The Argosy — page 141: what you’re looking at

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

ae The Knight of the Trowel. 127 the voices of the choristers were unto him as the voices of angels. One verse of that beautiful hymn, set to the tune “ Walmer,” made a grand impression on him, and he never after forgot it. It was this :— ** God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform ; He plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.”’ Robin loved much to read about the Beginning, about that strange mysterious time when the earth was without form and void, and Adam was not, and Eve was not. ‘And would that she had never been !” Robin would add, with great vehemence, for he never could forgive her. that little indiscretion about the apple. Poor Eve was no favourite of his, and in connection with her he held a curious idea about handsome women, for which those fair flowers of creation will scarcely thank him. “Do you know why it was,” he inquired of us one day, “that the devil tempted Eve in preference to Adam ?” - “No, Robin,” we replied, with profound solemnity; “ what was it?” “Well, it was this,” replied Robin, thrusting his two thumbs through the two top button-holes of his old dress-coat, for Robin affected dress- coats. He called them swzwal//ow-tails sometimes, and sometimes Jody- coats, and certainly they were not skirt-coats, seeing they had no skirts to speak of. The shape was sufficiently unbecoming, the texture was coarse, and the complexion invariably blue, ‘“‘ profusely illustrated,” as the publishers would say, with brass buttons. ‘“ It was this, then,” pro- ceeded Robin, having thrown himself into his favourite attitude for specching: “the devil saw that Eve was fair and beautiful to look upon, so he just cast anchor upon her; and,” continued Robin, with the air of an oracle, “ from that day to this, beautiful women have been the devil's own instruments, and the particular objects of his malicious care !” “Shame! shame! Robin!” we exclaimed, with enforced gravity ; “‘we are amazed, we are shocked at you !” “ Nevertheless, you know it’s the truth I’m sayin’. Isn’t it a proverb, and I’m not sure but it’s wrote down among Solomon’s, that lovely women play the very mischief among the men ?” “Tut, tut, Robin !” we again exclaimed ; ‘‘ you have no Scripture for your statements, nor do we think a little beauty spoils the goodness of any woman, We dare say you yourself are, or were, an ardent admirer of it, and that you considered Margaret, in her day, well worth look- ing at.” - © T'll not deny it,” replied Robin, “‘ but that Margaret had her faytures, naythur would I have taken her down of it.” (We suppose not, indeed.) ‘Still, what I say is truth—the gospel truth—and I read an extract about it somewhere. It was wrote by a great man, a real clever fellow, . that never spoke but he said something. I disremember his name, but it was something like Philander.” comicaooks GO) mn