Original Penny Readings: A Series of Short Sketches
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Fenn George Manville. Original Penny Readings: A Series of Short Sketches
Chapter One. Paying the Footing
Chapter Two. Aboard a Light-Ship
Chapter Three. K9 – A Queer Dog
Chapter Four. Waiting for ’Arry
Chapter Five. A Rogue in Grain
Chapter Six. A Cabman’s Story
Chapter Seven. J. Weltus
Chapter Eight. My Fare
Chapter Nine. Spots on Life’s Sun
Chapter Ten. Dining with Cabby
Chapter Eleven. K9’s Adventure
Chapter Twelve. A Vulgar Tongue
Chapter Thirteen. From Real Life
Chapter Fourteen. A Wheel of Misfortune
Chapter Fifteen. A Sea Breeze
Chapter Sixteen. Told in the Dusk
Chapter Seventeen. Mephitic Fumes
Chapter Eighteen. On the Great Deep
Chapter Nineteen. Martha Jinks’s Egsperiences
Chapter Twenty. A Struggle for Life
Chapter Twenty One. The Evils of a Wig
Chapter Twenty Two. To be Sold by Auction
Chapter Twenty Three. A Placard
Chapter Twenty Four. Cast Ashore
Chapter Twenty Five. The First Stray Hair
Chapter Twenty Six. A Piece of Assurance
Chapter Twenty Seven. The Decline of the Drama
Chapter Twenty Eight. In the Hooghly
Chapter Twenty Nine. A Tale of the Great Passion
Chapter Thirty. Found in the Street
Chapter Thirty One. A Weird Place
Chapter Thirty Two. A Common Object
Отрывок из книги
Goes in for salvage, sir; and when a ship’s going on to the sands, where she must be knocked to pieces in no time, and a party of our company goes off and saves her, why we deserves it, don’t we? That’s our place, you see; and them’s old names of ships and bits o’ wreck nailed up again it. We keeps oars, and masts, and sails in there; ropes, and anchors, and things as don’t want to be lying out on the beach; and then, too, it serves for a shelter and lookout place. Them’s our boats – them two – yawls we call ’em; and I mean to say that, lifeboat, or other boat, you’ll never find aught to come anigh ’em for seaworthiness. There’s a build! there’s fine lines! Why, she goes over the water like a duck; and when we’ve a lot of our chaps in, some o’ them sand-bags and irons at the bottom for ballast, the two masts, and a couple o’ lug sails up, it’ll be such a storm as I ain’t seen yet as’ll keep us from going out. Why, we’ve gone out, when in five minutes – ah! less than that – you couldn’t see the shore – nought but wild sea and spray all round; but there, we’re used to it, you see; and when we get to a ship in trouble, and save her, why, there’s some satisfaction in it. And, after all, ’tain’t half so bad as being in a light-ship.
Light-ship? yes, there’s one out yonder. No, not that – that’s one o’ the harbour lights. Out more to sea. There, you can’t see her now; but if you take a look you’ll see her directly. Not the ship, o’ course, but the light. There; that’s her, bo. Don’t you see her? That’s a revolving light. Goes round and round, you know, so that sometimes you see it, and sometimes you don’t; and that’s on the top of a mast aboard a light-ship, moored head and starn on the sands, two mile out; and sooner than spend a night aboard her when there’s a storm on, I’d go out to fifty wrecks.
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But I was a bit up now, and, opening my knife, I tried the knot, got my breath, and went over again, slid down the chain, and getting where I was afore, managed to cut through the poor fellow’s lashings; and then holding on tightly, shouted to them to haul; but as I shouted, the sea washed right over us, and dashed us bang up against the ship’s bows, so that I was half stunned; but I held on, and then as the wave was sucking us back, and I felt that it was all over, the rope tightened, the fellows hauled in fast, and once more I was aboard, and this time not alone – though, mind you, it was no easy task to get us over the side, for I couldn’t help them a bit.
After a bit I was able to crawl down the hatchway, and as they were trying to pour rum into the poor fellow’s mouth, I lay down in the cabin, for my head felt heavy and stupid, and there I was watching them as by the light of the swinging lanthorn they did what they could for the poor fellow; and at last, lying there listening to the sea beating up against the side, I fell into a half-stupid sort of sleep – part owing to the way my head was struck, and partly from being worn-out.
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