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Master, to my mind, here is an excellent piece of stuff for the cutter's keel.

Carp. So it is, my lad. To what country does this stuff belong?

Jack. It is true native Irish, your honour; reared and grown in Lord Buntlin's plantations at sweet Mullingar. The very same you bought from that land-lubber, Dennis M'Carthy.

Carp. Ay, very good, John. Now bear a hand, and assist me to lay it down properly.

(Here the two laid a smart, smiling Irish lad flat on his back, with his legs and arms well stretched out.)

Carp. Now, Jack, hand me the ribs and trucks, to keep the keel steady. Smart, now; there's a good lad.

(Here four more stout fellows were brought forward, all aware of the business, who were each firmly seated at poor Patrick's arms and legs.)

The most difficult part of the game was now accomplished, the victim of sport being now secured. A goodlylengthened, and tolerably-spirited, conversation was next commenced between John and his master, respecting the most approved modes of rigging the cutter's masts, cutting her sails, &c.; a part of the drama we have no intention to detail, and which is generally lengthened or curtailed according to the abilities of the speakers, and the applause which they meet with. We rather hasten to say, that the cutter being at last pronounced to be complete, and a great deal of mischievous bustle gone through in clearing her a passage to the water, the carpenter suddenly cried, Launch, there, launch! when instantly, to the astonishment of numbers, and the joy of the whole, about a dozen of buckets of water, which had been carefully prepared during the passing conversation, were discharged smack in the face of the unfortunate prostrate Irishman, and were followed by others in such rapid succession, that he was nearly suffocated, and completely drenched, before he could fight himself clear of his tormentors, while all around him were convulsed with laughter.

The other game we have selected is named The British and the Bold Buccaneer; and is one which exclusively belongs to the most active and alert seamen in the navy. According to the number on board inclined or capable of taking a part in this very hazardous

piece of amusement, the performers may be four, three, or two in number. At the time that our hero beheld it, it was done by three:-Captains St George, St Andrew, and Morgan the Bold Buccaneer,-the two former of whom were Shields colliers, and the latter a fearless Irishman. They were three athletic, well-made young men, rather below the middle size; and such was their known celebrity in this performance, that no sooner was the game publicly announced than every other was immediately suspended, and young and old, officers, cooks, and scullions, hurried on deck to witness an exhibition at that time universally popular.

The candidates for applause soon divested themselves of their hats, kerchiefs, jackets, and shoes; and having braced themselves tightly up for exertion, and taken their stations, the performance began on the forecastle by Captains St George and St Andrew chaunting the following humble rhyme, to, however, a very sweet and lively air:

Our countries on the ocean stand,

We're mermen bold upon the main ; Who dares dispute when we command,

He never shall dispute again. For thus we resolve, and thus we decree, No rival shall ever appear on the sea, Whose watch-word is Death, boys, or VicBefore he first fights us, so bold and so free,

tory!

Hurra, hurra, hurra! Glory or Death, boys, or Victory! "Well, brother," cried St George, "how do your bearings stand?"

By observation yesterday, Porto Rico, E.N.E., 20 leagues."

"Have you seen any thing lately?" "Yes, brother, I saw a sail last night, and gave chase-but I've lost her."

"What did she look like?"

"She loomed like a square-rigged vessel?

"The same I saw myself. Keep you as close to the wind as you can hug, and I'll go large; for I'm almost certain we're in the track of the object of our wishes, the Braggadocia privateer. We have only to capture her, and then home to old England as if the devil kicked us! I think we had better part company, and make sail, brother."

"Ay, ay, the sooner the better." Both now cleared the forecastle at

a single leap; and both taking a side of the deck, advanced slowly aft, with many curvettings and specimens of agility, until St George espied the Bold Buccaneer sitting carelessly whistling at the very extremity of the gaff boom. He instantly hailed him with "What ship there, ho!"

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"Ay, ay," replied he, "that's the very ship, dear, to be sure."

"Confound the rascal!" continued St George. "D'ye hear, there, fellow, what ship is that?"

"For sartin, honey, it's the very ship."

"If you don't answer me directly, I'll fire into you," cried St George. "If you do this time, my darling, it's more than the son of your mother ever did before, joy."

"Is not that the Braggadocia privateer?"

"Mayhap she is Braggadocia enough to take every devil's inch of consate out of you, however.-Oh! by St Patrick! so there's two of you, is there? Then, by the lovely maid of Killarney, it is full time I was after shaking my own beautiful trotters, sure now. [Rises, and moves slowly up the rigging.] "Hilloah! you ship there," bawled St George after him.

"What want you now, gragh?" was the answer.

"Won't you tell us your ship's name?" cried St George.

