"Jane, she was ill, and took wus and wus, and just as she got wus so it took wus as well with the Saucy Jane. And on the night she died, I reckon that there was a reg'lar pitched sea-fight."
"But not at sea."
"Well, no; but the frigate seemed to have been rammed, and she was on the floor and split from stem to stern."
"And, pray, has the Bold Venture made no attempt since? The glass case is not broken."
"There's been no occasion. I chucked what remained of the Saucy Jane into the fire."
MUSTAPHA
I
Among the many hangers-on at the Hotel de l'Europe at Luxor—donkey-boys, porters, guides, antiquity dealers—was one, a young man named Mustapha, who proved a general favourite.
I spent three winters at Luxor, partly for my health, partly for pleasure, mainly to make artistic studies, as I am by profession a painter. So I came to know Mustapha fairly well in three stages, during those three winters.