I'd rather die than do that, it makes my back ache so_."

"'Good airth" and seas,' sais I to myself, 'what a parfect
pictur of a lazy man that is! How far is it to Windsor?'

"'Three miles,' sais he. I took out my pocket-book
purtendin' to write down the distance, but I booked his
sayin' in my way-bill.

"Yes, _that_ is a _Blue-nose_; is it any wonder, Stranger,
he _is small potatoes and few in a hill_?"




CHAPTER VII.

A GENTLEMAN AT LARGE.

It is not my intention to record any of the ordinary
incidents of a sea voyage: the subject is too hackneyed
and too trite; and besides, when the topic is seasickness,
it is infectious and the description nauseates. _Hominem
pagina nostra sapit_. The proper study of mankind is man;
human nature is what I delight in contemplating; I love
to trace out and delineate the springs of human action.

Mr. Slick and Mr. Hopewell are both studies. The former
is a perfect master of certain chords; He has practised
upon them, not for philosophical, but for mercenary