The Book Of The Bush, George Dunderdale [thriller novels to read .txt] 📗

GIVEN HIM HIS FIRST COLORS, HE LEFT ALL THE PLACES AND PERSONS

WHOM HE HAD HITHERTO KNOWN, AND RETURNED TO THEM NO MORE. HE WENT FIRST TO

PHILADELPHIA, AND AFTERWARDS TO EUROPE. HERE HE WAS NOTICED BY MANY GREAT

PEOPLE, BUT RETAINED ALL THE SOBRIETY AND SIMPLICITY WHICH HE HAD LEARNED

AMONG THE QUAKERS. IT IS RELATED OF HIM, THAT, WHEN HE WAS PRESENTED AT

THE COURT OF THE PRINCE OF PARMA, HE KEPT HIS HAT UPON HIS HEAD, EVEN

WHILE KISSING THE PRINCE S HAND.

 

WHEN HE WAS TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD, HE WENT TO LONDON, AND ESTABLISHED

HIMSELF THERE AS AN ARTIST. IN DUE COURSE OF TIME, HE ACQUIRED GREAT FAME

BY HIS PICTURES, AND WAS MADE CHIEF PAINTER TO KING GEORGE THE THIRD, AND

Story 4 (Among The Diggers In 1853.) Pg 67

PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS. WHEN THE QUAKERS OF PENNSYLVANIA

HEARD OF HIS SUCCESS, THEY FELT THAT THE PROPHECY OF THE OLD PREACHER, AS

TO LITTLE BEN S FUTURE EMINENCE, WAS NOW ACCOMPLISHED. IT IS TRUE, THEY

SHOOK THEIR HEADS AT HIS PICTURES OF BATTLE AND BLOODSHED, SUCH AS THE

DEATH OF WOLFE, THINKING THHE

BABY IN ITS CRADLE, AND THE INDIANS, AND THE WHITE COW AND THE PIGS, AND

KIND MR. PENNINGTON, AND ALL THE GOOD OLD QUAKERS, ALMOST AS PLAINLY AS IF

THEY WERE IN THIS VERY ROOM."

 

"IT IS BECAUSE YOUR ATTENTION WAS NOT DISTURBED BY OUTWARD OBJECTS,"

REPLIED MR. TEMPLE. "PEOPLE, WHEN DEPRIVED OF SIGHT, OFTEN HAVE MORE VIVID

IDEAS THAN THOSE WHO POSSESS THE PERFECT USE OF THEIR EYES. I WILL VENTURE

TO SAY THAT GEORGE HAS NOT ATTENDED TO THE STORY QUITE SO CLOSELY."

 

"NO INDEED," SAID GEORGE, "BUT IT WAS A VERY PRETTY STORY FOR ALL THAT.

HOW I SHOULD HAVE LAUGHED TO SEE BEN MAKING A PAINT-BRUSH OUT OF THE BLACK

CAT S TAIL! I INTEND TO TRY THE EXPERIMENT WITH EMILY S KITTEN."

 

"OH, NO, NO, GEORGE!" CRIED EMILY, EARNESTLY. "MY KITTEN CANNOT SPARE HER

TAIL."

 

EDWARD BEING AN INVALID, IT WAS NOW TIME FOR HIM TO RETIRE TO BED. WHEN

THE FAMILY BADE HIM GOOD NIGHT, HE TURNED HIS FACE TOWARDS THEM, LOOKING

VERY LOTH TO PART.

 

"I SHALL NOT KNOW WHEN MORNING COMES," SAID HE SORROWFULLY. "AND BESIDES I

Story 4 (Among The Diggers In 1853.) Pg 68

WANT TO HEAR YOUR VOICES ALL THE TIME; FOR, WHEN NOBODY IS SPEAKING, IT

SEEMS AS IF I WERE ALONE IN A DARK WORLD!"

 

"YOU MUST HAVE FAITH, MY DEAR CHILD," REPLIED HIS MOTHER. "FAITH IS THE

SOUL S EYESIGHT; AND WHEN WE POSSESS IT, THE WORLD IS NEVER DARK NOR

LONELY."

