The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 104: what you’re looking at

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

THE STEAM PACKET. 71. *““ Why, their godfathers and godmothers in their baptism, where- by ”’ began the cook. ‘*No,” said Tom. ‘‘I’ll tell ye. Fust, Eve was called woe-man, cos she brought woe into the world: but ven she begun for io coax and woo her husband, Adam, he called her woo-man. Then at last the fair sex gets all manner 0” onan into their heads, and so they was called whzm-men.” This explanation set all the inmates of the kitchen laughing, the sound of which cachinnation caused the old washerwoman to wake up and utter something about the blessings of Booth’s cordials; where- upon Mr, Gibbins placed his thumb to his nose, and used the corre- sponding little finger in the capacity of an index. This proceeding caused a renewal of the general mirth; and when it had a little sub- sided, the cook requested Mr. Gibbins to favour the company with a song. “Vell, p'raps I may,” said Tom, drawing the pretty chambermaid upon his knee in a momentary absence of mind. ‘‘I do remember a song—a new wersion, vith out-an’-out long lines—but wery sentimental, though. ‘It ain’t wrote by myself nayther; but by a wery clever feller as I knowed—a man of exceedin’ good family—von Buggins, ma’am —I can’t say vether you knowed him or no?” ‘* Can’t say I did,” replied the cook. ‘*'Vell, he wos wery good company, and had gone through all he stated in his song. He wos a perpetiwally receivin’ legacies from his family—o that he actiwally lived upon the dead, as von may say. But he had inherited a law-suit, vich kept him alvays poor. Yousee, ladies, a suit wery often descends to a man who ain’t got no credit vith his tailor. And yet he wrote L.L.D. at the end o’ his name,” added Tom, who entertained the same veneration for, and ignofance of, titular initials, as the learned antiquary is supposed to experience with respect to Egyptian hieroglyphics. “T.L.D.!” ejaculated the pretty chambermaid: “and pray what does that mean 2”’ _ “Vy, Long Live the Doctor, my dear, to be sure!” cried the cook, with the solemnity of countenance proper to peculiar wisdom. Taking advantage of the pause which followed this lucid and satis- factory explanation, Mr. Thomas Gibbins commenced the following extraordinary chant :— NOTES OF A TRAVELLER. I am a trav’ller bold, my friends, and marvels strange could tell, O! © But for the present shall not keep you longer than a minute : And fust I may observe that I’m a wery little fellow, _ Vith a wery little head, and a wery little in it. Gomichbooks (E()