The terrified eagerness with which Juliet sought personal security, made
her enter the New Forest as unmoved by its beauties, as unobservant of
its prospects, as the 'Dull Incurious[3],' who pursue their course but
to gain the place of their destination; unheeding all they meet on their
way, deaf to the songsters of the wood, and blind to the pictures of
'God's Gallery[4],' the country.
[Footnote 3: Thomson.]
[Footnote 4: Twining.]
Her steps had no guide but fear, which winged their flight; she sought
no route but that which seemed most private. She flew past, across, away
from the high road, without daring to raise her eyes, lest her sight
should be blasted by the view of her dreaded pursuer.
But speed which surpasses strength must necessarily be transitory. Her
feet soon failed; she panted for breath, and was compelled to stop.
Fearfully, then, she glanced her eyes around. Nothing met them but trees
and verdure. Again she blessed Heaven, and ventured to seat herself upon
the 'wild fantastic roots' of an aged beech-tree.
Here, far removed from the 'busy hum of man,' from all public roads; not
even a beaten path within view, not a sheep-walk, nor a hamlet, nor a
cottage to be discerned; nor a single domestic animal to announce the
vicinity of mortal habitation; here, she began to hope that she had
parried danger, escaped detection, and reached a spot so secluded, that
all probability of pursuit was at an end.
With this flattering idea the freedom of her respiration returned: they
will go on, she thought, from stage to stage, from mile-stone to
mile-stone; they will never imagine I should dare thus to turn aside
from the public way; or, should any unfortunate circumstance lead them
to such a surmise, how many chances, how many thousand chances are in my
favour, that they may not fix upon exactly the same direction, as that
to which accident, alone, has been my guide into the mazes of this
intricate forest!
This belief sufficed to attract back to her willing welcome, that
invincible foe to helpless despondency, Hope; whose magic elasticity
waits not for reason, consults not with probability; weighs not
contending arguments for settling its expectations, or regulating its
desires; but, airy, blyth, and bright, bounds over every obstacle that
it cannot conquer.
To find some humble dwelling, by travelling on still further from the
towns in which she had been seen, was her immediate project; but
prudence forbade her seeking the asylum with Dame Fairfield which she
had pleased herself with thinking secured, lest her arrival should be
preceded by an accusing, or followed by a dangerous report from her
hostess of Salisbury. She determined, therefore, to hide herself under
some obscure roof, where she might be utterly unknown; and there to
abide, till the fury of the storm by which she feared to be overtaken,
should be passed.
No sooner were her spirits, in some degree, calmed, than, with the happy
promptitude of youth to set aside evil, all personal fatigue was
insensibly forgotten; her eyes began to recover their functions; and the
moment that she cast them around with abated anxiety, she was so
irresistibly struck with the prospect, and invigorated by the purity of
the ambient air, which exhaled odoriferous salubrity, that, rising fresh
as from the balmy restoration of undisturbed repose, she mounted a
hillock to take a general survey of the spot, and thought all paradise
was opened to her view.
The evening was still but little advanced; the atmosphere was as
serenely clear, as the beauties which met her sight were sublimely
picturesque; and the gay luxuriance of the scenery, though chastened by
loneliness and silence, invited smiling admiration. Chiefly she was
struck with the noble aspect of the richly variegated woods, whose aged
oaks appeared to be spreading their venerable branches to offer shelter
from the storms of life, as well as of the elements, charming her
imagination by their lofty grandeur; while the zephyrs, which agitated
their verdant foliage, seemed but their animation. Soon, however, all
observation was seized and absorbed by the benignant west, where the
sun, with glory indescribable and ever new, appeared to be concentrating
its refulgence, to irradiate the world with its parting blessing: while
the extatic wild notes, and warbling, intuitive harmony of the feathered
race, struck her ear as sounds celestial, issuing from the abode of
angels; or to that abode chanting invitation.
Here, for the first time, she ceased to sigh for social intercourse; she
had no void, no want; her mind was sufficient to itself; Nature,
Reflection, and Heaven seemed her own! Oh Gracious Providence! she
cried, supreme in goodness as in power! What lesson can all the
eloquence of rhetoric, science, erudition, or philosophy produce, to
restore tranquillity to the troubled, to preserve it in the wise, to
make it cheerful to the innocent,--like the simple view of beautiful
nature? so divine in its harmony, in its variety so exquisite! Oh great
Creator! beneficent! omnipotent! thy works and religion are one!
