cannotsay，unlessitbethathewastheownerofacow，apigortwo，andsomepoultry，whichhemaintainedonaboutanacreoflandinclosedfromthemiddleofawildcommon，onwhichprobablyhisfatherhadsquattedbeforelordsofmanorslookedaskeenlyaftertheirrightsastheydonow。Herehehadlivednooneknewhowlong，asolitaryman。Itwasoftenrumouredthathewastobeturnedoutandhiscottagepulleddown，butsomehowitnevercametopass；andhispigsandcowwentgrazingonthecommon，andhisgeesehissedatthepassingchildrenandattheheelsofthehorseofmylord’ssteward，whooftenrodebywithacovetouseyeontheinclosurestillunmolested。Hisdwellingwassomemilesfromourvillage；soBenjy，whowashalfashamedofhiserrand，andwhollyunabletowalkthere，hadtoexercisemuchingenuitytogetthemeansoftransportinghimselfandTomthitherwithoutexcitingsuspicion。However，onefineMaymorninghemanagedtoborrowtheoldblindponyofourfriendthepublican，andTompersuadedMadamBrowntogivehimaholidaytospendwitholdBenjy，andtolendthemtheSquire’slightcart，storedwithbreadandcoldmeatandabottleofale。
AndsothetwoinhighgleestartedbehindoldDobbin，andjoggedalongthedeep-ruttedplashyroads，whichhadnotbeenmendedaftertheirwinter’swear，towardsthedwellingofthewizard。Aboutnoontheypassedthegatewhichopenedontothelargecommon，andoldDobbintoiledslowlyupthehill，whileBenjypointedoutalittledeepdingleontheleft，outofwhichwelledatinystream。Astheycreptupthehillthetopsofafewbirch-treescameinsight，andbluesmokecurlingupthroughtheirdelicatelightboughs；andthenthelittlewhitethatchedhomeandinclosedgroundofFarmerIves，lyingcradledinthedingle，withthegaygorsecommonrisingbehindandonbothsides；whileinfront，aftertraversingagentleslope，theeyemighttravelformilesandmilesovertherichvale。Theynowleftthemainroadandstruckintoagreentrackoverthecommonmarkedlightlywithwheelandhorse-shoe，whichleddownintothedingleandstoppedattheroughgateofFarmerIves。Heretheyfoundthefarmer，aniron-grayoldman，withabushyeyebrowandstrongaquilinenose，busiedinoneofhisvocations。Hewasahorseandcowdoctor，andwastendingasickbeastwhichhadbeensentuptobecured。Benjyhailedhimasanoldfriend，andhereturnedthegreetingcordiallyenough，lookinghoweverhardforamomentbothatBenjyandTom，toseewhethertherewasmoreintheirvisitthanappearedatfirstsight。ItwasaworkofsomedifficultyanddangerforBenjytoreachtheground，which，however，hemanagedtodowithoutmishap；andthenhedevotedhimselftounharnessingDobbinandturninghimoutforagraze(“arun“onecouldnotsayofthatvirtuoussteed)onthecommon。Thisdone，heextricatedthecoldprovisionsfromthecart，andtheyenteredthefarmer’swicket；andhe，shuttinguptheknifewithwhichhewastakingmaggotsoutofthecow’sbackandsides，accompaniedthemtowardsthecottage。Abigoldlurchergotupslowlyfromthedoor-stone，stretchingfirstonehindlegandthentheother，andtakingTom’scaressesandthepresenceofToby，whokept，however，atarespectfuldistance，withequalindifference。
“Usbecumtopay’eeavisit。I’veabeenlongmindedtodo’tforoldsake’ssake，onlyIvindsIdwon’tgetaboutnowasI’dusedto’t。Ibesoplaguybadwi’th’rheumatizinmyback。“
Benjypaused，inhopesofdrawingthefarmeratonceonthesubjectofhisailmentswithoutfurtherdirectapplication。
“Ah，Iseeasyoubean’tquitesolissomasyouwas，“repliedthefarmer，withagrimsmile，asheliftedthelatchofhisdoor；“webean’tsoyoungaswewas，notheronus，wussluck。“
