The Prince and the Pauper, Part 1. Read online

  Chapter III. Tom's meeting with the Prince.

  Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busywith the shadowy splendours of his night's dreams. He wandered here andthere in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what washappening around him. People jostled him, and some gave him roughspeech; but it was all lost on the musing boy. By-and-by he foundhimself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled inthat direction. He stopped and considered a moment, then fell into hisimaginings again, and passed on outside the walls of London. The Strandhad ceased to be a country-road then, and regarded itself as a street,but by a strained construction; for, though there was a tolerably compactrow of houses on one side of it, there were only some scattered greatbuildings on the other, these being palaces of rich nobles, with ampleand beautiful grounds stretching to the river--grounds that are nowclosely packed with grim acres of brick and stone.

  Tom discovered Charing Village presently, and rested himself at thebeautiful cross built there by a bereaved king of earlier days; thenidled down a quiet, lovely road, past the great cardinal's statelypalace, toward a far more mighty and majestic palace beyond--Westminster.Tom stared in glad wonder at the vast pile of masonry, the wide-spreadingwings, the frowning bastions and turrets, the huge stone gateway, withits gilded bars and its magnificent array of colossal granite lions, andother the signs and symbols of English royalty. Was the desire of hissoul to be satisfied at last? Here, indeed, was a king's palace. Mighthe not hope to see a prince now--a prince of flesh and blood, if Heavenwere willing?

  At each side of the gilded gate stood a living statue--that is to say, anerect and stately and motionless man-at-arms, clad from head to heel inshining steel armour. At a respectful distance were many country folk,and people from the city, waiting for any chance glimpse of royalty thatmight offer. Splendid carriages, with splendid people in them andsplendid servants outside, were arriving and departing by several othernoble gateways that pierced the royal enclosure.

  Poor little Tom, in his rags, approached, and was moving slowly andtimidly past the sentinels, with a beating heart and a rising hope, whenall at once he caught sight through the golden bars of a spectacle thatalmost made him shout for joy. Within was a comely boy, tanned and brownwith sturdy outdoor sports and exercises, whose clothing was all oflovely silks and satins, shining with jewels; at his hip a littlejewelled sword and dagger; dainty buskins on his feet, with red heels;and on his head a jaunty crimson cap, with drooping plumes fastened witha great sparkling gem. Several gorgeous gentlemen stood near--hisservants, without a doubt. Oh! he was a prince--a prince, a livingprince, a real prince--without the shadow of a question; and the prayerof the pauper-boy's heart was answered at last.

  Tom's breath came quick and short with excitement, and his eyes grew bigwith wonder and delight. Everything gave way in his mind instantly toone desire: that was to get close to the prince, and have a good,devouring look at him. Before he knew what he was about, he had his faceagainst the gate-bars. The next instant one of the soldiers snatched himrudely away, and sent him spinning among the gaping crowd of countrygawks and London idlers. The soldier said,--

  "Mind thy manners, thou young beggar!"

  The crowd jeered and laughed; but the young prince sprang to the gatewith his face flushed, and his eyes flashing with indignation, and criedout,--

  "How dar'st thou use a poor lad like that? How dar'st thou use the Kingmy father's meanest subject so? Open the gates, and let him in!"

  You should have seen that fickle crowd snatch off their hats then. Youshould have heard them cheer, and shout, "Long live the Prince of Wales!"

  The soldiers presented arms with their halberds, opened the gates, andpresented again as the little Prince of Poverty passed in, in hisfluttering rags, to join hands with the Prince of Limitless Plenty.

  Edward Tudor said--

  "Thou lookest tired and hungry: thou'st been treated ill. Come withme."

  Half a dozen attendants sprang forward to--I don't know what; interfere,no doubt. But they were waved aside with a right royal gesture, and theystopped stock still where they were, like so many statues. Edward tookTom to a rich apartment in the palace, which he called his cabinet. Byhis command a repast was brought such as Tom had never encountered beforeexcept in books. The prince, with princely delicacy and breeding, sentaway the servants, so that his humble guest might not be embarrassed bytheir critical presence; then he sat near by, and asked questions whileTom ate.

