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twg_000012581300 | GARB, AND ASTONISHES CLEAREMOUT, BESIDES RELATING SOME INCIDENTS OF AN ACCIDENT. The sun rose bright and hot on Sunday morning, but the little birds were up before the great luminary, singing their morning hymn with noisy delight. It was a peaceful day. The wind was at rest and the sea was calm. In the ancient town of ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581301 | was peculiarly peaceful, for the numerous and untiring "stamps"--which all the week had continued their clang and clatter, morning, noon, and night, without intermission--found rest on that hallowed day, and the great engines ceased to bow their massive heads, with the exception of those that worked the pumps. Even the... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581302 | compatible with the due drainage of the mines, and as their huge pulsations were intermittent--few and far between--they did not succeed in disturbing the universal serenity of the morning. If there are in this country men who, more than any other, need repose, we should say they are the miners of Cornwall, for their w... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581303 | that of most other labourers in the kingdom. Perhaps the herculean men employed in malleable-iron works toil as severely, but, besides the cheering consciousness of being well paid for their labour, these men exert their powers in the midst of sunlight and fresh air, while the miners toil in bad air, and get little pay... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581304 | indeed to them the Sabbath-day--it is literally what that word signifies, a day of much-required rest for body, soul, and spirit. Pity that the good old word which God gave us is not more universally used among Christians! Would it not have been better that the translation Rest-day had been adopted, so that even ignora... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581305 | true signification, than that we should have saddled it with a heathen name, to be an apple of discord in all generations? However, Sunday it is, so Sunday it will stand, we suppose, as long as the world lasts. After all, despite its faulty origin, that word is invested with old and hallowed associations in the minds o... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581306 | we enter our protest against the folly of our forefathers very humbly, beseeching those who are prone to become nettled on this subject to excuse our audacity! Well, as we have said, the Sunday morning to which we refer was peaceful; so would have been Maggot's household had Maggot's youngest baby never been born; but,... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581307 | cherub asserted his right to freedom of action more violently than ever did the most rabid Radical or tyrannical Tory. He "swarmed" about the house, and kicked and yelled his uttermost, to the great distress of poor little Grace, whose anxiety to get him ready for chapel was gradually becoming feverish. But baby Maggot... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581308 | to chapel as his wicked father, who was at that time enjoying a pipe on the cliffs, and intended to leave his family to the escort of David Trevarrow. Fortunately, baby gave in about half-past nine, so that little Grace had him washed and dressed, and on his way to chapel in pretty good time, all things considered. No ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581309 | who entered the Wesleyan Chapel of St. Just that morning for the first time could have imagined that a large proportion of the well-dressed people who filled the pews were miners and balmaidens. Some of the latter were elegantly, we might almost say gorgeously, attired, insomuch that, but for their hands and speech, th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581310 | of fashion. The very latest thing in bonnets, and the newest mantles, were to be seen on their pretty heads and shapely shoulders. As we have said before, and now repeat, this circumstance arose from the frequency of the visits of the individual styled "Johnny Fortnight," whose great aim and end in life is to supply mi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581311 | among them, with the necessaries, and unnecessaries, of wearing apparel. When the managing director entered Mr Donnithorne's pew and sat down beside his buxom hostess, he felt, but of course was much too well bred to express astonishment; for his host had told him that a large number of the people who attended the chap... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581312 | time he failed to see any of the class whom he had hitherto been accustomed to associate with rusty-red and torn garbs, and dirty hands and faces. But he soon observed that many of the stalwart, serious-looking men with black coats and white linen, had strong, muscular hands, with hard-looking knuckles, which, in some ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581313 | and bruises. It was a new sight for the managing director to behold the large and apparently well-off families filing into the pews, for, to say truth, Mr Clearemout was not much in the habit of attending church, and he had never before entered a Methodist chapel. He watched with much curiosity the gradual filling of t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581314 | grave, quiet demeanour of the people. Especially interesting was it when Maggot's family came in and sat down, with the baby Maggot in charge of little Grace. Mr Clearemout had met Maggot, and had seen his family; but interest gave place to astonishment when Mrs Penrose walked into the church, backed by her sixteen chi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581315 | were miners, and the eldest females tin-dressers, while the little males and females aspired to be miners and tin-dressers in the course of time. "That's Penrose's family," whispered Mr Donnithorne to his guest. "What! the local's family?" Mr Donnithorne nodded. Soon after, a tall, gentlemanly man ascended the pulpit. ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581316 | a miner preach, and behold, a clergyman! "Who is he?" inquired Clearemout. But Mr Donnithorne did not answer. He was looking up the hymn for Mrs D, who, being short-sighted, claimed exemption from the duty of "looking up" anything. Besides, he was a kind, good man at heart--though rather fond of smuggling and given to ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581317 | Trembath's account of him--and liked to pay his wife little attentions. But there were still greater novelties in store for the London man that morning. It was new to him to hear John Wesley's beautiful hymns sung to equally beautiful tunes, which were not, however, unfamiliar to his ear, and sung with a degree of ferv... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581318 | own voice, powerful and deep though it was. It was a new and impressive thing to hear the thrilling, earnest tones of the preacher as he offered up an eloquent extempore prayer--to the petitions in which many of the people in the congregation gave utterance at times to startlingly fervent and loud responses--not in set... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581319 | were called forth by the nature of each petition, such as "Glory to God," "Amen," "Thanks be to Him"--showing that the worshippers followed and sympathised with their spokesman, thus making his prayer their own. But the newest thing of all was to hear the preacher deliver an eloquent, earnest, able, and well-digested s... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581320 | natural tone of voice with which a man might address his fellow in the street--a style of address which riveted the attention of the hearers, induced them to expect that he had really something important to say to them, and that he thoroughly believed in the truth of what he said. "A powerful man," observed the managin... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581321 | went out; "your clergyman, I suppose?" "No, sir," replied Mr Donnithorne with a chuckle, "our minister is preaching elsewhere to-day. That was James Penrose." "What! the miner?" exclaimed Clearemout in astonishment. "Ay, the local preacher too." "Why, the man spoke like Demosthenes, and quoted Bacon, Locke, Milton, and... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581322 | your local preachers are not equal to this one." "Alas, no! some of the young ones are indeed able enough to spout poetry and quote old authors, and too fond they are of doing so; nevertheless, as I have said to you before, most of the local preachers are sober-minded, sterling Christian men, and a few of them have emi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581323 | capabilities. Had Penrose been a younger man, he would probably have entered the ministry, but being above forty, with an uncommonly large family, he thinks it his duty to remain as he is, and do as much good as he can." "But surely he might find employment better suited to his talents?" said Clearemout. "There is not ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581324 | St. Just," replied Mr Donnithorne, with a smile, "and it is a serious thing for a man in his circumstances to change his abode and vocation. No, no, I think he is right to remain a miner." "Well, I confess that I admire his talents," returned Clearemout, "but I still think that an ordinary miner would suit me better." ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581325 | I know of one who will suit you admirably. He is common enough to look at, and if you will accompany me into the mine to-morrow I'll introduce you to him. I'm not fond of descending the ladders nowadays, though I could do it very well when a youth, but as the man I speak of works in one of | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581326 | the levels near the surface, I'll be glad to go down with you, and Captain Dan shall lead us." True to his word, the old gentleman met Mr Clearemout the following morning at nine o'clock, and accompanied him down into the mine. Their descent was unmarked by anything particular at first. They wore the usual suit of unde... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581327 | each carried a lighted candle attached to his hat. After descending about thirty fathoms they left the main shaft and traversed the windings of a level until they came to a place where the sound of voices and hammers indicated that the miners were working. In a few seconds they reached the end of the level. Here two me... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581328 | "driving" the level, and another--a very tall, powerful man--was standing in a hole driven up slanting-ways into the roof, and cutting the rock above his head. His attitude and aspect were extremely picturesque, standing as he did on a raised platform with his legs firmly planted, his muscular arms raised above him to ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581329 | so placed as to cause his figure to appear almost black and unnaturally gigantic. "Stay a minute, Captain Dan," said Mr Donnithorne. "That, Mr Clearemout, is the man I spoke of--what think you of his personal appearance?" Clearemout did not reply for a few minutes, but stood silently watching the man as he continued to... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581330 | powerful strokes--delivering each with a species of gasp which indicated not exhaustion, but the stern vigour with which it was given. "He'll do," said Clearemout in a decided tone. "Hallo! James," shouted Mr Donnithorne. "Hallo! sir," answered the man looking back over his shoulder. "There's a gentleman here who wants... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581331 | which clattered loudly on the hard rock, as he leaped from his perch with the agility of one whose muscles are all in full and constant exercise. "What! not the local--" Before the managing director could finish his sentence Mr Donnithorne introduced him to James Penrose, and left the two for a time to talk together. I... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581332 | added that Clearemout was quite willing to avail himself of the services of the "local," but the local did not meet his proposals so readily as he would have wished. Penrose was a cautious man, and said he would call on Mr Clearemout in the evening after he had had time to consider the matter. With this reply the other | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581333 | was fain to rest satisfied, and shortly after he returned to the bottom of the shaft with his friends, leaving the hardy miner to pursue his work. At the bottom of the shaft they were accosted by a sturdy little man, who told them that a large piece of timber was being sent down the shaft, and it would be | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581334 | advisable to wait until it reached the bottom. "Is it on the way, Spankey?" asked Captain Dan. "Iss, sur, if it haven't walked into the thirty-fathom level in passin'." Spankey was a humorous individual addicted to joking. "Are you married, Spankey?" asked Clearemout, looking down with a grin at the dirty little fellow... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581335 | an' the third wan is waitin' for me, 'spose." "Any children, Spankey?" "Iss, six, countin' the wan that died before it could spaik." At this point the beam was heard coming down. In a few seconds it made its appearance, and was hauled a little to one side by Spankey, who proceeded to unwind the chain that had supported... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581336 | "I'll give 'em the signal, Captain Dan, to haul up the chain before thee do go on the ladders." The signal was given accordingly, and the engine immediately began to draw up the chain by which the beam had been lowered. This chain had a hook at one end of it, and, as ill-luck would have it, the hook caught | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581337 | Spankey by the right leg of his trousers, and whisked him off his feet. Almost before those beside him could conceive what had happened, the unfortunate man went up the shaft feet foremost, with a succession of dreadful yells, in the midst of which could be heard a fearful rending of strong linen. Fortunately for Spank... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581338 | not only strong, but new, so that when the rend came to the seam at the foot, it held on, else had that facetious miner come down the shaft much faster than he went up, and left his brains at the bottom as a memorial of the shocking event! With palpitating hearts, Captain Dan, Clearemout, and old Donnithorne ran up | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581339 | the ladders as fast as they could. In a few minutes they reached the thirty-fathom level, and here, to their great relief, they found Spankey supported in the arms of stout Joe Tonkin. That worthy, true to his promise to Oliver Trembath, had gone to work in Botallack Mine, and had that very day commenced operations in ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581340 | referred to. Hearing the terrible screams of Spankey, he rushed to the end of the level just as the unfortunate man was passing it. The risk was great, but Tonkin was accustomed to risks, and prompt to act. He flung his arms round Spankey, drew him forcibly into the level, and held on for life. There was a terrible ren... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581341 | the leg of the trousers gave way at the hip, and went flapping up to grass, leaving the horrified miner behind. "Not gone dead yet, sur, but goin' fast," was Spankey's pathetic reply to Captain Dan's anxious inquiries. It was found, however, that, beyond the fright, the man had received no damage whatever. The only oth... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581342 | to this incident is, that when Captain Dan and his companions reached the surface, they were met by the lander, who, with a face as pale as a ghost, held up the torn garment. Great was this man's relief, and loud the fit of laughter with which he expressed it, when Spankey, issuing from the mouth of the shaft, presente... