Part 1 (1/2)
The People Of The Mist
by H Rider Haggard
AUTHOR'S NOTE
On several previous occasions it has happened to this writer of ro sie In this tale occurs an instance of the sort, a ”double-barrelled” instance indeed, that to hi The People of the Mist of his adventure story worshi+p a sacred crocodile to which they inal draft of the book this crocodile was a snake--_ens_ A friend of the writer, an African explorer of great experience who read that draft, suggested that the snake was altogether too unprecedented and iestion, a crocodile was substituted
Scarcely was this change effected, however, when Mr R T Coryndon, the slayer of almost the last white rhinoceros, published in the _African Review_ of February 17, 1894, an account of a huge and terrific serpent said to exist in the Dichwi district of Mashonaland, that in many particulars resembled the snake of the story, whose prototype, by the way, really lives and is adored as a divinity by certain natives in the re in type, the alteration was suffered to stand But now, if the _Zoutpansberg Review_ may be believed, the author can take credit for his crocodile also, since that paper states that in the course of the recent ca in the north of the Transvaal, his fetish or God was captured, and that God, a crocodile fashi+oned in wood, to which offerings werethese people (as with the ancient Egyptians), the worshi+p of the crocodile is a recognised cult Also it congratulates the present writer on his intimate acquaintance with the more secret manifestations of African folklore and beast worshi+p He ed in inventing the 'People of the Mist,'
he was totally ignorant that any of the Bantu tribes reverenced either snake or crocodile divinities But the coincidence is strange, and once more shows, if further examples of the fact are needed, how iination to vie with hidden truths--even with the hidden truths of this small and trodden world
_September_ 20, 1894
THE PEOPLE OF THE MIST
CHAPTER I
THE SINS OF THE FATHER ARE VISITED ON THE CHILDREN
The January afternoon was passing into night, the air was cold and still, so still that not a single twig of the naked beech-trees stirred; on the grass of the meadows lay a thin white riainst a steel-hued sky, and over the tallest of the firs there ran a road, on which, in this evening of the opening of our story, a young ht and now to the left
To his right were two stately gates of iron fantastically wrought, supported by stone pillars on whose su coats of arms, and banners inscribed with the device _Per ardua ad astra_ Beyond these gates ran a broad carriage drive, lined on either side by a double row of such oaks as England alone can produce under the most favourable circu hand of man and three or four centuries of time
At the head of this avenue, perhaps half a h it looked nearer because of the eminence upon which it was placed, stood a mansion of the class that in auctioneers' advertiseeneral appearance was Elizabethan, for in those days soe part of its fabric was farback, so said tradition, to the ti John As we are not auctioneers, however, it will be unnecessary to specify its many beauties; indeed, at this date, soe on these attractions with copious fulness and accuracy of detail, since Outra six centuries, was, or had been, for sale
Suffice it to say that, like the oaks of its avenue, Outraland; nothat seemed to have acquired a life and individuality of its own Or, if this saying be too far-fetched and poetical, at the least this venerable home bore soenerations ofby the coand earnestly towards the s that frowned upon him from the crest of the hill, and as he looked an expression came into his face which fell little, if at all, short of that of agony, the agony which the young can feel at the shock of an utter and irredeemable loss The face that wore such evidence of trouble was a handsoh just now all the charm of youth see, nor was it difficult to guess that in after-life it ht becoh not very tall, giving proentleht himself up to the belief that ancient blood can cover modern deficiencies of mind and manner Such was the outward appearance of Leonard Outram as he was then, in his twenty-third year
While Leonard watched and hesitated on the roadway, unable, apparently, to ates, and yet desirous of doing so, carts and carriages began to appear hurrying down the avenue towards him
”I suppose that the sale is over,” heto have done with”
Then he turned to go; but hearing the crunch of wheels close at hand, stepped back into the shadow of the gateway pillar, fearing lest he should be recognised on the open road A carriage ca amiss with the harness, a footht From where he stood Leonard could see its occupants, the wife and daughter of a neighbouring squire, and overhear their conversation He knew theer lady had been one of his favourite partners at the county balls
”How cheap the things went, Ida! Fancy buying that old oak sideboard for ten pounds, and with all those Outraood as an historical document, and I am sure that it must be worth at least fifty I shall sell ours and put it into the dining-roohter sighed and answered with some asperity
”I am so sorry for the Outraot it for twopence What an awful sht by a Jew! Tom and Leonard are utterly ruined, they say, not a sixpence left I declare I nearly cried when I saw that uns”
”Very sad indeed,” answered the mother absently; ”but if he is a Jehat does it matter? He has a title, and they say that he is enor on at Outram soon By the way, my dear Ida, I do wish you would cure yourself of the habit of calling young men by their Christian names--not that it matters about these two, for we shall never see any more of them”
”I am sure I hope that we shall,” said Ida defiantly, ”and e do I shall call them by their Christian names as much as ever You never objected to it before the smash, and I _love_ both of the o
I shall be wretched for a week, I----” and the carriage swept on out of hearing