The Romany Rye

G >> George Borrow >> The Romany Rye

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"Seeing matters begin to look so serious, I aroused myself, and
endeavoured to speak in my own behalf, giving a candid account of
the manner in which I became possessed of the notes; but my
explanation did not appear to meet much credit; the magistrate, to
whom I have in particular alluded, asked, why I had not at once
stated the fact of my having received a fourth note; and the agent,
though in a very quiet tone, observed that he could not help
thinking it somewhat strange that I should have changed a note of
so much value for a perfect stranger, even supposing that he had
purchased my horses, and had paid me their value in hard cash; and
I noticed that he laid particular emphasis on the last words. I
might have observed that I was an inexperienced young man, who,
meaning no harm myself, suspected none in others, but I was
confused, stunned, and my tongue seemed to cleave to the roof of my
mouth. The men who had taken my horses to Horncastle, and for whom
I had sent, as they lived close at hand, now arrived, but the
evidence which they could give was anything but conclusive in my
favour; they had seen me in company with an individual at
Horncastle, to whom, by my orders, they had delivered certain
horses, but they had seen no part of the money transaction; the
fellow, whether from design or not, having taken me aside into a
retired place, where he had paid me the three spurious notes, and
induced me to change the fourth, which throughout the affair was
what bore most materially against me. How matters might have
terminated I do not know, I might have gone to prison, and I might
have been--just then, when I most needed a friend, and least
expected to find one, for though amongst those present there were
several who were my neighbours, and who had professed friendship
for me, none of them when they saw that I needed support and
encouragement, came forward to yield me any, but, on the contrary,
appeared by their looks to enjoy my terror and confusion--just then
a friend entered the room in the person of the surgeon of the
neighbourhood, the father of him who has attended you; he was not
on very intimate terms with me, but he had occasionally spoken to
me, and had attended my father in his dying illness, and chancing
to hear that I was in trouble, he now hastened to assist me. After
a short preamble, in which he apologized to the bench for
interfering, he begged to be informed of the state of the case,
whereupon the matter was laid before him in all its details. He
was not slow in taking a fair view of it, and spoke well and
eloquently in my behalf--insisting on the improbability that a
person of my habits and position would be wilfully mixed up with a
transaction like that of which it appeared I was suspected--adding,
that as he was fully convinced of my innocence, he was ready to
enter into any surety with respect to my appearance at any time to
answer anything which might be laid to my charge. This last
observation had particular effect, and as he was a person
universally respected, both for his skill in his profession and his
general demeanour, people began to think that a person in whom he
took an interest could scarcely be concerned in anything criminal,
and though my friend the magistrate--I call him so ironically--made
two or three demurs, it was at last agreed between him and his
brethren of the bench, that, for the present, I should be merely
called upon to enter into my own recognizance for the sum of two
hundred pounds, to appear whenever it should be deemed requisite to
enter into any further investigation of the matter.

"So I was permitted to depart from the tribunal of petty justice
without handcuffs, and uncollared by a constable; but people looked
coldly and suspiciously upon me. The first thing I did was to
hasten to the house of my beloved, in order to inform her of every
circumstance attending the transaction. I found her, but how? A
malicious female individual had hurried to her with a distorted
tale, to the effect that I had been taken up as an utterer of
forged notes; that an immense number had been found in my
possession; that I was already committed, and that probably I
should be executed. My affianced one tenderly loved me, and her
constitution was delicate; fit succeeded fit; she broke a blood-
vessel, and I found her deluged in blood; the surgeon had been sent
for; he came and afforded her every possible relief. I was
distracted; he bade me have hope, but I observed he looked very
grave.

"By the skill of the surgeon, the poor girl was saved in the first
instance from the arms of death, and for a few weeks she appeared
to be rapidly recovering; by degrees, however, she became
melancholy; a worm preyed upon her spirit; a slow fever took
possession of her frame. I subsequently learned that the same
malicious female who had first carried to her an exaggerated
account of the affair, and who was a distant relative of her own,
frequently visited her, and did all in her power to excite her
fears with respect to its eventual termination. Time passed on in
a very wretched manner. Our friend the surgeon showing to us both
every mark of kindness and attention.

