Dogs -- Fiction; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Fiction; Historical fiction; Seafaring life -- Fiction
Mr Vanslyperken walked away from the syndic's house with the comfortable
idea that one side of him was heavier than the other by one hundred
guineas. He also ruminated; he had already obtained three hundred
pounds, no small sum, in those days, for a lieutenant. It is true that
he had lost the chance of thousands by the barking of Snarleyyow, and he
had lost the fair Portsmouth widow; but then he was again on good terms
with the Frau Vandersloosh, and was in a fair way of making his fortune,
and, as he considered, with small risk. His mother, too, attracted a
share of his reminiscences; the old woman would soon die, and then he
would have all that she had saved. Smallbones occasionally intruded
himself, but that was but for a moment. And Mr Vanslyperken walked away
very well satisfied, upon the whole, with his _esse_ and _posse_. He
wound up by flattering himself that he should wind up with the savings
of his mother, his half-pay, the widow's guilders, and his own
property,--altogether it would be pretty comfortable. But we leave him
and return to Corporal Van Spitter.
Corporal Van Spitter had had wisdom enough to dupe Vanslyperken, and
persuade him that he was very much in love with Babette; and
Vanslyperken, who was not at all averse to this amour, permitted the
corporal to go on shore and make love. As Vanslyperken did not like the
cutter and Snarleyyow to be left without the corporal or himself, he
always remained on board when the corporal went, so that the widow had
enough on hand--pretending love all the morning with the lieutenant, and
indemnifying herself by real love with the corporal after dusk. Her fat
hand was kissed and slobbered from morning to night, but it was half for
love and half for revenge.
But we must leave the corporal, and return to Jemmy Ducks. Jemmy was two
days in the cave before the arrival of the boat, during which he made
himself a great favourite, particularly with Lilly, who sat down and
listened to his fiddle and his singing. It was a novelty in the cave,
anything like amusement. On the third night, however, Sir R. Barclay
came back from Cherbourg, and as he only remained one hour, Jemmy was
hastened on board, taking leave of his wife, but not parting with his
fiddle. He took his berth as steersman, in lieu of Ramsay, and gave
perfect satisfaction. The intelligence brought over by Sir Robert
rendered an immediate messenger to Portsmouth necessary, and, as it
would create less suspicion, Moggy was the party now entrusted in lieu
of Nancy, who had been lately seen too often, and, it was supposed, had
been watched. Moggy was not sorry to receive her instructions, which
were, to remain at Portsmouth until Lazarus the Jew should give her
further orders; for there was one point which Moggy was most anxious to
accomplish, now that she could do it without risking a retaliation upon
her husband, which was, to use her own expression, to pay off that
snivelling old rascal, Vanslyperken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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