Shillaber, B. P. (Benjamin Penhallow), 1814-1890 [1854], Life and sayings of Mrs. Partington and others of the family. (J. C. Derby, New York) [word count] [eaf677T].
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SIR, YOU OWE ME A CENT.
[figure description] Page 080.[end figure description]
OTHER things may be great,”
said old Roger with a nod,
“besides what 's called so;
some very little thing, if 't is
done well, can be a great one;
in impudence, say, for instance.
Yesterday a boy
asked me pitifully for a four-pence;
I gave him what I
thought to be one, and passed
on. Presently I felt a twitch
at my coat-tail, and looked
round, and there stood the boy.
`Sir,' says he, `you owe me a cent — this 'ere won't
pass for but five cents — it 's crossed!' I gave the
little rascal a shilling at once; I could n't help it. The
thing was sublime, — admirable; hang me if it was n't.”
And the little man struck his cane violently on the
ground, and laughed happily at the supreme impudence
displayed in the affair.
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Shillaber, B. P. (Benjamin Penhallow), 1814-1890 [1854], Life and sayings of Mrs. Partington and others of the family. (J. C. Derby, New York) [word count] [eaf677T].
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