Orakel Classics
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, prepared as a public-domain Orakel edition with 34 chapter-aware companion links.
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CHAPTER I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper.
CHAPTER I. The birth of the Prince and the Pauper. from The Prince and the Pauper. In the ancient city of London, on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him. All England wanted him too. England had so longed for him, and hoped for him, and prayed God for him, that, now that he was really come,
Open2CHAPTER II. Tom’s early life.
CHAPTER II. Tom’s early life. from The Prince and the Pauper. London was fifteen hundred years old, and was a great town--for that day. It had a hundred thousand inhabitants--some think double as many. The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London Bridge. The houses were of wood, with the second story projecting over the first, and the third sticking its elbows out beyond the second. The higher
Open3CHAPTER III. Tom’s meeting with the Prince.
CHAPTER III. Tom’s meeting with the Prince. from The Prince and the Pauper. Tom got up hungry, and sauntered hungry away, but with his thoughts busy with the shadowy splendours of his night’s dreams. He wandered here and there in the city, hardly noticing where he was going, or what was happening around him. People jostled him, and some gave him rough speech; but it was all lost on the musing boy. By-and-by he found himself at Temple Bar, the farthest from home he had ever travelled in that
Open4CHAPTER IV. The Prince’s troubles begin.
CHAPTER IV. The Prince’s troubles begin. from The Prince and the Pauper. After hours of persistent pursuit and persecution, the little prince was at last deserted by the rabble and left to himself. As long as he had been able to rage against the mob, and threaten it royally, and royally utter commands that were good stuff to laugh at, he was very entertaining; but when weariness finally forced him to be silent, he was no longer of use to his tormentors, and they sought amusement
Open5CHAPTER V. Tom as a Patrician.
CHAPTER V. Tom as a Patrician. from The Prince and the Pauper. Tom Canty, left alone in the prince’s cabinet, made good use of his opportunity. He turned himself this way and that before the great mirror, admiring his finery; then walked away, imitating the prince’s high-bred carriage, and still observing results in the glass. Next he drew the beautiful sword, and bowed, kissing the blade, and laying it across his breast, as he had seen a noble knight do, by way of salute to
Open6CHAPTER VI. Tom receives instructions.
CHAPTER VI. Tom receives instructions. from The Prince and the Pauper. Tom was conducted to the principal apartment of a noble suite, and made to sit down--a thing which he was loth to do, since there were elderly men and men of high degree about him. He begged them to be seated also, but they only bowed their thanks or murmured them, and remained standing. He would have insisted, but his ‘uncle’ the Earl of Hertford whispered in his
Open7CHAPTER VII. Tom’s first royal dinner.
CHAPTER VII. Tom’s first royal dinner. from The Prince and the Pauper. Somewhat after one in the afternoon, Tom resignedly underwent the ordeal of being dressed for dinner. He found himself as finely clothed as before, but everything different, everything changed, from his ruff to his stockings. He was presently conducted with much state to a spacious and ornate apartment, where a table was already set for one. Its furniture was all of massy gold, and beautified with designs which
Open8CHAPTER VIII. The Question of the Seal.
CHAPTER VIII. The Question of the Seal. from The Prince and the Pauper. About five o’clock Henry VIII. awoke out of an unrefreshing nap, and muttered to himself, “Troublous dreams, troublous dreams! Mine end is now at hand: so say these warnings, and my failing pulses do confirm it.” Presently a wicked light flamed up in his eye, and he muttered, “Yet will not I die till He go
Open9CHAPTER IX. The river pageant.
CHAPTER IX. The river pageant. from The Prince and the Pauper. At nine in the evening the whole vast river-front of the palace was blazing with light. The river itself, as far as the eye could reach citywards, was so thickly covered with watermen’s boats and with pleasure-barges, all fringed with coloured lanterns, and gently agitated by the waves, that it resembled a glowing and limitless garden of flowers stirred to soft motion by summer winds. The grand terrace of stone
Open10CHAPTER X. The Prince in the toils.
CHAPTER X. The Prince in the toils. from The Prince and the Pauper. We left John Canty dragging the rightful prince into Offal Court, with a noisy and delighted mob at his heels. There was but one person in it who offered a pleading word for the captive, and he was not heeded; he was hardly even heard, so great was the turmoil. The Prince continued to struggle for freedom, and to rage against the treatment he was suffering, until John Canty lost what little patience was left in him,
Open11CHAPTER XI. At Guildhall.
CHAPTER XI. At Guildhall. from The Prince and the Pauper. The royal barge, attended by its gorgeous fleet, took its stately way down the Thames through the wilderness of illuminated boats. The air was laden with music; the river banks were beruffled with joy-flames; the distant city lay in a soft luminous glow from its countless invisible bonfires; above it rose many a slender spire into the sky, incrusted with sparkling lights, wherefore in their remoteness they seemed
Open12CHAPTER XII. The Prince and his Deliverer.