"No, troth now, that I won't.-I'll be after telling the flying Braggadocia's name to ne'er a spalpeen like you.I'm away, for I like none of your company, my darling."

"Make sail, brother, and give chace," cried St George to his companion, and both instantly sprung to the boom.

A trial of the most dexterous agility and presence of mind now ensued. They ran up the rigging, and slid down the stays, even from the very mast heads, with the rapidity of arrows, and leaped from one yard to another, by means of slip-ropes, with the confidence and agility of the monkey tribe, amidst the reiterated shouts and plaudits of the whole ship's company. They continued this fatiguing and perilous exercise a great length of time; for though the two Saints moved swiftly and fearlessly on, the Bold Buccaneer, well worthy his name, scorning to yield, no sooner led them down to the deck, than off he flew

again, nor would he halt for a moment until he reached the top-gallant yard'sarm. Here, making fast a rope's end he had brought from the top, he would coolly await their arrival on the crosstrees, and then, when his firey-faced pursuers had almost inade sure of him, would the daring fellow spring to the yard's-arm at a bound, and slipping down his rope with astonishing rapidity, would either stand the next moment on the top-sail yard's arm, or, seizing hold of a stay, continue his run to the deck, leaving his disappointed and breathless pursuers looking after him from the top-mast head. Thus they continued, with the most admirable exertion, until the Buccaneer had brought them to the deck three several times, when, unfortunately, in a rapid descent on the main-top-gallant stay into the fore-top, he wounded his foot on a marlin-spike. Still, however, he scorned to give in, though his speed was greatly retarded by his wound, which bled pretty profusely. At length, after uncommon exertion, he was laid hold of by St George, in the act of making fast a slip-rope to the foreyard's arm; and a struggle ensued which baffles all description; the Buccaneer endeavouring to shake him off, and either escape by the lift, or else make a spring to the stays, and St George keeping him stoutly and firmly pinned to the yard's arm. This was the more increased by St Andrew, who came dash in between them, by slipping down the lift of the yard. The Buccaneer finding it now impossible to escape from their clutches, made a sudden spring from St Andrew, and overboard he went headlong. Hazardous as the matter now appeared, St Andrew hesitated not a moment, but dropped from the yard after him, and was gallantly followed by St George; and here a sort of fight now ensued far more painful than pleasant. All three were excellent swimmers, but completely exhausted; and the tide happening to ebb at the time, the current of the Medway proved too strong for them, and carried them all so rapidly a-stern, that a boat was instantly dispatched to pick them up,thus ending a most finished display of agility and courage, with no other injury to the parties than a little extra fatigue, and a good ducking. For this, however, they seemed to be amply compensated, on coming on board, by

the cheering plaudits they received from the whole ship's company,-the officers giving them divers drams to qualify the salt water they had been compelled to swallow, and their companions bustling in changing their wet clothes for others more congenial to comfort; every one evincing, by these little acts of care and kindness, the high satisfaction to which their distinguished abilities had given rise; and for no better meed than which, however we may deny it, men are sometimes spurred on to greater feats than even the figuring away in the breakneck sport of The British and the Bold

Buccaneer.

It was now a delightful summer evening. The noisy clang of the Dockyard had ceased;-the lighters and shore-boats, with their commodities, Jewish and Christian, and a few unsaleable British beauties, were hurrying towards the harbour;-the sun had given to the windows of Blue Town the appearance of a splendid illumination,-had tinged the curling tops of the gently-rising waves, and the neighbouring richly wooded shores, with a golden hue, and plainly announced to the most casual inquirer, in all the dignity of beauty and express ive silence, that labour must cease, for the day was at a close. The topmen were aloft, and the marines and signal-men were at their posts. Every eye on deck was now steadily fixed either on the Admiral's ship, or on the sun; which no sooner sank beneath the horizon, than the words. Fire and Sweigh away! were given, the muskets were fired, the top-gallant yards were tripped and hurried with Blue Peter to the deck, the ensign was hauled down at the same instant, and the ceremonial of sun-set was concluded by the drummer, who beat the tattoo to the well-known air of " Go to Berwick Johnny."

