Section 201. THE TWO SCHOOLBOYS, OR EYES AND NO EYES[1]. I.
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Section 201. THE TWO SCHOOLBOYS, OR EYES AND NO EYES[1]. I.
“Well, Robert, where have you been walking[2] this afternoon?” said a tutor to one of his pupils, at the close[3] of a holiday.
Robert.—I have been to Millthorp-Heath, and so round by[4] the windmill upon Camp-Mount, and home through the meadows by the river side.
Tutor.—Well, that is a pleasant round[5].
Robert.—I thought[6] it very dull, sir; I scarcely met with a single person. I would much rather have gone[7] along the turnpike-road.
Tutor.—To be sure, if seeing men and horses is your object[8], you are, indeed, better entertained on the high-road. But did you not see William (S. 48, N. 2)?
Robert.—We set out together[9]; but he lagged behind in the lane, and so[10] I walked on and left him.
Tutor.—That was a pity. He would have been company for you.
Robert.—Oh, he is so tedious, always stopping to look at this thing or that! I would rather walk alone[11]. I dare say he is not come yet.
Tutor.—Here he comes. Well, William, where have you been?
William.—Oh, the pleasantest walk[12]! I went all over Millthorp-Heath, and so up to the mill at the top of the hill, and then down among the green meadows by the side of the river home again.
Tutor.—Why, that is just the round Robert has been taking, and he complains of its dulness and prefers the high-road.
William.—I wonder at that. I am sure I hardly took a step that did not delight me; and I have brought home my handkerchief full of curiosities[13].
Tutor.—Suppose[14], then, you give us an account of what amused you so much. I fancy it will[15] be as new to Robert as to me.
William.—I will do it readily. The lane leading to the heath, you know, is close[16] and sandy, so I did not mind it much, but made the best of my way[17]. However, I spied a curious thing enough[18] in the hedge. It was an old crab-tree, out of which grew a bunch of something green[19], quite different from the tree itself. Here is a branch of it.
Tutor.—Ah! this is mistletoe, a plant of great fame[20] for the use made of it by the Druids of old[21], in their religious rites and incantations. It bears[22] a very slimy, white berry, of which bird-lime may be made, whence[23] its Latin name “viscum.” It is one of those plants which do not grow in the ground by a root of their own[24], but fix themselves upon other plants; whence[25] they have been humourously[26] styled “parasitical,” as being hangers on, or dependents. It was the mistletoe of the oak that the Druids particularly honoured.