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER III

 

 

THE NEXT DAY, EDWARD BEGAN TO GET ACCUSTOMED TO HIS NEW CONDITION OF LIFE.

ONCE, INDEED, WHEN HIS PARENTS WERE OUT OF THE WAY, AND ONLY EMILY WAS

LEFT TO TAKE CARE OF HIM, HE COULD NOT RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO THRUST

ASIDE THE BANDAGE, AND PEEP AT THE ANXIOUS FACE OF HIS LITTLE NURSE. BUT,

IN SPITE OF THE DIMNESS OF THE CHAMBER, THE EXPERIMENT CAUSED HIM SO MUCH

PAIN, THAT HE FELT NO INCLINATION TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK. SO, WITH A DEEP

SIGH, HE RESIGNED HIMSELF TO HIS FATE.

 

"EMILY, PRAY TALK TO ME!" SAID HE, SOMEWHAT IMPATIENTLY.

 

NOW, EMILY WAS A REMARKABLY SILENT LITTLE GIRL, AND DID NOT POSSESS THAT

LIVELINESS OF DISPOSITION WHICH RENDERS SOME CHILDREN SUCH EXCELLENT

COMPANIONS. SHE SELDOM LAUGHED, AND HAD NOT THE F

Bitterness.  He Had Been Forced To March Along The Whole Day Like A

Convicted Felon,  With An Ever-Increasing Crowd Of Prisoners,  Had Been

Taken To The Camp At Nightfall And Made To Pay 6 Pounds 10s.--Viz.,

A Fine Of 5 Pounds And 1 Pound 10s. For A License.

 

The Feelings Of William Patterson,  And Of Thousands Of Other Diggers,

Were Outraged,  And They Burned For Revenge.  A Roll-Up Was Called,

Story 4 (Among The Diggers In 1853.) Pg 69

And Three Public Meetings Were Held On Three Successive Saturday

Afternoons,  On A Slight Eminence Near The Government Camp.  The

Speakers Addressed The Diggers From A Wagon.  Some Advocated Armed

Resistance.  It Was Well Known That Many Men,  French,  German,  And

Even English,  Were On The Diggings Who Had Taken Part In The

Revolutionary Outbreak Of '48,  And That They Were Eager To Have

Recourse To Arms Once More In The Cause Of Liberty.  But The Majority

Advocated The Trial Of A Policy Of Peace,  At Least To Begin With.  A

Final Resolution Was Passed By Acclamation That A Fee Of Ten

Shillings A Month Should Be Offered,  And If Not Accepted,  No Fee

Whatever Was To Be Paid.

 

It Was Argued That If The Diggers Stood Firm,  It Would Be Impossible

For The Few Hundreds Of Soldiers And Police To Arrest And Keep In

Custody Nearly Twenty Thousand Men.  If An Attempt Was Made To Take

Us All To Gaol,  Digger-Hunting Would Have To Be Suspended,  The

Revenue Would Dwindle To Nothing,  And Government Would Be Starved

Out.  It Was,  In Fact,  No Government At All; It Was A Mere Assemblage

Of Armed Men Sent To Rob Us,  Not To Protect Us; Each Digger Had To Do

That For Himself.

 

Next Day,  Sunday,  I Walked Through The Diggings,  And Observed The

Words "No License Here" Pinned Or Pasted Outside Every Tent,  And

During The Next Month Only About Three Hundred Licenses Were Taken

Out,  Instead Of The Fourteen Or Fifteen Thousand Previously Issued,

The Digger-Hunting Was Stopped,  And A License-Fee Of Forty Shillings

For Three Months Was Substituted For That Of Thirty Shillings Per

Month.

 

Ii.

