So I turned back with Mr. Petulengro. We travelled for some time in
silence; at last we fell into discourse. "You have been in Wales, Mr.
Petulengro?"
"Ay, truly, brother."
"What have you been doing there?"
"Assisting at a funeral."
"At whose funeral?"
"Mrs. Hearne's, brother."
"Is she dead, then?"
"As a nail, brother."
"How did she die?"
"By hanging, brother."
"I am lost in astonishment," said I; whereupon Mr. Petulengro, lifting
his sinister leg over the neck of his steed, and adjusting himself
sideways in the saddle, replied with great deliberation:--
"Two days ago, I happened to be at a fair not very far from here; I was
all alone by myself, for our party were upwards of forty miles off, when
who should come up but a chap that I knew, a relation, or rather, a
connection of mine--one of those Hearnes. 'Ar'n't you going to the
funeral?' said he; and then, brother, there passed between him and me, in
the way of questioning and answering, much the same as has just now
passed between I and you; but when he mentioned hanging, I thought I
could do no less than ask who hanged her, which you forgot to do. 'Who
hanged her?' said I; and then the man told me that she had done it
herself--been her own hinjiri; and then I thought to myself what a sin
and shame it would be if I did not go to the funeral, seeing that she was
my own mother-in-law. I would have brought my wife, and, indeed, the
whole of our party, but there was no time for that; they were too far
off, and the dead was to be buried early the next morning, so I went with
the man, and he led me into Wales, where his party had lately retired,
and when there, through many wild and desolate places to their
encampment, and there I found the Hearnes, and the dead body--the last
laid out on a mattress, in a tent, dressed Romaneskoenaes, in a red cloak
and big bonnet of black beaver. I must say for the Hearnes that they
took the matter very coolly: some were eating, others drinking, and some
were talking about their small affairs; there was one, however, who did
not take the matter so coolly, but took on enough for the whole family,
sitting beside the dead woman, tearing her hair, and refusing to take
either meat or drink; it was the child Leonora. I arrived at nightfall,
and the burying was not to take place till the morning, which I was
rather sorry for, as I am not very fond of them Hearnes, who are not very
fond of anybody. They never asked me to eat or drink, notwithstanding I
had married into the family; one of them, however, came up and offered to
fight me for five shillings; had it not been for them, I should have come
back as empty as I went--he didn't stand up five minutes. Brother, I
passed the night as well as I could, beneath a tree, for the tents were
full, and not over clean; I slept little, and had my eyes about me, for I
knew the kind of people I was among.
"Early in the morning the funeral took place. The body was placed not in
a coffin but on a bier, and carried not to a churchyard but to a deep
dell close by; and there it was buried beneath a rock, dressed just as I
have told you; and this was done by the bidding of Leonora, who had heard
her bebee say that she wished to be buried, not in gorgious fashion, but
like a Roman woman of the old blood, the kosko puro rati, brother. When
it was over, and we had got back to the encampment, I prepared to be
going. Before mounting my gry, however, I bethought me to ask what could
have induced the dead woman to make away with herself, a thing so
uncommon amongst Romanies; whereupon one squinted with his eyes, a second
spirted saliver into the air, and a third said that he neither knew nor
cared; she was a good riddance, having more than once been nearly the
ruin of them all, from the quantity of brimstone she carried about her.
