The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 187: what you’re looking at

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

138 THE STEAM PACKET. was not up to his snuff. I say he was one imposition. ‘You charge me five shilling for dat bread, and sheese, and garret, and rats, ha?’ He say, ‘Yes; and dey was sheep enough too. It shall not be my fault dat someting draws dem rascal rats to my garret. 1 shall give ten shilling for nevare have dem come to my house.’ I was not in hurry for pay de five shilling, so I say to him, ‘ I know someting what shall make dem not come nevare no more to your house.’—He say, ‘If you shall tell dat grand secret for me, I no charge you five shilling, but give you five shilling to boots, dat shall be ten shilling for you— ha?’ I tell him, ‘ Yes;’ but I tink wid the provarbe, ‘ He was shoot- ing a piejohn and kill a crow-bar.’ Den I take de five shilling, and say, ‘Sare, you first will take one littel bit bread and sheese: ver well 5 put dem in your garret! ver well. De rat shall come for eat dem—ver well. You say to dem rat, I charge five shilling for dat bread and sheese; I be dam if ever you see dem again.’ So I learn ver well what it is to draw him into de trap, and I say wid de provarbe, ‘ /¢ is a wl wind dat nobody blows good.’” “It’s all very well, my dear Frog,” said Mr. Thomas Gibbins, who | had listened-very attentively to this lengthy tirade; “but I denies the logic o’ them argiments as you so facetiously brought for’ard. If denies ’em in total, as they says in Latin; and I should’nt be an En- glishman if I didn’t stick up for the langvidge and the roast beef of old England, vith the ale and gin, till all’s blue. Vhere is there a more blesseder land than England? Vhere do ye see so many vorkuses, Id like to know? Vhere is there sich a glorious aristocracy wot lives upon the fat of the land, and does no work naither? Ain’t it a blessin’ to see the thousands o’ beggars there is about the streets, every one on ’em making his five bob a day reg’lar, according to calkilation? Vy, you don’t see never a beggar in all this here unsociable country ! Every von ’s obleeged to work here, nollens, wollens, as the captain says. Give me England for ever! and so here’s a health to her witha _ emphasis ! ” And Mr. Gibbins rapped out a couple of terrible imprecations as he spoke, and struck his fist with such force upon the table, that the glasses danced, and the liquor spirted up in the faces of himself and French companion. The latter gentleman, feeling the honour of France insulted in his own person, and his own person insulted in © the circumstance of the hot liquor being tossed ‘up into his counte- nance, started up, and exclaiming “‘ Fa¢nt lady never won de fair heart,” dealt Mr. Gibbins a blow across the table which for a moment quite unsettled that gallant person’s equilibrium. But, recovering his presence of mind, the gentleman thus assaulted returned the compli- Gomichbooks).co