Adventures of a Bear, and a Great Bear Too

by Alfred Elwes

  TOWN LIFE.

  Bruin woke up next morning with so uncomfortable a feeling of sorenessfrom the rough treatment he had received, that it was with somedifficulty he was enabled to move his heavy limbs; and he found sittingso unpleasant a posture, that he lay stretched across two or threebranches for several hours, and in a very ill-humour, indeed, watchedthe activity displayed beneath and around him. Now a stealthy fox, uponsome foraging expedition, would come creeping along, his foot-fallscarcely heard on the withered leaves and dead branches; now a timidmouse would leap nimbly by, and, at the least signal of danger, woulddisappear as if by enchantment; then a frolicsome squirrel, vaulting asfearlessly from bough to bough as if he were not fifty feet from theground, would arouse him for a minute from his sulky mood, and light uphis fierce eye with an expression of interest which it was very clearhad no higher source than a hope that the little tumbler might fall downand break his neck, for daring to be in such a good humour. But thebirds, above all, excited his anger; for seeing them flying about gailyin the sun, which tinged the tops of the trees so gloriously, Bruinactually growled with indignation--a sound which nearly caused thataccident to Master Squirrel that our ungracious hero had desired forhim, so terribly was he frightened.

  A few days thus spent sufficiently recovered him to render him capableof moving, when he descended from his temporary hospital, and, with theaid of a thick staff, which he had provided himself for the purpose, setoff once more, supplying his wants in the way of food with such ediblesas fell in his way, a bear not being remarkably particular concerningits quality or kind. One only thought now possessed him,--that ofquitting the wooded ground where his life had hitherto been passed, andreaching one of those spots where, as he had heard his parents relate,animals of various kinds congregate together, and live in habitationsraised by their own ingenuity; in fact, a city.

  "At least," he thought, "if what I have heard of such places be true,and that merit of every kind is certain there to meet its reward, and beproperly appreciated, I shall stand a better chance than my neighbours."With this reflection, he shuffled on a little quicker; and the reader,who has been thus allowed a private view of his motives, will observethat modesty was not among Bruin's list of virtues.

  After a day's march, with sundry restings by the way--for he was not ingood travelling order--he reached the outskirts of the wood; and when hegot beyond it, he stood still to mark the prospect, which was, in sooth,a very charming one, and the more striking to him as being so entirelynovel. As he stood on a rising ground, the scene lay beneath; and thesun, which was nearing the horizon, darted his level beams through agentle mist that was beginning to rise from the valley, and made awondrous golden haze, shedding beauty over every object within itsinfluence. A silvery brook ran from some distant hills, and, afternumerous windings, spread into a broad pond; then narrowing again, withan abrupt fall or two, which made its pace the faster, it rannoiselessly through some green meadows, where cattle and horses weregrazing, then made a bend into the wood, where it was lost to view.Bruin's quick eye scarcely, however, watched its course, for his wholeattention was rivetted on what to him was of more interest,--the city towhich his weary steps were directed. It stood upon the margin of therivulet, just before its waters expanded into the little lake, andseemed to occupy a considerable extent of ground. It was neitherhandsomely nor regularly built, yet it had an imposing effect as awhole, and in Bruin's eyes seemed to need nothing in the way ofarchitecture. Its inhabitants, I may observe in passing, wereprincipally descendants of canine tribes, with a few pussies, who, forsome worldly advantage, had overcome their prejudices to such society;and a flock or two of birds: as the latter, however, were of a volatiledisposition, and were constantly on the move, they resided principallyin the higher portions of the city, so that they might come and gowithout interfering with the steadier habits of the animal population.Several horses and black cattle resided in the environs, but, with theexception of a donkey or two, rarely entered the town, for they foundfew inducements in the noisy streets to compensate them for the charmand tranquillity of a rural life.

