Midnight
Never could keep a groat of what he got , or hold his fingers from what belonged to another , said you ? Fie , fie , friend Crispus , thy morals are as crabbed and austere as thy style -- the one has as little mercy as the other has grace . By my soul , it is unhandsome to make personal reflections on an old acquaintance , who seeks a little civil intercourse with you after nigh twenty years ' separation . On my soul , Master Sallust deserves to float on the Solway better than Mother Midnight herself . ' ` Perhaps , in some respects , he may merit better usage at our hands , ' said Alan ; ` for if he has described vice plainly , it seems to have been for the purpose of rendering it generally abhorred . ' ` Well , ' said the seaman , ` I have heard of the Sortes Virgilianae , and I dare say the Sortes Sallustianae are as true every tittle . I have consulted honest Crispus on my own account , and have had a cuff for my pains .