I was content to take things as they might come, and eschew labours of mind as well as efforts of body. Curiosity, I felt, was a tumultuous passion, and I therefore resolved to avoid it. In this mood I turned over on the other side, and took a second nap.
From this I was roused, after a time, by some one tugging at my shoulder, who proved, upon examination, to be a very elegant-looking mulatto-boy—that is, a boy of twenty-five years or thereabouts—who signified, in language as genteel as his person, that it was exactly half past eleven o'clock, and therefore time for me to get up.
"Augh—well!" said I, taking about thirty seconds to gape out each word, it seemed such tiresome work to articulate; "what do you want?"
"Want you to get up, sah. Missie Ann says it does you no good to sleep so long."
"Augh—who is Missie Ann?"
"Lar bless us," said the gentleman, turning up the white of his eye, "Missie Ann is massa's sister!"
"Who is massa?"
"You, massa—Massa Arthur!"
"Augh—well; and who are you?"
"'Paminondas, massa. Coat very nicely brushed; very fine day; will do you good, sah, to get up and taste the air. Regular Indian summer, sah."