  "What is thy name, lad?"

  "Tom Canty, an' it please thee, sir."

  "'Tis an odd one. Where dost live?"

  "In the city, please thee, sir. Offal Court, out of Pudding Lane."

  "Offal Court! Truly 'tis another odd one. Hast parents?"

  "Parents have I, sir, and a grand-dam likewise that is but indifferentlyprecious to me, God forgive me if it be offence to say it--also twinsisters, Nan and Bet."

  "Then is thy grand-dam not over kind to thee, I take it?"

  "Neither to any other is she, so please your worship. She hath a wickedheart, and worketh evil all her days."

  "Doth she mistreat thee?"

  "There be times that she stayeth her hand, being asleep or overcome withdrink; but when she hath her judgment clear again, she maketh it up to mewith goodly beatings."

  A fierce look came into the little prince's eyes, and he cried out--

  "What! Beatings?"

  "Oh, indeed, yes, please you, sir."

  "BEATINGS!--and thou so frail and little. Hark ye: before the nightcome, she shall hie her to the Tower. The King my father"--

  "In sooth, you forget, sir, her low degree. The Tower is for the greatalone."

  "True, indeed. I had not thought of that. I will consider of herpunishment. Is thy father kind to thee?"

  "Not more than Gammer Canty, sir."

  "Fathers be alike, mayhap. Mine hath not a doll's temper. He smitethwith a heavy hand, yet spareth me: he spareth me not always with histongue, though, sooth to say. How doth thy mother use thee?"

  "She is good, sir, and giveth me neither sorrow nor pain of any sort.And Nan and Bet are like to her in this."

  "How old be these?"

  "Fifteen, an' it please you, sir."

  "The Lady Elizabeth, my sister, is fourteen, and the Lady Jane Grey, mycousin, is of mine own age, and comely and gracious withal; but my sisterthe Lady Mary, with her gloomy mien and--Look you: do thy sisters forbidtheir servants to smile, lest the sin destroy their souls?"

  "They? Oh, dost think, sir, that THEY have servants?"

  The little prince contemplated the little pauper gravely a moment, thensaid--

  "And prithee, why not? Who helpeth them undress at night? Who attireththem when they rise?"

  "None, sir. Would'st have them take off their garment, and sleepwithout--like the beasts?"

  "Their garment! Have they but one?"

  "Ah, good your worship, what would they do with more? Truly they havenot two bodies each."

  "It is a quaint and marvellous thought! Thy pardon, I had not meant tolaugh. But thy good Nan and thy Bet shall have raiment and lackeys enow,and that soon, too: my cofferer shall look to it. No, thank me not;'tis nothing. Thou speakest well; thou hast an easy grace in it. Artlearned?"

  "I know not if I am or not, sir. The good priest that is called FatherAndrew taught me, of his kindness, from his books."

  "Know'st thou the Latin?"

  "But scantly, sir, I doubt."

  "Learn it, lad: 'tis hard only at first. The Greek is harder; butneither these nor any tongues else, I think, are hard to the LadyElizabeth and my cousin. Thou should'st hear those damsels at it! Buttell me of thy Offal Court. Hast thou a pleasant life there?"

  "In truth, yes, so please you, sir, save when one is hungry. There bePunch-and-Judy shows, and monkeys--oh such antic creatures! and sobravely dressed!--and there be plays wherein they that play do shout andfight till
all are slain, and 'tis so fine to see, and costeth but afarthing--albeit 'tis main hard to get the farthing, please yourworship."

  "Tell me more."

  "We lads of Offal Court do strive against each other with the cudgel,like to the fashion of the 'prentices, sometimes."

  The prince's eyes flashed. Said he--

  "Marry, that would not I mislike. Tell me more."

  "We strive in races, sir, to see who of us shall be fleetest."

  "That would I like also. Speak on."

  "In summer, sir, we wade and swim in the canals and in the river, andeach doth duck his neighbour, and splatter him with water, and dive andshout and tumble and--"

  "'Twould be worth my father's kingdom but to enjoy it once! Prithee goon."

