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 LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
 
 822 ;v 
 C356^ 
 1832 
 v.l
 
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 jre 
 
 
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 JUN 23 11189 
 
 APROiae 
 
 L161— O-1096
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 VOL.
 
 PRINTED BY A. J. VALPY, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 BY 
 
 A CAPTAIN IN THE NAVY. 
 
 Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam — 
 Survey our empire, and behold our home ! 
 
 Byron. 
 
 •Jfc 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, 
 
 (LATE COLBURN AND BENTLEY.) 
 
 1832.
 
 C35C.X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In offering the following pages to the Public, I 
 cannot be actuated by overgrown vanity, nor in- 
 stigated by author-like ambition : some portion of 
 my work has, in another form, already been pub- 
 lished, and now appears with some of the scenes 
 of a Sailor's Life enlarged, and rendered, I hope, 
 more interesting. Every scene is a scene of real 
 life, not exaggerated ; but the events which are 
 here recorded actually occurred, and I may say 
 truly, 
 
 These eyes — these eyes beheld the fact. 
 
 VOL.
 
 11 PREFACE. 
 
 A sailor's life is full of strange vicissitudes; some 
 of us walk through our existence smoothly and 
 quietly, mounting in our profession over the heads 
 of more meritorious men than ourselves, unscared 
 by the enemy, and unwounded by misfortune. It 
 is to others a road rugged with trouble, where 
 pleasure is a stranger, and repose unknown ; and 
 where, like the fabled stone, no sooner do we 
 think we have reached the summit, than we are 
 hurled again to the bottom. It is a life, to some, 
 of indescribable misery. How often have I seen a 
 midshipman of forty-five years of age, and a lieu- 
 tenant of sixty ! From these poor fellows, destitute 
 of worldly interest, and existing entirely by their 
 miserable pay and ship's allowance, the lighter 
 hours of life are not entirely withheld ; they find 
 recreation in the merited abuse of their seniors, 
 and fight the battles of the Nile and Trafalgar on 
 the oak table, designating ships by drops of water, 
 and the admirals by pieces of biscuit. As every
 
 PREFACE. Ill 
 
 subaltern could have managed the allied armies 
 better than either Wellington or Swartzenburg, so , 
 every midshipman could have managed Nelson's 
 fleet better than the great admiral. They are 
 pleased to find faults ; and, as no one contradicts 
 their assertions, they experience the momentary 
 pleasure of conscious superiority — then, drowning 
 the cold neglect of the world in a jorum of 2.rog, 
 retire to their hammocks, in visions of fancy be- 
 lieving themselves the talented heroes, that in 
 more youthful days they once aspired to be. 
 
 It was my lot to be more fortunate : but I can- 
 not forget what has passed before my own eyes. 
 Here I will mention one anecdote to verify the 
 above statements. It will be seen that I was pro- 
 moted as soon as my age and service permitted. I 
 looked younger than I was — and I recollect poor 
 -Preston, when I exhibited my commission, turning 
 round to Sir Alexander Gordon, and remarking, 
 " I say, Gordon, what the devil do the Lords of
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 the Admiralty mean by appointing such boys to 
 my ship?" If he had boys for lieutenants, he had 
 grey-beards for midshipmen. I was left command- 
 ing-officer one day; and, being engaged in some 
 occupation below, was informed by the midship- 
 man of the watch, that the serjeant had a com- 
 plaint to make against the master's mate. I went 
 instantly on deck, and sent for the mate ; — what 
 was my surprise to find " a young gentleman " — 
 as midshipmen are termed — of upwards of forty 
 years of age, with a grey head and weather-beaten 
 countenance ! He stood before his beardless judge 
 like Shylock before Portia. I reserved the case 
 for the first-lieutenant, and went below in my own 
 cabin. I asked the particulars of poor Steel's 
 life — it was the same as many others : he had been 
 only thirty years in the service — and, having no 
 interest, was likely to be thirty more without pro- 
 motion. I urged him to go to the Admiralty, and 
 show himself j and through my exertions he pro-
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 cured an interview with the First Lord. Steel 
 mentioned the object of his visit, which was to be 
 promoted. The First Lord said, "Why, Mr. Steel, 
 you are too oldl" Steel modestly replied, "that 
 it was not his fault that he was not promoted 
 in earlier life." — " Oh!" retorted the First Lord, 
 " then I was not in office." Steel was bowed out, 
 and is not now a midshipman : — this happened 
 seventeen years ago. It is now too late to serve 
 him, who, if not dead, must be forgotten. Re- 
 member this, good reader — that the poor old man 
 is not entitled to one farthing's half-pay : the 
 country have had his whole services, and now 
 leave him to die in a poor-house ! 
 
 To the fortunate, there is no life like that of a 
 sailor: — we roam the world at no expense; our 
 libraries travel with us ; and if we are not men of 
 some research and some acquirements, it is through 
 our own negligent idleness. We ought to be the 
 best judges of human nature; we see the rich and
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 gaudy of all climes, and all countries ; — we see the 
 poor and miserable, from the wretches captured 
 by our press-gang, to the ragged, squalid, fa- 
 mished beggar of South America. The gates of 
 knowledge throughout the whole world are opened 
 to us ; but, I grieve to say, we slumber at the 
 portals, or have hardly energy to enter. Some 
 there are, and happy am I to bear witness to their 
 talents — such are Parry, Franklin, Hall, Mar- 
 ryat, Glascock, Beaver, Beaufort, &c. ; — these 
 men have exalted our profession, and stamp the 
 lie upon the assertion, " that sailors are fools/' 
 Who ought to be more entertaining than a sailor? 
 Of every nation, of every clime he must have 
 gleaned some anecdotes, some nationalities, and 
 been witness to scenes to move the tenderest 
 affections, or to quail the most stubborn of hearts. 
 " I pity the man who can travel from Dan to 
 Beersheba, and say * all is barren/ " To a cap- 
 tain, all societies are open, all languages familiar :
 
 PREFACE. Vll 
 
 the man who has served years in the Mediterra- 
 nean must have picked up some Italian, some 
 French, and some Spanish. I will admit, that 
 during the war we were lamentably ignorant. 
 When a prize was taken, or a vessel's papers to 
 be examined, how often have I heard, " Boat- 
 swain's-mate, pass the word for any man who can 
 speak French, to come aft on the quarter-deck." 
 They do relate an anecdote of a captain of a fri- 
 gate, who, having sprung his main-yard in a gale 
 of wind, and being off Lisbon, fell in with a gun- 
 boat belonging to that port. As the captain 
 wished to repair the damages without going to 
 England, he desired a man, who declared he 
 could speak Spanish, which the Portuguese un- 
 derstand, to be sent for. " Here, Jones,'' said 
 the captain, u ask this gentleman how long they 
 would be in Lisbon, in making us a new main- 
 yard." Jones, turning his quid, began, " Senhor, 
 roundho come squarro ; how long you makee the
 
 Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 main-yard for John Ingliterro V 9 — u No intende !" 
 was the answer. "What does he say?" asked 
 the captain. u Not in ten days" said the inter- 
 preter. u Not in ten days !" re-echoed the cap- 
 tain, " why, we shall be in England long before 
 that; — up w 7 ith the helm !" 
 
 I have endeavoured to make myself as amphi- 
 bious as possible. Lord Erskine says, " A sailor's 
 log would sell for very little in Bond Street." J 
 shall speak out like a sailor ; but I shall disguise 
 our barbarous dialect. It will be seen that 1 
 have not travelled blindfolded, like poor Holman, 
 or wilfully prejudiced, like a certain doctor in 
 Russia : I set my face against all cant and hum- 
 bug, and only endeavour to amuse the elder, and 
 instruct the more juvenile. I neither intend to 
 stand on the sum "it of the Ural mountains, 
 (which separate Europe from Asia,) with one foot 
 in each quarter, like a certain pedestrian tourist, 
 to groan over the sins, miseries, frauds, decep-
 
 PREFACE. ix 
 
 tions, and devilments which exist in opulent and 
 populous cities; nor sigh for a return to barbarism, 
 with all its virtues, and rugged honesty. I have 
 never rolled down the Andes, like Brand, to 
 tumble into a ready-made lake to break the fall ; 
 neither have I fished out a donkey, or a mule, 
 with a lasso, which had been twirling in a whirl- 
 pool for a quarter of an hour, with two portman- 
 teaus and a traveller's bed on his back. Indeed, 
 I much regret that I have never galloped across 
 the Pampas, for I never could make head against 
 such difficulties ; or sat like the caricature of Nask- 
 ional taste, on the peak of the Potosi mountain, 
 admiring the works of God from so cold a temple. 
 I have ridden strange animals ; but I modestly 
 confess, I- have never galloped on an alligator, or 
 rode races on turtle — the common amusement of 
 the marines at Ascension. I shall be content to 
 stick to homely truth, and common scenes in a 
 Sailor's Life.
 
 X PREFACE. 
 
 I have ventured on two chapters, perhaps fo- 
 reign to the work itself — one, on the prospect of 
 the ultimate success of the Mine Speculations in 
 South America ; and the other, on Negro Eman- 
 cipation. On both I am open to the censure of the 
 public. I cannot believe either will be successful 
 in its results : and knowing, as I do, the con- 
 tentment which did exist amongst the Slaves, until 
 Fanaticism and Cant made men unhappy, who 
 were not disposed so to be ; and having personally 
 experienced the danger of passing the roads of 
 Mexico, the insecurity of property, and the par- 
 tiality of the law — I cannot believe that, in a 
 country every second month in a state of revolu- 
 tion, any speculation to a great extent can be made 
 to answer — or that men can be benefited by a 
 sudden emancipation, who are ignorant slaves. 
 
 As some readers may imagine that I have stolen 
 the idea of a Sailor's Life from the admirable 
 Autobiography of Captain Basil Hall, I here
 
 PREFACE. XI 
 
 protest against any theft on my part. The first 
 number of the Metropolitan Magazine, which 
 began in May, 1831, had the first chapter of this 
 work in its pages. Captain Hall's work did not 
 appear until two months afterwards. I am con- 
 tent now to sail in his wake, for I have not as yet 
 quite impudence enough to place my description 
 of battles, fires, and wrecks, in competition with 
 his stronger and more graphic sketches .
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 While I, confined within the hated walls 
 Of school, resounding with a clamorous din, 
 By still more hated books environ'd — I, 
 With tedious lessons and long task to get, 
 My dismal thoughts employ. 
 * * * * 
 
 Aghast I stand, nor fly the corner dark. 
 So great my terror, that it quite bereaves 
 My limbs the power to fly. 
 
 The Copper Farthing. 
 
 There is very little pride or satisfaction in re- 
 tracing one's life when misery has attended our 
 steps, and when the bright rainbow of youth and 
 hope has been dissipated by years and by mis- 
 fortunes. To a great extent, this has not J^een 
 my lot. I can look around me and see millions in 
 VOL. 1. a
 
 I THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 greater destitution ; and I can feel, while gazing 
 on those envied beings who have o'ertopped me, 
 some from merit, and most from interest, a con- 
 scious pride that I have done my duty in that 
 state of life unto which it has pleased God to 
 call me. 
 
 I was born on the second of November, 1796. It 
 was a strange night; the very elements seemed 
 to rejoice at the birth of a child of misfortune ; 
 and against whom the arrows of poverty and 
 disappointment were in future to be directed. 
 The rain fell in torrents ; the wind howled against 
 the casements ; and, at the moment when Saturn 
 rose above the horizon, unseen from the clouds 
 which darkened the night, and unthought of either 
 by the doctor or the patient, I was born— and 
 born in a caul ! — Old nurses declare that a child 
 born in a caul is always fortunate, and I place 
 some confidence in these old sayings ; for they are 
 generally the result of observation and experience. 
 The inhabitants of Malta are equally credulous, 
 as to the chalk of St. Paul's cave being a spe- 
 cific against shipwreck ; but it has been my lot 
 to see that idea falsified, for I know that many
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 3 
 
 men belonging to the Lively (who were wrecked 
 in St. Paul's bay) had previously endeavoured 
 to guard against the calamity, by stuffing their 
 pockets and their chests with this valuable anti- 
 dote to all maritime miseries. The Irish on the 
 north-west coast of Ireland have the same confi- 
 dence in the wood of the true cross. — Once, in 
 pursuing my course in a yacht from Loughswilly 
 to Staffa, when the wind whistled over our heads, 
 and the sea foamed over our bows, I remarked 
 that we were perilously situated, as we had a lee- 
 shore, a heavy sea, and strong breeze to contend 
 against. " Your honor need not fear the devil 
 himself just now," said an Irish sailor, " for I 've 
 some of the real wood round my neck ; and bad 
 luck to the wind, it may blow off the top of In- 
 straholl lighthouse, but it cannot puff us ashore." 
 Notwithstanding Paddy's faith, which exceeded 
 my own, we were blown to leeward, just weather- 
 ed Enishowen Head, and wrecked on a ledge of 
 rocks invitingly placed to catch the unwary and 
 unskilful. In many Christian countries, the wood 
 of the cross is a charm against murders, robberies, 
 or the gallows ; and much need has a sailor of
 
 4 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 an immensity of faith in the writings of an ancient 
 author, who declared that the wood was so 
 miraculously endowed, that it grew in proportion 
 to the pieces cut from it : truly, so it must have 
 done, for I have seen enough to build a line-of- 
 battle ship. But there are always some inge- 
 nious modes of counterbalancing good luck; for 
 finding that, notwithstanding the caul, I certainly 
 was not the fortunate youth, I ventured to re- 
 quest of my old and faithful nurse, Ann Young, 
 to account for my being an exception to the ge- 
 neral rule. It appears, that to settle some trifling 
 wager in the nursery, I was weighed and mea- 
 sured — weighed like a shin of beef in a cook's 
 balance, and measured by the lacerated fore-finger 
 of the lady's maid. It is decided by all the old 
 women who assist mothers at their most joyfully 
 painful moments, that nothing is so unlucky 
 as either to weigh or measure a child ; it is as bad 
 as omitting to break through the bottom of an 
 ess-shell after the contents are devoured. The 
 Irish have the most positive proof that fairies 
 ride in the unbroken vehicle, and amuse them- 
 selves by injuring their benefactors.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 In early life I am informed that I displayed a 
 great disposition to know the why and the where- 
 fore of every thing that passed before ray eyes ; 
 and it is reported, that when my old nurse Nanny 
 — blessings on her good and faithful head ! — one 
 day entered the nursery, she discovered me sitting 
 close to the fire, with my elbows on my knees and 
 head in my hands, seriously saying — " Smoke, 
 smoke, why do you go up the chimney ?", The 
 disposition here manifested to account for causes 
 and effects was instantly made known to the fa- 
 mily. It was allowed by all that smoke gene- 
 rally did go up a chimney, excepting when first 
 the fire was lighted. It was no use bothering me 
 about rarefied air, and heated atmosphere; the 
 inclination for knowledge was manifest, and I was 
 regarded as a little above the general class of thick- 
 skulled boys, who seem to defy even the rod, and 
 who certainly have not the natural sagacity of 
 dogs. My words and sayings were treasured with 
 religious veneration, and an Epitaph on a Dove, 
 written at the age of six years by the hope of the 
 family, is still in existence. I would give it here,
 
 6 
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 but I hate all attempts to puff myself into notice, 
 and therefore will only assure the public that it 
 is infinitely more poetical and more pathetic than 
 Dr. Johnson's Lines on a Duck. 
 
 I was six years old when I was sent to Twy- 
 ford, a school under the direction of the learned 
 Dr. Stretch, the author of the " Beauties of His- 
 tory ;" — as good a soul, as kind a master, and as 
 lenient a punisher as the most idle could pray for, 
 or the most careless could request. I must not 
 leave my home at so tender an age without giving 
 a reason why I was sent to school, and why my 
 poor mother parted with her own dear curly-pated 
 boy. We lived in Clarges Street ; — a dull miser- 
 able street it is — it was — and always will be ; in- 
 deed it was very seldom that my brothers and 
 myself could find a passer by, on whom we could 
 bestow a blessing, or a glass of water : but one 
 day in July, a tall, well-powdered gentleman, who 
 had removed his hat in consequence of the exces- 
 sive heat, passed under our windows. My brother 
 emptied the contents of a jug upon his coat, whilst 
 I succeeded in squirting some water exactly upon
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. / 
 
 his bald caput. He started like a red deer on be- 
 holding a man. My brother, right well knowing 
 that no man would consent to be deluged with 
 water, without inquiring why he was honored 
 with a shower-bath unsolicited, made a speedy 
 retreat into the back drawing-room, and, sitting 
 down on the carpet, began to place a regiment of 
 soldiers according to the old rule, before " threes 
 right" was invented. I stood upon the first land- 
 ing-place, awaiting the result. The gentleman 
 knocked loud, and damned louder ; and I, fore- 
 seeing the storm, opened the window on the stair- 
 case, and most heroically leaped into the back 
 yard, falling, as cats, boys, and drunken men al- 
 ways do, upon my legs. I was not the least hurt; 
 so quietly awaited the time when I judged that 
 the gentleman would have made his bow to my 
 mother. Then did I set up a yell. I cried, and 
 kicked, and howled, and roared, in no common 
 style. My mother bowed the gentleman out be- 
 fore he had concluded the preface to his com- 
 plaint. Nanny swore I was killed : the footman 
 ran for a surgeon, and it was almost in vain that I 
 declared myself unhurt. It was cabled an acci-
 
 8 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 dent, and was supposed to have originated in my 
 desire to imitate whatever I saw ; and thus, taking 
 the hint from the window cleaners, I had com- 
 menced glass polishing, and had fallen out. My 
 mother scolded and cried; Nanny declared that 
 I should be locked up in a dark cupboard ; and 
 the infernal butler suggested that school was the 
 best place for Master Frederic. 
 
 The hint was taken, and four days afterwards I 
 was riding a boy, not very comfortably, for old 
 Stretch was whipping the rider instead of the horse, 
 merely because it had pleased me to pelt him with 
 potatoes, as he made his nightly round to see all 
 was hushed and his fruit safe. I will do Stretch 
 the justice to say that he was a very good pro- 
 phet, for he often averred that my future life 
 would be a chequered one ; that I should, like the 
 Arab, be a stranger in the midst of my brethren ; 
 and that nothing could save me but sending 
 me to sea. In general, people are sent to sea to 
 be got rid of: I was sent to be saved. 
 
 At school very little occurs worth remembering, 
 excepting Latin and Greek, the which most boys 
 endeavour to forget ; and certainly they are very
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 9 
 
 successful in this most laudable exertion ; but I 
 cannot forget Twyford, for it was associated with 
 many pleasant ideas, and unpleasant reminis- 
 cences. 
 
 It was in August, about one o'clock in the 
 morning, hot beyond the climate's regular heat ; 
 a beautiful moonlight night, and the shadow of 
 the old church was thrown in dim obscurity over the 
 yew tree. The school fronts into the churchyard ; 
 and the view of the grave-stones in the fore- 
 ground of the picture naturally fixed our attentions 
 more than the distant hills. We were all awake, 
 for few can sleep during oppressive heat, each 
 related in turn some anecdotes, all more or less 
 being burdened with a ghost, and each story the 
 fanciful invention of the relator. Boy like, I 
 shook like a leaf whenever the boards creaked or a 
 bed moved. We were in the middle of a horrible 
 anecdote when we heard a scream in the church- 
 yard. We ran to the window, and just as quickly 
 ran back to our beds, and buried our faces under 
 the clothes. If, as is said, in the multitude of 
 counsellors there is wisdom, I know that in the
 
 10 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 society of others there is courage. We agreed to 
 satisfy our sight again ; but no one was willing to 
 be the first adventurer. We drew ourselves up in 
 a line, and borrowing courage from our numbers, 
 advanced to the window : there we beheld in 
 painful reality the confirmation of half of our 
 stories ; there the sepulchre had yielded up its 
 tenant ; and there evidently enough we saw, in the 
 long white shroud, the figure of a human being 
 stretched by the grave, in which, the preceding 
 day, we had seen the remnants of mortality con- 
 signed to its parent earth. I stood riveted to the 
 spot, my eyes fixed upon the spectre, and, lost in 
 silent horror, was unconcerned at the nearer scene 
 around me. One of the boys fainted ; the school 
 was instantly in motion ; half-clad maids rushed 
 into the room, and I was awakened to the tumult 
 by Doctor Stretch giving me a cut upon my seat 
 of honor, which made me caper like a harlequin. 
 But the pious and reverend doctor, when his 
 eyes beheld the figure in the churchyard, was 
 hardly more courageous than his pupils. The 
 maids screamed, the boys became more frightened
 
 THE LTFE OF A SAILOR. 11 
 
 and unruly, the venerable doctor caught the alarm, 
 and I verily believe the sexton might have buried 
 us all without much opposition on our parts. Pa- 
 tience and true religion soon restored our pastor, 
 and, rod in hand, he retired from our dormitory, 
 calling on his spectre of a servant, misnamed a 
 man, to attend him to the churchyard ; but as it 
 would be more dignified to be preceded, he desired 
 the servant to go and inquire of the ghost the rea- 
 son of this midnight intrusion. He might as well 
 have asked his servant to make him a steam-en- 
 gine. John's legs were of no more use to him as 
 implements of locomotion, than a cow's tail is to 
 supply the cow with food ; they shook under him 
 like the metallic designator of a pocket compass ; 
 while his face was as white and inanimate as a 
 turnip. Luckily for the honor and courage of 
 parson and servant, the spectre rose from its re- 
 cumbent position, looked towards the moon, then 
 at the church, again at the grave, covered its face 
 with its hands, and departed in peace, not into 
 the grave, but out of the -churchyard. It was 
 afterwards discovered that the spectre was the
 
 12 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 widow of the dead man, who having, for a wonder, 
 lived three years in a state of happiness with her 
 husband, came to mourn, like the Ephesian dame, 
 as she thought, unobserved, over the grave of the 
 man who had been her husband, her protector, 
 her friend. Nothing however could persuade me 
 but that the spectre was a real, downright, un- 
 deniable ghost. The chances were equal between 
 the affectionate wife, or the man's shadow, more 
 especially as the lady took early consolation by a 
 matrimonial alliance three months afterwards ; and 
 I suspect, from some few adventures I have had, 
 that I should not have flinched even from the 
 touch of a woman at midnight. 
 
 This scene did not make me the braver man. 
 It gave me the first idea of fear ; and, God knows, 
 the idea has often recurred. I say with Dr. 
 Johnson, " that reason is against, but that all 
 believe in the existence of ghosts ;" and I am by 
 no means prepared, especially after having read 
 " the accredited ghost stories," to deny explicitly 
 my belief in the existence of such beings ; I only 
 wish they would stay where they are, for I never
 
 THE LIFE OP A SAILOR. 13 
 
 heard of any good they did society in general by 
 returning to haunt and annoy us. 
 
 I was removed from school to school until I was 
 safely landed at a French seminary at Durham 
 House, Chelsea. The master, who was a pert, 
 fat, powdered tyrant, constantly amused himself 
 by proving the hardness of my head, by beating 
 it with a thick ruler. Here I learnt French after 
 a fashion; but being detected in all manner of 
 mischief, I was sent home as an incorrigible devil, 
 idle, mischievous, and unpromising — with evi- 
 dent marks of the Frenchman's displeasure. All 
 the family agreed in one thing, and that was, that 
 I should never do for a parson. My father de- 
 clared none of his sons should idle away life in a 
 red coat covered with gold-lace, like the Duchess 
 of Gloucester's footmen, as an officer in the 
 Guards; or loll against the posts in St. James's 
 Street, with a hat like an Astracan merchant's. 
 My mother objected to any trade, in which was 
 included bankers, lawyers, fiddlers, &c. ; and con- 
 sequently I was condemned to the sea, to which 
 I had some pretensions, as my grandfather was an
 
 14 THE LIFE OF A SA1LOTI. 
 
 admiral, and my uncle a half-pay lieutenant. 
 Another offer was made to send me to India ; and, 
 of two evils, I imagined I chose the least, in 
 giving my consent to become a defender of Albion, 
 and a thing to fit a midshipman's coat upon.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 My father bless'd me fervently, 
 
 Yet did not much complain ; 
 But sorely will my mother sigh 
 
 Till I come back again. 
 
 Byron. 
 
 All parties resolving to send me to sea, my in- 
 clination to remain on shore, if I had any, was 
 overruled, and I gave my consent with the in- 
 difference of a boy. The uniform dazzled my ima- 
 gination j in it I paraded Grosvenor Place by day- 
 light in the morning, to the no small gratification 
 of myself, and the astonishment of the milkmaids 
 and chimney-sweepers. I was introduced to my 
 future captain, poor old Bathurst, who was after- 
 wards killed at Navarino. He ran his short fin- 
 gers through my hair, called me by my Christian
 
 16 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 name, and swore he saw a positive likeness to the 
 great Lord Nelson. The next day I went to exhibit 
 myself and my uniform to my old schoolfellows. 
 I walked up the yard in the front of Durham 
 House with all the arrogance and all the self-im- 
 portance of a porter at the Admiralty, who con- 
 siders himself sufficiently condescending when he 
 allows a poor, half-starved, expecting lieutenant 
 to write his name down for an interview with the 
 magnanimous first lord, and who would see the 
 poor devil buried in Paddington churchyard be- 
 fore he would show him the way to the waiting- 
 room. These vermin are as haughty as their su- 
 periors, and positively laugh at the idea of a com- 
 plaint. This should be reformed ; for it is hard to 
 be at the mercy of an inferior, and be insulted in 
 the bargain. The boys crowded round me ; my 
 dirk was drawn and sheathed as often as that 
 used by the learned monkey at Antwerp; my 
 cocked-hat was fitted on the head of every boy in 
 the school, and I paraded about in all the conscious 
 pride of a drill-sergeant before his awkward squad. 
 The French tyrant ridiculed the folly of sending 
 such children to sea: his slaves were rung into
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 17 
 
 school- room, and I swore as I turned my head 
 towards the large iron gate, that if ever I caught 
 the master, or any of his relations, in my power, 
 I would be revenged for that word " children/ 7 
 and the many hard blows and little knowledge I 
 had received for my father's money. 
 
 It was on the 4th of July that I stepped into 
 my father's carriage. I tittered with joy, whilst 
 the family w r ere in tears at my departure. I 
 thought only on glory and a star, they on affec- 
 tion and the probable last farewell. Of all the 
 scenes in life, the parting with an affectionate son, 
 when the parents are at an advanced age, is per- 
 haps the most trying. Some who send their sons 
 to India to fight their own way in the world, and 
 who know that the eye gazes for the last time on 
 the boy, the last parting kiss is imprinting, and that 
 the last fond adieu is expressing, bear up against 
 the loss, inspired by hope, although that hope 
 is desperate. Mammon assists to veil the truth ; 
 the hope that he may be rich banishes the dull idea 
 that, to the parent, the boy may be lost for ever. 
 He may for some few years read of his success ; 
 but the prospect of the return to the parent, once
 
 18 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 again to be clasped in his arms — once more to hear 
 the kind and welcome voice, and feel his cordial 
 and endearing kiss, is hopeless and unavailing. The 
 child is dead though living — and to him the parent 
 exists, yet has passed away. No sooner had I 
 driven from the door, although my father was 
 with me, than I felt the coldness of desolation ; 
 the dress ceased to please, my mind constantly 
 recurred to home, and I felt at " each remove the 
 lengthening chain." Then did I feel the force of 
 Southey's^beautiful sentence: — " The pain which 
 is felt when we are first- transplanted from our 
 native soil, when the living branch is cut from the 
 parent tree, is one of the most poignant which we 
 have to endure through life. There are after griefs 
 which wound more deeply, which leave behind 
 them scars never to be effaced, which bruise the 
 spirit, and sometimes break the heart; but never 
 do we feel so keenly the want of love, the neces- 
 sity of being loved, and the sense of utter deser- 
 tion, as when we first leave the haven of home, 
 and are, as it were, pushed off upon the stream of 
 life." 
 
 Alas ! too soon I felt it — too soon I had neces-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 19 
 
 sity to call to remembrance the kind affection of 
 a mother, the eager solicitude of my sisters, and 
 the ever ready, willing hand of my old and kind 
 protecting nurse. 
 
 The ship was at Sheerness, or rather the u Little 
 Nore;" We drove to the Three Tuns, about as 
 miserable a hole, in as swampy a place, as the 
 Washington Arms at Savannah. Here we slept. 
 The next morning, at ten o'clock, we found a 
 boat waiting to convey us on board the Salsette, 
 a six-and-thirty-gun frigate, my future destination. 
 Having refreshed ourselves with breakfast, and 
 despatched my chest by the yawl, I, the owner, 
 with my father, followed in the captain's gig. 
 They were just hoisting in my traps as I came 
 alongside. "Hulloa!" said the first-lieutenant, 
 (seeing my chest marked ?so. 6 — a large, lum- 
 bering thing, in which my father had stowed his 
 linen for an India voyage some years back,) 
 u Hulloa — No. 6 ! why, does this youngster fancy 
 the ship was made for him ? Here, Mr. M'Queen,'' 
 calling one of the master's mates, "strike this 
 chest into the steerage for the present ; but it 
 must 20 in the hold afterwards." Instead of
 
 20 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 the careful hands of the elegant butler or trim 
 footman, a parcel of half-clad savages, with long 
 tails like monkeys, only shipped a little higher up, 
 seized hold of No. 6, and in a moment I lost sight 
 of all my worldly treasures, as it descended into 
 the hole, as the first-lieutenant called it. Captain 
 Bathurst was on deck to receive his old friend, 
 my father. I was noticed kindly ; undergoing at 
 the same time a pretty severe inspection by my 
 future companions. They laughed covertly, for 
 laughing is not allowed on the quarter-deck, at 
 my frightened appearance; and being a slim, and, 
 I have since been told, an elegantly-made young- 
 ster, it was wittily remarked that I should make 
 a good " nipper" or " selvagee" upon emergencies ; 
 but, on descending the hatchway, I heard myself 
 christened " Fat Jack ;" for which cognomen I 
 was indebted to about as ugly a midshipman as 
 mother ever produced or father saw. I turned, 
 on descending the hatchway, to view the main- 
 deck. Ye gods, what a difference ! I had an- 
 ticipated a kind of elegant house with guns in 
 the windows; an orderly set of men; in short, I 
 expected to find a species of Grosvenor Place,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 21 
 
 floating about like Noah's ark. Here were the 
 tars of England rolling about casks, without 
 jackets, shoes, or stockings. On one side provi- 
 sions were received on board; at one port-hole 
 coals, at another wood ; dirty women, the objects 
 of sailors' affections, with beer cans in hand, were 
 every where conspicuous ; the shrill whistle 
 squeaked, and the voice of the boatswain and his 
 mates rattled like thunder in my ears; the deck 
 was dirty, slippery, and wet; the smells abomi- 
 nable ; the whole sight disgusting ; and when I 
 remarked the slovenly dress of the midshipmen, 
 dressed in shabby round jackets, glazed hats, no 
 gloves, and some without shoes, I forgot all the 
 glory of Nelson, all the pride of the navy, the 
 terror of France, or the bulwark of Albion ; and, 
 for nearly the first time in my life, and I wish I 
 could say it was the last, took the handkerchief 
 from my pocket, covered my face, and cried like 
 the child I was. These were no tears of school- 
 boys' eyes, but tears of mortification and disap- 
 pointment, fresh from a youngster's heart. 
 