Thefarmer’scottagewasverylikethoseofthebetterclassofpeasantryingeneral。Asnugchimneycornerwithtwoseats，andasmallcarpetonthehearth，anoldflintgunandapairofspursoverthefireplace，adresserwithshelvesonwhichsomebrightpewterplatesandcrockerywarewerearranged，anoldwalnuttable，afewchairsandsettles，someframedsamplers，andanoldprintortwo，andabookcasewithsomedozenvolumesonthewalls，arackwithflitchesofbacon，andotherstoresfastenedtotheceiling，andyouhavethebestpartofthefurniture。Nosignofoccultartistobeseen，unlessthebundlesofdriedherbshangingtotherackandintheingleandtherowoflabelledphialsononeoftheshelvesbetokenit。
Tomplayedaboutwithsomekittenswhooccupiedthehearth，andwithagoatwhowalkeddemurelyinattheopendoor——whiletheirhostandBenjyspreadthetablefordinner——andwassoonengagedinconflictwiththecoldmeat，towhichhedidmuchhonour。Thetwooldmen’stalkwasofoldcomradesandtheirdeeds，muteingloriousMiltonsoftheVale，andofthedoingsthirtyyearsback，whichdidn’tinteresthimmuch，exceptwhentheyspokeofthemakingofthecanal；andthenindeedhebegantolistenwithallhisears，andlearned，tohisnosmallwonder，thathisdearandwonderfulcanalhadnotbeentherealways——wasnot，infact，sooldasBenjyorFarmerIves，whichcausedastrangecommotioninhissmallbrain。
AfterdinnerBenjycalledattentiontoawartwhichTomhadontheknucklesofhishand，andwhichthefamilydoctorhadbeentryinghisskillonwithoutsuccess，andbeggedthefarmertocharmitaway。FarmerIveslookedatit，mutteredsomethingoranotheroverit，andcutsomenotchesinashortstick，whichhehandedtoBenjy，givinghiminstructionsforcuttingitdownoncertaindays，andcautioningTomnottomeddlewiththewartforafortnight。Andthentheystrolledoutandsatonabenchinthesunwiththeirpipes，andthepigscameupandgruntedsociablyandletTomscratchthem；andthefarmer，seeinghowhelikedanimals，stoodupandheldhisarmsintheair，andgaveacall，whichbroughtaflockofpigeonswheelinganddashingthroughthebirch-trees。Theysettleddowninclustersonthefarmer’sarmsandshoulders，makinglovetohimandscramblingoveroneanother’sbackstogettohisface；andthenhethrewthemalloff，andtheyflutteredaboutcloseby，andlightedonhimagainandagainwhenhehelduphisarms。Allthecreaturesabouttheplacewerecleanandfearless，quiteunliketheirrelationselsewhere；andTombeggedtobetaughthowtomakeallthepigsandcowsandpoultryinourvillagetame，atwhichthefarmeronlygaveoneofhisgrimchuckles。
Itwasn’ttilltheywerejustreadytogo，andoldDobbinwasharnessed，thatBenjybroachedthesubjectofhisrheumatismagain，detailinghissymptomsonebyone。Pooroldboy！HehopedthefarmercouldcharmitawayaseasilyashecouldTom’swart，andwasreadywithequalfaithtoputanothernotchedstickintohisotherpocket，forthecureofhisownailments。
Thephysicianshookhishead，butneverthelessproducedabottle，andhandedittoBenjy，withinstructionsforuse。“Notas’t’lldo’eemuchgood——leastwaysIbeafeardnot，“shadinghiseyeswithhishand，andlookingupattheminthecart。
“There’sonlyonethingasIknowsonas’llcureoldfolkslikeyouandIo’th’rheumatiz。“
“Wotbethatthen，farmer？“inquiredBenjy。
“Churchyardmould，“saidtheoldiron-grayman，withanotherchuckle。Andsotheysaidtheirgood-byesandwenttheirwayshome。Tom’swartwasgoneinafortnight，butnotsoBenjy’srheumatism，whichlaidhimbytheheelsmoreandmore。AndthoughTomstillspentmanyanhourwithhim，ashesatonabenchinthesunshine，orbythechimneycornerwhenitwascold，hesoonhadtoseekelsewhereforhisregularcompanions。
Tomhadbeenaccustomedoftentoaccompanyhismotherinhervisitstothecottages，andhadtherebymadeacquaintancewithmanyofthevillageboysofhisownage。TherewasJobRudkin，sonofwidowRudkin，themostbustlingwomanintheparish。HowshecouldeverhavehadsuchastolidboyasJobforachildmustalwaysremainamystery。ThefirsttimeTomwenttotheircottagewithhismother，Jobwasnotindoors；butheenteredsoonafter，andstoodwithbothhandsinhispockets，staringatTom。WidowRudkin，whowouldhavehadtocrossmadamtogetatyoungHopeful——abreachofgoodmannersofwhichshewaswhollyincapable——beganaseriesofpantomimesigns，whichonlypuzzledhim；andatlast，unabletocontainherselflonger，burstoutwith，“Job！Job！where’sthycap？“