CHAPTER XII. The Prince and his Deliverer. from The Prince and the Pauper. As soon as Miles Hendon and the little prince were clear of the mob, they struck down through back lanes and alleys toward the river. Their way was unobstructed until they approached London Bridge; then they ploughed into the multitude again, Hendon keeping a fast grip upon the Prince’s--no, the King’s--wrist. The tremendous news was already abroad, and the boy learned it from a thousand voices at once--“The King is
Open13CHAPTER XIII. The disappearance of the Prince.
CHAPTER XIII. The disappearance of the Prince. from The Prince and the Pauper. Hendon disapparelled the boy without dissent or remark, tucked him up in bed, then glanced about the room, saying to himself, ruefully, “He hath taken my bed again, as before--marry, what shall I do?” The little King observed his perplexity, and dissipated it with a word. He said,
Open14CHAPTER XIV. ‘Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.’
CHAPTER XIV. ‘Le Roi est mort--vive le Roi.’ from The Prince and the Pauper. Toward daylight of the same morning, Tom Canty stirred out of a heavy sleep and opened his eyes in the dark. He lay silent a few moments, trying to analyse his confused thoughts and impressions, and get some sort of meaning out of them; then suddenly he burst out in a rapturous but guarded
Open15CHAPTER XV. Tom as King.
CHAPTER XV. Tom as King. from The Prince and the Pauper. The next day the foreign ambassadors came, with their gorgeous trains; and Tom, throned in awful state, received them. The splendours of the scene delighted his eye and fired his imagination at first, but the audience was long and dreary, and so were most of the addresses--wherefore, what began as a pleasure grew into weariness and home-sickness by-and-by. Tom said the words which Hertford put into his mouth from
Open16CHAPTER XVI. The State Dinner.
CHAPTER XVI. The State Dinner. from The Prince and the Pauper. The dinner hour drew near--yet strangely enough, the thought brought but slight discomfort to Tom, and hardly any terror. The morning’s experiences had wonderfully built up his confidence; the poor little ash-cat was already more wonted to his strange garret, after four days’ habit, than a mature person could have become in a full month. A child’s facility in accommodating itself to circumstances was never more
Open17CHAPTER XVII. Foo-foo the First.
CHAPTER XVII. Foo-foo the First. from The Prince and the Pauper. Miles Hendon hurried along toward the Southwark end of the bridge, keeping a sharp look-out for the persons he sought, and hoping and expecting to overtake them presently. He was disappointed in this, however. By asking questions, he was enabled to track them part of the way through Southwark; then all traces ceased, and he was perplexed as to how to proceed. Still, he continued his efforts as best he could during
Open18CHAPTER XVIII. The Prince with the Tramps.
CHAPTER XVIII. The Prince with the Tramps. from The Prince and the Pauper. The troop of vagabonds turned out at early dawn, and set forward on their march. There was a lowering sky overhead, sloppy ground under foot, and a winter chill in the air. All gaiety was gone from the company; some were sullen and silent, some were irritable and petulant, none were gentle-humoured, all were
Open19CHAPTER XIX. The Prince with the peasants.
CHAPTER XIX. The Prince with the peasants. from The Prince and the Pauper. When the King awoke in the early morning, he found that a wet but thoughtful rat had crept into the place during the night and made a cosy bed for itself in his bosom. Being disturbed now, it scampered away. The boy smiled, and said, “Poor fool, why so fearful? I am as forlorn as thou. ‘Twould be a sham in me to hurt the helpless, who am myself so helpless. Moreover, I owe you thanks for a good omen; for when a king
Open20CHAPTER XX. The Prince and the hermit.
CHAPTER XX. The Prince and the hermit. from The Prince and the Pauper. The high hedge hid him from the house, now; and so, under the impulse of a deadly fright, he let out all his forces and sped toward a wood in the distance. He never looked back until he had almost gained the shelter of the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the distance. That was sufficient; he did not wait to scan them critically, but hurried on, and never abated his pace till he was far within the
Open21CHAPTER XXI. Hendon to the rescue.
CHAPTER XXI. Hendon to the rescue. from The Prince and the Pauper. The old man glided away, stooping, stealthy, cat-like, and brought the low bench. He seated himself upon it, half his body in the dim and flickering light, and the other half in shadow; and so, with his craving eyes bent upon the slumbering boy, he kept his patient vigil there, heedless of the drift of time, and softly whetted his knife, and mumbled and chuckled; and in aspect and attitude he resembled nothing so
Open22CHAPTER XXII. A Victim of Treachery.
CHAPTER XXII. A Victim of Treachery. from The Prince and the Pauper. Once more ‘King Foo-foo the First’ was roving with the tramps and outlaws, a butt for their coarse jests and dull-witted railleries, and sometimes the victim of small spitefulness at the hands of Canty and Hugo when the Ruffler’s back was turned. None but Canty and Hugo really disliked him. Some of the others liked him, and all admired his pluck and spirit. During two or three days, Hugo, in whose ward and charge
Open23CHAPTER XXIII. The Prince a prisoner.
