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Article PENCILLIJSTGS FEOM THE SKETCH-BOOK OF A ... ← Page 2 of 7 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Pencillijstgs Feom The Sketch-Book Of A ...
The night of arrival at Gravesend was a cold ., wet , and thoroughbred November one , —anything but agreeable ; and as the host of " mine inn" assured me that my ship would sail for the Downs in the morning , it behoved me to look well to getting aboard with as little delay as might be ; so after enjoying a certain degree of
resuscitation of limbs by a blazing fire , I called for a boat to take myself and " traps" alongside . I was soon beset by a host of would-be Charons . Selecting one , " How much to pay ? " said I . He , in reply ? asked a sum I thought exorbitant . "So much ?"— - "Oh , yes , sir ; all gem ' men" { gent is a word belonging to a later date ) "pay well on a night like this . " I inferred from his answer that I was
probably now for the first time in my life to be subjected to that sort of extortion which the juvenile and inexperienced traveller has often to submit to from the job-hunters at out-posts ; but the night was a wretched one , and I consoled myself with a hope that the charge after all was not so very unconscionable , under the circumstances ; perhaps , too , I was expected to pay a sort of footing , as the saving
is . Ihe watermen knew that I was booked for India . I was , in their imaginings , on my way to the magnificent East , the spicy Orient , — -thermometer at 99 of Fahrenheit , mines of Golcondah , the land of palaces , gold , and precious stones ; elephants , camels , and mosquitoes , all elegantly jumbled together in one grand mass of
beatitude . And had I no ordeal to pass through to entitle me to a participation in such grandeur ? Was I to escape scot-free ? So I acceded to the demand upon my purse as a thing that must be . However , I thought then , and have often thought since , when landing at various ports of the United Kingdom , that our boasted freedom in matters of this nature is apt to degenerate into unrestricted
impudence , and requires some sort of check . Is its endurance up to this time to be ascribed to apathy , or indolence , or what ? Is its continuance to be traced to the vanity of a class , which being wealthier than its neighbours , is willing to receive a vulgar homage by paying accordingly ? An atrabilious Indian , in particular , on his return from the East , will have his patience put severely to the
test after being long accustomed to the obsequious obedience of the poor natives , when he finds himself attacked in a besieging and bullying strain by a whole host of touters , and such-like creatures , who absolutely take one by storm at watering-places , —each vigorously seizing a part of the baggage , and quite alarming the nervous comer as to the final security of the entire quantity .
Amiable reader , bear with me if I ask you , Have you ever ventured out on a cold night in an open boat , dark and rainy withal ; the wind whistling about your ears ; the seats wet , watermen squabling about the division of a miserable sixpence ; and one and all , in
the full exercise of their several undistinguishable dialects , making such a fearful gabble and noise as to preclude the possibility of your understanding the commonest phrase ? And such confusion is there afloat , that the people on board the vessel you are ncaring cannot understand whether you are seeking to make their acquaintance , or
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Pencillijstgs Feom The Sketch-Book Of A ...
The night of arrival at Gravesend was a cold ., wet , and thoroughbred November one , —anything but agreeable ; and as the host of " mine inn" assured me that my ship would sail for the Downs in the morning , it behoved me to look well to getting aboard with as little delay as might be ; so after enjoying a certain degree of
resuscitation of limbs by a blazing fire , I called for a boat to take myself and " traps" alongside . I was soon beset by a host of would-be Charons . Selecting one , " How much to pay ? " said I . He , in reply ? asked a sum I thought exorbitant . "So much ?"— - "Oh , yes , sir ; all gem ' men" { gent is a word belonging to a later date ) "pay well on a night like this . " I inferred from his answer that I was
probably now for the first time in my life to be subjected to that sort of extortion which the juvenile and inexperienced traveller has often to submit to from the job-hunters at out-posts ; but the night was a wretched one , and I consoled myself with a hope that the charge after all was not so very unconscionable , under the circumstances ; perhaps , too , I was expected to pay a sort of footing , as the saving
is . Ihe watermen knew that I was booked for India . I was , in their imaginings , on my way to the magnificent East , the spicy Orient , — -thermometer at 99 of Fahrenheit , mines of Golcondah , the land of palaces , gold , and precious stones ; elephants , camels , and mosquitoes , all elegantly jumbled together in one grand mass of
beatitude . And had I no ordeal to pass through to entitle me to a participation in such grandeur ? Was I to escape scot-free ? So I acceded to the demand upon my purse as a thing that must be . However , I thought then , and have often thought since , when landing at various ports of the United Kingdom , that our boasted freedom in matters of this nature is apt to degenerate into unrestricted
impudence , and requires some sort of check . Is its endurance up to this time to be ascribed to apathy , or indolence , or what ? Is its continuance to be traced to the vanity of a class , which being wealthier than its neighbours , is willing to receive a vulgar homage by paying accordingly ? An atrabilious Indian , in particular , on his return from the East , will have his patience put severely to the
test after being long accustomed to the obsequious obedience of the poor natives , when he finds himself attacked in a besieging and bullying strain by a whole host of touters , and such-like creatures , who absolutely take one by storm at watering-places , —each vigorously seizing a part of the baggage , and quite alarming the nervous comer as to the final security of the entire quantity .
Amiable reader , bear with me if I ask you , Have you ever ventured out on a cold night in an open boat , dark and rainy withal ; the wind whistling about your ears ; the seats wet , watermen squabling about the division of a miserable sixpence ; and one and all , in
the full exercise of their several undistinguishable dialects , making such a fearful gabble and noise as to preclude the possibility of your understanding the commonest phrase ? And such confusion is there afloat , that the people on board the vessel you are ncaring cannot understand whether you are seeking to make their acquaintance , or