[True Stories from History and Biography by Nathaniel Hawthorne]@TWC D-Link bookTrue Stories from History and Biography CHAPTER X 2/16
"And did Sir William Phips put in these screws with his own hands? I am sure, he did it beautifully! But how came a governor to know how to mend a chair ?" "I will tell you a story about the early life of Sir William Phips," said Grandfather.
"You will then perceive, that he well knew how to use his hands." So Grandfather related the wonderful and true tale of THE SUNKEN TREASURE Picture to yourselves, my dear children, a handsome, old-fashioned room, with a large, open cupboard at one end, in which is displayed a magnificent gold cup, with some other splendid articles of gold and silver plate.
In another part of the room, opposite to a tall looking-glass, stands our beloved chair, newly polished, and adorned with a gorgeous cushion of crimson velvet tufted with gold. In the chair sits a man of strong and sturdy frame, whose face has been roughened by northern tempests, and blackened by the burning sun of the West Indies.
He wears an immense periwig, flowing down over his shoulders. His coat has a wide embroidery of golden foliage; and his waistcoat, likewise, is all flowered over and bedizened with gold.
His red, rough hands, which have done many a good day's work with the hammer and adze, are half covered by the delicate lace ruffles at his wrists.
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