 | Life and sayings of Mrs. Partington and others
of the family |  |
MR. SLOW OFF SOUNDINGS.
“The airth is round, my son,” said Mr. Slow, impressively,
taking an apple from Abimelech's hand, and
holding it up between his thumb and finger, “like a
napple, and revolves on its own axle-tree round the sun,
jest as reg'lar as any machine you ever see. The airth
is made up of land, and water, and rocks, besides vegetation
and trees, and things growing. The mountings
upon the service of the earth are very high, — more 'n
a half a mile, I should think; some of 'em are called
white mountings, because they a'n't black. The ocean
is very deep, and some folks thinks it has n't got no bottom.
This is all gammon. Everything has got a bottom,
my son. The reason they can't find it is 'cause the
world is round. They throw their sinker overboard, and
it goes right through one side, like this” — (thrusting
his knife through the apple), — “and hangs down underneath,
jest so. Of course they can't find a bottom.”
Mr. Slow gave his boy the apple, and turned round,
much satisfied with himself.
“What is a waxed end?” asked one not posted in
the vocabulary of Lynn.
“A waxed end,” was the reply, “is the end that
receives the whacks.”
| Life and sayings of Mrs. Partington and others
of the family | |