 The time slipped away imperceptibly, for now 
 I dreaded the departure of my father. In conso-
 
 22 THE LIFE OF A SAILOPt. 
 
 lation or love, Heavens, how the joyful moments 
 fly ! — I dare say the poor criminal who is to pay 
 the forfeit of his life, when St. Sepulchre's bells 
 begin to announce the eighth hour, finds the time 
 between his awakening and his execution flying 
 rather too rapidly, and would fain arrest the wing 
 of the enemy for one short moment. My father 
 appeared not to have been on board a minute, and 
 now he wished to be gone. He saw me placed 
 under the protection of an older midshipman, and 
 he faltered when he gave me his last blessing, and 
 shook my hand with all the friendship and affec- 
 tion of a parent. I saw him leave the ship. Well 
 do I remember leaning over the gun in the cap- 
 tain's cabin, my head nearly out of the port, 
 crying with all the bitterness of a forsaken child, 
 — surrounded by strangers, who regarded me only 
 as " a necessary evil" — my ears assailed by un- 
 couth words and irreligious cursing — no one to 
 pity me, no one to alleviate my misery — alone in 
 the world, and yet surrounded by it. My boyish 
 bewailing was interrupted by the entrance of the 
 captain, who consigned me to the care of the 
 older midshipman ; and I was walked off under
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 23 
 
 the command of my new protector, to the finest 
 school for aristocratic pride and delicate stomachs 
 — a midshipman's berth. I was ushered into the 
 larboard berth, thus : — " Here, my lads, is an- 
 other messmate ; rather green at present, but as 
 thin as our pig, and as sharp as a razor." — "What? 
 another !" roared a ruddy-faced midshipman of 
 about eighteen; "he must stow himself away, 
 for we are chock-a-block here." It was noon, at 
 which time the men and midshipmen dine, and 
 consequently I found my companions at their 
 scanty meal. A dirty tablecloth, which had the 
 marks of the boys' fingers and the gentlemen's 
 hands, covered the table. It had performed both 
 offices of towel and tablecloth since Sunday: 
 A piece of half- roasted beef — the gravy chilled 
 into a solid, some potatoes. in their jackets, and 
 biscuit in a japanned basket, with some very 
 questionable beer, formed the comestibles. The 
 berth was about ten feet long by eight broad ; a 
 fastened seat, under which were lockers, was 
 built round the bulk-head ; and the table, a fix- 
 ture from sea lashings, was of that comfortable 
 size that a man might reach across it without any
 
 24 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 particular elongation of the arm. A dirty-looking 
 lad, without shoes or stockings, dressed in a loose 
 pair of inexpressibles, fitting tight round the 
 hips, a checked shirt, with the sleeves turned 
 up to the elbows — his face as black as a sweep's, 
 and his hands as dirty as a coalheaver's, was 
 leaning against the locker, and acted in the digni- 
 fied capacity of midshipmen's boy. Here it is 
 only justice to remark that the occupation of 
 these poor devils' time is so fully engrossed, that 
 it has been held by good judges one of the most 
 difficult points to determine which is the most 
 worthy of compassion, the maid of a lady of easy 
 virtue, a hackney coach-horse, a pedlar's donkey, 
 or a midshipman's boy : for my own part, I always 
 gave it as my opinion, which I shall not now re- 
 tract, that a midshipman's boy in a frigate, hav- 
 ing about fourteen masters, and no assistant, is 
 about as cursed a situation as the vengeance of 
 man could suggest — a ga'ley slave he is in every 
 sense of the word. He was as slim and as 
 flexible as an eel, and not very likely to become 
 as fat as the Norfolk lady's servant, who had 
 left his mistress a kind of undefined shadow, and
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 25 
 
 who three months afterwards was found in Lon- 
 don as fat as a duchess's coachman, or a boxer 
 become landlord in a public-house. 
 
 " Ah, John," quoth the lady, "I am glad to 
 see you : why, you are looking quite fat and 
 rosy." 
 
 " Yes, ma'am," said the sawny-looking lout, 
 " I have got a main good place now ; I chews all 
 the meat they puts in the patties in that pastry- 
 cook's shop there ; that 's what I does, ma'am ; and 
 so I swallows it now and then, and gets right 
 plump and hearty." Had poor Smith, our boy, 
 masticated all the leavings of our hungry crew, it 
 would not have increased his rotundity. 
 
 " Well, I say, youngster," said a dirty-looking 
 messmate, "it's no use your piping your eye 
 now ; so what will you have ? Come, speak out 
 like a man ; why, you have got a long-tailed coat 
 on ; the sail-maker will soon alter the cut of your 
 
 jib." 
 
 I answered, in a trembling voice, that I would 
 take a glass of water ; upon which I was saluted 
 with a loud laugh, and the boy forthwith began 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 26 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 to pour out some dingy-looking liquid in a tea- 
 cup. . 
 
 " Here, you rascal !" cried one ; " I asked you 
 for it before that youngster : hand it here, for I 
 must be off, and relieve the deck." 
 
 A cup of water was then handed to me ; it was 
 the bitterest drop pride ever sipped. Oh ! could 
 I then have recalled my choice of a profession, 
 the world would have been too poor to have liqui- 
 dated the debt. 
 
 In those days in the navy, before we had been 
 polished by the society of females, or enjoyed the 
 benefits of peace, the dinner-service in a midship- 
 man's berth was not quite so costly as a noble- 
 man's. Glass, a brittle material, and one which 
 shows dirt both in the liquid, and on its sides, was 
 too expensive and too easily expended to be much 
 used in the navy. Cups would answer their pur- 
 pose, and therefore cups were used. The soup- 
 tureen, a heavy, lumbering piece of block tin, 
 pounded into shape, was, for want of a ladle, 
 emptied with an everlasting tea-cup ; the knives 
 were invariably black, both on the handles and on
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 27 
 
 the blades ; and the forks were wiped in the table- 
 cloth by the persons about to use them, and who, 
 to save eating more than was requisite of actual 
 dirt, always plunged them through the tablecloth 
 to clean between the prongs. Of course, as only 
 one tablecloth was used during the week, on the 
 Saturday it was voted always dirty enough to be 
 put in a bag, to await its ablution. The rest of 
 the furniture was not much cleaner : now and 
 then an empty bottle served as a candle- 
 stick ; and I have known both a shoe and a 
 quadrant-case used as a soup-plate. The sides of 
 the berth were adorned with dirks ; and cocked 
 hats, belonging to no particular member of the 
 community, were placed a chevalj like the little 
 wooden god Thor at Upsala, on a tenpenny-nail. 
 It was in a habitation like this, " a prison," as 
 Dr. Johnson says, " with the chance of being 
 drowned," and with only one plank between man 
 and eternity, that the sons of the highest noble- 
 men were placed ; and here, instead of the well- 
 powdered lackey, the assiduous servant, or the 
 eager attendant, he found but one almost shirtless 
 boy to attend upon fourteen aspiring heroes —
 
 28 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 heroes who commanded by right of years and 
 strength, and not by birth. The business of the 
 toilet, instead of being assisted by a clear light 
 from a window, shining on a French looking- 
 glass, and comfortable apparatus, was finished in 
 the dark, on his own chest in the steerage, the 
 watch below cleaning the decks at the moment ; 
 and his shoes, even if he had the good fortune to 
 keep a servant, in the shape of a marine, were 
 covered with the pulverised holy stone, or lower- 
 deck sand. He dressed and undressed in public ; 
 the basin was invariably of pewter ; and the wet 
 towels, dirty head-brush, &c. &c. were, after use, 
 deposited in his chest, which consequently pro- 
 duced, from the lack of air, a very disagreeable 
 smell. A hammock served as a bed, and so closely 
 were we all stowed in the war, that the side of 
 one hammock always touched that of another ; 
 fourteen inches being declared quite sufficient 
 space for one tired midshipman to sleep in. How 
 my first evening went I have, thank God, quite 
 forgotten. I only remember that, at about nine 
 o'clock, Mr. M'Queen stuck a large fork in the 
 table j instantly all the youngsters retired to bed.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 29 
 
 I remained, not understanding the hint ; but I 
 was shortly ordered " to obey signals and be off." 
 I was conducted to my hammock ; and never shall 
 I forget my first sensations at undressing before 
 company. I turned round, like a lady in a squall, 
 to avoid showing my legs ; which could scarcely 
 be dignified by that name at my tender age. At 
 last I was unrigged, as the sailors say, and there 
 I might have stood, shivering and shaking, like a 
 dog in a wet sack, until this time, had not my friend 
 taken me, like a child, in his arms, and placed 
 me fair and square in my hammock. In endea- 
 vouring to get between the clothes I lost my ba- 
 lance, and out I went on the other side. I was in- 
 stantly seized by a lady, who had some right to 
 be in that part of the ship from her connexion 
 with one of the midshipmen ; placed properly in 
 
 bed, tucked up, so as to defy balancing impro- 
 
 » 
 perly ; had a kiss, which savoured much of rum ; 
 
 and then was left, not in the dark, or entirely to 
 
 my own reflections.
 
 30 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The sails were fill'd, and fair the light winds blew, 
 As glad to waft him from his native home, 
 
 And fast the white rocks faded from his view, 
 And soon were lost in circumambient foam : 
 
 And then, it may be, of his wish to roam 
 Repented he — but in his bosom slept 
 
 The silent thought. 
 
 Childe Harold. 
 
 Things were very different in the navy at the 
 period under consideration, than now. I doubt 
 much if, in 1809, there could be a greater change 
 in a boy's life, than being launched from his com- 
 fortable home at thirteen years of age, into the 
 stormy elements of a midshipman's berth ; for in 
 those days the company was not quite so select as
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 31 
 
 at present; people of all sorts and all descrip- 
 tions became midshipmen. A shoemaker who had 
 a long outstanding bill against a captain, cancelled 
 the bill and the obligation, by having his son 
 placed on the quarter-deck ; hence some of the 
 very objectionable characters, who have in after 
 life so completely disgraced the navy ; and men 
 in good society too, who have accidentally met 
 some of these intruders, have formed their ideas 
 of the whole profession by the blundering re- 
 marks of a hatter's son and by the awkward de- 
 meanour of a tinker's brat. The navy now, as 
 I once heard a very impertinent young dandy 
 soldier remark, is fast approximating to civilisa- 
 tion ; for the Admiralty have, with a very laudable 
 resolution, prohibited the entrance of any young 
 man as a midshipman who has not their sanction 
 for his admittance? In former days the navy was 
 a hard service ; a midshipman was a kind of water- 
 dog, to fetch and carry ; a lieutenant was some- 
 body, and a captain a king — an absolute monarch, 
 who made war or peace, enacted laws for his king- 
 dom, punished the aggressor, or reprieved the 
 offender. The march of intellect, and the im-
 
 32 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 proved state of society on board, has altered all 
 this ; captains are no longer kings, but very limited 
 rulers ; lieutenants can hardly be called the aris- 
 tocracy of midshipmen ; but midshipmen have be- 
 come gentlemen. Of late years, I have known 
 one of the latter challenge his superior officer : 
 had this occurred in 1809, I know right well what 
 would have become of the refractory young gen- 
 tleman. The navy has certainly wonderfully im- 
 proved since the peace : now a midshipman's berth 
 may hear the sound of a champagne bottle ; glass 
 is in general use ; plate is requisite. I have seen 
 the servant in livery ! (oh for the ghost of poor 
 Smith ! !) the tablecloth is changed twice or three 
 times a week ; and some young midshipmen of the 
 guard-ships at Plymouth and Portsmouth not 
 unfrequently cross the quarter-deck early in the 
 morning, in top-boots and a piece of pink, on their 
 way to join the hunt. They live like, and are 
 gentlemen : now no longer that disgraceful inter- 
 course is permitted on board which depraved the 
 minds of the younger, and ruined the healths of 
 the elder midshipmen ; and if the present gene- 
 ration are not such rough practical seamen as the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 33 
 
 past race, they are more enlightened officers ; their 
 education is better attended to, and the suavity of 
 the gentleman is now distinguished from the self- 
 sufficient boisterous tyranny of the uneducated 
 seaman. 
 
 I awoke from a sound sleep to witness a novel 
 scene — 
 
 " Seven bells, sir," said a marine, who had 
 been dubbed my servant. — "What bells V said I. 
 
 "Seven, sir. — You must turn out; the ham- 
 mocks are piped up, and the master-at-arms is 
 coming round ; here is your hammock-man wait- 
 ing, sir." 
 
 " Well," said I, " go out of the room, and I '11 
 get up." 
 
 I was saved much trouble, for the marine threw 
 off the coverings, and lifted me out in a most im- 
 proper state of nudity. It was rather a different 
 business from a toilet on shore. I had to sit 
 down on my own chest, and wash thereon ; the 
 bright pewter basin only showed me more dis- 
 tinctly the dirty water in which I was performing 
 the necessary ablution. But the breakfast—such
 
 34 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 stuff to call cocoa, and such iron to call biscuit—* 
 I never wish to see again as long as I live. 
 
 The war was a stirring time ; ships were not 
 allowed to remain long in harbour; and two 
 days after I joined, the Salsette was under weigh 
 for the Downs, and there we found the fleet 
 destined for the attack on Flushing. My first 
 feelings of disgust gave way when the ship was 
 under weigh. To be sure, I was pushed about from 
 place to place, being, like little pigs, children, and 
 old women, exactly where I should not have been. 
 When we anchored, I began, practical seaman 
 like, to go aloft. The first three or four ratlines 1 
 managed without much fear ; but after that I clung 
 to the shrouds, with the tenacity of death and a 
 doctor to a consumptive patient : by degrees the 
 difficulty vanished, like all difficulties in life which 
 are fearlessly opposed ; it is apprehension in the 
 perspective. The traveller, who sees the road 
 winding over an apparently steep and almost inac- 
 cessible hill, is astonished, as he progresses towards 
 the place, to find the mountain dwindle to a 
 hillock ; and death, the greatest of all evils, which
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 35 
 
 robs us of our friend, and forms a chasm, we be- 
 lieve, never to be obliterated, is superseded by the 
 general consoler, Time, who fills up the vacuum, 
 and surmounts the difficulty. 
 
 A general bustle gives general animation and 
 courage. I soon forgot home and comfort, and, 
 boy-like, was only alive to the surrounding scene. 
 I had gained courage by the applause of my mess- 
 mates; I was a better sailor than half on board, 
 for I never experienced sea-sickness. My first 
 effort aloft was the prelude to a first essay of 
 another kind. 
 
 " Well done, youngster !" said one of the mid- 
 shipmen ; " why, you are as active as a monkey ! 
 Here, my lad, be a sailor at once, and take a glass 
 of grog." I knew no more what grog was com- 
 posed of than a Congo negro does of the compo- 
 nent parts of Warren's blacking. I did as I was 
 told, for I soon learnt to obey, and swallowed the 
 contents of a large cup — right stiff, half-and-half 
 rum and water. I soon became as brave as a lion, 
 talked of all the feats I had performed, and promised 
 myself the immortality of a Nelson. By degrees
 
 36 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 I found the difficulty of articulation increase ; the 
 words hung upon the lips, and only faltered into 
 speech. Being perfectly independent, I resolved 
 to go on deck ; but making rather a bad slant, I 
 fell down the cockpit, and forthwith commenced, 
 after a howl for an overture, a pretty decided cry 
 of murder. It was Sunday, and Captain Bathurst 
 was at dinner in the gun-room with the officers. 
 Murder is a very unusual sound on board a ship. 
 I only remember to have heard it once, and then 
 it was ■ Killing no murder.' An Irishman called 
 out, having been struck by a splinter, " Oh ! 
 blood and turf ! I am murdered outright ; I 'm 
 killed, to be sure I am." No sooner did I cry out 
 the ominous word than I had a full levee of at- 
 tendants. The surgeon was instantly on the spot, 
 and was informed that I had tumbled down the 
 hatchway. At one glance of his accustomed eye, 
 he saw the reason of my fall, and he reported that 
 I had made a very pretty beginning, and was as 
 drunk as a lord. When I awoke, I found myself in 
 my hammock, sick as a dog, with my head turning 
 round like a spinning-jenny. From that day to
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 37 
 
 this I have never been in so disgraceful a state. I 
 had a lecture the next morning, and was pardoned. 
 
 We landed the 28th regiment in our boats on 
 the island of Tholen. The French were drawn up 
 on a rising ground, and seemed resolved to dispute 
 the possession of the beach. I was ordered to land 
 Major Brown in the captain's gig, and to return, 
 having so done, to a prize we had taken, and in 
 which some of the 28th had been placed previous 
 to disembarking. 
 
 On nearing the shore, the enemy commenced 
 firing, and I commenced shivering. Major 
 Brown cheered on the crew, which I, parrot- 
 like, repeated ; " Bravo, my boys! stretch out/' 
 The boats kept in a pretty regular line; but, 
 owing to the shoalness, they grounded at some 
 distance from the beach ; the .gallant fellows 
 instantly jumped overboard, formed in the water, 
 and with a loud cheer, charged the French regi- 
 ment over the bank. It did not occur to me as 
 by any means requisite to follow the soldiers. I 
 had landed my cargo, and was expressing my wish 
 to go back as ordered, but the crew turned a deaf 
 ear to my command ; they were resolved to see
 
 38 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 the fight ; and in spite of the balls which came 
 whistling and whizzing over their heads, these 
 blockheads were determined to stand a chance of 
 being shot, by putting their skulls above the bank. 
 Fortunately for my honour, the charge settled the 
 business,- the French retreated, and our heroes 
 advancing at a steady but quick pace, were soon 
 out of sight: I returned, covered with laurels, 
 having smelt powder and heard ball. 
 
 The captain duly appreciated my valour, and 
 patted me on the back ; " There/' said he, " you 
 are fairly a sailor now; been drunk, been aloft, 
 and been in action : — take your hands out of your 
 pockets, youngster, or I shall order the sail-maker 
 to stitch them up." As I said before, a midship- 
 man in those days was a dog to feteh and carry ; 
 so the next morning I was sent on shore to buy 
 milk for the captain's breakfast. On our approach- 
 ing the beach, I remarked a soldier walking as a 
 sentinel, which attracted my notice ; the crew, ever 
 ready for schnaps, laughed at the idea of an 
 enemy. We landed, bought the milk, and were 
 progressing out of the creek, when my friend with 
 the musket desired us in the purest French to
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 39 
 
 land again, or he should fire at us. We were close 
 to him, and I, calling in the aid of the Durham 
 House tyrant, answered, that " there must be 
 some mistake on his part." 
 
 " Not at all," said he, and began to get ready 
 for action. 
 
 By this time we were clear of the creek, but 
 still too close to be pleasant. The fellow took a 
 steady aim and fired ; the ball passed over my 
 head, which I took the liberty of bobbing as low 
 as I could, and fell harmless in the water : the 
 crew did not require to be told to " stretch out," 
 or " give way," terms, the meaning of which is to 
 "row harder." They rowed hard enough then. 
 The captain's steward steered the boat, keeping out 
 of the line between the Salsette and the enemy. 
 The French guard, on hearing the musket, came 
 down to enjoy some shooting, and began to give 
 the most unequivocal signs of their very unfriendly 
 disposition, for the bowman got a slight graze 
 from the first volley. There is nothing like cool- 
 ness in danger; and so, to show how little I 
 thought of the matter, I lay down in the stern- 
 sheets of the boat, merely because I knew that a
 
 40 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 boat could be propelled faster through the water 
 if the weight was below the surface, and thus my 
 placing myself out of danger was not the conse- 
 quence of fear, but the result of knowledge ! «The 
 officer of the deck on board seeing our danger, 
 reported it ; and an eighteen-pound shot, which 
 struck the bank close to the French guard and 
 covered them with dirt, settled the business ; and 
 I got safely on board, thinking (and, no doubt, im- 
 properly, for midshipmen are not paid for think- 
 ing,) that although the captain's tea might not be 
 quite so good without milk, I should be obliged 
 to him if he would find some youngster, fonder of 
 fighting than myself, to go for it the next time. 
 
 It is here of little use to show the egregious 
 errors of the Flushing expedition. Had the fleet 
 advanced to Antwerp, there were not one hundred 
 soldiers left to protect the town. The banks of the 
 river are so low, that no battery could have been 
 of much avail ; and the ships, magazine stores, 
 &c. of the city, would have amply repaid the little 
 trouble of sounding the river. But no ! differ- 
 ences of opinion prevailed : true it was,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 41 
 
 Lord Chatham with his sword drawn 
 Was waiting for Sir Richard Stra'han ; 
 Sir Richard — longing to be at 'em, 
 Was waiting for the Earl of Chatham. 
 
 On visiting Antwerp some few months ago, I 
 chanced to converse with the gentleman who com- 
 manded the Burgher guard upon that occasion : 
 he told me that only one opinion prevailed about 
 our expedition, and that was, that we were all 
 mad ; he paid us an equally bad compliment about 
 our intelligence, and our spies. — Enough of this; 
 we bungled the business most completely ; lost 
 thousands of brave men ; and I never received 
 one farthing of prize money for all my risks, and 
 all my great exertions. 
 
 The Salsette was ordered to the Mediterranean. 
 We now anchored a second time in the Downs, 
 and I was sent home for a day or two, with orders 
 to join the ship at Portsmouth. It was quite 
 astonishing the change six months had worked in 
 me ; before I left home, boiled mutton did not 
 agree with me ; plain water was unwholesome ; 
 pork was too rich, and veal not sufficiently nutri- 
 tious. A midshipman's berth had completely con-
 
 42 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 quered all fastidious antipathies, for I had eaten 
 pork with the skin on, with bristles as long as* a 
 Russian's beard, and as thick set as a scrubbing- 
 brush : when I came to the delights of cleanliness 
 again ; when, instead of being kicked about like a 
 football, I found myself caressed and flattered, it 
 occurred to me that I had had quite enough of fight- 
 ing, and seafaring, and I began to think how I could 
 break the subject to my father, that if it were all 
 the same to him, I would just as soon lodge in 
 Grosvenor Place, as serve on board the Salsette. 
 I mentioned this rising feeling to one of my sisters: 
 she took my arm, praised the valour I had shown, 
 read me a part of Nelson's Life, assured me that 
 difficulties were easily overcome by perseverance ; 
 and so completely did she humbug me with ho- 
 nour and glory, merit rewarded, England — home 
 — beauty, all shouting the praise of the navy — that 
 I put the best face I could upon the vile profession 
 I had chosen, curtailed my stock of clothes, (for 
 when I first embarked, I had enough for a di- 
 rector's son bound to China,) reduced chest, No. 6, 
 to a more convenient size, remodelled my coat by 
 cutting off the skirts, once again took leave of my
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 43 
 
 family, embarked with my old captain, and with 
 as much content as I could muster, saw the 
 snowy cliffs of the Isle of Wight fade in the dis- 
 tance.
 
 44 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 By your Honor's command, a culprit I stand, 
 
 An example to all the ship's crew ; 
 I'm pinion'd and stripp'd, condemn'd to be whipp'd, 
 
 And if I ara flogg'd 'tis my due. 
 A cat, I am told, in abhorrence you hold; 
 
 Your Honor's aversion is mine ; 
 If a cat with one tail makes your stout heart to fail, 
 
 O save me from that which has nine ! 
 
 Nautical Effusions. 
 
 The breeze which blew us from our native shores 
 soon freshened into a gale ; the frigate surged 
 over the sea, and rolled her lumbering sides in 
 the water, as she skimmed over the wave. I 
 really do not know any sight more magnificent 
 than a ship in a heavy gale of wind during a 
 cloudy night, when the moon is occasionally
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 45 
 
 shaded from the view — the murkiness of the time 
 perceptible for the moment, whilst the white foam 
 dashed against the side, flies over the reeling ves- 
 sel — the moon, like a gleam of hope to an unfor- 
 tunate man, brightening the scene only to leave it 
 in twofold darkness. 
 
 We had General C. and his lovely family on 
 board : he was appointed governor of Gibraltar, 
 and we were destined to convey him to his future 
 command, and death-place. " There is a tide in 
 the affairs of man, which, taken at the flood, leads 
 on to glory." I had an opportunity of trying the 
 tide in consequence of the following adventure. 
 The gale had suddenly shifted, and we were 
 " hove- to," under a close-reefed main-topsail: 
 there she rolled and rolled, the sea bellowed past 
 her, and the foam flew over her. It was about 
 2 p.m.; the Miss C.s were on deck, as was the 
 general. The ship was on the larboard-tack, 
 and the elegant fairy figure of Caroline was seen 
 to windward, clinging to the main-sheet cavil, 
 as the ship surged over to leeward. There are 
 times in a gale of wind, and generally before the 
 arrival of a heavy sea, that the ship is for a 
 moment relieved from her pendulum motion, and
 
 46 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 during this moment the fair Caroline relinquished 
 her hold. The heavy sea struck the ship, and 
 before the young lady could regain her grasp she 
 was hurried from her place of security. I was 
 standing on the weather-side of the quarter-deck, 
 close to the wheel, and instantly perceived her 
 perilous situation : if she had continued falling to 
 leeward as she had began to do, she must have 
 fallen through the gun-room skylights, and, in all 
 probability, met her death on the very table round 
 which the officers were assembled at dinner. 
 With a courage I never knew I possessed, I 
 sprung from my place, caught her in my arms, 
 and we both fell by the capstan. My legs hung 
 over the skylights, and, saving a slight bruise, 
 neither of us was hurt. The young lady was 
 recovered in a second. The general, who had 
 seen the affair, shook me by the hand, and, with 
 the feeling of a father glowing on his countenance, 
 said, il Well done, youngster, well done ; I never 
 shall forget how much I am indebted to you." It 
 was the story of the lion and the mouse verified. 
 Weak, young, and only half-courageous that I 
 was, I certainly saved her life, or worse, her frac- 
 tured limbs. She looked at me : by Allah, young
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 47 
 
 as I was, the glance of acknowledgment which 
 kindled in her large blue eye ; the expressive 
 thanks she looked, gave me a sensation I certainly- 
 had never previously experienced. I had often 
 been thanked and caressed by my younger sister, 
 for we drew more kindly together, from the simi- 
 litude of our features and tempers ; I feJt a glow 
 of gratitude and regard for every kind word which 
 fell from her friendly and affectionate lips ; but 
 I never felt the strange sensations occasioned by 
 the moist glance of Caroline's eyes. 
 
 We anchored at Gibraltar ; and the day after- 
 wards I took up my quarters at the convent, the 
 government residence of the Rock. There, re- 
 lieved from the bustle and the duty of the ship, 
 my time my own, pleasure my object, and Caro- 
 line my companion, I succeeded in bringing my- 
 self to believe that there is no life so gay, or so 
 much to be envied, as that of a sailor. I will 
 here record my grateful thanks for all the kind- 
 ness I received from that excellent family. General 
 C. to the last day of his life remembered me, and 
 amply rewarded me by his kind and generous be- 
 haviour. Poor Caroline ! " uneasy rests the head
 
 48 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 which wears a crown ;" and the same may often be 
 applied to a coronet, for from the time the coronet 
 added a bright gem to its attractions by Caroline's 
 acceptance of it, from that moment her happiness 
 ceased, and her life began to wane. She is dead : 
 
 she died the Countess R . May her future 
 
 existence recompense her earthly miseries as a 
 peeress ! 
 
 We were destined for Malta, and sailed as soon 
 as we refitted. A boat belonging to us, owing to 
 the want of attention in the cockswain, had been 
 upset in some of those furious white squalls which 
 rush down the sides of the Rock, and in their ve- 
 hemence create the whirlwinds, so dangerous to 
 boats sailing within the bay. Ships fly round 
 their anchors, and snap them or the cable by the 
 jerk : the midshipman, who wrote to his mother, 
 that in weighing anchor from the Red Sea they 
 had brought up one of Pharaoh's chariot-wheels, 
 is perhaps not much entitled to credit ; but any 
 man may believe, that in Gibraltar it is by no 
 means an uncommon occurrence to weigh another 
 ship's anchor with your own. 
 
 The upsetting the boats occasioned the loss of
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 49 
 
 a man's life ; and it became requisite that some 
 example should be made, in order to keep all 
 awake and attentive to their respective duties. 
 Thursday came, black Thursday ; the men were 
 mustered at divisions, and the carpenters ordered 
 to " rig the gratings •" that is, to fasten two 
 gratings in such a manner, that the culprit stands 
 upon one, to which his feet are fastened, and leans 
 against the other, to which his hands are secured. 
 The officers appeared in their cocked-hats and side- 
 arms ; the marines were " under arms ;" and the 
 ship's company formed on the opposite side of the 
 deck. Near the gratings was the master-at-arms, 
 with his sword drawn. The culprit stood by him, 
 then the executioners, in the shape of the boat- 
 swain and his mates, completed the line. The 
 arrangements being made, the first-lieutenant 
 went below to report the same to the captain : the 
 most perfect silence was maintained, and no one can 
 look at all the preparations for punishment with- 
 out some awkward twitches of the heart. 
 
 The captain came on deck immediately. There 
 was no doubt that the careless behaviour of the 
 cockswain had occasioned the loss of his messmate's 
 vol. 1. c
 
 50 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 life ; and to pass over without punishment such a 
 neglect, would have been as culpable dereliction 
 of duty in the captain as in the cockswain. The 
 prisoner was called, and desired to stand forward. 
 Poor old Bathurst, in his calmest of moods, when 
 freed from nervous agitation, never spoke quite so 
 fluently or so eloquently as the late Mr. Canning ; 
 and now, in the performance of a duty he most 
 cordially abhorred, (in general with every man in 
 the navy, when obliged to inflict so disgraceful a 
 punishment,) his voice faltered, and he stuttered 
 and stammered out the following remarks — a kind 
 of overture to the serious opera about to follow : 
 u My man, I — I am really sorry, very sorry, I may 
 say exceedingly sorry, to see you brought here. 
 You have neglected your duty ; and it — it — it — it 
 is my duty, that is, I should be neglecting my 
 duty, if — if — if I overlooked, or, that is, if I forgot 
 my duty, by not punishing you, as an example to 
 the rest of the ship's company. Strip!" The 
 culprit, without saying a word, began undressing, 
 leaving his back only bare ; and was then, when 
 the captain gave the word, " Seize him up !" seized 
 up accordingly, the master-at-arms placing the 

 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 51 
 
 shirt over the prisoner's shoulders, and for the mo- 
 ment covering the back. An article of war was 
 then read, relative to the punishment to be inflicted 
 on any man who " negligently performs his duty." 
 This being done, we put on our hats, which had 
 been doffed during the reading of the above ar- 
 ticle : the captain gave the order, " Give him a 
 dozen." There was an awful stillness; I felt the 
 flesh creep upon my bones, and I shivered and 
 shook like a dog in a wet sack. All eyes were 
 directed towards the prisoner, who looked over his 
 shoulder at the preparations of the boatswain's 
 mate to inflict the dozen : the latter drew his fin- 
 gers through the tails of the cat, ultimately holding 
 the nine ends in his left hand, as the right was 
 raised to inflict the lash. They fell with a whiz- 
 ing sound as they passed through the air, and left 
 behind the reddened mark of sudden inflammation. 
 I ejaculated a sudden and involuntary " Oh !" and 
 burst into tears ; for which " Oh !" I received from 
 the kind-hearted M'Queen a pull on the ears, 
 which kept up the irritation in my eyes ; and, for 
 fear I might too hastily recover, he followed it 
 with a box, which created a singing like a peal of 
 
 — tar"
 
 52 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 a triple bob-major. To hinder my sobs, I covered 
 my eyes ; and when I again looked, the back bore 
 ample testimony as to the strength of the arm and 
 the cut of the lash. At the conclusion of the 
 dozen, I heard the unwilling order, " Another 
 boatswain's mate !" The fresh executioner pulled 
 off his coat, and planted himself firmly on his 
 feet preparatory to commencement. He was a 
 strong man, and the prisoner, by his piteous look, 
 seemed to anticipate a greater proportion of pain. 
 Until then he had not let one word escape him ; 
 with unflinching coolness, and sullen silence, he 
 had borne his punishment. On the first cut of his 
 new and merciless punisher, he writhed his back 
 in acknowledgement of the pain ; the second stripe 
 was followed by a sigh; the third by an ejacula- 
 tion ; and the fourth produced an expression of a ' 
 hope of pardon. At the conclusion of the dozen, 
 this was granted, and the prisoner released. The 
 first-lieutenant gave the word " Pipe down ;" the 
 gratings were unrigged, the prisoner sent aft, 
 and the ordinary duty of the ship continued. 
 