Religion! source and parent of resignation! under thy influence how
supportable is every earthly calamity! how supportable, because how
transitory becomes all human woe, where heaven and eternity seem full in
view!
Thus, in soul-expanding contemplation, Juliet composed her spirits and
recruited her strength, while she awaited the dusky hue of twilight to
discover some retreat; and not without reluctance she then quitted the
delicious spot, where her weary mind and body had been alike refreshed
with repose and consolation.
Though too much occupied by the certain and cruel danger from which she
was running, to bestow much attention upon the uncertain, yet immediate
and local risks to which she might be liable, she was not, now, sorry to
regain a beaten track, of which the rugged ruts shewed the recent
passage of a rural vehicle.
In a few minutes, she descried a small cart, directed by a man on foot,
who was jovially talking with some companion.
While seeking to discover whether their appearance were such as might
encourage her to ask their assistance upon her way, she was startled
with a cry of 'Why if there ben't Deb. Dyson! O the jeade! if I ben't
venged of un! a would no' know me this very blessed morning!'
'Deb. Dyson?' answered the other: 'no, a be too slim for Debby. Debby'd
outweigh the double o' un.'
'O, belike I do no' know Deb. Dyson?' cried the carter. 'Why I zee her,
at five of the clock, at her own door, in that seame bonnet. And I do
know her bonnet of old, for t' be none so new; for I was by when Johnny
Ascot gin it her, at our fair, two years agone. I know un well enough, I
va'nt me! A can make herself fat or lean as a wull, can Debby. A be a
funny wench, be Debby. But a shall peay me for this trick, I van't me, a
jeade!'
Juliet, in the utmost alarm to find herself thus recognised by the
carter, though still supposed to be another, hastily glided back to the
wood; cruelly vexed that the very disguise which had hitherto saved her
from personal discovery, exposed her but additionally to another species
of peril. She might easily, indeed, by speaking, or by suffering herself
to be looked at, shew the carter his mistake in conceiving her to be of
his acquaintance; but there would still remain a dangerous appearance of
intimacy with a young woman who was evidently held in light estimation.
She quickened, therefore, her pace, and determined to relinquish her
suspicious bonnet by the first opportunity.
In a short time the cackling of fowls, and other sounds of rural
animation, announced the vicinity of some inhabited spot. She pursued
this unerring direction, and soon saw, and entered, a small hut; in
which, though the whole dimensions might have stood in a corner of any
large hall, without being in the way, she found a father, mother, and
seven young children at supper.
Their looks, upon her entrance, were by no means auspicious; the woman
scowled at her with an eye of ill will; the man harshly asked what she
wanted; the children, who seemed ravenous, squalled and squabbled for
food; and a fierce dog, quitting a half-gnawn bone, to bark
vociferously, seemed panting for a sign to leap at and bite her; as a
species of order to which he was accustomed upon the intrusion of a
stranger.
Juliet told them that she was going to a neighbouring village; but that
she had missed her road, and, as it was growing dark, had stopt to beg a
night's lodging.
They answered morosely that they had neither bed nor room for
travellers.
Was there any house in the neighbourhood where she could be
accommodated?
Aye, there was one, they answered, not afar off, where an old man and
his wife had a spare bed, belonging to their son: but the direction
which they gave was so intricate that, in the fear of losing her way, or
again encountering the carter, she entreated permission to sit up in the
kitchen.
They went on with their supper, now helping, and now scolding their
children, and one another, without taking any notice of this request.
To quicken their attention she put half-a-crown upon the table.
The man and woman both rose, bowing and courtsying, and each offering
her their place, and their repast; saying it should go hard but they
would find something upon which she might take a little rest.
She felt mortified that so mercenary a spirit could have found entrance
in a sport which seemed fitted to the virtuous innocence of our yet
untainted first parents; or to the guileless hospitality of the poet's
golden age. She was thankful, however, for their consent, and partook of
their fare; which she found, with great surprize, required not either
air or exercise to give it zest: it consisted of scraps of pheasant and
partridge, which the children called _chicky biddy_; and slices of such
fine-grained mutton, that she could with difficulty persuade herself
that she was not eating venison.
