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"[B]ut Tom Clarke, who seemed to have cast the eyes of affection upon the landlady's eldest daughter, Dolly, objected to their proceeding farther without rest and refreshment, as they had already travelled fifty miles since morning; and he was sure his uncle must be fatigued both in mind and body, from vexation as well as from a hard exercise, to which he had not been accustomed."

— Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777)

Author

Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777)

Work Title

The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves

Place of Publication

London

Publisher

Printed for J. Coote

Date

January 1, 1760 - January 1, 1762; 1762

Metaphor

"[B]ut Tom Clarke, who seemed to have cast the eyes of affection upon the landlady's eldest daughter, Dolly, objected to their proceeding farther without rest and refreshment, as they had already travelled fifty miles since morning; and he was sure his uncle must be fatigued both in mind and body, from vexation as well as from a hard exercise, to which he had not been accustomed."

Metaphor in Context

The doctor, who had practised on board a man of war in his youth, and was perfectly well acquainted with the Captain's dialect, assured him, that if his bottom was damaged, he would new-pay it with an excellent salve, which he always carried about him, to guard against such accidents on the road: but Tom Clarke, who seemed to have cast the eyes of affection upon the landlady's eldest daughter, Dolly, objected to their proceeding farther without rest and refreshment, as they had already travelled fifty miles since morning; and he was sure his uncle must be fatigued both in mind and body, from vexation as well as from a hard exercise, to which he had not been accustomed. Fillet then desisted, saying, he was sorry to find the Captain had any cause for vexation; but he hoped it was not an incurable evil. This expression was accompanied with a look of curiosity, which Mr. Clarke was glad of an occasion to gratify; for, as we have hinted above, he was a very communicative gentleman, and the affair which now lay upon his stomach interested him nearly. "I'll assure you, Sir, (said he) this here gentleman, captain Crowe, who is my mother's own brother, has been cruelly used by some of his relations. He bears as good a character as any captain of a ship on the Royal Exchange, and has undergone a variety of hardships at sea. What d'ye think, now, of his bursting all his sinews, and making his eyes start out of his head, in pulling his ship off a rock, whereby he saved to his owners."----Here he was interrupted by the Captain, who exclaimed, "Belay, Tom Belay:----prithee, don't veer out such a deal of jaw. Clap a stopper on thy cable, and bring thyself up, my lad.-----What a deal of stuff thou hast pumped up concerning bursting, and starting, and pulling ships, Laud have mercy upon us!----Look ye here brother----look ye here----mind these poor crippled joints: two fingers on the starboard, and three on the larboard hand: crooked, d'ye see, like the knees of a bilander.---I'll tell you what, brother, you seem to be a----ship deep laden----rich cargoe---current setting into the bay----hard gale---lee shore---all hands in the boat---tow round the headland---self pulling for dear blood, against the whole crew.---Snap go the finger-braces---crack went the eye-blocks.---Bounce daylight---flash starlight---down I foundered, dark as hell---whizz went my ears, and my head spun like a whirligig.---That don't signify---I'm a Yorkshire boy, as the saying is---all my life at sea, brother, by reason of an old grandmother and maiden aunt, a couple of old stinking---kept me these forty years out of my grandfather's estate.---Hearing as how they had taken their departure, came ashore, hired horses, and clapped on all my canvas, steering to the northward, to take possession of my---But it don't signify talking---these two old piratical---had held a palaver with a lawyer---an attorney, Tom, d'ye mind me, an attorney----and by his assistance hove me out of my inheritance:---that is all, brother---hove me out of five hundred pounds a year----that's all---what signifies---but such windfalls we don't every day pick up along shore.---Fill about, brother---yes, by the Lord! those two smuggling harridans, with the assistance of an attorney---an attorney, Tom---hove me out of five hundred a year." "Yes, indeed, Sir, (added Mr. Clarke,) those two malicious old women docked the intail, and left the estate to an alien."
(pp. 7-11)