The Comical Adventures of Twm Shon Catty Part 27

"And who stole my grey horse!" bawled Evans of Tregaron.

"And who sold it to me when disguised in straw boots and cow-hide breeches!" cried Powell of Brecon, who had now closely examined his features.

Things looked desperate as far as Twm was concerned, as an attack was now made upon him by three or four of his most determined enemies; but Twm eluding their eager attempts to grasp him, sprang upon the table before the bench, and drawing a couple of pistols from his coat pockets, held one in each hand, and kept them all at bay, protesting he would shoot the first who would advance an inch towards him. Loud was his laughter when they all started back: but Prothero, now sat silently on the bench, alarmed for his safety, which he had thought to secure by giving him warning of his danger, in the feint of his proclaimed reward for his apprehension.

As he stood in this manner, with extended arms, watchful eyes, and grasping the pointed pistols with a finger to each trigger, Powell of Brecon exclaimed, "Thou art a clever fellow, by Jove, Twm! very clever for a Cardy; but wert thou with us, the quick-witted sons of Brecon, thou wouldst soon find thyself overmatched. I dare thee to enter Brecon, to trust to thy cunning-come there, and welcome, and thou shalt stand harmless of me, in the affair of the grey horse." Twm smiled, and nodded, in token of having accepted his challenge.

Rather daunted by the failure of their first attempt to seize Twm, his a.s.sailants had held back awed by his resolute and defiant att.i.tude, but recovering their courage on reflecting upon the odds against him, they now, headed by Evans of Tregaron, got behind him, and clung to his right arm, but with one violent effort Twm shook them away, as the mighty bull throws off the yelping curs that dare to attack him. Then, with a single leap, he sprang from the table into the crowded court, where a lane was formed for him, and rushed out of the door unimpeded, and pursued by his accusers. They soon lost sight of him among the moving mult.i.tude, some of whom dispersed from fear of accidents, while others followed him as spectators.

To the great astonishment of his pursuers they next caught a view of him mounted on that grand subject of contention, the grey horse. He took the route of Ystrad Feen, followed by several constables in the employ of Evans of Tregaron, and many disinterested persons from the fair. Loud were the shouts of the numerous riders; loud the tramp of galloping horses; and wild the disorder and terror created, as Twm at different intervals turned on his pursuers, and fired his pistols. This caused a powerful retrograde movement among them, by which the foremost horses fell back to those behind them, unhorsing some who lay groaning and crying with fright on the ground, and frightening others altogether from the pursuit.

It was on this occasion that a bard of that day wrote the stanza which appears on the t.i.tle page, thus translated by the late Iolo Morganwg:-

"In Ystrad Feen a doleful sound Pervades the hollow hills around; The very stones with terror melt, Such fear of Twn Shon Catty felt."

Fortune still favoured Twm, who reaching the foot of Dinas somewhat in advance of his motley train of pursuers, dismounted, sprung from stone to stone, that formed the ford of the Tower, and climbed the steep side of that majestic mount, with the utmost ease. Like a prudent sea-captain, Twm was chased in his small boat by a fleet of rovers, till he reaches his own war-ship, and springs up her fort-like side, and treads his deck in the ecstasy of surmounted peril, conscious strength, and superiority.

Thus Twm now attained the summit of a prominent knoll, and waved his hand triumphantly, in defiance of his foes below. Evans of Tregaron, with his crew of catchpoles, made an attempt to climb also; Twm permitted them to advance about twenty yards above the river, when he ended the warfare, by rolling down several huge stones, that swept them in a ma.s.s into the bed of the river Towey, sadly bruised, but more frightened, from whence they were extricated by the amazed and terrified spectators.

Evans of Tregaron met with an accident, which during the remainder of his life reminded him of his hasty chase after Twm Shon Catty. In starting aside to avoid the dreadful leaping crags that threatened to crush him, his pistols went off in his pockets, and carried away, besides his coat skirts and the rear of his black breaches, a large portion of postern flesh, that deprived him forever after of that agreeable cushion which nature had provided.

Amusing to the population of Tregaron was the singular sight of their crest-fallen magistrate and his hated gang, brought home in woeful plight, as inside pa.s.senger of a dung-cart, which had been hired for the purpose; and more than all, that his discomfiture should have been caused by their long-lost countryman Twm Shon Catty.

Our hero was clearly in an una.s.sailable position, and his enemies were not so stupid as to be entirely blind to that important fact. So, like a princely chieftain of the days of old, enthroned upon his native tower of strength, marking in his soul's high pride the awkward predicament of his baffled foes, perceiving them all depart; leaving him the undisputed lord of his alpine territory, the glorious height of Dinas.

