The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

THE SCHOOLMASTER 45 Christian thought, as he recollected Mrs. Macaulay’s party, that Mr. Chubb might have added, without the slightest exaggeration, that he could drink likewise anything that came in his way, but of course he gave not verbal utter- ance to the reflection. “Now then, Joe Brinskby,”’ continued Mr. Chubb, ‘‘how do you spell cat? ” ‘“C— a — double t, please sir,’’ was the boy’s response. “ Of what genius is the cat?’ inquired Mr. Chubb. ‘‘ The mouser genius, please sir.”’ “Very good. And what is there pecooliar about that beautiful domestic animal? ” ‘They can see in the dark, sir, — ’cause why, they are full of electricity, which runs up from the tip of the tail to the head and comes out at the eyes.” “Very good,” said Mr. Chubb, complacently. ‘‘ Third class may stand down.” And as the boys went back to their seats, the schoolmaster rose from his own, and, gravely shaking hands with Chris- tian, said, ‘‘ So you have come to give me a call and have a look at the school? You see, Mr. Ashton, I teach these young members of the rising generation nat’ral history along with their spellin’. It kills two birds with one stone, and gives ’em a power of concentrating their idears. It’s a good system, and is making its way as fast as steam-ingins and electric tilligrafs.”’ “T dare say Mr. Ashton is very glad to have an oppor- tunity of seeing the school,’’ said Mrs. Chubb, ‘ but he didn’t come for that, all the same. He’s took our lodgings; so you just write him out a receipt for the fust week, which he has paid in adwance.”’ ‘‘ Amen!” said Mr. Chubb; and reseating himself at the desk, he nibbed a pen, held it up to the light to assure him- self that it was properly mended, and in a true schoolmaster fashion wrote the receipt in round hand, covering all the spare part of the slip of paper with the most extraordinary flourishes, and winding up the achievement with some curious illustration under his own name, which said illustra- tion might either be taken for the feather end of a quill, or else as an ingenious representation of that very cat’s tail along which the electricity had been described as passing. Having leaned back in his seat for a few moments, to admire CORNICLOO S (C(O) mM