The Book Of The Bush - George Dunderdale (tharntype novel english .txt) 📗
- Author: George Dunderdale
Book online «The Book Of The Bush - George Dunderdale (tharntype novel english .txt) 📗». Author George Dunderdale
The Garden, And After Filling Her Crop With Worms And Grubs, She
Flapped Away On One Wing And Went Round The Hut Looking For
Amusement. She Jumped On Pup's Back, Scratched Him With Her Claws,
Pecked At His Skull, And Pulled Locks Of Wool Out Of It, The Poor
Innocent All The While Yelping And Howling For Mercy. Sam Never
Helped Pup, Or Drove Maggie Away; He Was Actually Afraid Of Her, And
Story 5 ( A Bush Hermit.) Pg 89Believed She Was A Dangerous Witch. Sometimes She Pecked At His
Tail, And He Dared Not Say A Word, But Sneaked Away, Looking Sideways
At Her, Hanging Down His Ears, And Afraid To Say His Tail Was His
Own. Joey, The Parrot, Watched All That Was Going On From His Cage,
Which Was Hung On A Hook Outside The Hut Door. Philip Tried To Teach
Joey To Whistle A Tune: "There Is Na Luck Aboot The Hoose, There Is
Na Luck At A'," But The Parrot Had So Many Things To Attend To That
He Never Had Time To Finish The Tune. He Was, Indeed, Very Vain And
Flighty, Sidling Along His Perch And Saying: "Sweet Pretty Joey, Who
Are You, Who Are You? Ha! Ha! Ha!" Wanting Everybody To Take
Notice And Admire Him. When Maggie First Attacked Poor Pup,
Scratched His Back, Pecked At His Head, And Tore Locks Of Wool Out
Of Him, And Pup Screamed Pitifully To All The World For
Help, Joey Poked His Head Between The Wires Of His Cage, Turned One
Eye Downwards, Listened To The Language, And Watched The New
Performance With Silent Ecstacy. He Had Never Heard Or Seen Anything
Like It In The Whole Course Of His Life. Philip Used To Drive Maggie
Away, Take Up Poor Pup And Stroke Him, While Maggie, The Villain,
Hopped Around, Flapping Her Wings And Giving The Greatest Impudence.
It Really Gave Philip A Great Deal Of Trouble To Keep Order Among His
Domestics. One Day, While Hoeing In The Garden, He Heard The Pup
Screaming Miserably. He Said, "There's That Villain, Maggie, At Him
Again," And He Ran Up To The Hut To Drive Her Away. But When He Reached
It There Was Neither Pup Nor Maggie To Be Seen, Only Joey In His Cage,
And He Was Bobbing His Head Up And Down, Yelping Exactly Like The
Pup, And Then He Began Laughing At Philip Ready To Burst, "Ha! Ha!
Ha! Who Are You? Who Are You? There Is No Luck Aboot The Hoose,
There Is Na Luck At A'."
The Native Bear Resided In A Packing Case, Nailed On The Top Of A
Stump Nearly Opposite The Hut Door. He Had A Strap Round His Waist,
And Was Fastened To The Stump By A Piece Of Clothes Line. The Boys
Called Him A Monkey-Bear, But Though His Face Was Like That Of A Bear
He Was Neither A Monkey Nor A Bear. He Was In Fact A Sloth; His Legs
Were Not Made For Walking, But For Climbing, And Although He Had
Strong Claws And A Very Muscular Forearm, He Was Always Slow In His
Movements. He Was Very Silent And Unsociable, Never Joined In The
Amusements Of The Other Domestics, And When Philip Brought Him A
Bunch Of Tender Young Gum-Tree Shoots For His Breakfast In The
Morning, He Did Not Even Say "Thanks" Or Smile, Or Show The Least
Gratitude. He Never Spoke Except At Dead Of Night, When He Was
Exchanging Compliments With Some Other Bear Up A Gum Tree In The
Forty-Acre Paddock. And Such Compliments! Their Voices Were
Frightful, Something Between A Roar And A Groan, And Although Philip
Was A Great Linguist He Was Never Quite Sure What They Were Saying.