 This is a true picture, not the least exaggerated 
 or shaded, of a punishment on board a inan-of-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 53 
 
 war — a lenient punishment I admit ; for Captain 
 Bathurst was so excellent and kind a man, that he 
 could not have inflicted one of great severity. 
 The subject of naval punishments has for some 
 few years past occupied a considerable portion of 
 the public press ; we have been assailed as cruel 
 and wanton tyrants, — men without feeling and with- 
 out shame. As one of the complimented mass, I 
 shall here place before the public my opinion, and 
 • with mine, the opinions of a great body of our 
 profession, of the positive necessity of corporal 
 punishment in the navy. I am not going to battle 
 the watch with a parcel of puling, sanctified, 
 straight-haired gentlemen called saints, but I ad- 
 dress myself to men of liberal education, whose 
 prejudices are not warped by every sentence in a 
 newspaper, or every falsehood in a Methodist's 
 tract. 
 
 In the first place, I start by assuming that sail- 
 ors are, from their habits and their mode of life, 
 different in almost every respect of feeling and 
 judgment to their fraternity on shore. They are 
 brought up with the "Articles of War " as their 
 code of law, and an idea that there is no sove-
 
 54 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 reign disposer of punishments but the captain. 
 Their life is one dull monotony; it never varies 
 excepting when an action interferes to amuse the 
 ship's company, and, consequently, they are 
 children of habit — of most inveterate habit. From 
 their earliest entrance in the navy, the punish- 
 ment directed to be inflicted is the same ; they 
 have been accustomed to the sight ; nor is it con- 
 sidered, excepting among the aristocracy of com- 
 mon sailors, any disgrace to be flogged. On the 
 contrary, I have known seamen purposely offend, 
 merely, as they said, to feel the pulse of the new 
 captain. If the new captain begins, as Lord 
 Collingwood began, by a very severe punishment, 
 in all probability, he will not be called upon 
 to perform the very unpleasant ceremony again ; 
 and then his biographer will have to record what 
 a very humane man he was, and how little occa- 
 sion there is for corporal punishments in the 
 navy. 
 
 We have various modes of punishments in the 
 navy; first and foremost is the "black list." 
 This list is composed of men who, having been 
 guilty of some minor offence — some trivial neg-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 55 
 
 led of duty, are not placed in the " report" to be 
 flogged, but are placed on the black list of the first- 
 lieutenant. The ingenuity of officers to punish in 
 this manner, rather than resort to the cat, has been 
 most amply exemplified of late years. I know 
 of one captain who made the black list men, 
 when the duty was over for the day, carry their 
 hammocks on their shoulders, with musket 
 lashed therein, up and down the quarter-deck, at 
 every six feet placing a rope about three feet 
 from the deck, and making these poor devils, who 
 followed one another like sheep, step over each 
 rope : the exertion required and the consequent 
 fatigue experienced, is beyond all calculation. 
 Other more humane men have had the iron pins 
 about the ship polished to a brightness which 
 might excite the envy of a white-smith. Others 
 water the grog, and make the poor devils drink 
 it at the tub, and then remain aft, on the quarter- 
 deck, to be stared at by the ship's company ; and 
 some never let the black list men rest at all, for 
 they make them work on deck when it may be 
 their watch below. As I said before, ingenuity 
 has been expended, and yet the cat is obliged to
 
 50 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 be used. In any ship where the black list is much 
 in vogue, rely upon it the cat is more frequently 
 required, than in that ship where the smallest 
 breach of order is promptly and severely punished. 
 Now for the punishment itself. Dr. Granville, 
 in his work on Russia, unblushingly avers that 
 the knovt is not one jot worse than a cat-o'-nine- 
 tails ! Bravo, Dr. Granville ! In the anecdotes of 
 Russia, published in 1829, in the New Monthly 
 Magazine, I particularly referred to the punish- 
 ment of the knout to contradict the very objec- 
 tionable assertion of Dr. Granville ; for how a sur- 
 geon in the navy could make such a statement is 
 beyond imagination ; but it is unquestionably owing 
 to such mis-statements that the public are misled. 
 The Russian executioner will insure the death of 
 his victim in nine lashes. I have known a man 
 faint before he was seized up ; but, although I 
 have seen four hundred lashes applied, and at each 
 dozen a fresh boatswain's mate, yet I never knew 
 a man who died of the punishment in my life. I 
 speak of this merely to mention that naval punish- 
 ments, although unquestionably severe, and by no 
 means pleasant either to order, or to receive, are
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 57 
 
 not of that dreadful, merciless, flagitious order, so 
 frequently asserted. The object of Dr. Granville 
 must have been popularity ; hinting,»by his remark, 
 that we are as much barbarians as the Russians, 
 and that all the tyranny of that despotic govern- 
 ment we might find at home without much trouble. 
 I refer my readers to his book ; as I have waded 
 through it once, I cannot be rash enough to ven- 
 ture the infliction again. I am a strong; advocate 
 for the abolition of flogging in the army ; on shore 
 we have gaols and treadmills ; and one or two 
 men would not throw much extra duty on the rest 
 of the regiment. On board a ship, one man con- 
 fined in irons, or in any other mode, makes the 
 duty fall heavy upon his watch-mates ; and amain- 
 top-man in a squally night is rather too valuable 
 an acquisition to remain below. When two or 
 three men are taken from one part of the ship, the 
 whole station list must be altered, in order to in- 
 sure the proper manoeuvring of the vessel. This is 
 not all : a skulker on board would be glad of the 
 confinement ; and while the crew are reefing top- 
 sails in a squally night, the merciless rain drench- 
 ing them as they cling to the yards, the confined
 
 58 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 man would be comfortably slumbering through 
 the breeze, or quietly congratulating himself that 
 he should not be disturbed. " Stop their grog," 
 says a would-be captain : very true, you may stop 
 a man's grog, but you must pay him for it. A man 
 too, whose grog is stopped, always gets twice his 
 allowance from others ; for Jack is a liberal fellow, 
 and every one contributes to pour some of the 
 stream of a sailor's joy down the throat of his 
 shipmate. " Make it so weak," cries another, 
 " that he would rather not drink it." Very good ; 
 but, nine times out of ten, where is the water to 
 come from ? In small vessels the men are on an 
 allowance of water from the day they sail to the 
 day they arrive ; and when men are on an allow- 
 ance, the extra water would be a favour rather 
 than a punishment. But, to tell a plain truth, 
 you must have a severe check hanging in terrorem 
 over a ship's company : only withdraw the fear 
 of the cat, and mark the result. The captain 
 must lecture for, and hope better conduct in fu- 
 ture ; sailors care no more about words than a 
 dog does for his grandfather. The ship will soon 
 become slow in her evolutions, and a disgrace to
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 59 
 
 the squadron. The fear being withdrawn, the 
 first-lieutenant will not be properly supported : he 
 may relax his complaints : the men find the bridle 
 loose, and away goes discipline. Next follows loss 
 of masts, and lives, wrecks, fires, and sickness ; 
 for cleanliness and discipline go hand-in-hand ; 
 then comes the wonder how all these misfortunes 
 could have occurred, which we seldom heard of 
 before. And then comes the truth limping at the 
 end of the tragedy, that for want of the power of 
 punishment, the British navy had dwindled down 
 to the level of a merchant-ship ; and that all the 
 glory which discipline had upheld, is for ever 
 fleeted away. Why, now, a boy, a little pick- 
 pocket boy cannot be punished, without all hands 
 attending the flagellation ; and thus the list is 
 swelled to a more than usual number, for formerly 
 the first-lieutenant enacted schoolmaster, and 
 whipped the idle and the riotous ; now, forsooth, a 
 little urchin, who at school would have been flagel- 
 lated without mercy, has the honour of a full 
 attendance to witness his disgrace, and has his 
 name inserted in the log and in the quarterly re- 
 turns : surely this is preposterously absurd.
 
 60 , THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 I would submit to any reasonable man who has 
 been, and has, commanded, and who may have 
 paid common attention to the character of English 
 sailors, if the better part of the crew would not 
 rather have the cat held in terrorem over the ship's 
 company, and know that the idle, the skulking, 
 the thief, and the drunkard, will be certainly pu- 
 nished if they neglect their duty. Unquestionably 
 the good seamen would prefer the continuance of 
 the punishment to witnessing the distressing 
 scenes of the black list, or the long row of culprits 
 with one leg each in the bilboes. 
 
 The discipline of our navy has been the pride 
 of England and the wonder of the world. The 
 fleets of other nations have been swept from the 
 ocean, and the flag of Great Britain has been up- 
 held in the furthest quarter of the globe : surely 
 discipline must have been a great auxiliary, or this 
 glory could not have been attained. Why, during 
 the war, did an English frigate unhesitatingly 
 attack a French frigate, of far superior force, where- 
 ever they met ? — because the confidence of the cap- 
 tain was in the discipline of his crew : and that 
 discipline cannot be upheld without some greater
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 61 
 
 punishment than watering a man's grog, polishing 
 a pin, or having the black list, like a pack of fla- 
 mingos, to stand on one leg, or stride over a rope. 
 While our naval discipline has risen above other 
 nations, while we can uphold the honour and glory 
 of the flag, leave us the power, we do not want 
 the necessity of punishment. Interfere by all 
 possible means to bring wanton cruelty or heart- 
 less tyranny to its merited censure and disgrace. 
 No man could advocate the abuse of the power of 
 punishment possessing the feelings or the courage 
 of a man. Interfere thus far, and no farther ; for, 
 rely upon it, the service would be materially in- 
 jured if the law was abrogated. If any of the 
 strong advocates for the abolition of corporal 
 punishments in the navy had witnessed the dread- 
 ful effects of fire on board a ship, arising from the 
 grossest neglect of duty, or from the meddling in- 
 terference of the senseless drunkard — had they 
 been rescued by the accidental passing of another 
 ship, as was the case with the Kent East India- 
 man, when the crew and passengers stood upon 
 the very brink of destruction, almost without hope 
 of assistance, they would be inclined to alter their
 
 62 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 opinions about " treating seamen like boys," or 
 the twopenny nonsense " of using them like 
 horses." 
 
 Compare the loss of the Alceste with the wreck 
 of the French frigate Medusa ; the one the beauty of 
 discipline, the other the confusion of a mob. Read 
 with what patient resignation the crew of the former 
 submitted to the dictates of Maxwell and his offi- 
 cers ; see the example that was set by all the officers 
 down to the smallest midshipman, and dwell with 
 pleasure on their release. After perusing all their 
 sufferings and all their obedience, then cast your 
 eyes over the horrid picture of the loss of the 
 Medusa ; — the drunken hope of the undisciplined 
 crew ; their heartless murders, and their dreadful 
 sufferings ; and then quietly ask yourself to what 
 cause was the quiet submission of the one, or the 
 barbarous brutality of the other. 
 
 It is some small comfort in tropical climates, 
 where squalls come suddenly and awfully strong, 
 to know that in two minutes every sail can be 
 reduced, and thus the chance of accident dimi- 
 nished ; it is equally disgusting to be on board a 
 ship where half the men skulk below, where the
 
 THE LITE OF A SAILOR. 63 
 
 masts are carried away, the sails split, or the crew 
 kept on deck for hours. I remember, in one very 
 undisciplined ship, in which I happened to be a 
 passenger, that a man fell overboard ; the hurry 
 and confusion which occurred baffled all descrip- 
 tion ; the consequence was, that the stern-boat 
 was lowered when the ship had too much way, 
 and three men (as the boat swamped) drifted 
 away a-stern. The foremast tackle of the larboard- 
 quarter boat was let go by the run, and two more 
 men thrown overboard ; a similar accident very 
 nearly occurred with the starboard-quarter boat, 
 which, however, was ultimately cleared, and, in- 
 stead of only losing one man, we lost three. 
 
 Discipline, discipline alone, has upheld our 
 navy ; and discipline we must have. Why, what 
 captain can forget the time when the gaols 
 vomited their contents on board the men-of-war ? 
 Were these pickpockets, drunkards, vagabonds 
 of the lowest order, to be ruled with a feather or 
 soothed with soft accents ? Could it be imagined 
 that those who had defied the strong hand of the 
 law, would come, like good little children, tracta- 
 ble and obedient at once ? No ! those who ought
 
 G4 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 to have been flogged in the gaols were flogged 
 elsewhere ; and by constant vigilance on every 
 action of these vermin, we reformed their charac- 
 ters, and turned them to useful servants of the 
 state — from bold, but cruel violators of the law. 
 
 Reader, you may go to the end of the volumes 
 without being pestered with one word more on 
 the above disgusting subject.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. G5 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 " A sail ! a sail!" a promised prize of hope ! 
 Her nation — flag — liow speaks the telescope ? 
 No prize, alas ! — but yet a welcome sail : 
 Her blood-red signal glitters in the gale. 
 
 Byron. 
 
 A strange sail right a-head. It was a fine 
 clear morning, the sea as blue as a summer sky ; 
 the Salsette off the Island of Maretimo : mine 
 was the morning watch, and it was just daylight. 
 We had a breeze, a light one, and barely sufficient 
 to move our tea-kettle of a vessel at the rate of a 
 knot and a half an hour. The stranger was be- 
 calmed about five miles from the island. From 
 divers exertions made by her, such as towing with 
 the only boat she had, and rowing with the only
 
 66 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 sweep she possessed, endeavouring to near the 
 land, we were satisfied that she was an enemy. I 
 was in raptures at the thought of capturing our 
 first prize on the sea..- Our Dutch captures were 
 broad-sterned dodgers — river-fish floating down, 
 notf worthy of being reckoned as ocean gifts, the 
 God-sends of sailors and avaricious agents. It was 
 a long chase in appearance, because the vessel 
 was close to us, but progressed by the above means 
 nearly as fast as we did. She was destined to be 
 ours. Fortune, what a fickle devil art thou ! To 
 those who have much, thou givest more, and with- 
 holdest from the almost starving the little they 
 require. When within about three miles of the 
 shore, a breeze sprung up off the land, and obliged 
 the chase to "beat up" for her shelter: at that 
 moment we took a sea breeze, and run right down 
 upon her : the shot from the long bow gun passed 
 over her, and the tricoloured flag was shown and 
 hauled down immediately. We neared her fast, 
 and saw her boat push from the vessel, and make 
 towards the shore. Our grape-shot fell like hail 
 around her ; but the crew clung to their oars, and 
 pulled hard to avoid a prison. In vain we de-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 67 
 
 spatched the gig with two marines to fire at the 
 poor wretches ; they escaped, and we took pos- 
 session of a deserted prize. There are many very 
 gratifying moments in life-; the eliciting of ac*- 
 knowledged love from the lips of youth and beauty 
 — the first delicious sip of rich Madeira at dinner 
 — the long draught of sangoree during the oppres- 
 sion of the sun in the West Indies — a rich uncle's 
 unfortunate death — the secret pleasure of abusing 
 a friend — the curious feeling of satisfaction when 
 any man fails in his object — having a once rich 
 relation a beggar at one's feet — humbled pride 
 in others — or the secret, undefinable gratification 
 of piquing and soothing the girl we love — not to 
 mention the long, long kiss of youth. But to a 
 sailor, u prize-money" is as sweet as H revenge in 
 woman;" and that is saying as much for the 
 feeling, as even Lord Byron could say, from whom 
 I borrow the simile. At the moment of the cap- 
 ture I would not have changed my profession for 
 any other in the world. Oh, the joy of legally 
 mistaking the meum et tuum— the immense gra- 
 tification of converting another man's property to 
 our own use — the having a license to rob and to
 
 68 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 murder— it 's quite delightful ! and quite unknown 
 to your sober,, virtuous people on shore, who talk 
 of morality and honesty, as if the whole world 
 acknowledged their existence. 
 
 My share was small, of course; but I heard with 
 gratification the calculations of her worth, and the 
 probable proportions of each. " Why, youngster," 
 said one, " you will make a fortune here ; but 
 wait awhile, prizes are not always taken quite so 
 easily." He was a true retailer of a well-known 
 fact, and that evening very nearly saw his pro- 
 phecy fulfilled. And now for a scene, arising from 
 a ship's company not being in good discipline, 
 and the ship being, like a midshipman's chest, 
 every thing at top, and nothing at hand. 
 
 We had parted with the prize, having sent her 
 to Malta, the frigate making sail in chase of an- 
 other vessel to windward. She very shortly got 
 away from us, and in the evening we bore up for 
 Malta, with a strong, and, of course, favourable 
 breeze. It was about ten o'clock ; the officer 
 of the watch talking very jollily, and very im- 
 properly, with the marine officer; the look-out 
 man on the gangway, bobbing his head, like a
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 69 
 
 fisherman's float ; the guardian on the quarter, 
 under the lee of the hammock-netting ; and the 
 careful watch on the bow, sitting down on the 
 forecastle ; when, whiz came a shot right across 
 our bows, which was followed by another, which 
 went through the foresail. — " Hulloa ! what the 
 devil do you call this?" said the marine officer; 
 M is it a three-decker or a gun-boat?" — " Beat to 
 quarters," roared the officer of the watch ; the 
 drummer being snug enough in his hammock. — 
 "Pipe the hammocks up," said the first-lieute- 
 nant, who had jumped up the hatchway like a 
 lamplighter. Smack came another shot over the 
 stern. " Where is the signal-man with the lan- 
 terns?" said the captain. — u Run, youngster, and 
 tell the purser to have the fighting-lights ready — 
 up with the fire-screens, carpenters — clear away 
 these guns here." — u Watch and idlers, shorten 
 sail!" said the first-lieutenant. " Watch below, 
 bring the hammocks up !" The British blood was 
 up ; confusion, from want of proper discipline, 
 prevailed ; the top-gallant sails were handed, (that 
 is furled,) the ship brought to the wind, and the 
 next shot was a wide one of the mark. " Send
 
 70 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 the marines aft with their muskets," said Bathurst. 
 He was a fighter, a real good one at that ; and if 
 he stammered in his speech, he never wavered in 
 his resolution when his enemy was near; a braver 
 man never trod a quarter-deck. " Where — where 
 — where is the signal-man (as it 'tis en) ? Why, 
 you scoundrel, you (as it 'twas en), don't you 
 hoist the s — s — signal when you're t — t — to — told ? 
 (as it 'tis en.)" Independently of poor Bathurst's 
 natural infirmity, he could not help saying "tis en 
 — 'twas en" at the end of every two words ; and he 
 was always called " old 'tis and 'twas en," as long 
 as I can remember him. This was the effect of 
 hurry in expression, and was laughable to the 
 highest degree, in serious discourse. Up went the 
 lanterns ; but, as Dr. Johnson says, " Whatever 
 is done in a hurry, is naturally done badly ;" so 
 we found, for we got dangling a parcel of lights 
 no more like the signal, than an illuminated star 
 at Vauxhall. Up went some lanterns from the 
 stranger ; but, as she was end-on, we could neither 
 make out her signal, or if she was a ship, or brig, 
 or zebeck. She looked large in the haze of the 
 night ; and I am willing to admit that I bobbed
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 71 
 
 my head like a mandarin, or like one of the wag- 
 jaw women carried about by the Italian boys, 
 whenever she fired. She was now getting too 
 close to be pleasant: we were, after a fashion, 
 clear for quarters. Each ship had mistaken the 
 signal, and, of course, we believed her an enemy, 
 and they paid us the same compliment. The night 
 was confoundedly dark, and I kept tumbling over 
 handspikes and crow-bars, and breaking my shins 
 and toes over the loose shot. The captain was 
 standing abaft, trumpet in hand, as cool as a 
 cucumber. He desired the marines to treat our 
 adversary with a few small-shot. This rather asto- 
 nished our opponent, who little dreamt he had got 
 hold of a frigate ; and, as we fired one or two of 
 the main-deck guns, she yawed a little, and we 
 discovered she was a brig. " I 've got you s — s — 
 snug enough, my b — b— boy !" said the captain. 
 ** Avast firing on the main-deck ; why, we shall 
 damage her." — " Shall I just fire this thirty-two- 
 pounder, your honour?" said an Irish captain of a 
 quarter-deck gun. — " Bad luck to me, if I don't 
 make them blink on board -!" — " Silence ! fore 
 and aft," roared the first-lieutenant. — " Ho ! the
 
 <2 THE LIFE OK A SAILOR. 
 
 brig, ahoy!" bellowed the captain, disguising the 
 words as much as possible. — " What brig is 
 that?"— " What ship is that?" replied a gruff 
 voice. " This is his Majesty's ship the Salsette." 
 — "This is his Majesty's sloop the Monkey." — 
 " The devil it is ! " said the first-lieutenant. 
 " Heave to, sir, and come on board directly," said 
 the captain, in a most officer-like manner, " and 
 haul that signal down !" I just heard the answer, 
 " Why, you have got the wrong signal up, sir !" — 
 "The devil we have!" said old Bathurst, and 
 forthwith pulled some papers out of his pocket, 
 asked the day of the month, looked for some 
 moments, and then shuffling the private signals 
 away, muttered, " C — c — curse the s — s — sig- 
 nals! I have b — b — b — bothered my b — b — brain 
 so confoundedly ! But I never could understand 
 the business." The Monkey captain came on 
 board ; all was explained to the satisfaction of 
 both parties. We had been wrong in one 
 respect, and he in another ; for, after making 
 us out to be a ship, and after we had hove- to, 
 instead of firing, he ought to have offered the 
 signal so that we could see it : as he hoisted it,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 73 
 
 the sails entirely obscured the lights, and might 
 just as well have been in the boatswain's store- 
 room. 
 
 One word of advice to all captains, commanders, 
 and lieutenants commanding — always look out the 
 private signal before you go to bed, and place 
 it under your pillow ; destroy it the next morning, 
 or desire the officer of the watch when he calls 
 you at daylight, to remind you that the signal is 
 not destroyed. I have been suddenly roused, 
 and been bothered like poor Bathurst, for five or 
 ten minutes ; in fact, the knowledge that you are 
 prepared in a moment makes the comfort of the 
 cot not a little enhanced. The guns were soon 
 secured, the hammocks piped down, magazine 
 locked up, and keys returned to the first-lieu- 
 tenant's cabin — the watch called, and I in bed. 
 
 A few days afterwards we arrived without 
 further occurrences in Malta harbour. I was 
 particularly struck with the strength of the forti- 
 fications, and extreme curious appearance of the 
 town of Valetta. The bells of every church in 
 the town were ringing, and the disagreeable noise 
 continues almost night and day. Before we were 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 74 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 near the anchorage the boats belonging to the 
 venders of fruit were alongside. There was the 
 cool water-melon, fine in appearance, a mere mass 
 to melt into liquid when touched by the hand or 
 the mouth, — all outside show, like a marine's 
 mess. The Smyrna figs, stuck on a straw, looked 
 luscious and good ; and in good faith were not 
 amiss to the taste : the large orange of Malta, 
 with its rough skin, and fresh colour, with the 
 smooth small blood orange of Sicily, were placed 
 near a basket of delicious and tempting grapes : 
 here sausages and garlic, eggs and butter, bread 
 and cheese, surrounded the fruit, giving the ap- 
 pearance of the combination of a porkman's, gro- 
 cer's, and fruiterer's shop. As we skimmed through 
 the motionless water, gliding in silence by the 
 long quay of Valetta, we drew behind us a string 
 of Maltese boats, by no other attachment than 
 the love of gain, forming a kind of tail of a comet. 
 "The eye of appropriation sweetens the object." 
 I admit the truth in the fullest extent, when fruit 
 is the object, and hungry midshipmen the gazers. 
 Malta, or rather Valetta, is one of the most sin- 
 gular towns in the world : it is built on the side of
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 75. 
 
 a steep hill, and slopes towards the harbour : on 
 the summit of this hill the street, the Strada Reale, 
 is paved, the same as in other towns; but the 
 streets leading to the harbour are composed of 
 steps, a kind of out-of-door staircase, to ascend 
 which, on a sultry day, with a tight hat and 
 pinching boots, is not the most agreeable exercise 
 or cool pleasure known to men of luxurious habits. 
 The white houses, reflecting the rays of a scorch- 
 ing sun, are detrimental to the eyes, and produce 
 all the painful sensations experienced when an 
 officious valet introduces suddenly a glare of the 
 morning, before the expanded pupil of the eye has 
 time to* contract and exclude more light than is 
 
 requisiteUmi comfortable. I recommend all grif- 
 fins at Malta to be provided with green spectacles ; 
 the glare is a great eye-sore. The Maltese propel 
 their boats after the manner of the Venetian gon- 
 doliers: the man nearest the stern-sheets turns 
 his back upon his fare, whilst the bow-man, (they 
 have, generally speaking, neifB£ more than two 
 rowers,) more genteel than his companion, faces 
 the company, being seated, which the after oars- 
 man is not. It is the business of the last named man
 
 76 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 to steer the boat ; and, as he faces forward, he sees 
 his road, and avoids coming in contact with other 
 boats, by either relinquishing or applying force. 
 The stern-sheets are covered with striped awnings, 
 and, from the number of the boats, and the con- 
 stant traffic in the harbour, they tend greatly to 
 enliven the scene, and to amuse the imprisoned 
 stranger ; for such I call the common sailor. The 
 view from the ships is narrow and uninteresting ; 
 the barren ground seemed scorched into a cinder ; 
 verdure was a rarity, and a tree an object useless 
 to look for. The heat of the day is excessive, but 
 the coolness of the evening deliciously exquisite. 
 
 The general landing-place is on a long quay, 
 which flanks the city of Valetta. Here is always 
 a busy scene; the coffee-grinders turn their 
 roasters ; the fruit-women offer all the delicacies 
 of Sicilian gardens ; different trades are carried on 
 under awnings ; the venders of pure water, iced, 
 come bawling for custom. Aqua ptira is bellowed 
 on one side, while a whole generation of beggars 
 commence a running accompaniment, with a rolling 
 bass, in the shape of a boyish tumbler on the other. 
 The costume of the Maltese tends not a little to
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 77 
 
 charm the eye of a stranger, the buttons of their 
 vests being of silver coin, or formed like a large 
 and elegantly worked bell ; the red cap, the sash, 
 and lastly the dark eye and browned counte- 
 nance, occasionally giving a look of insidious ma- 
 lice, or fiery determination, only known to those 
 climates. The men are low in stature, and lower 
 in intellect ; the women are dirty, slovenly, and 
 ugly. If ever a pretty girl is encountered, she is 
 invariably Sicilian, and from that mart of beauty 
 and libertine manners the market for lawful and 
 unlawful connexion is supplied. To Sicily they 
 are indebted for almost every luxury in life ; there 
 fe a constant communication between Valetta and 
 jNota Bay, from which charming and verdant spot 
 Malta receives the rich harvest of the garden of 
 the world. 
 
 The landing at Valetta has one peculiarity, 
 "merely nominal it is true, but curious in its nomi- 
 nation. There is a flight of steps leading to the 
 town called Nix Mangiare Stairs. This name was 
 given many years ago by some sailors, in conse- 
 . quence of one batch of beggars who have in- 
 herited the lucrative situation from their parents,
 
 78 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 which is become now hereditary in the family. 
 The present possessore fix themselves about the 
 middle of the flight of steps, dressed in a most in- 
 delicate tatterdemallion style, and lifting up their 
 voices and drooping their heads, commence in 
 clear intonation the following falsehood : " Oh ! 
 signore, mi povero miserabile, nix padre, nix 
 madre, nix mangiare for sixteen days per Jesu 
 Christo." Now the younger ones generally hold 
 the hem of the apology of the mother's gown ; 
 and the father begins the first false note of the 
 strain. They all know that sailors understand 
 mangiare; the negative nix is, strictly speaking, of 
 maritime origin ; the sixteen days is always in 
 English, which the fat chubby faces of the boys 
 and girls is sufficient to contradict. At the con- 
 clusion of the erroneous statement they all piously 
 make the sign of the cross, and hold out their 
 dirty straw-hats. I am credibly informed that 
 the sums gained by begging on these steps is 
 nearly equal to the salary of the deputy-governor 
 of the island ; and that the sinecure will be re- 
 tained in that family until a suitable reform shall 
 open it to competition. When no respectable
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 79 
 
 person is coming past the family sit upon the 
 steps, one above the others, and prove the in- 
 utility of combs by the dexterity with which they 
 dislodge all insect intruders ; in this they are 
 second only to the monkey tribe. From the 
 rapidity and success of their researches, I fancy 
 they would be strong opponents to Julian the 
 Apostate, who congratulated himself on having 
 more inhabitants in his beard than Rome had 
 within her walls. 
 
 The large and lofty aisle of the church of St. 
 John might awaken the slumbering devotion of 
 even a midshipman; but true it is that foreign 
 churches do not exercise that command over the 
 mind which is felt on entering our own places of 
 worship. The reason is, that it is reckoned no 
 breach of decorum to walk about during the cere- 
 mony of the service ; some stragglers gaze at the 
 pictures. The women, who kneel in apparent devo- 
 tion, allow their eyes to follow the stranger rather 
 than the crucifix; and the noise occasioned by 
 walking materially tends to disturb that silence 
 which promotes religious meditation and attention. 
 
 Who can help wishing to possess the skull of a
 
 80 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 saint? Not I, and frankly do I admit it. First of 
 all, I do not consider it much sacrilege to wish 
 to be the proprietor of so holy a skull, with such 
 charming eyes, and I am sceptical enough to be- 
 lieve, that in purloining the canonized remains I 
 should not much offend either St. Thomas, St. 
 Francis, or St. Jerome, to whom it is affirmed 
 they once belonged, having each an historical 
 record about as true as that of the guardian 
 saint of Corfu (St. Spiridion), the remains of 
 whom become historically his, from the following 
 veracious account. It is recorded, that one day a 
 fisherman in Smyrna Bay discovered a man walk- 
 ing on the sea towards his boat. The boatman 
 was startled at first ; but regained his courage 
 when the spectre entered the boat, sat down, 
 and desired the fisherman to row him to Corfu ! 
 (rather a long fare ;) the distance may be some- 
 where about three hundred miles, and was per- 
 formed in six hours. On stepping on shore the 
 saint never paid the boatman, but said " bury me 
 here in a glass-case, and build a church on the 
 spot." It was so done ; and to this day have the 
 credulous Corfuites such belief in the story, that
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 81 
 
 during the plague in that island in 1816, they 
 carried the saint round the walls of the town, and 
 the saint, equally as powerful as Aaron's censer, 
 stopped the plague; he was then exhibited for 
 three days to the public, when every man, woman, 
 or child, who had any proper belief, came and 
 kissed the glass-case, and made sterling offer- 
 ings ; the governor, Sir Thomas Maitland, setting a 
 laudable example, by giving three hundred dollars. 
 They say this valuable saint is worth five thousand 
 pounds per annum to its owner and keeper ; and 
 after that I should like to see the heretic who 
 would not be proud of accommodating a saint. The 
 Maltese saints have diamond eyes, which glisten 
 horribly in the skeleton-skull, and must be, from 
 the numerous offerings, equally lucrative to their 
 owners. 
 
 I confess I was rather disappointed at the 
 interior of St. John's church. I expected a much 
 finer sight, and more splendid altar-piece. The 
 Mosaic work is beautiful. Below the church 
 there is a vault, in which you may see the re- 
 mains of four of the knights of Malta. They have 
 mouldered away until nothing is left but the bones
 
 82 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 and some black dust. I brought away some of 
 the latter unobserved, and exhibited my treasure 
 on board in the berth. Some one told the boat- 
 swain it was snuff, and he, at one rude pinch, ex- 
 tinguished my remains of a knight. On being told 
 of the sacrilege he had committed, the whistling 
 barbarian only replied u Well, if it was a dead 
 man, he ought to have set me ^.-coughing." 
 
