But what is wuss, half the time the news is false, and if it hadn't
been for that, old Hemp and Iron would have made a fortune. And if it
is true, it's worse still, for he would have acted on his own judgment
if he hadn't heard it, and circumstances would have altered as they
always are doing every day, and he would have made a rael hit. Oh, I
hate them. And besides this, they have spoiled them by swearing the
operators. An oath gives them fellows such an itch to blart, that
though they don't inform, they let the cat out of the bag, and that is
as bad. Tell you what, I wouldn't like to confess by telegraph. If I
am courting a gall and she sais all right, why then my fun is spoiled,
for when a thing is settled, all excitement is gone, and if I am
refused, the longer I am in ignorance the better. It is wiser to wait,
as the Frenchman did at Clare, who sat up three nights to see how the
letters passed over the wires. Well, if I am married, I have to report
progress, and logbooks are always made up before or afterwards. It's
apt to injure my veracity. In short, you know what I mean, and I
needn't follow it out, for a nod is as good as a wink to a blind
horse.
But the Lord have mercy on merchants, any fool will get along as well
as the best of them now. Dear me, I recollect a man they poked fun at
once at Salem. They induced him by way of a rise, to ship a cargo of
blankets and warming-pans to the West Indies.
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