“'And do you mean to say, sir, that you have dogged me all the way from
London, and that my family affairs are to be published for the readers
of the Morning Tatler newspaper? The Morning Tatter be ----(the Captain
here gave utterance to an oath which I shall not repeat) and you too,
sir; you unpudent meddling scoundrel.'
“'Scoundrel, sir!' said I. 'Yes,' replied the irate gentleman, seizing
me rudely by the collar--and he would have choked me, but that my blue
satin stock and false collar gave way, and were left in the hands of
this GENTLEMAN. 'Help, landlord!' I loudly exclaimed, adding, I believe,
'murder,' and other exclamations of alarm. In vain I appealed to
the crowd, which by this time was pretty considerable; they and the
unfeeling post-boys only burst into laughter, and called out, 'Give it
him, Captain.' A struggle ensued, in which I have no doubt I should have
had the better, but that the Captain, joining suddenly in the general
and indecent hilarity, which was doubled when I fell down, stopped and
said, 'Well, Jims, I won't fight on my marriage-day. Go into the tap,
Jims, and order a glass of brandy-and-water at my expense--and mind I
don't see your face to-morrow morning, or I'll make it more ugly than it
is.'
“With these gross expressions and a cheer from the crowd, Mr.
Silvertop entered the inn. I need not say that I did not partake of
his hospitality, and that personally I despise his insults. I make them
known that they may call down the indignation of the body of which I am
a member, and throw myself on the sympathy of the public, as a gentleman
shamefully assaulted and insulted in the discharge of a public duty.”
“Thus you've sean how the flower of my affeckshns was tawn out of my
busm, and my art was left bleading. Hangelina! I forgive thee. Mace thou
be appy! If ever artfelt prayer for others wheel awailed on i, the beink
on womb you trampled addresses those subblygations to Evn in your be1/2!
“I went home like a maniack, after hearing the announcement of
Hangelina's departur. She'd been gone twenty hours when I heard the
fatle noose. Purshoot was vain. Suppose I DID kitch her up, they were
married, and what could we do? This sensable remark I made to Earl
Bareacres, when that distragted nobleman igspawstulated with me. Er
who was to have been my mother-in-lor, the Countiss, I never from that
momink sor agin. My presnts, troosoes, juels, &c., were sent back--with
the igsepshn of the diminds and Cashmear shawl, which her Ladyship
COODN'T FIND. Ony it was whispered that at the nex buthday she was seen
with a shawl IGSACKLY OF THE SAME PATTN. Let er keep it.
“Southdown was phurius. He came to me hafter the ewent, and wanted me
adwance 50 lb., so that he might purshew his fewgitif sister--but I
wasn't to be ad with that sort of chaugh--there was no more money for
THAT famly. So he went away, and gave huttrance to his feelinx in a
poem, which appeared (price 2 guineas) in the Bel Assombly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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