The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 285: what you’re looking at

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

220 THE STEAM PACKET. on ment. The disturbance became truly alarming—and the conflict highly exciting. The master of the café called out to the combatants to desist—but as one side resisted the other, they all persisted in their warlike proceedings. Mr. Pifpaf contrived to reinstate himself upon his legs; and, when once more upon them, he manfully sought the bubble ‘‘ reputation” e’en in Mr. Slummers’ mouth, upon which he planted his honourable fist: but whether he found the aforesaid bubble or not, cannot be determined, as he lay sprawling again the next mo- = ment, levelled by a concussion of his nose and the butt end of the billiard cue which Mr. Slummers wielded with awful effect. Captain Pentonville at length darted upon this formidable champion with the fury of Rhoderick Dhu springing at the throat of James Fitz James; and in an instant they rolled beneath the billiard-table together, until the impulse of their fall was spent—and then they got up again. Mr. Buckram armed himself with two bottles, and broke them over the heads of the antagonists in his immediate neighbourhood ; and blood now flowed copiously on all sides. The French officers, who had hitherto enjoyed the whole proceeding as a good joke, at length saw that matters were growing serious, and they hastened to interfere. By their means the combatants were separated, and peace was restored ;— but bitter reproaches were heaped by them upon Mr. Slummers for his ungentlemanly conduct in not paying his debts of honour—or rather contracting them without any means of liquidating the amount; and this: gentleman was fain to sneak out of the café. No sooner was the turmoil thus settled, when a cupboard door, in which billiard cues, &c., were usually kept, slowly opened, and the countenance of Mr. Smale was cautiously protruded. That gentleman very prudently cast a glance around, to reconnoitre the state of affairs before he issued from his retreat; and, finding that the combat was at an end, he at length mustered up sufficient courage to emerge fully into the café. But if this httle manceuvre of his, which was imme- diately noticed, were cause enough to excite the mirth of the French officers, the condition in which he re-appeared amongst them was cal- culated to afford more ample food still for hilarity. His clothes were whitened with chalk; his face and hands besmeared with lamp-black; _ and his hair was covered with cob-webs; but being unaware of the : pickle in which he now stood upright before some thirty or forty per- sons, his appearance was the more ludicrous on account of the open- mouthed astonishment wherewith he met the shouts of laughter that greeted his egress from the closet. Even “his friend and generous patron, Lord Noodleton” welcomed him with a cachmnation so pro- | longed atid so hearty that it brought tears into his eyes; Captain EGomicbooks.com —