  "We dance and sing about the Maypole in Cheapside; we play in the sand,each covering his neighbour up; and times we make mud pastry--oh thelovely mud, it hath not its like for delightfulness in all the world!--wedo fairly wallow in the mud, sir, saving your worship's presence."

  "Oh, prithee, say no more, 'tis glorious! If that I could but clothe mein raiment like to thine, and strip my feet, and revel in the mud once,just once, with none to rebuke me or forbid, meseemeth I could forego thecrown!"

  "And if that I could clothe me once, sweet sir, as thou art clad--justonce--"

  "Oho, would'st like it? Then so shall it be. Doff thy rags, and donthese splendours, lad! It is a brief happiness, but will be not lesskeen for that. We will have it while we may, and change again before anycome to molest."

  A few minutes later the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom'sfluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was trickedout in the gaudy plumage of royalty. The two went and stood side by sidebefore a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have beenany change made! They stared at each other, then at the glass, then ateach other again. At last the puzzled princeling said--

  "What dost thou make of this?"

  "Ah, good your worship, require me not to answer. It is not meet thatone of my degree should utter the thing."

  "Then will _I_ utter it. Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, thesame voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same face andcountenance that I bear. Fared we forth naked, there is none could saywhich was you, and which the Prince of Wales. And, now that I am clothedas thou wert clothed, it seemeth I should be able the more nearly to feelas thou didst when the brute soldier--Hark ye, is not this a bruise uponyour hand?"

  "Yes; but it is a slight thing, and your worship knoweth that the poorman-at-arms--"

  "Peace! It was a shameful thing and a cruel!" cried the little prince,stamping his bare foot. "If the King--Stir not a step till I come again!It is a command!"

  In a moment he had snatched up and put away an article of nationalimportance that lay upon a table, and was out at the door and flyingthrough the palace grounds in his bannered rags, with a hot face andglowing eyes. As soon as he reached the great gate, he seized the bars,and tried to shake them, shouting--

  "Open! Unbar the gates!"

  The soldier that had maltreated Tom obeyed promptly; and as the princeburst through the portal, half-smothered with royal wrath, the soldierfetched him a sounding box on the ear that sent him whirling to theroadway, and said--

  "Take that, thou beggar's spawn, for what thou got'st me from hisHighness!"

  The crowd roared with laughter. The prince picked himself out of themud, and made fiercely at the sentry, shouting--

  "I am the Prince of Wales, my person is sacred; and thou shalt hang forlaying thy hand upon me!"

  The soldier brought his halberd to a present-arms and said mockingly--

  "I salute your gracious Highness." Then angrily--"Be off, thou crazyrubbish!"

  Here the jeering crowd closed round the poor little prince, and hustledhim far down the road, hooting him, and shouting--

  "Way for his Royal Highness! Way for the Prince of Wales!"

  Chapter IV. The Prince's troubles begin.

  After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince wasat last deserted by the rabble and left to himself. As long as he hadbeen able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and royallyutter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was veryentertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he wasno longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement elsewhere.He looked about him, now, but could not recognise the locality. He waswithin the city of London--that was all he knew. He moved on, aimlessly,and in a little while the houses thinned, and the passers-by wereinfrequent. He bathed his bleeding feet in the brook which flowed thenwhere Farringdon Street now is; rested a few moments, then passed on, andpresently came upon a great space with only a few scattered houses in it,and a prodigious church. He recognised this church. Scaffoldings wereabout, everywhere, and swarms of workmen; for it was undergoing elaboraterepairs. The prince took heart at once--he felt that his troubles wereat an end, now. He said to himself, "It is the ancient Grey Friars'Church, which the king my father hath taken from the monks and given fora home for ever for poor and forsaken children, and new-named it Christ'sChurch. Right gladly will they serve the son of him who hath done sogenerously by them--and the more that that son is himself as poor and asforlorn as any that be sheltered here this day, or ever shall be."