 The harbour of Malta is one of the most secure 
 in the world, and the island itself far from a dis- 
 agreeable residence. The interior has some beauti- 
 ful spots, such as the Boschetta, the gardens of 
 St. Antonio, and the rising ground on which the 
 Civita Vecchia stands. This last place is the gene- 
 ral resort of the navy, as it is seven miles from 
 Valetta, quite out of sight of the captain, and 
 affords recreation in the shape of a ride : — " set a 
 sailor on horseback, and he will ride to the devil :" 
 that is not exactly true at Malta: he will ride 
 no doubt, but not quite so far. A Maltese horse 
 is just as stubborn as his owner, at least when a 
 sailor is on his back. There is a stand of these 
 animals at the corner of the Strada Mezzodi ; and 
 one in particular, a grey with a long tail and mane,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 83 
 
 was generally in attendance on Sunday, that 
 being the day on which Jack is allowed to get 
 drunk, and be put in the guard-house. Sailors 
 are fond of riding, and consequently, after taking 
 a glass of Rosolio, (called by them, "roll your 
 soul out,") and washing it down with a strong 
 glass of punch, they repaired to the stand of 
 horses, properly screwed up to face the animals. 
 The gallant grey was always first favorite, and a 
 little increase of price was put upon him, on ac- 
 count, I suppose, of the accommodation of the 
 long mane, which to Jack was a mainstay : it 
 stood as quiet and as harmless as a Boulogne 
 donkey ; an animal, from constant usage, never 
 known to kick. The horse at Malta is paid for 
 in advance, generally a dollar for a day's ride ; 
 and so quiet is the creature while his master is 
 near, that a child or a sailor might fearlessly 
 mount him. All hands mount at once, and stick 
 their bended knees into the horses' sides, riding 
 as short in the stirrups as a Mameluke or a Cos- 
 sack. They generally commence operations by 
 flourishing a thick stick, and crying out, " Make 
 sail, lads," let it fall rather heavily on the horse.
 
 84 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 This is a mutual signal for war : off they go one 
 after the other at full gallop, keeping in a 
 line, like what they are, a flock of wild geese. 
 The white horse always took the lead, his long 
 tail being called the tow-rope, to which the rider 
 pointed, as a hint that he would assist the others. 
 The speed gradually increased until the cavalcade 
 n eared the St. Antonio gardens, a distance of 
 about three miles, when the grey would stop 
 short, pitch his rider over the bows, turn short 
 round, and trot home again. It was quite in vain 
 to attempt to mount him, even if you stopped 
 him ; he would kick and fling, bite and snort, and 
 throw the whole convoy into disorder, not one of 
 which would go on after he turned ; but all in 
 imitation of the commodore would pitch and 
 toss, and swerve and kick, until a general forcible 
 dismounting would take place, the horses run 
 home, and Jack be left to what he could manage 
 better, his own legs. By the time they were half- 
 way home, they would meet another convoy on 
 their own horses, going to be kicked off at the 
 same spot, and would be overtaken by the return- 
 ing animals before they arrived. The coolness of
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 85 
 
 the Maltese on these occasions is truly laughable : 
 they point to the horses, and tell the sailors to 
 ride them if they like ; but the instant they ap- 
 proach, the horses manifest their displeasure, and 
 the scene ends by Jack losing his money, and his 
 ride in the bargain. 
 
 I have been an eye-witness to the tricks of the 
 grey three times, and once it nearly ended fatally : 
 a midshipman, a messmate of mine, not being 
 able to get a horse from the more respectable 
 letters out of quadrupeds, unfortunately mounted 
 the grey : he went with us very well to Civita 
 Vecchia. Returning, however, was another con- 
 cern. The midshipman, finding him showing a 
 great disposition to dance, and thinking his stir- 
 rups too long, placed his feet in the leathers. 
 When horse and man arrived at the old corner, 
 the animal flew off at a gallop, dismounted my 
 companion, whose legs were retained in the stir- 
 rups, and scampered towards Valetta, at every 
 step kicking my poor friend up as high as his 
 tail ; and finished the business by kicking down the 
 throat every tooth but six of the poor youngster's. 
 
 I never shall forget that cursed grey horse if I
 
 86 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 live for the time a Spaniard wishes you invariably to 
 live — namely, one thousand years. I took special 
 good care never to try my skill upon him ; for I 
 doubt if Kirsha the Cossack could have mastered 
 the scientific brute. 
 
 The Maltese make lemonade better than any 
 nation in the world ; that is, to my taste. Iced 
 punch, in South America, is by no means a bad 
 mixture. When the ingredients are properly pre- 
 pared, a large mass of solid ice is placed in the 
 tumbler, which, when you drink, keeps bobbing 
 about your lips and the tip of your nose, most 
 effectually cooling you and the punch. In Malta, 
 instead of spoons, you are served with a kind of 
 skimmers, or spatulas, of no possible use to drink 
 with, but given that you may apply your lips, 
 and, consequently, take twice as much. No man 
 knows the luxury of liquids who has not been 
 baked and browned in either of the Indies or the 
 Mediterranean. The poor tired wanderer of the 
 desert, whose throat is parched with heat and 
 sand, sits down by the scanty stream, rejoicing 
 over the welcome but homely fare, and, in the 
 moment of availing himself of the natural beverage
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 87 
 
 of man, feels more real delight and pleasure than 
 the heated wine-bibber over the most delicious ex- 
 pression of the grape. 
 
 In the time of which I write, Malta contained a 
 sufficient number of those drains of the wealthy — 
 gambling-houses; and these were frequented by 
 officers of the army and navy ; the latter of whom 
 not being able to live without this, greatest 
 of all excitements, introduced the pernicious sys- 
 tem into midshipmen's berths. I have been witness 
 to some scenes which might rival the " Anecdotes 
 of Gaming," in which one or two cases of misery, 
 sudden poverty, madness, and death, are faith- 
 fully recorded. The midshipmen are more genteel 
 now ; and " Blind Hookey," the game played for- 
 merly, and at which the expert player can always 
 dupe the unwary, has given way to Ecarte and short 
 whist. The captain who allows this amusement 
 on board, or even sets the example in his own 
 cabin, is far more deserving of a flogging than the 
 poor devil of a sailor, who, in the moment, the 
 rare moment of fancied happiness, drinks an extra 
 glass and becomes intoxicated. I am not here 
 going to lecture upon the fatal rusults of play. I
 
 88 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 only know that even love, once supposed to be the 
 greatest excitement in human nature, gives way 
 and slinks into forgetfulness if opposed to the 
 superior power of gambling ; and if love, that in 
 former days prompted the chivalrous to deeds of 
 amazing valour and intrepidity, which occupies 
 our early hours, banishing-every pain by the hope 
 of success, which can allay the cares and smooth 
 the pillow of misfortune, is conquered by this 
 enemy to all repose, and all pleasures but its own, 
 what chance has duty, which is the offspring of 
 fear, against so powerful a foe ? There is not a more 
 dangerous character on board a ship than a 
 gambler, and it behoves every man in the navy to 
 pay a little more attention to this subject than has 
 latterly been paid. 
 
 The Salsette was ordered to Smyrna ; and 
 shortly after our arrival at that place, directions 
 came that we should proceed to Constantinople, 
 there to receive Mr. Adair, our mmister, and con- 
 vey him to Malta. Our stay was short at this 
 miserable place, and would have been shorter 
 had not one of our frigates, the St. Fiorenzo, con- 
 trived to run bowsprit on to a high cliff, by which
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 89 
 
 she sustained considerable damage. It was at 
 Smyrna I first saw the activity of the Mamelukes, 
 in a sham fight against some Turks. Sunday was 
 the day selected for this amusement; and to a 
 flat of grass to the left of the town, (that is, look- 
 ing from the anchorage,) the different parties re- 
 paired. Each man was armed with a certain num- 
 ber of d'jherids, or blunted lances, about four or 
 five feet in length, and carried also a small thick 
 stick, by which he warded off the lance of his an- 
 tagonist. Each party was drawn up — but not in 
 regular line ; there was still regularity even in the 
 irregularity of the forming ; an advance from either 
 side was by no means an advance of the whole 
 body ; separate detachments would rush forward in 
 different directions, and shower their lances on their 
 opponents. The velocity with which these d'jherids 
 were hurled was perfectly extraordinary ; and the 
 vigilance of the attacked party, and their activity 
 in either warding off the blows, catching the fly- 
 ing spears, or throwing themselves from their 
 horses, equally surprising. Sometimes, to avoid 
 the lance in a retreat, they would throw them- 
 selves upon the back of the horse, and frequently
 
 90 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 would dismount, recover a lance, and mount again 
 at full gallop. This exercise quite convinced me 
 that against a regular force they would be invaria- 
 bly unsuccessful ; but against undisciplined troops, 
 stragglers, or a dispersed army, they would be ter- 
 rific enemies. These sham fights often end fatally. 
 I saw one Turk killed on the spot ; the d'jherid 
 struck him on the forehead, and he fell lifeless 
 from his horse. This by no means stopped the 
 amusement, although it afforded a world of spe- 
 culative opinion, and it remained in much doubt 
 amongst the faithful, if the deceased would go to 
 Heaven or not, it being clearly understood amongst 
 Mahometans that houris only wear their green 
 kerchiefs for those who die in battle against an 
 enemy. Now, as the Mameluke was only a sham 
 enemy, the subject was one of intense interest to 
 the faithful, and should be clearly understood by 
 all parties before they hazard their lives, and who 
 on every Sunday run a considerable chance of not 
 outliving the day. It is impossible to see horses 
 better managed than at these fights. I have often 
 seen two combatants keep their chargers in such 
 a position, that neither horseman could throw his
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 91 
 
 spear at his antagonist ; and when tired of this 
 evolution, one would gallop off, stretched upon 
 the back of his steed, offering but a small sur- 
 face for the aggressor to aim at. The training of 
 the horse is attended by much cruelty ; the poor 
 devils have bits in their mouths, severe enough to 
 manage an alligator ; on which animal Mr. Water- 
 ton exhibited, to the great satisfaction of every per- 
 son who saw him. From the gallop, the horses — not 
 the alligators — are accustomed to halt suddenly, 
 throwing themselves violently on their haunches. 
 It will readily be admitted by every traveller that 
 a Turk, or an Arab, sits upon a horse as if he 
 were a Centaur, or a part of the animal ; and on 
 the gallop, from their costume, their accoutrements, 
 and their elegance, they outrival any long-skirted- 
 coat dandy that ever rode in the Park, or cur- 
 vetted on a regimental charger.
 
 92 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Look on its broken arch, its ruin'd wall, 
 Its chamber desolate, and portals foul : 
 
 Yes, this was once Ambition's airy hall, 
 
 The dome of thought — the palace of the soul. 
 
 Childe Harold. 
 
 It was at one of these sham, but earnest fights, 
 mentioned in the last chapter, that I first saw Lord 
 Byron ; he was then on his travels, accompanied 
 by the present Sir John Cam Hobhouse. His 
 lordship solicited a passage in the Salsette to Con- 
 stantinople, which, of course, was readily granted 
 by Captain Bathurst, and a few days afterwards 
 we were under weigh to our destination. We came 
 to an anchor off the island of Tenedos, and in full
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 93 
 
 view of the plains of Troy. An orange brought 
 me into notice with his lordship : he had inquired 
 of the captain's steward if such a luxury was to be 
 procured on board : the steward answered that he 
 had none. I was sitting in the fore-cabin, wishing 
 Hamilton Moore, Norie, and all other compilers 
 and inventors of logarithms and rules in the bot- 
 tomless-pit ; for I was puzzled, as usual, about a 
 double altitude and the chronometer, when I heard 
 the steward reply in the negative. I immediately 
 ran below, and from the till of my chest brought 
 forth two ripe Smyrna oranges. I, being well 
 aware how the stall-women polish their fruit, by 
 means of their lips and a blacking-brush, con- 
 cluded a damp towel would answer every purpose, 
 and having duly brightened the yellow skin of my 
 fruit, returned, and offered them to his lordship. 
 " I never knew a man lose any thing by civility," 
 said Marshal Turenne, as he bobbed his head to 
 the tune of a round shot, which, passing over him, 
 took off the noddle f his erect and uncourteous 
 aid-de-camp. I always remember this story in 
 action ; and it consoles me in my cowardice to 
 know that I am acting like a gentleman, and
 
 94 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 bowing to my enemies. " Many thanks, young- 
 ster," said his lordship ; " pray what are you so 
 intent upon ?" 
 
 " Endeavouring to find out the longitude," I 
 replied. 
 
 His lordship remarked, with a smile, " Ah, that, 
 indeed! why, it has puzzled older heads than 
 yours before now." 
 
 I intend, in a future chapter, to give my opinion 
 upon education on board a ship. I flatter myself 
 I shall give some good hints upon this subject, 
 feeling, as I do, the number of idle hours of my 
 early days which might have been more pro- 
 fitably employed than borrowing u a day's work" 
 from other midshipmen, or looking out a logarithm 
 while my comrade completed the calculation. The 
 next day I was nominally at work again in the 
 cabin, when Lord Byron requested he might be 
 landed on the plains of Troy : in point of fact, he 
 had been gazing through a telescope on the scene 
 of the brilliant actions of antiquity for hours be- 
 fore. " I will take this young acquaintance of 
 mine with me, with your permission, Captain 
 Bathurst." — " Certainly," replied that excellent
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 95 
 
 man ; and in one minute my books were closed, 
 the chronometer sights handed over for the bene- 
 fit of others, and I down below, "■ cleaning my- 
 self" as the term is on board a ship, to go on 
 shore. 
 
 His lordship had his fowling-piece handed into 
 the boat, and we shoved off, all in high spirits. 
 It blew a stiff breeze, and the boat surged her gun- 
 wale in the water, as she lifted over the wave. I 
 more than once thought we carried too much sail, 
 and edged as much to windward as possible, 
 grinning and twisting my face about like a cat in 
 the rain. The cockswain ventured to hint that she 
 would go the faster for having a reef in. This was 
 strenuously opposed by Lord Byron, who was a 
 capital sailor, and we arrived, safe and sound, 
 though by no means dry, in the bay, where it is 
 supposed the Grecian fleet was formerly hauled on 
 shore. 
 
 I did not care much about Homer, or the Greeks 
 or Trojans either ; my knowledge then was about 
 as much circumscribed as an Eton boy's. A mid- 
 shipman's education is about on a par with some 
 of these stuffed, crammed, young gentlemen of
 
 96 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 public schools. I remember being desired by a 
 fond parent to ask his son some question, having 
 previously heard that he was a prodigy. As Na- 
 poleon was then the general theme of conversation, 
 I asked where that great man was born ? "I don't 
 know that," was the reply ; " but this I know, 
 that the eleven of Eton would beat any eleven boys 
 in France ;" and we must admit this is something, 
 considering the trifling yearly expense at that 
 seminary of useful knowledge. 
 
 The gig was sent on board, and we proceeded 
 to the ruins of Alexandria Troy : his lordship 
 being accompanied by two servants — presents from 
 that furious monster, Ali Pacha ; as Lord Byron 
 called him, " the mildest looking gentleman he 
 ever saw." These two were his constant body- 
 guard ; and the attachment between master and 
 men was reciprocal. Troy and its plains were 
 hallowed ground to his lordship, which I ventured 
 to profane, by blazing away at every bird I saw ; 
 and while the poet was imagining the great events 
 of former days, I was lost in sweet hope of the 
 next day's dinner, to which I largely contributed 
 every time the birds sat still to be shot at. Oh,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 97 
 
 but we had a long walk round old walls, over 
 which the speedy lizard kept running, as if the 
 sovereign ruler of the ruin ; and I was tired enough 
 when his lordship brought himself to an anchor 
 upon the tomb of Patroclus, producing a book, 
 which he read with the utmost attention, occa- 
 sionally glancing his quick eye over the plains. 
 It was a Homer : he in one of his notes on Childe 
 Harold mentions the difference of feelings ex- 
 cited by reading Homer on the spot, and in the 
 school-room. I remember his being highly amused 
 at my leaping across the Scamander. It is now a 
 mere rivulet, although in many parts the ground 
 is distinctly marked which formed its former 
 bed, and satisfies the traveller that it must have 
 been a broad and a rapid river. In the evening 
 we returned on board, having previously crossed 
 to Tenedos, tasted sherbet, and smoked a pipe 
 with the governor of that miserable fortress. On 
 the plains of Troy I purchased a small white goat, 
 which I shall presently introduce to the reader. 
 
 ]N T o armed ship is allowed to approach the sub- 
 lime city without a firman, or order, giving per- 
 mission fo the ship to pass the forts in the Dar- 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 98 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 danelles ; and I can aver that the divan are not 
 the most expeditious granters of common requests, 
 for they kept us exactly one month before they 
 allowed us to proceed. We found plenty of re- 
 creation on shore and on board ; but "hope deferred 
 maketh the heart sick :" it was therefore necessary 
 to keep our bodies in health, and an inland ex- 
 cursion was proposed. This was afterwards al- 
 tered, and it was settled that we should ride to 
 Abydos. His lordship's servants were sent on 
 shore to provide horses, and the next day we 
 repaired early in the morning to the appointed 
 spot ; not however quite so well prepared as the 
 bowmen in Chevy Chase. We were a motley 
 group to be sure ; some in uniform, some in tra- 
 vellers' garb, Turkish and Greek servants, with a 
 lot of running footmen, with their roomy inex- 
 pressibles, which stuck out like balloons as they 
 advanced against the wind. We made a good 
 and fair start ; that is to say, we got athwart our 
 horses without any particular difficulty, and no 
 accident. Our line advanced, because naval eti- 
 quette does not allow of midshipmen riding along- 
 side of the captain, and consequently we formed a 

 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 99 
 
 iine. Every thing looked prosperous, and we were 
 all in high spirits, shaking off official restraint 
 as we left the boats in the distance. Captain 
 Bathurst, wjjo imagined he could govern his horse 
 as he could his ship, by means of discipline, was 
 applying the whip, much to the annoyance of the 
 animal, for the captain very properly wished to 
 keep company with his friends, while the horse 
 was a stalking proof that although he might be 
 gregarious, he was by no means sociable, and 
 therefore was determined to return to the village 
 whence he came. It soon came to a decided 
 quarrel between man and beast : the whip was 
 freely administered, but the horse was the dull 
 ass that would not mend his pace for beating, at 
 least in the right direction, for he began to yaw 
 about like a hog in a high wind. We therefore 
 took the captain's part, and endeavoured, by 
 probing, beating, and kicking his refractory ani- 
 mal, to keep him on the proper course. This was 
 resented on his part by sundry kicks and sudden 
 turns : the captain lost his stirrups, which are in 
 fact the shrouds of a horseman, to keep him (the 
 mast) upright and secure. The animal felt his
 
 100 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 advantage, and began forthwith to pitch about 
 like a ship in a head sea ; and the captain meeting 
 with the fate of William the Conqueror, although 
 it did not end so fatally, was pitched first against 
 the pummel of the saddle, and afterwards over the 
 bows of the horse. There he lay, cocked-hat, sword 
 and all ; whilst the liberated animal fired a part- 
 ing salute, kicked up its wanton heels, and scam- 
 pered back like the gallant grey at Malta. The 
 captain being severely hurt, was conveyed back to 
 the frigate, under the charge of Lord Byron's 
 servants, and we directed our course along shore 
 to our destination. 
 
 It was a sultry, close, hot, disagreeable day ; 
 and neither the ride nor the saddles were much to 
 my fancy, or comfort. I was left under the special 
 protection of Lord Byron, and consequently kept 
 close by his side. We had made good about four 
 miles, when in a wood, through which the road 
 turns, according to the line of beauty, continual 
 curves, we came suddenly upon a squadron of 
 Turks, all mounted upon spirited animals, and all 
 as surprised at meeting the Giaours, as we were 
 at finding ourselves so near the true believers.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 101 
 
 However, in this instance, they were false be- 
 lievers, for they imagined we were Russians ; and 
 not thinking (a Turk never thinks — that would be 
 a species of work) of the impossibility of Russian 
 gentlemen from Moscow taking a forenoon's ride 
 along the shores of the Dardanelles, more espe- 
 cially the Asiatic side, drew their sabres, and 
 showed other very intelligible signs of having 
 cleared for action, and declared war against our 
 party. They had the courtesy to hail us before 
 they commenced operations : it was to my ears 
 a strange jumble of very unwelcome sounds, bel- 
 lowed out with deep intonation, all speaking at 
 once, and something like a Dutch concert, — all 
 singing different tunes. Their mustachios stood 
 out, resembling an enraged cat's whiskers ; their 
 eyes flashed like lightning, and their counte- 
 nances betrayed their eager desire for the en- 
 counter. In the mean time, our party began to 
 make all preparations for fight; and had it not 
 been for Lord Byron's coolness we should have 
 been minus a head or two before long ; for the 
 foremost of the hot-headed Turks waved their 
 sparkling cimeters over their turbaned skulls,
 
 102 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 whilst those in the rear drew forth their splendid 
 pistols, • and cocked them. No sooner, however, 
 did they learn that we were friends, as true as 
 religious enemies could be, than they expressed 
 their satisfaction in suitable terms, returned their 
 sabres to the scabbards, gave a very oriental and 
 elegant bend, and much to my satisfaction, trotted 
 past us at a quick pace. I never read those lines 
 of Lord Byron's, beginning 
 
 The foremost Tartar 's in the gap, 
 
 without thinking of the above scene, which I am 
 confident he bore in remembrance when that part 
 of the Giaour was written, for it is exact to the 
 life. 
 
 It was about two in the afternoon when we ar- 
 rived at the place (Abydos), famous in poetry for 
 Leander's love and folly. The English consul, at 
 whose house we stopped to refresh man and horse, 
 was an Italian Jew, married to a Greek woman, 
 the progeny being about as mixed a breed as a 
 turnspit dog. He was the dirtiest consul I ever 
 knew, and might have done excellently for consul-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 103 
 
 general in Hay ti ; the vermin, which even a Mal- 
 tese woman dislodges from her child, crawled in 
 careless security over his collar: we were glad 
 enough to escape their contact ; and although it 
 is due to this dirty fellow to mention his hospi- 
 tality, yet I should be sorry enough to be con- 
 demned to accept of either his arm or his house. 
 We took boat and repaired to Sestos, the strong 
 fortification on the European side. It blew fresh, 
 and the constant rains and easterly wind ren- 
 dered the current stronger and the water colder 
 than usual. I could not comprehend for what 
 possible amusement we had crossed the Darda- 
 nelles, excepting it might have been to have 
 visited a part of Europe and Asia in a quarter of 
 an hour. The sea view of Abydos was not a 
 likely reason, and we knew well enough that the 
 jealous Turks who had refused us admission into 
 the fortress on the Asiatic side, would be just about 
 as uncivil on the European shore. Whilst I was 
 ruminating on the useless excursion, I saw Lord 
 Byron in a state of nudity, rubbing himself over 
 with oil, and taking to the water like a duck : his 
 clothes were brought into the boat, and we were
 
 104 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 desired to keep near him ; but not so near as to 
 molest him. This was his first attempt at imi- 
 tating Leander, of which he has made some re- 
 marks in the note to the lines written on crossing 
 the Hellespont. He complained instantly on 
 plunging in of the coldness of the water ; and he 
 by no means relished the rippling which was 
 caused by an eddy not far from where he started. 
 He swam well — decidedly well. The current was 
 strong, the water cold, the wind high, and the 
 waves unpleasant. These were fearful odds to 
 contend against, and when he arrived about half 
 way across, he gave up the attempt, and was 
 handed into the boat, and dressed. He did not 
 appear the least fatigued, but looked as cold as 
 charity, and as white as snow. He was cruelly 
 mortified at the failure, and did not speak one 
 word until he arrived on shore. His look was that 
 of an angry, disappointed girl, and his upper lip 
 curled, like that of a passionate woman's : — I see it 
 now, as if it were but yesterday. 
 
 We had some coffee and pipes, the common 
 offerings in these parts, at our consul's ; reserving 
 the sight of the fort and the town (such a place to
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 105 
 
 call a town !) until we should arrive in the frigate. 
 The horses wefe discharged, and we hired a boat. 
 When the evening: advanced we embarked and 
 sailed down the Dardanelles to the frigate. On 
 passing Fort Asia, so called from its situation on 
 the Asiatic shore, the sentinel hailed us, and de- 
 sired us to land. Lord Byron, who had recovered 
 his gaiety with the rising of the moon, swore, in 
 good modern Greek, that he would not land to 
 please any Turk in Asia ; whereupon the sentinel 
 thought proper to practise firing at a mark, and 
 began at the boat : he did not hit us, and we were 
 soon out of his reach, for the current swept us at 
 about the rate of six knots an hour, and we had a 
 sail in the bargain. We arrived safe, although 
 the crew nearly mutinied when the first shot was 
 fired. They might as well have attempted to 
 move the mosque of St. Sophia, as turn Byron 
 from his determination, which none but a woman 
 could have effected. 'It was a saying in after life 
 of Lord Byron's servant, " Every woman can go- 
 vern my lord — but my lady." It appears by all 
 accounts, that men could neither intimidate nor 
 manage the poet : he certainly was not easily led 
 by our sex.
 
 106 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 At last the firman did make its appearance, and 
 the wind being fair, we made sail ; not, however, 
 before we had a difference of opinion relative to 
 the necessity of leaving our powder behind ; but, 
 as it so happened that we had a very large quan- 
 tity on board as a present to the sultan, it was 
 voted quite useless, and certainly derogatory to the 
 British nation, to leave our own, and we succeeded 
 in going onwards, in no way curtailed of our fair 
 proportions. As the wind gradually died away, 
 and left us unable to stem the current, we came to 
 an anchor close under the fort of Abydos. In the 
 course of the night we were twice roused to quar- 
 ters, owing to the noise and confusion in the fort, 
 and within pistol-shot of which we were anchored. 
 It was merely their unchristian-like way of re- 
 lieving the guard ; at which ceremony they made 
 more noise than a whole school of boys round a 
 bonfire. It was beneficial in one respect to the in- 
 habitants of the town, as they were thus apprised 
 that their guardians were on the alert, for it was 
 quite preposterous the idea the Turks had, that we 
 were there for some sinister purpose. 
 
 The next day was calm and warm. We had not 
 a breath of wind, " and ocean slumbered like an
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 107 
 
 un weaned child. " Lord Byron was up early, and 
 made arrangements for his second and more suc- 
 cessful attempt at swimming the Hellespont. Mr. 
 Ekenhead proposed to dispute the honour, and 
 both gentlemen left the ship about nine o'clock, 
 and landed on the European side. Above Sestos 
 there is a narrow point of land which juts into the 
 Dardanelles, and below Abydos there is a similar 
 formation of coast, the point of the sandy bay on 
 the Asiatic side projecting some distance. From 
 point to point, that is, if they were opposite to each 
 other, the distance would be about a mile — cer- 
 tainly not more ; but as the current is rapid, and 
 it is impossible to swim directly across, the dis- 
 tance actually passed over would be between four or 
 five miles. Mr. Ekenhead took the lead, and kept 
 it the whole way. He was much the best swimmer 
 of the two, and by far the more powerful man. He 
 accomplished his task, according to Lord Byron's 
 account, in an hour and five minutes. I timed 
 him at one hour and ten minutes, and his lordship 
 at one hour and a quarter. Both were fresh, and 
 free from fatigue ; especially Ekenhead, who did 
 not leave the water until Lord Byron arrived. As
 
 108 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 the distance has been much exaggerated, our great 
 enemy, Time, may be the best way of computing 
 it. It is a well-known fact that it must be a 
 strong swimmer to accomplish a mile an hour. I 
 have often seen it tried, and tried it myself. A mile 
 an hour is a very fair estimation ; and therefore, 
 making allowance for the time lost in floating, 
 of which resource both availed themselves, the 
 distance actually swam may be safely called 
 a mile, and not more, certainly. This is no 
 very Herculean task. The particular circumstance 
 under which Leander undertook his nightly la- 
 bour, if ever he did undertake it continually, 
 which I am sceptical enough to doubt, makes the 
 story palatable. We know the excitement of love, 
 and what feats of desperation a man will perform 
 to satisfy the burning passion ; but Leander's was 
 merely child's play to the danger courted by a 
 young naval officer, which in its proper place will 
 be mentioned ; and, but there is no accounting for 
 taste, for a precious ugly young lady. Perhaps 
 the following anecdote, well known in the navy, 
 but not very generally known elsewhere, may not 
 be unacceptable. I must not mention the names
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 109 
 
 of the officers ; not that I fear being contradicted, 
 but because it might not be quite so agreeable to 
 the family of the captain, as he is in a far foreign 
 land under peculiar circumstances. One of our ships 
 arrived at St. Michaels in the Western Islands, 
 and was to remain about two or three days to refit, 
 get water, oranges, and fresh provisions. The 
 captain as usual went on shore (for the duty is 
 always better done in harbour when the chief is 
 out of the way) ; and in visiting the different parts 
 of the town he came to the convent, which is si- 
 tuated not far from a small projecting pier. Here 
 it is by no means uncommon to purchase sweet- 
 meats, or little baskets, the work of religious hands, 
 and all executed for the purpose of charity. There 
 is a small kind of revolving thing, shaped like a 
 plate-warmer, which is turned outwards for your 
 money, and then turned inwards, that it may pass 
 to the venders at St. Michaels. This revolving ap- 
 paratus is large enough to admit a man. I have 
 been turned round in it twice, and was as often 
 very glad to be turned back again, not liking my 
 company. This was not the case with the captain 
 in question : he found two beautiful creatures,
 
 110 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 with eyes like antelopes', and equally graceful in 
 shape and step ; being one of those gentlemen who 
 always considered a convent a very improper place 
 to be allowed to exist; and caring no more about, 
 the Lady Abbess than he did for a Capuchin Friar, 
 he availed himself instantly of the favourable mo- 
 ment, and seized the hand of the youngest. She 
 shrunk like a sensitive plant — a very proper em- 
 blem of the lady ; her eyes expressed rather a 
 feeling of pleasure than disgust, which was not 
 lost upon the captain. The companion stood at 
 some distance watching, but by no means indica- 
 ting or giving the least alarm. The situation was 
 tempting, and who could resist ? The eyes of the 
 fair captive rested in watery wonder on the face of 
 the bold intruder; and as he drew her white hand 
 towards him, and bent his head forward to whisper 
 some sweet expression, the nun made a similar 
 motion, and instead of receiving a kind word, she 
 received a kiss, by no means the cold dull kiss 
 of religion, but " a kiss of love, and youth, 
 and beauty, all concentrated into one focus." The 
 colour flew into her devotional face, and her 
 heart beat with a quickened motion, producing a
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. Ill 
 
 sensation as pleasant as it was novel. In a mo- 
 ment the amorous captain proposed to elope with 
 her ; but at that time, and in that dress, it was 
 impossible. Never did ear listen to the silver 
 voice of a seducer with more attention than did 
 the lost nun : her only objection was leaving her 
 friend behind. She was called, kissed, and en- 
 treated, and in three minutes all was arranged ; 
 — the Lady Abbess, or some other intruder heard 
 pacing the long corridore ; the captain was wheeled 
 about, and religion, calm religion, only beamed on 
 the countenances of the hypocritical nuns. The 
 captain instantly repaired on board ; a low whisper- 
 ing earnest conversation took place with the first- 
 lieutenant ; the officers were desired to remain on 
 board ; two men were placed to make a rope- 
 ladder ; the other duties of the ship were hurried 
 over, and all the energies of men and officers in 
 high requisition. At ten o'clock the ship weighed, 
 and hove-to in the bay : the captain and first- 
 lieutenant went on shore in the gig ; and a little 
 secresy was observed in regard to the captain's 
 cloak- bag, out of which, by some bungling, fell a
 
 112 THE LIFE OF. A SAILOR. 
 
 cocked-hat. The circumstance alone of those 
 two officers being absent together, might have 
 occasioned some surprise ; but sailors are dull to 
 suspect : it might have been a duel in which the 
 captain had entangled himself; but men rarely 
 fight in the dark : and then the cocked-hat — what 
 could that be for ? — a man seldom fights a duel in 
 full uniform, and never with a cocked -hat. In 
 short, the ship being so suddenly under weigh 
 without previous notice, was quite enough to excite 
 some surprise : — but to our story. The gig crept 
 to the shore : not a sound was heard, and the 
 muffled oars propelled the boat in silence, until she 
 touched the pier head: the captain, first-lieute- 
 nant, and cockswain landed, the latter carrying the 
 cloak-bag, and advancing in the most cautious 
 and guarded manner. The boat was kept with 
 her bow towards the ship at the very extremity of 
 the pier, and the two foremost oars were kept in 
 the water. 
 
