CHAPTER XX
GORSWEN FAIR
'Come, let us go while we are in our prime, And take the harmless folly of the time.'
Easter was here at last, and down at the Willows Archie had come homelike the breath of spring, Miss Forster declaring that he did her moregood than all her medicine bottles, and that his lively ways would makeher almost her usual self again, while at the Abbey he had a royalwelcome. It was funny to see how the young American citizen was merginginto the British public schoolboy, for Archie was losing his Westernaccent, which only cropped out now and then when he was excited, andcricket and football were beginning to replace Indians and grizzlies inhis conversation; but he was totally unspoilt by his new life, and asjolly and hearty as ever.
The weather seemed to have conspired in his favour, for the biting Marchwinds and cutting hail-storms gave way to genial sunshine and Aprilshowers. The hedgerows had burst into tender green, and the banks werespangled with stitchwort and celandine stars. There had been quite aspell of sickness in Gorswen at the end of the winter, for many of thepicturesque cottages were dark, unwholesome places inside, and lay lowon the damp fields by the river; but the invalids crept out now intothe sunlight, and the mild breezes blew roses into wan cheeks andbrightness into dull eyes, bringing back health, that most priceless ofgifts, to the village--to all, indeed, but the Rector, who had beensick-nurse, doctor's assistant, family friend and chaplain combinedduring the epidemic, and now that the strain was over broke down soutterly that the physician insisted upon a complete rest and change ofair, ordering him off immediately to the high meadows of the Alps. Hewent unwillingly.
'I would rather worry on, Peggy,' he said, 'till I can take that lastlong holiday of all. It is better to wear out than rust out, any day.Still, our bodies were not given us to abuse, so you see I am obeyingorders, like a good soldier.'
The village seemed strangely empty without Mr. Howell. Everyone hadbecome so accustomed to claim his help and sympathy upon every occasionas a matter of course that it was only when he was gone they realizedhow much they valued him, for many of our blessings are hardlyappreciated until we have lost them. The curate did his best, but as theold dames remarked: 'He be a nice gentleman, and means well, for sure;but what can a young lad like that have to say to we?'
So they dusted their best chairs for him, and agreed with all hisremarks about the weather or the Prayer Book, but kept their doubts anddifficulties for the tried old friend who had stood the test of years.
Most of the people had made haste to get well for Easter, for to thegood folk of Gorswen that festival meant but one event--the great fairof the borders, which had been held in the village every Easter Tuesdaywithin the memory of even that wonderful person, the oldest inhabitant.It was a kind of central pivot for the year to turn on, and 'five yearscome fair-day,' or 'the last fair-day but one agone,' was the generalmethod of calculating time amongst the villagers. Everybody put onsomething new for the fair, and to have appeared on that occasion in alast year's hat would have been an offence against public taste, or aconfession of abject poverty scarcely removed above pauperism. Cousinsto the ninth and tenth degree turned up for the fair, distant relationsfrom remote districts or former inhabitants who had left theneighbourhood and 'got on' in other places availed themselves of cheapexcursions, and visited their early home, partly for the holiday, andpartly for the sake of meeting everyone else.
The wave of excitement which spread over the village as Easter drew nearcould scarcely fail to send its ripples up to the Abbey. Nancy'sevenings for some time past had been absorbed in the construction of abright heliotrope gown with gilt buttons, and she had walked intoWarford on her day out, and spent a month's wages upon a hat, which wassuch a marvellous erection of flowers and feathers combined with lace,chiffon, and ribbons, that it was calculated to leave her rivals, likethe Queen of Sheba, with no more spirit in them.
'Which fair-day only comes onst a year, so folks may as well do theirbest,' she observed, as she tried it on before the kitchen mirror. 'AndI had heard as that Sally Pearson has got a hat all the way fromShrewsbury. A squint-eyed baggage she be, too, who'd ne'er look aught,whatever she might clap on her head. Tell me truly now, Miss Peggy dear,does it suit me or not?'
