The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 327: what you’re looking at

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

254 THE STEAM PACKET. Lord Noodleton, and, conceiving himself bound to follow his illustri- ous friend, tarried not many moments,.ere he darted after him, like a a policeman in pursuit of a thief. - - “Brave men, those,”’ said the polite Frenchman to the gendarnie; “* they are in a Hasty to reach the scene of action before us. It isa sweet ae quarrel, and a pleasant interlude to the diversions of me evening.’ ‘‘T am rather inclined to think that we shall not find our friends so ready to meet us as you seem to believe,” returned the acadiaee ‘“* However, let us after them and learn the truth.” | The two belligerants retired for a few minutes, at the expiration of which they returned, muttering curses in no measured fashion. They found Buckram’s late partner busily engaged in wiping the punch off the skirt of her gown, and Mademoiselle Fanchon in hysterics—from which, however, this latter lady was speedily recovered, and, having made her peace With her admirer, ate a lobster salad with him i her supper. Meantime Mr. Buckram had taken to his heels,and scudded along the high road away from the restaurant, as if the old gentleman with the pitchfork was after him. And indeed, he speedily began to con- jecture that either that selfsame malevolent personage, or one equally hostilely inclined, was really ; in pursuit of him; for he was soon con- vinced that doresking more than the echo ae his own steps fell upon his ears. The ae that chace was given to him, only tended to increase his speed ; and, reckless whither he went, so long as he escaped the ill-defined danger which he conceived to menace him, he was rush- ing onwards as quickly as his legs would carry him, when the ground suddenly seemed to disappear from beneath him, and he fell perpen- dicularly downward, a height of probably twenty feet. Fortunately he had only fallen upon some wet straw, and was more frightened than hurt; but no sooner had he regained his legs, when a heavy weight fell upon his shoulders from above, and again left him wallowing 1 in se filthy dung-hill on which he had alighted. ‘¢The devil!’ exclaimed a voice close by his ears; and Mr. Buek- ram found another human being in the same flrediiearniene with him- self. ‘<The devil indeed !”’ ejaculated the tailor, rising from the dung- hill a second time, and wiping the slime from his face with his Pacts handkerchief. ‘s Why—that must be you, my lord—it surely ‘Ah! Pifpaf, my hearty old cock !’? cried the tailor, as those words, in a well-known voice fell upon his ears. ‘ How fortunate that it should be a friend! But what the deuce brought you here?” Gomicbooks.co