 " Hush ! hush !" said the captain; " this must be 
 the window : give me the rope-ladder, and leave 
 the cloaks and hats here."
 
 THE LIFE. OF A SAILOR. 113 
 
 " What signal are we to give, sir?" asked the 
 first-lieutenant: " I fear we are too early." 
 
 " Now, cockswain, stand at that corner ; directly 
 we move towards the boat, run and take your 
 place. — But if," resumed the captain, ' ' you see any 
 one approach, whistle, and walk quietly this way." 
 
 The captain then stood back a little, and whistled 
 one sharp note, keeping his eyes intently fixed 
 upon the window : in two minutes it opened, and 
 a fair face was discernible. 
 
 " La cuerda, la cuerda," whispered the cap- 
 tain, and a small rope was soon in his hand : to 
 this he fastened the end of the rope-ladder, which 
 the nuns drew up and secured by the hooks to the 
 lower part of the window. The captain ascended, 
 to be certain of its security, and urged the girls, 
 no longer nuns, instantly to descend. It was now 
 their resolution began to waver; but they had 
 gone too far to retreat ; the captain's urgent im- 
 pressive manner fortified their minds for the des- 
 perate, rash, and irretrievable action, and a minute 
 was scarcely elapsed before the youngest was in 
 the arms of the captain, enveloped in a large 
 cloak, with a cocked-hat on her head. Again the
 
 114 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 second wavered in her resolution : she cried, and 
 became dreadfully agitated. In vain the captain 
 again ascended ; she was still irresolute, when the 
 loud whistle of the cockswain announced the ap- 
 proach of a stranger. The captain descended in a 
 moment; the unfortunate girl, now driven to 
 desperation, caught at the last chance of escape, 
 got upon the ladder, and began the descent. 
 Scarcely, however, had she accomplished two 
 steps, when she missed her hold, fell from the 
 ladder, and broke her leg. Her screams were 
 dreadful, and resounded over the bay. She was 
 left by the convent wall, while the other was con- 
 veyed on board ; the sails filled, and when the 
 morning appeared, the island, her former home, 
 and peace of mind, were for ever lost. The fate 
 of the one left has never transpired, and we know T 
 little of the punishments inflicted within the walls 
 of these holy prisons ; but the fate of the other is 
 such as I should blush to mention, and over which 
 I draw the impenetrable veil of inviolable secresy. 
 So much for what men will do to gratify a mo- 
 mentary passion ! Imagination cannot form schemes 
 so desperate that a lover will fear to face; but
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 115 
 
 Hero must have possessed charms unknown if the 
 passion of Leander was not cooled by the long 
 swim of the chilly Hellespont. 
 
 Poor Ekenhead did not live long to enjoy his 
 triumph, or the pleasure of hearing his feats im- 
 mortalised by the pen of Byron. On our return 
 to Malta, he heard of his promotion to the rank 
 of captain of marines; a rank not attained without 
 many a dreary year's hard service ; and having 
 offered, it is supposed, an unusual libation to 
 Bacchus on his good fortune having arrived, owing 
 to his comrade's death, he somehow or other ma- 
 naged to tumble over the bridge which separates 
 Nix Mangiare Stairs fromValetta, and was killed 
 on the spot. The verses which celebrate the great 
 undertaking, written in May, on board the Sal- 
 sette, have no reference (except in the note ap- 
 pended to them) to poor old Ekenhead ; but in 
 Don Juan the omission has been filled up, and we 
 find mention of it in the line 
 
 Leander, Mr. Ekenhead, and I did. 
 
 This feat accomplished, and I having been put 
 in half-a-dozen of the great guns in the fort of
 
 116 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 Abydos, merely to say that I had been in a gun, 
 the breeze becoming strong and favourable, we 
 weighed anchor, in two days rounded the Seraglio 
 Point, and anchored off the town of Pera, in the 
 harbour of Constantinople. 
 
 It is said females have more curiosity than men. 
 I doubt it, because it is affirmed that "curiosity is 
 a strong sign of a vigorous intellect ;" and in men 
 the vigour of intellect is generally greater than in 
 women. When we passed the Seraglio we mani- 
 fested as much curiosity to see the inmates, as they 
 did to see us : our telescopes were unceasingly 
 directed to the small peep-holes, misnamed win- 
 dows ; and little did two of the young imprisoned 
 beauties dream that we were criticising their fea- 
 tures, or they would have veiled their faces. I 
 know not if the Turkish women have the same 
 belief in the powers of a telescope that the lower 
 class of the people have in South America : the 
 latter believe that the telescope reverses every 
 object, and that consequently they are seen stand- 
 ing on their heads, and making any thing else but 
 a proper appearance. I never directed the glass 
 towards a female at Maracaibo but she fell on the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 117 
 
 ground, and doubled herself up, like a hedge- 
 hog; neither would she unroll herself until she 
 was quite satisfied that the danger of exposing 
 her person in so ludicrous a position was passed. 
 
 The first gun of our salute was the signal for 
 the ladies to retire from the windows ; and it then 
 became all smoke and noise until we anchored. 
 The novelty of the sight, the beauty of the 
 scenery, the magnificence of the mosques, with 
 the tall Minah, occupied our attentions until sun- 
 set ; then the busy hum of men gradually de- 
 creased, and when the night advanced Constanti- 
 nople looked one dark and sombre mass, lulled 
 into perfect silence. The boatman, in his caique, 
 as he glided like a spectre through the water, was 
 unheard, and scarcely seen ; and little would the 
 unaccustomed stranger credit his vicinity to a 
 large and populous capital from the undisturbed 
 tranquillity which reigned around him.
 
 118 TIIK LIFE OF A SAILOR 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 It was indeed a wide extensive building, 
 
 Which cpen'd on their view, and o'er the front 
 
 There seem'd to be besprent a deal of guilding, 
 And various hues, as is the Turkish wont, 
 
 A gaudy taste ; for they are little skill'd in 
 
 The arts of which these lands were once the font. 
 
 Each village on the Bosphorus looks a screen, 
 
 New painted, or a pretty opera scene. 
 
 Don Juan. 
 
 It is not every man in the navy who has the good 
 fortune to visit the Sublime Porte ; so difficult is 
 it of access, and so tenacious are the Turks of the 
 violation of their " Black Sea," by the keels of 
 English men-of-war, that we have seldom had the 
 slightest intelligence or information concerning 
 the navigation of this part of the globe until the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 119 
 
 " Memoir on the Voyage of his Majesty's ship 
 Blonde in the Black Sea," by the Rev. Edmund 
 Goodenough, Dean of Wells, 1829. 
 
 The captain of the Blonde was peculiarly suc- 
 cessful in all his undertakings : he made Turks 
 waltz and Mahommedans in turbans flourish in a 
 quadrille. In my time, they would as soon have 
 danced on their heads as on their heels, and done 
 the one as well as the other: then the Turks 
 were a quiet people, to be seen sitting in verandahs, 
 sipping coffee and smoking long pipes, without 
 attempting to disturb each other by conversation, 
 deeming it childish to laugh and unmanly to 
 weep, — a nation proud of themselves, their city, 
 and their prophet ; honest in their dealings, and 
 hospitable in their abodes. But if a Turk begins 
 to double, shuffle, and cut> my account may be 
 read as a memorial of past ages and manners. 
 
 We had landed our powder and our passengers ; 
 the first for the sultan, and the last for the good of 
 the nation, and put the ship in harbour fashion, 
 when we were visited by several Turks, some of rank, 
 but mostly idlers, whose curiosity was feebly ex- 
 cited, and who, in all probability, came to us to 
 get rid of themselves.
 
 120 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 Smoking is a very genteel accomplishment on 
 shore, but formerly just the reverse on board a 
 ship. Jack, with his long tail and loose trowsers, 
 frequented the galley, and smoked away unmo- 
 lested, until the master-at-arms warned him off. 
 Cigars were not then to be seen sticking out of a 
 midshipman's mouth, like a pencil in a two-penny 
 postman's jowl, and we were consequently cleaner 
 in our manners, and sweeter in our persons. The 
 Turks started with amazement when they were 
 informed " that smoking was not allowed on the 
 quarter-deck ;" and, consequently, as fast as a 
 Turk seated, or rather squatted himself, on a car- 
 ronade slide, so soon did I desire a quarter-master 
 to warn him off the premises. As this was amuse- 
 ment to me, though the reverse to the Turks, they 
 became infuriated at being badgered by a boy, 
 and, by way of getting rid of all importunities, one 
 grave-looking Musselman proposed to buy me, and 
 asked one of the older midshipmen if I was for 
 sale. 
 
 u By all manner of means," replied my vender; 
 (we nominally suppress slavery, but, in truth, en- 
 courage it, without we can make some prize-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 121 
 
 money ;) "but how much will you give for him, 
 for he is a good-looking youngster ?" 
 
 " Thirty sequins/' said the Turk. 
 
 "Thirty devils !" replied my master; "sell a 
 Christian for thirty sequins !" 
 
 ** And quite enough too for any heretic," re- 
 sumed the Turk. 
 
 "Not exactly," said the midshipman; " for you 
 will not get him under forty." 
 
 As ten sequins was a mere trifle, the Turk agreed 
 to the purchase, produced his money, and pro- 
 ceeded to count it out on the capstan ; at the same 
 time calling upon his turbaned tribe to secure me, 
 I being his good and lawful property. I began to 
 fancy this no joke, or rather that we had carried 
 the joke too far; so making a dart at the main 
 rigging, I began to scud up like a monkey. My 
 purchaser at first began to handle his pistols, but 
 my vender soon stopped that proceeding ; — shoot- 
 ing is not allowed on the quarter-deck. The com- 
 panion of the Turk began to ascend the rigging in 
 pursuit of me, to the infinite merriment of the 
 crew, who were bursting with laughter at my 
 fright, and the Turk's eagerness and clumsiness. 
 
 VOL. 1. F
 
 122 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 The officers were at dinner, and we had the ship 
 to ourselves. I had heard strange stories of these 
 Turks, and felt by no means inclined to venture 
 myself in their clutches ; the consequence was, 
 that my fears rather predominated over my hopes. 
 I became nervous and irresolute, and far from 
 mounting the rigging with my usual agility, I 
 bungled at every ratline, and made as many false 
 steps as a drunken man on an inclined plane. 
 Still, however, I kept a long way a-head of my pur- 
 suer, and when he arrived at the main- top, I was 
 snug enough on the cross-trees. Like a great fool 
 as I was, I began to mount higher, thinking the 
 Turk would be afraid to follow me, instead of de- 
 scending by one side as he mounted on the other, 
 a kind of up-and-down system, like buckets in a 
 well. He saw his advantage and my error, and 
 hastened to avail himself of the opportunity, 
 ascending the top-mast cross-trees. My situation 
 became less and less pleasant every moment, and 
 the captain of the main-top, thinking the Turk 
 was quite high enough, jumped aloft with one or 
 two of his men, and catching my friend on the 
 top-mast cross-trees, fastened him hands and feet
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 123 
 
 to the top-gallant rigging; during which opera- 
 tion T took the liberty of descending. The pro- 
 fanation of person was violently resisted by the 
 Turk, who kicked, and spluttered, and frowned, 
 and struggled, all to no purpose ; he was in the 
 hands of sailors, and they left him to his medita- 
 tions and his prayers, seized up, according to the 
 rules of seamanship. 
 
 As his companion on deck began to be clamor- 
 ous about his property and his friend, he and his 
 sequins were popped into a boat and sent on shore, 
 our prisoner being the only Turk left on board. He 
 saw his countrymen bundled out of the ship, and 
 himself in the hands of heretics, without betraying 
 any alarm. He behaved himself with all the 
 sullen gravity of his sect, until the sun began to 
 near the horizon ; and then he lifted up his voice 
 to Allab in the most orthodox and stentorian style. 
 It had a great deal more effect upon the first- 
 lieutenant than on Allah, for the Turks in the 
 boats near the ship took their countryman's part, 
 and produced a regular uproar in the harbour. An 
 order was instantly given to liberate the prisoner, 
 and down he came, foaming with rage, and brawl-
 
 124 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 ing, his mustachios bristling like a tiger's whis- 
 kers. 
 
 On arriving on deck, he looked round with 
 most profound contempt, and, making a cross with 
 his fingers, he first spit on that, and then on the 
 deck, (which last affair was quite against all 
 orders, for spitting is not allowed on the quarter- 
 deck,) muttering either a blessing or a curse, quite 
 immaterial to us which, he jumped overboard and 
 swam to shore. I prayed that he might be swept 
 by the current into the Sea of Marmora, and there 
 become the companion of some of the thousand 
 Turkish women who have, visited that bath in 
 sacks. He landed safe enough, instantly stripped 
 and washed his garments of all pollutions, sat down 
 with his companions, and chattered away like a 
 magpie. This was rather a bad beginning ; Turks 
 do not forget injuries. 
 
 We should have been without further amuse- 
 ment that week had we not detected an Armenian 
 Jew in selling us most villanous trash for attah of 
 roses, and some coarse article for camel-hair 
 shawls. The first of these commodities is difficult 
 to be disguised, for the real attah never leaves a
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 125 
 
 mark on paper. If it is diluted, a highly concen- 
 trated oil must be used, and then detection is 
 sure. The Astracan goats had been robbed to 
 make our camel-hair shawls, for which this true 
 and consistent follower of Moses, or Mahomet, as 
 circumstances required, charged us a most exor- 
 bitant price. We inveigled the cheat forward on 
 the starboard side of the main-deck, and shaved 
 his beard — a most signal disgrace ; then putting 
 his head in a bag to keep his chin warm, we 
 seized him up to a gun, and touched him up with 
 a cat-o'-nine-tails. By way of reconciliation, for 
 sailors " never let the sun go down upon their 
 anger," we made him drunk, tarred his face, and 
 sent him on shore. 
 
 I began soon to repent of these doings. The fol- 
 lowing circumstance sickened me from being con- 
 cerned in seizing Turks aloft. It was the constant 
 practice of the midshipmen to form parties on 
 horseback, and imitate our Smyrna friends, by a 
 sham fight with d'jherids. If a dog crossed the 
 battle-field, of course it afforded us additional 
 pastime, as we all left our ranks to hunt or to 
 spear it. It was at one of these exhibitions of
 
 126 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 nautical horsemanship that a d jherid struck my 
 horse on the head : the animal instantly turned 
 short round, and, as I attempted to regain my 
 position, which had been altered from the perpen- 
 dicular by the sudden twirl, I, having nautical 
 knowledge, dropped the bridle, and had recourse 
 to the main. The horse finding itself free from all 
 restraint, got its head up in the air, set off at full 
 gallop, and proceeded homewards down a narrow 
 street; the cheers of my companions, and the 
 parting volley of sticks, by no means contributed 
 to arrest the progress of my liberated animal. I 
 tugged, and pulled, and hauled, all to no purpose ; 
 my horse seemed to know he was steering a right 
 course, and the more I pulled, the faster he went. 
 At last the eternal bumping jolted one of the 
 pistols from my pocket, for in those days we all 
 went armed like Turks. I then made an extra 
 exertion, and stopped the horse. I was sur- 
 rounded instantly by a host of Turks, one of whom 
 picked up the pistol, and seemed very little in- 
 clined to part with it. To my horror and dismay, 
 the very Turk we had so signally disgraced by 
 lashing aloft, came out of the house opposite
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 127 
 
 which I had stopped, and recognised me at a 
 glance. One Turk already held the bridle, merely, 
 of course, to arrest the animal if he should again 
 attempt to start off ; in fact I was a prisoner. The 
 malignant vengeance of the insulted Mahometan 
 sparkled in his furious eyes ; he whispered hastily 
 to one of his companions, who led the horse nearer 
 to the door, whilst he himself desired me to give 
 up the other pistol. This I affected not to under- 
 stand : he then pointed to my dirk, and desired 
 me to dismount. With what an anxious eye did I 
 look around me for some assistance ! I knew the 
 perilous situation in which my own imprudence 
 had placed me, and I knew that nothing but ex- 
 ertion and courage could liberate me. I therefore 
 drew the other pistol from my pocket, as if to 
 deliver it to my enemy. This was cocked in an 
 instant, and pointed at the head of the man who 
 held the bridle. He retreated at the menace, and 
 I began to kick and halloo to start the horse into 
 a gallop, which having effected, I encouraged by 
 every means in my power ; and thus, pursued by a 
 host of Turks, I made the best of my way to the 
 market, which is the landing-place at Pera. In 
 vain I looked for a boat, there was none on shore ;
 
 128 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 I therefore jumped from the horse, and left him to 
 find his own way home, ran up the hill to the 
 right, and got into the Greek inn, making all con- 
 venient speed to the billiard-room, where I was 
 sure of finding some one, and sat down in sullen 
 silence in a corner. I was not a little pleased to 
 see one of our midshipmen enter, and restore me 
 my pistol. He had been obliged to show fight for 
 its restoration. He cautioned me, and I most reli- 
 giously observed the caution, never to ride down 
 that street again. 
 
 M'Farlane's Constantinople may be more pro- 
 fitably consulted for descriptive scenery than my 
 memorandum book. I should give but a very 
 faint idea of the dancing dervishes and their ma-> 
 niac proceedings ; but I had two opportunities 
 which few travellers have had ; the one of seeing 
 the interior of the mosques, and the second, of 
 dining with the grand vizier. But before I begin 
 to introduce my reader to these novelties I shall 
 conduct him round the Turkish fleet, and give 
 him some insight into the internal regulations of 
 their ships and their disregard of all precautions 
 and all dangers. 
 
 It was shortly after the leave of audience be-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 129 
 
 tween Mr. Adair and the capitan bashaw, at 
 which extraordinary ceremony I was present, 
 that we visited in a kind of official manner the 
 fleet of the sultan. We had received the invita- 
 tion from the capitan bashaw, which in some 
 measure made amends for his haughty, insulting 
 reception of our minister, and ourselves ; for at 
 that leave of audience he never condescended to 
 rise from his musnud as we entered the room ; 
 and even the general business of coffee, sherbet 
 and pipes was not offered with the usual warm 
 welcome of the Turks. 
 
 We were received on board the admiral's ship 
 without any particular mark of respect, excepting 
 indeed the probability of losing our lives ; for the 
 captain of the ship and some of his officers were 
 seated on the quarter-deck, smoking away in all 
 the security of predestination, although the crew 
 were employed in hoisting in the powder, and 
 rolling the barrels close to the pipe-bowls. We, 
 who are accustomed during this ceremony to put 
 out every light in the ship, with the exception of 
 one properly protected in the powder-room, and 
 who are so sruarded against accidents which might
 
 130 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 arise, that the men in the magazine are obliged 
 to wear slippers, to prevent the possibility of 
 creating a spark by striking their shoes, which 
 might have a nail therein, against the nails in the 
 deck, were naturally not very easy during the 
 operation ; but the Turks cared no more about 
 danger than bull-dogs. They received us cor- 
 dially ; but I fear we did not duly appreciate their 
 civility, for we hurried from that ship, and betook 
 ourselves to another at a convenient distance. 
 
 In the Turkish navy they have no hammocks or 
 mess-tables. They roll their mess traps up in a 
 carpet, which is stowed in the nettings ; the con- 
 sequence is, that a Turkish ship looks unusually 
 clear to an English or French officer. When 
 they go to dinner these carpets are unstowed, and 
 the mess form themselves round their eternal 
 cloth, and feed with their fingers ; as knives and 
 forks have yet to penetrate through the folly of 
 national custom. They have not studied " The 
 Results of Machinery ;" and are by no means 
 convinced that tables, chairs, glasses, &c. contri- 
 bute to the comforts of life. As to beds on 
 board, they are unknown ; the Turkish sailor lies
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 131 
 
 down upon the softest plank he can find, and is 
 always ready at a moment's call, as he never 
 unrigs himself. Aloft they are a mass of blocks 
 and a crowd of ropes. It would require some nice 
 discrimination in declaring the superiority between 
 them and their enemies the Russians. The latter 
 have wonderfully improved within these last 
 four years, and have now some pretensions to 
 good discipline and proper appearance. But the 
 Turks, if they are commonly deficient in seaman- 
 like appearance, are uncommonly deficient in the 
 science of navigation. The master of one of their 
 ships asked for the sun's declination for the pre- 
 sent and ensuing year ; mentioning, with a look 
 of consummate satisfaction, that he was the onjy 
 man in the ship who understood either compass 
 or quadrant. He was quite astonished at being 
 told that all our youngsters understood the mys- 
 tery ; and remarked, when he saw one of us take 
 an altitude, " that the beardless boy had much 
 wisdom." Mr. Morier mentions a similar occur- 
 rence in Hadji Baba ; the Persians were confound- 
 ed at the science of the boys ; but we might return 
 them the compliment, for they can tell when a
 
 132 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 man ought to take physic from an altitude of the 
 sun or a star. The Turk's astonishment was in- 
 creased when he was given to understand that 
 almost every man in the ship could manage the 
 helm, and that many could work the reckoning. 
 The Turkish navy was, of course, voted gloriously 
 out of order. We saw that fleet weigh to go in 
 search of the enemy, and we saw them shorten 
 sail one after the other, as they came into the 
 world. To the last day of our remaining we had 
 thousands of Turkish seamen to witness our send- 
 ing down the top-gaHant and royal yards without 
 a man aloft. They had no more idea of tripping- 
 lines than they had of a piano-forte. 
 
 The Turks, unlike the South Americans, rise 
 with the lark. On the morning of the day fixed for 
 the leave of audience with the sultan, we fired a 
 salute at four o'clock A.M. as his sublime majesty 
 passed the ship. By five o'clock the ambassador 
 with his numerous suite, in which was included 
 Lord Byron, Mr. Hobhouse, and all the disposable 
 officers of the Salsette, had landed at Constanti- 
 nople. Horses, richly caparisoned, were in at- 
 tendance. The animal destined to bear the envied
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 133 
 
 load of diplomacy was covered with gold, the 
 whole accoutrements being magnificent ; the other 
 superiors of our cortege had horses arranged for 
 them, but amongst the minor stars, we scrambled 
 for ours. I selected a fine gallant grey, with a 
 rich embroidered saddle-cloth, which began to 
 caper and prance, much to my annoyance, when it 
 felt my light weight. The road, or rather streets, 
 were lined with janissaries, through two files of 
 whom we had to pass ; and these soldiers took care 
 we kept our places, for if we attempted to ride out 
 of our rank, they seized the bridle and reinstated 
 us. In this manner, and without any accident, we 
 arrived at the Seraglio gate, making, for Chris- 
 tians, a very creditable show, and assuming as 
 much gravity as we could command on the occa- 
 sion ; but midshipmen are always boys, even if 
 they are fifty years of age, and as we found our- 
 selves out of sight of the captain, we laughed 
 most un-orientally, and amused ourselves by en- 
 deavouring to unship one another upon every 
 possible occasion. Mustapha, who had resided 
 in England, and who was specially entrusted with 
 the care of us, often rebuked us for the want of
 
 134 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 proper respect for the sultan's officers, which 
 severally were quizzed, as we passed them. In- 
 deed, Mustapha himself stood a good chance of 
 being accommodated with a fowl's feather in his 
 turban ; but we relinquished the idea, when we 
 considered the care and attention we always had 
 received from this excellent janissary, and dra- 
 goman. We alighted , at the outer gate of the 
 Seraglio, and repaired to the inner square. Here 
 we were to be amused by seeing the troops paid : 
 I fancy, a sight the soldiers would like to see a 
 little more frequently and regularly at present. 
 The money for the different companies was put 
 in various bags, and placed at a certain distance 
 from the soldiers : at the word of command, they 
 all started for the prize, the quickest runner 
 getting possession. He received some extra paras 
 (a small coin, three of which make a penny,) for 
 conveying the bag to the barracks. This was 
 amusing enough for a short time, but we soon 
 tired of ungraceful clumsiness, and of seeing a 
 heap of Turks sprawling on the ground. We 
 were ushered into the hall, in which was the 
 grand vizier : we had on a previous day taken
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 135 
 
 leave of him, which I have omitted, as the present 
 scene with the sultan was the most magnificent. 
 Blackberries and pomegranates are never dished 
 up at the same table. 
 
 The grand vizier was seated under a kind of 
 canopy, on a raised musnud ; before him was a 
 table, about two feet from the floor ; and in differ- 
 ent parts of the room were round tables placed, 
 or sprinkled about, like those in a club-room. 
 The ambassador sat at the table of the grand 
 vizier : — if he was allowed to place his knee on 
 the musnud or not, I could not see, and certainly 
 should not have remarked : the rest were distri- 
 buted at the different tables, according to their 
 respective ranks, with the exception of myself. 
 Captain Bathurst never allowed me to go out of 
 his sight, without Mustapha had hold of me ; so 
 that I now had the honor of being near the great 
 capitan bashaw, the Turkish admiral, who never 
 had been to sea since the day he was born ! 
 We squatted like tailors — a position easy enough 
 for a boy,' but irksome in the extreme to a grown 
 person, unaccustomed to make coats, or to keep 
 his legs in one position like a fakir. Tablecloths
 
 136 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 we had ; but the substitutes for fingers, knives 
 and forks, were dispensed with. When we had 
 taken our seats, an order came from the sultan, 
 " that the infidels might be clothed and fed, and 
 brought before him." We were to be fed first, 
 and commenced operations after the following 
 singular manner : — bear well in mind, it is not 
 every man who has been robed by the sultan 
 of the East, and crammed in company with his 
 grand vizier. Inshallah ! Praise God ! I am some- 
 body. 
 
 One dish was brought at a time, and placed in 
 the centre of the table. We had no soup ; and if 
 fish was offered, it was in such an oriental garb, 
 that I never found my friend out. As may be 
 supposed, no Christian was in a hurry to begin 
 the repast. A mass of jammed meat was placed 
 before us, swimming in gravy, greasy enough ; 
 and we had neither knife, fork, or spoon. The 
 capitan bashaw, with proper becoming Turkish 
 gravity and politeness, aware of our awkwardness, 
 kindly became our master, and set a laudable ex- 
 ample, by plunging his fingers into the dish of 
 mashed meat, and throwing his head back with
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 137 
 
 most oriental elegance, (for Turks are elegant 
 and polished in their manners,) deposited the 
 savoury morsel into as wide a mouth as Gri- 
 maldi's. It was beautifully executed ; not a drop 
 of gravy fell upon his dress, and he followed up 
 the first attack with a rapid seizure of another 
 pinch. My eyes were fixed upon the great admiral. 
 I opened my mouth instinctively, in imitation of 
 my superior officer. Our party looked at each 
 other in silent astonishment : the example fairly 
 set, we were not hasty to follow ; for it was 
 wisely remarked that the fingers of the heretic 
 ought not to dip in the same dish with those of 
 the faithful ; but as the sultan had desired that 
 the infidels should be fed, we considered it nothing 
 more than common civility to obey so sublime a 
 mandate; and as we protested in former days 
 against a priest receiving the sacrament for the 
 whole body of communicants, so we respectfully 
 protested against the capitan bashaw eating for 
 all of us. I took an encouraging wink from his 
 lordship, and sretched my eager hand, which 
 Captain Bathurst very properly put aside, saying, 
 P S — s — stop, youngster, I fancy you have had
 
 138 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 a scarcity of w — w — w — water; let me tr — tr — 
 tr — try first, why you have forgotten to w — w — 
 wash your hands this morning." I believe there 
 was some truth in the accusation ; a toilet at 
 four o'clock is never very carefully performed : we 
 always called the Turks dirty fellows, and I con- 
 cluded that I should not be worse than my neigh- 
 bours. We all got on well enough, and pecked 
 away at discretion ; dish after dish was brought 
 in rapid succession, and into every one I dipped my 
 paw. We eat in silence, more like baboons than 
 human creatures. Turks seldom converse with 
 much animation at any time, and often have I 
 seen them swallow smoke and coffee for hours 
 together without uttering a syllable. Of all the 
 eatables offered, we managed the kabobs the 
 best : these are small pieces of grilled meat placed 
 upon a wooden skewer, about a respectable mouth- 
 ful in size, and easily handled ; but of these, for 
 it is a common dish, and by no means admissible 
 into a Turk's cookery-book as a fashionable 
 edible, there were but few, and they were shortly 
 demolished. Towards the conclusion of the feast 
 came a boiled turkey. We looked at each other,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 139 
 
 then at the bird. I laughed outright at the sud- 
 den dilemma, and silence was broken by Captain 
 Bathurst, who voted us " p — p — properly puzzled 
 at last ;" but no ! the capitan bashaw seized the 
 bird by the breast, and twisting his hand, tore off 
 a large portion of the meat ; another of our party, 
 the present Sir Stratford Canning, I believe, at- 
 tempted to follow the example, but he was unsuc- 
 cessful as to quantity, and we hesitated to make 
 another trial. I ventured to hint, for I like 
 turkeys, that the legs could be easily managed, 
 and that a certain good allowance would be the 
 result of success. " Well, then," said the cap- 
 tain, " do you seize one, and I '11 try the other." 
 I did as I was ordered, (good boy !) and in a 
 second we left only the body for' the rest of the 
 company. It was boiled to rags, and hardly repaid 
 us for the laugh we occasioned. The bashaw 
 did not laugh ; he never relaxed a muscle of his 
 face, and seemed to think himself by no means 
 nearer heaven for being placed in such excom- 
 municated society. I counted thirty-two dishes : 
 the last was the worst of all : to judge from ap- 
 pearance, taste, and smell, it was a composition
 
 140 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 of garlic, onions, and toad-stools, and which very 
 nearly dislodged what I had so carefully stowed 
 away. Iced sherbet, a beverage fit for angels, 
 was handed round, and drank out of silver goblets ; 
 after which came baked pears, done exactly in 
 our fashion, with the sauce as red, as if the cochi- 
 neal fly was used in Turkish kitchens as well as 
 in our own. There was now a dead halt for a 
 short time; when a phalanx of doubtful men ap- 
 peared with silver basins and napkins. I could 
 not refrain from smiling when I saw the idleness, 
 and want of common exertion in the capitan 
 bashaw : a slave washed his face, he remaining 
 as passive as a well-fed child. In the mean time, 
 the very necessary ablution took place amongst 
 us all. A respectable Turk washed my chin, for I 
 could not then swear by my beard ; and afterwards 
 performed the same requisite cleansing towards 
 my hands in perfumed water, drying them in the 
 softest of napkins. " Oh ! oh ! quoth I, if ever I 
 do change my religion, I '11 turn Turk ; this is 
 something like luxury." 
 