Knowing that Nancy was capable of starting immediately for Warford tochange the article in question for one yet more costly, Peggy hastenedto answer in the affirmative, and Bobby likewise assuring her that itwould 'take the cake, and no mistake,' it was carefully folded up againin its sheets of white tissue-paper, and put by until the great dayshould arrive.
Nor was Nancy the only one who indulged in a little innocent vanity, forJoe, too, had been so fastidious in his choice of a red-and-blue spottednecktie and a walking-stick with an ivory handle that the children beganto suspect the blacksmith's rosy-cheeked daughter must be at the bottomof it; and even David had taken a long-tailed coat and a beaver hat outof the retirement of some mysterious bandboxes and had been quite snappyand particular with Mrs. David on the subject of the proper starchingand ironing of his Sunday shirt.
As early as Monday morning, caravans began to arrive from all parts ofthe country, and encamp on the piece of green common opposite the mill.Tired-looking men in dirty shirt-sleeves were soon busy setting upswings and merry-go-rounds, theatres and shooting-galleries, while thearrival of a travelling menagerie was the occasion for the collecting ofa whole crowd of small yokels, who studied the outside of the waggonswith breathless delight.
'Hey, Billee! do 'ee hear the lion roar?'
'Lion! That be a jackass brayin', thee fule!'
'Jackass theeself! Don't I know a moke from a wild beast? I tell 'ee'tis within the tent!'
'Here be the fat woman arrivin', and it do take four horses to drag her,for sure!'
'And the wild man from Borneo. Ay, if he be like his picture outside,I'll ne'er venture in reach of him!'
'Thee's not got the penny, may be!'
'Hain't I? Say that agin, and I'll let 'ee know!'
'Way back there, ye young rascals! there's the giant and the dwarfa-comin'!'
And the youngsters scattered, to leave the green free, and to feasttheir imaginations upon the gaudy representations of the variousattractions which adorned the sides of the yellow caravans that creptslowly up the dusty road from Warford. This, however, was only to be thepleasure part of the fair. Early on Tuesday morning the real business ofthe day started, for then the shepherds began to bring down their flocksof sheep from the surrounding mountains, the cattle-drovers came withtheir sleek cows and long-horned young bullocks, and whole herds ofrough little Welsh ponies were driven with much noise and shouting fromthe high moorlands over the border.
Quiet, sleepy Gorswen seemed completely transformed. The village streetfrom end to end was an impassable block of charging bullocks, kickingponies, barking collies, and bawling drovers, which overflowed past theRectory and up to the Willows on the one hand, and nearly as far as theAbbey gates on the other. Having tried in vain to edge a way through thepress, Peggy and Bobby tacked round by the fields, and scrambling over agarden wall, found a temporary refuge in the churchyard, which stoodsome height above the level of the road, and where, from thevantage-ground of a convenient tombstone, they found they had anexcellent view of the fair below. The noise was deafening. Animals werelowing, bellowing, bleating, whinnying, or squeaking in every note ofthe octave; cocks crew, ducks quacked, dogs barked, and men talked andshouted in Welsh and English till a chance comer might have imaginedhimself in pandemonium. A cartful of little pigs drawn up beneath thewall rent the air with their cries, and not the least funny incident wasto watch a stout farmer's wife, despairing of driving her bargainthrough the crowd, wrap her squealing purchase in her mantle, and carryhim off in her arms, like 'Alice' with the Duchess's baby. Most of thecows had been sold first thing, and were being driven away with muchforcible language on the part of their drovers, and it was now the turnof the cart-horses, beautiful glossy creatures with tails tied up
withstraw and manes plaited with ribbons as if for May-day. By good lucktheir paces were tried just under the churchyard, so the children gotall the fun of the bargaining.