  After contemplating the scene for some time, Bruin slowly descended thehill, his confidence in his own powers somewhat weakened now he was insight of the spot where they were to be called into action; one reasonfor this slight depression of his spirits arising, probably, from hisignorance of the dwellers in the great city, for the intelligence justcommunicated to the reader was at that time totally unknown to him. Thestrange appearance, also, of every creature he now met, contributed toabash him; for every one who had any pretensions to respectability woreover the coats with which nature had provided them, clothes of a cutthat looked wonderful in the eyes of the untutored Bruin. His own aspectwas, meanwhile, not less odd in the opinion of the more civilisedanimals. His untrimmed hair and beard, his ragged coat, his queer gait,and the unrestrained gape of wonder with which he stared around him,were sufficient to excite the attention of the most indifferent, and itwas with a tolerably large train at his heels that he reached theentrance to the principal street. Here crowds of well-dressed dogs, bothmale and female (the latter always well-attended), were walking about oridling the time away; town-bred puppies, with insolent stare, werelounging at every turn, their delicate paws proving how little they wereused to labour. On one side Bruin observed a gracefully-proportionedwhite cat, veiled, gliding demurely along, whilst a strong tabby, hernurse, purred behind, with three little kittens in her arms, mewing totheir hearts' content; and on the other several huge mastiffs, stalkinggravely in a row, like policemen in our London streets going to theirbeats, the animals to which they have been compared being bound on asimilar errand.

  These various sights proved to Bruin that there must be a differentagency at work to that which existed in his native forest. He was wiseenough to perceive that mere animal force was not likely to succeedhere, or hold the same position as it did in the land where he was bornand had spent his earlier years. The appearances of wealth on one hand,the evidences of a soldier-like discipline and order on the other,convinced him that this was no place to vent his ill-humour by anexhibition of brute strength, for that it was sure to meet more than itsmatch; whilst the uncertainty of the punishment which would attend suchoutbreak, provided it were indulged in, made him resolve, at least, toput a curb upon his public conduct. This was the first great step inBruin's education; a step, alas! merely taught him by his fears. Had itsprung from higher sources, there would have been a chance of its doingpermanent good; but what solid benefit can be reckoned on or attainedwhich arises from such a motive?

  The attention that the rough stranger from a distant country met withfrom the civilised population of Caneville (for that, or something likeit, was the name of the city), was beginning to be rather irksome tohim. Every lady-dog, as she passed him, seemed anxious to allow himplenty of room; the three kittens in arms, at sight of him set up achorus of cries, which their nurse tried in vain to appease; a mastiff,who was on guard on the opposite side of the way, seemed very muchinclined to interfere for the preservation of public peace; whilst acouple of puppies, touched off in the extreme of the then prevailingfashion at Caneville, turned up their noses and their tails in a waywhich seemed to render it perfectly marvellous how they kept upon theirlegs. All this was sufficiently irritating, even to the mostgood-natured of beings, and Bruin found it especially hard to bear; hewas assisted, however, in his prudential resolution to abstain from anyoutward exhibition of wrath by a sound which was as new to his ear as itwas exciting to his feelings. It came from the upper end of the street,where a crowd had assembled; and as every one in his neighbourhoodseemed to think the amusement it promised would be of a more interestingkind than baiting a bear, and had hastened in the direction whence itproceeded, Bruin thought he could not do better than follow theirexample.

  On reaching the spot, his great height enabled him to get a view of whatwas going on; and as he pressed forward, the animals with which he camein contact gladly made way at his approach
, so that in a few seconds hestood in the front row of a large circle, the centre of which wasoccupied by a fat, overgrown pig, with an astonishingly long snout, anda couple of rings through it by way of ornament; two equally long ears,that had evidently been submitted to some curious operation, for theywere slit in various places, and hung down from his head like uncombedlocks of hair; and a pair of very sharp little eyes, which seemed tohave the unpleasant power of piercing right through you, if in theirincessant wanderings they chanced to catch a look from your own. It wasvery evident that this animal, who was quite a _savant_, or, as weshould say, a learned pig, enjoyed a high reputation in the community ofCaneville, where he had been settled some time; and whenever, as now, hechose to make an outdoor exhibition of himself and his powers, he wascertain of a very full audience.