One, however, I suppose, rather ashamed of the way in which they had
treated me, said at last, that if I wanted to know all about the matter,
none could tell me better than the child, who was in all her secrets, and
was not a little like her; so I looked about for the child, but could
find her nowhere. At last the same man told me that he shouldn't wonder
if I found her at the grave; so I went back to the grave, and sure enough
there I found the child, Leonora, seated on the ground above the body,
crying and taking on; so I spoke kindly to her, and said, how came all
this, Leonora? tell me all about it. It was a long time before I could
get any answer; at last she opened her mouth, and spoke, and these were
the words she said: 'It was all along of your pal'; and then she told me
all about the matter. How Mrs. Hearne could not abide you, which I knew
before, and that she had sworn your destruction, which I did not know
before. And then she told me how she found you living in the wood by
yourself, and how you were enticed to eat a poisoned cake; and she told
me many other things that you wot of, and she told me what perhaps you
don't wot, namely, that finding you had been removed, she, the child, had
tracked you a long way, and found you at last well and hearty, and no
ways affected by the poison, and heard you, as she stood concealed,
disputing about religion with a Welsh Methody. Well, brother, she told
me all this; and, moreover, that when Mrs. Hearne heard of it, she said
that a dream of hers had come to pass. I don't know what it was, but
something about herself, a tinker, and a dean; and then she added, that
it was all up with her, and that she must take a long journey. Well,
brother, that same night Leonora, waking from her sleep in the tent,
where Mrs. Hearne and she were wont to sleep, missed her bebee, and,
becoming alarmed, went in search of her, and at last found her hanging
from a branch; and when the child had got so far, she took on violently,
and I could not get another word from her; so I left her, and here I am."
"And I am glad to see you, Mr. Petulengro; but this is sad news which you
tell me about Mrs. Hearne."
"Somewhat dreary, brother; yet, perhaps, after all, it is a good thing
that she is removed; she carried so much Devil's tinder about with her,
as the man said."
"I am sorry for her," said I; "more especially as I am the cause of her
death--though the innocent one."
"She could not bide you, brother, that's certain; but that is no
reason"--said Mr. Petulengro, balancing himself upon the saddle--"that is
no reason why she should prepare drow to take away your essence of life,
and, when disappointed, to hang herself upon a tree: if she was
dissatisfied with you, she might have flown at you, and scratched your
face; or, if she did not judge herself your match, she might have put
down five shillings for a turn-up between you and some one she thought
could beat you--myself, for example, and so the matter might have ended
comfortably; but she was always too fond of covert ways, drows and
brimstones. This is not the first poisoning affair she has been engaged
in."
"You allude to drabbing bawlor."
"Bah!" said Mr. Petulengro; "there's no harm in that. No, no! she has
cast drows in her time for other guess things than bawlor; both Gorgios
and Romans have tasted of them, and died. Did you never hear of the
poisoned plum pudding?"
"Never."
"Then I will tell you about it. It happened about six years ago, a few
months after she had quitted us--she had gone first among her own people,
as she called them; but there was another small party of Romans, with
whom she soon became very intimate. It so happened that this small party
got into trouble; whether it was about a horse or an ass, or passing bad
money, no matter to you and me, who had no hand in the business; three or
four of them were taken and lodged in --- Castle, and amongst them was a
woman; but the sherengro, or principal man of the party, and who it seems
had most hand in the affair, was still at large. All of a sudden a
rumour was spread abroad that the woman was about to play false, and to
peach the rest. Said the principal man, when he heard it, 'If she does,
I am nashkado'. Mrs. Hearne was then on a visit to the party, and when
she heard the principal man take on so, she said: 'But I suppose you know
what to do?' 'I do not,' said he. 'Then hir mi devlis,' said she, 'you
are a fool. But leave the matter to me, I know how to dispose of her in
Roman fashion.' Why she wanted to interfere in the matter, brother, I
don't know, unless it was from pure brimstoneness of disposition--she had
no hand in the matter which had brought the party into trouble, she was
only on a visit, and it had happened before she came; but she was always
ready to give dangerous advice. Well, brother, the principal man
listened to what she had to say, and let her do what she would; and she
made a pudding, a very nice one, no doubt--for, besides plums, she put in
drows and all the Roman condiments that she knew of; and she gave it to
the principal man, and the principal man put it into a basket and
directed it to the woman in --- Castle, and the woman in the castle took
it and--"
"Ate of it," said I, "just like my case?"
