Pickwick Abroad: A Companion to the Pickwick Papers — page 249: what you’re looking at

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A NOVEL WITHOUT A HERO. soon as she could speak, said, with a comical, good-humored air— ‘J ought to have remembered the pepper which the Princess. of Persia puts in the cream-tarts in the Arabian Nights. Do you put cayenne into your cream-tarts in India, sir?” Old Sedley began to laugh, and thought Rebecca was a good-humored girl. Joseph simply said—‘‘ Cream-tarts, Miss? Our cream is very bad in Bengal. We generally use goats’ milk; and, ’gad, do you know, I’ve got to prefer it?” “You won't like every thing from India now, Miss Sharp,” said the old gentleman ; but when the ladies had retired after dinner, the wily old fellow said to his son, “* Have a care, Joe; that girl is setting her cap at you.”’ ‘‘ Pooh! nonsense!” said Joe, highly flat- tered. ‘I recollect, sir, there was a girl at Dumdum, a daughter of Cutler of the Artil- lery, and afterward married to Lance, the surgeon, who made a dead set at me in the year ’4—at me and Mulligatawney, whom I mentioned to you before dinner—a devilish good fellow Mulligatawney—he’s a magis- trate at Budgebudge, and sure to be in council in five years. Well, sir, the Artil- lery gave a ball, and Quintin, of the king’s 14th, said to me, ‘ Sedley,’ said he, ‘I bet you thirteen to ten that Sophy Cutler hooks either you or Mulligatawney before the rains.’ ‘ Done,’ says 1; and egad, sir—this claret’s very good. Adamson’s or Carbo- nell’s ?” e' A slight snore was the only reply: the honest stock-broker was asleep, and so the rest of Joseph’s story was lost for that day. But he is always exceedingly communicative in a man’s party, and has told this delightful tale many scores of times to his apothecary, Dr. Gollop, when he came to inquire about the liver and the blue-pill. 7 Being an invalid, Joseph Sedley content- ed himself with a bottle of claret besides his Madeira at dinner, and he managed a couple of plates full of strawberries and cream, and twenty-four little rout cakes that were lying neglected in a plate near him, and certainly (for novelists have the privilege of knowing every thing) he thought a great deal about the girl up stairs. “A nice, gay, merry young creature,” thought he to himself. ‘¢How she looked at me when I picked up her handkerchief at dinner! ‘She dropped ittwice. Who’s that singing in the drawing- room’? ’Gad! shall I go up and see ?”’ But his modesty came rushing upon him with uncontrollable force. His father was asleep: his hat was in the hall: there was a hackney-coack stand hard by in South- ampton Row. ‘I’ll go and see the Forty Thieves,” said he, ‘‘and Miss Decamp’s dance ;”’ and he slipped away gently on the pointed toes of his boots, and disappeared, without waking his worthy parent. 19 ‘There goes Joseph,” said Amelia, who was looking from the open windows of the drawing-room, while Rebecca was singing at the piano. ‘¢ Miss Sharp has frightened him away,” said Mrs. Sedley. ‘‘ Poor Joe, why will he be so shy ?” CHAPTER IV. THE GREEN SILK PURSE. Poor Joe’s panic lasted for two or three days; during which he did not visit the house, nor during that period did Miss Re- becca ever mention his name. She was all respectful gratitude to Mrs. Sedley; de- lighted beyond measure at the bazaars; and in a whirl of wonder at the theater, whither the good-natured lady took her. One day, Amelia had a head-ache, and could not go upon some party of pleasure to which the two young people were invited: nothing could induce her friend to go without her. — ‘¢ What! you who have shown the poor or- phan what happiness and love are for the first time in her life—quit you? never! and the green eyes looked up to Heaven and fill- ed with tears; aud Mrs. Sedley could not but own that her daughter’s friend had a charming, kind heart of her own. As for Mr. Sedley’s jokes, Rebecca laugh- ed at them with a cordiality and persever- ance which not a little pleased and softened the good-natured gentleman. Nor was it with the chiefs of the family alone that Miss Sharp found favor. She interested Mrs. Blenkinsop by evincing the deepest sympa- thy in the raspberry-jam preserving, which operation was then going on in the house- keeper’s room; she persisted in calling Sam- bo “Sir,” and ** Mr. Sambo,” to the delight of that attendant; and she apologized to the lady’s maid for giving her trouble in ventur- ing to ring the bell, with such sweetness and humility, that the servants’-hall was almost as charmed with her as the drawing-room. Once, in looking over some drawings which Amelia had sent from school, Rebecca sud- denly came upon one which caused her to burst into tears and leave the room. It was on the day when Joe Sedley made his sec- ond appearance. Amelia hastened after her friend to know the cause of this display of feeling, and the good-natured girl came back without her companion, rather affected too. ‘* Youknow, her father was our drawing-master, mamma, at Chiswick, and used to do all the best parts of our drawings.” ‘¢ My love! I’m sure I always heard Miss Pinkerton say that he did not touch them —he only mounted them.” ‘Tt was called mounting, mamma. Re- becca remembers the drawing, and her fa- é conniclooolks (CO)