" With that he made a
grab at his Lilliputian antagonist, but missed him, as he slid away
amongst the women like an eel, while his pursuer, brandishing his wooden
arm on high, to which I now perceived, for the first time, that there was
a large steel hook appended, exclaimed in a broad Scotch accent, "Ah, if I
had but caught the creature, I would have clapt this in his mouth, and
played him like a salmon."
At this signal, in poured the mass of soldiers and sailors; the constables
vanished in an instant; the stewards were driven back upon the ladies; and
such fainting and screaming, and swearing and threatening, and shying of
cards, and fixing of time and place for a cool turn in the morning, it had
never been my good fortune to witness before or since. My wig! thought I,
a precious country, where a man's life may be periled by the fashion of
the covering to his nakedness!
Next day, Mr Fyall, who, I afterwards learned, was a most estimable man
in substantials, although somewhat eccentric in small matters, called and
invited me to accompany him on a cruise amongst some of the estates under
his management. This was the very thing I desired, and three days
afterwards I left my kind friends in Kingston, and set forth on my visit
to Mr Fyall, who lived about seven miles from town. .
The morning was fine as usual, although about noon the clouds, thin and
fleecy and transparent at first, but gradually settling down more dense
and heavy, began to congregate on the summit of the Liguanea Mountains,
which rise about four miles distant, to a height of near 5000 feet, in
rear of the town.
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