After witnessing, with his limbs stretched upon his mountain couch, the glorious beauty of the setting sun, he entered the cave, tore from its top a sufficiency of fern and heather to form his bed, threw on it his fatigued, over-exerted frame, and slept soundly until morning.

CHAPTER x.x.xVI.

TWM at Brecon. An angling feat. Twm in a musical character. Wins the prize offered for a poem. A new style of marriage-and some other little "odds and ends." Conclusion.

With the earliest rays of the morning's sun Twm was astir, and during a long ramble on the hills, was busily turning over in his mind the exciting-incidents of the previous day. Unable to account for his second disappointment of seeing his mistress, according to promise, he gave way to despondency, and conjectured the worst-that she was no longer true to his vows, but had yielded to the persuasions of her haughty relative, and become a renegade both to love and to honour. He was now, however, so near her residence, he would at least ascertain how matters stood; and, after many efforts of resolution, he descended the hill for that purpose.

On crossing the Towey, he was surprised to find that the "gallant grey"

was still left for him; he was busily feeding in an adjoining field, and the saddle and bridle hung dangling from a storm-stricken old thorn. He felt this, directly, as a handsome piece of attention to him, on the part of Powell of Brecon, who, doubtless, had left it there for convenience.

On examining further, he found a note, tied to the bridle, from that generous individual, inviting him to be present at the Eisteddvod, the Races and the Ball, which were to take place successively in the gay town of Brecon.

He was doomed to disappointment; for on reaching Ystrad Feen he found n.o.body but the servants, who informed him that their lady, Miss Meredith, and the late visitors, were all gone to Brecon, and would not return for some days. This intelligence determined him to go there also; and recollecting a trunk of clothes of his, which had been left ever since his sojourning there, he called for it; and having dressed himself, and placed with other things, in his saddle-bags, an elegant suit which he had brought from London, he mounted his horse, and rode off for Brecon.

About a couple of miles beyond Trecastle, he overtook a poor fellow driving an a.s.s, laden with coa.r.s.e crockery ware, who turned out to be no other than Ready Rosser. Having long been married to a Cardiganshire la.s.s, they both, pretending to be single, entered Squire Prothero's service at the same time; but the circ.u.mstance being at length discovered, they were both discharged a few days since, and now commenced the crockery business for a livelihood. After a few jests on the white bull, ox, and sheep, Twm spurred on, but not before he had purchased the whole of Rosser's stock, which, however, that worthy was to take to Brecon, for a purpose to be hereafter described.

At Brecon he took lodgings at the Three c.o.c.ks' inn, to which he gave a preference, on account of the sign being the armorial bearings of the celebrated David Gam, (Shakespeare's Captain Fuellin,) the hero of Agincourt.

Crowds still poured into the town from all points of the compa.s.s, until it seemed impossible that the streets would hold them. While our hero looked through the window to observe Rosser, who arranged his crockery in front of the inn, his attention was suddenly caught by the sound of a harp, which proceeded from the kitchen. To his great surprise, he found the performer to be his old friend the venerable Ianto Gwyn of Tregaron.

The old man was very glad to see him, and after learning the particulars of the fortunes he had met since he left his native town, proceeded to inform him of the Tregaron news. His mother was well three weeks ago, and had received the various sums which he had sent her at different times, and was in daily hopes of burying her churl of a husband. Rachael Ketch was now dead; having broken her heart for the loss of her money, which had been stolen by Watt the mole-catcher, who was transported.

In conclusion, the old man said that he had come to the Eisteddvod rather as a spectator than a candidate for the prize, having accidentally hurt his right hand, which nearly disabled him altogether from playing. "That circ.u.mstance is now the more provoking," said the old man, "as I am convinced that were my hand well, I should certainly win the n.o.ble silver harp, which is to be the meed of the best player."

Twm took his musical friend upstairs, and, after dining together, began coquetting with the harp, which with the hand of a ready player, he soon tinkled into alternate fits of grief and laughter, as he ran over many of our most popular airs.

The old man jumped up from his seat, and embraced him with rapture, protesting that he could not fail to win the harp, if he chose to be a candidate. Our hero, having practised but little on the harp since he left London, felt considerable diffidence in becoming a compet.i.tor among proficients in music, but resolved, at any rate to avail himself of the instructions of his friend Ianto Gwyn.

