Support the Monkey! Tell All your Friends and Teachers |
||||
791 as was his custom when he had anything very particular to say: ‘that those two young men should have met last night in that manner is, I say, a coincidence, a remarkable coincidence. Why, I don’t believe now,’ added Tim, taking off his spectacles, and smiling as with gentle pride, ‘that there’s such a place in all the world for coincidences as London is!’ ‘I don’t know about that,’ said Mr Frank; ‘but--’ ‘Don’t know about it, Mr Francis!’ interrupted Tim, with an obstinate air. ‘Well, but let us know. If there is any better place for such things, where is it? Is it in Europe? No, that it isn’t. Is it in Asia? Why, of course it’s not. Is it in Africa? Not a bit of it. Is it in America? You know better than that, at all events. Well, then,’ said Tim, folding his arms resolutely, ‘where is it?’ ‘I was not about to dispute the point, Tim,’ said young Cheeryble, laughing. ‘I am not such a heretic as that. All I was going to say was, that I hold myself under an obligation to the coincidence, that’s all.’ ‘Oh! if you don’t dispute it,’ said Tim, quite satisfied, ‘that’s another thing. I’ll tell you what though. I wish you had. I wish you or anybody would. I would so put that man down,’ said Tim, tapping the forefinger of his left hand emphatically with his spectacles, ‘so put that man down by argument--’ It was quite impossible to find language to express the degree of mental prostration to which such an adventurous wight would be reduced in the keen encounter with Tim Linkinwater, so Tim gave up the rest of his declaration in pure lack of words, and mounted his stool again. ‘We may consider ourselves, brother Ned,’ said Charles, after he had patted Tim Linkinwater approvingly on the back, ‘very |