“What！bean’t’eeonmahead，mother？“repliedJob，slowlyextricatingonehandfromapocket，andfeelingforthearticleinquestion；whichhefoundonhisheadsureenough，andleftthere，tohismother’shorrorandTom’sgreatdelight。
ThentherewaspoorJacobDodson，thehalf-wittedboy，whoambledaboutcheerfully，undertakingmessagesandlittlehelpfuloddsandendsforeveryone，which，however，poorJacobmanagedalwayshopelesslytoimbrangle。Everythingcametopiecesinhishands，andnothingwouldstopinhishead。TheynicknamedhimJacobDoodle-calf。
ButabovealltherewasHarryWinburn，thequickestandbestboyintheparish。HemightbeayearolderthanTom，butwasverylittlebigger，andhewastheCrichtonofourvillageboys。Hecouldwrestleandclimbandrunbetterthanalltherest，andlearnedallthattheschoolmastercouldteachhimfasterthanthatworthyatallliked。Hewasaboytobeproudof，withhiscurlybrownhair，keengrayeye，straightactivefigure，andlittleearsandhandsandfeet，“asfineasalord’s，“asCharityremarkedtoTomoneday，talking，asusual，greatnonsense。Lords’handsandearsandfeetarejustasuglyasotherfolk’swhentheyarechildren，asanyonemayconvincehimselfifhelikestolook。Tightbootsandgloves，anddoingnothingwiththem，Iallowmakeadifferencebythetimetheyaretwenty。
NowthatBenjywaslaidontheshelf，andhisyoungbrotherswerestillunderpetticoatgovernment，Tom，insearchofcompanions，begantocultivatethevillageboysgenerallymoreandmore。SquireBrown，beitsaid，wasatrue-blueTorytothebackbone，andbelievedhonestlythatthepowerswhichbewereordainedofGod，andthatloyaltyandsteadfastobedienceweremen’sfirstduties。Whetheritwereinconsequenceorinspiteofhispoliticalcreed，Idonotmeantogiveanopinion，thoughIhaveone；butcertainitisthatheheldtherewithdiverssocialprinciplesnotgenerallysupposedtobetrueblueincolour。Foremostofthese，andtheonewhichtheSquirelovedtopropoundaboveallothers，wasthebeliefthatamanistobevaluedwhollyandsolelyforthatwhichheisinhimself，forthatwhichstandsupinthefourfleshlywallsofhim，apartfromclothes，rank，fortune，andallexternalswhatsoever。
WhichbeliefItaketobeawholesomecorrectiveofallpoliticalopinions，and，ifheldsincerely，tomakeallopinionsequallyharmless，whethertheybeblue，red，orgreen。Asanecessarycorollarytothisbelief，SquireBrownheldfurtherthatitdidn’tmatterastrawwhetherhissonassociatedwithlords’sonsorploughmen’ssons，providedtheywerebraveandhonest。Hehimselfhadplayedfootballandgonebird-nestingwiththefarmerswhomhemetatvestryandthelabourerswhotilledtheirfields，andsohadhisfatherandgrandfather，withtheirprogenitors。SoheencouragedTominhisintimacywiththeboysofthevillage，andforwardeditbyallmeansinhispower，andgavethemtherunofacloseforaplayground，andprovidedbatsandballsandafootballfortheirsports。
Ourvillagewasblessedamongstotherthingswithawell-endowedschool。Thebuildingstoodbyitself，apartfromthemaster’shouse，onanangleofgroundwherethreeroadsmet——anoldgraystonebuildingwithasteeproofandmullionedwindows。OnoneoftheoppositeanglesstoodSquireBrown’sstablesandkennel，withtheirbackstotheroad，overwhichtoweredagreatelm-
tree；onthethirdstoodthevillagecarpenterandwheelwright’slargeopenshop，andhishouseandtheschoolmaster’s，withlongloweaves，underwhichtheswallowsbuiltbyscores。
ThemomentTom’slessonswereover，hewouldnowgethimdowntothiscornerbythestables，andwatchtilltheboyscameoutofschool。Heprevailedonthegroomtocutnotchesforhiminthebarkoftheelmsothathecouldclimbintothelowerbranches；
