Gentlemen of the Road
You know from experience that one
thing leads to another. If you sleep
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 fill out
the cause-and-effect charts as you
Cause and Effect
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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Unceri tne the social
cond~tionsthat contributed
to the rise of the
highwaymen.. (lines. 12-22).
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w h y did people once think of highwaymen, the bandits
(like Bess-'s beloved) who robbed travelers in seventeenthand 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
20 roads brought out more travelers-rich ones. The highwaymen
could stop the private carriages and the stagecoaches that used
the toll roads and rob the passengers.
The highwaymen called themselves gentlemen of the road,
and some people agreed-sometimes even their victims! How
did they come by this surprising reputation?
Some people saw the highwaymen not as criminals but as
the new Robin Hoods because they gave to the poor what they
had stolen from the rich (or part of it).
Another reason why people thought of these bandits as
30 gentlemen was that they looked the part. Most highwaymen
came from poor families or, at best, middle-class ones. But once
they turned to a life of crime, they could afford to dress in style.
They wore high-heeled boots that went all the way to the hip,
fancy shirts, long, elegant coats, and wide-brimmed hats with
feathers. With their dashing clothes and fine horses these former
footmen, butchers, and cheese sellers might have been mistaken
for aristocrats.
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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
sentimental value. Highwaymen loved their horses too and took
pride in earning the loyalty of their steeds by treating them well.
Some highwaymen politely begged their victims' pardon as
they relieved them of their money and jewels. Others took only
what they felt they needed and returned the rest to their owners.
In one account a robbery victim was upset about losing his
beloved watch. He offered the highwayman two guineas instead,
along with a promise not to turn him in to the authorities. The
highwayman agreed, and they went off together to the man's
50 home. The money changed hands, the two men shared a bottle
of wine, and after many courteous words on each side, the
highwayman galloped off.
Even when captured and sentenced to hang (the usual
punishment for robbery in those days), some highwaymen tried
to behave like gentlemen. They were too proud to cry or beg for
mercy from the authorities they defied. After the noose was tied
around their neck, some threw themselves off the scaffold
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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Number the sentences
"1,""2," and "3" that tell
why peopte thought of the
highwaymen as gentlemen
(lines 3&52).
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character traits
of the highwaymen
(lines 38-61).
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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 limit 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
Effect
J
I
1
Effect
Effect
Effect
The highwaymen were romanticized as gentlemen.
I
I
I
Cause
Cause
Cause
63rcle the correct answer.
4. Some highwaymen didn't beg for
1. This article suggests that all of the following might have caused the rise of
the highwayman except the A worsening conditions of the poor
B rise of a very wealthy class
C use of capital punishment
5.
D newly built toll roads
mercy from the hangman because of
their -
G fear
J
shame
waymen as the new Robin Hoods?
Which of the following statements
does not explain why some people
thought of the highwaymen as
gentlemen?
F They rode horses and used bows
A The highwaymen behaved like
G They robbed from the rich and
gave to the poor.
H They lived in Sherwood Forest.
J They wore Robin Hood outfits.
B They treated women well.
C They gave to the poor.
D They came from rich families.
2. What caused people to see the high-
6. In the next-to-the-last paragraph
3. The highwaymen were able to dress
in style because A they were wealthy aristocrats
B they took advice from their victims
C their crimes made them wealthy
D they were interested in fashion
the writer uses the word guineas.
In the same paragraph she
provides a context clue explaining
what guineas are. What are they?
H chickens
J cattle
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