第23章

“Idoubtnotyoudeserveit。”repliedhisnewfriend，

good-naturedly；“butprayproceed。”

“Well，sir，beingnearlyeighteenyearsold，andwell-grown，asyou

see。”continuedRobin，drawinghimselfuptohisfullheight，“I

thoughtithightimetobegintheworld。Somymotherandsisterput

meinhandsometrim，andmyfathergavemehalftheremnantofhis

lastyear’ssalary，andfivedaysagoIstartedforthisplace，topay

themajoravisit。But，wouldyoubelieveit，sir！Icrossedtheferry

alittleafterdark，andhaveyetfoundnobodythatwouldshowme

thewaytohisdwelling-only，anhourortwosince，Iwastoldto

waithere，andMajorMolineuxwouldpassby。”

“Canyoudescribethemanwhotoldyouthis？”inquiredthe

gentleman。

“O，hewasaveryill-favoredfellow，sir。”repliedRobin，“with

twogreatbumpsonhisforehead，ahooknose，fieryeyes-and，what

struckmeasthestrangest，hisfacewasoftwodifferentcolors。Do

youhappentoknowsuchaman，sir！”

“Notintimately。”answeredthestranger，“butIchancedtomeethim

alittletimeprevioustoyourstoppingme。Ibelieveyoumaytrust

hisword，andthatthemajorwillveryshortlypassthroughthis

street。Inthemeantime，asIhaveasingularcuriositytowitness

yourmeeting，Iwillsitdownhereuponthesteps，andbearyou

company。”

Heseatedhimselfaccordingly，andsoonengagedhiscompanionin

animateddiscourse。Itwasbutofbriefcontinuance，however，fora

noiseofshouting，whichbadlongbeenremotelyaudible，drewso

muchnearerthatRobininquireditscause。

“Whatmaybethemeaningofthisuproar？”askedhe。“Truly，ifyour

townbealwaysasnoisy，Ishallfindlittlesleep，whileIaman

inhabitant。”

“Why，indeed，friendRobin，theredoappeartobethreeorfour

riotousfellowsabroadtonight。”repliedthegentleman。“Youmust

notexpectallthestillnessofyournativewoods，hereinour

streets。Butthewatchwillshortlybeattheheelsoftheselads，

and-“

“Ay，andsettheminthestocksbypeepofday。”interruptedRobin，

recollectinghisownencounterwiththedrowsylantern-bearer。“But，

dearsir，ifImaytrustmyears，anarmyofwatchmenwouldnevermake

headagainstsuchamultitudeofrioters。Therewereatleasta

thousandvoiceswentuptomakethatoneshout。”

“Maynotamanhaveseveralvoices，Robin，aswellastwo

complexions？”saidhisfriend。

“Perhapsamanmay；butHeavenforbidthatawomanshould！”

respondedtheshrewdyouth，thinkingoftheseductivetonesofthe

major’shousekeeper。

Thesoundsofatrumpetinsomeneighboringstreetnowbecameso

evidentandcontinual，thatRobin’scuriositywasstronglyexcited。In

additiontotheshouts，heheardfrequentburstsfrommanyinstruments

ofdiscord，andawildandconfusedlaughterfilledupthe

intervals。Robinrosefromthesteps，andlookedwistfullytowardsa

pointwhitherseveralpeopleseemedtobehastening。

“Surelysomeprodigiousmerry-makingisgoingon。”exclaimedhe。“I

havelaughedverylittlesinceIlefthome，sir，andshouldbesorry

toloseanopportunity。Shallwesteproundthecornerbythatdarkish

house，andtakeourshareofthefun？”

“Sitdownagain，sitdown，goodRobin。”repliedthegentleman，

layinghishandontheskirtofthegraycoat。“Youforgetthatwe

mustwaithereforyourkinsman；andthereisreasontobelievethat

hewillpassby，inthecourseofaveryfewmoments。”

