Beadle's Dime Novels No. 87: On the Deep — page 11: what you’re looking at

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

: DINNER. : 13 “For symphony,” responded Block; “ that poor girl needs it, God knows; being left an orphan, and all alone here among us rough nauticals, not one of which she’s ever seen before with the acceptation of Capstan, who was very neeuly acquainted with the mushroomery. “With what, sir?” “The missionary,” . -suggested the professor of languages, who just then passed behind the two men, dragging a portion of the cable with his chain-hook. ~“ Oh !—but roy are we to wear our hats, Mr. Block? It seems to me— _“ Because,” interrupted the mate, “we must have every thing black. Ivll have a Shans influence upon. her ; ‘ she’ il depreciate our delicacy.” So saying he returned to the quarter-deck. Grace had by this time quitted it, and sought the solitude of her little apartment. She was seated upon a cushioned chair, turning over the leaves of her Bible, and deriving con- solation from its pages. Half an hour afterwards, she heard a knocking at her door. She opened it to confront the stew- ard who, in obedience to orders, wore a full suit of black, even to his hat, the crown of which was very high, and Shaped something like a pyramid. “ Dinner’s ready, Miss,” he said, in a mournful yoice— “ready_and waiting.” She entered the state-room and took her’ place at’ the table. Opposite to her sat the captain and his mate, attired in black ‘broadcloth, with the rims of their beavers pulled down over their eyebrows. ' The features of both were twisted into an -expression of deep solemnity, which seemed wholly out of place on faces so plump and rosy.* The captain did the hon- ors of the table with a gravity in keeping with his meJancholy ldoks ; but Grace scarcely tasted of the food put before her. She felt too sad to eat; and yet, she could not help noticing that every body she saw wore a black, suit and kept his hat on. This surprised her not a little; and she was much per- plexed when Block, pulling up the cuffs of his coat, as though about to engage in some pugilistic encounter, addressed her In the following mysterious manner : “On the present occasion of consolence, which OCapstan and connicloooks.conm