"It was owing to this excellent man that my innocence was
eventually established. Having been called to a town on the
borders of Yorkshire to a medical consultation, he chanced to be
taking a glass of wine with the landlord of the inn at which he
stopped, when the waiter brought in a note to be changed, saying
'That the Quaker gentleman, who had been for some days in the
house, and was about to depart, had sent it to be changed, in order
that he might pay his bill.' The landlord took the note, and
looked at it. 'A fifty-pound bill,' said he; 'I don't like
changing bills of that amount, lest they should prove bad ones;
however, as it comes from a Quaker gentleman, I suppose it is all
right.' The mention of a fifty-pound note aroused the attention of
my friend, and he requested to be permitted to look at it; he had
scarcely seen it, when he was convinced that it was one of the same
description as those which had brought me into trouble, as it
corresponded with them in two particular features, which the agent
of the bank had pointed out to him and others as evidence of their
spuriousness. My friend, without a moment's hesitation, informed
the landlord that the note was a bad one, expressing at the same
time a great wish to see the Quaker gentleman who wanted to have it
changed. 'That you can easily do,' said the landlord, and
forthwith conducted him into the common room, where he saw a
respectable-looking man, dressed like a Quaker, and seemingly about
sixty years of age.

"My friend, after a short apology, showed him the note which he
held in his hand, stating that he had no doubt it was a spurious
one, and begged to be informed where he had taken it, adding, that
a particular friend of his was at present in trouble, owing to his
having taken similar notes from a stranger at Horncastle; but that
he hoped that he, the Quaker, could give information, by means of
which the guilty party, or parties, could be arrested. At the
mention of Horncastle, it appeared to my friend that the Quaker
gave a slight start. At the conclusion of this speech, however, he
answered, with great tranquillity, that he had received it in the
way of business at -, naming one of the principal towns in
Yorkshire, from a very respectable person, whose name he was
perfectly willing to communicate, and likewise his own, which he
said was James, and that he was a merchant residing at Liverpool;
that he would write to his friend at -, requesting him to make
inquiries on the subject; that just at that moment he was in a
hurry to depart, having some particular business at a town about
ten miles off, to go to which he had bespoken a post-chaise of the
landlord; that with respect to the note, it was doubtless a very
disagreeable thing to have a suspicious one in his possession, but
that it would make little difference to him, as he had plenty of
other money, and thereupon he pulled out a purse, containing
various other notes, and some gold, observing, 'that his only
motive for wishing to change the other note was a desire to be well
provided with change;' and finally, that if they had any suspicion
with respect to him, he was perfectly willing to leave the note in
their possession till he should return, which he intended to do in
about a fortnight. There was so much plausibility in the speech of
the Quaker, and his appearance and behaviour were so perfectly
respectable, that my friend felt almost ashamed of the suspicion
which at first he had entertained of him, though, at the same time,
he felt an unaccountable unwillingness to let the man depart
without some further interrogation. The landlord, however, who did
not wish to disoblige one who had been, and might probably be
again, a profitable customer, declared that he was perfectly
satisfied; and that he had no wish to detain the note, which he
made no doubt the gentleman had received in the way of business,
and that as the matter concerned him alone, he would leave it to
him to make the necessary inquiries. 'Just as you please, friend,'
said the Quaker, pocketing the suspicious note, 'I will now pay my
bill.' Thereupon he discharged the bill with a five-pound note,
which he begged the landlord to inspect carefully, and with two
pieces of gold.

"The landlord had just taken the money, receipted the bill, and was
bowing to his customer, when the door opened, and a lad, dressed in
a kind of grey livery, appeared, and informed the Quaker that the
chaise was ready. 'Is that boy your servant?' said the surgeon.
'He is, friend,' said the Quaker. 'Hast thou any reason for asking
me that question?' 'And has he been long in your service?'
'Several years,' replied the Quaker, 'I took him into my house out
of compassion, he being an orphan, but as the chaise is waiting, I
will bid thee farewell.' 'I am afraid I must stop your journey for
the present,' said the surgeon; 'that boy has exactly the same
blemish in the eye which a boy had who was in company with the man
at Horncastle, from whom my friend received the forged notes, and
who there passed for his son.' 'I know nothing about that,' said
the Quaker, 'but I am determined to be detained here no longer,
after the satisfactory account which I have given as to the note's
coming into my possession.' He then attempted to leave the room,
but my friend detained him, a struggle ensued, during which a wig
which the Quaker wore fell off, whereupon he instantly appeared to
lose some twenty years of his age. 'Knock the fellow down,
father,' said the boy, 'I'll help you.'

