England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Humorous stories, English; River life -- Fiction
“He ’ad the best of it, the other chaps ’aving to ’old Job down in ’is
chair, and trying their ’ardest to explain that Joe Gubbins was only
doing him a kindness. He seemed to understand at last, and arter a long
time ’e said as ’e could see Joe meant to do ’im a kindness, but ’e’d
better not do any more.
“He kept a very tight ’old o’ the next pint, and as ’e set down at the
table he looked round nasty like and asked ’em whether there was any
more as would like to do ’im a kindness, and Henery White said there
was, and he went straight off ’ome arter fust dropping a handful o’
sawdust into Job’s mug.
“I’m an old man, an’ I’ve seen a good many rows in my time, but I’ve
never seen anything like the one that ’appened then. It was no good
talking to Job, not a bit, he being that unreasonable that even when
’is own words was repeated to ’im he wouldn’t listen. He behaved like a
madman, an’ the langwidge ’e used was that fearful and that wicked that
Smith the landlord said ’e wouldn’t ’ave it in ’is house.
“Arter that you’d ha’ thought that Job Brown would ’ave left off ’is
talk about being a teetotaler, but he didn’t. He said they was quite
right in trying to do ’im a kindness, but he didn’t like the way they
did it. He said there was a right way and a wrong way of doing
everything, and they’d chose the wrong.
“It was all very well for ’im to talk, but the chaps said ’e might
drink hisself to death for all they cared. And instead of seeing ’im
safe ’ome as they used to when ’e was worse than usual he ’ad to look
arter hisself and get ’ome as best he could.
“It was through that at last ’e came to offer five pounds reward to
anybody as could ’elp ’im to become a teetotaler. He went off ’ome one
night as usual, and arter stopping a few seconds in the parlour to pull
hisself together, crept quietly upstairs for fear of waking ’is wife.
He saw by the crack under the door that she’d left a candle burning, so
he pulled hisself together agin and then turned the ’andle and went in
and began to try an’ take off ’is coat.
“He ’appened to give a ’alf-look towards the bed as ’e did so, and then
’e started back and rubbed ’is eyes and told ’imself he’d be better in
a minute. Then ’e looked agin, for ’is wife was nowhere to be seen, and
in the bed all fast and sound asleep and snoring their ’ardest was
little Dick Weed the tailor and Mrs. Weed and the baby.
“Job Brown rubbed ’is eyes again, and then ’e drew hisself up to ’is
full height, and putting one ’and on the chest o’ drawers to steady
hisself stood there staring at ’em and getting madder and madder every
second. Then ’e gave a nasty cough, and Dick and Mrs. Weed an’ the baby
all woke up and stared at ’im as though they could ’ardly believe their
eyesight.
“‘Wot do you want?’ ses Dick Weed, starting up.
“‘Get up,’ ses Job, ’ardly able to speak. I’m surprised at you. Get up
out o’ my bed direckly.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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