Part 37 (1/2)
[AN OXFORD FRESHMAN 259]
of the road that had to be traversed was ieless brooks had to be crossed; and ere called ”roads”
were little better than the beds of ht have been taken for such Deep channels orn in thee-springs could have lived out such ruts Carriages, therefore, in this part of the country, were out of the question The squire did as usual on such occasions: he appointed, as a rendezvous, a certain little inn at the extreeable part of the road, and there all the party met, and left their chariots and horses They then - after a little preparatory pic-nic, fordistances - took possession of certain wagons that were in waiting for theht build, were constructed for the country, and were capable of sustaining the severe test of the rough roads Within thes, formed sufficiently comfortable seats, on which the divisions of the party sat ~vis-a-vis~, like omnibus travellers
Frederick Delaval and a few others, on horses and ponies, as outriders, accoon procession, which was by no means deficient in materials for the picturesque The teae, and decorated with flowers The fore horse of each team bore his collar of little brass bells, which clashed out a wild oners were in their shi+rt-sleeves, which were tied round with ribbons; they had gay ribbons also on their hats and whips, and did not lack bouquets and flowers for the further adornether they werefellows, and appeared perfectly prepared to take their places in the ~Sonnambula~, or any other opera in which decorated rustics have to appear and unanihtly rate of two shi+llings per head The light sureeable variety of colour, as the wagonsthe dark heathery hills, now by the side of a brawling brook, and now by a rugged road
The joltings of these saly remarked, facts that must be felt to be believed For, when the wheel of any vehicle is suddenly plunged into a rut or hole of a foot's depth, and froe, and wrench, to be again dropped into another hole or rut, and withdrawn fro simultaneously repeated, with discordant variations, by other three wheels attached to the self-same vehicle, it will follow, as a matter of course, that the result
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of this experi of the movable contents of the said vehicle; and, when these contents chance to take the seined what must have been the scene presented to the view as the pic-nic wagons, with their huht, laboured thro' the haave a zest to the day's enjoyment; and, if Miss Patty Honeyas unable to hbour, Mr Verdant Green, it is not at all improbable but that she approved of his kind attention, and that the other young ladies ere siratitude
In this way they literally jogged along to Chillinghaes and four, and then leisurely made their way to the castle When they had sufficiently lionized it, and had strolled through the gardens, they went to have a look at the famous wild cattle Our Warwickshi+re friends had frequently had a distant view of theether in a herd, and as their park was on the slope of a dark hill, they were visible fro white patch on the landscape On the present occasion they found that the cattle, which nu, were quietly grazing on the border of their pine-wood, where a few of their fellow-tenants, the original red-deer, were lifting their enormous antlers From their position the pic-nic party were unable to obtain a very near view of thely excited, and would not be allayed without a closer acquaintance with these formidable but beautiful creatures And it therefore happened that, when the courageous Miss Bouncer proposed that they should make an incursion into the very territory of the Wild Cattle, her proposition was not only seconded, but was carried almost unanimously It was in vain
[AN OXFORD FRESHMAN 261]
that Mr Honeywood, and the seniors and chaperones of the party, rerisly head they had just seen hanging up in the lodge, and those straight sharp horns that had gored to death the brave keeper who had risked his own life to save his master's friend; it was in vain that Charles Larkyns, fearful for his Mary's sake, quoted the ”Bride of Laed the i out of the bushes to the rescue of a second Lucy Ashton; it was in vain that anecdotes were told of the fury of these cattle - how they would single out soed or wounded companion, and drive him out of the herd until he miserably died, and how they would hide themselves for days within their dark pine-wood, where no one dare attack them; it was in vain that Mr Verdant Green reminded Miss Patty Honeywood of her narrow escape froer was now increased a hundredfold; all in vain, for Miss Patty assured him that the cattle were as peaceable as they were beautiful, and that they only attacked people in self-defence when provoked orladies were positively bent upon having a nearer view of the entleed to accoet into the Wild Cattle's enclosure, as the boundary fence was of unusual height, and the difficulty of its being scaled by ladies was proportionately increased Nevertheless, the fence and the difficulty were alike surmounted, and the party were safely landed within the park They had promised to obey Mr
Honeywood's advice, and to abstain from thatladies usually indulge, and to walk quietly ale of the park, at some two or three hundred yards' distance from the herd, so as not to unnecessarily attract their attention; and then to scale the fence at a point higher up the hill Following this advice, they walked quietly across thethe notice of the cattle They had reached midway in their proposed path, and, with silent ad the razed at a short distance from them, when Miss Bouncer, as addicted to uncontrollable fits of laughter at improper seasons, was so tickled at some ~sotto voce~ reing laugh, which, ere she could smother its noise with her handkerchief, had startled the watchful ears of the nificent head, and looked round in the direction from whence the disturbance had proceeded As he perceived it, he sniffed the air, made a rapid movement with his
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pink-edged ears, and gave an onal awoke the attention of the other bulls, their wives, and children, who si The bovine round, lashed his tail, advanced about twenty yards in a threatening azed fixedly upon the pic-nic party and Miss Bouncer, who too late regretted her h ”For heaven's sake!”
