The Children of the New Forest

Alice and Edith, which they put in the cages he had made for them. But, as we said, Humphrey was about something else; he was out early in the morning, and in the evening, when the moo

id on the ground, one morning he came in wi

t, and you must come and help me, and we must take our guns. J

his frosty air will do me good, perhaps. I have been much better

two miles," said Hump

t, Humphrey, so

rees, and then brought them to a pitfall which he had dug,

said Humphrey, "and see w

ved a young bull in it. Smoker, who was

on't think it is hurt. Can w

s too heavy, and if we were to get it out alive, we must

k," replie

you catch him

mes to chiefly in winter time; it is large and dry, and the large trees shelter it; so that is why I chose this spot. I took a large bundle of hay, put some on the snow about the pit, and then strew

us, I will say," said Ed

hat he is l

en obliged to go home for the pony and cart, and ropes to get the animal out of the pit, a

ke a windlass as soon as I can, and we will soon hoist out

hteen months old, I should think. Had it been a full-grown one, like that we

d cut it up in the pit, so that we would have handed i

he skin and quarters of the

the gun, Humphrey," said Jaco

hrey, "but I hope it will no

mell and sight of blood. I found that out by once or twice seeing them come to where I have cut the throat of a stag, and as soon as they have put their noses down to where the blood was on the ground, they have put their tails up a

ou what I'll also do; I'll load the cart with fern litter, and put it at the bottom of the

ou a long while to di

r it about. I was more than a month about it from the time that I began till it was finished, and I had a la

d perseverance, Humphrey.

I have, or shall ever have,

and calf, and became quite tame. These were an important addition to their stock, as may well be imagined. The only mishap under which they labored was, old Jacob's confinement to the cottage, which, as the winter advanced, prevented him from going to Lymington; they could not, therefore, sell any venison; and Humphrey, by way of experiment, smoked some venison hams, which he hung up with the others. There was another point on which they felt anxiety, which was, that Jacob could not cross the forest to get the puppies which had been promised them, and the time was passed, for it was now January, when he was

u," said Humphrey, as he wa

till to be housed up here in the forest, never seeing or speaking to any one, shut out from the world, does not suit Edward Beverley. Our father was a soldier, and a right good one, and if I

ollect, Edward, that the old man's very infirm, and wha

them, you may be sure; but I wish they were with our r

e not yet men, and boys of fifteen and thirteen c

r cut at a man's head I would make him stagger under it, were he as big as a buffalo. As young as I have been to th

y, "is, the fear that old Jacob ha

at fear

hat they have beheaded some people it is true, but then they were plotting in the king's favor, or in other ways opposed to Parliament. This I have gathered from Jacob: but I can not see what we have to fear if we

nd take possession of my father's proper

ment, in consequence of your father having fought against it on the king's side. It no longer belongs to you, and you would not be allowed t

b say thi

t if they supposed that we were all burned in the house when it was fired, it would give them a fair opportunity of calling you an impostor and treating you accordingly, and that there were so many anxious to have a gift of the property, that you would have thousands of people compassing your death. He said that your making known yourself and claiming your property would be the very conduct that your enemies would wish you to follow, and would be attended with most fatal

he not tell

is injustice that you would do something rash: and he said, I pray every night that my otherw

protection," replied Edward; "were the

ime' is good advice in such troubled times. I therefore think that I should be very wary if I were you; but I still think that there is no fear of either you or I going out of the forest, in our present dresses and under

you have said, I believe now is really so. One thing is certain, that while King Charles is a prisoner, as he now is, and his party dispersed and gone abroad, I can do nothing, and to make myself known would only be to injure myself and all of us. Keep quiet, therefore, I certainly shall, and als

o hasty even in this. And now, I will wish you a pleasant ride; and, Edward, if y

forget; good

open to conviction. Brought up as the heir to the property, he felt, more than Humphrey could be expected to do, the mortification of being left a pauper, after such high prospects in his early days: his vindictive feelings against the opposite party were the

wary and reflective before it would attack. Humphrey had not that spirit of chivalry possessed by Edward. He was a younger son, and had to earn, in a way, his own fortune, and he felt that his inclinations were more for peace than strife. Moreover, Humphrey had talents which Edward had not-a natural

een them; for the question between them was not which should have his way, but which should give up most to the wishes of the