When he went out gunning he always
remembered to shoot a hawk or some strangely-painted bird for us; it
was even better when he went fishing, for then he took us with him,
and while he stood motionless on the bank, rod in hand, looking, in
the light-blue suit he always wore, like a vast blue pillar crowned
with that broad red face, we romped on the sward, and revelled in the
dank fragrance of the earth and rushes.
I have not the faintest notion of who Captain Scott was, or of what he
was ever captain, or whether residence in a warm climate or hard
drinking had dyed his broad countenance with that deep magenta red,
nor of how and when he finished his earthly career; for when we moved
away the huge purple-faced strange-looking man dropped for ever out of
our lives; yet in my mind how beautiful his gigantic image looks! And
to this day I bless his memory for all the sweets he gave me, in a
land where sweets were scarce, and for his friendliness to me when I
was a very small boy.
The second well-remembered individual was also only an occasional
visitor at our house, and was known all over the surrounding country
as the Hermit, for his name was never discovered. He was perpetually
on the move, visiting in turn every house within a radius of forty or
fifty miles; and once about every seven or eight weeks he called on us
to receive a few articles of food--enough for the day's consumption.
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