The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, and Other TalesMore, Hannah
General
The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain, and Other Tales
More, Hannah
Christian life -- Fiction; Conduct of life -- Fiction; Short stories
Rachel was also a famous interpreter of dreams, and could
distinguish exactly between the fate of any two persons who happened
to have a mole on the right or the left cheek. She had a cunning way
of getting herself off when any of her prophecies failed. When she
explained a dream according to the natural appearance of things, and
it did not come to pass; then she would get out of the scrape by
saying, that this sort of dreams went by contraries. Now of two very
opposite things, the chance always is that one of them may turn out
to be true; so in either case she kept up the cheat.
Rachel, in one of her rambles, stopped at the house of Farmer
Jenkins. She contrived to call when she knew the master of the house
was from home, which indeed was her usual way. She knocked at the
door; the maids being in the field haymaking, Mrs. Jenkins went to
open it herself. Rachel asked her if she would please to let her
light her pipe? This was a common pretense, when she could find no
other way of getting into a house. While she was filling her pipe,
she looked at Mrs. Jenkins, and said, she could tell her some good
fortune. The farmer's wife, who was a very inoffensive, but a weak
and superstitious woman, was curious to know what she meant. Rachel
then looked about carefully, and shutting the door with a mysterious
air, asked her if she was sure nobody would hear them. This
appearance of mystery was at once delightful and terrifying to Mrs.
Jenkins, who, with trembling agitation, bid the cunning woman speak
out. "Then," said Rachel in a solemn whisper, "there is to my
certain knowledge a pot of money hid under one of the stones in your
cellar." "Indeed!" said Mrs. Jenkins, "it is impossible, for now I
think of it, I dreamed last night I was in prison for debt." "Did
you really?" said Rachel; "that is quite surprising. Did you dream
this before twelve o'clock or after?" "O it was this morning, just
before I awoke." "Then I am sure it is true, for morning dreams
always go by contraries," cried Rachel. "How lucky it was you
dreamed it so late." Mrs. Jenkins could hardly contain her joy, and
asked how the money was to be come at. "There is but one way," said
Rachel: "I must go into the cellar. I know by my art under which
stone it lies, but I must not tell." Then they both went down into
the cellar, but Rachel refused to point out the stone unless Mrs.
Jenkins would put five pieces of gold into a basin and do as she
directed. The simple woman, instead of turning her out of doors for
a cheat, did as she was bid. She put the guineas into a basin which
she gave into Rachel's hand. Rachel strewed some white powder over
the gold, muttered some barbarous words, and pretended to perform
the black art. She then told Mrs. Jenkins to put the basin quietly
down within the cellar; telling her that if she offered to look into
it, or even to speak a word, the charm would be broken. She also
directed her to lock the cellar door, and on no pretense to open it
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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