A short interval of order and quietness had now happily succeeded the most boisterous mirth and uproar. The fife, the fiddle, and the drum, with most of their admirers, had gone

below; when the pee-wheep-chick-achick sound of the boatswain's pipe hurried young and old once more on deck for their hammocks, and a few moments saw the Tottumfog's sides, fore and aft, studded with human heads arrayed in all the varied costumes of the world. When all were assembled, the word, "Pipe down!" was given; the boatswain's pipe gave its sanction by a screaming trill; the hammocks flew out of the nettings as if by magic, and were as hastily shouldered by their owners, who, in their haste to reach their respective births below, displayed an apathy of feeling and an equanimity of temper highly exemplary. We have not the least doubt, but it would have excited both the wonder and laughter of our readers, to have seen young and old coming literally rolling down the hatch-ladders along with their hammocks; and we have still less, that it would have made many of them stand somewhat aghast, to have heard the strange medley of reiterated shouts of, Stand from under! Scaldings below there! and Murder! with all the usual accompaniments of mock screaming, peals of laughter, and direful imprecations, which commonly attend this hurried piece of business. All this, however, and a great deal more, passes quite unheeded, when once people are a little accustomed to it; for all this is but merely a noise, which a few minutes puts an end to. The various parties speedily return to the deck to roll up their respective hammock cloths to preserve them from the weather; and, like all other services in the navy, every thing is forgotten as soon as the bustle is over. In a very short time, a large portion of the people returned to their sports with redoubled spirits, as cheerful and good-humoured as ever, laughing heartily at the cuts and thrusts they had both taken and given;-while not a few there were, and among the rest our hero, who wisely noting the probable fatigue of the following day, stole away to their hammocks, and were soon asleep.

CHAPTER IV.

Then stick to't, my hearts, and be jolly, boys,
At the mercy of Fortune we go;
We're in for't then d-n me, what folly, boys,
To be down-hearted, you know !

THE first thing that saluted the ears of our hero in the morning, was the

hollow boom of the Admiral's gun, which was almost immediately follow

ed by the boatswain's piping, All hands, a-hoy!-then Belay, belay! and finally, Up all hammocks, hoy!-This command, as usual, opened the throats of all the midshipmen and other petty officers, who, severally running about the decks, exerted the strength of their lungs in bawling, in the roughest voice they could assume, "D'ye hear there, sleepers! up all hammocks! Rouse up, men, rouse up! Turn'out there, turn out! Out or down, lads, out or down!-A-hoy, you fellow there, no rigging on deck!-come, jump! or down you come! Hilloah, matey! who have we got here?-Oh! a sick man is it? Come this way a parcel of you, and remove this man of straw into midships out of the way. D-d lousy behaviour, indeed, to get sick now we're going to sea-shamming Abraham, I believe. Lash up there, lash up!-Move your fingers there, Master Whatd'yecallum, a little smarter, if you please! Bear a hand, my lads, on deck with your hammocks, and get them stowed.-Come, cheerily, my hearties, quick, quick!" These vociferations, accompanied now and then with a shake of not the most gentle description, had an excellent effect in putting the drowsy god to flight, and enforcing a prompt obedience to the order; so that a very few minutes saw the lower deck cleared, and the hammocks all safe in the nettings.

This piece of intelligence was no sooner reported on deck, than the boatswain made the air ring again with, All hands unmoor ship, hoy! an order which was received with a shout of applause." Up there, gunners! down there, tierers! Pass round the messenger, my lads! Carpenters, ship your bars!-Stopper the best bower forward, there!-Man the capstan !" were now the orders of the first Lieutenant, re-echoed lustily by the beforementioned gentlemen, with voices of all the variations of the gamut, from the squeaking counter-tenor, to the deep-toned harshest bass. "Are you stoppered there, forward?" demanded the first Lieutenant.-"All ready, sir," replied the boatswain.-" Unbit the cable, then."-" Ay, ay sir," was the answer." In the tier there?""Sir."-" Are you all ready, below there?"-" In a moment, sir," replied the Master, from the main hatchway, << we're clearing away as fast as we can."-"Bear a hand then, Stow-well;

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for we're all waiting you, and the day wears apace."-" Ay, ay, sir," cried the Master; "I'll sing out the moment I'm ready."-" Look about you smartly then," replied the Lieutenant, smiling, " for I care not how soon you begin your song."-Then, coming aft to the capstan, he said, Now, my lads, I expect to see you walk away with her with life and spirit. Not in the dead-and-alive way, mind me, you have been lately accustomed to see on board of a guard ship, but smart and bravely, like the station you belong to. Come, serjeant, where's the fifer?Oh, ay, I see the fellow. Come this way, my lad; stick your body up there, on the back of that carronade, and let's have something lively from you."-" All ready in the tier, sir," bawled the Master.-" Very well,” said the Lieutenant;-"look out there, forward!-Go round-play up fifer," and away they marched to the favourite air of the fleet, Shove her up! amid the cries of, "Well behaved, my lads, -that's it, stick to her,-keep it up, fifer!-Surge, there, surge!-Pay down, my hearties, pay down!-Are you all asleep in the tier there?Cheerily, my hearts, and away she goes!-In the tier there, light out the small bower, will you?" &c. &c., until the anchor was right under, which, after a few cheering and desperate rallies, gave way, and was speedily at the bows. While a few of the forecastle men were employed in lashing and securing the best bower for sea, the capstan was rapidly bringing in the loose cable of the small bower, so that in a very short time it was also right under foot. The first Lieutenant now busied himself in sending aloft the top gallant yards, reeving the royal and other fanciful rigging, then hoisted Blue Peter and fired a gun as before. The capstan bars having by this time been unshipped, and the messenger tockled up, he now ordered the decks to be cleared, and the captains of the tops to examine and see that all their running rigging was in a state fit for working, all which being duly performed, he ordered the signal-man to keep a sharp eye on the harbour for the Captain, and the breakfast to be piped.