whispered Mr Honeywood, ”do not speak; but get to the fence as quietly and quickly as you can”
The young ladies obeyed, and forbore either to screaave another stamp and bellow, and made a second advance This time he came about fifty yards before he paused, and he was followed at a short distance, and at a walking pace, by the rest of the herd The ladies retreated quietly, the gentlemen came after the distance, and it was evident that if the herdcould save them - unless they could climb the trees; but this did not seeht at the probability of such need, and anxiously looked round for the most likely tree for his purpose
The Bull hadupon them It seemed curious that he should stand forth as the cha, while the other bulls remained mute, and folloith the rest of the herd, yet so it was; but there seemed no reason to disbelieve the unpleasant fact that the monarch's example would be imitated by his subjects The herd had non so near, and the young ladies had made such a comparatively slow retreat, that they were yet many yards distant from the boundary fence, and it was quite plain that they could not reach it before the advancing ainst the to feel faint and hysterical, and their alarm was more or less shared by all the party
It was now, by Charles Larkyns's advice, that the entle trees, and, aided by others upon the ground, began to lift up the ladies to places of security But, the party being a large one, this caring for its more valued but less athletic members was a business that could not be transacted without the expenditure of some little time and trouble, more, as it seemed, than could now be bestowed; for, the onward ha upward movement of the Northumbrian pic-nickers And, even if Charles Larkyns's plan should have a
[AN OXFORD FRESHMAN 263]
favourable issue, it did not seereeable prospect to be detained up in a tree, with a century of bulls bellowing beneath, until casual assistance should arrive; and yet, as this state of affairs when co fate from which, for some of them at least, there seemed no escape? Mr Verdant Green fully realized the horrors of this alternative when he looked at Miss Patty Honeywood, who had not yet joined those ladies who, clinging fearfully to the boughs, and crouching auinea-foere for the present in comparative safety, and out of the reach of the Cattle
The monarch of the herd had now co his tail and bellowing defiance, as he appeared to be preparing for a final rush Behind him, in a dense phalanx, white and terrible, were the rest of the herd Suddenly, and before the Snowy Bull hadfear of all, stepped boldly forth to meet him As has been said, he was one of the equestrians of the party, and he carried a heavy-handled whip, furnished with a long and powerful lash He wrapped this lash round his hand, and walked resolutely towards the Bull, fixing his eyes steadily upon hiround, but did not advance The herd, also, were motionless; but their dark, lustrous eyes were centred upon Frederick Delaval's advancing figure Thehim with intense interest If they could, they would have prevented his purpose; for to all appearance he was about to lose his own life in order that the rest of the party ain time to reach a place of safety The very expectation of this preventedthemselves of the opportunity thus so boldly purchased, and they stood transfixed with terror and astonish the result
They watched hi and stae horned head was held erect, and his mane bristled up, as he looked upon the adversary who thus dared to brave him He suffered Frederick Delaval to approach him, and only betrayed a consciousness of his presence by his heavy snorting, angry lashi+ng of the tail, and quickman had looked the Bull steadfastly in the front, and had drawn near him with an equal and steady step Suppressed screams broke froth stood within a step of his huge adversary He gazed fixedly into the Bull's eyes, and, after a -whip, and lashed the animal heavily over the shoulders The Bull tossed round,
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