KENILWORTH - Penn State University

Sir Walter ScottAnd forth came the honest pedagogue, for such his dressbespoke him. A long, lean, shambling, stooping figure wassurmounted by a head thatched with lank, black hair somewhatinclining to grey. His features had the cast of habitualauthority, which I suppose Dionysius carried with him fromthe throne to the schoolmaster’s pulpit, and bequeathed as alegacy to all of the same profession, A black buckram cassockwas gathered at his middle with a belt, at which hung, insteadof knife or weapon, a goodly leathern pen-and-ink case. Hisferula was stuck on the other side, like Harlequin’s woodensword; and he carried in his hand the tattered volume whichhe had been busily perusing.On seeing a person of Tressilian’s appearance, which he wasbetter able to estimate than the country folks had been, theschoolmaster unbonneted, and accosted him with, “Salve,domine. Intelligisne linguam latinam?”Tressilian mustered his learning to reply, “Linguae latinaehaud penitus ignarus, venia tua, domine eruditissime,vernaculam libentius loquor.”The Latin reply had upon the schoolmaster the effect whichthe mason’s sign is said to produce on the brethren of thetrowel. He was at once interested in the learned traveller, listenedwith gravity to his story of a tired horse and a lost shoe,and then replied with solemnity, “It may appear a simple thing,most worshipful, to reply to you that there dwells, within abrief mile of these toguria, the best faber ferarius, the mostaccomplished blacksmith, that ever nailed iron upon horse.Now, were I to say so, I warrant me you would think yourselfcompos voti, or, as the vulgar have it, a made man.”“I should at least,” said Tressilian, “have a direct answer to aplain question, which seems difficult to be obtained in thiscountry.”“It is a mere sending of a sinful soul to the evil un,” said theold woman, “the sending a living creature to Wayland Smith.”“Peace, Gammer Sludge!” said the pedagogue; “Pauca verba,Gammer Sludge; look to the furmity, Gammer Sludge; cureturjentaculum, Gammer Sludge; this gentleman is none of thygossips.” Then turning to Tressilian, he resumed his lofty tone,“And so, most worshipful, you would really think yourselffelix bisterque should I point out to you the dwelling of thissame smith?”“Sir,” replied Tressilian, “I should in that case have all that I111