But The Bear Was Always Scheming To Get Away; He Was Like The Boers,
And Could Not Abide British Rule. Philip Would Not Have Kept Him At
All, But As He Had Taken Him Into The Family Circle When A Cub He Did
Not Like To Be Cruel And Turn Him Out Along In A Heartless World.
Twice Bruin Managed To Untie The Clothes Line And Started For The
Forty-Acre. He Crawled Along Very Slowly, And When He Saw Philip
Coming After Him, He Stopped, Looked Behind Him, And Said, "Hoo,"
Showing His Disgust. Then Philip Took Hold Of The End Of The Clothes
Story 5 ( A Bush Hermit.) Pg 90Line And Brought Him Back, Scolding All The Time.
"You Miserable Bruin, You Don't Know What's Good For You; You Can't
Tell A Light-Wood From A Gum-Tree, And You'll Die Of Starvation, Or
Else The Boys Will Find You, And They Will Kill You, Thinking You Are
A Wild Bush Bear, For You Don't Show Any Signs Of Good Education,
After All The Trouble I Have Taken To Teach You Manners. I Am Afraid
You Will Come To A Bad End."
And So He Did. The Third Time Bruin Loosed The Clothes Line He Had A
Six Hours' Start Before He Was Missed, And Sure Enough He Hid Himself
In A Lightwood For Want Of Sense, And That Very Night The Boys Saw
Him By The Light Of The Moon, And Hugh Boyle Climbed Up The Tree And
Knocked Him Down With A Waddy.
Pussy, Philip's Sixth Domestic, Had Attained Her Majority; She Had
Never Gone After Snakes In Her Youth, And Had Always Avoided Bad
Company. She Did Her Duty In The House As A Good Mouser, And When
Mice Grew Scarce She Went Hunting For Game; She Had A Hole Under The
Eaves Near The Chimney, Through Which She Could Enter The Hut At Any
Time Of The Night Or Day. While Philip Was Musing After Tea On The
"Pons Asinorum" By The Light Of A Tallow Candle, Pussy Was Out
Poaching For Quail, And As Soon As She Caught One She Brought It
Home, Dropped It On The Floor, Rubbed Her Side Against Philip's
Boot, And Said, "I Have Brought A Little Game For Breakfast." Then
Philip Stroked Her Along The Back, After Which She Lay Down Before
The Fire, Tucked In Her Paws And Fell Asleep, With A Good Conscience.
But Many Bush Cats Come To An Unhappy And Untimely End By Giving Way
To The Vice Of Curiosity. When Dinah, The Vain Kitten, Takes Her
First Walk Abroad In Spring Time, She Observes Something Smooth AndfAVOR OF A BARBAROUS NATION, WITH A BARBAROUS NEGLECT OF
POLICE, FATAL TO THE HUMAN RACE,--IN FAVOR OF A NATION BY PRINCIPLE IN
ETERNAL ENMITY WITH THE CHRISTIAN NAME, A NATION WHICH WILL NOT SO MUCH
AS GIVE THE SALUTATION OF PEACE (_SALAM_) TO ANY OF US, NOR MAKE ANY
PACT WITH ANY CHRISTIAN NATION BEYOND A TRUCE,--IF THIS BE DONE IN FAVOR
OF THE TURK, SHALL IT BE THOUGHT EITHER IMPOLITIC OR UNJUST OR
UNCHARITABLE TO EMPLOY THE SAME POWER TO RESCUE FROM CAPTIVITY A
