Bramble

“ As the fire sank down so did the people go away; at last there was no one to be seen: we remained more than half an hour watching; light after light disappeared, and all was quiet as death.
“Now’s our time,” said Bramble, “but still we must be cautious; let us follow one another at about ten yards apart: if we meet with any one, pretend to be reeling as if drunk, and they may think we are privateer’s-men not yet gone to bed.” ”

“ There is the poisonous hemlock, the ivy which kills the tree that it embraces, thorns denoting the lesser sins, and the brambles which are the emblems of the greater ones. According to Raban Maur the bramble is also an emblem of the riches which destroy the soul. ”

“ The brambles, too, all hoops and arches, have the air of dying things, though white blossoms still continue to appear, and the fruit is not yet all ripened and many of the leaves are as red and bright as flowers. The edges of most of the leaves have began to crumple: they are victims of a creeping sickness that eats into them and dirties them, and makes bramble and fern together an inextricable wilderness of refuse. ”

“ There was a cloud apparently shadowing each face there; there was constantly some trouble of a domestic character. Sir Robert and Lady Bramble seemed to be not on the best of terms with each other, and the servants wore a hang-dog look, as though they expected at any moment to be called to account for some piece of rascality. There was, however, one pleasant face in that household, though even that seemed tempered by sadness; this was the youngest brother, Charles. ”

“ We rounded the North Foreland, and long before dark anchored in the Downs. Bramble went no further with the vessel, the captain himself being a good pilot for the Channel. A Deal boat came alongside, we got into it, they landed us on the shingle beach, and I followed Bramble up to his abode.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Bramble's Method of Education proves very effective—He also points out a Position in which you may prefer your Enemies to your Friends! ”

“ Bramble appears to be mildly dictatorial, or gently critical, or sadly reproachful, you will understand that it is habit with him, and not the captiousness of old age. It was his custom to shake his head reprovingly, or to frown in a pained sort of way, or to purse his lips, or even to verbally take Mr. Trotter to task when that young man deviated,—not always accidentally,—from certain rules of deportment laid down for him to follow in his earliest efforts to be a "little gentleman." ”

“ Some people wrote letters which appeared to the world exceedingly wise, whilst others published ideas which every one agreed to be remarkably foolish, but none of them ever hit upon the right cause of this catastrophe, and possibly many others of a like character, nor did any person ever dream for a moment that the whole of the affair was owing to the whim of old Bramble-buffer and his desire to try his strength upon the waves of the ocean. ”

“ So saying, he caught Master Bramble, who happened to be the nearest offender within reach, by the collar of his coat, and lugged him bodily into the class-room.
“There, now! Do you know this gentleman? He’s a monitor. ”

“ The Bramble must be of peculiar growth, forming an arch rooting at both ends, and if possible reaching into two proprietors’ lands; so that a Bramble is by preference selected, of which the original root is in the hedge of one owner, and the end of the branch forming the arch is rooted in the meadow of another.——The Bramble has funereal associations, and its young shoots have long been used to bind down the sods on newly-made graves in village churchyards. ”

“ So when Master Bramble-buffer became tired of all these occupations and amusements he had few resources left. Persons of his description are not given to literary or intellectual pursuits, and in all probability both reading and writing were accomplishments entirely unknown to the ordinary class of giants. Eating, drinking, and sleeping appeared to be the chief objects for which these creatures existed, except to make themselves generally disagreeable to their neighbours, which was an object in which it is quite true that they rarely failed to achieve complete success. ”

“ Masts for Shipping: The very Sweat of my Body is a Sovereign Remedy for the Sick and Wounded: Whereas the Rascally Bramble runs creeping in the Dirt, and serves for No Purpose in the World but Mischief. ”

“ We hear much at all periods of “the circular labour” [205] of the company and “the ring of folly.” [224] Matthew Bramble found one half of the company “following one another’s tails in an eternal circle like asses in an olive mill while the other half are drinking hot water under the denomination of tea.” Mr. Bramble exacted much from places of amusement, but it is to be suspected from other testimonies that there was an atmosphere of dulness, a note of ennui, about the ordinary diversions of this fashionable rendezvous. ”

