FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132  
133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   >>   >|  
ed him mournfully till he shut the door and disappeared, and then Nancy Corbett gave way to unbounded mirth. "So, the fool has bit already," thought she; "now if he only writes to me, and I get his acknowledgment of having delivered the letter, the beast is in my power, and I can hang him any day I please. Upon his honour, he did not know a single woman there:--Lord have mercy!--what liars men are!--but we can sometimes beat them with their own weapons." And Nancy's thoughts reverted to her former life, which she now dwelt upon with pain and sorrow. Mr Vanslyperken returned on board: the anchor was weighed immediately that the boats had been hoisted up; and the Yungfrau ran out with a fair wind, which lasted until the evening, when it fell almost calm, and the cutter made but little way through the water. Many of the men were conversing on the forecastle as usual, and the subject of their discourse was the surmising what had become of Corporal Van Spitter. In one point they all appeared to agree, which was, that they hoped he would never return to the cutter. "If he does, I owe him one," observed Jemmy Ducks. "It's all through him that my wife was turned out of the vessel." "And a little bit from her tongue, Jemmy," observed Coble. "Why, perhaps so," replied Jemmy; "but what was it set her tongue loose but the threat of _him_ to flog me, and what made him threaten that but the 'peaching of that fat marine?" "Very good arguments Jemmy. Well, I will say that for your wife, Jemmy, she does love you, and there's no sham about it." "Never mind Jemmy's wife, let's have Jemmy's song," said Spurey; "he hasn't piped since he was pulled up by the corporal." "No: he put my pipe out, the hippopotamus. Well, I'll give it you--it shall be about what we are talking of, Obadiah." Jemmy perched himself on the fore-end of the booms, and sang as follows:-- I suppose that you think 'cause my trousers are tarry, And because that I ties my long hair in a tail, While landsmen are figged out as fine as Lord Harry, With breast-pins and cravats as white as old sail; That I'm a strange creature, a know-nothing ninny, But fit for the planks for to walk in foul weather; That I ha'n't e'er a notion of the worth of a guinea, And that you, Poll, can twist me about as a feather-- Lord love you!! I know that this life is but short at the best on't, That time it flies fast, and that work must be done;
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132  
133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
cutter
 

observed

 

tongue

 
talking
 

Obadiah

 

perched

 

hippopotamus

 

arguments

 

marine

 

threat


threaten

 
peaching
 

pulled

 
Spurey
 
corporal
 

weather

 

notion

 

planks

 

guinea

 

feather


creature

 

strange

 

trousers

 

suppose

 

cravats

 
breast
 

landsmen

 

figged

 

Spitter

 

single


honour

 

sorrow

 
reverted
 

weapons

 

thoughts

 

Corbett

 

unbounded

 

disappeared

 

mournfully

 

acknowledgment


delivered
 
letter
 

writes

 

thought

 

Vanslyperken

 
returned
 

appeared

 
surmising
 
Corporal
 

return