Thenearapproachoftheuproarhadnowdisturbedtheneighborhood；

windowsflewopenonallsides；andmanyheads，intheattireofthe

pillow，andconfusedbysleepsuddenlybroken，wereprotrudedtothe

gazeofwhoeverhadleisuretoobservethem。Eagervoiceshailed

eachotherfromhousetohouse，alldemandingtheexplanation，which

notasoulcouldgive。Half-dressedmenhurriedtowardstheunknown

commotion，stumblingastheywentoverthestonesteps，thatthrust

themselvesintothenarrowfoot-walk。Theshouts，thelaughter，and

thetunelessbray，theantipodesofmusic，cameonwardswith

increasingdin，tillscatteredindividuals，andthendenserbodies，

begantoappearroundacorneratthedistanceofahundredyards。

“Willyourecognizeyourkinsman，ifhepassesinthiscrowd？”

inquiredthegentleman。

“Indeed，Ican’twarrantit，sir；butI’lltakemystandhere，

andkeepabrightlook-out。”answeredRobin，descendingtotheouter

edgeofthepavement。

Amightystreamofpeoplenowemptiedintothestreet，andcame

rollingslowlytowardsthechurch。Asinglehorsemanwheeledthe

cornerinthemidstofthem，andclosebehindhimcameabandof

fearfulwind-instruments，sendingforthafresherdiscord，nowthatno

interveningbuildingskeptitfromtheear。Thenaredderlight

disturbedthemoonbeams，andadensemultitudeoftorchesshone

alongthestreet，concealing，bytheirglare，whateverobjectthey

illuminated。Thesinglehorseman，cladinamilitarydress，and

bearingadrawnsword，rodeonwardastheleader，and，byhisfierce

andvariegatedcountenance，appearedlikewarpersonified：thered

ofonecheekwasanemblemoffireandsword；theblacknessofthe

otherbetokenedthemourningthatattendsthem。Inhistrainwerewild

figuresintheIndiandress，andmanyfantasticshapeswithouta

model，givingthewholemarchavisionaryair，asifadreamhad

brokenforthfromsomefeverishbrain，andweresweepingvisibly

throughthemidnightstreets。Amassofpeople，inactive，exceptas

applaudingspectators，hemmedtheprocessionin；andseveralwomenran

alongtheside-walk，piercingtheconfusionofheaviersoundswith

theirshrillvoicesofmirthorterror。

“Thedouble-facedfellowhashiseyeuponme。”mutteredRobin，with

anindefinitebutanuncomfortableideathathewashimselftobear

apartinthepageantry。

Theleaderturnedhimselfinthesaddle，andfixedhisglance

fulluponthecountryyouth，asthesteedwentslowlyby。WhenRobin

hadfreedhiseyesfromthosefieryones，themusicianswerepassing

beforehim，andthetorcheswerecloseathand；buttheunsteady

brightnessofthelatterformedaveilwhichhecouldnotpenetrate。

Therattlingofwheelsoverthestonessometimesfounditswayto

hisear，andconfusedtracesofahumanformappearedatintervals，

andthenmeltedintothevividlight。Amomentmore，andtheleader

thunderedacommandtohalt：thetrumpetsvomitedahorridbreath，and

thenheldtheirpeace；theshoutsandlaughterofthepeopledied

away，andthereremainedonlyauniversalhum，alliedtosilence。

RightbeforeRobin’seyeswasanuncoveredcart。Therethetorches

blazedthebrightest，therethemoonshoneoutlikeday，andthere，in

tar-and-featherydignity，sathiskinsmanMajorMolineux！

Hewasanelderlyman，oflargeandmajesticperson，andstrong，

squarefeatures，betokeningasteadysoul；butsteadyasitwas，his

enemieshadfoundmeanstoshakeit。Hisfacewaspaleasdeath，and

farmoreghastly；thebroadforeheadwascontractedinhisagony，so

thathiseyebrowsformedonegrizzledline；hiseyeswereredand

wild，andthefoamhungwhiteuponhisquiveringlip。Hiswhole

framewasagitatedbyaquickandcontinualtremor，whichhispride

strovetoquell，eveninthosecircumstancesofoverwhelming

humiliation。Butperhapsthebitterestpangofallwaswhenhiseyes

metthoseofRobin；forheevidentlyknewhimontheinstant，asthe

youthstoodwitnessingthefouldisgraceofaheadgrowngrayin

honor。Theystaredateachotherinsilence，andRobin’sknees

shook，andhishairbristled，withamixtureofpityandterror。Soon，

however，abewilderingexcitementbegantoseizeuponhismind；the

precedingadventuresofthenight，theunexpectedappearanceofthe

crowd，thetorches，theconfuseddinandthehushthatfollowed，the

spectreofhiskinsmanreviledbythatgreatmultitude-allthis，and，

morethanall，aper