"And, forsooth, the pretended Quaker took the boy's advice, and
knocked my friend down in a twinkling. The landlord, however, and
waiter, seeing how matters stood, instantly laid hold of him; but
there can be no doubt that he would have escaped from the whole
three, had not certain guests who were in the house, hearing the
noise, rushed in, and helped to secure him. The boy was true to
his word, assisting him to the best of his ability, flinging
himself between the legs of his father's assailants, causing
several of them to stumble and fall. At length, the fellow was
secured, and led before a magistrate; the boy, to whom he was heard
to say something which nobody understood, and to whom, after the
man's capture, no one paid much attention, was no more seen.

"The rest, as far as this man was concerned, may be told in a few
words; nothing to criminate him was found on his person, but on his
baggage being examined, a quantity of spurious notes were
discovered. Much of his hardihood now forsook him, and in the hope
of saving his life he made some very important disclosures; amongst
other things, he confessed that it was he who had given me the
notes in exchange for the horses, and also the note to be changed.
He was subsequently tried on two indictments, in the second of
which I appeared against him. He was condemned to die; but, in
consideration of the disclosures he had made, his sentence was
commuted to perpetual transportation.

"My innocence was thus perfectly established before the eyes of the
world, and all my friends hastened to congratulate me. There was
one who congratulated me more than all the rest--it was my beloved
one, but--but--she was dying--"

Here the old man drew his hand before his eyes, and remained for
some time without speaking; at length he removed his hand, and
commenced again with a broken voice: "You will pardon me if I
hurry over this part of my story, I am unable to dwell upon it.
How dwell upon a period when I saw my only earthly treasure pine
away gradually day by day, and knew that nothing could save her!
She saw my agony, and did all she could to console me, saying that
she was herself quite resigned. A little time before her death she
expressed a wish that we should be united. I was too happy to
comply with her request. We were united, I brought her to this
house, where, in less than a week, she expired in my arms."

CHAPTER XXXIV

The Old Man's Story continued--Misery in the Head--The Strange
Marks--Tea-dealer from London--Difficulties of the Chinese
Language.

After another pause the old man once more resumed his narration:-
"If ever there was a man perfectly miserable it was myself, after
the loss of that cherished woman. I sat solitary in the house, in
which I had hoped in her company to realize the choicest earthly
happiness, a prey to the bitterest reflections; many people
visited, and endeavoured to console me--amongst them was the
clergyman of the parish, who begged me to be resigned, and told me
that it was good to be afflicted. I bowed my head, but I could not
help thinking how easy it must be for those who feel no affliction,
to bid others to be resigned, and to talk of the benefit resulting
from sorrow; perhaps I should have paid more attention to his
discourse than I did, provided he had been a person for whom it was
possible to entertain much respect, but his own heart was known to
be set on the things of this world.

"Within a little time he had an opportunity, in his own case, of
practising resignation, and of realizing the benefit of being
afflicted. A merchant, to whom he had entrusted all his fortune,
in the hope of a large interest, became suddenly a bankrupt, with
scarcely any assets. I will not say that it was owing to this
misfortune that the divine died in less than a month after its
occurrence, but such was the fact. Amongst those who most
frequently visited me was my friend the surgeon; he did not confine
himself to the common topics of consolation, but endeavoured to
impress upon me the necessity of rousing myself, advising me to
occupy my mind with some pursuit, particularly recommending
agriculture; but agriculture possessed no interest for me, nor,
indeed, any pursuit within my reach; my hopes of happiness had been
blighted, and what cared I for anything? so at last he thought it
best to leave me to myself, hoping that time would bring with it
consolation; and I remained solitary in my house, waited upon by a
male and a female servant. Oh, what dreary moments I passed! My
only amusement--and it was a sad one--was to look at the things
which once belonged to my beloved, and which were new in my
possession. Oh, how fondly would I dwell upon them! There were
some books; I cared not for books, but these had belonged to my
beloved. Oh, how fondly did I dwell on them! Then there was her
hat and bonnet--oh, me, how fondly did I gaze upon them! and after
looking at her things for hours, I would sit and ruminate on the
happiness I had lost. How I execrated the moment I had gone to the
fair to sell horses! 'Would that I had never been to Horncastle to
sell horses!' I would say; 'I might at this moment have been
enjoying the company of my beloved, leading a happy, quiet, easy
life, but for that fatal expedition;' that thought worked on my
brain, till my brain seemed to turn round.

