I was too much depressed to take notice of any thing during my journey.
When we arrived in London, they drove to the Blue Boar (in a street, the
name of which I have forgotten). I had never seen or heard of such an
animal, and certainly it did appear very formidable; its mouth was open
and teeth very large.
The coachman threw his whip to the ostler, and the reins upon the
horses' back; he then dismounted, and calling to me, "Now, young
gentleman, I'se waiting," he put a ladder up for me to get down by; then
turning to a porter, he said to him, "Bill, you must take this here
young gem'man and that ere parcel to this here direction.--Please to
remember the coachman, sir." I replied that I certainly would, if he
wished it, and walked off with the porter; the coachman observing as I
went away, "Well, he is a fool--that's sartain." I arrived quite safe
at St. Clement's Lane, when the porter received a shilling for his
trouble from the maid who let me in, and I was shown up into a parlour,
where I found myself in company with Mrs Handycock.
Mrs Handycock was a little meagre woman, who did not speak very good
English, and who appeared to me to employ the major part of her time in
bawling out from the top of the stairs to the servants below. I never
saw her either read a book or occupy herself with needlework, during the
whole time I was in the house. She had a large grey parrot and I really
cannot tell which screamed the worst of the two--but she was very civil
and kind to me. Before I had been there ten minutes, she told me that
she "hadored sailors--they were the defendiours and preserviours of
their kings and countries," and that Mr Handycock would be home by four
o'clock, and then we should go to dinner.
As I was very anxious to see Mr Handycock, and very anxious to have my
dinner, I was not sorry to hear the clock on the stairs strike four;
when Mrs Handycock jumped up, and put her head over the banisters.
"Jemima, Jemima, it's four o'clock!"
"I hear it, marm," replied the cook; and she gave the frying-pan a
twist, which made the hissing and the smell come flying up into the
parlour, and made me more hungry than ever.
Rap, tap, tap! "There's your master, Jemima," screamed the lady. "I
hear him, marm," replied the cook. "Run down, my dear, and let Mr
Handycock in," said his wife. "He'll be so surprised at seeing you open
the door."
I ran down as Mrs Handycock desired me, and opened the street-door.
"Who the devil are you?" in a gruff voice, cried Mr Handycock; a man
about six feet high, dressed in blue cotton-net pantaloons and Hessian
boots, with a black coat and waistcoat. I was a little rebuffed, I must
own, but I replied that I was Mr Simple. "And pray, Mr Simple, what
would your grandfather say if he saw you now?"
"Law, Mr Handycock," said his wife, from the top of the stairs, "how
can you be so cross? I told him to open the door to surprise you."
"And you have surprised me," replied he, "with your cursed folly."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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