The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 74: what you’re looking at

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

33 “ You forgive —— “Yes, to be sure. Though I am only a beaf-eater, I : people for ailthat—eh, Cousin Oakley m pO 3 oma “Oh, of course, Ben, of course. Come, come, wife, you know as well as I that ) ‘THE STRING OF PEARES. =|] ut | fond ra isacrumb a laying there,’ and then says {—‘ Damn iat } eit ; ore ‘Sen dhe ya SS cart, sink hal dozen birch brooms, there’s a e | bashes : just fell out of the fire Then in course they vets shocked, and looks as | tt blue as possible, and arter that, when they see as I aint agoing, one of eae | | ee © Mr. Benjamin Blumergutts, would youlike to take a glass of wine ce: og “Dh | think so,” says I., ‘Then he says, Says he, ‘which would you prefer, red or Pi swt white ? says he. ‘ White.’ says I, ° while you are screwing up your courage to ‘te | “pull out the red,’ so out thy pull it ; and as soon as I got hold of the bottle, 1 ys knocked the neck of it off over the top bar of the fire-place, and then drank it all la ts up. ‘Now, damn ye, says 1, ‘ you thinks all this is mighty genteel and fine, but aNa I don’t, and consider you to be the blessedest set of humbugs ever I set my eyes mAb) ' on; and, if ever you catch me here again, I'll be genteel too, and I can t say | + gon more than that. Go to the devil, all of ye.’ So out 1 went, only I met with a | | WM little accident in the hall, for they had got a sort of lam p hanging there, and I ll ay somehow or ’nother, my head went bang into it, and I carried it out round my | si neck; but when I did get out, L took it off, and shied ib slap in at the parlour | " ath window. You never heard such a smash in all your life. J dare say they all “Wh fainted away for about a week, the blessed humbugs.” | pe! “ Well, L should not wonder,” said Mr, Oakley, * I never go near then, Fil ys because L don’t like their foolish pomposity and pride, which, upon very slender r aa - yesources, tries to ape what it don’t at all understand ; but here is Mrs, Oakley mot with the sausages, and I hope you will make yourself comfortable, Ben.” , labs ¢ Comfortable ! I believe ye, I rather shall. I means it, and no mistake.” | | aes « T have brought three pounds,” said Mrs. Oakley, “ and told the man to call I ina quarter of an hour, incase there is any more wanted.” |) pi « Phe devil you have; and the bacon, Mrs. Oakley, the bacon !”’ | Wi “1 could not get any—the man had nothing but hams.” | 4 ¢ Tor’, ma’am, I’d put up with a ham cut thick, and never have said a word cf about it. I ama angel of a temper, and if you did but know it. Hilloa, look, is ia that the fellow with the half-and half ?” | | “Yes, here it is—a pot,” | “0 cA wheter? pe « A pot, to be sure.” + a _ Well, I never ; you are getting genteel, Mrs. Oakley. Then give us a hold | en of it.” | My | Ben took the pot, and emptied it at a draught, and then he gave a tap at the tal bettom of it with his knuckles, to signify that he had accomplished that feat, and ‘le then he said, “ I tells you what, ma’am, if you takes me fora baby, it’s a great at mistake, and any one would think you did, to see you offering me a pot merely ; | i it’s an Insult, ma’am,’’ 7 ‘Ti « Hiddle-de-dee,” said Mrs. Oakley ; ‘it’s a much greater insult to drink it all ha up, and give nobody a drop.”’ 1 ho “Ts it? I wants to know how you are to stop it, ma’am, when you gets it to t ba your mouth? that’s what I axes you—how are youto stop it, ma'am? You didn’t a i want me to spew it back again, did you, eh, ma’am i) “ You vile, low wretch !’ : | a * Come, come, my dear,” said Mr. Oakley, * you know our cousin. Ben don’t | : live among the most refined society, andso you ought to be able to look over a | i little of—of—his—I may say, L am sure, without offence, roughness now and then ; | th —come, come, there is no harm done, I’m sure. Forget and forgive say L. That’s . my maxim, and has always been, and will always be.”’ : “ Well,” said the beef-eater, “it’s a good one to get through the world with, ‘and so there’s an endofit. I forgives you, Mother Oakley.” - { = re a a a a rr ee ae ee et comicbooks.com