"One day I sat at the breakfast-table gazing vacantly around me, my
mind was in a state of inexpressible misery; there was a whirl in
my brain, probably like that which people feel who are rapidly
going mad; this increased to such a degree that I felt giddiness
coming upon me. To abate this feeling I no longer permitted my
eyes to wander about, but fixed them upon an object on the table,
and continued gazing at it for several minutes without knowing what
it was; at length, the misery in my head was somewhat stilled, my
lips moved, and I heard myself saying, 'What odd marks!' I had
fastened my eyes on the side of a teapot, and by keeping them fixed
upon it, had become aware of a fact that had escaped my notice
before--namely, that there were marks upon it. I kept my eyes
fixed upon them, and repeated at intervals, 'What strange marks!'--
for I thought that looking upon the marks tended to abate the whirl
in my head: I kept tracing the marks one after the other, and I
observed that though they all bore a general resemblance to each
other, they were all to a certain extent different. The smallest
portion possible of curious interest had been awakened within me,
and, at last, I asked myself, within my own mind, 'What motive
could induce people to put such odd marks on their crockery? they
were not pictures, they were not letters; what motive could people
have for putting them there?' At last I removed my eyes from the
teapot, and thought for a few moments about the marks; presently,
however, I felt the whirl returning; the marks became almost
effaced from my mind, and I was beginning to revert to my miserable
ruminations, when suddenly methought I heard a voice say, 'The
marks! the marks! cling to the marks? or--' So I fixed my eyes
again upon the marks, inspecting them more attentively, if
possible, than I had done before, and, at last, I came to the
conclusion that they were not capricious or fanciful marks, but
were arranged systematically; when I had gazed at them for a
considerable time, I turned the teapot round, and on the other side
I observed marks of a similar kind, which I soon discovered were
identical with the ones I had been observing. All the marks were
something alike, but all somewhat different, and on comparing them
with each other, I was struck with the frequent occurrence of a
mark crossing an upright line, or projecting from it, now on the
right, now on the left side; and I said to myself, 'Why does this
mark sometimes cross the upright line, and sometimes project?' and
the more I thought on the matter, the less did I feel of the misery
in my head.

"The things were at length removed, and I sat, as I had for some
time past been wont to sit after my meals, silent and motionless;
but in the present instance my mind was not entirely abandoned to
the one mournful idea which had so long distressed it. It was, to
a certain extent, occupied with the marks on the teapot; it is true
that the mournful idea strove hard with the marks on the teapot for
the mastery in my mind, and at last the painful idea drove the
marks of the teapot out; they, however, would occasionally return
and flit across my mind for a moment or two, and their coming was
like a momentary relief from intense pain. I thought once or twice
that I would have the teapot placed before me, that I might examine
the marks at leisure, but I considered that it would be as well to
defer the re-examination of the marks till the next morning; at
that time I did not take tea of an evening. By deferring the
examination thus, I had something to look forward to on the next
morning. The day was a melancholy one, but it certainly was more
tolerable to me than any of the others had been since the death of
my beloved. As I lay awake that night I occasionally thought of
the marks, and in my sleep methought I saw them upon the teapot
vividly before me. On the morrow, I examined the marks again; how
singular they looked! Surely they must mean something, and if so,
what could they mean? and at last I thought within myself whether
it would be possible for me to make out what they meant: that day
I felt more relief than on the preceding one, and towards night I
walked a little about.

"In about a week's time I received a visit from my friend the
surgeon; after a little discourse, he told me that he perceived I
was better than when he had last seen me, and asked me what I had
been about; I told him that I had been principally occupied in
considering certain marks which I had found on a teapot, and
wondering what they could mean; he smiled at first, but instantly
assuming a serious look, he asked to see the teapot. I produced
it, and after having surveyed the marks with attention, he observed
that they were highly curious, and also wondered what they meant.
'I strongly advise you,' said he, 'to attempt to make them out, and
also to take moderate exercise, and to see after your concerns.' I
followed his advice; every morning I studied the marks on the
teapot, and in the course of the day took moderate exercise, and
attended to little domestic matters, as became the master of a
house.

"I subsequently learned that the surgeon, in advising me to study
the marks, and endeavour to make out their meaning, merely hoped
that by means of them my mind might by degrees be diverted from the
mournful idea on which I had so long brooded. He was a man well
skilled in his profession, but had read and thought very little on
matters unconnected with it. He had no idea that the marks had any
particular signification, or were anything else but common and
fortuitous ones. That I became at all acquainted with their nature
was owing to a ludicrous circumstance which I will now relate.

