The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 196: what you’re looking at

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

THE STEAM PACKET. 147 band, although she quarrelled with him for prolonging his orgies until a late hour with the intended son-in-law who had just proposed. Mr. Pifpaf accordingly walked along the passage which led to Mr. Buckram’s apartment, and was about to knock at the door, when he ‘heard high words within the chamber. In fact the three or four last sentences of the conversation above recorded fell upon Mr. Pifpaf’s ear;—and these ejaculations, without betraying the frauds already practised by the two disputants, fully revealed the seriousness of their quarrel. At length the words “pistols”? and ‘‘swords’’ completed Mr. Pifpaf’s apprehensions ; and, muttering to himself, “‘ What! my two sons-in-law, the nobleman and the captain, going to fight! ”’—he hurried from the door, rushed down the passage, and descended the stairs as quickly as his legs could carry him. Without hesitation he inquired for the commissioner of the hotel, and commanded him to show him the way to the office of the Commissary of Police, whose intervention he was determined to seek in this momentous crisis. ** What de matter now ?”’ demanded the commissioner. ‘Never do you mind,” said Mr. Pifpaf peremptorily; ‘but run along in front—1i shall follow close behind.” ‘* Well say de provarbe, ‘ Ask for no hes, and you mill have no questions put to you, ’’ muttered the hotel functionary; and -he hastened to obey the orders of the chairman of the Luminaries. In the meantime, the dispute between Captain Pentonville and Mr, ‘Buckram was cut short by the entrance of Tom Gibbins, who, being in the habit of dividing his attentions between the two gentlemen, now made his appearance for the purpose of fetching the tailor’s clothes to brush. The two disputants were reminded, by this seasonable inter- ruption, of the folly of quarrelling between themselves; and probably the old adage which says, ‘‘ When thieves fall out, then honest men get their own again,’ also flashed to thelr memories, and contributed towards a general peace. They therefore shook hands; and while Mr. Buckram shpped on his trousers, he desired Tom Gibbins “to take his coat down stairs and give it a devilish good rubbing over with the brush.” ‘Tom obeyed this mandate; and Mr. Buckram had just completed his ablutions, while Captain Pentonville walked up and down the room, awaiting the opportunity for further explanation, when his faithful domestic suddenly rushed in, exclaiming, ‘‘ All up the flue, gen'lemen! Here is old Pifpaf coming with a couple o’ Johnny Darmies ! ” | ““Gendarmes!” cried the captain and Buckram both in the same — breath: ‘‘gendarmes? Impossible! ” iL 2 Gomichbooks (E(0)