The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 384: what you’re looking at

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

ef, a THE STEAM PACKET. 297 nobleman in favour of his dear old grandmother, and Aunt Susan, and Mary Murgatroyd, and Tim Macarthy; but the bearing and appear- ance of Lord Noodleton overawed him; and he resolved to postpone the business until a future and more propitious occasion. And now at length the little party left the prison and returned to the hotel. It would however he impossible to do justice by mere words to the scene which occurred upon their arrival—nor find language adequate to the task of depicting how the charming Aramintha wept and smiled in her lover’s arms ;—how Mrs. Pifpaf forgot all about her “poor head” in the joy of welcoming Sir William Staunton as a future connexion of the family ;— how Lord Noodleton made himself so agreeable to the ladies, and especially to Belinda, that they did all but declare aloud, ‘‘ that he was zzdeed a lord, and no mistake this time; ”’ —how Mr. Pifpaf hastened to the coffee-room tonarrate the whole ad- ventures of the morning to the assembled Luminaries, and mysteri- ously hinted that the name of Lord Noodleton needed not to be struck off the list of members ;—how, in a word, the dinner that day was the most joyous and convivial that the travellers had yet had ;— how Captain Pentonville experienced a tranquillity of mind which he had never before known;—how Tom Gibbins was allowed a bottle of champagne with his own dinner in the servants’ hall ;—and, lastly, how at nine o’clock that evening the following ordinance was issued for the behoof of those whom it concerned :— ‘¢ PIFPAF, CHAIRMAN. ‘‘The Executive Committee of the Honourable and Independent Order of Luminaries, sitting 2 damine, have resolved and do resolve upon the arrangements following :— ‘¢1. The Steam Packet will depart for London to-morrow morning at nine o'clock. «¢2. Gentlemen Luminaries are requested to empower Captain Pen- tonville, the Treasurer, to settle their accounts with the landlord of the Hotel d’Angleterre, in order to avoid confusion. ‘¢ 3. As the Right Honourable the Earl of Noodleton has conde- scended to express his readiness to accompany the Honourable and Independent Luminaries on their voyage home, the great banner of the club will head the procession precisely at half-past eight o’clock. ‘¢4, Gentlemen Luminaries are requested not to attempt to convey into England, ina surreptitious manner, any contraband articles, such as French gloves, watches, eacw-de-Cologne, &c. ‘¢ PIFPAF, (Countersigned,) ‘s PENTONVILLE. Gomicbooks (EO)