"Quite different, brother; she took it, it is true, but instead of giving
way to her appetite as you might have done, she put it before the rest
whom she was going to impeach--perhaps she wished to see how they liked
it before she tasted it herself--and all the rest were poisoned, and one
died, and there was a precious outcry, and the woman cried loudest of
all; and she said: 'It was my death was sought for; I know the man, and
I'll be revenged,' and then the Poknees spoke to her and said, 'Where can
we find him?' and she said, 'I am awake to his motions; three weeks from
hence, the night before the full moon, at such and such an hour, he will
pass down such a lane with such a man'."
"Well," said I, "and what did the Poknees do?"
"Do, brother, sent for a plastramengro from Bow Street, quite secretly,
and told him what the woman had said; and the night before the full moon,
the plastramengro went to the place which the juwa had pointed out, all
alone, brother; and, in order that he might not be too late, he went two
hours before his time. I know the place well, brother, where the
plastramengro placed himself behind a thick holly tree, at the end of a
lane, where a gate leads into various fields, through which there is a
path for carts and horses. The lane is called the dark lane by the
Gorgios, being much shaded by trees; so the plastramengro placed himself
in the dark lane behind the holly tree; it was a cold February night,
dreary, though; the wind blew in gusts, and the moon had not yet risen,
and the plastramengro waited behind a tree till he was tired, and thought
he might as well sit down; so he sat down and was not long in falling to
sleep, and there he slept for some hours; and when he awoke, the moon had
risen, and was shining bright, so that there was a kind of moonlight even
in the dark lane; and the plastramengro pulled out his watch, and
contrived to make out that it was just two hours beyond the time when the
men should have passed by. Brother, I do not know what the plastramengro
thought of himself, but I know, brother, what I should have thought of
myself in his situation. I should have thought, brother, that I was a
drowsy scoppelo, and that I had let the fellow pass by whilst I was
sleeping behind a bush. As it turned out, however, his going to sleep
did no harm, but quite the contrary; just as he was going away, he heard
a gate slam in the direction of the fields, and then he heard the low
stumping of horses, as if on soft ground, for the path in those fields is
generally soft, and at that time it had been lately ploughed up. Well,
brother, presently he saw two men on horseback coming towards the lane
through the field behind the gate; the man who rode foremost was a tall,
big fellow, the very man he was in quest of: the other was a smaller
chap, not so small either, but a light, wiry fellow, and a proper master
of his hands when he sees occasion for using them. Well, brother, the
foremost man came to the gate, reached at the hank, undid it, and rode
through, holding it open for the other. Before, however, the other could
follow into the lane, out bolted the plastramengro from behind the tree,
kicked the gate too with his foot, and, seizing the big man on horseback,
'You are my prisoner,' said he. I am of opinion, brother, that the
plastramengro, notwithstanding he went to sleep, must have been a regular
fine fellow."
"I am entirely of your opinion," said I; "but what happened then?"
"Why, brother, the Rommany chal, after he had somewhat recovered from his
surprise, for it is rather uncomfortable to be laid hold of at
night-time, and told you are a prisoner; more especially when you happen
to have two or three things on your mind, which, if proved against you,
would carry you to the nashky. The Rommany chal, I say, clubbed his
whip, and aimed a blow at the plastramengro, which, if it had hit him on
the skull, as was intended, would very likely have cracked it. The
plastramengro, however, received it partly on his staff, so that it did
him no particular damage. Whereupon seeing what kind of customer he had
to deal with, he dropped his staff, and seized the chal with both his
hands, who forthwith spurred his horse, hoping by doing so, either to
break away from him, or fling him down; but it would not do--the
plastramengro held on like a bulldog, so that the Rommany chal, to escape
being hauled to the ground, suddenly flung himself off the saddle, and
then happened in that lane, close by the gate, such a struggle between
those two--the chal and the runner--as I suppose will never happen again.
But you must have heard of it; every one has heard of it; every one has
heard of the fight between the Bow street engro and the Rommany chal."
"I never heard of it till now."
