'pickled oyster' state, and in an instant the allowance of flour for both messes for the next day, was capsized over him, and no miller not even he of Mansfield could be whiter. A 'ghost! a ghost! resounded through the cable tier and lower deck; and as the Cook's boy had been expended the day before, by breaking his neck down the main hatchway, many superstitious fellows believed the fact, and that the ghost of the boy had only been 'scared away,' upon the approach of the sergeant of marines, and master-at-arms,' with their lanterns!

6

The next morning, Jack was 'pon deck at gunfire, and the master both joked and questioned him about his 'early rising;' but Jack told 'no tales out of school,'-he had neither snivelled' nor piped his eye,' and thereby ensured his own tranquility from the first night of his turning in,' on board the 'Royal Billy.' The second night was passed in all the quiet of a cable tier; and during the day, 'Jack' was taught to know the spokes of the wheel' from the 'davit ;'—what is meant by 'abaft the binnacle' (so often a puzzler for the sharks of Westminster Hall)-a prick of spun yarn' from a 'rope's end,' and the 'lubber's hole' from the futtock shrouds.'

6

Jack, as Aberdeen college did, got on by degrees, to the command of the jolly boat; upon which occasion the commanding officer, his never-to-be-so-called-on-board-ship-uncle, gave him a bit of advice as follows:- Now young gentleman, have an eye upon the jail-birds of the jolly boat, for boys as they are, there is but one of them who is not a sweeping of Newgate, and we cannot now get any other fellows, press high, press low, from Dover beach to St. Paul's church yard, and that is the reason I send a marine with you; keep a good look out for smuggled grog, or stuff to make it, they will, if they can-knowing you have never been in blue water--work to windward of you; but do you never allow any one to be absent from the boat, and always have your eye teeth about you.' 'Aye, aye, sir,' said Jack, touching his hat; and going to attend the duty he was ordered upon, he was soon seated in the stern sheets of the jolly boat, giving the Coxson orders to shove off for the Sally Port stairs.'

EVERY thing went on remarkably well for about a week, when one morning about seven o'clock, whilst waiting at the Sally-port stairs for the officers' bread, milk, and vegetables, a tall, one-eyed woman, not over well dressed, requested a passage on board to her husband, "Dick Silvercall," one of the "Royal Billy's" boatswain's mates, whose wife, there was every reason to believe, she was, upon the old adage, in " every port Jack finds a wife." As the woman had the "gift of the gab," and was perfectly sober," Jack" having asked her if she had any rum about her, and being solemnly assured, with a thousand protestations, that "she would rather lose her life than

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attempt to break the regilations," gave her leave to "come on board,”
for she had no baggage or traps of any kind with her, except a very
fine large drum-head cabbage, of which she took as much care (for
“Dick's” mess) as if it had been an infant at the breast. On getting
along-side the “Royal Billy," one of the boat's crew offered to carry
the cabbage for her up the companion ladder, which she objected to,
and thereby "did for herself." The master-at-arms, a cunning old
fellow, would have been got to windward of in fine style, but it was
destined to be otherwise. Having overhauled " Mrs. Silvercall," in
“cat-heads,” 66
the usual close way, over
66
cut-water," sides,"
“quarters,” and “ stern," he was about to say pass on," when,
admiring the fine cabbage she carried, and extending his hands for
the purpose of feeling the weight of it, he offered her "two for one,
if she would let him have it, as it would make sour crout for his mess
for a twelvemonth." Very reluctantly she handed him the cabbage,
carefully keeping it in a vertical position, but declined sparing it, as
she "had brought it off on purpose for Dick's' mess, who would be
sure to wop' her if she did not." The old "master-at-arms" was
lost in admiration of the weight and size of the cabbage. "Bless my
soul!" said he "Missus, do let me have it: what a heavy cabbage!"
then taking it by the stump-" what! spun yarn through the stump!
-rum cabbage, Missus, eh?" and, quickly swinging it, by way of
suiting the action to the word, the splendid cabbage divided trans-
versely; the top fell off, and exposed to the view of the astounded
"Mr. Grating," a two-gallon bladder, full of real Jamaica, with its
nose nicely laid towards the stump, through which a spun-yarn tie
was passed and strongly knotted outside, and the whole so admirably
covered by the outer camince of the cabbage that, but for the “ mas-
ter-at-arms's" desire to possess the vegetable, and accidental sight of
the "spun-yarn," he would, as he himself acknowledged, have been
regularly" done brown."

"What nice hand,

With twenty years' apprenticeship, to boot,
Will make us such another ?"

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