A Queer Race: The Story of a Strange People — page 123: what you’re looking at

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

120 | A QUEER RACE. and other illustrated works. This was another surprise. The only picture the queen had ever seen before was a daub by a native artist. Engravings she never had seen before. As she turned over the leaves she became al- most wild with excitement. “Oh, how I should like to see England!’ she ex- claimed, after looking at the illustration of some En- glish scene. ‘* Would it be possible to go thither, I won- der?”’ On this, all who were in the saloon—and it was quite fulli—regarded her with pained astonishment, as if they could hardly believe their own ears. “Yes.” she repeated, defiantly, ‘‘I should like to see England, and so would you, only you are afraid to say so. How i hate these hypocrisies:” Then she turned to the pictures again. There were many which she could not understand, and she was con- tinnaliy demanding explanations. «'Phis,” she said, smiling, ‘‘reminds me of Hamlet and Polonius. It is very like a whale.” ‘It is a whale,” I said; ‘‘ those men in the boat are harpooning him.” “You call it whale-hunting, I suppose?” ‘“<¢ Whale-hunting’ is not bad; but it is generally called whale. tishing.” ‘‘ Did you ever see shark-hunting?” ‘“‘] have seen sharks hunt a man, if that is what you mean,” I said, with a shudder, thinking of the terrible death of poor Peyton. ‘*IT don’t mean that; I mean men hunting sharks— ‘fighting * would perhaps be a better way of putting it.” ‘¢ Never, and I don’*t——_” “You shall, then. Itis splendid sport. We will have a hunt to-morrow. Which will you be, a hunter or « spectator?” ‘Well, until I have seen something of the sport I think I would rather be a spectator,” I answered, cau- tiously. ‘“ You are wise,” said the queen, dryly; ‘‘for unless you are @ strong swimmer and very expert in the water—— However, you will see. I suppose we may take some of these books and a few of these cases ashore with us?” (E(0) mm (G JOO KS (E(@)