"They were none the less insolent," roared the Dean. "Your
reverence would fain make a Sentimental Journey of the narrative,
I doubt not, and find pathos in a dead donkey--though faith, no man
can blame thee for mourning over thy own kith and kin."
"Better that than to wallow in all the filth of Yahoo-land,"
returned Sterne warmly, and a quarrel would certainly have ensued
but for the interposition of the remainder of the company. As it
was, the Dean refused indignantly to have any further hand in the
story, and Sterne also stood out of it, remarking with a sneer that
he was loth to fit a good blade on to a poor handle. Under these
circumstances some further unpleasantness might have occurred had
not Smollett rapidly taken up the narrative, continuing it in the
third person instead of the first:--
"Our hero, being considerably alarmed at this strange reception,
lost little time in plunging into the sea again and regaining
his vessel, being convinced that the worst which might befall him
from the elements would be as nothing compared to the dangers of
this mysterious island. It was as well that he took this course,
for before nightfall his ship was overhauled and he himself picked
up by a British man-of-war, the Lightning, then returning
from the West Indies, where it had formed part of the fleet under
the command of Admiral Benbow. Young Wells, being a likely lad
enough, well-spoken and high-spirited, was at once entered on the
books as officer's servant, in which capacity he both gained great
popularity on account of the freedom of his manners, and found an
opportunity for indulging in those practical pleasantries for which
he had all his life been famous.
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