As to Partridge, he was profoundly silent; for he was not,
perhaps, perfectly recovered from his former fright; besides, he had
apprehensions of provoking his friend to a second fit of wrath,
especially as he now began to entertain a conceit, which may not,
perhaps, create any great wonder in the reader. In short, he began now
to suspect that Jones was absolutely out of his senses.
At length, Jones, being weary of soliloquy, addressed himself to his
companion, and blamed him for his taciturnity; for which the poor
man very honestly accounted, from his fear of giving offence. And
now this fear being pretty well removed, by the most absolute promises
of indemnity, Partridge again took the bridle from his tongue;
which, perhaps, rejoiced no less at regaining its liberty, than a
young colt, when the bridle is slipt from his neck, and he is turned
loose into the pastures.
As Partridge was inhibited from that topic which would have first
suggested itself, he fell upon that which was next uppermost in his
mind, namely, the Man of the Hill. "Certainly, sir," says he, "that
could never be a man, who dresses himself and lives after such a
strange manner, and so unlike other folks. Besides, his diet, as the
old woman told me, is chiefly upon herbs, which is a fitter food for a
horse than a Christian: nay, landlord at Upton says that the
neighbours thereabouts have very fearful notions about him. It runs
strangely in my head that it must have been some spirit, who, perhaps,
might be sent to forewarn us: and who knows but all that matter
which he told us, of his going to fight, and of his being taken
prisoner, and of the great danger he was in of being hanged, might
be intended as a warning to us, considering what we are going about?
besides, I dreamt of nothing all last night but of fighting; and
methought the blood ran out of my nose, as liquor out of a tap.
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