The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Volume 1Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
History
The Literary Remains of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Volume 1
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor
Literature -- History and criticism
DUFOY.
Jan foutréde lacque; me vil have vip and de belle vor your breeck,
rogue.
FOOTBOY.
Sir, in a word, he was a Jack-pudding to a mountebank, and turned off
for want of wit: my master picked him up before a puppet-show,
mumbling a half-penny custard, to send him with a letter to the post.
DUFOY.
Morbleu, see, see de insolence of de foot boy English, bogre, rascale,
you lie, begar I vill cutté your troaté.
[Exit FOOTBOY.]
CLARK.
He's a rogue; on with your story, Monsieur.
DUFOY.
Matré Clark, I am your ver humble serviteur; but begar me have no
patience to be abusé. As I did say, after de dispatché of my affairé,
von day being idele, vich does producé the mellanchollique, I did
valké over de new bridge in Parie, and to divertise de time, and my
more serious toughté, me did look to see de marrioneté, and de
jack-pudding, vich did play hundred pretty trické; time de collation
vas come; and vor I had no company, I vas unvilling to go to de
Cabareté, but did buy a darriolé, littel custardé vich did satisfie my
appetite ver vel: in dis time young Monsieur de Grandvil (a jentelman
of ver great quality, van dat vas my ver good friendé, and has done me
ver great and insignal faveure) come by in his caroche vid dis Sir
Frolick, who did pention at the same academy, to learn, de language,
de bon mine, de great horse, and many oder trické. Monsieur seeing me
did make de bowe and did becken me to come to him: he did telle me dat
de Englis jentelman had de lettre vor de poste, and did entreaté me
(if I had de opportunity) to see de lettre deliveré: he did telle me
too, it void be ver great obligation: de memory of de faveurs I had
received from his famelyé, beside de inclination I naturally have to
serve de strangeré, made me returné de complemen vid ver great
civility, and so I did take de lettre and see it deliveré. Sir
Frollick perceiving (by de management of dis affair) dat I vas man
d'esprit, and of vitté, did entreaté me to be his serviteur; me did
take d'affection to his personé, and was contenté to live vid him, to
counsel and advise him. You see now de lie of de bougre de lacque
Englishe, morbleu.
EVIDENCE.
When I was at Malta, 1805, there happened a drunken squabble on the road
from Valette to St. Antonio, between a party of soldiers and another of
sailors. They were brought before me the next morning, and the great
effect which their intoxication had produced on their memory, and the
little or no effect on their courage in giving evidence, may be seen by
the following specimen. The soldiers swore that the sailors were the
first aggressors, and had assaulted them with the following words:
"----your eyes! who stops the line of march there?" The sailors with
equal vehemence and unanimity averred, that the soldiers were the first
aggressors, and had burst in on them calling out--"Heave to, you
lubbers! or we'll run you down."
FORCE OF HABIT.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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