VIRTUOUS MONARCH, (BY THE COURTESY OF EUROPE CONSIDERED AS MOST
CHRISTIAN,) WHO, AFTER AN INTERMISSION OF ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE
Story 5 ( A Bush Hermit.) Pg 91YEARS, HAD CALLED TOGETHER THE STATES OF HIS KINGDOM TO REFORM ABUSES,
TO ESTABLISH A FREE GOVERNMENT, AND TO STRENGTHEN HIS THRONE,--A MONARCH
WHO, AT THE VERY OUTSET, WITHOUT FORCE, EVEN WITHOUT SOLICITATION, HAD
GIVEN TO HIS PEOPLE SUCH A MAGNA CHARTA OF PRIVILEGES AS NEVER WAS GIVEN
BY ANY KING TO ANY SUBJECTS? IS IT TO BE TAMELY BORNE BY KINGS WHO LOVE
THEIR SUBJECTS, OR BY SUBJECTS WHO LOVE THEIR KINGS, THAT THIS MONARCH,
IN THE MIDST OF THESE GRACIOUS ACTS, WAS INSOLENTLY AND CRUELLY TORN
FROM HIS PALACE BY A GANG OF TRAITORS AND ASSASSINS, AND KEPT IN CLOSE
PRISON TO THIS VERY HOUR, WHILST HIS ROYAL NAME AND SACRED CHARACTER
WERE USED FOR THE TOTAL RUIN OF THOSE WHOM THE LAWS HAD APPOINTED HIM TO
PROTECT?
THE ONLY OFFENCE OF THIS UNHAPPY MONARCH TOWARDS HIS PEOPLE WAS HIS
ATTEMPT, UNDER A MONARCHY, TO GIVE THEM A FREE CONSTITUTION. FOR THIS,
BY AN EXAMPLE HITHERTO UNHEARD OF IN THE WORLD, HE HAS BEEN DEPOSED. IT
MIGHT WELL DISGRACE SOVEREIGNS TO TAKE PART WITH A DEPOSED TYRANT. IT
WOULD SUPPOSE IN THEM A VICIOUS SYMPATHY. BUT NOT TO MAKE A COMMON CAUSE
WITH A JUST PRINCE, DETHRONED BY TRAITORS AND REBELS, WHO PROSCRIBE,
PLUNDER, CONFISCATE, AND IN EVERY WAY CRUELLY OPPRESS THEIR
FELLOW-CITIZENS, IN MY OPINION IS TO FORGET WHAT IS DUE TO THE HONOR AND
TO THE RIGHTS OF ALL VIRTUOUS AND LEGAL GOVERNMENT.
I THINK THE KING OF FRANCE TO BE AS MUCH AN OBJECT BOTH OF POLICY AND
COMPAIsgrace Enough--"
White. But His War Profits Were All Right. Oh, Yes.
Hilda. Let Me Finish, Dear, Since You Want It. (_Reading_) "--Been
Story 5 ( A Bush Hermit.) Pg 92
Disgrace Enough. But Now That We're In, I'm Writing In The Faint
Hope, If You Are Not Too Much Under His Influence, That You Will
Persuade Him To Keep His Mouth Shut. This Country Will Tolerate
No Difference Of Opinion Now. You Radicals Had Better Get On
Board The Band Wagon. It's Prison Or Acceptance." (_She Stops
Reading._) He's Right, Dear. There Will Be Nothing More
Intolerant Than A So-Called Democracy At War.
White. By God! It's Superb! Silence For Twenty Years And Now He
Writes His Poor Misguided Sister For Fear She Will Be Further
Disgraced By Her Radical Husband.
Hilda. We Mustn't Descend To His Bitterness.
White. No: I Suppose I Should Resuscitate The Forgotten Doctrine
Of Forgiving My Enemies.
Hilda. He's Not Your Enemy; He Merely Looks At It All
Differently.
White. I Was Thinking Of His Calm Contempt For Me These Twenty
Years--Ever Since You Married Me--"Out Of Your Class," As He
Called It.
Hilda. Oh, Hush, Will. I've Been So Happy
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