“ Tommy walked beside Muffs in order to give directions although that was properly the work of the silent Guide. Mary trudged on behind as it was her turn to carry the basket of lunch. They had passed the apple orchard and were following the trail which might, if their play came true, lead to the Bramble Bush Man’s house. There couldn’t be a real Bramble Bush Man. At least the children couldn’t see exactly how a man could scratch his eyes out and then scratch them in again and still be wondrous wise. ”

“ It is also possible that the German aeroplanes will cease to fly, and that General Bramble will take a dislike to the gramophone. I should not be surprised at any of these things; I should simply recognize that supernatural forces had come into our lives."
"Doctor," said Aurelle, "you know the clock which my orderly Brommit winds up every evening? Let us suppose that on one of the molecules that go to make up the minute-hand of that clock there live a race of beings who are infinitely small, and yet as intelligent as we are. ”

“ But somehow they are not much afraid of Bramble, whereat Bramble is particularly furious, and summons Padger to a “meeting” about once a week in his study, there to take counsel against these irreverent Buttercups and Daisies.
About the only other fellow the reader will recollect is Paul, now in the Sixth, a steady-going sort of fellow, who, by the way, has just won the Nightingale Scholarship, greatly to the delight of his particular friend the captain. ”

“ Venn moved his elbow towards a hollow in which a dense brake of purple-stemmed brambles had grown to such vast dimensions as almost to form a dell. Brambles, though churlish when handled, are kindly shelter in early winter, being the latest of the deciduous bushes to lose their leaves. ”

“ How pleasant it is from the height of the embankment to look down upon the tops of the oaks! The stubbles stretch away, crossed with bands of green roots where the partridges are hiding. Among flags and weeds the moorhens feed fearlessly as we roll over the stream: then comes a cutting, and more heath and hawkweed, harebell, and bramble bushes red with unripe berries.
Flowers grow high up the sides of the quarries; flowers cling to the dry, crumbling chalk of the cliff-like cutting; flowers bloom on the verge above, against the line of the sky, and over the dark arch of the tunnel. ”

“ A FIR-TREE was boasting to a Bramble, and said, somewhat contemptuously, “You poor creature, you are of no use whatever. Now, look at me: I am useful for all sorts of things, particularly when men build houses ”

“ I did so, and then Bramble explained to me how the fathoms were marked on the line, and how the soundings were given out.
“You see,” said he, “wherever there is a mark with a piece of leather or bunting, whether it be white or red, it is called a mark; and if you had five fathoms of water, you would cry out by the mark five; but at the other depths there are no marks, but so many knots tied as there are fathoms, as here at nine ”

“ He, with his friend, Padger, and a few other irreconcilables, were just returning from a rat-catching expedition, and the sight of the Fifth Form heroes in boating costume filled them with joy.
“Hullo—my eye—hurrah!” shouted Bramble, taking in the situation in a moment. “There they go! I hope they get drowned ”

“ Any plant of the genus Rubus, including the raspberry and blackberry. Hence: Any rough, prickly shrub. The thorny brambles, and embracing bushes. Shak. 2. (Zo”l.) The brambling or bramble finch. Bram¶ble bush· (?) . (Bot.) The bramble, or a collection of brambles growing together. He jumped into a bramble bush And scratched out both his eyes. Mother Goose. Bram¶bled (?) , a. Overgrown with brambles. Forlorn she sits upon the brambled floor. T.Warton. Bram¶ble net· (?) . A net to catch birds. ”

“ The brambles are particularly valuable shrubs, as owing to their dense growth they may be used for a variety of purposes, but especially for covering unsightly objects or banks. They are all wonderfully floriferous, and succeed admirably even in very poor and stony soils. Increase is readily obtained either from root suckers or by layering. ”

“ Brambles, clumps of nettles, hedges, the edges of little copses, heaps of stones, are favourite places of retreat, affording shelter, holes, and the vicinity of mice, which form its chief sustenance. At harvest-time it is often found in cornfields, and it frequently hides in the sheaves. ”

