Adventures of a Bear, and a Great Bear Too Page 4

  PROSPERITY.

  Herr Schwein, that very learned pig, who had stationed himself in anunobserved corner of the throng, in order that he might witness thebehaviour of his pupil, was delighted, though not astonished, at hissuccess, and gave vent to his feelings in as marked a manner as aphilosopher and an animal of his peculiar temperament could be expectedto betray. He even went so far as to beg Bruin to embrace him--anexperiment he was not likely to desire repeated, for that maliciousbeast gave him so severe a squeeze, as to cause him an indigestion forseveral days after. Piggy's calculations, and the joy which he built onthem, would not have been of so solid a kind, if he had known a littlemore of Bruin's disposition; but, though an animal of experience andknowledge of the world, he was in this case too blinded by his pride toform his usually correct judgment. He only considered what the bear owedto him in the way of gratitude for clothing, feeding, and civilising; hegrunted with satisfaction as he revolved in his thoughts the goodlytreasure which Bruin might be the means of his acquiring; for,philosopher and animal of the world as he was, he had not been able todivest himself of two grand vices,--gluttony and avarice. The formerbelonged to his tribe, the latter to himself; and though at first sightthey would seem in contradiction with each other, he managed somehow topermit, in his own proper person, that both should have equal sway; andthe older he grew, the larger and firmer-rooted did these two passionsbecome. He was getting also so unwieldy, that indolence was, to acertain extent, forced upon him; and this was another powerfulconsideration which induced him to look on the accession of Bruin as areal benefit.

  Unhappy, however, the lot of that animal who should repose any degree ofconfidence in good to be derived from such a temper and disposition! Asday by day developed some new feature which helped to betray a charactersingularly unamiable and unattractive, so day by day did Herr Schwein'shabitation resound with growls and grunts of anger, where formerlyreigned the completest calm. Bruin's performances also lacking novelty,began to pall upon the public taste; and though Tom trudged about withhis placards more vigorously than ever, and wore the soles of his poorpaws thin with the exercise, the novelty was dying out, and thefashionable puppies began to be witty in their whispered remarks uponthe person of the bearer. The bear had got a great deal too lazy tolearn any fresh exploits; and the pig, indeed, was almost too much outof spirits to teach them. Besides this, Bruin had acquired habits ofrather an expensive kind, to indulge which required a good deal ofmoney; and, as Herr Schwein suspected that his due half of the nowdiminished receipts was withheld from him, quarrels not unnaturallyensued.

  These various annoyances produced a great change in poor Piggy, who,perhaps, felt more deeply the overthrow of his pet projects, than theactual loss his bargain had entailed on him; though the loss itself wasnot trifling, for Bruin's enormous appetite, which he indulged to afrightful extent, went considerably beyond the income that hisdiminished exertions produced, and there was a chance, as matters stood,that this resource would soon fail altogether. It is not surprising,then, if the Herr should contemplate breaking off his engagement, andterminating at once the difficulties which seemed to threaten him, byturning the great bear adrift upon the world. But a stronger power thana pig's was about to settle the question, a power to which all animalsare equally amenable: and thus was it brought into action.

  It was evening; Bruin and Tom, the former in excessively ill-humour, thelatter much as usual, though sulky, returned home, where the Herrawaited them with impatience. It did not require a very great amount ofsagacity to learn that they had been unsuccessful, for disappointmentwas plainly visible on the features of both. From Bruin nothing could beobtained in the way of information, for he had thrown himself on theground, and stuffed his wide jaws with some delicacies Piggy hadreserved for his own supper, so it was to Tom his master's eyes weredirected for an explanation. Now that valuable servant's _fort_, neverlay in making an eloquent discourse, or even in describing the mostordinary facts in a plain and intelligible manner; and in this instance,as his feelings interfered with the relation of facts, a tolerably largestock of patience, and some cleverness to boot, were needed tounderstand the account.

