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morn, close aboard the Penmarks, you see -to conitre, as they calls it, a French squadron as was skulking in Billile anchorage--down comes a galley-packet on the lower deck, to say as how the Fee-aton frigate had diskivered more nor thirty sail of the enemies' fleet standing-out on a wind, with every stitch they could crack. Well, you know, before you could turn the quid in your mouth, there was a nitty fore and aft in the ship.

"We'd three or four bullocks 'twixt the guns on the main deck, we'd got from a ship as either comed from Cawsand or Torbay; and blow me if I don't think they nosed the French were in sight, for they tarned to a-bellowing like a bunch of boatswains. Well, just as we'd turned the hands-up make sail, one on 'em breaks from his birth (seeing as how it wasn't for the second captain of the foretop to be lagging astarn on the forecastle ladder); he runs aboard o' me tail o'nend, takes me clean under the counter with one of his horns, and heaves me from the waist half way up the weather fore rigging, over the heads of all the other topmen.'-' Why, Jem, a send like that was enough to have started your starn-post,' said one of the group which had assembled between the sick-bay and starboard side of the galleygrate. It's as true as I am here,' said Jem, and I took such a liking to the beast for it, tlat a'ter he was killed, cutup in the coppers, and his hide hung out on the spritsail-yardarm, I gives a half pint o' grog to the butcher to make a marlingspike out o' the very identical horn what gave me the heave.

"Well, howsomever, we clapped on the canvass, and badgered along on a bowline;" all night, as we stood at our quarters, we were trimming, tacking, manuvring, and taking every 'wantage o' the wind, what was weering and hawling just like the pull of a backstayfall; but it oftner favored the French-for at daylight, you see, they weathered our wake, coming up with us, "hand over fist," in three dif ferent divisions.

"Well, there was the Brunswick and we in the Ruffin' lagging together astarn, (for it wasn't in the natur of neither to run from an enemy's fleet,) and, as they never larnt it from no one afore, no, not a leg

would they willingly budge. Both on us started our water, cut our bower-anchors away, bundled o'erboard the boats from the booms, and did everything mortal could think on to shove 'em along.

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"Well,' says Sam Smith, (as was one o' the Brunswickers afore, and quartered with me in the top at the time,) Jem," says he, fixing his eye like a firret, and fetching a heave from his heart, as he looked at the ship as his brother was killed in ; 'Jem,' says Sam, I've just been a-thinking the Barky was born to be bang'd. I'll bet you,' says he, ay, six months" pay to your plush,'3 (for it happened that day I was "cook o' the mess,") she's sarved out the same as the First o' June.' Ay, that was the day, and had more on 'em stuck to their birds like the Brunswick, there had been less breezes and bloody noses at Sallyportstairs. never forget it as long as I live; we'd been trying for three days afore to bring Crappo to box, but 'twas only our weathermost ships (the Ruffin among 'em) what skrimaged at all on the first day; and as for the second day's work, why, the less we says of it the better. Then, you know, on the third and fourth, both flyers and fighters was humbugged with fogs; though the 31st, to be sure, we might have brought 'em to a general scratch afore dark; but the admiral wisely refar it for daylight, for Black Dick, you see, was summ'at deep in disarnment.

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"Howsomever, the first o' the month was fixed for the fray. About five in the morning, just as the fog clears up, there was the Ruffin (first, as usual,) with the signal flying for the enemies' fleet in sight, nor'-west. There they was sure enough, about three or four points on the bow to leeward, formed in a long line-o'-battle ahead upon the larboard tack, and over their heads there hangs a cloud as black as a hearse; as if, like the morning rainbow, it comed from aloft to warn the poor devils of their doom. Well, we cracks on, like "smoak and oakum," till we brings 'em a-beam; when just as the bell strikes six, up goes the signal to "bear up together a-breast," then for the "van to attack the enemies' van," then for the "centre the centre,' the " rear the rear," and for every ship to break the line," and bang

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1 An abbreviation for Bellerophon.

2 Barky-sailors' slang for a favourite ship.

3 On board a man-of-war, the cooks of the messes have a perquisite of the overplus grog that may remain in the "kid," or can, after the cup has gone round.

4 It is a well-known fact, that many hard-fought battles took place here, between the boats' crews of Lord Howe's fleet, after the action of the first of June. When Jack cannot have fight in one way, he

will have it in another.