All else that belonged to this rustic regale gave a surprize of an
entirely different nature; the nourishment was not more strikingly
above, than the discourse and general commerce of her new hosts were
below her expectations. They were rough to their children, and gross to
each other; the woman looked all care and ill humour; the man, all
moroseness and brutality.
Safety, at this moment, was the only search of Juliet; yet, little as
she was difficult with respect to the manner of procuring it, she did
not feel quite at ease, when she observed that the man and his wife
spoke to each other frequently apart, in significant whispers, which
evidently, by their looks, had reference to their guest.
Nevertheless, this created but a vague uneasiness, till the children
were put to bed; when the man and woman, having given Juliet some
clothing, and an old rug for a mattrass, demanded whether she were a
sound sleeper.
She answered in the affirmative.
They then mounted, by a staircase ladder to their chamber; but, while
they were shutting a trap-door, which separated the attic-story from the
kitchen, Juliet caught the words, 'You've only to turn the darkside of
your lanthorn, as you pass, mon, and what can a zee then?'
She was now in a consternation of a sort yet new to her. What was there
to be seen?--What ought to be hidden?--Where, she cried, have I cast
myself! Have I fallen into a den of thieves?
Her first impulse was to escape; and the moment that all was still over
her head, she stept softly to the door, guided by the light of the moon,
which gleamed through sundry apertures of an old board, that was placed
against the casement as a shutter: but the door was locked, and no key
was hung up; nor was any where in sight.
This extraordinary caution in cottagers augmented her alarm. She had,
however, no resource but to await the dark lanthorn with steadiness, and
to collect all her courage for what might ensue.
She sat upright and watchful, till, by the calculations of probability,
she conceived it to be about three o'clock in the morning. Lulled, then,
by a hope that her fears were groundless, she was falling insensibly
into a gentle slumber; when she was aroused by a step without, followed
by three taps against the window, and a voice that uttered, in low
accents, 'Make heaste, or 'twull be light o'er we be back.'
The upper casement was then opened, and the host, in a gruff whisper,
answered, 'Be still a moment, will ye? There be one in the kitchen.'
Great as was now the affright of Juliet, she had the presence of mind to
consider, that, whatever was the motive of this nocturnal rendezvous, it
was undoubtedly designed to be secret; and that her own safety might
hang upon her apparent ignorance of what might be going forward.
To obviate, therefore, more effectually any surmize of her alarm, she
dropt softly upon the rug, and covered herself with the clothing
provided by her hostess.
She had barely time for this operation before the trap-door was
uplifted, and gently, and without shoes, the man descended. He crossed
the room cautiously, unbolted and unlocked the door, and shut himself
out. Immediately afterwards, the woman, with no other drapery than that
in which she had slept, quickly, though with soft steps, came to the
side of the rug, and bent over it for about a minute; she then rebolted
and locked the door, returned up the ladder, and closed the
trap-opening.
Juliet, though dismayed as much as astonished, forbore to rise, from
ignorance, even could she effect her escape, by what course to avoid
encountering the persons whom she meant to fly, in a manner still more
dangerous than that of awaiting their return to their own abode; whence
she hoped she might proceed quietly on her way the next morning, as an
object not worth detention or examination; her homely attire and
laborious manner of travelling alike announcing profitless poverty.
Her doubts of the nature of what she had to apprehend, were as full of
perplexity as of inquietude. Would robbers thus eagerly have caught at
half-a-crown? Would they be residents in a fixed abode, with a family of
children? Surely not. Yet the whispers, the cautions, the examination
whether she slept, evinced clearly something clandestine; and their
looks and appearance were so darkly in their disfavour, that,
ultimately, she could only judge, that, if they were not actual robbers,
they were the occasional harbourers, and miserable accomplices of those
who, to similar want of principle, joined the necessary hardiness for
following that brief mode of obtaining a livelihood; brief not alone in
its success, but in its retribution!
In a state of disturbance so singular, there was not much danger that
she should find herself surprised by
'Kind nature's soft restorer, balmy sleep.'[5]
[Footnote 5: Young.]