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581343 | his naked limb, and claimed the leg of his trousers! CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. TELLS OF A DISCOVERY AND A DISASTER. That afternoon another accident occurred in the mine, which was of a much more serious nature than the one just recorded, and which interfered somewhat with the plans of the managing director of the Great Wheal... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581344 | long after his interview with Clearemout, James Penrose finished a blast-hole, and called to Zackey Maggot to fetch the fuse. Zackey had been working for a week past in connection with Penrose, and, at the time he was called, was engaged in his wonted occupation of pounding "tamping" wherewith to fill the hole. Whereve... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581345 | he always made himself as comfortable as circumstances would admit of. At the present time he had discovered a little hollow or recess in the wall of the level, which he had converted into a private chamber for the nonce. There was a piece of flat rock on the floor of this recess, which Zackey used as his anvil, and | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581346 | in front of which he kneeled. At his side was a candle, stuck against the wall, where it poured a flood of light on objects in its immediate neighbourhood, and threw the boy's magnified shadow over the floor and against the opposite wall of the level. Above his head was a small shelf, which he had ingeniously fixed in ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581347 | narrow part of the cell, and on this lay a few candles, a stone bottle of water, a blasting fuse, and part of his lunch, which he had been unable to consume, wrapped in a piece of paper. A small wooden box on the floor, and a couple of pick-hilts, leaning against the wall, completed the furniture of this subterranean | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581348 | grotto. Zackey, besides being a searcher after metals, possessed an unusual amount of metal in himself. He was one of those earnest, hard-working, strong-hearted boys who pass into a state of full manhood, do the work of men, and are looked upon as being men, before they have passed out of their "teens." The boy's manh... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581349 | that early period of his life beginning to show itself, consisted not in his looks or his gait, although both were creditable, but in his firmness of purpose and force of character. What Zackey undertook to do he always did. He never left any work in a half-finished state, and he always employed time diligently. In the... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581350 | to labour the moment he entered, and he never ceased, except during a short period for "kroust," until it was time to shoulder his tools, and mount to the regions of light. Above ground, he was as ready to skylark as the most volatile of his companions, but underground he was a pattern of perseverance--a true Cornish m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581351 | His energy of character was doubtless due to his reckless father, but his steadiness was the result of "Uncle Davy's" counsel and example. "Are you coming, Zackey?" shouted Penrose, from the end of the level. "Iss, I'm comin'," replied the boy, taking the fuse from the shelf, and hastening towards his companion. Penros... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581352 | his countenance, which Zackey observed at once. "What do 'ee grizzle like that for?" inquired the boy. "I've come on a splendid bunch of copper, Zackey," replied the man; "you and I shall make money soon. Run away to your work, lad, and come back when you hear the shot go off." Zackey expressed a hope that the prophecy... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581353 | come true, and returned to his cell, where he continued pounding diligently--thinking the while of rich ore and a rapid fortune. There was more reason in these thoughts than one might suppose, for Cornish miners experience variety of fortune. Sometimes a man will labour for weeks and months in unproductive ground, foll... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581354 | its leading into a good lode, and making so little by his hard toil that on pay day of each month he is compelled to ask his employer for "subsist"--or a small advance of money--to enable him to live and go on with his work. Often he is obliged to give up in despair, and change to a more promising | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581355 | part of the mine, or to go to another mine altogether; but, not unfrequently, he is rewarded for his perseverance by coming at last to a rich "lode," or mass, or "bunch" of copper or tin ore, out of which he will rend, in a single month, as much as will entitle him to thirty or forty, or even a | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581356 | hundred pounds, next pay day. Such pieces of good fortune are not of rare occurrence. Many of the substantial new cottages to be seen in St. Just at the present day have been built by miners who became suddenly fortunate in this way, so that, although the miner of Cornwall always works hard, and often suffers severe pr... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581357 | on with a well-grounded expectation of a sudden burst of temporal sunshine in his otherwise hard lot. Zackey Maggot was dreaming of some such gleam of good fortune, and patiently pounding away at the tamping, when he heard the explosion of the blast. At the same moment a loud cry rang through the underground caverns. I... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581358 | terrible, unmistakable cries which chill the blood and thrill the hearts of those who hear them, telling of some awful catastrophe. The boy leaped up and ran swiftly towards the end of the level, where he called to his companion, but received no answer. The smoke which filled the place was so dense that he could not se... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581359 | scarcely breathe. He ran forward, however, and stumbled over the prostrate form of Penrose. Zackey guessed correctly what had occurred, for the accident was, and alas! still is, too common in the mines. The shot had apparently missed fire. Penrose had gone forward to examine it, and it exploded in his face. To lift his... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581360 | to leave him lying in such dense smoke for any length of time would, he knew, ensure his suffocation, so he attempted to drag him away, but the man was too heavy for him. In his extremity the poor boy uttered a wild cry for help, but he shouted in vain, for there was no one else at work in | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581361 | the level. But Zackey was not the boy to give way to despair, or to act thoughtlessly, or in wild haste in this emergency. He suddenly recollected that there was a rope somewhere about the level. He sought for and found it. Fastening an end of it round the body of the man, under the armpits, he so arranged that | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581362 | the knot of the loop should reach a few inches beyond his head, and on this part of the loop he spread a coat, which thus formed a support to the head, and prevented it being dragged along the ground. While engaged in this operation the poor boy was well-nigh suffocated with smoke, and had to run back once to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581363 | where the air was purer in order to catch a breath or two. Then, returning, he seized the rope, passed it over his shoulder, and bending forward with all his might and main dragged the man slowly but steadily along the floor of the level to a place where the air was comparatively pure. Leaving him there he quickly fixe... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581364 | a candle in his hat, and carrying another in his hand, to avoid the risk of being left in darkness by an accidental stumble or gust of air, Zackey darted swiftly along the level and ran up the ladders at his utmost speed. Panting for breath, and with eyes almost starting from their sockets, he rushed into the engine-ho... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581365 | told the man in charge what had occurred; then he dashed away to the counting-house and gave the alarm there, so that, in a very few minutes, a number of men descended the shaft and gathered round the prostrate miner. The doctor who had taken Oliver Trembath's place during his absence was soon in attendance, and found ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581366 | bones had been broken, Penrose's face was badly injured, how deep the injury extended could not at that time be ascertained, but he feared that his eyes had been altogether destroyed. After the application of some cordial the unfortunate man began to revive, and the first words he uttered were, "Praise the Lord"-- evid... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581367 | been spared. "Is that you, Zackey?" he inquired after a few moments. "No, it is the doctor, my man. Do you feel much pain in your head?" he asked as he knelt beside him. "Not much; there is a stunned feeling about it, but little pain. You'd better light a candle." "There are candles burning round you," said the doctor. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581368 | "Do you not see them? There is one close to your face at this moment." Penrose made no answer on hearing this, but an expression of deep gravity seemed to settle on the blackened features. "We must get him up as soon as possible," said the doctor, turning to Captain Dan, who stood at his elbow. "We're all ready, sir," | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581369 | replied the captain, who had quietly procured ropes and a blanket, while the doctor was examining the wounds. With great labour and difficulty the injured man was half hauled, half carried, and pushed up the shaft, and laid on the grass. "Is the sun shining?" he asked in a low voice. "Iss, it do shine right in thee fac... