Rogues and Vagabonds Author:George Robert Sims General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1885 Original Publisher: Chatto and Windus Subjects: Fiction / General Fiction / Classics Fiction / Historical Fiction / Literary Fiction / Short Stories Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or m... more »issing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER VIII. MB. DUCE'S NEW LODGERS. It is a week since Mr. and Mrs. George Smith have taken up their residence beneath the humble rooftree of Mr. Jabez Duck. ' Quite the gentleman,' says Miss Duck, when she discusses the new lodgers with her brother. ' And quite the lady,' adds Mr. Duck, upon whom Bess's bright country face has made a great impression. ' You're an idiot, Jabez,' answers Georgina. ' She may be a lady in comparison with the persons with whom you are in the habit of associating -- housekeepers, cooks, and such like menials -- but Mrs. Smith is not a real lady. Anybody could see that with half an eye.' ' Well, my dear, I've got four half eyes, and I say distinctly that a well-bred and well-behaved young woman ' ' Quite so, Jabez ; she is a very nice young woman : but a young woman is not a young lady.' Mr. Jabez gave premonitory symptoms of a small joke by increasing in shiniuess. A smile spread up to the roots of his hair. ' A young woman is not a young lady ; but a young lady must be a young woman. Ha, ha ! -- that's a paradox.' ' It may be a paradocks, or a Victoria Docks, or an East India Docks, or any docks you like,' said Miss Duck, snappishly ; ' but if Mrs. Smith's a lady, I'll eat my head.' ' Don't, my dear,' exclaimed Jabez, with the premonitory shine bursting forth again. ' It would be sure to bring on indigestion, and your temper's awful when your digestion's bad.' ' Jabez, you're a contemptible idiot. Such frivol...« less