In less than an hour, three taps again struck her ear, though not upon
her own casement; taps so gentle, that had she been less watchful, they
would not have been heard.
The woman instantly descended the ladder, and approached the bedding;
over which she leant as before; and, as before, concluded stillness to
be sleep. Cautiously, then, she unbolted and unlocked the door; when,
low as were the whispers that ensued, Juliet distinguished three
different tones of voice, though she caught not a word that was uttered.
The woman next, gliding across the room, opened a low door, which Juliet
had not remarked. The man followed slowly, and as if heavily loaded; the
woman shut him out by this private door, and returned to fasten that of
public entrance; whispering 'Good bye!' to some one who seemed to be
departing. Juliet, at the same time, heard something fall, or thrown
down, from within, weighty, and bearing a lumpish sound that made her
start with horrour.
This involuntary and irresistible movement was immediately perceived by
the hostess, who was re-crossing the room, but who, then, precipitately
advanced to the bedding, and roughly demanded whether she slept?
Juliet struggled vainly to resume her serene appearance of repose; the
shock of her nerves had mounted to her features; she felt her lips
quiver, and her bosom heave, but she had still sufficient presence of
mind to conceal her face by rubbing her eyes, while she asked whether it
were time to breakfast?
Satisfied by this enquiry, the woman answered No; and that she had only
gotten up to let in her husband, who had been abroad upon a little job,
for which he had not found leisure in the day: she recommended to her,
therefore, to lie still, and fall asleep.
Still, she remained; but sleep was as far from her eyes, as, in such a
situation, from her wishes. She sought, however, again to wear its
semblance, while the woman followed her husband through the small door,
and shut herself, also, out.
They continued together about half an hour, when, re-entering, they both
re-mounted the ladder; without further examination whether or not they
were observed.
What might this imply? Was it simply that, concluding her to be awake,
they deemed caution to be unavailing? or, that their secret business
being finished, caution was no longer necessary?
Strange, also, it appeared to her, their rustic life and residence
considered, that they should take such a season for rest, when she saw
the vivid rays of the early sun piercing, through various crevices, into
the apartment.
Raising her head, next, to view the door, which, the preceding night,
had escaped her notice, she espied, close to its edge, a large clot of
blood.
Struck with terrour, she started up; and then perceived that the passage
from door to door was traced with bloody spots.
She remained for some minutes immovable, incapable either to think of
her danger, or to form any plan for her preservation; and wholly
absorbed by the image which this sight presented to her fears, of some
victim to murderous rapacity.
Soon, however, rousing to a sense of her own situation, she determined
upon making a new attempt to escape. She listened beneath the trap-door,
to ascertain that all was quiet, and received the most unequivocal
assurances, that fatigue and watchfulness had ended in sound sleep.
Still, however, she could find no key; but, while fearfully examining
every corner, she remarked that the low door was merely latched.
Should she here seek some out-let? She recoiled from the sight of the
blood; yet it was a sight that redoubled her earnestness to fly.
Whatever had been deposited would certainly be concealed: she resolved,
therefore, to make the experiment, though her hand shook so violently,
that, more than once, it dropt from the latch ere she could open the
door.
Tremblingly she then crossed the threshold, and found herself in a
miserable outer-building, without casements, and encumbered with old
utensils and lumber. She observed a large cupboard which was locked, but
of which, from the darkness of the place, she could take no survey. To
the outward door there was no lock, but it was doubly bolted. She opened
it, though not without difficulty, and saw that it led to a small
disorderly garden, which was hedged round, half planted with potatoes,
and half wasted with rubbish. She examined whether there were any
opening by which she might enter the Forest; and discerned a small gate,
over which, though it was covered with briars, she believed that she
could scramble.
Nevertheless, she hesitated; she might be heard, or presently missed and
pursued; and the vengeance incurred by such a detection of her
suspicions and ill opinion, might provoke her immediate destruction. It
might be better, therefore, to return; to rise only when called; to pay
them another half-crown; and then publicly depart.
Accidentally, while thus deliberating, she touched the handle of a large
wicker-basket, and found that it was wet: she held out her hand to the
light, and saw that it was besmeared with blood.
