"
And, by way of showing its excellence, the one-eyed worthy drain'd
it himself to the last drop. Then filling it again, he renew'd his
efforts to make the lad go through the same operation.
"I've no occasion. Besides, _my mother has often pray'd me not to
drink,_ and I promised to obey her."
A little irritated by his continued refusal, the sailor, with a loud
oath, declared that Charles should swallow the brandy, whether he
would or no. Placing one of his tremendous paws on the back of the
boy's head, with the other he thrust the edge of the glass to his
lips, swearing at the same time, that if he shook it so as to spill
its contents the consequences would be of a nature by no means
agreeable to his back and shoulders. Disliking the liquor, and angry
at the attempt to overbear him, the undaunted child lifted his hand
and struck the arm of the sailor with a blow so sudden that
the glass fell and was smash'd to pieces on the floor; while the
brandy was about equally divided between the face of Charles, the
clothes of the sailor, and the sand. By this time the whole of the
company had their attention drawn to the scene. Some of them laugh'd
when they saw Charles's undisguised antipathy to the drink; but they
laugh'd still more heartily when he discomfited the sailor. All of
them, however, were content to let the matter go as chance would have
it--all but the young man of the black coat, who has been spoken of.
What was there in the words which Charles had spoken that carried the
mind of the young man back to former times--to a period when he was
more pure and innocent than now? "_My mother has often pray'd me not
to drink!_" Ah, how the mist of months roll'd aside, and presented to
his soul's eye the picture of _his_ mother, and a prayer of exactly
similar purport! Why was it, too, that the young man's heart moved
with a feeling of kindness toward the harshly treated child?
Charles stood, his cheek flush'd and his heart throbbing, wiping
the trickling drops from his face with a handkerchief.
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