"Aye," said the veteran, reseating himself, "aye, there goes Tom Kelson
in your namesake, Mary; they'll get off with a ducking, and it will
serve them right. Yes," continued he, applying the glass to his eye,
"there goes two of them ashore through the mud, like a couple of
pup-seals."
Kelson managed his boat with great skill, so as to approach the wreck,
on board which still appeared one person half overboard, and apparently
almost exhausted by his violent struggles to disencumber himself from
the wet sail, and by anchoring immediately to windward, and carrying
away cable, reached the boat and rescued the unfortunate man from a
situation that was exceedingly uncomfortable if not dangerous. The other
two, by dint of swimming, wading, and wallowing through the mud, reached
the shore, which was about three hundred yards distant.
As soon as he had ascertained that the man on board the wreck was
rescued, the old seaman, "on hospitable thoughts intent," hastened to
the village to obtain intelligence and render assistance. It was
evening when he returned to his snug dwelling, and then he was
accompanied by a tall, slight made, very fashionably dressed young man,
whom he introduced to his daughter as Mr. Millinet, of New York.
Mr. Millinet, or as he usually designated himself, George Frederick
Augustus Millinet, Esq., was a "dry goods merchant," _par excellence_,
in Broadway, who having a little more cash on hand than he had ever
possessed before, made an excursion to New England, with the charitable
intention of civilizing and astonishing the natives. His debut was,
however, rather unfortunate; B---- was his first "land-fall" after
quitting the high road from New York, towards the east. Fancying that a
sail-boat in a sea-way, was as easily managed as a Whitehall skiff, off
the Battery; he had "put to sea," in company with two little amphibious
urchins that he had hired for the occasion, and who desired no better
sport. They immediately perceived the ignorance of their commander, and
began to play tricks upon him, as man-of-war's men do upon an ignorant
and tyrannical midshipman. These pranks had terminated more seriously
than they expected, and, fearful of punishment, they had betaken
themselves to the water and made their escape.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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