She turned sick; she nearly fainted; she shrunk from her hand with
horrour; yet strove to recover her courage, by ejaculating a fervent
prayer.
To re-enter the house voluntarily, was now impossible; she shuddered at
the idea of again encountering her dreaded hosts, and resolved upon a
flight, at all risks, from so fearful a dwelling.
She made her way through the enclosure; crossed the briery gate, and,
rushing past whatever had the appearance of already trodden ground,
dived into a wood; where, trampling down thorns, brambles, and nettles,
now braving, now unconscious of their stings, she continued her rapid
course, till she came within view of a small cottage. There she stopt;
not for repose; her troubled mind kept her body still insensible to
weariness; but to ponder upon her dreadful suspicions.
Not a moment was requisite to satisfy her upright reason, that to
discover what she had seen, and what she surmised, was an immediate duty
to the community, if, by such a discovery, the community might be
served; however repugnant the measure might be to female delicacy;
however cruel to the pleadings of compassion for the children of the
house; and however adverse to her feelings, to denounce what she could
not have detected, but from seeking, and finding, a personal asylum in
distress.
Yet who was she who must give such information? Anonymous accusation
might be neglected as calumnious; yet how name herself as belonging to
the noble family from which she sprung, but by which she was
unacknowledged? How, too, at a moment when concealment appeared to her
to be existence, come forward, a volunteer to public notice? Small as
ought to be the weight given to a consideration merely selfish, if
opposing the rights of general security; neither law, she thought, nor
equity, demanded the sacrifice of private and bosom feelings, for an
evil already irremediable, where, while the denunciation would be
unavailing, the denunciator must be undone.
Appeased thus for the moment, though not satisfied in her scruples, she
walked on towards the dwelling; but, seeing that it was still shut up,
she seated herself upon the stump of a large tree, where deaf, from
mental occupation, to the wild melody of innumerable surrounding singing
birds, she shudderingly, and without intermission, bathed her bloody
hand in the dew.
Rest, however, to her person, served but to quicken the energy of her
faculties; and the less her fears, the more her judgment prevailed. Her
reasoning, upon examination, she found to be plausible but fallacious.
The evil already committed, it was, indeed, too late to obviate; but if
the wretched hut, from which she had just escaped, were the receptacle
of nocturnal culprits, or of their victims, there might not be a moment
to lose to prevent some new and horrible catastrophe.
In a dilemma thus severe, between the terrour of exposing herself to the
personal discovery which she was flying to avoid, or the horrour of
omitting the performance of a public duty; she had fixed upon no
positive measure, decided upon nothing that was satisfactory, before the
casements of the cottage were opened.
Not to lose, then, another moment in unprofitable deliberation, she
resolved to communicate to the inhabitants her suspicions, and to urge
their being made known to the nearest Justice of the Peace. She might
then, with less scruple, continue her flight; and hereafter, if,
unhappily, there should be no other alternative, give her assistance in
following up the investigation.
She tapped at the cottage-door, and demanded admittance and rest, as a
weary traveller.
She was let in, without difficulty, by an old woman, who was
breakfasting with an old man, upon a rasher of bacon.
It now, with much alarm, occurred to her, that this might be the house
to which she had been directed from the terrible hut. She fearfully
enquired whether they had a spare bed? and, upon receiving an answer in
the affirmative, with the history of their son's absence, not a doubt
remained that she had sought refuge with the friends, perhaps the
accomplices, of the very persons from whom she was escaping; and who,
should they, through vengeful apprehension, pursue her, would probably
begin their search at this spot.
Affrighted at the idea, yet not daring abruptly to abscond, she forced
herself to sit still while they breakfasted; though unable to converse,
and turning with disgust from the sight of food.
The old man and woman, meanwhile, intent solely upon their meal, which,
now too hot for their mouths, now too cold for their taste, now too hard
for their teeth, occupied all their discourse; heeded not her
uneasiness, and, when she arose and took leave, saw her departure with
as little remark as they had seen her entrance.
