Sketches of Bovey Tracey and Vicinity: By William Ellif (All rights reserved): Robert Frost: the Sunday following the discharge of Rab from Bridewell, the parish clerk, at the close of the service, notified the gentlemen and farmers that there would be a vestry meeting. On assembling they found it was respecting our worthy, in the shape of a proposition that some one of their number should employ Rab Frost for at least a week and give him sixpence a day and a quart of cider! And they agreed to pay him every night … continues … There was a deal of shrewd humour in his calculation, for he had determined to displease everyone that hired him until he came across someone that would treat him as a man and give him more than the bare pittance of sixpence a day. Old Mr. Lamble at the Bell, agreed to employ Robert Frost, who was notified the same evening … (continues) … The next Sunday brought another vestry meeting to see who would employ Robert. Old Mr. Harris of Plumley, agreed to try him … (continues) … Sunday came again and at its close another vestry meeting on our worthy’s account, and Mr. Pinsent, at Yeo, agreed to give him a trial. He was on hand in the morning and put to work trimming the young firs in a plantation; open spaces had been left at intervals of four or five rows of two rods width for raising barley, buckwheat, etc., for the pheasants, etc., as this small plantation was intended for a preserve. The trees were small, whose lower limbs were to be cut off. Rab had a great dislike of Pinsent, as morose and churlish. At dinner time he, with his knife, cut off the tops of nearly a hundred of the pines and stuck them in a straight line in the middle of one of the open spaces. In the evening Pinsent came to see how he was getting along. On arriving at the second open space, he could not immediately make out what the straight row of evergreens meant and said so. “I have cut off the tops and planted another row, and don’t they look pretty, Sir?” Rab declared many times that Pinsent’s face resembled the setting sun – perfect passion red, and threatening to flog him, had swung his cudgel around his head, which he could wield “like the man from Galway”and told him to try it. He was ordered off the grounds, “Not without my sixpence,” which was given him; he went whistling home leaving Pinsent grumbling like a bear with a sore bead. Another vestry meeting, and Mr. of Culver House, Coombe, said would see how he could get along with the rogue. Rab happened to hear of the remark and he said it stuck in his gizzard to be called rogue and Mr. Weekes should pay dear for giving him a false title. He was on hand early in the morning, He was handed a quart bottle of cider and a weeding-iron and was shown a field of wheat at a distance, and he told him to be lively and be sure to weed it clean. As soon as got there set to work as requested, lively, and he did weed it clean; he look a ridge, as it is called, (that is narrow piece varying from six to ten feet wide), and well plied his weeding-iron, for he destroyed everything green — wheat as well as weeds. He was just going to leave work as the farmer entered the field, and when he saw what was done was, as we may suppose, in a dreadful passion. “You rascal” he exclaimed, “What have you done?” “Who do you mean by rascal,” was the reply; “You, what have you done here?”, “Why, weeded it as clean as I could, but you farmers are never satisfied.” You villainous dog, there’s your sixpence, and now be gone.”Thank you sir, and I wish you good night,” was the remark. As may be supposed the next meeting at the vestry was the anathematizing principle, for nearly everyone present was wishing poor Rab to the worst place that the Revd. Mr. Domett had that evening been warning against. His doings were recapitulated and denounced; he was thought to be certainly under the control of Satan. … … (continues) … …. (Possibly Fiction!)
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