Page:The Naval Officer (1829), vol. 1.djvu/109

 useless, so I crawled off and presented my key to the carpenter, who very deliberately unlocked, and as expeditiously unloaded, all my treasure. 'The midshipmen all gathered round. 'The jars of preserves, and the cakes of gingerbread which you, my dearest. mother, had so nicely packed up for me, were seized with greediness, and devoured before my face. One of them thrust his filthy paw into a pot of black currant jelly, which you gave me for a sore throat, and held a handful of it to my mouth, knowing at the same time that I was ready to be sea-sick in his hand."

"I shall never bear the sight of jelly again," said my sister.

"The nasty brutes!" said my aunt.

"Well," I resumed, "all my nice things went; and, sick as I was, I wished them gone; . but when they laughed and spoke disrespectfully of you, my dear mother, I was ready to fly up and tear their eyes out."