'There's Jimmy Fowler selling his Black Bess,' cried Peggy, nearlyfalling over the wall in her excitement. 'See that tall Welshman feelingher knees and looking at her teeth. _Aren't_ they quarrelling over theprice? Oh, he's taken her, for they've both clapped their hands over it!What a lot of sovereigns he's counting into Jimmy's hand! Now he'sleading her away. I hope she's got a good home; she's such a gentle oldthing!'
'Here come the ponies!' shouted Bobby, as a wild stampede round theinn-corner proclaimed the advent of one of the principal features of thefair.
It was a good thing that the children were in a place of safety, foranyone down in the roadway below stood a very fair chance of beingtrampled to death by the frightened, plunging herd which surged up thestreet, scattering the spectators like leaves before a storm. Utterlywild and unbroken, the little rough-coated things showed theirdisapproval of this their first taste of civilization by every means intheir power, rearing, bucking, and kicking to the best of theirability. Bargaining in that throng was no easy matter, but their ownerswould dash in, seize a pony by the mane and tail, and by sheer forcedrag it away from its companions, the very small size of the animalsrendering practicable what would have been impossible with a largerbreed. Dealers had come from all parts of England and Wales, for GorswenFair was noted for its ponies, and a good deal of money changed handsthat day. It made Peggy quite sad to think that the little creatureswere mostly bought for the mines, and that, once broken and trained,they would never see daylight again, but spend their lives drawingtrucks up and down the low galleries underground, having said good-byeto their native moorlands for ever.
Across the road, in the broad square by the inn, the sheep were huddledin pens, each flock watched by its own clever collie, who seemed tothink it a cardinal virtue to get up a free fight with every other dogin the fair. Barking, biting, and snarling, the combatants hadcontinually to be seized by the tails, forcibly separated, and kickedyelping back to their duties, where they stood with bristling ears,growling at each other through the hurdles, and showing their teeth likea pack of wolves. But the buying and selling were over at last, and thelive-stock having been conveyed away, Gorswen turned its attention tothe side of pleasure. Small booths sprang up like magic under the churchwall, and cheap-jacks and travelling hucksters began to proclaim theirwares. The thrifty village housewives were doing a thriving business intea and ginger-pop, for a cattle fair is thirsty work, and the inn wasfilled to overflowing. All the little gardens were set out with chairsand tables, and the rattle of cups and the flying of corks made a briskaccompaniment to the buzz of conversation. The crowd which surged alongthe main street was a laughing, merry-making crowd, indulging in a flowof broad chaff and humour, and bandying jokes with friends and strangersalike.
The children had returned after dinner to their point of vantage on thechurchyard wall, and found as much amusement in the sight below as inthe livelier scenes of the morning.
'There's Joe!' cried Bobby with deep interest, as that worthy passedsheepishly by, a posy of wall-flowers in his buttonhole and theblacksmith's daughter hanging on his arm. 'He's got a tall collar and apair of tan shoes on. _Isn't_ he a swell!'
Nancy's hat was a conspicuous object among the smart throng, for Lilian,after one peep at the fair, had charitably kept house herself, andallowed her hand-maiden to take a holiday, and the damsel seemed to havecollected so many admirers that the luckless Sally was entirelyeclipsed. Old David was there, quite smiling for once, with Mrs. Davidin a new bonnet, and quite a swarm of small grandchildren around him.
'He's actually buying them humbugs!' said Peggy. 'And he carried thelittle one in the blue dress all down the street. I never saw David lookso pleasant in my life before. I think holidays agree with him!'
Peggy was right there, for a little pleasure is good for most people,and there were many bright faces and hearty greetings and handshakingsamong the pushing crowd.
'Hello! so this is where you're hiding!' cried a voice from the roadwaybelow; and Archie seized an overhanging branch of the big yew-tree, andswung himself up into the churchyard. 'I have been looking for youeverywhere. Couldn't find you this morning for the jam. I've seen somecute sights in my life, but this fair do beat 'em all! It's likeBarnum's and Mexican Joe flung together, with a cake-walk afterwards!'
