Pencil Sketches; or, Outlines of Character and MannersLeslie, Eliza
General
Pencil Sketches; or, Outlines of Character and Manners
Leslie, Eliza
Humorous stories; Short stories, American; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
"Dear me! what a king!" interrupted Mrs. Quimby, "and now I look at you
again, sir (there, just now, with your head turned to the light),
there's something in your face that puts me in mind of Jacob Stimbel,
our Dutch young man that used to live with us and help to do the work.
Mr. Quimby bought him at the wharf out of a redemptioner ship. He was to
serve us three years: but before his time was up be ran away (as they
often do) and went to Lancaster, and set up his old trade of a
carpenter, and married a bricklayer's daughter, and got rich and built
houses, and had three or four sons--I think I heard that one of them
turned out a pretty bad fellow. I can see Jake Stimbel now, carrying the
market-basket after me, or scrubbing the pavement. Whenever I look at
you I think of him; may be he was some relation of yours, as you both
came from Germany?"
"A relation of mine, madam!" said the Baron.
"There now--there's Jake Stimbel to the life. He had just that way of
stretching up his eyes and drawing down his mouth when he did not know
what to say, which was usually the case after he stayed on errands."
The baron contracted his brows, and bit in his lips.
"Fix your face as you will," continued Mrs. Quimby, "you are as like him
as you can look. I am sure I ought to remember Jacob Stimbel, for I had
all the trouble of teaching him to do his work, besides learning him to
talk American; and as soon as he had learnt, he cleared himself off, as
I told you, and ran away from us."
The baron now turned to Matilda Bentley, and endeavoured to engage her
attention by an earnest conversation in an under tone; and Mrs. Bentley
looked daggers at Aunt Quimby, who said in a low voice to a lady that
sat next to her, "What a pity Mrs. Bentley has such a violent way with
her eyes. She'd be a handsome woman if it was not for that."
Then resuming her former tone, the impenetrable old lady continued,
"Some of these Dutch people that came over German redemptioners, and
were sold out of ships, have made great fortunes." And then turning to a
lady who sat on the other side, she proceeded to enumerate various
wealthy and respectable German families whose grandfathers and
grandmothers had been sold out of ships. Bromley Cheston, perceiving
that several of the company were wincing under this infliction, proposed
a song from one of the young officers whom he knew to be an accomplished
vocalist. This song was succeeded by several others, and during the
singing the Blake Bentley party gradually slipped away from the table.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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