 The ceremony of feeding being disposed of, we 
 were ordered to attend the sultan, and the robing
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 141 
 
 commenced, according to our ranks. The ambas- 
 sador had a splendid ermined robe, ornamented 
 with gold. The captain's and Lord Byron's were 
 not deficient in elegance and intrinsic value ; but 
 as for the rest, (with the exception of the tail of 
 the comet, the fag end of diplomacy, kind of 
 feathers to a quill,) we had the cheapest court- 
 dresses ever seen. I sold mine, after I had used it 
 as a dressing-gown, for twenty piastres ; and cer- 
 tainly I could not have expected that sum had it 
 not come from the Seraglio. Mr. Adair followed 
 the vizier and some of the great officers of state \ 
 the janissaries then interfered to prevent a rush, 
 but in reality to keep out too many from crowding 
 the sublime presence ; but I was held fast by the 
 captain, and had the honour of making a low bow 
 to Mahmoud II. Mahmoud was then about five- 
 and-twenty years of age, a remarkably handsome 
 man, with the most orthodox of black beards : if 
 all reports are true, the sultan ought to be a Blue- 
 beard. He rose to receive the ambassador ; a com- 
 pliment which, as mentioned before, was omitted 
 by the now headless, and then unceremonious, 
 capitan bashaw. A vast deal of talking and com-
 
 142 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 pliments, and presentations of letters, took place ; 
 after which we were invited to depart with about 
 as much ceremony as we had been invited to 
 enter. Mustapha mentioned, that during our din- 
 ner, the sultan had amused himself from behind 
 a curtain in watching the repast ; and that one of 
 the many female favourites was likewise employed 
 in satisfying herself of the truth that heretics 
 could eat with their fingers like men, and that we 
 had not tails like monkeys. This last is by no 
 means confined to ignorant females of the East, 
 for in the West, in South America, the same idea 
 prevails amongst the Spaniards. A very hand- 
 some Englishwoman told me at Xalapa, a town 
 about sixty miles inland from Vera Cruz, that she 
 was tormented by crowds of women looking into 
 her window when she went to bed, and that for 
 the soul of her she could not discover the reason : 
 she added, with a smile, " had they been men, 
 one might have surmised the reason." When I 
 told her my idea on the subject, which was in 
 accordance with the general belief of the ignorant, 
 she laughed heartily, and consulted her Spanish 
 maid, who confirmed my opinion. The lovely
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 143 
 
 Mrs. M. satisfied her domestic, that at any rate . 
 she was not one of Lord Monboddo's primeval f 
 females ; and that if she had been blessed with 
 that necessary monkey appendage, it had been 
 worn away by constantly sitting upon it. We 
 rode back in the same state as we arrived, wear- 
 ing our cloaks, which we were told it would be 
 disrespectful to lay aside until we reached our 
 abodes. The whole ceremony was concluded by 
 noon ; and at one p. m. we fired a salute, as the 
 sultan passed the ship in returning to his harem, 
 on the shores of the Bosphorus, to which place 
 the greater part of his women had been removed 
 the day previous to the arrival of the frigate. 
 
 It has been my lot in life to jumble much 
 against royalty and their dinners, but certainly I 
 never was at a feast so eminently entertaining as 
 the sultan's ; in which there was so much novelty, 
 so much decorum, or so much hospitality. I shall 
 defer a dinner-scene with the late empress-mother 
 of Russia until a future chapter ; and I will ven- 
 ture to affirm all will agree with me, that, over- 
 looking the knives and forks, the Turkish banquet 
 was superior to that of the empress.
 
 144 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 Perhaps there is no one occurrence from which 
 a stranger can form an accurate idea of national 
 character equal to a public execution. The quiet, 
 determined spirit of the Scotch was strongly mani- 
 fested in Porteus' mob ; the hasty disposition of 
 the English was highly developed in the execu- 
 tions in December 1831 ; and in Ireland the 
 violence of feeling is so strong during the last. act 
 of the law, that I was once nearly torn to pieces, 
 and only saved by a prudent retreat, because I re- 
 marked that the new drop was a humane invention, 
 and likely to finish the poor culprit more speedily 
 than a bungling Ketch. I never was fond of 
 visiting public executions ; but in foreign countries 
 one must see every thing that is to be seen, and 
 therefore, when I heard that forty men were to 
 suffer the bowstring, and their deader to be be- 
 headed, I resolved, much against my inclination, 
 to witness the scene. It had been found conve- 
 nient to vote these poor devils pirates : the leader, 
 who was possessed of the most dangerous article 
 in Turkey (money), and who had long since 
 retired (if he ever engaged in it) from being " a 
 fisherman of men," as Lord Byron calls Lambro,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 145 
 
 was also voted some time or other to have been a 
 pirate, and he therefore was condemned to be be- 
 headed, and his estates confiscated unto the 
 crown. The fact was, they wanted his money, 
 and therefore took his head first : they might 
 have compromised the business by cutting out his 
 tongue and seizing his gold. Poverty and want of 
 articulation would soon have relieved the state of 
 their victim. The ceremony was very uncere- 
 moniously performed, for they began before the 
 time appointed ; the shears of Atropos had closed 
 before we arrived. The forty thieves were all 
 bowstrung, and taken away; but the beheaded 
 criminal was lying in the front of the execution- 
 office, with his head placed between his thighs, 
 and only one human being near. Lord Byron 
 looked with horror at the appalling scene. No 
 man can form an idea of the distorted sight who 
 has not seen it ; and neither am I very much in- 
 clined to recall to my recollection the horrible 
 appearance of the corpse. Not far from this exhi- 
 bition (for the body was in the high road, exposed 
 to the gaze of the curious public,) stood a melan- 
 choly looking Turk, endeavouring to scare away 
 
 VOL. 1. G
 
 146 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 some dogs ; but his attempts were fruitless, for, 
 unmindful of our presence, they rushed at the 
 body, and began lapping the blood which still 
 oozed from the neck. I never remember to have 
 shuddered with so cold a shudder as I did at that 
 moment; and Byron, who ejaculated a sudden 
 " Good God !" turned abruptly away. It was 
 altogether a scene never to be obliterated from 
 a man's memory, and on a boy's mind it left 
 the most unpleasant recollection. Those lines in 
 the " Siege of Corinth," which some shudder at 
 reading, and which few could ever scan with de- 
 light, are the vivid representation of the above 
 anecdote : 
 
 And he saw the lean dogs beneath the wall 
 Hold o'er the dead their carnival ; 
 Gorging and growling o'er carcass and limb, 
 They were too busy to bark at him. 
 
 Alp's mind is the delineation of Lord Byron's 
 when he witnessed the scene : 
 
 Alp turn'd him from the sickening sight. 
 
 We were decidedly out of luck in the event, for 
 the executioner boasted of the clean cut by which
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 147 
 
 the head was severed from the body. I was for- 
 tunate shortly afterwards, and my luck came when 
 I least expected it. The bastinado is a punish- 
 ment every man should see inflicted. It really is 
 quite astonishing with what nonchalance a Turk 
 sees his comrade undergoing the penalty of the 
 law : the fact is, the scene is so common in Con- 
 stantinople that no one cares a pin about it. 
 Two of our boat's crew contrived to get embroiled 
 with some Turks : neither party seemed to under- 
 stand upon what point they differed ; but differ 
 they did, and one of our men seized a Turk by the 
 turban, which he shortly dislodged, and then be- 
 gan to slap the bald head of the Mussulman : this 
 created no small disturbance, and the affair ter- 
 minated by the interference of the police, who 
 seized two of our infidels and lodged them in a 
 kind of gaol on the market-place. I happened 
 to pass, and was made to understand that some- 
 thing had occurred, and that our men were in 
 durance vile. As I entered the place, I heard 
 words much like unto the following : — " I say, 
 Jack, what 's that Turk going to do to you?" — 
 " Damn me if I know," replied the other, " but he
 
 148 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 seems to have taken a fancy to my shoes." I was 
 j ust in time to see Jack thrown upon his back, 
 and two stout Turks commence a regular hammer- 
 ing on the soles of their feet, with sticks resem- 
 bling those carried by the janissaries. Jack 
 roared in no common style, which seemed to excite 
 the astonishment and contempt of the Turks ; for 
 they stand the bastinado with apparent indif- 
 ference, accounting it an honor as well as a 
 punishment, though they seldom solicit a con- 
 tinuation of such favors. My interference was suf- 
 ficient to liberate the men, who limped away, and 
 walked tenderly for about a week. 
 
 In Russia, after a man has been thrashed for 
 half an hour, it is by no means uncommon to see 
 the poor miserable slave crawl upon his hands 
 and feet, kiss the shoes of his master, and then 
 begin a long set speech, thanking the tyrant for 
 the leniency of the punishment ; confessing that he 
 merited much more than had been inflicted, and 
 finishing by calling upon God to bless so good 
 and so mild a ruler. This is carrying civility 
 rather too far ; but the Russians are a courteous 
 nation, and far exceed the Turks in gratitude, at
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 149 
 
 least on this score : it would have been a rich 
 contrast to have heard " the curses not loud but 
 deep," uttered by our men, and the very kind, 
 mild accents in which they devoted sultan, vizier, 
 and populace to the especial care of the devil.
 
 150 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 And now commenced a strict investigation, 
 
 Which, as all spoke at once — and more than once, 
 Conjecturing, wondering, asking a narration, 
 
 Alike might puzzle either wit or dunce, 
 To answer in a very clear oration. 
 
 Don Juan. 
 Sullen it plunged, and slowly sank, 
 The calm wave rippled to the hank. 
 
 Giaour. 
 
 We were rich in adventures during our stay at 
 Constantinople, and had ample time to avail our- 
 selves of all opportunities to see strange sights ; 
 sometimes they came to us, instead of our going 
 to them. 
 
 It was on a Sunday, the crew all neatly dressed, 
 the awning spread, and that silence which dis- 
 tinguishes the sabbath on board a man-of-war in
 
 THE LIFE OF A ^SAILOR. 151 
 
 harbour, particularly remarkable. On the fore- 
 castle, some one or two seamen walked up and 
 down with measured step ; some were to be seen 
 on the fore-part of the booms, reading or sleeping. 
 It was about three o'clock, the officers at dinner, 
 the midshipman of the watch lolling over the 
 taffrail, and the sentinels on the gangways mea- 
 suring their posts in all the lassitude of the East, 
 and the indifference conspicuous where discipline 
 is relaxed, when a shout arose from the shore, 
 which turned every eye and ear to that direction. 
 The confusion in the market-place, close to which 
 the ship was anchored, was immense ; the roar of 
 tongues as loud as the roar of waters in a gale, 
 when suddenly a Turk appeared nearly covered 
 with blood, a drawn sabre in his hand, with which 
 he cleared his way, running towards the landing- 
 place, and pursued by hundreds of his country- 
 men, who kept vociferating to seize the culprit, or 
 to cut him down ; the first would have inevitably 
 led to the second. The pursued Turk leaped into 
 the nearest boat with the agility and correctness 
 of a sailor ; for if you do not leap into the centre 
 of a Turkish boat, you infallibly contrive to fall into
 
 152 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 the water, as they require the perfection of balan- 
 cing. The Turks took the oars, and propelled the 
 boat with its long iron beak against the sides of 
 the frigate ; and in spite of the menaces of the 
 sentinel, the appearance of the bayonet, and the 
 assembly of the ship's company, he sprang up the 
 side, ran under the ensign-staff, and there, tearing 
 off his turban, knelt down, and made the sign of 
 the cross. 
 
 This very shortly brought all hands on deck. 
 Our astonishment was only equalled by the Turk's 
 apparent want of it: he held to the ensign- staff, 
 but he did not betray the least fear, or the 
 smallest inclination to inform us of the reason of 
 his uninvited company. In the mean time the 
 tumult rather increased than subsided ; every boat 
 belonging to Pera seemed instantly on the water, 
 and a scene of animation, fear, revenge, and impe- 
 tuosity, occurred, which never could have been sur- 
 passed. Apprehensive that something more than 
 met the eye might be the result, the marines were 
 instantly placed under arms, to keep off the other 
 boats, while that of the prisoner floated un- 
 tenanted and unregarded by the Seraglio wall,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 153 
 
 drifting into the Sea of Marmora. In vain the first- 
 lieutenant endeavoured to learn the cause of this 
 unexpected visit; the Turk on board would not 
 utter a word, whilst those in the boats bawled out 
 in the purest Turkish an unintelligible mass of 
 words, increasing in volubility and noise with their 
 numbers. We might have remained in this com- 
 fortable state of suspense until this day, had not 
 Mustapha, who always was on the look-out, to 
 keep us clear of mischief, (no sinecure, depend 
 upon it,) heard the noise, which might have been 
 heard a league off, and came to our assistance. 
 Before we let him alongside, he was desired to 
 warn the others off, and inform them that the case 
 should be properly examined. It appeared that 
 our Turk had, some time previous to this Sunday, 
 lost a brother ; that after various inquiries he had 
 reason to believe that his brother had been mur- 
 dered by one of a family, between whom and his 
 brother a rankling animosity had long prevailed. 
 Being perfectly satisfied of this himself, he se- 
 cretly resolved upon a suitable revenge ; which was 
 merely the extermination, root and branch, of the 
 hostile family, by which means he was sure of getting
 
 154 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 the right one, if he was right in his conjectures. 
 It appeared, by what he afterwards confessed, 
 that he began offensive operations previous to this 
 Sunday, and had managed to give one of the 
 brothers rather a longer swim than was conve- 
 nient, for he never returned from that day, and 
 the Sea of Marmora alone could prove that he 
 was drowned. Day after day he watched, with 
 unremitting attention, for an opportunity of de- 
 creasing the population of Pera, in which town 
 the family resided. He had been baulked of his 
 murderous intentions until this Sunday, when the 
 father of the condemned family was observed 
 quietly discussing some coffee, and smoking away 
 his fourth pipe, in all the silence and proper 
 gravity of his sect, dreaming no more of death 
 than of the Koran : the sabre was in his heart in 
 a second, and only withdrawn to repeat the stab. 
 The victim fell lifeless among his companions ; 
 hence the hue and cry, the pursuit of the fugitive, 
 and hence we were indebted to murder for adding 
 another Christian to our numbers, and making 
 another infidel. 
 
 This was a case of no trifling importance. The
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 155 
 
 captain was on shore, and it would have been 
 foolish in the first-lieutenant to have forcibly- 
 landed the man, especially when he saw the ex- 
 citement amongst the Turks, and the certainty of 
 another murder. The Turks in the boats alongside 
 seemed sure of their prey ; the sabres peeped from 
 their scabbards, and the impatience and ferocity 
 of their looks increased with the delay. The 
 son of the murdered man, who stood in perilous 
 balance on the prow of the boat, sword in hand, 
 took special good care to keep up the excitement 
 by words and gestures. Our crew murmured a 
 kind of acquiescence to the feelings of the Turks, 
 and, had they been allowed to exercise judgment, 
 the culprit would have swung to the fore-yard- 
 arm in a trice ; for Mustapha would continue to 
 translate the horrid imprecations of the son, who 
 appealed to his fellow Turks for assistance, swear- 
 ing by the blood of his father, which was visible 
 on the caftan of the culprit, that he would have 
 the murderer's heart to feed his dogs. We should 
 have had a scene on board of no common kind, 
 had not the first-lieutenant been prudent and de- 
 termined. Our crew were commanded to stay
 
 156 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 before the break of the quarter-deck, which, in 
 the moment of excitement and curiosity, they had 
 ventured to cross. Order was resumed, and Mus- 
 tapha placed upon the foremost quarter-deck car- 
 ronade on the larboard side, to make a speech to 
 his countrymen, and to still the storm, if possible. 
 He waved his hand, and in a moment the stillest 
 silence prevailed ; the oars were kept in the water 
 to prevent the noise of the continual dripping. 
 The turbaned host lent a listening ear towards 
 the frigate, and the scene of fury and revenge for 
 a moment was hushed into solemn repose. Mus- 
 tapha's speech was short, and amounted to this : — 
 " That as the captain was on shore, it was re- 
 quisite to keep the prisoner guarded until he 
 should return ; at the same time pledging his honor, 
 which he backed up by appealing to Allah and 
 Mahomet, that the wretch should not escape from 
 the ship ; that justice should be done, and the 
 law respected." When Mustapha made a slight 
 inclination of the head, as much as to say he had 
 finished, and when the Turks found that the pri- 
 soner was not to be given up, a shout of " Allah 
 il Allah !" rent the skies ; they swore by all the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 167 
 
 Ulemahs, and all the Muftis of the Sublime 
 Porte that they would have the criminal ; and, I 
 blush to say, that they irreverently and profanely 
 introduced an oath, swearing by the hump of the 
 holy camel, and the beard of the sultan, that they 
 would cover the murderer's head with the dust of 
 their displeasure. This last oath is always kept 
 as the grand wind-up of a Turk's anger ; the 
 sultan is not to be mentioned without awe — and 
 his beard ! — Heavens protect the rash man who 
 speaks of that ornament, otherwise than in the 
 profoundest respect ! A mild answer turneth away 
 wrath, it is truly said ; and a ludicrous remark 
 altered the face of affairs in the present crisis. It 
 is customary with Turks and Persians to say that 
 a man " has eaten much dirt," when the man is 
 unfortunate, or has committed some error. In the 
 hurry of Mustapha's translation, he said, " that 
 the criminal should eat much dirt;" when one of 
 our sailors remarked, " I 'm blown if I don't 
 think you are more likely to eat him." This pro- 
 duced a loud laugh, for it came out with all the 
 dryness of an old tar, and was quite unexpected. 
 The Turks seemed not a little disgusted with the
 
 158 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 ill-timed mirth; but seeing that all serious thoughts 
 were for ever gone from us, they retired themselves 
 in good order, and never bothered us again. We 
 placed the prisoner under proper surveillance, 
 although we had no apprehensions of his desert- 
 ing his protected quarters, and swimming on 
 shore. The case was investigated by the proper 
 authorities. Captain Bathurst declared he would 
 not give the man up without a promise of pardon 
 was first made ; and after various negotiations we 
 landed the infidel murderer on the Scutari side, 
 to pursue his further revenge if he felt inclined, 
 and to return to his own religion. 
 
 I have the greatest confidence in Turks, in 
 regard to honesty; robberies are by no means 
 frequent, and murders are not every-day occur- 
 rences ; but as in all populous places there must 
 be some rogues, so we found that in the Sublime 
 Porte they harboured some villains, and that we 
 were not very far from being the objects of their 
 plunder. Lord Byron had formed a party to visit 
 the French minister, at Bouyouk-dere, a village 
 situated on the shores of the Bosphorus, and not 
 far from the borders of the Black Sea. This
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 159 
 
 village is the general resort of the diplomatists ; 
 almost every ambassador has a house in that di- 
 rection ; the ride is pleasant, and the view 
 delightful. We rode out, and spent a very agree- 
 able day. Amongst other modes of spending 
 time, we got into a boat, and pulled into the 
 Black Sea, — merely to say we had been there, 
 and to notice the entrance into the Bosphorus. 
 We began to face homewards before the sun had 
 set, and progressed some distance, when Mr. 
 Dale, the second-lieutenant of the Salsette, be- 
 came suddenly indisposed ; and our guide and 
 interpreter, the constant Mustapha, was left to 
 convey him to Pera, by easy paces. As the sun 
 had set, and, the twilight being of short duration, 
 night was at hand, we galloped homeward. We 
 soon discovered that we had lost our way. On 
 consulting together, we differed as to the road, 
 and a division took place. Lord Byron, the 
 purser of the Salsette, and myself, kept one in- 
 distinct road, whilst the others advanced towards 
 a fire, round which some Turks were seated. We 
 soon found out that we were wrong, and became 
 more and more confused as to our route. The
 
 160 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 night crept on : it was as dark as pitch : about 
 eleven o'clock we called a halt again, to consider 
 our situation. The evening was still : on our right 
 was a kind of hedge, which seemed to enclose some 
 cypress trees, and on the left an open field. We 
 had scarcely begun to talk, and that in a very 
 low tone of voice, when we heard a whistle close 
 to us ; it was answered more in advance of us, 
 and his lordship began to think we had got our- 
 selves into no pleasant scrape : he whispered to 
 us to keep quiet, and to follow him. He whistled 
 exactly the same notes as we had at first heard, 
 and turning suddenly to the right, scrambled 
 through the hedge, and found himself in a burying- 
 ground. I never was much of a horseman, and 
 a leap of common size would always throw me 
 out in a hunt ; but now, a Turk on one side, and 
 hedge on the other, left no time for fears. I 
 faced t\}e difficulty like a huntsman : all my mis- 
 deeds, in being the cause of the Turk's being 
 lashed aloft, came before me ; and when I found 
 myself dishonoring the graves of the Faithful, 
 I concluded that no punishment was adequate to 
 the crime of Christians violating the sanctuary
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 161 
 
 of the dead, and galloping over the last reposing 
 spot of the Mussulman. However, over grave 
 and turbaned stone we rode with alarming velo- 
 city, I keeping as near as possible to his lordship. 
 We heard noises, or fancied we did, in every direc- 
 tion, but recovered breath and hope in emerging 
 from the cypress enclosures,, finding ourselves 
 close to Pera. The other party arrived about an 
 hour afterwards, and had tumbled into a scrape 
 also. To Lord Byron's excessive coolness we 
 were indebted for our escape ; for gentlemen do 
 not assemble in dark nights, in damp ditches, 
 merely to whistle like nightingales to one an- 
 other : neither do travellers jump over hedges, 
 and stumble over tomb-stones, without being pro- 
 perly convinced that some danger is to be appre- 
 hended. As newspapers are not common commo- 
 dities in Turkey, we never heard who our friends 
 were ; but I recollect Mr. Adair remarking, that 
 we were very well out of that scrape, and recom- 
 mended us not to ride of dark nights near Pera 
 for the future. I had to walk through the market- 
 place on my return to the ship ; but never do I 
 remember to have heard such howling and bark-
 
 162 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 ing, even in a kennel, as I experienced in passing 
 to our boats. Every stall in the market-place 
 has about a dozen guardian dogs : the instant the 
 stranger appears, for Turks are seldom to be seen 
 by night, the whole pack come open-mouthed 
 upon the intruders ; the paper-lantern, which 
 every man carries, denoting the approach. After 
 all, they are good-natured dogs, and verify the 
 saying, that the dog which barks will never 
 bite. We kicked them, thrashed them with sticks, 
 probed them with swords, yet none of our men 
 were bitten. Hydrophobia is rare in Turkey. 
 
 I have very little to say for or against the 
 beauty of the Turkish women : for my own part, 
 knowing the difficulty of movement without ob- 
 servation in a strange city, where the costume is 
 different, and where there is no probability of 
 mistaking a hat for a turban, I do not place the 
 most implicit faith in travellers, who unblushingly 
 aver that they have broken through the sanc- 
 tuary of the Seraglio, taken sketches of the first 
 favorite sultana's cage, and been obliged to play 
 bo-peep, when one of the eunuchs came to feed 
 the Turkeys ; that under the protection of a
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 163 
 
 gardener they had visited every room, and even 
 had slight glimpses of the Circassian captives : 
 I say, I do not exactly believe all this. Once, 
 only once, I caught a sight of the face of a 
 Turkish woman ; it was with my captain and Lord 
 Byron, walking in the suburbs of Pera. On pass- 
 ing an enclosure, not unlike a farm-yard, to all 
 outward appearance, and having the same kind of 
 large wooden doors for admittance, we heard a 
 laugh of some females ; it was evidently close to 
 us from the loudness of the sound. Lord Byron 
 pushed at the gate, which creaked upon its hinges 
 and opened. We saw about six women, sitting in 
 a circle, unveiled. The instant they observed us 
 they covered their faces, and starting like so 
 many hares from their seats, ran away. The one 
 on which my eyes fell I should describe as 
 young, pale, pretty, and well shaped,— large dark 
 eyes, and rather thick pouting lips : it was, how- 
 ever, the business of a moment, and I am not in- 
 clined to give much credit even to my own eyesight. 
 We know how difficult it is to be certain of beauty 
 at the smallest distance ; and in this case, the 
 surprise at the sight, and the wandering of the
 
 164 
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 eye from one to the other as they flitted away, 
 might have deceived a young and eager boy : but 
 I am a very excellent judge of beauty, 1 flatter 
 myself, and know when and where to admire and 
 to praise it. In the streets of Constantinople, 
 more especially in the bazaars, the women make 
 a conspicuous figure. The first one I saw I mis- 
 took for a ghost : she was robed entirely in white, 
 with nothing visible but her eyes and her nostrils. 
 She might have been Venus herself uncovered ; 
 but she certainly offered very little for general 
 observation. The extreme jealousy of the Turks, 
 in regard to their women, is well known ; and 
 notwithstanding the splendid story of Anastasius, 
 I should consider any attempt at intrigue as little 
 short of positive madness — discovery would be 
 certain ; and then follows the boat and sack for 
 one, with no mark to know the grave, for the 
 water tells no tale after the last expansive circle 
 is lost ; and perhaps a dagger for the other : this 
 would be preferable to the New Zealand law of 
 retribution. In this island, when a woman is 
 taken in adultery she is stoned to death, and the 
 man is fastened to a tree, in the midst of his
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 165 
 
 friends, relations, enemies, and destroyers. The 
 offended husband is asked what part he desires 
 to have of his injurer : one ear is generally taken 
 as the most dainty morsel. This is instantly cut 
 off, and eaten before the unhappy fellow, who 
 sees his own ear gradually growing less, and who 
 quietly waits until the next candidate settles 
 which part he prefers. It is said the palm of the 
 hands, and the soles of the feet, are particularly 
 fine eating, decided luxuries in their way. In 
 this manner the poor criminal is eaten by inches, 
 or rather feet and hands, until he is near ex- 
 piring, when he is killed, cut up, baked, and 
 kept for the next day's dinner. One would ima- 
 gine that such a punishment would be sufficient 
 to deter the amorous from adultery ; but no ! all 
 our desires seem to increase with the danger of 
 gratifying them ; and hence adultery is common 
 in both Constantinople and New Zealand. When 
 it becomes a marketable commodity, as in this 
 country, — why, then it is a mere business of buy- 
 ing and selling, and has ceased to be a matter of 
 wonder. 
 We had remained four months in Constanti-
 
 166 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 nople before the ambassador had gone through all 
 the forms of leave-taking) and was ready to em- 
 bark. Our parting salute was fired, and we, not 
 unwillingly, spread our sails to the cool breeze of 
 the Sea of Marmora, directing our course, when 
 clear of the Hellespont, towards the Island of Zea, 
 at which island we were to part with Lord Byron. 
 It fell to my duty to land his lordship ; and, in the 
 discharge of this service, I had a warm and 
 friendly shake of the hand from the first poet of 
 the age, and received a handful of sequins to dis- 
 tribute to the boat's crew. Some Greeks took 
 charge of his little luggage, for in this respect he 
 was more slenderly provided than any traveller I 
 ever knew. He turned towards the frigate, waved 
 his handkerchief as an adieu, and then advanced 
 into the interior of the island. 
 
 Every man who had the honor of Lord Byron's 
 acquaintance, and who has since ventured before 
 the public, has spoken much of his lordship's 
 handsome appearance. As I consider beauty as 
 only applicable to women, I would be understood 
 here to attach the same weight to the word " hand- 
 some" that is generally given to beauty. I shall
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 167 
 
 not place my opinion at variance with those who 
 knew him a hundred times better than myself, but 
 certainly the impression on my mind is, that he 
 was by no means the very handsome man some 
 have imagined him to be. Even Sir Thomas Law- 
 rence's description to Mrs. Wolff is certainly not 
 that of a regular beauty ; for instance, he says, 
 " the mouth well-formed, but wide, and contemp- 
 tuous, even in its smile ; falling singularly at the 
 corners, and its vindictive and disdainful expres- 
 sion, heightened by the massive firmness of the 
 chin, which springs at once from the centre of the 
 full under lip, &c. &c. ; the general effect is aided 
 by a thin, spare form, and, as you may have 
 heard, by a deformity of limb." This deformity 
 of limb, which annoyed him through life, was con- 
 spicuous to any man with eyes in his head ; and it 
 was perfectly impossible for any shoemaker to dis- 
 guise the clump foot. I really can scarcely credit 
 that his lordship was so mortified at this visitation 
 of Providence, when I have seen him thousands of 
 times sitting on the taffrail, and swinging his legs 
 about with unrestrained freedom. The fame which 
 crowned his lordship in after life made me anxious
 
 168 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 to remember his person and his manners, and I 
 am quite satisfied that on board the Salsette he 
 never took any particular pains to hide his feet. 
 He certainly did not swim across the Hellespont in 
 Hessian boots ; and he dressed himself in the boat 
 when he failed in his first attempt. 
 
 To return to the Life of a Sailor. The night was 
 cloudy and dark, the breeze fresh, the ship under 
 the guidance of an experienced pilot ; and secure 
 from rocks and shoals, from his knowledge, we ra- 
 pidly passed the various islands. About midnight 
 the pilot expressed himself to be thirsty, and went 
 to the scuttle-butt, which stood just before the 
 mainmast, (for in those days we had these lum- 
 bering articles, to which was chained a tin pot,) in 
 order to gratify his desire. He had scarcely lifted 
 the water to his lips when a peal of thunder rat- 
 tled over our heads, and the pilot was a corpse ! — 
 he was struck dead by the lightning ! The vivid 
 flash nearly blinded us, and the noise of his fall 
 alone announced the calamity. He never spoke or 
 sighed, but was dead in a moment. The ancients 
 considered a man struck dead by lightning as a 
 favorite of the gods ; but the watch on deck by no
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 169 
 
 means seemed to coincide in this opinion ; for the 
 second peal had roared over our heads before a 
 sailor could be found valiant enough to remove the 
 poor pilot from his sudden death -bed. This was 
 an awful night. These visitations of Providence 
 are not lost on sailors, who are naturally super- 
 stitious, and easily frightened by unusual scenes. 
 The watch on deck crept below, taking good 
 care to avoid the guns ; and when the officers of the 
 watch called for a swab to be placed over the pumps, 
 it was with great difficulty the carpenter of the 
 watch could be found. On examining the corpse the 
 next day, it was with the utmost difficulty the 
 smallest wound could be observed : at last, a little 
 black speck, about the size of a pin's-head, was 
 discovered on the left side of the body. It was 
 then announced by the surgeon, with all the pro- 
 per gravity of his calling, that the pilot was dead, 
 (which we all knew hours before,) and that the elec- 
 tric fluid having entered his body, caused his dis- 
 solution. We buried him the next day, and as this 
 ceremony is one particularly awful on board a 
 ship, owing to the smallness of the community, 
 and the obligation of the attendance of every one> 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 170 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 I shall not hesitate to give a description of the 
 scene. 
 
