ning the clothes of the young men" (I felt five-and-twenty at
the very least at that moment) "committed to his charge?--why, my
father------"

What I imagined my father would have said or done under these
circumstances was fated to remain a mystery, as my eloquence was brought
to a sudden conclusion by my consternation, when a series of remarkable
phenomena, which had been developing themselves during my harangue in
the countenance of Thomas, terminated abruptly in what appeared to me a
fit of most unmitigated insanity. A look of extreme astonishment, which
he had assumed at the beginning of my speech, had given place to an
expression of mingled surprise and anger as I continued; which again
in its turn had yielded to a grin of intense amusement, growing every
moment broader and broader, accompanied by a spasmodic twitching of his
whole person; and, as I mentioned his master's purloining my trousers,
he suddenly sprang up from the floor nearly a yard high, and commenced
an extempore _pas seul_ of a Jim Crow character, which he continued with
unabated vigour during several minutes. This "_Mazurka d'ecstase_," or
whatever a ballet-master would have called it, having at length, to my
great joy, concluded, the performer of it sank exhausted into a chair,
and regarding me with a face still ~19~~somewhat the worse for his late
violent exertions favoured me with the following geographical remark:--

"Well, I never did believe in the existence of sich a place as Greenland
before, but there's nowhere else as you could have come from, sir, I am
certain."

"Eh! why! what's the matter with you? have I done anything particularly
'green,' as you call it? what are you talking about?" said I, not
feeling exactly pleased at the reception my virtuous indignation had met
with.

"Oh! don't be angry, sir; I am sure I did not mean to offend you; but
really I could not help it, when I heard you say about master's having
stole your things. Oh lor!" he added, holding his sides with both hands,
"how my precious sides do ache, sure-ly!"

"Do you consider that any laughing matter?" said I, still in the dark.

"Oh! don't, sir, don't say it again, or you will be the death of
me," replied Thomas, struggling against a relapse; "why, bless your
innocence, what could ever make you think master would take your
clothes?"

"Make me think? why, Lawless told me so," answered I, "and he also said
it was not the first time such a thing had occurred eit