  This was, after cross-examination, what Herr Schwein managed tocomprehend. They had gone to the marketplace as usual, and, to theirdelight, found it crowded, immediately jumping to the conclusion thatthe public mind of Caneville was not so utterly degraded as they hadbegun to fancy it. The innocent conjecture was soon, however, disabused;for on their drawing nearer they observed that faithless populationgathered about "ANOTHER DISTINGUISHED FOREIGNER," with a remarkably longbeard and a fierce pair of horns, who proclaimed himself a magician frombeyond the land where the sun rose, and rejoiced in the name of DoctorCapricornus, A.V.G.T., and M.U.H.S., which the great learning of HerrSchwein interpreted by A Very Great Traveller, or Thief, and Member ofthe Universal Herbage or Humbug Society. Now, the feats displayed bythis new candidate for public favour were of the stupidest order(remember, this is not the statement of a disinterested party),consisting merely in pointing out any pebble on the ground that any oneof the crowd should have previously fixed on, and mounting to the top ofa little ladder and balancing himself on the tips of his horns at theupper round; yet it was enough to excite the enthusiasm of thelookers-on: nor could all the cries of Bruin, bidding them come and seewhat true genius really was; nor all the dulcet notes of Tom, though heblew at his pipes till he was black in the face, and thrashed his drumtill he beat in its crown, procure them a single spectator. Thoroughlydisgusted, they quitted the spot and returned home, Bruin getting into adispute with one of the City police by the way for comporting himselfbearishly towards a richly-dressed and genteel-looking cat, who wasquietly serenading his mistress, seated at a balcony.

  As Tom finished his relation, a slight squeak issued from the pig'sthroat, but from its profoundest depths, as if it came from the bottomof his heart. Once or twice, indeed, he turned his snout to the placewhere the bear, who had finished his employer's supper, lay at his fulllength asleep, as though he intended to arouse him; but his philosophyor his physical weakness made him change his resolution, and, making amotion to Tom to lend him some assistance, he tottered off withdifficulty to bed, where he cast himself down as if he were tired of theworld and its struggles. At least his manner so far affected Tom that hecould not prevail on himself to quit his master's side; but afterwatching him with interest for a full hour, and observing him in a deepsleep, he stretched his body upon some clean straw, instead of seekinghis own crib, and was soon likewise in a state of forgetfulness.

  It must have been about midnight that Tom was aroused by a suppressedgrunting; he started up, and, by the aid of the moon, beheld HerrSchwein lying on his back, and convulsively kicking his legs in the air.He ran to his head and tried to raise him up, but his weight was morethan he could manage, so he called out in his loudest voice for theassistance of Bruin. That ungracious beast, however, though waked by thenoise, felt no inclination to have his repose disturbed; so bid him holdhis peace, and let honest folks go to sleep. Tom was a thoroughlyfaithful creature at heart, though a rough and untutored one. The wantof feeling displayed by the bear, and his ingratitude in thus allowinghis master to struggle without even lending him a paw, aroused all theindignation of his honest nature; so, flying at Master Bruin, he caughthold of the tip of his ear and bit it till the great beast roared withpain, and, effectually roused, followed his adversary about the placein order to punish him for his insolence. In his awkward evolutions hecaught one of his legs in a heap of straw, and fell full sprawl overpoor Herr Schwein. A small grunt, like a sigh with a bad cold, escapedthe learned Pig: it was his last! for, when Bruin raised himself up, hefound his late employer perfectly motionless; nor did all his efforts,such as pulling his snout, and shaking his trotters, and twisting histail, succeed in producing the slightest impression. The bear waspuzzled. He squatted down beside his old master, and, sucking his rightpaw, whilst he scratched his pate with his left, gazed long at theprostrate bo
dy. Meanwhile Tom drew nigh, and guessing at the truth fromhis companion's attitude and the pig's breathless quiet, raised his noseto the roof of the dwelling and uttered a long and dismal howl ofsorrow. Again and again, at brief intervals, did the faithful servantthus deplore his master's fate, till Bruin, angered by the noise, threwthe broken drum at the unconscious mourner, with such effect, indeed,that the shattered extremity alighted on his crown, and for the timecompletely buried him, his voice sounding singularly sepulchral from thedepths of the hollow instrument. It effectually stopped the current ofhis grief by creating a flood of irritation, which only respect for thedead prevented his giving vent to, for he would otherwise have littleheeded either the strength or ferocity of his antagonist.

  Bruin, who had betrayed no feeling of any kind at the sight of his latebenefactor thus converted into pork, now returned to his own bed, andwas soon again in a comfortable snore; but the faithful Tom still satbeside the body of his master, and patiently watched there tilldaylight.

