The Steam-Packet: A Tale of the River and the Ocean — page 231: what you’re looking at

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

174 THE STEAM FACKET, with a more pleasing idea concerning the grandeur of the speculation proposed, than even its long and explicit name. We before stated that this conversation took place in the coffee-room of Quillacq’s hotel, where several persons besides the few Luminaries present at the moment were also discoursing together. Mr. Pifpaf and Mr. Rumtutch had gone out for a walk in one direction—Captain Pentonville and Aramintha in another-—and Mrs. Pifpaf and her other two daughters were busily employed in certain domestic arrangements with regard to their wardrobes, in their own chambers. The greater number of the Luminaries had strolled out in small parties; and the half dozen who, besides Buckram, were left in the coffee-room, were conversing with three or four Englishmen, also travellers, and residing for the moment at the same hotel as themselves. One of these in particular had only arrived there that same morning. He was a man of about forty, with red face, enormous rotundity of person, and sporting kind of garb. “And how was your lordship riabled to invest the money this day, if I might be allowed to ask the question ?” inquired Mr. Smale, con- tinuing the preceding conversation, and putting a query which arose from curiosity, and by no means from suspicion. ‘My dear Smale,” whispered Mr. Buckram, “I see I must we you the confidant of all my little secrets. You see that person with the blue checked neckerchief, and the lily benjamin sitting in the window-seat there ? ”’ | ““The stout English gentleman who only came into the room a few minutes ago, and who brought his carpet bag with him?” said Mr. Smale inquiringly. ‘“‘ The same,” answered Buckram, still in awhisper. ‘‘ Do not stare at him too hard—he has particular reasons for not wishing to be known. In a word, he 1s the projector and general manager of the Royal‘ Hot Joints from One to Five Daily’ Company, and is come over to France to procure shareholders. This very morning he showed me his credentials—laid his papers before me—and received a cheque from me for the whole amount of your shares andmine. But he will not even recognise me—he will affect not to know me: he is afraid that it will become noised abroad who he is, and then all the French cooks would set upon him as a rival—as the founder of an Institution which will shortly have auxiliary branches in every town in the world—and he would be torn to pieces. You see his prudence— and you must admireit. I keep his secret from all but you, because you have a right to know it: don’t breathe it to another living soul!” Mr. Buckram uttered these last words with a truly;melodramatic Gomichbooks (E(0)