The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 82: what you’re looking at

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

, 7 J ‘ r THE STEAM PACKET. | OF the scenery of the Corringham and Fobbing marshes, that one would actually have thought she was a wild duck ;—Sarah amused herself by leaning over the side of the packet, watching the white foam which rolled away from the paddle-wheel, and singing in a low tone the Canadian Boat-Song ;—and Aramintha quoted to her lover passages of Byron, which were brought to mind by the scene then before her. ‘‘ How beautiful is this part of the Thames!” exclaimed the senti- mental but enthusiastic young lady. “Very,” acquiesced her lover, looking down upon the river’s sur- _ face, and not exactly comprehending why that particular patch of water possessed more charms than any other. ‘One might almost believe,” continued the enraptured Aramintha, “without any very great stretch of the imagination, that this was the Rhine, of which Byron so beautifully stiseiwes 2 The river nobly foams and flows!’ ”’ ‘* Foams, indeed!” ejaculated Mr. Tiptile, who overheard this re- mark, and who had no ideas of poetical licence; then, as he walked away, he added sulkily, ‘‘I wonder what she means by foaming? Surely not that thick black mud which we see mixed with the water. I know if Barclay and Perkins did not foam a little better than this, I’d soon send it back to them again.” “You are full of delicious thoughts, my angel!”’’ whispered Captain Pentonville to his fair companion. ‘‘Oh! I thought of you when I~ was inflicting condign punishment upon that vulgarian. A/oriens reminiscitur rgos—which means, my love, that even when im danger, my imagination was with thee! ” “‘And did not I think of you, Augustus?” said the young lady mournfully. ‘‘I should have fainted away when I saw you fall into the water, only I thought that it would be proper for me to retain my senses, that I might follow you to your watery grave, in case you had. met with one. But you are safe—and Iam happy! Now tell me, dearest Augustus ‘ ‘ “‘'Yes, my beloved Aramintha,” said her lover: “ speak !”’ “Do you really believe,” she continued, in a low and confidential tone of voice, ‘‘that Rowland’s Kalydor preserves the complexion during a sea-voyage ?”’ The captain felt very much inclined to ejaculate “‘ Pshaw!” but he checked himself, and gave an affirmative answer in his usual bland and fascinating manner, at the same time recommending his intended not to butter her face more than the eighth of an inch thick with it. As the steam-packet drew near the mouth of the river, there was an ugly cross sea running; and she began to pitch violently. All the ad (E{0) Gomichbooks