Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

2. The Saint and his family appear before the Bishop of Rome renouncing their worldly possessions and becoming outcasts.

3. His wife is taken off by pirates in a ship; on the right the father and sons stand praying on the shore.

4. St Eustace and his boys reach a river swollen by torrents. Having swum to the opposite side with one of the children, he returns for the other. As he reaches the middle of the stream a wolf runs off with the child he has left. He looks back and beholds a lion in the act of carrying off the other child. We see St Eustace praying in the midst of the river.

5. Fifteen years pass by. St Eustace has recovered his wife and sons and is the victorious general of the Emperor Hadrian, who orders a great sacrifice to the gods in honour of his victories. Eustace and his family refuse to offer incense. We see them being roasted to death in a brazen bull. The Emperor Hadrian stands on the left with a drawn sword in his hand.

6. At the top of the painting two angels hold a sheet containing the four souls; the Spirit of God in the form of a dove descends to receive them into heaven.

The date of the painting is about 1480; the work is highly skilled in an English tradition and is a magnificent example of wall painting of this date.

Wel soons I begun to read it I had to say, “I dont even know ½ these words. Whats a Legend? How dyou say a guvner S with a littl t?”

Goodparley said, “I can as plain the mos of it to you. Some parts is easyer workit out nor others theres bits of it wewl never know for cern jus what they mean. What this writing is its about some kynd of picter or dyergam which we dont have that picter all we have is the writing. Parbly that picter ben some kynd of a seakert thing becaws this here writing (I dont mean the writing youre holding in your han I mean the writing time back way back what this is wrote the same as) its cernly seakert. Its blipful it aint jus only what it seams to be its the syn and foller of some thing else. A Legend thats a picter whats depicted which is to say pictert on a wall its done with some kynd of paint callit fidelity . St is short for sent. Meaning this bloak Eustace he dint jus tern up he wer sent. A.D. 120 thats the year count they use to have it gone from Year 1 right the way to Bad Time. A.D. means All Done. 120 years all done theyre saying thats when they begun this picter in 120 nor they never got it finisht til 1480 is what it says here wel you know there aint no picter cud take 1360 years to do these here year numbers is about some thing else may be wewl never know what.”

I said, “What year is it now by that count?”

He said, “We dont know jus how far that count ever got becaws Bad Time put a end to it. Theres a stoan in the Power Ring stannings has the year number 1997 cut in to it nor we aint never seen no year number farther on nor that. After Bad Time dint no 1 write down no year count for a long time we dont know how long til the Mincery begun agen. Since we startit counting its come to 2347 o.c. which means Our Count.”

I said, “Dyou mean to tel me them befor us by the time they done 1997 years they had boats in the air and all them things and here we are weve done 2347 years and mor and stil slogging in the mud?”

He put his han on my sholder he said, “Now youre talking jus like me I dont know how many times Ive said that. Now you see the woal thing what Im getting at its why Im all ways strest and straint Im jus a woar out man. Riddley we aint as good as them befor us. Weve come way way down from what they ben time back way back. May be it wer the barms what done it poysening the lan or when they made a hoal in what they callit the 0 Zoan. Which that O Zoan you cant see it but its there its holding in the air we breave. You make a hoal in it and Woosh! No mor air. Wel word ben past down thats what happent time back way black. You hear what I said? I said time back way black . You ever hear the story of why the crow is black and curses all the time?”

Thru the smoak hoal I cud see the nite thinning out and the day coming on. I dint want to hear no storys about crows. I said, “Wheres Orfing is he gone after Lissener?”

He said, “Gone a head of him to Cambry.”

I said, “Waiting a jump on him.”

He said, “Keaping a eye and a ear on him til I get there.”

I said, “Whatwl you do when you get there?”

He said, “Iwl do what I ben doing Iwl go on asking wont I. Do some Cambry asking then its up to Horny Boy and begin that woal Fools Circel over agen becaws it ben broak this time.”

I said, “You going to help the qwirys on him?”

He said, “Whats the use of helping qwirys on him that poor simpo I dont think he knows nothing to tel no moren any of them ever do. I do like other Pry Mincers done befor me becaws thats what the Mincery wants. Im terning them frontwards in a woal lot of ways only I cant do it all at 1ce. We aint none of us what you cud call qwick but mos of them roun me theyre 2ce as unqwick as I am Iwl tel you that. May be you ben thinking Im your nemminy but that aint how it is. You think like I do you feal like I do we aint nemminys. Its them as cant think nor feal none of them things theyre the nemminy. Them peopl as jus want to hol on to what theyve got theyre afeart to chance any thing theyre afeart to move even 1 littl step forit. I dont care if its Mincery or forms or fentses its them as wont move theyre the nemminy. Riddley may be you dont know it but you dont have no better frend nor me?”

I dint say nothing.

He give me a littl shake and took his han off my sholder. He said, “Wel never mynd les get on with this here writing. XVth century parbly thats old spel for some kynd of senter where they done this thing theyre telling of in this blipful writing. Episodes thats when you do a thing 1 part at a time youve got to get the 1st episode done befor you go on to the nex. Thats how youwl do if youre working chemistery or fizzics. Youwl do your boyl ups and your try outs in episodes, ‘ Wooded landscape with many small hamlets. ’ Wel thats littl pigs innit then theres a variety which thats like a pack or a herd and creatures thats creachers parbly dogs. May be Folleree and Folleroo in that pack who knows. May be them littl pigs is the many cools and party cools weare looking for becaws this here is blipful writing it aint strait. ‘ Meanders to the open sea. ’ Mazy ways to a open see meaning a look see is what I take that to mean. Whatre we follering them mazy ways for? Have a look right here now weare coming on to the nuts and balls of the thing weare coming to the hart of the matter and the Hart of the Wud where them dogs is on the foller of them littl pigs. Whats at the bottom of the thing and whats this sent bloaks name? Wel it says right here: ‘ At the bottom of the painting St Eustace ’. That name mynd you of any other name?”

I said, “Eusa.”

He said, “Thats it. Its the very same name jus woar down a littl. Who ever this bloak wer what wrote our Eusa Story he connectit his self to this here Legend or dyergam and the chemistery and fizzics of it becaws this here Legend writing and the Eusa Story the 2 of them ben past down to gether in the Mincery. ‘ St Eustace is seen on his knees before his quarry. ’ Which a quarry is a kynd of digging. Whys he on his knees? What brung him down what knockt him off his feet? What come out of that digging? A stag . Wel thats our Hart of the Wud innit we know him wel a nuff. Whats he got be twean his antlers its ‘ a cross of radiant light ’. Which is the same as radiating lite or radiation which may be youve heard of.”

I said, “No I never.”