Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 355, May 1845Various
Philosophy
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 355, May 1845
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
In a side chamber, of which the door stood half open, a voice was suddenly
heard, uttering sundry Oh's! and Ah's! in such a strange, half-groaning,
half-screaming tone, that the four young ladies burst into a loud fit of
laughter. The chamber was much smaller than the saloon, but yet far larger
and higher than an ordinary European bedroom, and, like the sala, was
lined with blue china tiles. In one part of it there hung a hammock, the
occupant of which, judging from his or her loud and regular snore, was
soundly sleeping. On the right hand stood a sort of hybrid machine,
between a bed and an ottoman, which might have been cleaner, and on which,
besides other articles of dress, lay a blue cloak, richly embroidered with
gold. Hats crushed out of shape, dusty trowsers, dirty linen, and
implements of the toilet, were scattered about the apartment, side by side
with costly articles of apparel, the value of one of which would have
sufficed to cleanse the whole house, and keep it clean for half a year to
come. Below the hammock sat an Indian girl, with a fan of feathers upon
her lap; her head was inclined upon her breast, and sleep had overtaken
her in the midst of the monotonous occupation of fanning the inmate of the
hammock. Near the bed or sofa stood a mulatto, holding a box of cigars and
a light.
"Oh! Ah! Ih!" again groaned the occupant of the bed, from which a nightcap
now emerged. A meagre grimy hand next appeared, pulled off the nightcap,
and disclosed a dry, brown physiognomy, of which the cheeks, temples, and
hollows round the eyes, were puckered into innumerable dark olive-green
wrinkles.
This lamentable interjection, which was somewhat louder than the preceding
one, caused a commotion in the hammock, from which there now appeared
another tawny countenance, ornamented with a few warts as large as peas,
and with a beard which would have been a fitting decoration for a
grenadier. All effort was made to raise the body as well as the head, but
the weight of the former made the attempt abortive, and the whole figure
again disappeared in the hollow of its hanging couch. A second, and more
vigorous trial was successful, and there came into view the head, neck,
shoulders, and other component parts of a female bust, the more minute
description of which we will spare our readers. The lady of the house, for
it was no less a person, did not seem in the least embarrassed by the
presence of the mulatto, but sat upright n her hammock.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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