The Monikins
was always with the pith of one who had seen a great deal of at least one portion of his fellow-creatures. The conversation, under such c
y way of cutting in a word in his own favor, he gave me to understand that he had seen a great deal, mor
I have as yet had but little communion. In order that we may improve the occasion to the utmost, I propose that we introduce ourselves
aste his breath in idle compliments. "I accept the offer, therefore, with all my heart; and this the more readily because you are the only one I have met for a week wh
ter, and furnished a proof of responsibility. The condition was th
haken each other very cordially by the
nows it. I am not ashamed of either of my
oa
hat he had just said of his self-confidence were true. As I had afterward occasion
England are you a
may say of th
island was so designated. Will you ha
o sea a four-year-old, and here I am, walking about the kingdom of France without a cent in my pocket, a shipwrec
mariner-starvin
h to call myself a Yankee, but my back is apt to get up when I hear an Englishman use the word. We are yet f
nd will not offend again. Have
gers, in pure contempt of th
een munching half a-dozen during the walk, and held it up to view-"draw your lines which way you will on this sphere; crosswis
as well a
igator floundering in the mud. I lost my schooner on the northeast coast of Russia-somewhere hereabouts," pointing to the precise spot on the apple; "we were up there trading in skins-and finding no means of reaching home by the road I'd come, and smelling salt water down hereaway, I've be
hen, to call the
of Stunin'tun,' to anything else, for that was the name of the craft I lost. Well, the best of
where you learned to speak the Eng
e with us that think a great deal of their geometry and astronomies, but I hold to no such slender threads. My way is, when there is occasion to go anywhere, to settle it well in my mind as to the place, and then to make as straight a wake as natur' will allow, tak
not well comprehen
it after all, for the two times I've been wrecked were in summer, and both the accidents happened by sheer d
this peculiar so
tion. It's the very best way in the world to discover islands; and everybod
e, Captain Poke, how many tim
ous glance at me, as if he distr
into the South Sea with my craft, and it's of no great moment how it's done. A skin is worth just as m
loss
t cannot speak a syllable of the homespun; so I brought the schooner's dictionary with me as a sort of terrestrial almanac, and I fancied that, as they spoke gibberish to me, the best way
ea was
' and occupation, it is time that I ask a few questions of you. This is a business, you must kn
ain Poke; I hope the answ
r na
avor of his majesty, Sir
majesty, a baronet! Is baronet a calling?
n the kingdom to
stationed, like a ship's people that are called to go about; you have a certai
w that order, and propriety, and safety
ing to experience; I'm not so sure that it would do to take even
too hallowed to escape me even under the ordeal of a Stunin'tun inquisitor. In short, finding that I was nearly helpless in such hands, I made a merit of necessity, and yielded up my secrets as wood in a vice discharges its moisture. It was scarcel
ut on the whole my relations with all that portion of mankind who inhabit the islands of the Pacific, the northwest coast of America, and the northeast coast of the old continent, were rather loose, and generally in an unsettled and vague condition; and it appeared to me that I had been singularly favored in having a man so well adapted to their regeneration thrown as it were by Providence, and in a manner so unusual, directly in my way. I now
in
I believe few men fairly enter into the beauty of this benevolent system who are not
ew idee, Sir
encalf, if you
er clear of misunderstandings. You wish a navigator to take your craft, let her be what she will, into unknown seas,
sideration with
always a considerable consideration with me, and I may say, also, just now it is rather more so than usual. But when a ge
the spot. Amicable and in some respects confidential relations were now established between my new acquaintance and myself; and we pursued our walk, discussing the details necessary to the execution of our project. After an hour or two passed in this manner, I
. This task was nearly over when my attention was particularly drawn to a group that was just entering the place of general resort, apparently with the design of adding to the s