Gentlemen of the Road

You know from experience that one thing leads to another. If you sleep Cause and Effect through your alarm, you know you'll be late for school and you'll miss your favorite class-English. Sleeping through your alarm is a cause-it makes something happen. An effect is what happens as a result of some event-you're late for school and miss English.

You could go on. Being late for English class causes you to have to make up the time after school. Making up the time causes you to miss tryouts for fbotball. Missing tryouts causes you to lose the chance to impress a certain girl. So you lose the girl, and it all can be traced to sleeping through an alarm.

When you read a text and ask, "Why did this ha-ppen?" and "What happened because of this?" you are asking about causes and effects. To find causes and the'ir effects, look for signal terms such as cause, effect, resulted in, so, thus, and because.

See the example to the right of a cause-and-effect chart. You may also wish to turn to page 200, and fi l l out the cause-and-effect charts as you

What Happened Some people in England got very rich. Others got poorer.

Effect Government built new toll roads

for the rich to travel.

Effect Highwaymen held up

stagecoaches and carriages to get money.

Effect Highwaymen . . .

Re-read lines 1-57. find and circie another name for -the highwaymen. Why were they known by this name? ,

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w h y did people once think of highwaymen, the bandits

(like Bess-'s beloved) who robbed travelers in seventeenth-

and eighteenth-century England, as gentlemen?

To answer that question, first look at these facts. The

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw the rise of a very

wealthy class in England. England became a nation of haves

and have-nots. The rich dressed in silks and velvets. Men and

women wore huge powdered wigs. The rich lived on vast estates.

They traveled to London for rounds of parties in the winter-spring

10 season and spent summers in seaside towns, where gambling

was a favorite pastime.

As the wealthy became richer, the conditions of the poor

grew worse. Because the government did not care about their

welfare, the poor lived in filthy slums in cities and in miserable

conditions in farms and towns. In the worst years, 74 percent of

the children in London died before the age of five. These were the

social conditions that contributed to the rise of the highwaymen.

In addition, newly built toll roads ran through the

countryside, connecting towns and villages. These improved t P

20 roads brought out more travelers-rich ones. The highwaymen ; I

could stop the private carriages and the stagecoaches that used L

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-- the toll roads and rob the passengers. The highwaymen called themselves gentlemen of the road, t

1 and some people agreed-sometimes even their victims! How

I - did they come by this surprising reputation? : I

Some people saw the highwaymen not as criminals but as 1

f

the new Robin Hoods because they gave to the poor what they - had stolen from the rich (or part of it).

C i

Unceri tne the social Another reason why people thought of these bandits as P, 5 cond~tions that contributed g

30 gentlemen was that they looked the part. Most highwaymen to the rise of the L

highwaymen.. (lines. 12-22). came from poor families or, at best, middle-class ones. But once i k

they turned to a life of crime, they could afford to dress in style. t $

They wore high-heeled boots that went all the way to the hip, ! $

-. , --.. fancy shirts, long, elegant coats, and wide-brimmed hats with t

1 -. feathers. With their dashing clothes and fine horses these former t

footmen, butchers, and cheese sellers might have been mistaken , . .

. . . , for aristocrats. . ,

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. 7. .-.~$Anihic ~ h i ~ f i ~ ~ A i - r n & r MATPR~

Some highwaymen tried to act like gentlemen as well. Many would never point a gun at a lady or search her for valuables,

40 and sometimes they'd let women they robbed keep items of i I sentimental value. Highwaymen loved their horses too and took

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! pride in earning the loyalty of their steeds by treating them well. I Some highwaymen politely begged their victims' pardon as I 1 they relieved them of their money and jewels. Others took only

what they felt they needed and returned the rest to their owners. '

i In one account a robbery victim was upset about losing his E beloved watch. He offered the highwayman two guineas instead, f f 1 along with a promise not to turn him in to the authorities. The i -- - I 3 highwayman agreed, and they went off together to the man's f

50 home. The money changed hands, the two men shared a bottle I * . - f of wine, and after many courteous words on each side, the - i S 4 highwayman galloped off.

1 Number the sentences f Even when captured and sentenced to hang (the usual "1," "2," and "3" that tell

punishment for robbery in those days), some highwaymen tried why peopte thought of the highwaymen as gentlemen to behave like gentlemen. They were too proud to cry or beg for (lines 3&52).

I mercy from the authorities they defied. After the noose was tied

around their neck, some threw themselves off the scaffold - -- t 1 1 rather than wait for the wagon they stood on to be pulled from , ---- - --

beneath them. For those who romanticized the highwaymen in - 60 stories and song, this final act showed scorn for the corrupt

authorities and courage in the face of death. --

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I character traits

I of the highwaymen (lines 38-61).

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1 I -

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GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD 199

Cause-and-Eddect Charts

A cause is a force or an event that makes another event happen. An effect is what happens as a result of the cause. A cause may have several effects. For example, a lower speed l imit on highways may lead to fewer accidents and more speeding tickets being issued. An effect may have several causes. For example, fewer car accidents may be due to lower speed limits and safer car designs.

As you read "Gentlemen of the Road," think about why things happen, and also how something that happens causes other things to happen. Then, complete the two charts below with details from the selection.

I I Cause .

The wealthy class grew richer, and the poor grew poorer.

I J

Effect I

Effect 1

Effect

Effect The highwaymen were romanticized as gentlemen.

I Cause

I Cause

I Cause

63rcle the correct answer. 4. Some highwaymen didn't beg for mercy from the hangman because of

1. This article suggests that all of the fol- their - lowing might have caused the rise of the highwayman except the -

G fear A worsening conditions of the poor B rise of a very wealthy class J shame C use of capital punishment

5. Which of the following statements D newly built toll roads does not explain why some people

2. What caused people to see the high- thought of the highwaymen as waymen as the new Robin Hoods? gentlemen?

F They rode horses and used bows A The highwaymen behaved like

G They robbed from the rich and B They treated women well. gave to the poor. C They gave to the poor.

H They lived in Sherwood Forest. D They came from rich families. J They wore Robin Hood outfits.

6. In the next-to-the-last paragraph 3. The highwaymen were able to dress the writer uses the word guineas.

in style because - In the same paragraph she A they were wealthy aristocrats provides a context clue explaining

what guineas are. What are they? B they took advice from their victims C their crimes made them wealthy D they were interested in fashion

H chickens J cattle

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