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Article THE FIRST CRUISE OF THE " VIXEN." ← Page 4 of 23 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The First Cruise Of The " Vixen."
see ; I punished a sirloin at eiglit this morning , but if you xvould give me a cup of tea , and ordher a lump or txvo of AVenham Lake ice—that's the tipple ! " " Pat , " said Tom , Avhile I rang the bell , " AA'hat do you say to a cruise for six months in the Mediterranean ? NeAvcome here has just bought the Vixenancl Ave are making up a party ; will
, you be one ? " " Is it me ?—ah , noxv , Tom , xvhat would I go to- sea for ? Didn't I upset a wherry full of ladies last week at Teddington ? Fortunately it was not out of my depth ; and there the darlings were sticking- about me like cockles , as I walked ashore with my cargo . " And Pat opened his mouth with a silent laugh .
" You shall go as the ballast , " saicl Tom , " and you can help to trim the vessel . " " Oh , be the piper , I'll go ! " said Darcy , " and it would be a charity to press Fin Laxxdess . I have just left him at Knightsbridge ; he has got leave of absence for six months , and he is going to spend them in Italy . "
" What ! " saicl I , " has not Fin managed to forget Donna Catarina ? " " No , " replied Tom , " he is as mad as ever about her . His heart became entangled in the legs of the Spanish danseuse ; she jilted Mm for a Hungarian count , and Fin has hacl an attack of the pip . "
" Yes , " said Pat , " he is dying of an entrechat ventre ; he has got a violent Bolero , ancl goes into evaporation at the sight of a high comb , or the sound of a pah * of castanets . " " We'll cure Mm , " replied Tom ; " a course of sea sickness is sovereign for complaints of the heart . "
" Then our party xvill be complete , " said I . " There's you , Phineas , Pat Darcy , ancl myself . " " Here ' s to our six months' sAA'im , " cried Pat , as he drained a slop-basinful of iced tea . LaAvless consented readily , ancl on the Sth of August Ave sat in the balcony of the hotel at Cowes sipping our evening coffee ,
and criticising the build of the Vixen , whose graceful , Avandlike mast and loxv hull dipped and curtsied to the glistening waves that lifted her on tlieir crests . Our baggage hacl been safely stowed away ; I had seen my yacht-master , who reported all ready for sea , and Tom had given orders for sailing at sundoAA'n . The waters of the little creek were shining like molten gold as
we sauntered down to the pier-head , and xvatched the boat shoot from the cutter's side ; in a feAV strokes it shot to the pier , ancl the oars were tossed up in true man-of-war style . How I admired the ease with which Tom established himself in the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The First Cruise Of The " Vixen."
see ; I punished a sirloin at eiglit this morning , but if you xvould give me a cup of tea , and ordher a lump or txvo of AVenham Lake ice—that's the tipple ! " " Pat , " said Tom , Avhile I rang the bell , " AA'hat do you say to a cruise for six months in the Mediterranean ? NeAvcome here has just bought the Vixenancl Ave are making up a party ; will
, you be one ? " " Is it me ?—ah , noxv , Tom , xvhat would I go to- sea for ? Didn't I upset a wherry full of ladies last week at Teddington ? Fortunately it was not out of my depth ; and there the darlings were sticking- about me like cockles , as I walked ashore with my cargo . " And Pat opened his mouth with a silent laugh .
" You shall go as the ballast , " saicl Tom , " and you can help to trim the vessel . " " Oh , be the piper , I'll go ! " said Darcy , " and it would be a charity to press Fin Laxxdess . I have just left him at Knightsbridge ; he has got leave of absence for six months , and he is going to spend them in Italy . "
" What ! " saicl I , " has not Fin managed to forget Donna Catarina ? " " No , " replied Tom , " he is as mad as ever about her . His heart became entangled in the legs of the Spanish danseuse ; she jilted Mm for a Hungarian count , and Fin has hacl an attack of the pip . "
" Yes , " said Pat , " he is dying of an entrechat ventre ; he has got a violent Bolero , ancl goes into evaporation at the sight of a high comb , or the sound of a pah * of castanets . " " We'll cure Mm , " replied Tom ; " a course of sea sickness is sovereign for complaints of the heart . "
" Then our party xvill be complete , " said I . " There's you , Phineas , Pat Darcy , ancl myself . " " Here ' s to our six months' sAA'im , " cried Pat , as he drained a slop-basinful of iced tea . LaAvless consented readily , ancl on the Sth of August Ave sat in the balcony of the hotel at Cowes sipping our evening coffee ,
and criticising the build of the Vixen , whose graceful , Avandlike mast and loxv hull dipped and curtsied to the glistening waves that lifted her on tlieir crests . Our baggage hacl been safely stowed away ; I had seen my yacht-master , who reported all ready for sea , and Tom had given orders for sailing at sundoAA'n . The waters of the little creek were shining like molten gold as
we sauntered down to the pier-head , and xvatched the boat shoot from the cutter's side ; in a feAV strokes it shot to the pier , ancl the oars were tossed up in true man-of-war style . How I admired the ease with which Tom established himself in the