All hands were busied in regaling themselves with their skillogalee,-a vileimitation of our Scottish porridgewhen the boatswain's pipe announced the arrival of Captain Switchem; who,

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after seeing how matters stood, with an economy truly commendable, immediately descended to his cabin, to throw aside his holiday clothes and gewgaws-which, however stylish and becoming they may look on shore, are altogether unnecessary on ship-board, gala days being always excepted. His servant soon afterwards making his appearance, on his way to his master's cook, was interrogated repeatedly from the mess tables with the eager question of "What's the news?" and although the endearing appellations of, " I say my lad-my dear boy-my heartyshipmate-old ship, &c. &c., were carefully prefixed to the demand, yet seemed he to think himself a person of too much importance even to deign a syllable of reply, or to regard his various interrogators with any other looks than those of the most cutting contempt, as he slowly and gravely paced forward to the galley. This ill-judged behaviour had the speedy effect of putting compliment to flight; and, on his return, such volleys of abuse saluted him from all quarters, that he was glad to quicken his pace, and seek shelter in his master's cabin. Nor was this his only punishment; for he had the mortification, not a minute afterwards, to be compelled to answer this important question, and to answer it moreover before those very people whom he had affected so much to despise. In his former hurry he had apparently either forgot something or had received some fresh orders to deliver to the cook; for the uproar his behaviour had excited was barely subsided, when he again made his appearance bending his course the same way as at first, but with a good deal of more activity. Unfortunately for his self-elevated importance, which was destined from that hour to be completely kicked from its stilts, he was met midway in his journey by the gunner, whom the noise had drawn from his cabin, and who, quite unceremoniously, laying hold of the lappel of his jacket, brought him to a full halt, with the old question, rubbed down to a familiar, I say you, Master What's-your-name, bear a hand and tell us what's the news?" Such a question from an anchor button was not to be eluded; he therefore, making a merit of necessity, threw his ready carcase into one of its most finished congées, and, with a face all over smiles, readily replied, "Really,

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my good, sweet sir, my news is very
trifling-vastly trifling indeed-Cap-
tain Switchem and I have been so
hurried of late."-From this flowery
commencement, however, he was sud-
denly warned to forbear, by observing
in the gunner's countenance something
of a squall beginning to be apparent,
which he dreaded might be yet more
obstreperous than the one he had al-
ready endured; making, therefore, a
sudden eddy in his speech, he more mo-
destly resumed, "But it can't be shore
news a gemmen of your rank wants

certainly not. Excuse me, sir, but I've been in such a flurry all this morning. I certainly presumed-I crave pardon, I meant I, I, understood you to say, as how you wished I to say, as to when we should sail."

"To be sure I did, Master Conse-
quence," growled the Gunner, highly
you don't suppose I
displeased;
other news?"
dear Mr Fire-
would ask
ball-to be sure not," cried the still
smiling lackey, with a face reddening
between shame and rage, at the power
which thus rudely and publicly insult-
ed him. "Well, sir, I heard Captain
Switchem say to the pilot, in the Dock
Yard there, just before he and I
came off-You knows, says he, just
when they parted, says he, 'Bear a
hand, Master Tackabout,' says he, 'for
I am quite impatient to be off,' says
the Captain. Well, sir, the pilot he
answered the Captain directly, and,
says he, I shall merely take a mor-
sel of breakfast, and be with you ere
you know what you're about. Just get
you all ready,' says the pilot, for I'll
board you in an hour at farthest, and
by that time it will be nearly flood;'
and so, sir, with that Captain Switch-
em seemed satisfied, so the gig shoved
off, sir-and, I believe, that's all, sir.
But, my stars, the Captain will be so
cross, and out of patience at my terri-
ble absence! and me all his things to
brush and put away!—I assure you,
sir, I heard no more, sir ;" and with
another congée, more stylish than the
first, away tripped the grinning do-
mestic, followed by the eyes of the
gunner, whose hard-featured, weather-
beaten countenance, betokened some-
thing between good-humour and con-
tempt.

for
you any
"Certainly not, my

"Hilloah, master," cried his mate, with his large mouth stretched from ear to ear in the form of a grin,

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