The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 227: what you’re looking at

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

THE STRING OF PFARLS. 19 from you, Mother Oakley, no more nor J could from that ere laughing hyena we | has in the Tower.”’ ‘« Kugh !—wretch !” “ Sit down, Ben,” said Mr. Oakley. ‘I am glad to see you, and I am quite sure Johanna is.” “Oh, yes, yes.” | | ‘That’s it,” said Ben. ‘It’s on Johanna’s account Icame. Now, little one, { just tell me je Johanna had just time to place her finger upon her lips, unobserved by any | one, and shake her head at Ben.’’ “ Ab—hem! Howare you, eh?” he said, turning the conversation. ‘“‘ Come, Mother O., stir your old stumps and be alive, will you? Ihave come to lunch with your lord and master, so bustle—bustle.” ‘igh Oakley rose, and placing her hands upon her hips, she looked at Ben, as | she said— ‘You great, horrid, man-mountain of a wretch. ! only wonder you ain't afraid, after the proper punishment you had on the occasion of your last visit, to show your horrid face here again ?”’ ‘¢ You deludes to the physicking, I suppose. mum. Lor bless you, it did us / no end of good; but, howsomedever, we provide agin wice in animals when we knows on it aforehand, do you see. Oh, there you is.” A boy howled out from the shop—‘‘ Did a gentleman order two gallons of half-and-half here, please ?”’ ~ RTE Ay ce wai Ws PN We do i ‘All's right,’ said Ben. “Now, Mother O., the only thing Dll trouble ycu ie? | for, is a knife and fork. As for the rest of the combustibles, here they is.” bin w wa} Ben took from one capacious pocket a huge parcel, containing about six ot revere pounds of boiled beef, and from the other he took as much ham. + pa ‘Hold hard |” he cried to the boy who brought the beer. ‘* Take this half- crown, my lad, and get three quartern loaves.’” ‘But, Ben,” said old Mr. Oakley, “I really had no intention, when I asked you to come to lunch this morning, of making you provide it yourself. We have, or we ought to have, plenty of everything in the house.” © he-St easter, “Old birds,” said Ben, “isn’t to be caught twice. A fellow, arter he has burnt his fingers, is afeard o’ playing with the fire. No, Mrs. O., you gave us a benefit last time, and I ain’t a-going to try my luck again. All’s right— pitch into the grub. How is the chosen vessel, Mother O? All right, eh ?” Mrs. Oakley waited until Ben had made an immense sandwich of ham and beef; and then in an instant, before he was aware of what she was about, she caught it up, and slapped it in his face with a vengeance that was quite stag- gering. «‘ Kasy does it,” said Ben. “ Take that, you great, fat elephant.” ‘Go it—go it.” Mrs. Oakley bounced out of the room. Johanna looked her sorrow; and Mr. Oakley rose from his chair, but Ben made him sit down again, saying— ‘Easy does it—easy does it. Never mind her, cousin Oakley. She must have het way sometimes. Let her kick and be off. There's no harm doie—not a bit. Lord bless you; I’m used to all sorts of cantankerous animals,” Mr, Oakley shook his head. ‘“ Forget it, father,” said Johanna. “Tonly wish, my dear, I could forget manv things ; and yet there are So many others, that I want to remember; mixed up with them, that I don’t know how I should manage to separate them one from the other.’ “ You couldn’t do it,” said Ben. ‘‘ Here’s luck in a bag, and shake it out as you want it.” This sentiment was uttered while Ben’s head was deep in the recesses of the two-gallon can of beer, so that it had a peculiar solemn and sonorous effect with it. After drinking about a quart; Ben withdrew the can, and drew a long breath. comicbooks.com