One of his greatest finds was a handful of spare tools, in a chest that
had probably belonged to a ship's carpenter--an auger, a gimlet, a
chisel, a screwdriver, and a small piece of sharpening hone. And that
same day he lighted on an unpretentious little box, stoutly made of
deal, which had swelled with the water to the partial protection of its
contents. A glance inside showed him how great was this treasure, and
he carried it at once to his raft and bestowed it with care.
When he opened the little deal case on deck that evening The Girl gave
a joyful cry, "Books! Oh, but I am glad, and the winter nights will
not be long! Let me see them all quickly.--"Poems," by Robert Burns.
"Life of Samuel Johnson," by James Boswell. The Book of Common Prayer.
"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," by Edward Gibbon, Vol 1. "The
Vicar of Wakefield," by Oliver Goldsmith. "Tristram Shandy," by
Laurence Sterne. "The Castle of Otranto," by Horace Walpole. The
Annual Register--one, two, three volumes. "Tom Jones," by Henry
Fielding. "Clarissa Harlowe," by Samuel Richardson. Cruden's
Concordance. Hymns by Rev. Isaac Watts, D.D. A Bible. One, two,
three volumes of sermons. John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" and "Holy
War," and Foxe's "Book of Martyrs"! Oh, we shall do famously. Now
what do you make of the owner of this fine thing?" she challenged him
merrily.
"A parson, I should say. They are the greatest readers. But that is
easily seen," and he turned to the fly-leaves of several of the volumes
and found them all inscribed with the same name, 'James Elwes, Esq.
M.A. Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.'
"Good Mr Elwes! I am sorry he is drowned, but I am grateful to him for
taking his books with him when he travelled, and leaving them behind
him when he went. That is the greatest find yet," said she.
"We won't despise the lower things. All the same I'm glad to have the
books."
"They will be a wonderful help. Let us dry them at once. They are
more precious than jewels," and he got her soft cloths, and they
carefully mopped up and wiped over every volume and promised them they
should be set in the sun to complete their cure on the morrow.
"And those horrid birds?" she asked, as they worked. "You had no
trouble from them?"
"They were all too busy elsewhere. There is grain enough floating
about there to feed a city. They will be plump and happy birds for
some time to come. They were too busy even to quarrel and they never
so much as looked my way."
LI
As though exhausted by its late violence, or needing rest before
renewing it, the weather continued mild and open except for occasional
mists.
Thanks to her own caution and Wulfrey's assiduous attention, The Girl's
arm was going on well, and she was looking forward eagerly to being an
active member of society again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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