van.

set her topgallant sails in order to take her proud station in the We now passed vessel after vessel, each with a different quantity of canvas set, according to her powers of sailing. It was altogether a glorious sight, and, to my feelings, excelled in quiet and cheerful sublimity any review, however splendid might be the troops, or imposing their numbers. Then the breeze came so freshly and kissingly on my cheek, whispering such pleasant things to my excited fancy, and invigorating so joyously the fibres of my heart-I looked around me, and was glad.

When the soul is big with all good and pure feelings, gratitude will be there, and at her smiling invitation piety will come cheerfully and clasp her hand. Surely not that sectarian piety, which metes out wrath instead of mercy to an erring world; not that piety, that dealing "damnation round the land," daily making the pale, within which the only few to be saved are folded, more and more circumscribed; nor even that bigoted, sensuous piety, which floats on the frankincense that eddies round the marble altar, and which, if unassisted by the vista of the dark aisle, the dimly-seen procession, the choral hymn, the banner, and the relic, faints and sees no God: no, none of these will be the piety of a heart exulting in the beneficence of the All-Good. Then and there, why should I have wished to have crept and grovelled under piled and sordid stone? Since first the aspiring architect spanned the arch at Thebes, which is not everlasting, and lifted the column at Rome, which is not immortal, was there ever dome like that which glowed over my head imagined by the brain of man? "Fretted with golden fires," and studded with such glorious clouds, that it were almost sinful not to believe that each veiled an angel; the vast concave, based all around upon the sapphire horizon, sprang upwards, terminating above me in that deep, deep, immeasurable blue, the best type of eternity;-was not this a fitting temple for worship? What frankincense was ever equal to that which nature then spread over the wave and through the air? All this I saw-all this I felt. I looked upwards, and I was at once enraptured and humbled. Perhaps then, for the first time since I had left my schoolboy's haunts, I bethought me that there was a God. Too, too often I had heard his awful presence wantonly invoked, his sacred name taken in vain. Lately, I had not shuddered at this habitual profanation. The work of demoralization had commenced. I knew it then, and, with this knowledge, the first pang of guilty shame entered my bosom. I stood up with reverence upon the cross-trees. I took off my hat, and though I did not even whisper the prayers we had used at school, mentally I went through the whole of them. When I said to myself, "I have done those things that I ought not to have done, and have left undone those things that I ought to have done," I was startled at the measure of sin that I had confessed. I think that I was contrite. I resolved to amend. I gradually flung off the hardness that my late life of recklessness had been encrusting upon my heart. I softened towards all who had ever shown me kindness; and, in my mind, I faithfully retraced the last time that I had ever walked to church with her whom I had been fond to deem my mother. These silent devotions, and these home-harmonized thoughts first chastened, and then

made me very, very happy. At last, I felt the spirit of blissful serenity so strong upon me, that forgetting for a moment to what ridicule I might subject myself, I began to sing aloud that morning hymn that I had never omitted, for so many years, until I had joined the service,

"Awake, my soul, and with the sun."

And I confess that I sang the whole of the first verse.

I am sure that no one will sneer at all this. The good will notthe wicked dare not. The worst of us, even if his sin has put on the armour of infidelity, must remember the time when he believed in a God of love, and loved to believe it. For the sake of that period of happiness he will not, cannot condemn the expression of feelings, and the manifestation of a bliss that he has himself voluntarily, and if he would ask his own heart, and record the answer, miserably, cast

away.

However, it will be long before I again trouble the reader with any thing so outré as that which I have just written. Many were the days of error, and the nights of sin, that passed before I again even looked into my own heart. The feelings with which I made my mast-head orisons are gone, and for ever. How often, and with what bitterness of spirit have I said, "would that I had then died!" If there is mercy in heaven-I say it with reverence-I feel assured that then to have passed away would have been but the closing of the eyes on earth to awaken immediately in the lap of a blissful immortality. Since then the world's foot has been upon my breast, and I have writhed under the opprobrious weight, and with sinful pride and self-trust have, though grovelling in the dust, returned scorn for scorn, and injury for injury-even wrong for wrong.

I have been a sad dog, and that's the truth; but

I have been forced to hunt, and to house, and to howl with dogs much worse than myself, and that's equally true.

"Maintopmast head there," squeaked out the very disagreeable treble of Captain Reud, who had then come on deck, as I was trolling, Shake off dull sloth, and early rise." "Mr. Percy, what do you say?"