"All England rung of it, brother. There never was a better match than
between those two. The runner was somewhat the stronger of the two--all
these engroes are strong fellows--and a great deal cooler, for all of
that sort are wondrous cool people--he had, however, to do with one who
knew full well how to take his own part. The chal fought the engro,
brother, in the old Roman fashion. He bit, he kicked, and screamed like
a wild cat of Benygant; casting foam from his mouth, and fire from his
eyes. Sometimes he was beneath the engro's legs, and sometimes he was
upon his shoulders. What the engro found the most difficult, was to get
a firm hold of the chal, for no sooner did he seize the chal by any part
of his wearing apparel, than the chal either tore himself away, or
contrived to slip out of it; so that in a little time the chal was three
parts naked; and as for holding him by the body, it was out of the
question, for he was as slippery as an eel. At last the engro seized the
chal by the Belcher's handkerchief, which he wore in a knot round his
neck, and do whatever the chal could, he could not free himself; and when
the engro saw that, it gave him fresh heart, no doubt; 'It's of no use,'
said he; 'you had better give in; hold out your hands for the darbies, or
I will throttle you'."
"And what did the other fellow do, who came with the chal?" said I.
"I sat still on my horse, brother."
"You?" said I. "Were you the man?"
"I was he, brother."
"And why did you not help your comrade?"
"I have fought in the ring, brother."
"And what had fighting in the ring to do with fighting in the lane?"
"You mean not fighting. A great deal, brother; it taught me to prize
fair play. When I fought Staffordshire Dick, t'other side of London, I
was alone, brother. Not a Rommany chal to back me, and he had all his
brother pals about him; but they gave me fair play, brother; and I beat
Staffordshire Dick, which I couldn't have done had they put one finger on
his side the scale; for he was as good a man as myself, or nearly so.
Now, brother, had I but bent a finger in favour of the Rommany chal the
plastramengro would never have come alive out of the lane; but I did not,
for I thought to myself fair play is a precious stone; so you see,
brother--"
"That you are quite right, Mr. Petulengro; I see that clearly; and now,
pray proceed with your narration; it is both moral and entertaining."
But Mr. Petulengro did not proceed with his narration, neither did he
proceed upon his way; he had stopped his horse, and his eyes were
intently fixed on a broad strip of grass beneath some lofty trees, on the
left side of the road. It was a pleasant enough spot, and seemed to
invite wayfaring people, such as we were, to rest from the fatigues of
the road, and the heat and vehemence of the sun. After examining it for
a considerable time, Mr. Petulengro said: "I say, brother, that would be
a nice place for a tuzzle!"
"I daresay it would," said I, "if two people were inclined to fight."
"The ground is smooth," said Mr. Petulengro; "without holes or ruts, and
the trees cast much shade. I don't think, brother, that we could find a
better place," said Mr. Petulengro, springing from his horse.
"But you and I don't want to fight!"
"Speak for yourself, brother," said Mr. Petulengro. "However, I will
tell you how the matter stands. There is a point at present between us.
There can be no doubt that you are the cause of Mrs. Hearne's death,
innocently, you will say, but still the cause. Now, I shouldn't like it
to be known that I went up and down the country with a pal who was the
cause of my mother-in-law's death--that's to say, unless he gave me
satisfaction. Now, if I and my pal have a tuzzle, he gives me
satisfaction; and if he knocks my eyes out, which I know you can't do, it
makes no difference at all, he gives me satisfaction; and he who says to
the contrary, knows nothing of gypsy law, and is a dinelo into the
bargain."
"But we have no gloves!"
"Gloves!" said Mr. Petulengro contemptuously, "gloves! I tell you what,
brother, I always thought you were a better hand at the gloves than the
naked fist; and, to tell you the truth, besides taking satisfaction for
Mrs. Hearne's death, I wish to see what you can do with your morleys; so
now is your time, brother, and this is your place, grass and shade, no
ruts or holes; come on, brother, or I shall think you what I should not
like to call you."