  The sun rose, and many neighbours, apprised of the event, made theirappearance; some urged by curiosity to see how a dead pig looked, somestimulated by avarice, hoping there might be a trifle or two to pick up,and a few from a higher motive--the wish, namely, to show respect forthe memory of the deceased, by assisting, if necessary, his survivors.Herr Schwein, however, had come amongst them alone, nor was it thoughtthat he had kith or kin; for no mention of any amiable _frau_, or sow,no syllable of any interesting piglet, had ever issued from his learnedjaws. He died as he had lived, among strangers; and, alas! all thelearning he had acquired was destined to perish with him: for, with oneexception, Herr Schwein had never committed any of his thoughts orexperiences to writing. I have said, with _one_ exception; for theoccasion is worth noting, as it was on a matter interesting, indeed, toevery epicure in the universe. The subject which then engaged his penbore the following title:--"_Signs by which the most unobservant maydetect in the soils of the world the existence of Truffles; togetherwith an Essay on the most effectual mode of cultivating them._" And itmay well be conjectured, from the great learning and fitness of thewriter to deal with such a subject, how much new light must have beenthrown upon it. Unfortunately for the tribes of gourmands, and poorPiggy's fame, this valuable paper was never destined to electrify theworld; for, cast into the street by Bruin among other articles,considered, alas! of no value, it was picked up by some ignorant puppypassing by, who, seeing it written in German character, and notunderstanding a word of it, tore up the priceless document to makelights for his cigars.

  Two mastiffs, who had been informed of the death, kept watch meanwhilewithout the house; and when night again came on they were joined by acouple of ugly curs, whose business it was to convey the body to itslast resting-place without the city; for the dogs, with great goodsense, had an intense dislike to bury the dead among the living. Themortal remains of Herr Schwein being placed upon a kind of sledge, weredrawn slowly down to the little lake, followed by Tom, as chief and onlymourner, for Bruin was so devoid of feeling as to refuse even this lasttribute to the memory of one who had been his best friend; and when thefuneral procession reached the water, the body was gently let down intothe current, which bore it gradually away. Poor Tom sent after it aprolonged and melancholy howl, the last sad adieu of a simple butfaithful heart; and then turning his steps, which were mechanicallyleading him towards his late home, in quite an opposite direction, heset off upon a lonely pilgrimage, resolving in his own mind that many ascene should be traversed ere he again gazed on his native city ofCaneville.

  Meanwhile Bruin, who felt not the least alarm at Tom's continuedabsence, found himself suddenly in a position of the highest prosperity.As no one was there to claim the property of the deceased, he tookpossession of it as his right. Every corner was ransacked, everyhiding-place examined, and a large store of costumes, and things ofevery kind, gathered in the course of the late Herr's wanderings indifferent lands, were dragged from their obscurity.

  A VERY GREAT BEAR.]

  His present habitation did not, however, suit his change of fortune: hemust have a house in the most fashionable quarter of the town. When thiswas obtained, not satisfied with the simple name his fathers hadhonestly borne for so many generations, he resolved to dub himself anobleman, which he could the more easily do in a place where hisconnexions were unknown, so styled himself Count von Bruin forthwith.The wardrobe of his late learned employer furnished him with a suit ofastonishingly fine clothes, which fitted him to a nicety; so on everyfine morning, dressed therein, with hat cocked upon his crown, his pawsgrasping a cane, and placed under his coat-tails, so as to show off allthe glory of his waistcoat, frill, and splendid jewellery, he marchedinto the streets. He made so imposing a figure in his new dress, andassumed such an air of pomposity, that it was no wonder the uninitiatedshould have been deceived, and have taken him for a lion of the veryfirst nobility; nor can we be surprised that a poor cur, almost in astate of nudity, should, in the most abject manner, supplicate a triflefrom "His Lordship;" that an ignorant cat, in passing, should take offhis cap and make a profound bow; or a kitten, just behind, cross itspaws as though it stood in the presence of a superior. There was one,however, who penetrated through all his disguise; one who had watchedhim with interest when he made his _debut_ in the public square and drewdown such abundant admiration, and who, by some feeling for which shecould not account, had followed his varying fortunes till she saw himthus rich, superbly dressed, and strutting down the street, as thoughCaneville were too small to hold him,--and that one was the Hon. MissGreyhound.