Belle and the dragon. An elfin comedy

...of a style of behavior which, in earlier times, was supposedly found on the High Street The main street of Oxford University.. But the slouch of the "Oxford Slouch" was part of his own nature, not a glory gained from his university surroundings. He was also called the "Old Serpent" and the "Mystery of Iniquity" A biblical reference to sin and lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7)., and he had other obscure titles fitting for a university graduate who had failed in every career because he had never actually attempted any.

His younger sister was affectionately called the Scorpion, the Asp, and the Rattlesnake.

By a strange quirk of fatherhood that might baffle an evolutionary scientist, the father of this gentle brood of serpents was neither a cockatrice A mythical beast, part rooster and part snake. nor a basilisk A legendary reptile said to kill with a single glance.. He had no military leanings and had never worn a uniform, but a certain circle of lively friends sometimes called him "the Colonel." However, his only true and carefully devised name gave him the grand title of "the Gadfly." His hobby was pin-hole photography, and he was an avid cyclist. Few gadflies or colonels could compare with the Master of Ravendale. Of him, the poet original: scald of the Ravens once wrote, both truly and poetically, in a moment of inspiration:

We must call that man a truly honest friend
Who never betrayed a buddy or walked past a pub;
Yet, for fear his righteous anger might flare up,
Add this—his drink was just lemon and a dash of soda!

The royal nature of the Ravens was perfectly shown in the current squire original: laird of Ravendale. Being neither tall nor short, he possessed that "golden mean" which should mark the men born to rule in all things. Since he had a light complexion, he could be said to have a fair appearance. As a man with many worries, his head was much less comfortable than that of the proverbial king A reference to Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.". Being the heir of an ancient family, his reputation had never been tarnished by working in business In the 19th century, "trade" was often looked down upon by the upper classes., even going back through his most distant ancestors.

Oh, the grandeur and dignity of the ancient Raven family! Oh, its bishops who had blessed the world! Oh, its earls with their plots and schemes original: marplots! Oh, its court officials and high chamberlains! Oh, its mansions and residences, its parks and its rabbit warrens, its coats of arms and its hyphenated names, its badges and its family heraldry original: quarterings! Oh, the past glory of all its "chivalrous, romantic deeds" and the pitiful decline of its income!

But most of all, how easily all this weight of history sat upon the Raven of Ravendale—except for the lack of money! How little he cared for dignity; how much he mocked bishops; how he erased earls from his memory; how he stopped writing to court officials; how he avoided mansions; how he ignored parks; how he dreaded family heraldry; and how he would have escaped even his own hyphenated name if possible! He completely rejected all ambition, except for the desire to run a tobacco shop and to smoke his life away.