5 The reader will here perceive that Jack, in his usual circumlocutory way, has lost sight, for awhile, of Cornwallis's retreat, to describe the part the Brunswick took in the battle of the First of June 1794.

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her bird. Four signals was made one a'ter t'other, when one might have sarved; but the Admiral, you see, was detarmined they shou'dn't mistake him again. I knows all about it, you see, for in the B. I was quartered on the poop at the signals. Well, down we runs, three or four miles; when the Admiral, both ways bent on a bellyfull, makes the general signal for breakfast, and many's the brave fellow that never bolted another. Well, you know, 'twas no time to be nice for stowing away ground-tier grub, so you may suppose every man was at his gun in a crack; and never mind, in closing with Crappo, if we didn't buy it with his raking broadsides. Howsomever, we was bent on the same ourselves; for just as we was passing the starn of our reg'lar anniversary in the line, and giving her a job for the glaziers abaft; her second astern, thinking to cross our hawse and bang it right into our bows, puts her helm a-port, just at the very moment we claps ours a starboard to luff under the lee of the Shields, so slap alongside of each other we comes, as loving as a pair of pet devils. There was both of us rubbing together our bends, like a couple of lighters; and so close we clung to our bird what we clawed like a cat, 'twas mortally unpossible to haul up one half of our lower deck ports; so, to shorten the matter, we blows 'em clean out with the bulldogs, and sets to abarking and biting like Britons. Well, the ship what we grappled was called, (let's see, was't the lee-or the la--though it must be the lee to be sure, 'kase she was to leeward of we all the while,) ay, I'm parfectly right, it was the lee-the lee Wengure was her name, which signifies Wengeance in English, and, with a wengeance, she fought to the last.

'Twas exactly four bells 2 when we opened our fire in the Brunswick, and at seven or so when the Captain (God bless him) received his death-wound. If bravery is rewarded aloft, and sarvices of a seaman is not overlooked, he's sure of a far better birth above nor ever he'd a'got below. But, bless your heart, he came from a boxing breed; for if the name of Hervey doesn't stand for fight in the telegraph-book, then there's no other word in the world what does. But, howsomever, the Wengure and we-there we was, for three or four hours, hugging each other like a couple of bears blazing away like winking, and pouring in the peas, till both ships were tarn'd into reg'lar built riddles. Three times she set us a-fire with her wads, and twice she cleared the poop of a part of the 29th foot, (for you see we'd then sogers aboard in lieu

of marines); ay, and a fine fellow, too, Captain Jackson, as commanded the party, was killed alongside me.

About four bells in the afternoon watch 3 'way goes our mizenmast, and shortly a'ter the Wengeance's fore and mainmasts. We'd dropped, clinging to each other, to leeward of both lines, and the pair on us falling into the trough o' the sea, the lower decks of both were afloat fore and aft, from the water rushing into the ports. Well, a terrible lurch breaks both ships adrift; away goes smack. smooth, our starboard quarter gallery, spare and best bower anchors. Many of our guns was disabled; and many's the poor fellow what fell, afore she signified she certainly struck; but our boats were so shivered with shot, we hadn't one as could swim what could board her, so she was claimed for a while by another, what had little to do in the business. But it warn't quite over with us yet; for, seeing our distress, down bears another eighty-four on us, with four or five hundred men, cutlash in hand, in her rigging, besides what she'd got on her decks, ready to board us. Howsomever, the biter was bit, for Captain Hervey coming up in the Ramillies at the time, to back his poor brother, 'twixt the Ram and the Rion she was taken herself.

"Well, by this, we fell so far to leeward, we was reg'larly cut off from our line -and in trying to get into it again, both the Queen, 98, and ourselves, had to buffet through twelve of the enemies' ships. The Queen, somehow, managed to manuver it, 'sides the Charlotte, and a few others, ran down to support her. But as for the Barky-why, we as well might a-tried to have unshipped Saint Paul's, or rigged a jury-mizenmast out of the Monument, as keep her at all by the wind: morcover, the carpenter came aft to the officers, and reg'larly reported 'twould soon be all up with us, for the ship would sartainly go down, if they didn't put her " afore it ;" so we was obligated to "bear up" at last, a step which the Admiral sartified himself; for seeing our condition, and the signal what we made of unability to continue the action, up goes our pennants aboard the Charlotte, "to part company, and proceed for the nearest port." But, mind ye, we'd finished our work first, for afore we lost sight of the lame ducks, as well as them as was flying, the Wengeance disdaining, after we leaves her, you see, to swim any longer, head foremost goes down in the face of both fleets! So there's an end o' the first o' June for you! But, let's see, where did I alter my course from Billy's

L'Achille.

