Our Odd-men 



luggage carried to ' The Old Ship ' : at 

 once, mind you." George, laden with the 

 baggage, went before to lead the way, but 

 on hearing some lackadaisically insolent 

 remark about " that old fool of a coach- 

 man," could bear with it no longer. He 

 plumped the luggage down hard on either 

 side of him and faced round on them. 

 " Gentlemen," he said, with his stiff mili- 

 tary salute, " if you will allow me to express 

 the sentiments of my mind, it is oder people 

 dat is a fool and not my good master. 

 And, gentlemen, it will make me great 

 pleasure to fight you bote." The story 

 goes that the two fellows beat a hasty re- 

 treat in the end, and it was only George's 

 strong sense of duty towards my Father 

 that prevented him leaving the baggage in 

 the middle of the footway. 



Equally entertaining, but of a very 

 different type, was Sprightly. He was 

 not a regular porter receiving a regular 

 wage, but a fellow who came in one day 

 for an odd job, and engaged himself as a 

 hanger-on, and would never leave us again. 

 He was our J ack-of- all-trades, and what- 

 ever was the business in hand — a hamper to 

 be packed, heavy furniture to be carried up 

 steep stairs with a due regard for corners, 

 or a message to be carried over the hills — 

 177 M 