With a complication of fears she now went forth again; to seek,--not an
asylum in the Forest, the beautiful Forest!--but the road by which she
might quit it with the greatest expedition. Where, now, was the
enchantment of its prospects? Where, the witchery of its scenery? All
was lost to her for pleasure, all was thrown away upon her as enjoyment;
she saw nothing but her danger, she could make no observation but how to
escape what it menaced.
She flew, therefore, from the vicinity of the hut, though with a
celerity better adapted to her wishes than to her powers; for, in less
than half an hour, she was compelled, from utterly exhausted strength,
to seat herself upon the turf.
Not yet was she risen, and scarcely was she rested, when she was
startled by a whistling in the wood, which was presently followed by the
sound of two youthful male voices, in merry converse.
To escape notice, she, at first, thought it safest to sit still; but the
nearer and nearer approach of feet, made her reflect, that to be
surprised, in so unfrequented a spot, at so early an hour in the
morning, might be yet more unfavourable to opinion, than being discerned
to pace her lonely way, with the quick steps of busy haste or timid
caution. She moved, therefore, on; carefully taking a contrary direction
to that whence the voices issued.
She soon found herself bewildered in a thicket, where she could trace
no path, and whence she could see no opening. She was felicitating
herself, however, that she had out-run the sounds by which she had been
affrighted; when she first heard, and next perceived, an immense dog,
who, after beating about the bushes at some distance, suddenly made a
point at her, and sprang forward.
Terrour, which puts us into any state but that which is natural,
bestows, occasionally, what, in common, it robs us of, presence of mind.
Juliet knew that flight, to the intelligent, though dumb friend of man,
was well seen to be cowardice, and instinctively judged to be guilt.
Aware, therefore, that if she could not appease his fury, it were vain
to attempt escaping it, she compelled herself to turn round and face
him; holding out her hand in a caressing attitude, that seemed inviting
his approach; though with difficulty sustaining herself upon her feet,
from a dread of being torn to pieces.
The rage, unprovoked, but not inexorable, of the animal, withstood not
this manifestation of kindness: from a pace so rapid, that it seemed
menacing to level her with the earth by a single bound, he abruptly
stopt, to look at and consider his imagined enemy; and from a barking,
of which the stormy loudness resounded through the forest, his tone
changed to a low though surly growl, in which he seemed to be debating
with himself, whether to attack a foe, or accept a friend.
The hesitation sufficed to ensure to Juliet the victory. Encouraged by a
view of success, her address supplanted her timidity, and, bending
forwards, she called to him with endearing expressions. The dog, caught
by her confidence, made a grumbling but short resistance; and, having
first fiercely, and next attentively, surveyed her, wagged his tail in
sign of accommodation, and, gently advancing, stretched himself at her
feet.
Juliet repaid his trust with the most playful caresses. Good and
excellent animal, she cried, what a lesson of mild philanthropy do you
offer to your masters! The kindness of an instant gains you to a
stranger, though no unkindness, nor even the hardest usage, can alienate
you from an old friend!
She now flattered herself that, by following as he led, she might have a
guide, as well as a protector, to the habitation to which he belonged.
She sate by his side, determined to wait his movements, and to pursue
his course. Perfectly contented himself, he basked in the sun-beams that
broke through the thicket, and was evidently soothed, nay, charmed, by
the fond accents with which she solicited his friendship.
This nearly silent, but expressive intercourse, was soon interrupted by
a vociferous Haloo! from a distant part of the wood.
Up started the new companion of Juliet, who arose, also, to accompany,
or, at least, to trace his steps. Neither were possible. He darted from
her with the same rapidity, though wide from the same ferocity, as that
with which he had at first approached her: vain was every soft appeal,
lost was every gentle blandishment; in an instant he was out of sight,
out of hearing,--she scarcely saw him go ere he was gone. Faithful
creature! she cried, 'tis surely his master who calls! A new tie may
excite his benevolence; none can shake his fidelity, nor slacken his
services.
Alone and unaided, she had now to pierce a passage through the thicket,
uncertain whither it might lead, and filled with apprehensions.
But, in a few minutes, greatly to her satisfaction, her new friend
re-appeared; wagging his tail, rubbing himself against her gown, and
meeting and returning her caresses.
Her project of obtaining a conductor was now recurring, when again an
Haloo! followed by the whistling of two voices, called off her hope; and
shewed her that her intended protector belonged to the young men whom
she had been endeavouring to avoid.
