The Hot Swamp
Page 48
that the manwas losing temper, he gave him a sharp dig in the wind which caused himto gasp, and a sounding buffet on the cheek which caused him to howlwith rage and feel for the hilt of his sword. That dangerous weapon,however, had been judiciously removed by his friends. He thereforerushed at his antagonist, resolved to annihilate him, but was receivedwith two genuine blows--one in the wind, the other on the forehead,which stretched him on the sward.
The Thuler rose therefrom with a dazed look, and accepted the Hellene'sfriendly shake of the hand with an unmeaning smile.
After the sports had continued for several days King Hudibras proposedan excursion--a sort of gigantic picnic--to the Hot Swamp, where Bladudand his friend had made up their mind to spend their honeymoon.
Arrived there, they found that immense progress had been made with thenew city--insomuch that Dromas assured Hafrydda that it brought to hismind some very ancient fables of great cities rising spontaneously fromthe ground to the sound of pipes played by the gods.
The baths, too, were in such an advanced stage that they were able tofill them on the arrival of the host and allow the interested andimpatient chiefs to bathe.
"Don't let them go in till you give the signal that the baths areready," said Gadarn to the king in that grave, suppressed manner whichindicated that the northern chief was inclined to mischief.
"Why?" asked the king.
"Because, as I understand, you love fair play and no favour. It wouldnot be fair to let some begin before others. They might feel it, youknow, and quarrel."
"Very well, so be it," returned the king, and gave orders that no onewas to go near the baths until they were quite full, when he would givethe signal.
The chiefs and warriors entering into the spirit of the thing, tookquite a boyish delight in stripping themselves and preparing for a rush.
"Now, are you ready?" said the king.
"Ay, all ready."
"Away, then!"
The warlike host rushed to the brink of the largest bath and plungedin--some head, others feet, first. But they came out almost as fast asthey went in--yelling and spluttering--for the water was much too hot!
"Ah! I see now," growled the king, turning to Gadarn--but Gadarn wasgone. He found him, a minute later, behind a bush, in fits!
Pacifying the warriors with some difficulty--for they were a hot-headedgeneration--the king, being directed by Bladud, ordered the water fromthe cold lake to be turned on until the bath became bearable. Then thewarriors re-entered it again more sedately. The warm water soonrestored their equanimity, and ere long the unusual sight was to be seenof bearded men and smooth chins, rugged men and striplings, rollingabout like porpoises, shouting, laughing, and indulging in horse-playlike veritable boys.
Truly warmth has much to do with the felicity of mankind!
Towards afternoon the warriors were ordered to turn out, and, after thewater had been allowed to run till it was clear, King Hudibras descendedinto it with much gravity and a good deal of what was in those agesconsidered to be ceremonial effect. This was done by way of takingformal possession of the Hot Springs. He was greatly cheered during theprocess by the admiring visitors, as well as physically by the hotwater, and it is said that while his son Bladud was dutifully rubbinghim down in the neighbouring booth, he remarked that it was the bestbath he ever had in his life, that he would visit the place periodicallyas long as he lived, and that a palace must be built there for hisaccommodation.
From that day the bath was named the "King's Bath," and it is so namedat the present day.
Soon after that the queen visited the Swamp and, with her ladies, madeuse of the bath which had been specially prepared for women; and thisone went by the name of the "Queen's Bath" thereafter. Its site,however, is not now certainly known, and it is not to be confounded withthe "Queen's Bath" of the present day, which was named after Queen Anne.
Prince Bladud lived to carry out most of his plans. He built a palacefor his father in Swamptown. He built a palace for himself and Branwen,with a wing to it for Dromas and Hafrydda, and took up his permanentabode there when he afterwards became king. At the death of his fatherhe added another wing for the queen-mother--with internal doors openingfrom each wing to the other, in order that they might live, so to speak,as one family. This arrangement worked admirably until the familiesbecame large, and the younger members obstreperous, when the internaldoors were occasionally, even frequently, shut. He also built a snughouse for Konar, and made him Hunter-General to the Royal Household. Itis said that, owing to the genial influence of Bladud's kind nature,Konar recovered his reason, and, forgetting the false fair-one who hadjilted him, took to himself a helpmate who more than made up for herloss.
Captain Arkal soon found that his passion for hot water cooled. As itdid so, his love for salt water revived. He returned to Hellas, and,after paying his respects to his pretty Greek wife, and dandling thesolid, square, bluff, and resolute baby, he reloaded his ship andreturned to Albion. Thus he went and came for many years.
Little Maikar, however, did not follow his example. True, heaccompanied his old captain on his first trip to Hellas, but that wasfor the purpose of getting possession of a dark-eyed maiden who awaitedhim there; with whom he returned to Swamptown, and, in that lovelyregion, spent the remainder of his life.
Even Addedomar was weaned from outlawry to honesty by the irresistiblesolicitations of Bladud, and as, in modern times, many an incorrigiblepoacher makes a first-rate gamekeeper, so the robber-chief became anable head-huntsman under the Hunter-General. The irony of Fate decreed,however, that the man who had once contemplated three wives was not tomarry at all. He dwelt with his mother Ortrud to the end of her days ina small house not far from the residence of Konar. Gunrig's mother alsodwelt with them--not that she had any particular regard for thempersonally, but in order that she might be near to the beautiful girlwho had been beloved by her son.
Gadarn, the great northern chief, ever afterwards paid an annual visitto Swamptown. While that visit lasted there was a general feeling inthe palace--especially among the young people--that a jovial hurricanewas blowing. During the daytime the gale made itself felt in loudhilarious laughter, song, and story. At night it blew steadily throughhis nose. After his departure an unaccountable calm seemed to settledown upon the whole region!
Beniah performed with powerful effect the task allotted to him, for,both by precept and example, he so set forth and obeyed the laws of Godthat the tone of society was imperceptibly elevated. Men came to know,and to act upon the knowledge, that this world was not their rest; thatthere is a better life beyond, and, in the contemplation of that life,they, somehow, made this life more agreeable to themselves and to eachother.
Time, which never intermits the beating of his fateful wings, flew by;the centuries rolled on; the Roman invaders came; the Norsemen andSaxons came, the Norman conquerors came, and each left their mark, deepand lasting, on the people and on the land--but they could not check byone hair's-breadth the perennial flow of the springs in the Hot Swamp,or obliterate the legend on which is founded this Romance of Old Albion.
THE END.