FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   407   408   409   410   411   412   413   414   415   416   417   418   419   420   421   422   423   424   425   426   427   428   429   430   431  
432   433   434   435   436   437   438   439   440   441   442   443   444   445   446   447   448   449   450   451   452   453   454   455   456   >>   >|  
y is to ply the bellows, an operation which I now hasten to perform. I am in the dingle making a horse-shoe. Having no other horses on whose hoofs I could exercise my art, I made my first essay on those of my own horse, if that could be called horse which horse was none, being only a pony. Perhaps, if I had sought all England, I should scarcely have found an animal more in need of the kind offices of the smith. On three of his feet there were no shoes at all, and on the fourth only a remnant of one, on which account his hoofs were sadly broken and lacerated by his late journeys over the hard and flinty roads. 'You belonged to a tinker before,' said I, addressing the animal, 'but now you belong to a smith. It is said that the household of the shoemaker invariably go worse shod than that of any other craft. That may be the case of those who make shoes of leather, but it shan't be said of the household of him who makes shoes of iron; at any rate it shan't be said of mine. I tell you what, my gry, whilst you continue with me, you shall both be better shod and better fed than you were with your last master.' I am in the dingle making a petul; and I must here observe that whilst I am making a horse-shoe the reader need not be surprised if I speak occasionally in the language of the lord of the horse-shoe--Mr. Petulengro. I have for some time past been plying the peshota, or bellows, endeavouring to raise up the yag, or fire, in my primitive forge. The angar, or coals, are now burning fiercely, casting forth sparks and long vagescoe chipes, or tongues of flame; a small bar of sastra, or iron, is lying in the fire, to the length of ten or twelve inches, and so far it is hot, very hot, exceeding hot, brother. And now you see me prala, snatch the bar of iron, and place the heated end of it upon the covantza, or anvil, and forthwith I commence cooring the sastra as hard as if I had been just engaged by a master at the rate of dui caulor, or two shillings, a day, brother; and when I have beaten the iron till it is nearly cool, and my arm tired, I place it again in the angar, and begin again to rouse the fire with the pudamengro, which signifies the blowing thing, and is another and more common word for bellows; and whilst thus employed I sing a gypsy song, the sound of which is wonderfully in unison with the hoarse moaning of the pudamengro, and ere the song is finished, the iron is again hot and malleable. Behold, I p
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   407   408   409   410   411   412   413   414   415   416   417   418   419   420   421   422   423   424   425   426   427   428   429   430   431  
432   433   434   435   436   437   438   439   440   441   442   443   444   445   446   447   448   449   450   451   452   453   454   455   456   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

making

 

bellows

 

whilst

 
animal
 

household

 

brother

 

sastra

 

dingle

 

pudamengro

 
master

inches

 
exceeding
 
endeavouring
 

primitive

 
casting
 

fiercely

 

sparks

 

chipes

 
tongues
 
burning

vagescoe

 
length
 

twelve

 

common

 
employed
 

blowing

 

signifies

 
finished
 

malleable

 

Behold


moaning

 

wonderfully

 

unison

 

hoarse

 

covantza

 

forthwith

 

commence

 

snatch

 

heated

 

cooring


beaten

 

shillings

 
engaged
 

caulor

 

peshota

 

fourth

 

offices

 
scarcely
 

remnant

 

journeys