The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 325: what you’re looking at

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

252 THE STEAM PACKET. giggling. And now the last figure was about to commence, when the venerable chairman felt a somewhat rough tap upon the shoulder; and turning round, he beheld a gendarme about six feet two inches high standing behind him. The chairman started, and surveyed this fierce-looking apparition with no small alarm commingled with astonishment. The gendarme addressed him in a tone which by no means alleviated his surprise, nor dispelled his fear,—the less so, as Mr. Pifpaf was quite ignorant of the communication made to him. Captain Pentonville, however, beheld the dilemma in which his great leader was placed, and hastened to his assistance. “That gentleman has got my partner!” said the gendarme, his countenance assuming a very savage expression. ‘‘ Tt would appear that the lady should be the best judge of that,” replied the captain. «¢ No—Mademoiselle Fanchon always plays me this trick,” per- sisted the gendarme; ‘‘ and if I happen to be a moment late, I invari- ably find her with another.” ‘“‘ Well, serve you right too,” retorted Captain Pentonville. ‘*Sacré nom de Dieu /” thundered the Frenchman; “I will have my partner! Mademoiselle Fanchon, I order you not to dance any more with that old Roast-beef—I will appeal to the master of the cere- monies—I will demand satisfaction—tonnerre de Dieu /” ‘What does he say?” whispered Mr. Pifpaf, who quivered wit ‘alarm from head to foot, while Mademoiselle Fanchon—the real cause of aspecies of dispute not unfrequent at French balls of the kind—_ looked modestly down upon the ground, and played with a rose, as if nothing had happened. Captain Pentonville immediately communicated to Mr. Pifpaf the nature of the gendarme’s requisition, whereupon the chairman declared his readiness to resign the young lady whose hand was so much coveted by his Goliath-like rival. ‘* That will never do!” returned the captain hastily; ‘‘ were you to yield the point, we should be hooted and hissed as cowards, and should never be able to show our noses in Boulogne again. No, no; the honour of Old England is at stake; keep the girl—and we'll settle the gendarme.” This resolution was tacitly acquiesced in by Mr. Pifpaf, who, accord- ing to his invariable custom, had imbibed that evening quite enough ~ good liquor to fortify him against all extremities ; and the determina- tion was therefore conveyed to the gendarme, who left the room mut- tering “‘ satisfaction’? and ‘‘ honour” between his lips. The dance Gomichooks:.co