'It's bigger than ever this year, and prices are well up,' remarkedBobby, with the air of a budding farmer. 'We sold our brown cow for apound more than we thought we should, and the ponies went off ever sohigh. Did you watch them race round this corner? Didn't the people run?'
'You should see us break in big horses wild out West. That would makeyou stare, if you like. This is mere child's play to it. Where'sLilian?'
'Keeping house. Mrs. Davenport's there. She drove over to the fair withher gardener, and she's bought two cows and four little pigs. They'veturned them all into the loose-box at the Abbey, and they're waitingtill the roads are quieter to take them home. She'll be there for sometime yet. No, we thought we wouldn't go back to tea just at present;we're not hungry.'
Divining the cause of this very unwonted lack of appetite on the part ofhis friends, Archie proposed an adjournment to one of the numerousstalls below.
'Come along with me,' he said, 'and have some cakes and ginger-pop.We'll do the shows afterwards, and have a real high old time. I'll standtreat.'
Nothing loth to have a share in the afternoon's fun, the childrendropped from the wall, and each accommodated with one of Archie's arms,they went the round of the fair in true village fashion. They feastedupon ginger-nuts at one stall and lemonade at another, and filled theirpockets with mint rock and caramels. Archie was determined to enterevery one of the gaudy shows which were drawn up in a line along thegreen, and dealt out his pennies in princely fashion.
'Here you are, sir, the fat woman! A most improvin' exhibition!'
'The wild man from Borneo! Safe in an iron cage, and can't hurt yer!'
'This way for the giant and dwarf! Come in, and open yer minds!'
'Circassian beauty! Only a penny!'
'All right, keep your hair on, old chaps!' cried Archie, nearly pulledto pieces among the rival showmen. 'We calculate to work right down therow in due course, and we'll take you all in turn. Let us start fair andsquare with number one!'
Number one proved to be the 'Wild Man from Borneo,' a half-human lookingcreature with hairy arms ('Just monkey-skin stitched on to him,' Archieassured the children), who sat jabbering in a corner of his cage, makingoccasional ape-like grabs at the clothing of the passers-by. He was sucha palpable fraud that they soon left him, to gaze on the genuine charmsof the fat woman, who sat stolid and smiling on a sofa, displaying astout ankle to the best advantage. Peggy was rather fascinated, butArchie made such very rude inquiries as to whether she were aspiring toattain an equal bulk that she indignantly dragged him away to view theliving skeleton, a fearful, hollow-cheeked object, whose bones couldalmost be counted. After that came the giant and dwarf, the former aweedy specimen of unwholesome overgrowth, while the latter looked as ifhe had been reared upon gin to keep him small. Then there was theCircassian Beauty, with the strong suggestion of Whitechapel about her,the bearded lady, the man with the expansive skin, the six-legged calf,and the two-headed duck, to say nothing of the man who ate fire andswallowed swords as if they constituted his usual diet.
Archie insisted upon trying both the swing-boats and the merry-go-round,and supported the drooping Peggy (who found the motion tend tosea-sickness) with a firm arm, otherwise I fear she would have slippedoff her prancing steed altogether. They spent quite a long time in theshooting-gallery, and won a cocoa-nut, which Bobby proudly carried roundthe fair, and they had their photographs taken in a group, but someair-bubbles having unfortunately got on to the plate, their countenancescame out speckled as though they were suffering from a virulent attackof
small-pox; but Peggy kept it, all the same, as a memento of theoccasion. Archie peeped into the cinematograph, but judging it not verysuitable for his little companions, marched them on to hear thegramophone instead, which was winding out a rather indistinguishablesong.
'I can't hear a single one of the words,' said Peggy, ratherdisappointed. 'Something makes such a buzzing all the time.'