Intensely anxious to meet his mistress once more, he sought an early opportunity of a walk through the streets; but instead of the desired one, it was his lot to meet Powell the magistrate, who gave him a jocular and right hearty welcome. They were soon joined by two other high bloods of the town, one a wealthy attorney, named Phillips, and the other a reverend and right-portly son of the church, who shone more at the punch-bowl than in the pulpit. They all adjourned to the parlour of the Three c.o.c.ks, where the best of wine was soon in request, and a gay scene of conviviality and good fellowship ensued.

Twm's fame had of course preceded him, for Powell's tongue had been busy in his praise, although he had done him no more than justice, and those four worthies soon understanding each other, they spent a pretty jolly time of it. Being all lads of the turf, the practice of betting was familiar to them; and the lawyer offered to oppose Twm in a match of angling for five pounds; and the bet should be, that "_whoever fished the largest weight_, _no matter of what kind_, _in half an hour_, _should be declared the winner_." Our hero, although a poor angler, accepted the wager, and Powell, as the umpire, wrote down the terms of it, which was signed by each.

Possessing himself of angling paraphernalia, he repaired with them to the bridge, and had the upper side of it a.s.signed to him, while Phillips had the lower. The latter displayed a grand morocco pocket-book, filled in the neatest order with the most choice artificial flies, of every description, and soon had his handsome rod in order; while the former had nothing better than what could be procured at a shop. The lawyer landed fish after fish, with great rapidity, and when half the given time had expired, Twm found himself much in arrears, and the continued good fortune of his antagonist left him, apparently, no chance of ultimate success.

"Confound these good-for-nothing flies! fetch me a beef steak!" cried he at last, and gave money for that purpose to a by-stander, who immediately brought the article wanted.

"There's a Cardy angler, fishing for trout with a beef steak!" cried the Breconians, with an exulting laugh. Twm made no reply, but fastened several hooks in different parts of a strong line, to each of which he attached a small piece of beef; and, watching the movement of a flock of ducks that floated in luxurious ease down the Usk, he threw the whole among them.

Loud was the clamour of the aquatic crew, as they hustled each other, in their eagerness to partake of the showered feast, which they soon gobbled, and were drawn up to the top of the bridge by the singular angler above, amid the shouts of laughter of the numerous spectators.

This feat was greeted by the by-standers with shouts of derision, as they thought that Twm, in thus trifling, had practically confessed his inability to win the wager. Powell called time, saying that the half hour had struck. Phillips, as the conscious winner, produced a goodly show of trout, and, as Twm had caught but four small fish, said it would be idle to weigh them.

"Not so," replied our wag, "let the written terms of the bet be read, and you will find that my ducks have a right to be weighed against your boasted trout, aye! and shall make them kick the beam."

Phillips started at such an a.s.sertion made in earnest, and Powell read, "Whoever fished the largest weight, no matter of what kind, would be declared the winner," and as umpire, awarded the five pounds to our hero.

Some merriment at the expense of Powell was caused by his declaring himself the unlucky proprietor of the said flock of ducks; but with his usual good-humour, he proposed that the ducks and the trout should be cooked at his house for their supper, in which Phillips acquiesced.

After dinner, when the bottle had pa.s.sed pretty freely, and all were prepared for any fun which might fall in their way, our hero contrived to bring Powell, who had hitherto fought shy, into a bet with him. He declared that a stranger as he was to Brecon, he firmly believed that he could command, and be obeyed there, with greater prompt.i.tude than himself, although a justice of the peace and one of the quorum.

"I'll lay you twenty pounds to the contrary," cried the magistrate.

"Done!" replied Twm, "and we can prove it without quitting this room, by opening the window, and practising on some of those people opposite."

"Let it be yon crockery-wareman, who is the most conspicuous," said Powell, and Twm, of course, could have no possible objection.

The magistrate opened the window, and called in a tone of authority, "Come here, you fellow; go directly to the Black Lion, and tell the landlord to let you have Justice Powell's black mare, and bring her here to me."

"I can't quit my goods, sir," said Rosser, "or I would willingly oblige you."

"I tell you, fellow, do as I order you, or I shall kick you and your ware out of the town," said Powell in a bl.u.s.tering tone, and with a look the most terrifying that he could a.s.sume.

Rosser repeated his former answer; and when the magistrate increased his threats, he burst out into a rude laugh, and, without further difference, said he really believed that his worship was drunk: this was enough, and the worthy magistrate felt himself completely put down.

Our wag now took his turn, and commenced with him: "I say, fellow, did'st thou ever see or hear of Twm Shon Catty?"

"Yes," replied Rosser, "often at Llandovery; once at Cardigan; and now I see him before me at Brecon."