She knew not whether it were better, under the auspices of her new ally,
to risk begging a direction from these youths, to some house or village;
or still to seek her desolate way alone.
She had time only to start, not to solve this doubt; the dog, again
returning, as if unwilling to relinquish his new alliance, began to
excite the curiosity of his masters; who, following, exclaimed, 'Dash a
vound zomething, zure!' and presently, through the trees, she descried
two wood-cutters.
She was seen, also, by them; they scrambled faster on; and one of them
said,
'Why t'be a girl!'
'Be it?' answered the other; 'why then I'll have a kiss.'
'Not a fore me, mon!' cried his companion, 'vor I did zee her virzt!'
'Belike you did,' the other replied; 'but I zpoke virzt; zo you mun come
after!'
Juliet now saw herself in a danger more dreadful than any to which
either misfortune or accident had hitherto exposed her,--the danger of
personal and brutal insult. She looked around vainly for succour or
redress; the woods and the heavens were alone within view or within
hearing.
The first terrible moment of this alarm was an agony of affright, that
made her believe herself a devoted victim to outrage: but the moment
after, observing that the young men were beginning to combat for
precedence, a sudden hope of escape revived her courage, and gave wings
to her feet; and, defying every obstacle, she pushed on a passage,
through the intricate thicket, almost with the swiftness that she might
have crossed the smoothest plain, till she arrived at an open spot of
ground.
The fear of losing her now ended, though without deciding, the dispute;
and the youths ran on together, mutually and loudly shouting familiar
appeals, after the fugitive, upon their rights, with entreaties that she
would stop.
Juliet again felt her strength expiring; but where courage is the result
of understanding, if its operation is less immediate than that which
springs from physical bravery, it is not less certain. The despair,
therefore, of saving herself by bodily exertion, presently gave rise to
a mental effort, which instigated her to turn round upon her
persecutors, and await and face them; with the same assumed firmness,
though not with the offered caresses, with which she had just
encountered her four-footed pursuer.
Their surprize at this unexpected action put an end to their dissention;
and, each believing her to be alike at the service of either, or of
both, they laughed coarsely, and came on, arm in arm, and leisurely,
together.
Juliet, calling to her assistance her utmost presence of mind, and
dignity of manner, stept forward to meet them; and, with an air that
disguised her apprehensions, said, 'Gentlemen, I have business of great
importance with the farmer who lives near this place; but I do not know
the shortest way to his farm. If you will be so obliging as to shew it
to me, you may depend upon his handsomely rewarding any trouble that you
may take.'
Their astonishment, now, was encreased; but although, at the word
business, they leered at one another with an air of mockery, her air and
mien, with her grave civility and apparent trust, caused, involuntarily,
a suspension of their facetious design; and they enquired the name of
the farmer, whom she was seeking.
She could not immediately, she said, recollect it; but he lived at the
nearest farm.
'Why 't-ben't Master Zimmers?' They cried.
'The very same!'
'What, that do live yinder, across the copse?'
'Without any doubt'
They now ogled one another, with a consciousness that persuaded Juliet
that this Simmers was their own master; or, perhaps, their father; and
she repeated her request, with reiterated assurances, that a
considerable recompence would be bestowed upon her conductor.
They looked irresolute, and extremely foolish; Dash, however, was firmly
her friend, and, while they were whispering and hesitating, jumped and
capered from his masters to his new associate, from his new associate to
his masters, with an intelligent delight, that seemed manifesting his
enjoyment of a junction which he had himself brought about.
Juliet shewed so much pleasure in his kindness, that the young men,
proud of their dog, and glad, in their embarrassment, to be occupied
rather than to reply, fondled him, in their rough manner, themselves;
making him fetch, carry, stand on his hinder legs, leap over their hats,
caper, bark, point, and display his various accomplishments.
Juliet encouraged this diversion, by patting the dog, applauding his
teachers, and stimulating a repetition of every feat; till the youths,
charmed by her good fellowship, were insensibly turned aside from their
evil intentions; and soon, and in perfect harmony, they all arrived at a
considerable farm, upon the borders of the New Forest.