  Behind him stood a punchy little bull-dog, with an inflamedcountenance, evidently caused by too close application to a mouth-organ,arranged in such a way as to be at a convenient distance from hiscapacious muzzle; and before him was a drum, an article on which Bruinlooked with a curious and most ludicrous expression of physiognomy. Ashe was now in the foremost van, he gradually edged near and nearer tothe object of his attraction, whilst the learned beast was makingpreparations for a grand display; and just as Bruin had reached theplace where the drummer had taken his stand, Herr Schwein (so was hecalled) gave orders for a flourish of music by way of opening theperformance. But how describe the effect which the sound produced on ourbear? At the first stroke of the stick on the drum, he leaped from theground as if he had been shot; then giving utterance to a prolongedhowl, he began dancing about in a way which would have been irresistiblyfunny, if the audience had not been too frightened to stop and witnessit. As it happened, a general panic seized the multitude, and off wentgood part of the population of Caneville, howling, screaming, andyelping to their various homes, where they, of course, each gave adifferent version of the story. The learned pig alone, and his faithfulTom, who would not run away for any body, were the only creatures whostood their ground; the former, because he had travelled much and wasacquainted with the peculiarities of bears; and the latter, partly forthe reason just given, and in part because he was so fixed to the drumthat to go away without it was impossible; and to go away with it,without previous packing, would have been equally difficult, so he stoodhis ground and watched the proceedings.

  On the ceasing of the music and dispersing of the crowd our hero alsostood still, as much surprised as any of the former spectators at theeffect he had produced; and then feeling still more sensibly the effectsof his fatigues, he sat down panting and exhausted. The pig, who hadbeen quietly watching him, and had evidently been revolving someinteresting thoughts in his contemplative brain, shortly after rose, andgathering up the things which were to have figured in his evening'sperformance, and assisting to pack the drum comfortably on Tom's back,beckoned to the bear, and waddled gently off in an opposite direction ofthe city to that where Bruin had entered. Our interesting brutehesitated a moment; but being nudged by Tom, who uttered at the sametime a word or two of encouragement, which, to render intelligible, maybe translated by "Come along, stupid!" he mechanically followed thisfast young dog, and they all reached the pig's habitation just asevening was falling.

  After the bear had been regaled with a most hearty supper--for pigs, itmay be remarked by the way, are famous caterers--his learned hostunfolded to him his plans. He explained the nature of his ownavocations; how that he had supported himself, and saved a nice littlestore besides, through telling the fortunes and relating the age of thelady-dogs and doglets of Caneville; and how he performed sundryconjuring tricks, which, though easy enough when found out, had earnedfor him an astonishing reputation among the simple animals of the city,who never _had_ penetrated the secret. He explained, besides, that therewere many more he could perform if his figure were more slim and hismovements as active as they had been some years ago, before time, byincreasing his rotundity, had lessened the ease of his motions; but thatif Bruin would undertake to learn them, his fortune was as good as made:for he, Herr Schwein, would not only teach him all he knew, but wouldreward him with half the profits derived from his performance, when heshould have mastered his studies. This proposal so jumped with Bruin'shumour, that he consented without further solicitation, and it wasagreed that his engagement should commence from the following day.