“ To dream of passing through places covered with Brambles, portends troubles; if they prick you, secret enemies will do you an injury with your friends; if they draw blood, expect heavy losses in trade. To dream of passing through Brambles unhurt, denotes a triumph over enemies.
Breakstone.—See Saxifrage.
BROOM.—The English royal line of Plantagenet undoubtedly derived its name from the Broom (Planta genista) , the Gen of the Celts, the Genêt of the French, and from time immemorial the badge of Brittany. ”

“ On the contrary, I admire the vitality of your mind. You've evidently got beliefs of your own; that's a very good sign indeed. It's just that they will not admit the obligation of going to a place of public worship on a Sunday, that's all. I presume I am taking you correctly?'
"'Yes, sir, quite correctly.'
"'What an admirable coincidence, Brommit! For a long time I've been looking for somebody to scrub the stairs thoroughly on Sundays, while the men are at church. Sergeant-major, put Brommit down as an Agnostic—on permanent fatigue for scrubbing the stairs on Sunday mornings.'" ”

“ A few here and there affected to be vendors of fruit and vegetables; but the mass were simply loungers reduced to the miserable condition of an apathy which saw nothing better to be done with life than dream it away. While Bramleigh and L'Estrange were full of horror at the wretchedness of the place, their sisters were almost wild with delight at its barbaric beauty, its grand savagery, and its brilliantly picturesque character. ”

“ They want a chaplain there.”
“But you're not a Catholic priest, L'Estrange.”
“No, sir. It is an English community that wants a parson.”
“I see; and you think this would suit you?”
“There are some great attractions about it; the country, the climate, and the sort of life, all have a certain fascination for me, and Julia is most eager about it.”
“The young lady has ambition,” muttered Bramleigh to himself. “But what can I do, L'Estrange? I don't own a rood of land at Albano. I have n't a villa,—not even a fig-tree there. I could subscribe to the church fund, if there be such a thing ”

“ Haven't I as much right to bring my wife to Paris as you have? Give and take, if you please"——
"No, bless-ed," sagely and sarcastically interposed Mrs Brammel, "I ain't so rich as Mrs Allcraft; I can't dress so fine; we ain't sich gentle-folks"——
"Mr Brammel, pray let us have no more recrimination. I have met you here by the merest chance. It is my duty to speak to you at once, and very seriously, on your position. You are mistaken if you suppose that my own pleasure has brought me here; business—important, weighty business—is the sole cause, I can assure you." ”

“ Colonel Bramleigh's face grew crimson, but he coughed to keep down his rising indignation, and slightly bowed his head.
“You know as well as I do, that the world has only two sorts of people,—nobs and snobs; one has no choice—if you 're not one, you must be the other.”
“And yet, sir, men of mind and intellect have written about the untitled nobility of England.”
“Silver without the hall-mark, Bramleigh, won't bring six shillings an ounce, just because nobody can say how far it's adulterated; it's the same with people.”
“Your tact, sir, is on a par with your wisdom.” ”

“ Cutbill,” said Bramleigh, as he entered; “but I am half expecting a summons to town, and could not exactly be sure of an opportunity to talk over this matter on which Lord Culduff is very urgent to have my opinion.”
“It is not easy, I confess, to tear oneself away from such society. Your daughters are charming musicians, Colonel. Miss Bramleigh's style is as brilliant as Meyer's; and Miss Eleanor has a delicacy of touch I have never heard surpassed.” ”

“ Brahms is the test. Whoso dreads solitude will likewise dread his elemental humour.
It kept me company, this melodious and endearing fairy, till where a path, diverging to the right, led up to the ruins already visible. There the ethereal comrade took flight, scared, maybe, because my senses took on a grossly mundane complexion--it is a way they have, thank God--became absorbed, that is, in the contemplation of certain blackberries wherewith the hedge was loaded. I thought: the tons of blackberries that fall to earth in Italy, unheeded! ”