He
was thunderstruck at the appearance of a woman in a place he had
hitherto kept sacred from the whole sex, and immediately began to
utter an apostrophe to Tom Pipes, whose turn it was then to watch;
when Mrs. Grizzle, falling on her knees before him, conjured him,
with many pathetic supplications, to hear and grant her request,
which was no sooner signified, than he bellowed in such an outrageous
manner that the whole court re-echoed the opprobrious term b--, and
the word damnation, which he repeated with surprising volubility,
without any sort of propriety or connection; and retreated into
his penetralia, leaving the baffled devotee in the humble posture
she had so unsuccessfully chosen to melt his obdurate heart.
Mortifying as this repulse must have been to a lady of her stately
disposition, she did not relinquish her aim, but endeavoured to
interest the commodore's counsellors and adherents in her cause.
With this view she solicited the interest of Mr. Hatchway, who,
being highly pleased with a circumstance so productive of mirth
and diversion, readily entered into her measures, and promised to
employ his whole influence for her satisfaction; and as for the
boatswain's mate, he was rendered propitious by the present of
a guinea, which she slipped into his hand.
Pages:
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74