A Silver Brand — page 36: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

28 3 | A SILVER BRAND. ing concerning the Foss family, but the little in- formation obtained, during the first year of their residence among them, was the extent of the islanders’ knowledge at the end of the ten years, which still found them in possession of ,the Rock - House, evidently established there for life. They were of foreign origin; that any one of ordinary sagacity could see at once. Each look and way and dress had its own quaint peculiarity. The nation- ality had not puzzled people either, for all had unanimously pronounced them French, which was confirmed, when old Ben White came hobbling away from his first long talk with Mr. Urbanus Foss, the eldest of the family and the most com- municative, by far. “Hrench, of course, I told you so!” said Ben. “He’s told me a lot about Paris. By jingo! it made ‘me wish I’?d been a merchant sailor, instead of a poor fisherman, to hear him tell about it. Is’pose I might ha’ seen all the fine foreign places, if I’d been a mind.” 2 “That’s no news! if it’s all you’ve found out; it’s no great good you’ve got out of your long talk,” quoth Martha, his wife. | “Mebbe it ain’t; you women folk want to jerk in the line at the first bite. Now which were the two you called the men’s wives? Which were the two Mrs. Fosses?” asked Ben, with a sly twinkle in his eye. | Which Martha noted, and governed herself ac- cordingly, naming the two she had hitherto doubted, and leaving out altogether the one she had been so positive was the mistress of the house. Ben laughed out in due enjoyment of having — caught one who was usually a little ahead of him. “No, marm, guess again, Martha; you know you're smart at guessing.” ; “Of course it’s the one that’s left, the tallest woman, the one whose €yes snap so,” returned his wife somewhat crest-fallen. Upon which Ben laughed again, longer and louder than before. : “Ho, ho! ha, ha! Well now, Marthy, as you’re a CO comicbhoo cS