Freiburger historische Bestände - digital

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sequi1'. Mit grossem Geschick, allerdings auch nicht ohne
eine gewisse Übertreibung, verwendet Smollett in Peregrine
Pickle die Seemannssprache. Ein gutes Beispiel hierfür liefert
uns der Brief, in dem Trunnion seinem Neffen den nahe bevorstehenden
Tod seiner Frau meldet und dieselbe immer mit
einem Schiffe vergleicht. Da dieser Brief für spätere Untersuchungen
von Wichtigkeit ist, sei er möglichst vollständig
angeführt: „I hope you are in a better trim than your aunt
who hath been fast moored to her bed these seven weeks,
by several feet of underwater lodging in her hold and hollop,
whereby I doubt her planks are rotted so that she cannot
choose but fall to pieces in a short time. I have done all
in my power to keep her tight and easy and free from sudden
squalls that might overstrain her. And here have been the
doctors, wo have scuttled her lower deck, and let out six

gallows of water.....But as for those fellows the doctors,

they are unskilfull carpenters; that in mending one leak make
a couple; and so she fills again apace .... And here has
been Mr. Gamaliel and your brother my lord, demanting en-
trance at the gate, in Order to see her; but I would not
suffer them to come aboard" . . . (P. P. IL K. 7, S. 143.)

Hiermit zu vergleichen ist die Todesanzeige, die der alte
Postkutscher Weller gelegentlich des Ablebens seiner Frau
seinem Sohne Sani schickt, und in der er von dieser wie von
einer alten Postkutsche spricht: „— — the doctor says that
if she had svallo'd warm brandy and vater artervards insted
of afore she mightn't have been no vus her veels was immedetly
greased and every think done to sed her agoin as could be
inwented your farther had hopes as she vould have vorked
round as usual but just as she wos a turnen the corner my
boy she took the wrong road and vent down hill vith a we-
locity you never see and notvithstandin that the drag wos
put on drectly by the medikel man it wornt of no use at all
for she paid the last pike at twenty minutes afore six o'clock
yesterday evenin havin done the journey wery much under
the reglar time vich praps was partly owen to her haven
taken in wery little luggage4' . . . . (P. C. II. K. 23, S. 376.)