 

As No Man Who Had A Good Claim Would Be Willing To Run The Risk Of

Losing It,  The Number Of Licenses Taken Out After The Last Meeting

Would Probably Represent The Number Of Really Lucky Diggers Then At

Work On Bendigo,  Viz.,  Three Hundred More Or Less,  And Of The Three

Hundred I Don't Think Our Gully Could Boast Of One.  All Were Finding

A Little Gold,  But Even The Most Fortunate Were Not Making More Than

"Tucker."  By Puddling Eight Tubs Of Washdirt I Found That We Could

Obtain About One Pound's Worth Of Gold Each Per Day; But This Was

Hardly Enough To Keep Hope Alive.  The Golden Hours Flew Over Us,  But

They Did Not Send Down Any Golden Showers.  I Put The Little That

Fell To My Share Into A Wooden Match-Box,  Which I Carried In My

Pocket.  I Knew It Would Hold Twelve Ounces--If I Could Get So Much

--And Looked Into It Daily And Shook The Gold About To See If I Were

Growing Rich.

 

It Was Impossible To Feel Jolly,  And I Could See That Philip Was

Discontented.  He Had Never Been Accustomed To Manual Labour; He Did

Not Like Being Exposed To The Cold Winds,  To The Frost Or Rain,  With

No Shelter Except That Afforded By Our Small Tent.  While At Work We

Were Always Dirty,  And Often Wet; And After We Had Passed A Miserable

Night,  Daylight Found Us Shivering,  Until Warmth Came With Hard Work.

One Morning Philip Lost His Temper; His Only Hat Was Soaked With

Rain,  And His Trousers,  Shirt,  And Boots Were Stiff With Clay.  He

Story 4 (Among The Diggers In 1853.) Pg 70

Put A Woollen Comforter On His Head In Lieu Of The Hat.  The

Comforter Was Of Gaudy Colours,  And Soon Attracted Public Attention.

A Man Down The Gully Said:

 

"I Obsarved Yesterday We Had Young Ireland Puddling Up Here,  And I

Persave This Morning We Have An Italian Bandit Or A Sallee Rover At

Work Among Us."

 

Every Digger Looked At Philip,  And He Fell Into A Sudden Fury; You

Might Have Heard Him At The First White Hill.

 

"Yesterday I Heard A Donkey Braying Down The Gully,  And This Morning

He Is Braying Again."

 

"Oh! I See," Replied The Donkey.  "We Are In A Bad Temper This Morning."

 

Father Back BEFORE HIS GRANDMOTHER, AND ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD, KNEW

WHAT ISAAC HAD BEEN ABOUT. HE HAD CONSTRUCTED A MODEL OF THE WINDMILL.

THOUGH NOT SO LARGE, I SUPPOSE AS ONE OF THE BOX-TRAPS WHICH BOYS SET TO

CATCH SQUIRRELS, YET EVERY PART OF THE MILL AND ITS MACHINERY WAS

COMPLETE. ITS LITTLE SAILS WERE NEATLY MADE OF LINEN, AND WHIRLED ROUND

VERY SWIFTLY WHEN THE MILL WAS PLACED IN A DRAUGHT OF AIR. EVEN A PUFF OF

WIND FROM ISAAC S MOUTH, OR FROM A PAIR OF BELLOWS, WAS SUFFICIENT TO SET

THE SAILS IN MOTION. AND WHAT WAS MOST CURIOUS IF A HANDFUL OF GRAINS OF

WHEAT WERE PUT INTO THE LITTLE HOPPER, THEY WOULD SOON BE CONVERTED INTO

SNOW-WHITE FLOUR.

 

ISAAC S PLAYMATES WERE ENCHANTED WITH HIS NEW WINDMILL. THEY THOUGHT THAT

NOTHING SO PRETTY, AND SO WONDERFUL, HAD EVER BEEN SEEN IN THE WHOLE

WORLD.

 

"BUT, ISAAC," SAID ONE OF THEM, "YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN ONE THING THAT BELONGS

TO A MILL."

 

Story 4 (Among The Diggers In 1853.) Pg 71

"WHAT IS THAT?" ASKED ISAAC; FOR HE SUPPOSED, THAT, FROM THE ROOF OF THE

MILL TO ITS FOUNDATION, HE HAD