"One day, chancing to be at a neighbouring town, I was struck with
the appearance of a shop recently established. It had an immense
bow-window, and every part of it, to which a brush could be
applied, was painted in a gaudy flaming style. Large bowls of
green and black tea were placed upon certain chests, which stood at
the window. I stopped to look at them, such a display, whatever it
may be at the present time, being, at the period of which I am
speaking, quite uncommon in a country town. The tea, whether black
or green, was very shining and inviting, and the bowls, of which
there were three, standing on as many chests, were very grand and
foreign looking. Two of these were white, with figures and trees
painted upon them in blue; the other, which was the middlemost, had
neither trees nor figures upon it, but, as I looked through the
window, appeared to have on its sides the very same kind of marks
which I had observed on the teapot at home; there were also marks
on the tea-chests, somewhat similar, but much larger, and,
apparently, not executed with so much care. 'Best teas direct from
China,' said a voice close to my side; and looking round I saw a
youngish man, with a frizzled head, flat face, and an immensely
wide mouth, standing in his shirt-sleeves by the door. 'Direct
from China,' said he; 'perhaps you will do me the favour to walk in
and scent them?' 'I do not want any tea,' said I; 'I was only
standing at the window examining those marks on the bowl and the
chests. I have observed similar ones on a teapot at home.' 'Pray
walk in, sir,' said the young fellow, extending his mouth till it
reached nearly from ear to ear; 'pray walk in, and I shall be happy
to give you any information respecting the manners and customs of
the Chinese in my power.' Thereupon I followed him into his shop,
where he began to harangue on the manners, customs, and
peculiarities of the Chinese, especially their manner of preparing
tea, not forgetting to tell me that the only genuine Chinese tea
ever imported into England was to be found in his shop. 'With
respect to those marks,' said he, 'on the bowl and chests, they are
nothing more nor less than Chinese writing expressing something,
though what I can't exactly tell you. Allow me to sell you this
pound of tea,' he added, showing me a paper parcel. 'On the
envelope there is a printed account of the Chinese system of
writing, extracted from authors of the most established reputation.
These things I print, principally with the hope of, in some degree,
removing the worse than Gothic ignorance prevalent amongst natives
of these parts. I am from London myself. With respect to all that
relates to the Chinese real imperial tea, I assure you sir, that--'
Well, to make short of what you doubtless consider a very tiresome
story, I purchased the tea and carried it home. The tea proved
imperially bad, but the paper envelope really contained some
information on the Chinese language and writing, amounting to about
as much as you gained from me the other day. On learning that the
marks on the teapot expressed words, I felt my interest with
respect to them considerably increased, and returned to the task of
inspecting them with greater zeal than before, hoping, by
continually looking at them, to be able eventually to understand
their meaning, in which hope you may easily believe I was
disappointed, though my desire to understand what they represented
continued on the increase. In this dilemma I determined to apply
again to the shopkeeper from whom I bought the tea. I found him in
rather low spirits, his shirt-sleeves were soiled, and his hair was
out of curl. On my inquiring how he got on, he informed me that he
intended speedily to leave, having received little or no
encouragement, the people, in their Gothic ignorance, preferring to
deal with an old-fashioned shopkeeper over the way, who, so far
from possessing any acquaintance with the polity and institutions
of the Chinese, did not, he believed, know that tea came from
China. 'You are come for some more, I suppose?' said he. On
receiving an answer in the negative he looked somewhat blank, but
when I added that I came to consult with him as to the means which
I must take in order to acquire the Chinese language he brightened
up. 'You must get a grammar,' said he, rubbing his hands. 'Have
you not one?' said I. 'No,' he replied, 'but any bookseller can
procure you one.' As I was taking my departure, he told me that as
he was about to leave the neighbourhood, the bowl at the window,
which bore the inscription, besides some other pieces of porcelain
of a similar description, were at my service, provided I chose to
purchase them. I consented, and two or three days afterwards took
from off his hands all the china in his possession which bore the
inscriptions, paying what he demanded. Had I waited till the sale
of his effects, which occurred within a few weeks, I could probably
have procured it for a fifth part of the sum which I paid, the
other pieces realizing very little. I did not, however, grudge the
poor fellow what he got from me, as I considered myself to be
somewhat in his debt for the information he had afforded me.

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