 It is the business of the sail-maker to sew up 
 the corpse in a hammock ; and, consequently, he 
 goes to the disagreeable task unhesitatingly, as it 
 is his duty. The canvass is cut to fit the body 
 and the head ; and a sail-maker sits down to his 
 work, just as indifferently as if he were mending 
 a rent in an old main-top-sail. The body, being 
 shrouded in its last vestments, the canvass stitched 
 tightly round, and two shot attached to the feet, is 
 then left on a grating under the half-deck, covered 
 over with a Union-jack. I have heard it said, that 
 it was customary to run the needle of the last 
 stitch through the nose of the corpse. It may or 
 may not be the case, sailors are very curious 
 people in their fancies ; — certainly I never re- 
 marked it, neither have I heard it mentioned as a 
 general occurrence. The bell began to be tolled 
 at eleven o'clock. Of all sounds on board a ship, 
 the unusual tolling of the bell is the most melan- 
 choly ; and, although a ship does not afford those 
 spurs to holy meditations, like the interior of a 
 church, where, seated in awful silence, the con-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 171 
 
 gregation wait the first burst of the organ to rise 
 in solemn adoration ; still there is a profound so- 
 lemnity when that bell tolls its unusual melan- 
 choly toll, to summon us to the attendance of our 
 last duty to a fellow-shipmate. I would instance 
 here, that, during a gale of wind, it is by no 
 means uncommon for the bell to toll, owing to the 
 hurried motion of the ship ; and, that no sound is 
 so speedily stopped as that, it being considered 
 rather a funereal accompaniment to the gust of the 
 gale, or the roar of the sea. The grating was re- 
 moved from the half-deck and placed in the lee- 
 gangway, the corpse still covered with the Union- 
 jack, the corner of which is made fast to the 
 grating, which is secured by a rope. The officers 
 stood behind the captain on the quarter-deck, 
 while the crew assembled on the gangways and 
 on the after-part of the booms ; the messmates of 
 the deceased placed themselves by the sides of the 
 grating; and, when all were assembled, the bell 
 was stopped, and an awful silence ensued. The 
 officers and crew remained uncovered, and the 
 burial service was commenced. This was read by 
 the purser, for the captain rarely officiates ; in-
 
 172 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 deed, with us in the Salsette, we were seldom 
 called to the unpleasant attendance ; for we were 
 healthy, and never lost a man, even in action, 
 while I was in her. At the part " Forasmuch as 
 it hath pleased Almighty God," &c, the following 
 words are altered to u we therefore commit his 
 body to the deep," a slight bustle occurred from 
 the anxiety of the crew to catch a last glimpse of 
 their fellow- creature ; a pause ensued in the ser- 
 vice, until the messmates of the deceased per- 
 formed the final service, by launching the corpse, 
 grating, colours, and all, into the sea. It fell with 
 a deep and heavy splash, as the water rolled over 
 the dead, the enlarging circles alone indicating 
 the spot within which the corpse had been depo- 
 sited, the exterior line the emblem of that eternity 
 to which we had consigned him. The rustling- 
 noise of the water, as the grating was dragged 
 through it by the progressing motion of the ship, 
 alone disturbed the solemn silence of the moment; 
 and the eyes of the crew, which had been riveted 
 on the corpse, still rested on the untenanted gang- 
 way until the service was concluded. That finished, 
 the ship's company retired to their usual avo- 

 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 173 
 
 cations. It is no less singular than true, that, 
 while the corpse is on board, a feeling of respect 
 is manifested towards the dead ; but the instant 
 the ceremony of burial is concluded, the death 
 and the man seem entirely forgotten, and make no 
 more impression of awe and religion than the ca- 
 sual meeting a coffin in the streets of the metro- 
 polis. The sale of the dead man's clothes, which 
 usually follows on the first day that the ship's 
 company are mustered at divisions, erases him 
 from the memory ; and his name only lives upon 
 the ship's books, with D. D. affixed to it, meaning 
 "discharged — dead ;" and in the purser's account- 
 book. The common sailor has an opinion, not 
 easily removed, that the first occupation of the 
 purser, after he has replaced his prayer-book on 
 the shelf, is to charge to the dead man's account 
 some few extra pounds of tobacco ; and this idea 
 I believe to have originated on good foundation ; 
 for, in the early ages of the navy, all sorts of tricks 
 were practised, to swell the debit side of the sai- 
 lor's account, and to place money in the purser's 
 pocket. Hence the saying in the navy, speaking 
 of the talents of a purser, " O yes," says Jack,
 
 174 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 " he is a clever fellow, for he can make a dead 
 man chew tobacco !" There are no set of men so 
 badly used as the pursers. Without the greatest 
 economy, in small vessels, they are likely to be 
 losers by their situations ; and, if they do practise 
 economy, they are reviled and hated, to a cer- 
 tainty ; their lanterns wantonly kicked to pieces ; 
 and thousands of petty modes of annoyance re- 
 sorted to, in order to injure their prospects. They 
 are called nip-cheeses, "lantern jaws," with many 
 other equally elegant cognomens on board ; and 
 when they retire on half-pay, although they rank 
 with a lieutenant, they have very little more than 
 half of the latter's annual income, and which, 
 being about sixty pounds a year, is not sufficient 
 to maintain them on shore in such respectability 
 that they can keep up the acquaintances they may 
 have made during their service afloat. 

 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 175 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 He shudder'd, as no doubt the bravest cowers 
 
 When he can't tell what 'tis that doth appal, 
 How odd, a single hobgoblin's non-entity 
 Should cause more fear, than a whole host's identity. 
 
 Don Juan. 
 
 It is strange, but no less strange than true, 
 that men who are accustomed to face every danger 
 in war are oftentimes childish cowards in the 
 dark. This species of timidity can generally be 
 traced to the follies of a nurse, who, anxious to 
 punish leniently the fault in her charge, consigns 
 the blubbering boy to a dark closet, and then 
 commences a very ridiculous story about Tom-o'- 
 Poker coming down the chimney to take all
 
 176 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 naughty children to the dark-hole, and there make 
 them sift cinders with their faces toward the 
 wind, so that all the dust is blown in the offen- 
 der's eyes. First impressions are not easily re- 
 moved, especially when the impression is made 
 early in life. It is said a woman never forgets her 
 first love — a child once frightened, will always 
 retain a fearful remembrance of the scene. I was 
 acquainted with a surgeon of the navy, who never 
 recovered the shock occasioned by a very singular 
 circumstance : he related the anecdote himself to 
 me. During the war, and when trade flou- 
 rished, and innkeepers rejoiced, my friend, with 
 a companion, both medical men, stopped to sleep 
 in Canterbury. Not being the most affluent peo- 
 ple, they contented themselves with an inferior, 
 though spacious inn, and took one bed between 
 them, either on the score of economy, or because 
 the house was full. They slept in a room opening 
 from a kind of gallery, from which branched off 
 half-a-dozen similar apartments : about eleven 
 o'clock they retired to rest, where I propose to leave 
 them for a moment. In this inn numerous soldiers 
 were billeted for the night, and the adjacent
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 177 
 
 rooms to that occupied by the medical gentlemen 
 had their portion of heroes to accommodate. It 
 happened that early in the day a soldier had died, 
 and had been placed properly dressed for his 
 coffin, in the room next to my friends. The coffin 
 had been placed near the bed, standing on its end ; 
 and the soldi ers who were to watch the corpse 
 had gone below to fortify themselves against 
 ghosts, by copious libations of brandy. 
 
 About two in the morning one of the medical 
 gentlemen felt indisposed, and went down in order 
 to get some negus. As he knew that the gal- 
 lery contained many rooms, he left his door a little 
 open, to be sure he made no mistake on his return, 
 and groped his way to the staircase, down which 
 he descended, got his negus, and being perfectly 
 confident of his way, returned without a light. 
 When he arrived at the gallery, he traced his way 
 along the wall until he came to a door ajar, 
 which he imagined to be his. On entering the 
 room, he directed his way to the bed, and, having 
 felt his companion, was quite convinced he had not 
 mistaken his room, undressed, and got in. He re- 
 marked, as accidentally he touched his friend,
 
 178 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 that he was rather cold, and was astonished that 
 he had not awakened him by the movement. He 
 listened to hear if he was asleep, and not observing 
 him breathe, began to speak, in order to arouse 
 him. It was ineffectual : he resorted to manual 
 labour, and turned the chilled body over, without 
 obtaining an answer, or causing a remark. The 
 unusual cold, the perfect stillness, and total inani- 
 mation, alarmed the doctor; he resorted to loud 
 speaking without success. Fearing his companion 
 had suddenly died, he leaped out of bed, and in 
 endeavouring to find the door, ran against the 
 coffin and upset it. The loud noise, as the empty 
 tenement of the dead fell to the floor, hastened 
 the return of the dead watchers, who were then 
 coming up stairs, perfectly armed, as they thought, 
 against ghosts or devils, or any thing else. 
 
 The doctor, quite overcome by the unexpected 
 rencontre, remained standing erect, with merely 
 his shirt and night-cap on, but in so tremulous a 
 manner, that a child might have pushed him into 
 the habitation of the dead, which seemed open to 
 receive him. He was thus situated when the sol- 
 diers entered. On their seeing the ghost, or what
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 179 
 
 they fancied a ghost, standing at the head of the 
 coffin, they gave a loud scream, dropped the light, 
 and tumbled down stairs with surprising velocity. 
 The scream awoke the doctor's friend, who 
 luckily began to ask the reason of the noise from 
 his own room. The mystery was unravelled, to the 
 dismay of both parties, and to the last day of my 
 poor friend's life, the slightest allusion to this story 
 seemed to ,hurry him towards his grave. In vain 
 we rallied him on the folly of allowing past im- 
 pressions of the mind daily to haunt him ; and 
 equally useless was our attempt to declare he 
 ought never to fear death, as he had overturned 
 one of his tenements. He lingered some few years, 
 a timid, nervous, irresolute man, frightened at 
 every shadow, unfit for society, and ruined in 
 his profession. Perhaps some of my readers 
 may here trace the pale doctor, who was a 
 passenger in the Fame. I have mentioned this 
 anecdote to pave the way to another. We de- 
 tained a Greek ship upon some suspicion or other, 
 which did not transpire in the midshipmen's 
 berth. It was sufficient for us that she was de- 
 tained. Like gamblers, we made sure of winning,
 
 180 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 without calculating the chance of losing; and 
 to detain a ship, during the war, was another set 
 of words for having captured a vessel. The prize 
 was sent into Malta under the command of a lieu- 
 tenant, the Salsette continuing her course, to join 
 the admiral off Toulon. In every ship in which I 
 have either served or commanded, there was some 
 record of a phantom. The foremast men are cru- 
 elly superstitious and credulous : hence the idea 
 that a horse-shoe which has been used, nailed to 
 the foremast, is lucky ; a black cat or a parson in- 
 variably the reverse. A schoolmaster or a lawyer 
 are detestable objects in the eyes of a sailor ; but, 
 God knows, they are not very singular in this re- 
 spect, and some of our friends on shore seem to 
 have a sympathetic feeling with the ignorant sea- 
 men. Fear seems more easily communicated on 
 board a ship than in other places. The report of 
 any man having seen a ghost startles the rest, as 
 electricity operates upon those who go hand-in- 
 hand together. Our Greek ship not being subject 
 to the most dreary, wearisome occurrence in the 
 world, "quarantine," entered Valetta harbour, 
 and was properly secured for the night. The
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 181 
 
 lieutenant who commanded her went on shore to 
 dinner ; and, having amused himself until about 
 half-past eleven o'clock, returned on board in a 
 Maltese boat. On ascending the side, he was as- 
 tonished at finding the crew on deck, walking 
 about in considerable agitation, and breaking 
 through all discipline by herding on the quarter- 
 deck. 
 
 " Holloa !" said the lieutenant, " what the devil 
 is the matter now? Plow is it, Mr. F.," addressing 
 himself to the midshipman, " that the men are 
 not in their hammocks V 
 
 " The men say, sir," replied the midshipman, 
 who was a pale-faced, thin, spectre-looking young- 
 ster, •/ that they have seen a ghost !" 
 " Seen a what ?" replied the lieutenant. 
 " A ghost, sir," said the youngster. 
 " A ghost!" said the lieutenant; " what, is it 
 any thing like you ? Here, you lumping, cow- 
 ardly cur," said he, seizing hold of a tall, half- 
 clad sailor, one of the stoutest men of the crew, 
 who was shaking like a leaf, "tell me, I say, 
 what the devil is the ghost like ? Is it a Greek, 
 or a Turk, or a Christian ? What did he say or
 
 182 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 do ? Speak directly, or I '11 soon find a way to 
 make you." 
 
 It was quite in vain : not a word could he get 
 from one of the crew, but that they had seen a 
 ghost. One man declared that the unceremo- 
 nious phantom got under his hammock, and, cap- 
 sizing it, threw him on the deck ; another swore 
 to his having been cuffed by the shadow. But 
 none could describe what it resembled — none 
 could " shadow forth its likeness." 
 
 " Quarter-master, give me a light," said the 
 lieutenant, "and let me see if I can find the 
 ghost ;" and, taking the lantern, went down the 
 main hatchway to hunt up the spirit. All was in 
 confusion below : hammocks were upside down, 
 blankets and beds on the deck, clothes of all sorts 
 kicking about ; in short, as much disorder as the 
 contents of a dozen hammocks could create. In 
 vain the lieutenant desired some of the men to 
 come below to lift off the hatches. As no parti- 
 cular man was named, no one went : it was no 
 service for volunteers, and many a man who 
 would have faced a devil by daylight, found a 
 ghost in the dark a very different thing. After a
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 183 
 
 fruitless search for some time, the lieutenant re- 
 turned on deck. " Come here, my men," said he» 
 " You see I have been below, and hunted fore and 
 aft for your ghost, and cannot find him ! How 
 can you be such cursed asses, as to believe 
 that a dead man, which a ghost must be, could 
 turn you all out of your hammocks, pinch one, 
 cuff another, and capsize a third ? Will any man 
 step forward and tell me he saw the ghost ? Here, 
 you lubberly fellow, you, Jackson, you have seen 
 dead men by dozens ; now, tell me, did you see 
 it?" 
 
 This was a home question ; and Jackson, after 
 due consideration, and looking cautiously around 
 him, during which it was quite amusing to see 
 how studiously every one endeavoured to avoid 
 being the outside man, replied, u that he certainly 
 had not seen the ghost , himself ; and," added he, 
 " I begins to think I have been composed upon." 
 
 Poor Jackson never composed a more fatal 
 speech ! It was nearly the last he ever made. 
 " Then set the example to these old women, and 
 go down to your hammock." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said Jackson, who, turning
 
 184 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 round, added, "come along, lads;" but the lads 
 were by no means inclined to accept the invitation. 
 His hammock was in the fore-peak of the vessel, 
 consequently the very farthest part from the stern, 
 from which situation no power could make the 
 sailors budge an inch. He had not much clothing 
 of which to divest himself, so, turning into his 
 hammock, began to court sleep; but sleep is ex- 
 actly at variance with a boarding-school girl ; the 
 former is not won by courting, but by excessive 
 neglect. Half an hour had elapsed, and some of 
 the crew began to think a snug hammock just as 
 comfortable as walking, half naked, in the night 
 air; indeed, from the continued conversation, a 
 kind of confidence was partially restored. Boys 
 whistle in a churchyard to keep up their courage, 
 and horses are bolder when the rider sings. Men 
 invariably grow more desperate as conversation 
 increases. Each sailor seemed to understand the 
 inclination of his neighbour, and although all were 
 anxious to get to bed, no one was quite valiant 
 enough to make the proposition to retire. 
 
 In one of the short pauses which ensued a vio- 
 lent scream was heard, and Jackson flew up the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 185 
 
 hatchway in his shirt, his hair standing on end, and 
 his face the picture of terror exemplified. The crew 
 instantly caught the alarm, and huddled together, 
 like birds at the appearance of a hawk. Jackson 
 was speechless ; but the noise occasioned by the 
 simultaneous movement aroused the lieutenant, 
 who came instantly on deck. 
 
 " Well, Jackson," said he, " have you caught 
 the ghost ?" 
 
 The pale and affrighted face of the sailor struck 
 his officer with indignation and disgust; and he 
 looked at the spectre-stricken man with the keen- 
 est contempt. It often happens in Malta that a 
 swell sets into the harbour, and boats which are 
 secured to the stern wash against the counter, 
 giving the boat a very unwholesome shake, and 
 producing a noise by no means conducive to sleep. 
 This was the case on the present occasion. 
 
 " Here, you old woman, you, Jackson ; you are 
 not fit to be called a sailor ; go down, and keep 
 that boat clear of the counter," said the lieute- 
 nant. 
 
 To this order the sailor willingly acceded, as it 
 placed him out of the reach of his spiritual and
 
 186 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 official tormentor ; and had the order been to have 
 sat upon the truck, or ride cock-horse on the jib- 
 boom, he would not have hesitated to have com- 
 plied, in preference to going below again. The 
 agitation of the poor devil increased with the 
 movement to obey the order ; and scarcely had he 
 got his feet on the Jacob ladder, than he missed 
 his hold in reaching the boat's painter, fell over- 
 board, and sunk like a stone. It was but one 
 splash, and Jackson was buried ; he never rose to 
 bubble his dying agony to his affrighted shipmates, 
 and the distressing sight, too often seen, of men 
 struggling against inevitable fate — the last uplifting 
 of extended hands — the ineffectual attempt at 
 speech — and the wild, despairing look, as they 
 rise from the water to look for the last moment at 
 all the world can show, were fortunately spared on 
 this unhappy occasion. 
 
 The crew, sufficiently frightened before, were 
 now the mere resemblance of men, with the hearts 
 of children ; and daylight was hailed with all the 
 rapture of hope, long deferred, dawning at last. 
 Poor Jackson's body was fished from the water 
 the next day, perfectly black, and was interred on
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 187 
 
 shore with all due honors. A host of priests, 
 properly garbed for so solemn a ceremony, were 
 paid for walking round the ship's decks with cru- 
 cifixes and lighted wax-candles, although it was 
 noonday ; a certain quantity of holy water was 
 sprinkled over the haunts of the spectre ; prayers 
 were said in Latin, of which neither ghost or crew 
 understood one word ; and, strange as it may ap- 
 pear, the holy mummery restored the courage and 
 confidence of the men, who believed the spirit laid 
 in the far muddy waters of the Red Sea, impri- 
 soned in its oozy grave ; and they slept in their 
 hammocks as usual, for never afterwards was 
 ghost or goblin heard, felt, or seen. 
 
 This was a bad business, an unfortunate finale. 
 We have, however, our ghosts infinitely more 
 amusing, and who take care to turn their visits 
 to more advantage, than capsizing a hammock, or 
 drowning a man. I was a passenger in one ship, 
 in which was a very pretty woman, the wife, no- 
 minal, or real, I forget which, of the captain's cook : 
 he was a dark, dusty-looking man, with a counte- 
 nance like a boiled ham, and a temper always 
 hot and sparkling, like a wood fire. We had a
 
 188 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 marine on board, who was comely in his looks, 
 but not quite so chaste in his mind, or so rigid in 
 his morals, as Joseph. The cook's wife, although 
 from duty she loved her husband, from choice 
 evidently admired the marine ; — and love, fruitful 
 in expedients, overcame the difficulty of intriguing 
 in so small space, with so many eyes perpetually 
 awake. The woman invented the stratagem. I 
 am sorry to thus throw all the sin of temptation 
 on the fair daughter of Eve ; but, like her mother, 
 she seemed resolved on the fall of man. The 
 shells of turtle, after the flesh is scratched from 
 its abode, have a highly phosphorescent appear- 
 ance in the dark ; and the cook's wife being 
 -aware of this, advised the marine to block up 
 certain parts of the shell, leaving the resemblance 
 of a hideous face, from the nostrils, mouth, and 
 eyes of which a vivid flame would apparently be 
 emitted. The marine was, at about one o'clock 
 in the morning, to get in the foremost part of the 
 lower deck, make a respectable noise, hold up the 
 turtle face, and await the event. The cook's wife 
 knew that her husband was not the bravest of 
 the brave, and she took care he should see the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 189 
 
 spectre, and that she would fall into a desperate 
 fit — a most convenient fit for the occasion. At 
 the appointed time the ghost appeared ; the con- 
 sequence was a general panic, and a rush on 
 deck ; every man and boy, cook, and cook's- 
 mate, left the ghost in full possession of the 
 lower-deck and the cook's wife. Moments like 
 these, short and pleasant, soon elapse : the ma- 
 rine crept to his own bed ; and the lady, after 
 kicking and squalling, got some assistance ; and 
 having looked out for a convenient carronade 
 slide, fainted after the most approved manner, to 
 the infinite satisfaction of herself, and horror of 
 her husband ; for she took care not to be over- 
 dressed for the occasion. This mode of intrigue 
 was resorted to every night, until it became no- 
 torious that the cook's wife did not make such a 
 speedy retreat as the first time ; and the marines 
 found out that their comrade was always endued 
 upon this occasion with surprising power of sleep, 
 which no noise could arouse. Both cook's wife 
 and marine were aware of the suspicions, and 
 foolishly tried the trick once too often : a boat- 
 swain's-mate, armed with a rattan, and who had
 
 190 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 been suspected of admiring the lady in question, 
 resolved to face the spectre, and planted himself 
 under the cook's hammock ; the usual fright took 
 place, and just as the marine was on the point of 
 invading the modest abode of the cook's better 
 half, the boatswain's-mate seized him by his only 
 covering, which was too strong to give way, like 
 Juan's and Joseph's, and administered such a cas- 
 tigation as left the marine to bewail his folly and 
 temerity for many a night afterwards. They 
 cobbed the marine, and laid the ghost. 
 
 The Salsette was ordered from the Toulon 
 blockading squadron to Malta, and there the Fame, 
 a s.eventy-four, becoming vacant, Captain Bathurst 
 was appointed to her, and I followed in his train. 
 I confess I did not much like the change, for in 
 those days a certain stigma was attached to mid- 
 shipmen who belonged to line-of-battle ships, 
 while the midshipmen of frigates were the aris- 
 tocracy of their grade in the profession. As far 
 as space was concerned, of course the change was 
 beneficial. We were ordered home, and had the 
 convoy signal flying ; but, previous to our departure, 
 I must be allowed to give a sketch of a Maltese
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 191 
 
 execution ; for there are no two countries under 
 the sun who despatch their criminals in exactly a 
 similar manner. 
 
 The Russians, an imitative nation, and who 
 always take example from their more civilised 
 allies, when they hung five or six criminals to the 
 walls of the fortress of St. Petersburg, bungled 
 the business, (as they do every thing but diplo- 
 macy and making soldiers,) and down tum- 
 bled three in the mud, owing to the rope slipping 
 in one instance, and breaking in two others. 
 They grew the hemp, twisted the cord, and had 
 an executioner in England, to take lessons ! But 
 Maltese are the proper finishers : a man must 
 be an eel to slip through their fingers. A mur- 
 derer (inasmuch as a young man, of about twen- 
 ty-seven, thought proper to return the obligation 
 of being brought into the world, by sending his 
 parents out of it,) having been tried, was found 
 guilty, and condemned. Popular fury was fear- 
 fully excited, and the day of execution was impa- 
 tiently expected. Like the rest, I felt a desire to 
 see how a man could face death, who had been 
 guilty of so heinous a crime, that the Romans had
 
 192 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 no law which noticed it — parricide. There is a 
 rising ground close to the Florian Gardens, which 
 overlooks the harbour, on which was erected the 
 hanging wood. It was in the shape of a pair of 
 shears, the rope coming from the point where the 
 two spars were lashed together ; the whole concern 
 was evidently too near the ground, and we said in 
 an instant that some bungling must ensue. Near 
 the gallows was a chair, in which sat in quiet 
 composure the only true friend — the man who 
 never deserts you at the last pinch — the execu- 
 tioner. The procession of the criminal was headed 
 by a company of boys, bearing candles, and sing- 
 ing some solemn dirge, without any particular at- 
 tention as to time or tune ; next came a set of 
 friars, and monks, and priests, with a large assort- 
 ment of the tag-rag and bob-tail part of the com- 
 munity. Then came one priest carrying a large 
 crucifix, and close to him walked the criminal : the 
 latter seemed the only unconcerned man in the 
 procession. A respectable body of soldiers fol- 
 lowed in the rear, ultimately taking up a circular 
 position, with the gallows for a centre. Prayers, 
 spiritual consolation, was freely offered, and there
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 193 
 
 was no manifestation of indelicate hurry to put the 
 offender from this world ; the crucifix was placed 
 to his lips dozens of times, which he kissed with- 
 out any particular fervency of devotion : he did not 
 join in the prayers, but looked about him more 
 like a stranger to the scenery, than a condemned 
 culprit : once he looked over his head at the ap- 
 paratus, but with a kind of indifference truly 
 appalling. His time was come — his hour arrived 
 — and the last preparations commenced. The rope 
 was placed round his neck ; but it appeared to 
 me, that instead of a hangman's knot, they sub- 
 stituted a timber- hitch, and then jammed the parts. 
 The criminal was desired to stand upon a chair, 
 and no sooner had he obeyed the order than the 
 executioner shortened the rope a very little, and 
 removed the chair : down fell the poor fellow with 
 quite enough of a jerk to tighten the hitch, but 
 not enough to cause suffocation : the rope being 
 too long, the toes of the man just touched the 
 ground, by which he was enabled to retard the 
 operation of strangulation. The priest prayed 
 devoutly, keeping the crucifix to the culprit's 
 mouth : he only thought of prolonging his miser- 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 194 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 able existence another and another moment. 
 Strange how we cling to life when life would be 
 a burthen, and how we shun death, which would 
 be our only release ! The executioner became 
 quite astonished that the man did not die ; and 
 after giving him every opportunity for five minutes, 
 he ascended the gallows, and then descended the 
 rope, planting his feet on the neck of the criminal ; 
 with cold-blooded barbarity he then proceeded to 
 jump on the shoulders ; and never do I remember 
 to have turned so suddenly sick, as when I heard 
 the cracking of the neck at each succeeding jump. 
 This operation stretched the rope, and the culprit's 
 feet came firmly on the ground : the resistance 
 to yield his life was awfully great, and much lon- 
 ger had he struggled, had not a second execu- 
 tioner lifted the legs from the ground, which gave 
 the body a slanting direction, and soon closed the 
 horrible and disgusting scene. This made a pro- 
 per impression upon me, more especially as I was 
 given to understand that one or two gentlemanly 
 people had expressed a wish that they could get 
 hold of a midshipman belonging to the Fame, in 
 order to allow their bungling executioner an oppor-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOE. 195 
 
 tunity of perfecting himself in the art of hanging. 
 Neither could I blame the Maltese for their cha- 
 ritable wish ; we certainly gave annoyance enough 
 to the quiet, orderly people; for it was by no 
 means uncommon to get up a chorus in the streets 
 loud enough to bring the good people to the win- 
 dows, and then they were laughed at for their 
 trouble. But we had another mode of annoying 
 the pious, and in these frolics we were always 
 headed by a then midshipman, and now captain. 
 At every corner of every street in Malta, and in- 
 deed in most Catholic towns, the saints who are 
 placed in the niches to be saluted by the passer- 
 by in the day-time, return the civility by night, 
 as they hold lamps to direct and guide both saint 
 and sinner. It was an odd, and very improper 
 frolic, but so it was, that these lamps were sure 
 to be broken at least once a week, and the saint 
 was fortunate if he were not damaged or dis- 
 figured during the operation. It was not to be 
 supposed that the Catholics could allow the 
 images to which they bowed and crossed them- 
 selves about fifty times a day, to be wantonly in- 
 sulted by beardless heretics, without resenting 

 
 196 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 the injury, and consequently they were fully pre- 
 pared to take suitable revenge on any good op- 
 portunity offering itself. Our leader having taken 
 a great fancy to the unicorn, which stands on one 
 side of the grand entrance into the church of 
 St. John, to place as a figure-head to his brother's 
 yacht, he resolved to have the animal, and his 
 refractory crew were desired to be in attendance 
 the next night, in order to dislodge the cornuted 
 creature. We were punctual to our appointment, 
 and proceeded to the sacrilegious demolition at 
 midnight with light hearts and a strong rope. 
 The latter was placed round the unicorn's neck, 
 and about ten of us began with a true sailor-like 
 " one, two, three, haul," to dislodge our victim. 
 It was, however, so well fastened on its pedestal, 
 that we did not succeed, and our shouting and 
 hauling soon awakened our enemies. We be- 
 gan to perceive a collection of people in the Strada 
 Reale, and we had little doubt that they would 
 shortly commence offensive operations, as they 
 were loud in their vows of vengeance against the 
 ruthless spoliators of their magnificent and sacred 
 edifice. A large knot of Maltese began to show
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 197 
 
 themselves at the corner of the Strada St. Gio- 
 vanni ; thus blocking up the direct road to the 
 boats, and partially enclosing us. We knew the 
 depth of a stiletto wound, and the unerring ac- 
 curacy with which it is thrown : we well knew 
 how cordially they hated us, if only in a religious 
 light. Their saints held their lamps, for a wonder, 
 unbroken that night, which gave us more alarm 
 than our enemies and their stilettos ; for had we 
 been recognised, the admiral's displeasure would 
 have preceded the sentence of the civil judge. 
 We hastily dropped the rope, and in a firm and 
 compact body charged the party by the corner of 
 the Strada St. Giovanni. They very feebly re- 
 sisted, and we reached our ship in security. The 
 Maltese, baulked in their vengeance upon us, like 
 cowards as they invariably are, notwithstanding 
 their historical records and valiant knights, 
 wreaked their vengeance on two of our half- 
 drunken crew, who were on shore, and the next 
 morning they were found dead in the Strada 
 Ponente. From the situation, and the known im- 
 modest character of the street, the Maltese autho- 
 rities argued that intrigue excited the jealousy
 
 198 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 of some husband, and that the loss of life was the 
 result. The Lord bless their sapient heads ! — sailors 
 do not intrigue. Jack has no time for poesy and 
 love elegies, and we doubt much, if Mr. Haynes 
 Bayly, with all his musical melodies, could find 
 the time for caterwauling if he were a sailor ; and, 
 after all, liberty and the first-lieutenant are mon- 
 strously against the carrying a tender scheme into 
 execution. 
 
 We sailed from Malta with our convoy, and 
 touched at Gibraltar. With what delight I 
 visited the convent, may be easier imagined than 
 written. I had not forgotten the beautiful crea- 
 ture there ; and whilst at Constantinople had pro- 
 vided attah of roses, and supposed Cashmere 
 shawls for the dear object of my early affections. 
 It was the last time I ever saw her as a spinster ; 
 and I left her with all the regret of a young and 
 ardent mind, perfectly persuaded that I was des- 
 perately in love, and quite unable to outlive 
 the separation. I am, however, much afraid, 
 from some circumstances which have occurred, 
 that I possess one of those quicksilver hearts on 
 which no permanent foundation can be laid. I
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 199 
 
 certainly have been a particular admirer of beauty, 
 and while I join cordially in the opinion of Lord 
 Byron, that " a pretty woman is a welcome guest," 
 I will not answer for my constancy, if another 
 fairer object should accidentally appear. But in 
 a sailor's life love should never appear : we are, 
 I believe, generally reckoned the best husbands ; 
 but as for constancy, when the wide Atlantic rolls 
 between the divided hearts, it might be a very good 
 subject for rhyme, but a very poor one for reason. 
 It is quite astonishing how ship discipline, em- 
 ployment of time, and the yellow fever, can keep 
 downi love and affection, and all such tender expres- 
 sions. I have no more confidence in a sailor's con- 
 stancy, than I have in the pope's infallibility, and 
 I regard both, as mere matters of opinion, very 
 well to talk about in society, but quite discarded in 
 reality by all but love-sick boarding-school girls, or 
 anxious cardinals. Our passage was tedious and 
 disagreeable ; for there is no penalty inflicted by the 
 law, equal in annoyance, to an anxious man taking 
 a passage in a ship condemned to convoy a fleet 
 when the wind is fair and strong, and when every 
 idea of home becomes doubly exciting, instead of
 
 200 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 spreading the wide sail to catch the freshening 
 breeze, the topsails are lowered on the cap, reefs 
 taken in, and perhaps, which is worse than all, 
 the ship " hove-to" for an hour for the stern- 
 most vessels to close round the commodore : it is 
 a kind of blank in life : even hope for the time is 
 destroyed: a sort of epileptic fit. Of all the 
 curses in a sailor's life, a convoy is the worst. 
 
 The quarantine which we endured for three 
 days at the Mother-bank, were three days length- 
 ened into three years ; every moment seemed an 
 hour. In vain we traced with our glasses the de- 
 lightful shores of the Isle of Wight, or looked at 
 the moving scenery in the Southampton Water : 
 there we were, cooped up like so many chickens, 
 fed at stated times, and allowed to gaze through 
 our bars at what we could not enjoy. Oh, but 
 quarantine had been invented in the time of Job, 
 and I doubt much if that pattern of patience 
 and piety would have ridden forty days under the 
 yellow flag, near the fertile shore of Sicily, with- 
 out giving vent to his feelings, in no very mea- 
 sured terms. Quarantine is decidedly a strong in- 
 vention of our two natural enemies, the devil, and
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOE. 201 
 
 the doctor, to enfeeble our body and ruin our 
 souls. Abrogation of that law would do infinitely 
 more good than half the methodist trash ever 
 published. 
 
 I was removed from the Fame to the Arethusa, 
 and I parted with my old captain with all the 
 poignancy of real regret. To me he had been a 
 father, a protector, and a friend : he was a kind- 
 hearted, excellent, brave man, universally beloved 
 and respected. He died as a sailor ought to die, in 
 battle, and victorious. The shot which struck him 
 at Navarino deprived the poor of a friend, and 
 the helpless of a supporter.
 
 202 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Come all ye jolly sailors bold, 
 Whose hearts are cast in honor's mould, 
 While English glory I unfold, 
 On board of the Arethusa. 
 
 Dibdin. 
 
