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Updated: June 8, 2025
"I'm thinking," said Jacob, who had too much Lancashire downrightness and straightforwardness to use any diplomacy, or go beating about the bush, "as it's very poor service ye'll get from him, Mr Frank, if I may be allowed to speak out my mind. He's drawn you into the mire again already, that's plain enough. Oh, dear mayster, I cannot hold my tongue I must and I will speak plain to you.
"Well," he said to himself moodily, "I thought the old lad had his hands full in the old country, but it's like he's not content with that; I'd as soon have thought of the Queen of England taking pick and Davy-lamp and going down to work in the pit, as of my young mayster coming home beastly drunk. My word, it's awful; 'tis for sure."
"Nay, nay, friend," said the other; "it wasn't altogether the lad's fault. But they're a rough lot, for sure; not much respect for an old man. Most on 'em's mayster o' their fathers and mothers afore they can well speak plain. Thank ye kindly for your help; the Lord'll reward ye." "You're welcome, old gentleman," said Jacob. "Can I do anything more for you?"
"No, no, ma'am, that's not it," cried the farmer, laughing: "no, I mean that we shall have nothing but babies and men and women; we shall skip the boys and girls altogether." "How do you mean?" "Why, just this way, ma'am: as soon as young mayster and miss gets old enough to know how things is, they're too old for the nursery; they won't go in leading strings; they must be little men and women.
There, shake hands; and as we're to be all fellow-voyagers, let us all be friends." But Jacob drew back. "No, mayster; I'll not grip the hand of any man, if my heart cannot go with it. Time'll show. By your leave, I'll go and get the dog-cart ready; for I suppose you'll be going back to Adelaide directly?"
It was one fine afternoon, when Frank was better than usual, that he turned to Jacob in the midst of a walk, and said abruptly, "Jacob, should you like to go to the diggings?" "Why, Mayster Frank," was the reply, "I've often thought I should just like to try my hand at it, for I was trained as a lad to pit-work.
Suppose, then, you give your bag in charge to our landlady the morning you start; that'll be soon enough, for, poor soul, she'll be glad, I daresay, not to have charge of other folk's treasure a day longer than necessary; and I'll be a witness that you give it into her charge." "Thank you, mayster," said Jacob, greatly relieved; "that's good advice, and I'll follow it."
"Indeed, mayster," replied Jacob, with a dry cough of disbelief; and glancing at Juniper, who had assumed, and was endeavouring to keep up on his cunning countenance, an appearance of injured virtue. "Yes, indeed, Jacob," said his master; "and we mustn't be too hard upon him. He did wrong, no doubt, and he has made the best amends he could.
"Oh, no, no," laughed Frank; "set your mind at rest, Jacob; I'm a thorough teetotaller now, and have been ever since you left." "And mean to be so still, I hope, mayster." "I hope so," was the reply. "But you have not heard my news, Jacob. I'm thinking of going home; not home to Adelaide, but back across the sea again home to England." "Indeed, Mayster Frank. Well, I'm not so sorry to hear it."
Of the quality of his work, however, it is best to judge for one's self. Here is his rendition of the Nineteenth Psalm, so well known to us in verse by Addison's glorious "The spacious firmament on high." The prose version is printed in one column and the verse by its side. To the Mayster of the Musik: A Psalm of David
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