2 Ten o'clock in the forenoon.

Two o'clock in the afternoon,

4 Orion.

retreat ? Oh, ay, where the Brunswick and Ruffin cut away their bower anchors and boats. Well, you know, the Admiral was determined we'd stick by each other, so, to kiver us two bad sailing ships, he changes our stations with the Mars and Triumph what brought up the rear. At one time, the enemies' van thought to cut off the Mars, but they'd mistaken their man; for old Billy, at once seeing their manuver, bears right round up in the Sovran, and lets fly such a broadside among 'em as sends them all staggering astarn: nor did they try it again in a hurry; for, you see, they was puzzled a bit at the Feeaton a-head, what was all the time like another decoy duck, "letting fly her togallant sheets," firing guns, and making all sorts of false signals to deceive 'em. Howsomever, to make sure of his ships, old Billy again runs down in the Sovran to support the Mars, when hailing Sir Charly,3 says he, “Don't fear, my friend, have one, have all. We'll stick," says he, "to each other like wax, nor wont go to Werdun 4 for nothing. What say you, Sir Charly?" says he. Well, he was as good as his word; for, by showing his pluck, and manuvering in the masterly way what he did, he saved his squadron, and escaped before dark the clutches of Crappo. The Mars and Triumph bore the brunt of the business; but, you know, 'twas only their tarn; and as one good tarn deserves another, "take a tarn with that," and " tarn in," for the watch is relieved."

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Is not that admirable? Away with all the fine poetry that Horse-marines are made to sing, by chivalrous bards, when lying on imaginary decks, beneath imaginary moon-light, on voyage to the continent of nowhere. Brown soap bubbles all, blown from the pipe of poet, for his own delight, and that of other grown-up children. Give us a ship that you can smell at sea in a dark night, almost as soon as you see her lights--no nincompoops with gilt mouldings and muslin mizen

sail, but an ocean-roarer that walks the waters below her own hanging thunder-cloud, and speaks a language understood by all the nations. No fytte second-or canto third. Dang your Spenserian stanza-your cctosyllabics-your longs and shorts; your heroics and blank-verse, feckless as blank cartridge-but give us Jack himself, putting his quid in his to

bacco-pouch above his dexter or sinister jaw, and lolling on a coil of cable. give us Jack, we say, spinning a long yarn, faster than any backward pedestrian in the walk of a rope-work, and interlarding his narrative with "old familiar phrases," redolent of pitch and salt-petre, and of all the composite fumée of the ancient sea. Never mind the moon and stars, for they are all shining away, as forgetful of you as you can possibly be of them, and will never take the slightest notice of the affair, although you should run down that pretty little ship-rigged thing, that looks as if meaning to cross your bows, and then putting about to try you to windward. In short, we desire nothing better than the above Galley Story, and yet here is perhaps a better-The Ghost.

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"Well, boys!' says Bowers, 'let's see what'll you have?-one of the Lee Virginney's, or the saucy Gee's? 5Come, I'll give you a saucy Gee.

"Well, you see, when I sarved in the killed at Trafflygar,) aboard the Mars, Go along Gee-Captain D- (he as was seventy-four,-ay, and as fine a fellow as ever shipped a swab, or fell on a deck. There warn't a better man aboard from stem to starn. He knew a seaman's

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duty, and more he never ax'd; and not like half your capering skippers, what expect unpossibilities. It went against his grain to seize a grating-up, and he never flogged a man he didn't wince as if he felt the lash himself!—and as for starting, blow me if he didn't break the boatswain by a court-martial for rope'sending Tom Cox, the captain o' the foretop in Plymouth-Sound.—And yet he wasn't a man what courted, as they call

1 He now returns to Cornwallis's retreat.

3 Sir Charles Cotton, the captain of the Mars.

2 The Bellerophon and Brunswick. 4 Verdun; French prison.

5 Jack's fancy-names for favourite ships-the Gee-the Glenmore. VOL. XIX.

6 Epaulette.

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it, cocularity; for once desarve it, you were sure to buy it; but do your duty like a man, and, d-n it, he'd sink or swim with you!

