Dicken's works . w do you do, sir ?Oh, dear me, how very whimsical! Amazinglywhimsical to be sure ! Come in, you fool! returned the dwarf, anddont stand there shaking your head and showingyour teeth. Come in, you false witness, you per-jurer, you suborner of evidence, come in ! He has the richest humor ! cried Brass, shut-ting the door behind him ; the most amazing veinof comicality! But isnt it rather injudicious,sir — What ? demanded Quilp. < What, Judas ? Judas ! cried Brass. He has such extraor-dinary spirits! His humor is so extremely play-ful ! Judas ! Oh, yes — dear me, how very good
Dicken's works . w do you do, sir ?Oh, dear me, how very whimsical! Amazinglywhimsical to be sure ! Come in, you fool! returned the dwarf, anddont stand there shaking your head and showingyour teeth. Come in, you false witness, you per-jurer, you suborner of evidence, come in ! He has the richest humor ! cried Brass, shut-ting the door behind him ; the most amazing veinof comicality! But isnt it rather injudicious,sir — What ? demanded Quilp. < What, Judas ? Judas ! cried Brass. He has such extraor-dinary spirits! His humor is so extremely play-ful ! Judas ! Oh, yes — dear me, how very good !Ha, ha, ha ! All this time Sampson was rubbing his hands,and staring, with ludicrous surprise and dismay, ata great, goggle-eyed, blunt-nosed figure-head of someold ship, which was reared up against the wall in acorner near the stove, looking like a goblin or hide-ous idol whom the dwarf worshipped. A mass oftimber on its head, carved into the dim and distantsemblance of a cocked hat, together with a repre-. THE OLD CUKIOSITY SHOP. 281 sentation of a star on the left breast and epauletteson the shoulders, denoted that it was intended forthe effigy of some famous admiral; but, withoutthose helps, any observer might have supposed itthe authentic portrait of a distinguished merman,or great sea-monster. Being originally much toolarge for the apartment which it was now employedto decorate, it had been sawn short off at the in this state it reached from floor to ceiling;and thrusting itself forward, with that excessivelywide-awake aspect, and air of somewhat obtrusivepoliteness, by which figure-heads are usually charac-terized, seemed to reduce everything else to merepygmy proportions. Do you know it ? said the dwarf, watchingSampsons eyes. Do you see the likeness ? Eh ? said Brass, holding his head on one side,and throwing it a little back, as connoisseurs I look at it again, I fancy I see a—yes,there certainly is something in the smile that re-minds me of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherbosto, bookyear1890
