The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 42: what you’re looking at

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

THE STEAM PACKET, 20 = kept,—z. e. the wealthiest citizens of London, and the most aristocratic of the West End. He wore an aged black coat; his shirt was not remarkably clean; his lanky neck rose, cameleopard-like, from a very low and tumbled cravat which he fancied to be white; and his trousers of Oxford mixture, were stretched over a pair of boots much mended, but indifferently blacked. When he raised his arms by accident, the symptoms of darning were very visible, the thread with which the operation had been performed not precisely matching the cloth;—and when he wanted to blow his nose, he turned aside to extract some queer piece of coloured rag from his pocket, resembling a surgeon’s bandage, and which he unrolled and rolled up again as occasion required. Mr. Humm Bugg called himself a critic, and indeed was enter- tamed at Mr. Pifpaf’s table in the light of a poor literary man. Decayed he was in respect to garments—God knows! and welcome, most welcome was a dinner now and then to him; because a man must eat sometimes. He certainly “‘did” the critical notices for a maga- zine, which no one, save himself, the printer, and stationer, ever heard of; but, in revenge, the printer and stationer had most especial good reasons to know all about it, and the work was very disagreeably recalled to their memories as often as they referred to their ledgers. Now and then Mr. Humm Bugg would delude a publisher into some literary speculation ; and on such occasions the publisher found to his cost, that Mr. Humm Bugg did not belie his name. In conclusion, he lived in the neighbourhood of the New Church, Hoxton ; but it might be supposed that he kept a house more for the benefit of sheriffs’ officers than his own, as he was seldom without one of those gentlemen making a short stay at his abode. “ Delighted to form Mr. Humm Bugg’s acquaintance,” said Captain Pentonville, when his scrutiny of the outward man of the new guest was completed. ‘‘ And on my part, delighted to form that of Captain Pentonville, ” was the courteous return. ‘‘ An officer in the army, I presume, sir 2”’ ‘¢ Just so,” said the captain, abruptly. ‘What regiment, might I inquire?” proceeded Mr. Bugg, in his most insinuating manner, and in the most dulcet note of a naturally disagreeable voice. ‘© By the by, while I think of it!’’ exclaimed the captain, hastily, ‘are you the gentleman who wrote the Military MMOs or Me- . Martial Men and Manners ?” “The same—the very same, sir,” said Mr. Humm Bugg. “ Ah! Gomichbooks (E(0)