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581370 | said one of the miners, brushing away a tear with the back of his hand. Again the gravity of Penrose's countenance appeared to deepen, but he uttered no other word; so they brought an old door and laid him on it. Six strong men raised it gently on their shoulders, and, with slow steps and downcast faces, they carried t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581371 | wounded miner home. CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. INDICATES THAT "WE LITTLE KNOW WHAT GREAT THINGS FROM LITTLE THINGS MAY RISE." Soon after this accident to James Penrose, the current of events at the mines was diverted from its course by several incidents, which, like the obstructing rocks in a rapid, created some eddies and ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581372 | with whom this chronicle has to do. As the beginning of a mighty inundation is oft-times an insignificant-looking leak, and as the cause of a series of great events is not unfrequently a trifling incident, so the noteworthy circumstances which we have still to lay before our readers were brought about by a very small m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581373 | One morning that cherubical creature opened its eyes at a much earlier hour than usual, and stared at the ceiling of its father's cottage. The sun was rising, and sent its unobstructed rays through the window of Maggot's cottage, where it danced on the ceiling as if its sole purpose in rising had been to amuse the Magg... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581374 | so, it was pre-eminently successful in its attempts, for the baby lay and smiled for a long time in silent ecstasy. Of course, we do not mean to say that the sun itself, or its direct rays, actually danced. No, it was too dignified a luminary for that, but its rays went straight at a small looking-glass which was suspe... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581375 | on the wall opposite to the window, and this being hung so as to slope forward, projected the rays obliquely into a tub of water which was destined for family washing purposes; and from its gently moving surface they were transmitted to the ceiling, where, as aforesaid, they danced, to the immense delight of Maggot jun... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581376 | cottage had been carelessly closed the previous night when the family retired to rest, and a chink of it was open, through which a light draught of summer air came in. This will account for the ripple on the water, which (as every observant reader will note) ought, according to the laws of gravitation, to have lain per... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581377 | inconstancy of baby Maggot's nature was presently exhibited in his becoming tired of the sun, and the restlessness of his disposition displayed itself in his frantic efforts to get out of bed. Being boxed in with a board, this was not an easy matter, but the urchin's limbs were powerful, and he finally got over the obs... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581378 | lose his balance, and fall with a sounding flop on the floor. It is interesting to notice how soon deceit creeps into the hearts of some children! Of course the urchin fell sitting-wise--babies always do so, as surely as cats fall on their feet. In ordinary circumstances he would have intimated the painful mishap with ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581379 | this particular occasion young Maggot was bent on mischief. Of what sort, he probably had no idea, but there must have been a latent feeling of an intention to be "bad" in some way or other, because, on reaching the ground, he pursed his mouth, opened his eyes very wide, and looked cautiously round to make sure that th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581380 | had awakened no one. His father, he observed, with a feeling of relief, was absent from home--not a matter of uncommon occurrence, for that worthy man's avocations often called him out at untimeous hours. Mrs Maggot was in bed snoring, and wrinkling up her nose in consequence of a fly having perched itself obstinately ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581381 | the red earth of the mine still streaking his manly countenance, was rolled-up like a ball in his own bed in a dark recess of the room, and little Grace Maggot could be seen in the dim perspective of a closet, also sound asleep, in her own neat little bed, with her hair streaming over the pillow, and the "chet" | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581382 | reposing happily on her neck. But that easily satisfied chet had long ago had more than enough of rest. Its repose was light, and the sound of baby Maggot falling out of bed caused it to rise, yawn, arch its back and tail, and prepare itself for the mingled joys and torments of the opening day. Observing that the urchi... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581383 | rose and staggered with a gleeful expression towards the door, the volatile chet made a dash at him sidewise, and gave him such a fright that he fell over the door step into the road. Again was that tender babe's deceitfulness of character displayed, for, instead of howling, as he would have done on other occasions, he... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581384 | made light of a bruised shin, and, gathering himself up, made off as fast as his fat legs could carry him. There was something deeply interesting--worthy of the study of a philosopher--in the subsequent actions of that precocious urchin. His powers in the way of walking were not much greater than those of a very tipsy ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581385 | his arms about a good deal to maintain his balance, especially at the outset of the journey, when he imagined that he heard the maternal voice in anger and the maternal footsteps in pursuit in every puff of wind, grunt of pig, or bark of early-rising cur. His entire soul was engrossed in the one grand, vital, absorbing... