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01 - Kidnapped - Robert Louis Stevenson · Thrilling Adventures - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter one, I set off upon my journey to the
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  Speaker 1: house of Shaws. I will begin the story of my
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  Speaker 1: adventures with a certain morning, early in the month of June,
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  Speaker 1: the year of Grace, seventeen fifty one, when I took
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  Speaker 1: the key for the last time out of the door
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  Speaker 1: of my father's house. The sun began to shine upon
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  Speaker 1: the summit of the hills as I went down the road,
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  Speaker 1: and by the time I had come as far as
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  Speaker 1: the manse, the blackbirds were whistling in the garden lilacs,
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  Speaker 1: and the mist that hung around the valley in the
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  Speaker 1: time of the dawn was beginning to arise and die away.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Campbell, the Minister of Essendean, was waiting for me
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  Speaker 1: by the garden gate. Good man, he asked me if
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  Speaker 1: I had breakfasted, and, hearing that I lacked for nothing,
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  Speaker 1: he took my hand in both of his and clapt
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  Speaker 1: it kindly under his arm. Well, davy lad said he,
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  Speaker 1: I will go with you as far as the ford
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  Speaker 1: set you. On the way, we began to walk forward
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  Speaker 1: in silence. Are you sorry to leave Essendean, said he
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  Speaker 1: after a while, Why, Sir, said I If I knew
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  Speaker 1: where I was going, or what was likely to become
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  Speaker 1: of me. I would tell you candidly. Essendean is a
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  Speaker 1: good place, indeed, and I have been very happy there.
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  Speaker 1: But then I have never been anywhere else my father
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  Speaker 1: and mother, since they are both dead, I shall be
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  Speaker 1: no nearer to in Essendean than in the Kingdom of Hungary.
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  Speaker 1: And to speak truth, if I thought I had a
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  Speaker 1: chance to better myself where I was going, I would
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  Speaker 1: go with a good will, I said, mister Campbell. Very well, Davy,
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  Speaker 1: then it behooves me to tell your fortune, or so
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  Speaker 1: far as I may. When your mother was gone and
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  Speaker 1: your father, the worthy Christian man began to sicken for
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  Speaker 1: his end, he gave me in charge a certain letter,
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  Speaker 1: which he said was your inheritance. So soon, says he,
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  Speaker 1: as I am gone, and house is read up, and
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  Speaker 1: the gear disposed of all which Davy hath been done,
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  Speaker 1: give my boy this letter into his hand, and start
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  Speaker 1: him off to the house of Shaws, not far from Krement.
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  Speaker 1: That is the place I came from, he said, And
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  Speaker 1: it's where it befits that my boy should return. He
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  Speaker 1: is a steady lad, your father said, and a canny goer.
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  Speaker 1: And I doubt not he will come safe and be
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  Speaker 1: well liked where he goes the house of Shaw's. I cried,
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  Speaker 1: what had my poor father to do with the house
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  Speaker 1: of Shaws. Nay, said mister Campbell, who can tell that
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  Speaker 1: for a surety? But the name of that family, Davy boy,
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  Speaker 1: is the name you bear. Balfours of Shaw's, an ancient, honest,
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  Speaker 1: reputable house peradventure in these latter days decayed. Your father
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  Speaker 1: too was a man of learning, as befitted his position.
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  Speaker 1: No man more plausibly conducted school, nor had he the
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  Speaker 1: man a roar of the speech of a common domini.
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  Speaker 1: But as ye will you say self, remember, I took
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  Speaker 1: eye a pleasure to have him to the mats to
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  Speaker 1: meet the gentry, and those of my own house. Campbell
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  Speaker 1: of Kilrennett, Gampbell of Dunswire, Gampbell of Minch, and others,
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  Speaker 1: all well kenned gentlemen, had pleasure in his society. Lastly,
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  Speaker 1: to put all the elements of this affair before you,
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  Speaker 1: here is the testamentary letter itself superscribed by the own
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  Speaker 1: hand of our departed brother. He gave me the letter
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  Speaker 1: which was addressed in these words to the hands of
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  Speaker 1: Ebenezer Balfour, esquire of Shaws, in his house of Shaws.
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  Speaker 1: These will be delivered by my son David Balfour. My
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  Speaker 1: heart was beating hard at this great prospect now suddenly
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  Speaker 1: opening before a lad of seventeen years of age, the
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  Speaker 1: son of a poor country Dominie in the forest of Etrich.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Campbell, I stammered, and if you were in my shoes,
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  Speaker 1: would you go? Of a surety? Said the minister, that
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  Speaker 1: would I? And without pause, a pretty lad like you
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  Speaker 1: should get the Cramond, which is near in by Edinburgh,
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  Speaker 1: in two days of walk. If the worst come to
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  Speaker 1: the worst, and your high relations, as I cannot but
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  Speaker 1: suppose them to be somewhat of your blood, should put
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  Speaker 1: you to the door, you can but walk the two
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  Speaker 1: days back again and risp at the man's door. But
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  Speaker 1: I would rather hope that ye should be well received
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  Speaker 1: as your poor father forecast for you, and for anything
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  Speaker 1: that I can come to be a great man in time.
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  Speaker 1: And here davy Laddie, he resumed, it lies near upon
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  Speaker 1: my conscience to improve this parting and set you on
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  Speaker 1: the right guard against the dangers of the world. Here
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  Speaker 1: he cast about for a comfortable seat, lighted on a
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  Speaker 1: big boulder under a birch by the track side, sat
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  Speaker 1: down upon it with a very long, serious upper lip,
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  Speaker 1: and the sun now shining in upon us between two peaks,
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  Speaker 1: put his pocket handkerchief over his cocktail to shelter him there. Then,
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  Speaker 1: with uplifted forefinger, he first put me on my guard
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  Speaker 1: against a considerable number of heresies to which I had
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  Speaker 1: no temptation, and urged upon me to be instant in
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  Speaker 1: my prayers and reading of the Bible. That done, he
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  Speaker 1: drew a picture of the great house that I was
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  Speaker 1: bound to, and how I should conduct myself with its inhabitants.
