Captain Corbet heaved a heavy sigh.
“No,” said he. “I feel that I’m awake. Here’s the babby—here’s its parient. But I must rest, an meditate over this harrowin occurrience.”
Saying this, he walked forward, and seated himself in Mr. Long’s vacated chair.
“Thar,” he exclaimed, after a long silence, raising his meek face, and solemnly regarding the boys. “Thar, it air over! That dream hath past and fled, an the feeble idee I ben a hevin of Mr. Long’s better natoor air totially overtherrown by that muve! For it was a perroud hope of the aged and tew sangu-wine Corbet to give thanks to the man that delivered him from rewination in the most ef-fectooil way, by a bringin of the babby face tew face with his benefacture, an a teachin of the tender infant to summile on the author of his footur fortin. We met,” he continued, as a darker shade came over his venerable countenance. “We met, an I thot we’d feel a mootooil jy. I stood a lingerin long by yonder open portial, a holdin of him in suspense, an a pictoorin tew myself his silent raptoor. Why, do you know, boys, I’d even made up my mind to let him hold the babby,—jest for a leetle,—if he begged hard, an if the infant didn’t cry. That’s what I was a keepin in store for him. What do ye think of that now?”
And after this announcement of his late plan, he looked earnestly at the boys to witness the full effect of that disclosure.
“An what was the result? Did he spering tew meet me? Did he clasp the babe? Did he evince a mite of yearnin or kimpassion? Did he even try to get a sight of the pootiest little face zat ever was—bress him.” Here Captain Corbet began to show signs of growing maudlin, but he checked himself and went on. “He! not he. What did he do, young sirs? You saw him. Bar witness tew what I say. He took his departoor. He felled, like an evil sperrit, at the approach of that cherub. An I—I felt it sore—I felt it—an I feel it still,—yes, I do,—yea, even down to the toes of my butes!”
Here followed a long silence, which the boys did not break, for they did not know what to say to soothe the woes of the afflicted captain. At length he looked up, and went on in a tone of sadness, in which might be detected something like resentment.
“Fust opinions is alius krect. You mind, boys, what I told you on the briny deep. I said that the heart of Mr. Long was as hard as the neither milestone. Terew, when, on that eventfooil trile, he riz up for me, an fit down my fiendish prosecooter, an gently tetched him up on the roar by that tremenjuous outbust abeout the babby; when all that was a happenin, I did think I’d a leetle mis-jedged him. But did I? No. I come to show a parient’s gratitood by presentin before him my most perecious treasoor. An what was the result? What? Why, he met me with his habitooil hardheartedness. I found him stiff as a marbial statoot, cold an freezin as a icicle, rugged an onfeelin as a rocky precipious!”