CHAPTER XXIII. The Prince a prisoner. from The Prince and the Pauper. “Softly, softly, my prince, wag thy tongue warily--nay, suffer it not to wag at all. Trust in me--all shall go well in the end.” Then he added to himself: “Sir Miles! Bless me, I had totally forgot I was a knight! Lord, how marvellous a thing it is, the grip his memory doth take upon his quaint and crazy fancies! . . . An empty and foolish title is mine, and yet it is something to have deserved it; for I think it is
Open24CHAPTER XXIV. The Escape.
CHAPTER XXIV. The Escape. from The Prince and the Pauper. The short winter day was nearly ended. The streets were deserted, save for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight along, with the intent look of people who were only anxious to accomplish their errands as quickly as possible, and then snugly house themselves from the rising wind and the gathering twilight. They looked neither to the right nor to the left; they paid no attention to our party, they did
Open25CHAPTER XXV. Hendon Hall.
CHAPTER XXV. Hendon Hall. from The Prince and the Pauper. As soon as Hendon and the King were out of sight of the constable, his Majesty was instructed to hurry to a certain place outside the town, and wait there, whilst Hendon should go to the inn and settle his account. Half an hour later the two friends were blithely jogging eastward on Hendon’s sorry steeds. The King was warm and comfortable, now, for he had cast his rags and clothed himself in the second-hand suit
Open26CHAPTER XXVI. Disowned.
CHAPTER XXVI. Disowned. from The Prince and the Pauper. “No, it is not strange, my liege. I know him, and this conduct is but natural. He was a rascal from his
Open27CHAPTER XXVII. In Prison.
CHAPTER XXVII. In Prison. from The Prince and the Pauper. The cells were all crowded; so the two friends were chained in a large room where persons charged with trifling offences were commonly kept. They had company, for there were some twenty manacled and fettered prisoners here, of both sexes and of varying ages,--an obscene and noisy gang. The King chafed bitterly over the stupendous indignity thus put upon his royalty, but Hendon was moody and taciturn. He was pretty
Open28CHAPTER XXVIII. The sacrifice.
CHAPTER XXVIII. The sacrifice. from The Prince and the Pauper. Meantime Miles was growing sufficiently tired of confinement and inaction. But now his trial came on, to his great gratification, and he thought he could welcome any sentence provided a further imprisonment should not be a part of it. But he was mistaken about that. He was in a fine fury when he found himself described as a ‘sturdy vagabond’ and sentenced to sit two hours in the stocks for bearing that character and
Open29CHAPTER XXIX. To London.
CHAPTER XXIX. To London. from The Prince and the Pauper. When Hendon’s term of service in the stocks was finished, he was released and ordered to quit the region and come back no more. His sword was restored to him, and also his mule and his donkey. He mounted and rode off, followed by the King, the crowd opening with quiet respectfulness to let them pass, and then dispersing when they were
Open30CHAPTER XXX. Tom’s progress.
CHAPTER XXX. Tom’s progress. from The Prince and the Pauper. Whilst the true King wandered about the land poorly clad, poorly fed, cuffed and derided by tramps one while, herding with thieves and murderers in a jail another, and called idiot and impostor by all impartially, the mock King Tom Canty enjoyed quite a different
Open31CHAPTER XXXI. The Recognition procession.
CHAPTER XXXI. The Recognition procession. from The Prince and the Pauper. When Tom Canty awoke the next morning, the air was heavy with a thunderous murmur: all the distances were charged with it. It was music to him; for it meant that the English world was out in its strength to give loyal welcome to the great
Open32CHAPTER XXXII. Coronation Day.
CHAPTER XXXII. Coronation Day. from The Prince and the Pauper. Let us go backward a few hours, and place ourselves in Westminster Abbey, at four o’clock in the morning of this memorable Coronation Day. We are not without company; for although it is still night, we find the torch-lighted galleries already filling up with people who are well content to sit still and wait seven or eight hours till the time shall come for them to see what they may not hope to see twice in their
Open33CHAPTER XXXIII. Edward as King.
CHAPTER XXXIII. Edward as King. from The Prince and the Pauper. Miles Hendon was picturesque enough before he got into the riot on London Bridge--he was more so when he got out of it. He had but little money when he got in, none at all when he got out. The pickpockets had stripped him of his last
Open34Conclusion. Justice and retribution.
Conclusion. Justice and retribution. from The Prince and the Pauper. When the mysteries were all cleared up, it came out, by confession of Hugh Hendon, that his wife had repudiated Miles by his command, that day at Hendon Hall--a command assisted and supported by the perfectly trustworthy promise that if she did not deny that he was Miles Hendon, and stand firmly to it, he would have her life; whereupon she said, “Take it!”--she did not value it--and she would not repudiate Miles;
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