“Explain, Jacob. The language of both old Tom and young Tom are to me as incomprehensible as would be that of the dog Tommy.”
“Or as your Latin is to them, sir.”
“True, Jacob, true. I have no right to complain; nay, I do not complain, for I am amused, although at times much puzzled.”
We now shot Putney Bridge, and as a wherry passed us, old Tom carolled out—
“Did you ever hear tell of a jolly young waterman?”
“No, I never did,” said the Dominie, observing old Tom’s eyes directed towards him. Tom, amused by this naïveté on the part of the Dominie, touched him by the sleeve, on the other side, and commenced with his treble—
“Did you ne’er hear a tale
Of a maid in the vale?”
“Not that I can recollect, my child,” replied the Dominie.
“Then, where have you been all your life?”
“My life has been employed, my lad, in teaching the young idea how to shoot.”