The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 363: what you’re looking at

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

282. THE STEAM PACKET. or four miles’ journey of Boulogne, on his return from Paris, and that he intended to remain a day or two at the Hotel d’Angleterre. ‘“ His lordship,” added the domestic, ‘ has sent his courier in advance to order apartments to be prepared;” and this circumstance had thrown the whole hotel into bustle and confusion. ** Pray, who may the nobleman be ?’’ demanded Mr. Pifpaf. The servant inquired of the courier, who replied, to the astonishment of all present, ‘* The Earl of Noodleton.”’ ““The Earl of Noodleton !” ejaculated the domestics: ‘* why he has been staying at the hotel for some days,” ‘“ There must be a mistake here,” observed the landlord. ‘“No mistake at all,” said the courier, coolly: ‘his lordship has been travelling in Italy and the South of France, and I have accom- panied him. We started from Paris yesterday morning, early ; and in half-an-hour he will be here.” | Mr. Pifpaf, after remarking to Mr. Smale upon this strange coinci- dence, proceeded to inform the landlord of the cheat practised upon himself and brother Luminaries by Buckram the tailor; and the story was speedily buzzed, not only throughout the hotel, but all over Bou- logne, But to continue. ‘‘ Here is Pentonville,’’ suddenly whispered Mr. Sale to the Chair- man of the Luminaries; ‘“‘let us see what he will say for him- self,” The captain drew near the little group, and saluted Mr. Pifpaf with respect, and in a manner expressive of contrition, though not of servile or cringing submissiveness. ‘Good morning, Captain Pentonville,’ said Mr. Pifpaf, coolly. ‘good morning, sir—a-hem! J have to thank you, sir, by the way, for having restored me my daughter, whom a villain, sir—a villain in- troduced by you into the bosom of my family——”* ‘‘Mr. -Pifpaf, spare your taunts,” said the captain, firmly. ‘To you and to Mr. Smale, who is to be your son-in-law, and who there- fore feels interested in all that regards you and your family, will I pre- sently make a confession of all that has taken place ; and you will per- ceive that the imposture practised by Mr. Buckram did not originate in a systematic fraud; but that it arose from an accident, whose results I was subsequently unable to control.” “Ah! Captain Pentonville,’ said Mr. Pifpaf, “Iam afraid that your present anxiety to make amends for the past has arisen only from the defeat which your schemes have experienced. Had you suddenly stopped short in your career of—of—of deceit,” said the worthy and really kind-hearted old man, unwilling to use a harsher word, although Gomicbooks (E(0)