The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 20: what you’re looking at

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

12 THE STRING OF PEARLS. ge a A A a eee eee tr who. chain of batteries that — the coast, for it was a time of war, had pro- | claimed the dawn of another day. th a ae 2 er etre ce f was very fine, in the stillness of the early morn, of this succession iy of Pate Sia as they died away in the distance like mimic thunder, some order 1 | at was given on board the man-of-war, and, in a moment, the masts and cordage rf of scemed perfectly alive with human beings clinging to them in various directions. \s Then, as if by magic, or as if the ship ad been a living thin itself, and had pos- ST gt sessed wings, which, at the mere instigation of a wish, could be spread far and | gel wide, there fluttered out such sheets of canvas as was wonderful to sce; and, as | ‘| they caught the morning light, and the ship mo, d from the slight breeze that ae sprang up from the shore, she looked, indeed, asif she | ai “Walked the waters like a thing of life’ The various crews of the merchantmen stood upon the decks of tieir respective vessels, gazing after the ship-of-war, as she proceeded upon another mission similar to the one she had just performed in protecting the commerce of the country. As she passed one vessel, which had been, in point of fact, actually rescued tin the enemy, the crew, who had been saved from a foreign prison, cheered ustily. There wanted but such an impulse as this, and then every merchant-vessel that the man-of-war passed took up the gladsome shout, and the crew of the huge vessel were not slow in their answer, for three deafening cheers—such as had frequently | es terror into the hearts of England’s enemies—awakened many an echo from i ie shore. : It was a proud and a delightful sight—such a sight as none but an Englishman can enone enjoy—to see that vessel so proudly stemming the waste of waters. We say none but an Englishman can enjoy if, because no otner nation has ever attempted to achieve a great maritime existence without being most signally defeated, and leaving us still, as we shall ever be, masters of the seas. These aug an were amply sufficient to arouse the crews of all the vessels, and over the taflrail of one in particular, a large-sized merchantman, which had been trading in the Indian seas, two men were leaning. One of them was the captain of the vessel, and the other a passenger, who intended leaving that, morn- ing. ‘They were engaged in earnest conversation, and the captain, as he shaded : his eyes with his hand, and looked along the surface of the river, said, in reply to \ some ooservation from his companion,— i, - tia my oe! me gan Lieutenant Thornhill comes on board; I call | in the Pape tts git Siew duits Iemee te bacjasen me AP Soap es EAE RUS & Bi p man Ww with his superior officer.” Peis Lae Gi cates tn cearitoe = Ene perce ba joss a good officer,” said the other. ~4t has, Indeed, a braver man never stepped, nor a better officer - they have certain rules in the service, and periiivae 1s i RS nee | them. I can’t think what keeps him; he went last night and said he would pull | up to the Temple stairs, because he wanted to call upon somebody by the water- ‘ side, and after that he was going to the city to transact some business of his own | and that would have brought hime nearer ere, you see; and there are plenty of things coming down the river.” : hae 66 9 bs PP) . ; He’s coming,” eried the other; don’t be Impatient ; you will see him ina few 4 : minutes,” “‘ What makes you think that ?” Because I see his dog ; immineg j . tcilints tho chin” g~—there, don’t you see, swimming in the water, and coming ‘IT cannot imagineI can see the do i . &, certainly; but I t pak “ tnere any boat at hand. _ I know not what to ihe of ie Ne oy neem | mince misgives me that something has happened amiss? The doc — eee | oO * e a Ne a ao ae a oh Re et Sy a re comicbooks.com A