Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 312: what you’re looking at

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

| | SERS BO ee ee Se eee ee ee ene ie aie SR EEE aoa $10 “Pon hononr; very extraordinary; but they were all most remarkable.” “You interest me more and more, sir; but if, as you say, they were all most remarkable, you will not have the trouble of making a selection.” ©? Pon honour, no.” _— ‘Perhaps you would not mind favouring me with the first that comes to your recollection ?” *©?Pon honour; no. I recollect’ —— ‘No, no; please to don’t,” said the old maid, whose phraseology seemed as peculiar as her personal appear- ance; ‘I declare I am all of a dither.” “ All of a what, ma’am?” asked the fop again. “ Miss, sir, if you please.” *?Pon honour; ten thousand pardons. Very extra- ordinary.” And here the subject would have dropped, but Jack determined to persevere. “TI am sorry to trouble you so much,” he said, after a pause, “ but, really, I feel so curious that’ —— ‘?Pon honour, yes. I was going to tell you. extraordinary.” ‘The encounter, sir?” “Yas,’pon honour. Did you ever happen to hear of Jack Sheppard ? ” ‘T have heard something of him,” said Jack, coolly. « He’s a most audacious chap, is henot? I mean the one who has broken twice out of Newgate.” “Pho!—pho! my dear sir, ’pon honour. You don’t mean to say that you are a believer in that little fiction, are you P”’ “°To which little fiction do you allude, sir?” “Pon honour. Very extraordinary. I mean the fiction of Jack Sheppard being a brave chap, and having broken twice out of Newgate.” “‘T must confess, sir, that until you spoke, I was under the impression that these fictions were reality.” “ Very extraordinary, pon honour. All a fiction. Why, Jack Sheppard never broke out of Newgate at all.” ‘ Indeed,” said Jack, “then I must have been sadly misinformed.” ‘¢ There are more besides yourself, sir; but I happen to be in possession of the facts of the case.” ‘© May I inquire what they are ?”’ “?Pon honour. Very extraordinary. Jack Sheppard and the governor of Newgate”’ “* Yes—yes.” “?Ponhonour. Very extraordinary. But they are firm friends, leagued together, and work into each other’s hands.” *€ Can it be possible P” “Pon honour, yes. Very extraordinary.” “Very extraordinary, sir, indeed. But the best of all understandings exists between the governor and Jack Sheppard.” “Do you know the nature of that understanding, sir P”’ ‘¢>Pon honour, yes. Very extraordinary.” * Ts it indeed, sir.” “?Pon honour. I tell it you in confidence. Jack Sheppard pays the governor of Newgate a certain sum of money every month, and so he is allowed to walk in and out of Newgate whenever he likes.” “Tt’s really the most extraordinary thing that ever I heard of.” Very CHAPTER CCXAVI. JACK SHEPPARD HAS RATHER AN AMUSING ADVENTURE WITH THE BOASTING TRAVELLER IN THE COACH. ‘¢+?Pon lionour, yes. Very extraordinary. Mind you, I tell you this in confidence. If it was known, why, of course, the governor of Newgate would lose his situntion.” ‘Of course he would, sir, as you say.” “Pon honour, yes. So it does not matter for being taken prisoner one bit. By virtue of the arrangement | have mentioned, Jack Skeppard can walk out of Newgate whenever he pleases.” “ How awful!” said the old maid. “If you'll believe me, sir, when I think of him and his doings I go all of a dither.” “ All of a what, ma'am P”’ ‘Miss, sir, if you please.” ‘?Pon honour, yes. Ten thousand pardons! extraordinary.” 2 Very Wane taswee ese. eRe ere BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE. (eee nS TID Neither Jack nor Blueskin could refrain from smiling at this ridiculous and ludicrous scene. But Jack was determined not to quit the subject. ‘As you have remarked, sir,” he said, ‘it is really very extraordinary, but something las continually inter- rupted you in the little anecdote you were kind enough to promise to give me.” **?Pon honour, yes. Very extraordinary, but is always the case; somebody interrupts me, and so I never finish what I begin.” *¢ Just so, sir; but we will endeavour not to interrupt you this time. You began talking about Jack Sheppard, if my memory serves me rightly, as though he was the person who stopped you on the highway, when you broke off to tell me the extraordinary arrangement he had made with the governor of Newgate.” **?Pon honour, yes.” ‘IT should think that circumstance exempts him from the charge you made against highwaymen a litile while ago. ‘““?Pon honour, sir, I forget. What?” You said that highwaymen were the most cowardly set of fellows in existence.” *’Pon honour, sir; very extraordinary—but I assure yon they are. I think I told you that in confidence, sir, did I not?” , ‘You did, sir.’”’ *¢?Pon honour: yes.” * But since Jack Sheppard feels that he has nothing to dread from capture that makes him an exception to the rest.’ *?Pon honour; do you mean being a coward P”’ Yes, sir; I should think, under such advantageous circumstances, he must be brave.” “?Pon honour, sir; very extraordinary. But he is positively the greatest coward of the lot.” “ What, Jack Sheppard ?” *?Pon honour; yes. I tell you in confidence, but he i the greatest coward of the lot.”’ ' “ How do you account for that sir?” *?Pon honour, sir, I don’t know. Very extraordinary, but I was going to tell you ”?-—— - little anecdote of your encounter with highway- men P’ “On! pray don’t use that horrid word,” interposed the old maid again; ‘ you don’t know how it sends me all of a dither.” “?Pon honour, ma’am.” ** Miss, sir.” “Very extraordinary; pon honour, miss, but would you oblige me by telling me what you mean by being all of a dither.” “ Toes that matter to you, sir?” *?Pon honour; yes. Very extraordinary, but for the last half hour I have been trying to tell this young gentle- man an anecdote, when, through your being in a dither, I have not done so yet. Now, pon honour, very extraordi- nary, you know, but would you tell me what is a dither ?”’ ‘A dither, sir? ”’ Yes, a dither.” ‘CA dither, sir, is a sort of a—kind of a—you know what I mean.” *?Pon honour, ma’am ”—— * Miss, sir.” ‘A million pardons, miss; I don’t know what you mean; I only wish I did. What is a dither P” ‘© A dither is a~a—a—a ?—— * Yes—yes.”’ “A dither.” Oh! a dither, is a dither.” Yes, sir.”’ ‘Oh! indeed. ’Pon honour. Very extraordinary.” ‘I must beg your pardon for persevering, but all these provoking interruptions have inflamed my curiosity to a most incredible extent, and, therefore I do hope, sir, you will not allow your attention to be diverted by any inter- ruption, but tell me the particulars at once.” “?Pon honour, yes. Very extraordinary. But, in confidence, if you'll beheve me, I almost forget what I was going to say. Oh! I know; it was about Jack Sheppurd.” ‘Yes, sir. I believe you said that highwaymen were read GOL SS a Cd Wee GLOOM KES (0)