Lavengro, George Borrow [i love reading books txt] 📗

because why? I know my birds.” About ten days after this harangue, I called again at about three o’clock one afternoon. The landlord was seated on a bench by a table in the common room, which was entirely empty; he was neither smoking nor drinking, but sat with his arms folded, and his head hanging down over his breast. At the sound of my step he looked up; “Ah,” said he, “I am glad you are come, I was just thinking about you.” “Thank you,” said I; “it was very kind of you, especially at a time like this, when your mind must be full of your good fortune. Allow me to congratulate you on the sums of money you won by the main of cocks at⁠—I hope you brought it all safe home.” “Safe home,” said the landlord; “I brought myself safe home, and that was all; came home without a shilling, regularly done, cleaned out.” “I am sorry for that,” said I; “but after you had won the money, you ought to have been satisfied, and not risked it again⁠—how did you lose it? I hope not by the pea and thimble.” “Pea and thimble,” said the landlord, “not I; those confounded cocks left me nothing to lose by the pea and thimble.” “Dear me,” said I; “I thought that you knew your birds.” “Well, so I did,” said the landlord; “I knew the birds to be good birds, and so they proved, and would have won if better birds had not been brought against them, of which I knew nothing, and so do you see I am done, regularly done.” “Well,” said I, “don’t be cast down; there is one thing of which the cocks by their misfortune cannot deprive you⁠—your reputation; make the most of that, give up cockfighting, and be content with the custom of your house, of which you will always have plenty, as long as you are the wonder and glory of the neighbourhood.”

The landlord struck the table before him violently with his fist. “Confound my reputation!” said he. “No reputation that I have will be satisfaction to my brewer for the seventy pounds I owe him. Reputation won’t pass for the current coin of this here realm; and let me tell you, that if it a’n’t backed by some of it, it a’n’t a bit better than rotten cabbage, as I have found. Only three weeks since I was, as I told you, the wonder and glory of the neighbourhood; and people used to come and look at me, and worship me, but as soon as it began to be whispered about that I owed money to the brewer, they presently left off all that kind of thing; and now, during the last three days, since the tale of my misfortune with the cocks has got wind, almost everybody has left off coming to the house, and the few who does, merely comes to insult and flout me. It was only last night that fellow, Hunter, called me an old fool in my own kitchen here. He wouldn’t have called me a fool a fortnight ago; ’twas I called him fool then, and last night he called me old fool; what do you think of that? the man that beat Tom of Hopton, to be called, not only a fool, but an old fool; and I hadn’t heart, with one blow of this here fist into his face, to send his head ringing against the wall; for when a man’s pocket is low, do you see, his heart a’n’t much higher; but it is of no use talking, something must be done. I was thinking of you just as you came in, for you are just the person that can help me.”

“If you mean,” said I, “to ask me to lend you the money which you want, it will be to no purpose, as I have very little of my own, just enough for my own occasions; it is true, if you desired it, I would be your intercessor with the person to whom you owe the money, though I should hardly imagine that anything I could say⁠—” “You are right there,” said the landlord; “much the brewer would care for anything you could say on my behalf⁠—your going would be the very way to do me up entirely. A pretty opinion he would have of the state of my affairs if I were to send him such a ’cessor as you, and as for your lending me money, don’t think I was ever fool enough to suppose either that you had any, or if you had that you would be fool enough to lend me any. No, no, the coves of the ring knows better; I have been in the ring myself, and knows what fighting a cove is, and though I was fool enough to back those birds, I was never quite fool enough to lend anybody money. What I am about to propose is something very different from going to my landlord, or lending any capital; something which, though it will put money into my pocket, will likewise put something handsome into your own. I want to get up a fight in this here neighbourhood, which would be sure to bring plenty of people to my house, for a week before and after it takes place, and as people can’t come without drinking, I think I could, during one fortnight, get off for the brewer all the sour and unsaleable liquids he now has, which people wouldn’t drink at any other time, and by that means, do you see, liquidate my debt; then, by means of betting, making first all right, do you see, I have no doubt that I could put something handsome into my pocket and yours, for I should wish you to be the fighting man, as I think I can depend upon you.” “You really must excuse me,” said I, “I have no wish to