His manners were mild
and uncompromisingly plain; and I soon saw that, when once started,
he delighted to talk. His accent and language had been formed in the
most natural way, since he was born in Ireland, had lived a quarter
of a century on the banks of Tyne, and was married to a Scots wife.
A fisherman in the season, he had fished the east coast from
Fisherrow to Whitby. When the season was over, and the great boats,
which required extra hands, were once drawn up on shore till the next
spring, he worked as a labourer about chemical furnaces, or along the
wharves unloading vessels. In this comparatively humble way of life
he had gathered a competence, and could speak of his comfortable
house, his hayfield, and his garden. On this ship, where so many
accomplished artisans were fleeing from starvation, he was present on
a pleasure trip to visit a brother in New York.
Ere he started, he informed me, he had been warned against the
steerage and the steerage fare, and recommended to bring with him a
ham and tea and a spice loaf. But he laughed to scorn such counsels.
'I'm not afraid,' he had told his adviser; 'I'll get on for ten days.
Pages:
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84