Silk Stockings, Snakes and a commander on a chair

[esteven]

'Must I put on silk stockings?'
'Certainly you must put on silk stockings. And do show a leg, my dear chap: we shall be late, without you spread a little more canvas.'
'You are always in such a hurry,' said Stephen peevishly, groping among his possessions. A Montpellier snake glided out with a dry rustling sound and traversed the room in a series of extraordinarily elegant curves, its head held up some eighteen inches above the ground.
'Oh, oh, oh,' cried Jack, leaping on to a chair. 'A snake!'
'Will these do?' asked Stephen. 'They have a hole in them.'
'Is it poisonous?'
'Extremely so. I dare say it will attack you, directly. I have very little doubt of it. Was I to put the silk stockings over my worsted stockings, sure the hole would not show:
but then, I should stifle with heat. Do not you find it uncommonly hot?'
'Oh, it must be two fathoms long. Tell me, is it really poisonous? On your oath now?'
'If you thrust your hand down its throat as far as its back teeth you may meet a little venom; but not otherwise. Malpolon monspessulanus is a very innocent serpent. I think of carrying a dozen aboard, for the rats - ah, if only I had more time, and if it were not for this foolish, illiberal persecution of reptiles. . . What a pitiful figure you do cut upon that chair, to be sure. Barney, Barney, buck or doe, Has kept me out of Channel Row,' he sang to the serpent; and, deaf as an adder though it was, it looked happily into his face while he carried it away.

(chapter six)

note:
With its head held up some eighteen inches above the ground it must have been close to those7 ft mentioned in wike. Venom or not, I, too, might have jumped on a chair

Comments

[sharpiefan]

Oh, Jack. *loves*

[heather_mist]

How I adore this!

I think it was this passage that made me first fall in love with POBs work. I'd liked M&C up to here when I read it, and been interested in Jack and Stephen and impressed with how well they had been written, but it was this - the snarkiness, the wit, the whole concept of a snake in the great cabin at all and Stephen being so utterly unconcerned about it... And Jack the Great Naval Hero with his amazing luck and his glorious hair - on a chair quaking like a little boy, this is what made me realise it was genius and that this truly was more than a mere boys-own adventure.

Adorable. Just adorable...

[delorita]

Oh I just read this in the book!!! I love how the conversation goes not straight at all, with the snake showing up and Jack jumping on a chair! (lolol poor chair!)

Stephen's musings if he should wear another sock beneath the one with the hole cracked me up.

And the endearments they use are just adorable!!