'Yes, that's the machinery. I guess they've not got it set up quitesquare. I'd soon fix it for them, if they'd let me. I took ours all topieces once at home'--and Archie glanced quite wistfully at theinstrument, almost ready to offer his services gratis, till a suggestivepull from Peggy in the direction of the door caused him to remember thathis friends might prefer the superior attractions of the menagerie.
Neither Peggy nor Bobby had ever seen a wild-beast show before, forthose visits to the Zoo, which are the joy of little Londoners, do notfall to the share of country children, and Archie had quite a livelytime keeping them out of harm's way, for Peggy declared the leopardlooked so exactly like Tabbyskins at home that she must positively tryto stroke it, and was under the rope and up to the bars before Archiecould seize her by her skirts and drag her back, while Bobby's curiosityon the subject of jackals and hyenas nearly led to the ejection of thewhole party from the tent. The small rodents and the mongoose delightedPeggy, and they would have stopped for ever watching the monkeys, andfeeding them on nuts and biscuits, but Archie had other plans.
'There's a circus down by the river, with Japanese acrobats, andperforming dogs, and a pig that stands on its head. I know you'd justadmire to see them; and it can't be late yet, so come right along!'
Such an inducement sent even the attractions of the baby 'possum to thewinds, and feeling that Archie was indeed a friend worth having, theytrotted ecstatically under his wing to the great, flapping tent, wherethe flaming posters set forth the attractions of 'The Brothers Amalfi,''Jingo, the Performing Pig,' and the 'Marvellous Flying Girl.' Beingwell provided with pocket-money, and liking to do things in style,Archie took reserved seats, and they sat in great state on a front benchcovered with faded scarlet cloth, and felt proudly that the man with thedrum kept his eye upon them, and the clown turned in their directionwhen he let off his best jokes.
It was all a whirl of delight to Peggy and Bobby, from the accomplisheddogs who danced skirt-dances to the little pig who dragged the clown ina mail-cart and turned somersaults with amazing dexterity. The flyinglady fluttered across the tent so naturally that you quite forgot youcould see the wire that supported her airy form; the Japanese acrobatsclimbed ropes, hung head downwards from poles, and suspended themselvesin a combination of marvellous attitudes, finally tying their agilebodies together in a knot; a Hindoo conjuror performed marvels in theway of canaries from under pocket-handkerchiefs, umbrellas out oftop-hats, even producing yards and yards of coloured ribbons out of hisown open mouth, much to Bobby's mystification; while the horses poundedround the ring with quite commendable spirit, and a lady rider in gauzeand spangles jumped through hoops on to their backs with recklessdaring.
'Oh, Archie, take me home!' cried Peggy at last, for a diet ofginger-nuts, mint-rock, and lemonade is not exactly sustaining, and thehobby-horses and swings, combined with the hot, stifling atmosphere ofthe tent, made her suddenly feel as if the world were turning round her.
'All right, old girl; you do look queer, certainly. Cling on to me, andwe'll fight our way out somehow. Come along, Bobby. Now then, make roomthere, can't you? The lady's ill!' And pushing, edging, and strugglingthrough the crowd, Archie half carried her down the tent, and tugged herthrough the doorway into the fresh air outside.
They nearly fell into Father's arms.
'Why, you naughty children! wherever have you been?' he exclaimed. 'Ihave been hunting for you for hours. Lilian is almost distracted,thinking you had been kidnapped in the fair; and Miss Forster has sentup twice from the Willows. Don't you know it is nearly nine o'clock?'
'They've been all right with me, sir,' said Archie. 'I've been takingthem round the shows, and time went so fast, I forgot to look at mywatch. But if aunt's in a stew, I'd better cut off home as fast as Ican, and ease her mind. Here, Peggy, take the rest of the mint-rock,Bobby has the gingerbread!'
But the remains of the revel, crammed generously into her arms, seemedthe last straw to poor Peggy, and Father took home such a very limp anddejected young lady that he might well remark it was a good thingfair-day only came once a year, an opinion in which a great many peoplein Gorswen might feel disposed to agree with him.