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581386 | escape! By degrees, as distance from the paternal roof increased, his fluttering spirit grew calmer and his gait more steady, and the flush of victory gathered on his brow and sparkled in his eye, as the conviction was pressed home upon him that, for the first time in his life, he was _free_! free as the wind of heaven... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581387 | go where he pleased--to do what he liked--to be _as bad as possible_, without let or hindrance! Not that baby Maggot had any stronger desire to be absolutely wicked than most other children of his years; but, having learnt from experience that the attempt to gratify any of his desires was usually checked and termed "ba... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581388 | a state of delight so intense as that to which he had at last attained, must necessarily be the very quintessence of iniquity. Being resolved to go through with it at all hazards, he felt proportionately wild and reckless. Such a state of commotion was there in his heaving bosom, owing to contradictory and conflicting ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581389 | one moment inclined to lie down and shout for joy, and the next, to sink into the earth with terror. Time, which proverbially works wonderful changes, at length subdued the urchin to a condition of calm goodness and felicity, that would have rejoiced his mother's heart, had it only been brought on in ordinary circumsta... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581390 | piece of waste ground lying between St. Just and the sea--a sort of common, covered with heath and furze--on which the ancient Britons have left their indelible mark, in the shape of pits and hollows and trenches, with their relative mounds and hillocks. Here, in the days of old, our worthy but illiterate forefathers h... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581391 | up every square foot of the soil, like a colony of gigantic rabbits, in order to supply the precious metal of the country to the Phoenicians, Jews, and Greeks. The ground on this common is so riddled with holes of all sizes and shapes, utterly unguarded by any kind of fence, that it requires care on the part of the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581392 | pedestrian who traverses the place even in daylight. Hence the mothers of St. Just are naturally anxious that the younger members of their families should not go near the common, and the younger members are as naturally anxious that they should visit it. Thither, in the course of time--for it was not far distant--the b... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581393 | the principle of "short stages and long rests." Never in his life--so he thought--had he seen such bright and beautiful flowers, such green grass, and such lovely yellow sand, as that which appeared here and there at the mouths of the holes and old shafts, or such a delicious balmy and sweet-scented breeze as that whic... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581394 | and swept across the common. No wonder that his eyes drank in the beautiful sights, for they had seen little of earth hitherto, save the four walls of his father's cottage and the dead garden wall in front of it; no wonder that his nostrils dilated to receive the sweet odours, for they had up to that date lived upon | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581395 | air which had to cross a noisome and stagnant pool of filth before it entered his father's dwelling; and no wonder that his ears thrilled to hear the carol of the birds, for they had previously been accustomed chiefly to the voices of poultry and pigs, and to the caterwauling of the "chet." But as every joy has its all... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581396 | so our youthful traveller's feelings began to be modified by a gnawing sensation of hunger, as his usual hour for breakfast approached. Still he wandered on manfully, looking into various dark and deep holes with much interest and a good deal of awe. Some of the old shafts were so deep that no bottom could be seen; oth... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581397 | filled up, and varied from five to twenty feet in depth. Some were nearly perpendicular, others were sloped and irregular in form; but all were more or less fringed with gorse bushes in full bloom. In a few cases the old pits were concealed by these bushes. It is almost unnecessary to say that baby Maggot's progress, o... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581398 | morn, was--unknown to himself--a series of narrow escapes from beginning to end--no not exactly to the end, for his last adventure could scarcely be deemed an escape. He was standing on the edge of a hole, which was partially concealed by bushes. Endeavouring to peer into it he lost his balance and fell forward. His re... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012581399 | and received innumerable punctures, which drew forth a loud cry. Head foremost he went in, and head foremost he went down full ten feet, when a small bush caught him, and lowered him gently to the ground, but the spot on which he was landed was steep; it sloped towards the bottom of the hole, which turned inwards and b... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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