The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 2 (of 2)Paltock, Robert
Science
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, Volume 2 (of 2)
Paltock, Robert
Adventure stories; Fantasy fiction
MY mind ran so all night upon the settling the formality with which I
should receive Pendlehamby, that I got little or no rest. In the morning
I spread my table in as neat a manner as I could, and having dressed
myself, Pedro, Jemmy, and David, we marched to the plain; myself
carrying a chair, and each of them a stool. I was dressed in a
cinnamon-coloured gold-button coat, scarlet waistcoat, velvet breeches,
white silk stockings, the campaign-wig flowing, a gold-laced hat and
feather, point cravat, silver sword, and over all my cloak; as for my
sons, they had the clothes my wife made before she went.
When we heard them coming, I marshalled the children in the order they
were to sit, and charged them to do as they saw me do, but to keep
rather a half-pace backwarder than me; and then sitting down in my
chair, I ordered Pedro to his stool on my right hand, and Jemmy to his
on my left, and David to the left of Jemmy.
I then sent two of the messengers to meet them, with instructions to
let Youwarkee know where I waited for them, that they might alight at a
small distance before they came to me. This she having communicated to
her father, the order ran through the whole corps immediately when and
where to alight.
It will be impossible for me by words to raise your ideas adequate to
the grandeur of the appearance this body of men made coming over the
rock; but as I perceive your curiosity is on the stretch to comprehend
it, I shall faintly aim at gratifying you.
After we had heard for some time a sound as of distant rumbling thunder,
or of a thousand bears in consort, serenading in their hoarsest voices,
we could just perceive by the clearness of the dawn gilding on the edge
of the rock, a black stream arise above the summit of it, seemingly
about forty paces broad; when the noise increasing very much the stream
arose broader and broader; and then you might perceive rows of poles,
with here and there a streamer; and as soon as ever the main body
appeared above the rock, there was such a universal shout as rent the
air, and echoing from the opposite rock returned the salute to them
again. This was succeeded with a most ravishing sound of voices in song,
which continued till they came pretty near me; and then the first line,
consisting of all the trumpets, mounting a considerable height, and
still blowing, left room for the next ranks, about twenty abreast,
to come forward beneath them; each of which dividing in the middle,
alighted in ranks at about twenty paces distant from my right and left,
making a lane before me, at the farther end of which Pendlehamby and his
two daughters alighted with about twenty of his guards behind them, the
remainder, consisting of about twenty more, coming forward over my head,
and alighting behind me; and during this whole ceremony, the gripsacks
sounded with such a din, it was astonishing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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