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Aye, aye, sir! what were you saying? how many sail are there in sight?"

"I can't make out, sir."

"Why not? have you counted them ?"

Now, as I before stated, I had taken off my hat, and was standing up in a fit of natural devotion; and the captain, no doubt, thought that I was bareheaded, and shading my eyes, the better to reckon the convoy. To lie would have been so easy, and I was tempted to reply to the question, that I had. But my better feelings predominated, so at the risk of a reprimand I answered, "Not yet, sir."

At this moment Mr. Silva, the lieutenant of the watch, placed the watch look-outs, and sent the signalman up to assist me in counting the convoy; and at the same time the latter bore me a quiet message, that when the number was ascertained I might come down.

I came on deck and gave the report.

"I am very glad, Mr. Percy," said the captain, approvingly, "to see you so attentive to your duty. No doubt you went up of your own accord to count the convoy ?"

“Indeed, sir,” said I, with a great deal of humility, "I did not." "What-how? I thought when I came on deck I heard you singing out."

"I was mast-headed, sir."

"Mast-headed! how-for what?"

At this question revenge, with her insidious breath, came whispering her venom into my ear; but a voice, to the warnings of which I have too seldom attended, seemed to reverberate in the recesses of my heart, and say, "be generous." If I had told the truth maliciously, I should have assuredly drawn ridicule and perhaps anger on the head of the lieutenant, and approbation to myself. I therefore briefly replied, "For impertinence to Mr. Silva, sir."

And I was amply repaid by the eloquent look that, with eyes actually moistened, my late persecutor cast upon me. I read that look aright, and knew from that moment that he was deserving of better things than a continued persecution, for having unfortunately misapplied an expression. I immediately made a vow that I would read the "Tour up and down the Rio de la Plate with exemplary assiduity. "I am glad," said the captain, "that you candidly acknowledge your offence, instead of disrespectfully endeavour to justify it. I hope, Mr. Silva, that it is not of that extent to preclude me from asking him to breakfast with us this morning?"

"By no means," said Silva, his features sparkling with delight; "he is a good lad. I have reasons to say, a very good lad."

I understood him, and though no explanations ever took place between us, we were, till he was driven from the ship, the most perfect friends.

"Well," said the captain, as he turned to go down the quarter-deck ladder, "you will, at the usual time, both of you, pave your way into the cabin. I am sure, Mr. Silva, you won't object to that, though I have not yet made up my mind as to the propriety of the expression, so we'll have the purser, and talk it over in a friendly, good-humoured way." And saying this he disappeared, with that look of merry malignancy that no features but his own could so adequately express.

The scene at the breakfast-table was of the usual description. Authority, masking ill-nature under the guise of quizzing, on the one hand, and literary obstinacy fast resolving itself into deep personal hostility on the other.

We now had the usual indications of approaching the land. In fact, I had made it, by my reckoning, a fortnight before. The nonnautical reader must understand that the young gentlemen are required to send into the captain daily, a day's work, that is, an abstract of the course of the ship for the last twenty-four hours, the distance run, and her where-abouts exactly. Now, with that failing that never left me through life, of feeling no interest where there was no difficulty to overcome, after I had fully conquered all the various methods of making this calculation, to make it at all became a great bore. So I clapped on more steam, and giving the ship more way, and allowing

every day for forty or fifty miles of westerly currents, I, by my account, ran the Eos high and dry upon the Island of Barbadoes, three good weeks before we made the land. Thus, I had the satisfaction of looking on with placid indolence, whilst my messmates were furiously handling their Gunter's scales, and straining their eyes over the small printed figures in the distance and departure columns of John Hamilton Moore, of blessed (cursed?) memory, in a cabin over 90 degrees Farenheit, that was melting at the same time the youthful navigator, and the one miserable purser's dip that tormented rather than enlightened him with its flickering yellow flame.

As we neared the island greater precautions were taken to preserve the convoy. We sailed in more compact order, and scarcely progressed at all during the night. The whippers-in were on the alert, for it was well known that this part of the Atlantic was infested with numerous small French men-of-war, and some privateer schooners.

