The Prince and the Pauper | Page 8

ho, Fangs!"
Then followed such a thing as England had never seen before--the
sacred person of the heir to the throne rudely buffeted by plebeian
hands, and set upon and torn by dogs.
As night drew to a close that day, the prince found himself far down in
the close-built portion of the city. His body was bruised, his hands were
bleeding, and his rags were all besmirched with mud. He wandered on
and on, and grew more and more bewildered, and so tired and faint he
could hardly drag one foot after the other. He had ceased to ask
questions of anyone, since they brought him only insult instead of
information. He kept muttering to himself, "Offal Court--that is the
name; if I can but find it before my strength is wholly spent and I drop,
then am I saved--for his people will take me to the palace and prove
that I am none of theirs, but the true prince, and I shall have mine own
again." And now and then his mind reverted to his treatment by those
rude Christ's Hospital boys, and he said, "When I am king, they shall
not have bread and shelter only, but also teachings out of books; for a
full belly is little worth where the mind is starved, and the heart. I will
keep this diligently in my remembrance, that this day's lesson be not
lost upon me, and my people suffer thereby; for learning softeneth the
heart and breedeth gentleness and charity." {1}
The lights began to twinkle, it came on to rain, the wind rose, and a raw
and gusty night set in. The houseless prince, the homeless heir to the
throne of England, still moved on, drifting deeper into the maze of
squalid alleys where the swarming hives of poverty and misery were
massed together.
Suddenly a great drunken ruffian collared him and said--
"Out to this time of night again, and hast not brought a farthing home, I
warrant me! If it be so, an' I do not break all the bones in thy lean body,

then am I not John Canty, but some other."
The prince twisted himself loose, unconsciously brushed his profaned
shoulder, and eagerly said--
"Oh, art HIS father, truly? Sweet heaven grant it be so--then wilt thou
fetch him away and restore me!"
"HIS father? I know not what thou mean'st; I but know I am THY
father, as thou shalt soon have cause to--"
"Oh, jest not, palter not, delay not!--I am worn, I am wounded, I can
bear no more. Take me to the king my father, and he will make thee
rich beyond thy wildest dreams. Believe me, man, believe me!--I speak
no lie, but only the truth!--put forth thy hand and save me! I am indeed
the Prince of Wales!"
The man stared down, stupefied, upon the lad, then shook his head and
muttered--
"Gone stark mad as any Tom o' Bedlam!"--then collared him once more,
and said with a coarse laugh and an oath, "But mad or no mad, I and
thy Gammer Canty will soon find where the soft places in thy bones lie,
or I'm no true man!"
With this he dragged the frantic and struggling prince away, and
disappeared up a front court followed by a delighted and noisy swarm
of human vermin.
Chapter V.
Tom as a patrician.
Tom Canty, left alone in the prince's cabinet, made good use of his
opportunity. He turned himself this way and that before the great mirror,
admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the prince's high-bred
carriage, and still observing results in the glass. Next he drew the
beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it across his

breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, by way of salute to the
lieutenant of the Tower, five or six weeks before, when delivering the
great lords of Norfolk and Surrey into his hands for captivity. Tom
played with the jewelled dagger that hung upon his thigh; he examined
the costly and exquisite ornaments of the room; he tried each of the
sumptuous chairs, and thought how proud he would be if the Offal
Court herd could only peep in and see him in his grandeur. He
wondered if they would believe the marvellous tale he should tell when
he got home, or if they would shake their heads, and say his overtaxed
imagination had at last upset his reason.
At the end of half an hour it suddenly occurred to him that the prince
was gone a long time; then right away he began to feel lonely; very
soon he fell to listening and longing, and ceased to toy with the pretty
things about him; he grew uneasy, then restless, then distressed.
Suppose some one should