Gaining the Ascendancy
These apprehensions vanished at their next meeting, when Crab behaved with unusual complacency and treated the narrator to a glass of punch. By this conduct, the narrator gained the ascendancy over Crab in a short time and became necessary to him for managing his business while Crab was engaged at the bottle. The narrator maintained good terms with Crab’s wife, cultivating her esteem by ridiculing Mrs. Potion and rendering her Christian offices when she sought consolation from her barbarous husband in the dram bottle.
Two Years of Service
The narrator lived in this manner for two years without hearing from his uncle. He kept little company, having neither the humor to relish nor the capacity to maintain acquaintances. Master Crab allowed no wages, and the small perquisites of his station barely supplied necessaries. The narrator was no longer a pert, giddy coxcomb elevated with the extravagance of hope; misfortune had taught him how little the world’s caresses during prosperity are worth. His appearance became austere and slovenly, and he made no attempt to seek satisfaction from Gawky, whose resentment had cooled considerably.
The Maid’s Pregnancy
When the narrator deemed himself sufficiently master of his business and began seeking opportunity to launch into the world, a small accident occurred: Crab’s maidservant revealed to the narrator that she was pregnant and claimed he was the father. Though the narrator had no reason to question this imputation, he was aware of familiarities between the maid and her master, and he saw an opportunity to shift the burden elsewhere.
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