"He never could abide to hear a man abused:-let's see, was't to the first or second leeftenant he says-no, 'twas the second-and blow me, too, if I doesn't think 'twas the third-it was the third, 'kase I remember, now, he'd never a civil word for no one. Well, howsomever, you see, says the skipper, mocking the leeftenant in a sneering manner one morn, who'd just sung out, You, sir!' you know, to one o' the topmen, You, sir, I mean,' says the skipper, looking straight in the leeftenant's face.-' Pray, sir,' says he, how do you like to be you sir'd yourself?'

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"Well, the leeftenant shams deafness, you know; but I'm blowed but he hard every word on't-for never a dolphin adying tarned more colours nor he did at the time! But avast there a bit-I'm yawing about in my course. Howsomever, you know, 'tis but due to the dead, and no more nor his memory desarves : so here's try again-small helm bosteady-ey-a. Well, you know, the Go-along Gee was one o' your flash Irish cruisers the first o' your fir-built frigates-and a hell of a clipper she was! Give her a foot o' the sheet, and she'd go like a witch-but somehow o' nother, she'd bag on a bowline to leeward. Well, there was a crack set o' ships at the time on the station. Let's see, there was the `Lee Revolushoneer (the flyer, you know)— then there was the fighting Feeby--the dashing Dry'd, and one or two more o' your flash-uns; but the Gee took the shine on 'em all in reefing and furling.

"Well, there was always a cruiser or two from the station, as went with the West-Ingee convoy, as far as Madery or so, (to protect 'em, you know, from the French privateers,) and to bring back a pipe of the stuff for the admiral; ay, and I take it the old boy must have boused-up his jib-stay pretty often, for many's the pipe we shipped in the Gee for him.

"Howsomever, you see, we was ordered to sail with one of these thund'ring convoys, the largest as ever was gothered together in cove-nigh-hand a hundred and eighty or ninety sail. Let's see, there was the Polly infamous,3 sixtyfour, was our commodore, you know;

and 'sides we in the Gee, there was a ship Cravatte, and an • eighteen-gun brig.' Well, we sailed with the convoy from cove on St Patrick's day, with a stagg'ring breeze at east-north-east. We was stationed astarn, to jog-up the dull-uns, and to touch 'em up in the bunt' with the buntin.

66 6 Well, a'ter we runs out of one o' your reg'lar easterly gales, what has more lives nor a cat, and going for ever like a blacksmith's bellows, till it blows itself out, we meets with the tail of a westerly hurricane (one o' your sneezers, you know). Four or five of our head most and leewardmost ships, what tasted the thick on it first, was taken aback; two was dismasted clean by the board; but the Go along Gee was as snug as a duck in a ditch, never straining as much as a rope- yarn aloft, and as tight as a bottle below.

"Well, howsomever, we weathers out like a 'Mudian; though we lost, to be sure, the corporal of marines overboard, as was consulting his ease in the lee-mizen-chains. Well, a'ter the wind and sea gets down, the commodore closes the convoy, and sends ship-wrights aboard of such ships as needed 'em most. Well, at last we gets into your regular trades, with wind just enough for a gentleman's yacht, or to ruffle the frill of a lady's flounce: and on one o' those nights as the convoy, you know, was cracking-on everything low-and-aloft, looking just like a forest afloat-we keeping our station astarn on 'em alltop-sails low'r'd on the cap-the sea as smooth as Poll Patterson's tongue, and the moon as bright as her eye-shoals of beneties playing under the bows; what should I hear but a voice as was hailing the ship! Well, I never says nothing till I looks well around (for you see I had the starboard cat-head at the time); so I waits till I hears it again-when skylarking Dick, who'd the larboard look. out, sneaks over and says, Bob, I say, Bob-bo, did you never hear nothing just now?" Well, he scarcely axes the question, when we hears hailing again

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Aboard the G-e, ahoy-a-.' Well, there was nothing, you know, in sight within hail (for the starnmost ships of the convoy were more nor two miles a-head) -so I'm d-d if Dick and myself wasn't puzzled a bit, for we weren't just then in

1 This is no far-fetched Malapropism; the man who made use of this expression was subsequently killed, as boatswain of a line-of-battle ship.

2 A judicious remark, though couched in a homely phrase; for it is now proved that fir-built ships, from the difference of their specific gravity, by no means "hold so good a wind" as our oak "men-ofwar."

