, for the future, a part and parcel of her life,
and his doings must be always of great and paramount interest and
importance to her. To tell the truth, he had made a very favourable
impression upon the heart of the youthful princess.
Unaccustomed to go much into that society of which her more fortunate
sisters were at once the ornaments and the delights, Belinda was less
struck than might otherwise have been the case by the somewhat rough
and countrified bearing of the boy, and indeed, as has been already
said, his action in kneeling before her on his first introduction had
been far from ungraceful. She had remarked with pleasure the honest
gaze of his blue eyes, and the healthy clearness of his fair
complexion, whilst no one could deny that his form was well-shaped, and
his figure lithe and active. Still, the age of ten is one at which it
is somewhat early to be engaged to be married, and it is scarcely to be
considered a matter of wonder that the little princess regarded her
prospects with some apprehension.
The youthful Zac was brought to the palace next day, according to the
king's orders, and forthwith took up his residence in the royal abode.
It was a curious arrangement, and one that was made the subject of much
comment by the court, although it was allowed on every hand that, since
the king had determined upon bestowing the hand of his youngest
daughter upon the winner of the pig-race, there was much good sense, as
well as kindness, in his resolution to have that winner properly
educated. It must be owned, too, that the lad did no discredit to his
teachers. He was diligent, attentive, and showed no small capacity for
learning. Whatever there had been of vulgarity in his accent rapidly
disappeared, uncouth and ignorant language was banished from his
hearing, and consequently very soon from his speech, while his errors
of grammar speedily became things of the past. In short, it was
confessed even by those who had at first shaken their heads with a
gravity befitting the occasion, and had declared that the old proverb
"you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" would be verified in
this case, and that a person of humble birth could by no means be
converted into a gentleman; even these persons, I say, began to take a
different tone, to talk about another proverb, namely that "exceptions
prove the rule," and to express their feelings towards Belinda's future
husband in no unfavourable terms.
He made such progress in his books that his tutors were quite
astonished, and Belinda was herself delighted. Once a week he was
allowed to visit her for an hour, and from time to time she found a
perceptible difference in his manners and conversation, and a decided
improvement in both. In this manner a whole year passed over the heads
of the people of whom we are speaking, and during that time no event
occurred of a character so specially interesting as to require a
separate allusion. People were born, married and died as usual. Whilst
they lived they ate, drank, and paid their taxes--three things common
to all mankind who happen to be resident in civilized countries--and
after they were dead they were comfortably buried by their relations,
who then went home and remembered them as long as people usually do,
and no longer. The world, in short, went steadily on, and the inmates
of the palace did much the same as the rest of the world. Lord Pompous,
it is true, fell occasionally into disgrace, being rather a stupid man
and apt to offend the king when he most wanted to please him. But as he
always got out again very soon, this did not signify. Fridolin was
rather fond of the old man, if the truth must be told, and though he
enjoyed teasing him now and then, never really meant to get rid of him.
So they jogged on together happily enough, and nothing occurred to
seriously disturb either of them.
The king, however, felt time hang as heavy upon his hands as is the
case with most people who either have nothing to do, or are too idle to
do what they really _have_ to do in the shape of work. He often
looked back to that idea of a pig-race which had afforded him such a
good day's amusement, and once or twice hinted to his two elder
daughters that it had turned out remarkably well. The princesses,
however, viewed the matter in a different light, for they guessed at
once at their father's intentions, and had no notion of allowing them
to come to any practical issue. It was all very well for Belinda,
indeed: a third sister, with neither beauty nor wealth, might fairly be
disposed of in any way that happened to be most convenient. It was
entirely different, however, with girls who had beauty to recommend
them, and no lack of admirers to tell them so. Wherefore the fair
Amabilia and the sweet Concaterina promptly checked their father's most
distant allusion to the subject, and as they were the only people of
whom he stood at all in awe, he soon abandoned the idea, and gave up
all thoughts of having another pig-race.
After young Zac's first entrance into the palace, Fridolin had
concerned himself very little about the boy, being content, as many
people are, to let matters drift on as long as they gave no trouble to
himself. But it happened one day that he overheard some of the
courtiers speaking in praise of the lad, and this excited his curiosity
to a degree sufficient to induce him to desire that Zac should be
summoned to his presence. This occurred about the end of the first year
of Zac's residence in the palace, and was really the beginning to him
of another existence. For King Fridolin was so pleased with the
alteration in the youth, that he thought he should like to see more of
him. Having no son of his own, why should not the future husband of one
of his daughters be as a son to him? Thus the result of his great idea
might turn out altogether fortunate, and he should have conferred a
benefit upon himself as well as Belinda after all. He forthwith gave
directions that Zac should be present on all occasions when the king
appeared in public, or gave a reception to any of his subjects, and he
also desired that he should be frequently admitted to the royal
presence upon other occasions. The boy always conducted himself so well
that he gradually became a great favourite with the king, and not only
with the king but with the other princesses.