Clowns -- Great Britain -- Biography; Grimaldi, Joseph, 1779-1837
"Not the pleasure of my acquaintance!" repeated the stranger, with
a loud laugh. "Well, Joe, that seems funny, anyhow!" He appealed to
his companion, who concurred in the opinion, and they both laughed
heartily. This was all very funny to the strangers, but not at all so
to Grimaldi: he had a vague idea that they were rather laughing at than
with him, and as much offended as surprised, was turning away, when the
person who had spoken first said, in rather a tremulous voice,
"Joe, don't you know me now?"
He turned, and gazed at him again. He had opened his shirt, and was
pointing to a scar upon his breast, the sight of which at once assured
him that it was no other than his brother who stood before him,--his
only brother, who had disappeared under the circumstances narrated in
an earlier part of these memoirs.
They were naturally much affected by this meeting, especially the elder
brother, who had been so suddenly summoned into the presence of the
near relative whom long ago he had given up for lost. They embraced
again and again, and gave vent to their feelings in tears.
"Come up stairs," said Grimaldi, as soon as the first surprise was
over; "Mr. Wroughton is there--Mr. Wroughton, who was the means of
your going to sea,--he'll be delighted to see you." The brothers were
hurrying away, when the friend, whose presence they had quite forgotten
in their emotion, said,
"Well, John, then I'll wish you good night!"
"Good night! good night!" said the other, shaking his hand; "I shall
see you in the morning."
"Yes," replied the friend; "at ten, mind!"
"At ten precisely: I shall not forget," answered John.
The friend, to whom he had not introduced his brother in any way,
departed; and they went upon the stage together, where Grimaldi
introduced his brother to Powell, Bannister, Wroughton, and many others
in the green-room, who, attracted by the singularity of his return
under such circumstances, had collected round them.
Having his stage business to attend to, he had very little time for
conversation; but of course he availed himself of every moment that he
could spare off the stage, and in answer to his inquiries, his brother
assured him that his trip had been eminently successful.
"At this moment," he said, slapping his breast-pocket, "I have six
hundred pounds here."
"Why, John," said his brother, "it's very dangerous to carry so much
money about with you!"
"Dangerous!" replied John, smiling; "we sailors know nothing about
danger. But, my lad, even if all this were gone, I should not be
penniless." And he gave a knowing wink, which induced his brother to
believe that he had indeed "made a good trip of it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account