"Pray, miss, don't haul 'em round that way on my account; they did n't hurt me none! Why, I thought 't was a butterfly at fust, and then I thought 't was a hummin'-bird, and them was allers pleasin' things to me, both on 'em." The woman was flattered. In the first place she was not young,--not much younger than he, in fact,--and he had addressed her as "miss"; and in the next place his comparing her ribbons to butterflies and humming-birds seemed the same as a personal compliment. "O Captain!" she says, coloring up, "did you think so, werily?"--and then she changes the subject, and talks about the appearance of the clouds, and the prospect of rain. "I suppose you old sailors can tell, purty much," she says, "whether it 's a-goin' to rain, or whether the clouds will ewaporate into mist; and I should really walue your judgment, for if my things should git wet, you see, it would cost me a wery considerable sum!" "I'll just take an obserwation!" says John; and he set his foot on a bread-basket, and cocked up one eye. He had never given the sound of _w_ to his _v_ before, but he had noticed that his fair passenger did so, and he adopted the pronunciation, partly in gallantry, partly because it struck him as elegant. While he was taking the observation, a bright thought came to him. "I guess we shall have foul weather afore long," says he. "When the clouds hev sich disjinted shapes as they hev this mornin', it 's generally portentous; but I can knock up a canvas kiver in a minute, and if it still looks like fur rain when we go into port, why, I would adwise you just to stay aboard,--it sha'n't cost you a cent more, not if you make a dozen trips!" "I 'm sure I 'm wery much obliged, Captain, and I 'll take your adwice when we come to port, and if the weather still looks wacillating, I won't wenter ashore. It would n't be worth while to risk my goods,--some of 'em welwets, too, of great walue!" "The keepin' on 'em aboard sha'n't cost you nothin'," says John, "if that 'll be any object to you." He wished to convey the idea, that, to a person of her fabulous wealth, dealing in velvets and the like, a fare more or less could not possibly be an object, and at the same time to show a magnanimous disposition on his own part. "Money is money," says the milliner, "there is no denying of that; and it has its adwantages, on account o' which I set a certain walue upon it; but just for its own sake I can't say that I do walue it,--not over and above!" "I hev n't hed no great on 't," says John, "but I 've hed enough, sense I 've come into business, to know that if I hed to keep it a-chinkin' into my pocket I should n't value it much." Then he corrected himself, and said _walue_. "I 'll tell you how money is waluable to me," says the milliner, "if I may wenter so far?" "Most certainly!" exclaimed John. "You could n't venter nothin' that would n't be to your credit,--I 'll vouch a fippenny bit on that!"