  With the morning's sun did our hero's lessons begin; and as Nature hadnot added stupidity to his various weaknesses, he made really rapidprogress. But poor Piggy found it dreadfully hard work, and more thanonce repented his bargain; for though reflection and circumstances hadmade him a philosopher, and travelling had taught him experience, itrequired all his philosophy and his utmost skill to support the weightof Bruin's unhandsome temper and prevent an utter breach between them.Pride, however, and a natural wish to reap the harvest which he had sownat the cost of so much pains and labour, induced him to persevere, andthe day at length arrived when Bruin was to make his next appearance inpublic. Since the first evening of his arrival he had kept strictlywithin his employer's grounds, and had familiarised his mind with themouth-organ and the drum. But now the sun had risen that was to shine onhim again abroad; he felt considerably elated; the idea of sporting ahandsome pair of silk drawers, and a medal with a ribbon round his neck,and a silver anklet, contributing not a little to produce the feeling.

  The pig, who knew the value of notoriety in such cases, had, from earlymorning, kept Tom parading the streets with a large placard over hisshoulders, announcing

  THE ARRIVAL OF A DISTINGUISHED FOREIGNER! ENGAGED BY HERR SCHWEIN AT A RUINOUS EXPENSE!! FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIONS, TO PERFORM HIS EXTRAORDINARY AND INTENSELY INTERESTING FEATS BEFORE THE HIGHLY-DISCRIMINATING PUBLIC OF CANEVILLE!!!

  The highly-discriminating being thus prepared, assembled in the greatsquare, the place chosen for the exhibition, long before the appointedhour. The ladies were arranged in the foremost rank, with a politenessthat was perfectly edifying, whilst knots of fashionable dogs and catsgot as near as possible to the reigning favourites; curs of inferiordegree occupied the outermost ranks, and a bird or two got galleryplaces above the heads of the animal spectators. It was when expectationwas raised to that pitch which usually finds vent in the most discordantcries, that Bruin, carrying a bag, followed by Tom with the drum, madehis appearance,--a sight which caused universal approbation. Somepraised his evident strength, others admired his dress, and some againcriticised his figure; but when he drew out from his bag a quantity ofsingular objects, and Tom struck up an extraordinary extempore air withvariations on the pipes, accompanied by sundry vicious blows on thedrum, public curiosity was strained to the utmost.

  MAKING AN IMPRESSION.]

  When the music ceased, Bruin imperatively waved the spectators back, andthe performance began. He handled a pair of knives in a way which madethe beholders tremble; for those implements were swallowed and appearedagain at the tips of his paws or the end of his nose, without doing himany injury, and they were forced into his arms and drawn furiouslyacross his throat without causing the slightest wound; and then theywere tucked into his waistband, and after sundry contortions and leaps,and affected attitudes, they were pulled from out his capacious jaws,where they had stuck fast, to the wonder and delight of the spectators.Then he took up three balls of polished brass, which seemed too heavyfor any fashionable puppy present to lift, and commenced a wonderfulseries of exploits with them. Now they leaped a great height into theair, one after another, with a rapidity which made the crowd's eyeswater; then they ran over his shoulders, and down his back, and betweenhis legs, and over his shoulders again in a continuous stream; and thenthey went bumping over every projecting part of his body, leaping here,jumping there, now on the top of his head, now on the tip of his nose,and never falling to the ground, and always going this game with such
wondrous swiftness, as though there were thirty balls instead of three.But the feat which pleased them most, and which may be called thecrowning effort of the display, was when Bruin balanced a short stick onhis forehead with a pewter plate on the top of it, which, by somemysterious agency, was made to spin round and round, and dazzle theoptics of the crowd as it glittered in the sun. At this marvellous sightthere was a burst of admiration! Tom blew at his pipes and hammered athis drum with the utmost energy. Two well-dressed young dogs, who hadbeen paying particular attention to a tall young lady with a longsentimental nose, over which a veil dropped gracefully (she wasevidently one of the aristocratic greyhound family), gaped with wonderas they stared at the whirling pewter; the young lady herself looked onwith a gaze where surprise and admiration were singularly mingled; andthe curs, who are less accustomed to restrain their feelings, gave ventto them in vigorous howls. The success was, indeed, complete; and whenTom went round with the plate, a rich harvest amply repaid the painswhich had been bestowed on the rehearsals.