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  Speaker 1: Be suple davy in things immaterial. Said he bear ye
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  Speaker 1: this in mind, that though gentle born, ye have a
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  Speaker 1: country rearing den a sham us davy, den a sham
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  Speaker 1: us in yon great muckle house, with all these domestics
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  Speaker 1: upper and under, show yourself as nice as circumspect, as
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  Speaker 1: quick at the conception, and as slow of speech as
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  Speaker 1: any asked for the laird. Remember he's the laird. I
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  Speaker 1: say no more honor to whom honor it's a pleasure
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  Speaker 1: to obey allard, or should be to the young well sir,
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  Speaker 1: said I it may be, and I'll promise you I'll
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  Speaker 1: try to make it so. Why very well, said replied
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  Speaker 1: mister Campbell heartily. And now to come to the material,
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  Speaker 1: or to make a quibble to the immaterial, I have
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  Speaker 1: here a little packet which contains four things. He tugged
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  Speaker 1: it as he spoke and with some great difficulty, from
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  Speaker 1: the skirt pocket of his coat. Of these four things,
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  Speaker 1: the first is your legal do the little pickle money
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  Speaker 1: for your father's books implenishing, which I have bought, as
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  Speaker 1: I explained from the first, in the design of reselling
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  Speaker 1: at a profit to the incoming dominie. The other three
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  Speaker 1: are gifties that missus Campbell and myself would be blithe
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  Speaker 1: of your acceptance. The first, which is round, will likely
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  Speaker 1: please your best at the first off, go but o
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  Speaker 1: davy laddie. It's but a drop of water in the sea.
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  Speaker 1: It'll help you but a step and vanish like the morning.
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  Speaker 1: The second, which is flat in square and written upon,
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  Speaker 1: will stand by you through life like a good staff
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  Speaker 1: for the road, and a good pillow to your head
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  Speaker 1: in sickness. And as for the last, which is cubicle,
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  Speaker 1: that'll see you. It's my prayerful wish into a better lad.
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  Speaker 1: With that, he got upon his feet, took off his hat,
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  Speaker 1: and prayed a little while aloud and in affecting terms
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  Speaker 1: for a young man setting out into the world. Then
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  Speaker 1: suddenly took me in his arms and embraced me very hard,
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  Speaker 1: then help me at arm's length, looking at me with
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  Speaker 1: his face all working with sorrow, and then whipped about
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  Speaker 1: and crying good bye to me, set off backward by
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  Speaker 1: the way that we had come, at a sort of
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  Speaker 1: jogging run. It might have been laughable to another, but
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  Speaker 1: I was in no mind to laugh. I watched him
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  Speaker 1: as long as he was in sight, and he never
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  Speaker 1: stopped hurrying, nor once looked back. Then it came in
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  Speaker 1: upon my mind that this was all his sorrow at
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  Speaker 1: my departure, and my conscience smote me hard and fast,
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  Speaker 1: because I, for my part, was overjoyed to get out
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  Speaker 1: of that quiet countryside and go to a great busy
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  Speaker 1: house among rich and respected gentlefolk of my own name
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  Speaker 1: and blood. Davy, Davy, I thought was ever seen such
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  Speaker 1: black ingratitude? Can you forget old favors and old friends
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  Speaker 1: at the mere whistle of a name? By by think shame?
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  Speaker 1: And I sat down on the boulder. The good man
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  Speaker 1: had just left and opened the parcel to see the
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  Speaker 1: nature of my gifts. That which he had called cubicle
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  Speaker 1: I had never had much doubt of. Sure enough, it
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  Speaker 1: was a little bible to carry in a plaidnuc. That
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  Speaker 1: which he had called round I found to be a
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  Speaker 1: shilling piece. And the third, which was to help me
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  Speaker 1: so wonderfully, both in health and sickness all the days
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  Speaker 1: of my life, was a little piece of coarse yellow
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  Speaker 1: paper written upon thus in red ink, to make lily
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  Speaker 1: of the valley water. Take the flowers of lily of
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  Speaker 1: the valley and distill them in sack, and drink a
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  Speaker 1: spoonful or two, as there is occasion. It restores speech
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  Speaker 1: to those that have the dumb palsy. It is good
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  Speaker 1: against the gout. It comforts the heart and strengthens the memory.
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  Speaker 1: And the flowers put into a glass, close, stopped, and
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  Speaker 1: set into a hill of ants for a month. Then
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  Speaker 1: take it out and you will find a liquor which
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  Speaker 1: comes from the flowers, which keep in a vial. It
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  Speaker 1: is good ill or well, and whether man or woman.
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  Speaker 1: And then in the minister's own hand was added likewise
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  Speaker 1: for sprains, rub it in and for the colck, a
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  Speaker 1: great spoonful in the hour. To be sure, I laughed
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  Speaker 1: over this, but it was rather tremulous laughter, and I
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  Speaker 1: was glad to get my bundle on my staff's end,
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  Speaker 1: and set out over the ford and up the hill
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  Speaker 1: upon the farther side, till just as I came on
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  Speaker 1: the green drove road, running wide through the heather, I
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  Speaker 1: took my last look of kirk Essendean, the trees about
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  Speaker 1: the manse, and the big rowans in the kirkyard where
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  Speaker 1: my father and my mother lay. End of chapter