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old Badgerbag's' track. Well, we looks broad on the bows, and under the bows, and over the bows, and everywhere round we could look; when the voice now, nearing us fast, and hailing again, we sees something as white as a sheet on the water! Well, I looks at Dick, and Dick looks at me-neither of us never saying nothing, you know, at the time -when looking again, by the light of the moon, 'I'm d-d,' says. I, 'if it isn't the corporal's ghost!'' I'm d-d if it isn't,' says Dick, and aft he flies to make the report. Well, I felt summut or so queerish a bit (though I says nothing to no one, you know), for 'twas only a fortnight afore the corporal and I had a bit of a breeze 'bout taking my pot off the fire. Well, says the voice, Will you heave us a rope? I don't want a boat!' was the ery. 'D-n it, ghost or no ghost,' says 1, I'll give you a rope, if it's even to hang you;' so flying, you see, to the chains, I takes up a coil in my fist, and heaves it handsomely into his hands. Well, I was as mum as a monk, till he fixes himself in the bight of a bowling knot; when, looking down on his phiz, says I, just quietly over my breath, Is that Corporal Crag?' says I.—' Corporal Hell!' says he, why don't you haul up? Well, I sings out for someun to lend us a fist (for Dick was afeard to come forward again-and I'm blow'd but the leeftenant himself was as shy as the rest o' the watch). So I sings out again for assistance: for there was the unfortunate fellow towing alongside like a hide 3 what was soft'ning in soak.. • Will no one lend us a hand?' says I, or shall I turn the jolly* adrift, and be d-d to you?' Well, this puts two o' the topmen, you see, on their pluck, for both

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on 'em claps on the rope, and rouses clean into the chains-Now what do you think?' Why the corporal's ghost to be sure,' says one one of the group.No, nor the sign of a ghost-nor a ghost's mate's minister's mate-nor nothing that looked like a lubberly lobster,5 dead or alive; but as fine a young fellow as ever I seed in my days. For, you see, the whole on it is this:-'twas no more than a chap of an apprentice, whose master had started him that morn; and

rather nor stand it again, he takes to his fins and swims like a fish to the Geemind! the starnmost ship of the convoy ! though his own was one of the headmost; aye, and running the risk not to fetch us, you know, nor another chance to look to for his life. And why?-why? bekase the ship had a name-aye, sure! she was the Gee!!!"

-but

Were we a naval officer, our sole considerable misery would be to command a bad sailer. Riding a slowpaced horse is bad enough—an animal that can walk you two miles and a half the hour, trot seven with an occasional hobble of the right shoulder, and gallop ten on a turnpike. We once had such a horse. All things that travel by land used to give us the gobye-even droves of cows. We remember bitterly trying, with tears of vexation in our eyes, to keep parallel with an old tinker on his ass-1 we fast dropped astern, and saw the long ears sinking below the distant horizon. Before we knew him well, we remember riding him, during a moonless midnight, for a midwifebut out of a six-mile-an-hour hobbletrot, he would not have broken into a gallop, had we been sent in favour of an expected heir-apparent to the throne of these realms. A slow wooden horse ed on such occasion, would, to our at sea, although not likely to be mounttemper (which is naturally placid), be even more irritating, and we fear such tubs. Sail they won't, off or on we should get sulky. Yet, there are the wind-come it on the beam, or right astern, the tub in a gale may

make about seven knots-but down helm, and bring her up to the teeth of a north-wester, and she won't look at it -off she falls, and drifting to leeward, is soon out of the reach of signal. The jade won't answer her helm. When you are within a few cables-lengths of a most picturesque coast, indented to a painter's heart's delight, she sulkily misses stays, and her great clumsy stern-post keeps battering the rocky bottom like a paviour, till her knees getting

! A name given by Jack to Neptune, when playing tricks on travellers upon first crossing the Linc. 2 An external projection affixed to the side of a ship to give spread to the lower or standing rigging (the shrouds), to which the latter are set up or secured.

3 That part of a ship's rigging most liable to be chafed or rubbed is usually preserved by pieces of hide being securely sewn around it. Men-of-war have continually, at sea, hides towing overboard in

soak.

4 Jolly-familiar appellation for a royal marine.

5 Jack's slang for a marine, or soldier in any shape.

6 Beating with a rope's end.

7 The author served on board this ship at the period above alluded to.

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