...of a sea-captain

He was a very silent man by custom. All day he hung around the cove, or upon the cliffs, with a brass telescope; all evening he sat in a corner of the parlour next to the fire, and drank rum and water very strong. Mostly he would not speak when spoken to; only look up sudden and fierce, and blow through his nose like a foghorn; and we and the people who came about the house soon learned to let him be.

[Treasure Island, Stevenson, R. L.]

- submitted by Pearce, M. A.