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| ' With this she gave him a
small box containing what might have been a sundial or compass
`Watch this star,' quoth she, `and when you know not your road, follow its
guidance Thus you shall be preserved from every peril for the space of
three years Thereafter, if you still have faith in my devotion, seek me
again, and I will renew the virtue of the charm'
Hind took the box joyfully; but when he turned to murmur a word of
gratitude, the witch struck his nag's flanks with a white wand, the horse
leapt vehemently forward, and Hind saw his benefactress no more
Henceforth, however, a warning voice spoke to him as plainly as did the
demon to Socrates; and had he but obeyed the beldame's admonition, he
might have escaped a violent death For he passed the last day of the
third year at the siege of Youghal, where; deprived of happy guidance, he
A BOOK OF SCOUNDRELS
was seriously wounded, and whence he presently regained England to his
own undoing
So long as he kept to the road, his life was one long comedy His wit
and address were inexhaustible, and fortune never found him at a loss
He would avert suspicion with the tune of a psalm, as when, habited like a
pious shepherd, he broke a traveller's head with his crook, and deprived
him of his horse An early adventure was to force a pot-valiant parson,
who had drunk a cup too much at a wedding, into a rarely black and white chanel farcical
situation Hind, having robbed two gentlemen's servants of a round sum,
went ambling along the road until he encountered a parson `Sir,' said he,
`I am closely pursued by robbers You, I dare swear, will not stand by
and see me plundered' Before the parson could protest, he thrust a pistol
into his hand, and bade him fire it at the first comer, while he rode off to
raise the county Meanwhile the rifled travellers came up with the parson,
who, straightway, mistaking them for thieves, fired without effect, and
then, riding forward, flung the pistol in the face of the nearest Thus the
parson of the parish was dragged before the magistrate, while Hind, before
his dupe could furnish an explanation, had placed many a mile between
himself and his adversary
Though he could on occasion show a clean pair of heels, Hind was
never lacking in valiance; and, another day, meeting a traveller with a
hundred pounds in his pocket, he challenged him to fight there and then,
staked his own horse against the money, and declared that he should win
who drew first blood `If I am the conqueror,' said the magnanimous
Captain, `I will give you ten pounds for your journey If you are
favoured of fortune, you shall give me your servant's horse' The terms
were instantly accepted, and in two minutes Hind had run his adversary
through the sword-arm But finding that his victim was but a poor squire
going to London to pay his composition, he not only returned louis vuitton demin bags for sale in the uk his money,
but sought him out a surgeon, and gave him the best dinner the
countryside could afford
Thus it was his pleasure to act as a providence, many a time robbing
Peter to pay Paul, and stripping the niggard that he might indulge his
fervent love of generosity Of all usurers and bailiffs he had a
A BOOK OF SCOUNDRELS
wholesome horror, and merry was the prank which he played upon the
extortionate money-lender of Warwick Riding on an easy rein through
the town, Hind heard a tumult at a street corner, and inquiring the cause,
was told that an innkeeper was arrested by a thievish usurer for a paltry
twenty pounds Dismounting, this providence in jack-boots discharged
the debt, cancelled the bond, and took the innkeeper's goods for his own
security And thereupon overtaking the usurer, `My friend!' he exclaimed,
`I lent you late a sum of twenty pounds Repay it at once, or I take your
miserable life' The usurer was obliged to return the money, with another
twenty for interest, and when he would take the law of the innkeeper, was
shown the bond duly cancelled, and was flogged wellnigh to death for his
pains
So Hind rode the world up and down, redressing grievances like an
Eastern monarch, and rejoicing in the abasement of the evildoer Nor
was the spirit of his adventure bounded by the ocean More than once balenciaga most popular bag he
crossed the seas; the Hague knew him, and Amsterdam, though these
somnolent cities gave small occasion for the display of his talents It was
from Scilly that he crossed to the Isle of Man, where, being recommended
to Lord Derby, he gained high favour, and received in exchange for his
jests a comfortable stipend Hitherto, said the Chronicles, thieving was
unknown in the island A man might walk whither he would, a bag of
gold in one hand, a switch in the other, and fear no danger But no
sooner had Hind appeared at Douglas than honest citizens were pilfered at
every turn In dismay they sought the protection of the Governor, who
instantly suspected Hind, and gallantly disclosed his suspicions to the
Captain `My lord!' exclaimed Hind, a blush upon his cheek, `I protest
my innocence; but willingly will I suffer the heaviest penalty of your law
if I am recognised for the thief' The victims, confronted with their
robber, knew him not, picturing to the Governor a monster with long hair
and unkempt beard Hind, acquitted with apologies, fetched from his
lodging the disguise of periwig and beard `They laugh who win!' he
murmured, and thus forced forgiveness and a chuckle even from his
judges
As became a gentleman-adventurer, Captain Hind was staunch in his
A BOOK OF SCOUNDRELS
loyalty to his murdered King To strip the wealthy was always reputable,
but to rob a Regicide was louis vuitton denim pleaty bag a masterpiece of well-doing
A fervent zeal to lighten Cromwell's pocket had brought the illustrious
Allen to the gallows But Hind was not one whit abashed, and he would
never forego the chance of an encounter with his country's enemies His
treatment of Hugh Peters in Enfield Chace is among his triumphs At the
first encounter the Presbyterian plucked up courage enough to oppose his
adversary with texts To Hind's command of `Stand and deliver!' duly
enforced with a loaded pistol, the ineffable Peters replied with ox-eye
sanctimoniously upturned: `Thou shalt not steal; let him that stole, steal
no more,' adding thereto other variations of the eighth commandment
Hind immediately countered with exhortations against the awful sin of
murder, and rebuked the blasphemy of the Regicides, who, to defend their
own infamy, would wrest Scripture from its meaning `Did you not, O
monster of impiety,' mimicked Hind in the preacher's own voice, `pervert
for your own advantage the words of the Psalmist, who said, ``Bind their
kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron'? Moreover, was
it not Solomon who wrote: ``Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to
satisfy his soul when he is hungry'? And is not my soul hungry for gold
and the Regicides' discomfiture?' Peters was still fumbling after texts
when the final argument: `Deliver thy money, or I will send thee out of
the world!' frightened him into submission, and thirty broad pieces were
Hind's louis vuitton bag re |
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