That morning at length arrived, when it was debated strongly whether the faint discolouration that broke the line of the western horizon, as seen from the mast head, were land or not As daylight became more decided, so did the state of our convoy. The wolves were hovering round the sheep. Well down to the southward there was a large squarerigged, three-masted vessel, fraternizing with one of our finest West Indiamen. The stranger looked tall, grim, and dark, with his courses up, but his top-gallant sails and royals set. The white sails of the merchant vessel, and she was under a press of sail, were flying in all directions; she was hove to, with her studding-sails set, and many of her tacks and sheets were flapping to the wind. Both vessels were hull down from the deck, and we well understood what was going forward. Right astern, and directly in the wind's eye of us, was a flat, broad schooner, running before the wind, with nothing set but her fore staysail. As she lifted to the sea, at the edge of the horizon, her breadth of beam was so great, and her bulwarks so little above the water, that she seemed to make way broadside on, rather than sail in the usual position. There was no vessel particularly near her. Those of the mercantile navy that most enjoyed her propinquity, did not seem, by the press of sail that they were carrying, to think the situation very enviable. However, the Falcon, one of our men-of-war brigs, was between this schooner and all the convoy, with the signal flying, "May I chase?"

But this was not all; as a whitish haze cleared up to the northward there was a spanking felucca, with her long lateen sails brailed up, and sweeping about in the very centre of a knot of dull sailing merchant vessels, four of which, by their altered courses, had evidently been taken possession of. Reversing the good old adage, first come first served, we turned our attention first to the last appearance. We made the signal to the other man-of-war brig, the Curlew, to chase and capture the felucca, she not being more than two miles distant from her. No sooner did the convoy generally begin to find out how matters stood, than like a parcel of fussey and frightened old women, they began to pop, pop, pop, firing away their one and two pounders in all directions, and those farthest from the scene of action serving their guns the quickest, and firing the oftenest. It seemed to them of but

little consequence, so long as the guns were fired, where the shot fell. Now this was a great nuisance, as it prevented, by the smoke it raised, our signals from being distinguished, even if these belligerents, in a small way, had not been so occupied by these demonstrations of their valour from attending to them. Indeed, the volumes of smoke the popping created, became very considerable. I do not now know if there be any convoy signal in the merchant code, equivalent to "cease firing. If there were at that time, I am sure it was displayed, but, displayed or not, the hubbub was on the increase. We were at last compelled to fire shot over these pugnacious tubs to quiet them, and there was thus acted the singular spectacle of three vessels capturing the convoy, whilst the artillery of its principal protector appeared to be incessantly playing upon it.

Having our attention so much divided, there was a great deal of activity and bustle, though no confusion, on our decks. We were hoisting out the boats to make the re-captures, and dividing the marines into parties to go in each. In the midst of all this hurry, when Mr. Farmer, our gallant first lieutenant was very much heated, a droll circumstance occurred, the consequence of the indiscriminate firing of the convoy. A boat pulled alongside, and a little squab man, with his face all fire, and in an awfully sinful passion, jumped on the quarter-deck, with something rolled up in a silk handkerchief. He was so irritated, that whilst he followed the first lieutenant about for two or three minutes, he could not articulate.

"Out of my way, man. Mr. Burn, see that all the small arms are ready, and handed down into the boat in good order. Out of my way, man-what the devil do you want? Muster the pinnace's crew on the starboard gangway-move all these lubberly marines. Mr. Silva, if that stupid fool don't cease firing, send a shot right into him. Man, man, what do you want-why don't you speak?"

"There, sir," at last stammered out the little angry master of a brig, unfolding his handkerchief, and exhibiting a two pound shot in a most filthy condition, "What-what do you think of that, sir? Slap on board of me, from the Lady Jane, sir-through, clean through my bulwarks into the cook's slush tub. There's murder and piracy for you on the high seas-my slush tub, sir-my bulwark, sir."

D-n you and your slush tub too-out of my way. Sail trimmers, aloft, and get ready the topmast and top-gallant studding sails."

"Am I to have no redress, sir? Is a British subject to have his slush tub cannonaded on the high seas, and no redress, sir? Sir, sir, I tell you, sir, if you don't do me justice, I'll go on board and open my fire upon that scoundrelly Lady Jane."

Now this was something like a gasconade, as our irritated friend happened to have but three quakers (wooden guns) on each side, that certainly were not equal to the merits of that apocryphal good dog, that could bark, though not bite-however, they looked as if they could.

"You had better," said Captain Reud, "go on board the Lady Jane, and, if you are man enough, give the master a hiding."

"If I'm man enough!" said he, jumping with his shot into his boat, with ireful alacrity. Shortly after, taking my glass, I looked at the