  He was soon in the midst of a crowd of boys who were running, jumping,playing at ball and leap-frog, and otherwise disporting themselves, andright noisily, too. They were all dressed alike, and in the fashionwhich in that day prevailed among serving-men and 'prentices{1}--that isto say, each had on the crown of his head a flat black cap about the sizeof a saucer, which was not useful as a covering, it being of such scantydimensions, neither was it ornamental; from beneath it the hair fell,unparted, to the middle of the forehead, and was cropped straight around;a clerical band at the neck; a blue gown that fitted closely and hung aslow as the knees or lower; full sleeves; a broad red belt; bright yellowstockings, gartered above the knees; low shoes with large metal buckles.It was a sufficiently ugly costume.

  The boys stopped their play and flocked about the prince, who said withnative dignity--

  "Good lads, say to your master that Edward Prince of Wales desirethspeech with him."

  A great shout went up at this, and one rude fellow said--

  "Marry, art thou his grace's messenger, beggar?"

  The prince's face flushed with anger, and his ready hand flew to his hip,but there was nothing there. There was a storm of laughter, and one boysaid--

  "Didst mark that? He fancied he had a sword--belike he is the princehimself."

  This sally brought more laughter. Poor Edward drew himself up proudlyand said--

  "I am the prince; and it ill beseemeth you that feed upon the king myfather's bounty to use me so."

  This was vastly enjoyed, as the laughter testified. The youth who hadfirst spoken, shouted to his comrades--

  "Ho, swine, slaves, pensioners of his grace's princely father, where beyour manners? Down on your marrow bones, all of ye, and do reverence tohis kingly port and royal rags!"

  With boisterous mirth they dropped upon their knees in a body and didmock homage to their prey. The prince spurned the nearest boy with hisfoot, and said fiercely--

  "Take thou that, till the morrow come and I build thee a gibbet!"

  Ah, but this was not a joke--this was going beyond fun. The laughterceased on the instant, and fury took its place. A dozen shouted--

  "Hale him forth! To the horse-pond, to the horse-pond! Where be thedogs? Ho, there, Lion! ho, Fangs!"

  Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before--the sacredperson of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by plebeian hands, andset upon and torn by dogs.

  As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down inthe close-built portion of the city. His body was bruised, his handswere bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud. He wandered on
and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and faint hecould hardly drag one foot after the other. He had ceased to askquestions of anyone, since they brought him only insult instead ofinformation. He kept muttering to himself, "Offal Court--that is thename; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I drop,then am I saved--for his people will take me to the palace and prove thatI am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine ownagain." And now and then his mind reverted to his treatment by thoserude Christ's Hospital boys, and he said, "When I am king, they shall nothave bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books; for a fullbelly is little worth where the mind is starved, and the heart. I willkeep this diligently in my remembrance, that this day's lesson be notlost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; for learning softeneth theheart and breedeth gentleness and charity." {1}

  The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a rawand gusty night set in. The houseless prince, the homeless heir to thethrone of England, still moved on, drifting deeper into the maze ofsqualid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery were massedtogether.

  Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said--

  "Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing home, Iwarrant me! If it be so, an' I do not break all the bones in thy leanbody, then am I not John Canty, but some other."

  The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profanedshoulder, and eagerly said--

  "Oh, art HIS father, truly? Sweet heaven grant it be so--then wilt thoufetch him away and restore me!"

  "HIS father? I know not what thou mean'st; I but know I am THY father,as thou shalt soon have cause to--"

  "Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!--I am worn, I am wounded, I canbear no more. Take me to the king my father, and he will make thee richbeyond thy wildest dreams. Believe me, man, believe me!--I speak no lie,but only the truth!--put forth thy hand and save me! I am indeed thePrince of Wales!"

  The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head andmuttered--

  "Gone stark mad as any Tom o' Bedlam!"--then collared him once more, andsaid with a coarse laugh and an oath, "But mad or no mad, I and thyGammer Canty will soon find where the soft places in thy bones lie, orI'm no true man!"

  With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, anddisappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy swarm ofhuman vermin.