Ernest William Hornung

“ As for Alfred, he, of course, noticed nothing unusual in his wife's accents; he was used to them; and, indeed, it seemed to Granville that Alfred spoke with a regrettable drawl himself.
'You've got to play showman, Gran,' said he, when some natural questions had been hurriedly put and tersely answered (by which time they were opposite Lambeth Palace) . 'I've been trying, but I'm a poor hand at it; indeed, I'm a poor Londoner, and always was: below Blackfriars I was quite at sea, and from here to Richmond I'm as ignorant as a brush.'
'No; he's no good at all,' chimed in the Bride, pleasantly. ”

“ Granville knew his Thames better than most men—it was one of the things he did know. But he had a scholar's reverence for classic ground; and in a young man who revered so very little, this was remarkable, if it was not affectation. ”

“ It was neither Cockney nor Yankee, but a nasal blend of both: it was a lingo that declined to let the vowels run alone, but trotted them out in ill-matched couples, with discordant and awful consequences ”