 Every body has heard of the Arethusa: — she 
 is immortalised in song, and was for many years 
 one of the crack ships of his majesty's navy. I 
 considered it a feather in my cap to belong to so 
 dashing a ship ; and anticipated honors and re- 
 wards ; prize-money, and the Gazette. " All plea- 
 sures preconceived or preconcerted," says Dr. 
 Johnson, rt end in disappointment." That was a 
 wise man, and some of his sayings might stand by 
 the side of Solomon's.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 203 
 
 I saw just enough of home this time more bit- 
 terly to feel the parting. I had become, it is true, 
 more accustomed to my profession ; but I always 
 considered it as one only fit for a water-dog, and 
 have more than once thought that the prophecy 
 concerning the Arabs is applicable to a sailor — " He 
 shall be a wild man, and be a stranger in the midst 
 of his brethren/' My sisters gave me a little more 
 of honor and glory, and I felt again the warm caress 
 of my mother, when she took her parting kiss 
 from one, I trust, who has always been an affec- 
 tionate son. We were destined for the coast of 
 Africa. That sink of human life was then a kind 
 of undiscovered shore. The business of the war — 
 the rapid change of more interesting intelligence 
 —the battles, fires, and wrecks which daily filled 
 the papers, left no time, or rather damped curio- 
 sity, as to the actual situation of our colony in 
 Africa. I am not aware that the humbug prac- 
 tised by Macgregor, in reference to Poyais, was 
 resorted to in behalf of Sierra Leone. We may 
 all remember the magnificent prints published, 
 descriptive of the theatre, and the palace of 
 Poyais. 1 have visited this spot ; but never could
 
 204 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 discover the ruins of these beautiful specimens 
 of architectural designs ; and well I know the 
 inhabitants of those parts are by no means dis- 
 posed to labor in the removal of stones. 
 
 We sailed, cleared the Channel, touched at 
 Madeira and TenerifTe, thence to St. Jago, in the 
 Cape Verd Islands. Here we took in fresh pro- 
 visions, fruit, and water, and increased our crew 
 by two monkeys and a parroquet. I have never 
 seen a good account of St. Jago. The fact is, very 
 little can be said about it, and George Cruik- 
 shank's pencil would convey its present state 
 much more definitely to the mind than all the 
 memorandum books of the navy. A St. Jago 
 soldier is a rare mixture of pride, nudity, and 
 discipline ; for a cocked-hat he would sell his 
 wife ; but he is seldom so far fortunate in his traf- 
 fic ; for the women in St. Jago seem to follow the 
 same plan in defying the mosquitoes as the rhi- 
 noceros in Shangella, which rolls in the mud, to 
 defend itself against the small but powerful stings 
 of the fly of that country. Only fancy a fly capable 
 of penetrating the skin which defies a musket-ball ! 
 I believe it, nevertheless, for I have seen men
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 205 
 
 who declare they have been bitten through top- 
 boots by mosquitoes, and certainly they are 
 searching animals. A soldier at St. Jago, who has a 
 complete musket, is the envy of the army. It, gene- 
 rally speaking, happens that the man who has a 
 barrel has no lock, while another will have a stock, 
 lock, and bayonet, but no barrel : one part is always 
 lashed on to another, the proper fastenings having 
 long since disappeared. Yet have they guard- 
 houses, and officers of the guard ; and no pen 
 could possibly give an idea of the motley group 
 when the command, " Guard, turn out," is given : 
 some appear with an old Portuguese uniform coat, 
 without hat or trousers ; some with cocked-hats, 
 shoes, and trousers, but no coats : these are the 
 front-rank men ; the officers are only a shade, and 
 that not in cleanliness, better. The " present arms" 
 is a salute to laugh at for a year afterwards. Like 
 the poor, they are always proud : no infringement 
 of their law is allowed ; and in this respect they 
 anight rival better dressed soldiers. They are vigi- 
 lant on their post, but seem otherwise blessed with 
 the laziness of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. 
 The governor's palace would make a good con-
 
 206 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 vertible cow-house, and the other residences are 
 wooden huts, with or without roofs. The island 
 appears perfectly barren, mere rock ; and although 
 I have visited the interior in several shooting 
 expeditions, yet I do not remember to have seen 
 one cultivated spot, except in the vicinity of the 
 town. Cocoa-nuts, bananas, plantains, the com- 
 mon pine-guavas, and the orange, are plentiful. 
 Those who have visited these climates are of 
 course aware that very little cultivation is requi- 
 site to bring these fruits to perfection. The 
 islands in the vicinity are infinitely superior to 
 St. Jago; but they are deficient in that which 
 aggrandised the capital — a good harbour. St. 
 Jago, like a woman's mind, arrived at its utmost 
 limit early in its existence — it never has improved 
 — and never will until it changes its master. From 
 this wretched abode we steered to Goree. 
 
 I before said there was no place to cure fasti- 
 dious gentlemen equal to a midshipman's berth. 
 In this fancy frigate we were pretty well off, and, 
 in many respects, might have benefitted our cap- 
 tain. It is, or was the usual custom in the navy, 
 or the midshipman of the morning- watch to break-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 207 
 
 fast in the cabin. The officer of the forenoon- 
 watch, one of the idlers, (in this energetic expres- 
 sion is included the purser, doctor, master, and 
 those time-devouring men, marine officers,) re- 
 ceived an invitation to dinner with the captain ; 
 and an invitation was a command. I have known 
 a midshipman flogged for refusing to dine with the 
 lieutenants. Indeed, I was once very nearly flagel- 
 lated for the same heinous offence. It certainly 
 does appear tyrannical to punish a boy for not 
 dining with those he does not admire. This is a 
 mistake — it is one of the very many small 
 branches of discipline which invigorate the whole 
 tree. On another score the boy would merit 
 chastisement, for there is no folly like allow- 
 ing pride to stop supplies to the empty stomach 
 of a midshipman ; and folly ought always to be 
 punished. 
 
 In the Arethusa we ran no risk of being flogged 
 for refusing an invitation. The steward seldom 
 peeped into the berth, saying, Mr. F., Captain 
 C. desires the pleasure of your company at dinner. 
 It was no pleasure for him to see us there, and we 
 rather lost than gained by the invitation. I am 
 free to admit that this niggardly mode of living —
 
 208 THE LIFE OF A SAILOP.. 
 
 the burgoo breakfast (burgoo is oatmeal and water 
 jammed into a brown consistency), and salt junk 
 dinners, accustomed us to bear the misfortunes 
 which afterwards befell us. Gluttony brings with 
 it its own punishment ; the more you eat, the more 
 you desire to eat ; and the drunkard, who, by his 
 wine-bibbing propensities hastens the fever which 
 intoxication produces, occasions a thirst which no 
 draught can allay, and which again inflames, rather 
 than cools, the desire. We were not gluttons or 
 wine-bibbers in that ship. 
 
 Our approach to the coast of Africa we smelt, 
 rather than saw. The breeze of the evening came 
 deliciously perfumed with the strong scent of the 
 lime-tree : we smelt the shore hours and hours 
 before we saw it. It is very amusing to watch 
 dogs on these occasions : being more gifted than 
 man, they make the land in imagination before 
 the navigator : they run to the weather-gangway 
 and port-holes, sniff up the breeze, and howl 
 most intellectually, looking round, and wagging 
 their tails, as much as to say, " Why, can't 
 you smell it?" Pigs are particularly happy on 
 this occasion. 
 
 In due time we anchored in Goree roads. From
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 209 
 
 the ship the town looked handsome, and the ad- 
 jacent country appeared clad in verdure ; but the 
 sun was oppressive beyond measure, and the 
 breeze, which blew but did not cool, seemed as if 
 it had been puffed from an oven. On landing, we 
 found the street one moving mass of sand : the 
 mosquitoes flew at us with the ravenous hunger 
 of half-starved dogs. Our stockings, for we were 
 fools enough not to wear boots, were dyed in 
 blood ; and the eternal irritation occasioned by the 
 sting, and the scratch which followed, would have 
 brought on a fever without the assistance of the 
 fiery noonday heat, or the checked perspiration of 
 the cooler evening. We were fairly beaten back 
 by those human tormentors, who seem to know 
 their power, giving as much annoyance by their 
 ceaseless buzz, the prelude to the bite, as when 
 they inflicted their tiny but smarting wound. 
 
 Our men, who had long been fed upon salt pro- 
 visions, required some variation of food ; and as it 
 is usual, if possible, to blend health and utility 
 together, we determined upon a fishing-party. 
 Every ship in the navy is allowed materials for 
 this sport.
 
 210 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 Long before daylight the next morning four- 
 teen men, under the command of a lieutenant, 
 were despatched from the ship, with orders to try 
 a sandy beach to the southward of the town. I 
 was on this occasion the midshipman of the boat. 
 It was a long flat beach, terminating in some sand- 
 hills, behind which the parched ground appeared, 
 relieved by occasional patches of refreshing green 
 spots. On this beach we landed, and carried out 
 our nets, according to all rules of fishermen. It 
 was hardly day-dawn when we commenced, and 
 we could not discern a human creature within 
 the sweep of our sights. The net was hauled with 
 all due care not to risk our legs near the voracious 
 jaws of the ground-shark; for this species offish, 
 unlike its brethren, care not for the noise or break 
 of the surf. No sooner, however, had we begun to 
 get the end of the net in our hands, and the fish 
 began to leap, than a cloud of naked blacks rushed 
 over the sand-hills. They came in swarms, 
 headed by a tall, respectable-looking man on 
 horseback, who was partially covered, as respects 
 garments. He had a mild, benevolent cast of 
 countenance; but fronta nulla fides. Lord Byron
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 211 
 
 remarks, thai he had his pockets picked by a man 
 of the most gentlemanly appearance, and that he 
 never remembered so mild a looking person as AH 
 Pacha. The leader of our foes was as treacherous 
 in appearance. No white squall in the Mediter- 
 ranean ever more astonished the unguarded ma- 
 riner, than these locusts of destruction astounded 
 us. They whizzed by us with the velocity of ante- 
 lopes, and, jumping into the water, regardless of 
 the danger — for 
 
 Fools rush in, where angels fear to tread, 
 
 they seized the fish as they jammed them against 
 the meshes of the net, threw them on shore to 
 their companions, who piled them up in different 
 heaps, and walked off with them with as much 
 nonchalance as if they were not committing a 
 theft. There was a ground-shark in the net ; and for 
 once robbery passed unpunished. Had that shark 
 but taken one black leg, I would have given the 
 rest of the fish willingly to have witnessed Justice 
 in the great execution of her office. Our arms, 
 such as we had, were in the boat ; but the panic 
 was so universal, that I doubt our having put the 
 cartridge into the muskets the right end downwards ;
 
 212 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 besides, all but two men were on shore. In vain 
 we attempted to take a fish ; the benevolent gen- 
 tleman pointed at us with a long reed, and we 
 were instantly deprived of our just right. Opposi- 
 tion was useless ; they could have killed us and 
 eaten us in five minutes : the only thing was — 
 how to get out of the cursed scrape we had so 
 unintentionally fallen into. Hitherto, with the 
 exception of confounding the meum et tttum, no 
 act of hostility had been committed : but when the 
 net was drawn on shore, and we were preparing 
 to place it in the boat, a very different scene took 
 place. The fish had every one been removed but 
 the shark, and no one seemed inclined to touch 
 him. A shark's tail is nearly as bad as his jaw ; and 
 the sable tribe seemed well enough to know the 
 danger of approaching either end. Out of as full 
 a net as any fisherman could wish to see, we had 
 not one fish for our pains. The beach was cleared, 
 and the men began to group together, — to talk 
 loud, — their hands were held in the air, — such 
 gesture was furious, and it required no conjurer 
 to see that every moment increased our danger. 
 A minute seemed hardly to have elapsed, and all
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 213 
 
 the marauders were armed. It was like magic : 
 the lances had been regularly distributed amongst 
 the sable tribe almost unseen ; and they began to 
 dance, and kick up the sand in frightful wildness. 
 The affair began to wear a very serious aspect. 
 The ship was hull down in the distance, and from 
 her no possible assistance could be expected, or' 
 could arrive in time if sent. Four of our men 
 were now in the boat, and had coiled away the 
 seine ; and I, in spite of ground- sharks, had 
 placed myself in the stern-sheets, and forthwith 
 began to prepare for action, by loading the fire- 
 arms. In the mean time, the men one by one got 
 into the boat, always taking especial care to keep 
 her afloat. The last man was the lieutenant, and 
 a gallant fellow he was as ever breathed. His self- 
 possession had entirely returned ; his orders were 
 given without any emotion, and he remained 
 facing his foes singly, and at some distance from 
 us. It was evident that the blacks had not ma- 
 tured their plan ; for they looked on in silent in- 
 difference the moment we began to retreat ; but 
 as our numbers lessened on the shore, they ad- 
 vanced towards the boat. When the lieutenant-
 
 214 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 first stepped into the water, the whole tribe could 
 nearly have touched him. I would not have 
 given twenty cowries for his chance of life. He 
 faced our foes, retreating backwards towards the 
 boat ; and no sooner had we hauled him in, and 
 given the boat good stern-way into deeper water, 
 than the whole gang of thieves commenced their 
 war-whoop. They stamped like enraged bulls, and 
 positively yelled with anger; they then made a 
 rush into the water to seize the boat; unfortu- 
 nately we were in the act of winding her, and 
 had barely executed that operation when two 
 of the foremost blacks seized hold of the rud- 
 der. The depth of water impeded their ad- 
 vance, or we must have been captured. Our 
 lieutenant commenced actual war, by beating the 
 intruders on the head with the tiller ; the crew 
 plied the oars ; and the water being too deep for 
 the blacks to exercise much power, they relin- 
 quished their grasp, and we were free. The boat 
 surged ahead, and we breathed in comparative 
 safety. The whole tribe now rushed into the 
 water, brandishing their long lances over their 
 heads, and shouting most vehemently. On our
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 215 
 
 side the spare hands pointed the muskets, while 
 the crew " gave way" with their utmost strength. 
 The horseman interposed, and stopped the hostile 
 demonstration. He seemed to know that the ad- 
 vantage was now on our side, for one minute 
 would have placed us out of reach of their arms, 
 while we could have shot them at discretion. 
 Suddenly their lances were poised in the air : 
 they turned quickly round, and simultaneously 
 retreated. They flew over the sand-bank, and va- 
 nished almost as suddenly, and certainly more 
 welcomely, than they appeared. 
 
 There are some people who never will benefit by 
 example, but will buy their own experience at any 
 price : we had plenty v of those on board, who 
 sneered at our apparent want of courage in allow- 
 ing the plunder of the fish; declaring that the re- 
 port of a musket would have frightened the whole 
 tribe : but Voltaire says, " Cannons no longer as- 
 tonish the Indians." In short, we had lots of vo- 
 lunteers for the next day. I was not one, neither 
 was the lieutenant. I had seen quite enough of the 
 fishing party, and' thought myself extremely lucky 
 not to have been a slave for life ; but others,
 
 216 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 willing to face danger, and undismayed by our 
 reports, resolved to fish on the same beach at the 
 same hour. One man of our party was taken ; he 
 did not volunteer, to point out the spot ; and the 
 next morning away they went, with two marines, 
 to frighten the horde. Unluckily for our laugh, the 
 savages came from their concealment before the 
 boat touched the shore ; and no sooner did our 
 valiant successors see the white beach suddenly 
 black, than they turned tail, and pulled back 
 again, leaving their honor and their courage 
 behind them. This was a sufficient warning to 
 me, and I hope to others, never to undervalue 
 either the courage or the service of my neighbour. 
 Men accustomed to death, as sailors are, know 
 what danger is, and are not frightened at shadows 
 (excepting always a ghost). Brute courage be- 
 longs to every man, more or less. It is the cool 
 calculator in the hour of danger who is the really 
 brave man, and not the headstrong fool, who 
 rushes without thought into inevitable destruc- 
 tion. There is a wide difference between drunken 
 temerity and determined courage : one is as fatal 
 to itself as the other is to its opponent*
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 217 
 
 To give any idea of the mode of living amongst 
 the blacks of the African coast would be a waste 
 of time. Imagination cannot picture people more 
 purely in a state of nature than the poor half- 
 starved naked negro. His food is principally vege- 
 tables, yams, cocoas, &c, relieved by occasional 
 fruit, such as the guava, banana, and plantain. 
 It is a life of continual slavery even in his own 
 country; and should his tribe be invaded, and 
 himself made prisoner, it merely makes his situa- 
 tion about two degrees more dreadful, with all the 
 chance of being benefitted hereafter ; for should 
 he be sold again to those who traffic in human 
 flesh — logs of mahogany, as they are entered in 
 the bill of lading — and survive the sea voyage, he 
 becomes in the west a slave it is true, but a man, 
 and not a brute ; his mind is by degrees enlight- 
 ened ; he has his hut and garden ; a doctor if he 
 is ill, and food if he is hungry. Since my visit to 
 the coast of Africa, and my residence in the West 
 Indies — that is to say, the command of a ship on 
 that station for three years ; and since I have seen 
 with my own eyes the sleek, well-fed negroes, well- 
 clothed, well-housed, married, and contented, I 
 
 VOL. I, K
 
 218 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 have become one of those who believe that sudden 
 emancipation would be instant starvation. On 
 this subject I shall give my opinion when I touch 
 upon Jamaica and Cuba; and therefore, for the 
 present, dismiss the subject with a quotation ; 
 which is, that if I were a negro on the coast of 
 Africa, and some dealers of doubtful gender came 
 to purchase the logs of mahogany, I should say 
 with Johnson in Don Juan, 
 
 Meantime, yon old black eunuch seems to eye us, — 
 I wish to God that somebody would buy us.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Delightful task, to rear the tender thought ; 
 To teach the young idea how to shoot ; 
 To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind ; 
 To breathe the enliv'ning spirit; &c. 
 
 The subject of education on board a ship has 
 been so differently handled by different authors, 
 that I feel myself resolved to be admitted into the 
 group, and to say " my say" upon a point of such 
 real advantage to the navy. 
 
 We have only to read the accounts of the am- 
 phibious tribe a century past, and look at the 
 fashionable appearance, or listen to the cultivated 
 conversation of an officer now, to be satisfied that 
 those of the present day are more eligible for fe-
 
 220 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 male society, more beneficial to the state, and 
 more ornamental to their profession, than their 
 predecessors : this can only be attributed to edu- 
 cation. There can be no doubt that a great dif- 
 ference must exist between the schoolboy, accus- 
 tomed to mix and herd with gentlemen, and the 
 lad, who, to use a nautical phrase, " is born under 
 a gun, and educated in the galley." He first will 
 have imbibed a proper notion of religion and moral 
 conduct ; he will have been flogged (let us hope) 
 into some study ; he will have become acquainted 
 with the common customs of society, and conse- 
 quently will be beneficial to the service into which 
 he is about to enter. On the other hand, the boy 
 who may be said to be cradled in a ship, or wBo 
 enters the service at nine or ten years of age, 
 which formerly was by no means uncommon, has 
 a mind unformed and ready to receive all impres- 
 sions, w r hether right or wrong. The longer a boy 
 is kept on shore, the better officer he will make. 
 I do not here speak of the qualifications abso- 
 lutely necessary — nautical knowledge ; but I mean 
 the exterior part, the appearance — the suavity — 
 the civil and proper behaviour, which renders a
 
 • THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 221 
 
 man respected and beloved : for this reason I am 
 a strong advocate for the Naval College. It is 
 true that sometimes the young lads from that 
 seminary are rather difficult to control at first. 
 They generally embark at fifteen, with minds 
 formed, and sometimes with ideas by no means 
 congenial with discipline ; but a very little proper 
 strictness, and useful severity in the first-lieute- 
 nant, soon crushes the spirit of insubordination ; 
 and the youngster who perceives how foolish it is 
 to run riot against authority, becomes a tractable 
 and obedient officer : the very manner with which 
 he will sweeten a command is well contrasted with 
 the surly, blustering, bullying mode of the unedu- 
 cated boy. In the Sylla, I had two lads from the 
 college, and two, thirteen years old, from some 
 minor school. The former were neat in their per- 
 sons, respectable in their manner, mild, gentle- 
 manly, and obedient ; extremely good navigators, 
 and anxious to learn the more common part of 
 their profession. The latter were rough, unruly 
 boys, eager for mischief, and soon prided them- 
 selves on their increased vocabulary, in which many 
 a word, strange to the ear and immoral in their
 
 222 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 meaning, was to be found. The latter were the 
 best practical seamen; the former the most re- 
 spectable, and efficient officers; one could be 
 trusted — the other required the eye of the master. 
 I would ask any officer in the navy, which he 
 would sooner command, the rough, tar- like mid- 
 shipman, who has passed on board the Queen ; Or 
 the cleanly, well instructed lad from the college. 
 I have heard it advanced that the present race are 
 not so well adapted to desperate enterprize as 
 your long-tailed midshipmen, who fought under 
 Benbow, quaffed flip, and chewed tobacco. This 
 is a mistake, and a mistake arising from ignorance 
 of circumstances. Education plants honor; it is 
 a tree which flourishes best where it is cherished 
 most. Why is it that a gentleman feels more 
 acutely the failure of an enterprize, in which per- 
 sonal courage has been required, than a low- 
 lived man, who will sit down, curse his ill luck, 
 and blubber out his failure ? It is the knowledge 
 that a man's actions undergo the severe scrutiny 
 of public opinion ; that if honor is once assailed, 
 the man is lost to society ; and not only that, but 
 he brings disgrace upon his family and his con-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 223 
 
 nexions. Is it not a well-known fact, that pitt 
 a gentleman against his inferior in life and educa- 
 tion, both equally scientific with whatever wea- 
 pons they may use, that the bets would be nearly 
 two to one upon the gentleman ? and why so ? be- 
 cause the gentleman has a greater respect for ho- 
 nor. He will fight on, when the other would have 
 succumbed. It is like the race-horse — a pint of 
 blood is worth more than a pound of bone ; the 
 horse will run till he drops : his adversary, not 
 having the pride of heart, gives up the contest di- 
 rectly he feels fatigued. On these grounds I 
 maintain the present race of officers in the navy 
 are superior to the past; but when I speak of 
 past, I do not mean twenty or thirty years ago, 
 but I mean a few years beyond that period. 
 
 But amongst many evils still in existence in the 
 navy, and which are fostered with more care than 
 discretion, is the unceasing efforts of some officers 
 to make their shipmates converts to their religious 
 opinions. I am not now upon the subject of pro- 
 per religion, but upon the overgrown branch of it, 
 " Methodism," "the New light," or " a call," as it 
 is familiarly termed. That "the constant call to 
 worship, and the salutary instance of example,"
 
 224 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 is very often neglected, is unfortunately too true ; 
 but in ships where there is a chaplain, the captain 
 generally follows the strict letter of the Articles of 
 War, which command that " the captains shall 
 take care that prayers and preachings are by the 
 chaplains in holy orders duly performed ; and 
 that the Lord's day be observed according to law." 
 This is all right and proper, has a tendency to 
 good, being beneficial to all. But my business of 
 education on board leads one to notice Metho- 
 dism. I know many captains who force their 
 youngsters and their men into their cabins, to 
 preach and to pray, to sing, or to sneer, about a 
 dozen times a day ; a practice fatal to all disci- 
 pline, and highly detrimental to the service. 
 That this is true, I will convince my readers 
 by the following short anecdote. A frigate, in 
 the year 1825, lying in the Sound, had oc- 
 casion to despatch a boat upon some very ur- 
 gent business ; and, as the crew belonging to the 
 cutter did not move quite so briskly as was requi- 
 site, the first-lieutenant told one of the men who 
 was near him to bear a hand and jump down the 
 side. The cunning sailor, who had his hair as 
 straight as tallow-grease could make it, putting
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 225 
 
 on the proper canting gravity, replied, " I must 
 not go, sir ; I am one of the singers !" 
 
 If once a captain becomes bitten by this infa- 
 tuation, the greatest favor and affection will be 
 manifested on all occasions; the hard-working 
 man sacrificed to the skulking singer ; and I leave 
 any unbiassed mind to consider what kind of edu- 
 cation the youngster is likely to receive. Some 
 will not, cannot come into the system, and there- 
 fore violently oppose it ; others turn the whole 
 concern into ridicule, and consequently begin to 
 treat the gravest subjects with unbecoming levity. 
 It is not a hundred years ago that a captain, well 
 known in the navy, would make his youngsters 
 sing and cant out of tract books for many a long 
 hour, daily. Observing one of the most pious of 
 his singers busily employed turning over the leaves 
 of a Bible, and writing some extracts in a small 
 book, with unremitted attention, the captain de- 
 sired his convert to bring his extracts to him ; at 
 the same time praising his steady zeal in the good 
 cause. The youngster hesitated; but the com- 
 mand being reiterated, he reluctantly obeyed. 
 Fancy the horror of the sanctified chief, when he
 
 226 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 found that his hypocritical warbler had been 
 busily employed in making a watch-and-station 
 bill for the frigate, taking his crew from the 
 names in the Bible, and affixing reasons why they 
 were so stationed ! For instance, Mark and Luke 
 were look-out men; Noah was the captain, having 
 before held a command afloat ; Moses was captain 
 of the hold, as he found the water ; and Paul, the 
 master, having had some experience in navigation. 
 The boy was flogged first, and then read out of 
 the society. How much better might a youngster 
 of such a turn of mind have been employed, in 
 working the chronometer, or making meteoro- 
 logical remarks. This methodistical manner will 
 never answer : one part of the crew will call the 
 other straight-haired palaverers; and the other 
 will retaliate by some dozen quotations, dismissing 
 sinners to very uncomfortable residences. The 
 old story of the sailor, who, in a very severe gale, 
 and when the ship was supposed to be foundering, 
 was found behind a cask, upon his knees, praying 
 after the following manner, shows how some men 
 value the ceaseless prayers of others. " O 
 Lord, I am not in the habit of bothering you, as
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 227 
 
 these other fellows are, and if you get me out of 
 this scrape, I promise never to bother you again !" 
 This growing spirit of methodism will ruin the 
 navy. Give the sailor all proper religious in- 
 struction, and by people qualified rightly to ex- 
 plain the Scriptures ; but save us from those me- 
 lancholy gentlemen, who declare dancing a sin, 
 and mirth and merriment as contrary to the law 
 of salvation ! 
 
 Schoolmasters on board have not answered ex- 
 pectation. The first difficulty is where to let 
 them mess : if they are placed with their pupils, 
 the respect due to the situation will soon be lost. 
 The lieutenants would certainly not admit him into 
 the gun-room, as a companion; and the captain 
 ought not to admit any body under his command 
 to be his associate. If he lives by himself, he will 
 be moped to death ; if amongst the warrant-offi- 
 cers, lost in his own esteem. The fact is, there is 
 no greater difficulty than maintaining a school- 
 master in his proper authority. If there is a cler- 
 gyman on board, and he will undertake the 
 charge, then the business is easy enough. I do 
 not speak at random ; I will give an instance on 
 board the Arethusa, showing all -the difficulties.
 
 228 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 We had a very respectable, young, clever man 
 for our teacher ; and, of course, from the moment 
 we heard he was our master , from that moment we 
 hated him with the most cordial hatred. After 
 having suggested thousands of places for the de- 
 tested object to mess, the captain fixed upon the 
 midshipmen's berth ; and our dominie was installed 
 with becoming gravity. In harbour we agreed 
 capitally, because we had no school hours ; but 
 no sooner did we get to sea, and at nine o'clock 
 every forenoon muster in the fore-cabin to look 
 out logarithms, and add up "half elapsed time," 
 than we began to hint, that all our sufferings arose 
 from the schoolmaster. When the captain was 
 present we worked like horses, but the moment 
 he turned his back, we shut up the books, and 
 commenced a regular mutiny. The poor dominie 
 felt his authority on the wane, and made one des- 
 perate attempt to support it. He found all advice 
 quite fruitless, and therefore made a formal com- 
 plaint to the captain, selecting one scapegrace as 
 the most refractory. The captain sent for the boat- 
 svyain into his cabin, seized the youngster up to 
 the gun, and gave him a dozen, pretty lightly ad- 
 ministered. This was a signal for war. We all
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOPt. 229 
 
 felt the disgrace; youngster and oldster joined 
 against the schoolmaster, and we began a system 
 of annoyance, which, although it did not end 
 fatally, very nearly terminated in decided madness. 
 As this part will embody an idea of a midship- 
 man's berth, and show how powerful a body they 
 are, when united, I shall detail our operations. 
 
 The first thing we did was to declare the mess a 
 republic, without any president, caterer, or coun- 
 cil ; the consequence was, that no sooner had the 
 dinner been placed on the table, than a regular 
 grab took place, and the dignified schoolmaster 
 went without his allowance. Every night the 
 lanyard of his hammock was half cut through, and 
 a wet swab placed between his sheets. After he 
 had ejected the last uncomfortable companion, 
 and stretched himself upon his bed, the working of 
 the ship soon wore away the remaining half of the 
 lanyard, and down came schoolmaster, wisdom 
 and all, upon his head. An officious midshipman 
 immediately volunteered to remedy the accident, 
 and in hanging up the hammock made, quite un- 
 intentionally of course, a slippery hitch ; the con- 
 sequence was, down came dominie again : this re-
 
 230 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 medied more permanently, the poor fellow sought 
 repose ; but the midshipmen of the watch took 
 care to prevent much of that : on going the rounds 
 every half hour, they would, when under the 
 schoolmaster's hammock, straighten their backs, 
 and if dominie did not roll out by the sudden lift, 
 he certainly got such a shake by the jerk, that it' 
 required a quarter of an hour to make friends with 
 Somnus : a quarter of an hour after that, he would 
 be visited again by his friends ; so that, what be- 
 tween cutting down, slippery hitches, wet swabs, 
 and half hour visitations, the man of wisdom got 
 very little sleep, and no very comfortable reflections. 
 In vain he endeavoured to take it all in good part, 
 and to defend his conduct ; we had resolved upon 
 revenge, and we shortly had it : much do I grieve 
 to say that I was concerned in it, for our victim 
 was as good a man as ever lived ; but we were 
 boys, and who has not felt the momentary plea- 
 sure, the heavenly gratification of revenge ? Boys 
 and women never forgive. 
 
 The evening of the fishing-party mentioned in 
 the last chapter we practised a most scientific ma- 
 noeuvre. The war seemed at an end, and we all
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 2,31 
 
 joined in a jovial song. It was Saturday night ; we 
 had put to sea ; a gale had commenced, and the 
 frigate rolled and rolled, and creaked and creaked, 
 in horrid monotony. On deck the whistling of 
 the wind made more noise than the united voices 
 of the men could have accomplished, whilst the 
 roar of the water, and splash of the sea, was quite 
 enough to occupy the lieutenant of the watch. 
 The grog was passed quickly, for the purser had 
 given us some extra allowance ; the schoolmaster 
 was in raptures at the peace-offering, and drank 
 freely : about eleven o'clock he was as drunk as 
 David's sow, and in his hammock. Now came 
 our moment. It was suggested by one of the 
 youngsters, that as our pastor and master was dead, 
 it was proper to bury him ; and we proposed, that 
 as he was far from England, we would entomb him 
 in the old Egyptian manner — making a mummy 
 of him. As we considered his interior was quite 
 sufficiently stowed with spices, we proceeded to 
 envelope him in divers wrappers ; for which pur- 
 pose we used his own blankets and sheets, leaving 
 only the head bare. Not having a mummy-box, 
 we lashed him up in his hammock : we then re-
 
 232 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 membered we had omitted to wash the body, a 
 ceremony actually necessary, as may be found in 
 Abulfeda, and other oriental writers ; and as time 
 was precious, we made proper amends by splash- 
 ing his face with salt-water, and covering his head 
 with flour. Then came the burial-service, which 
 was sung in a sotto voce : at the proper part we 
 lowered him down into the cable-tier, his grave, 
 there sticking him up between the knees in the 
 wings, like the baked dead in the Franciscan Con- 
 vent near Palermo. We left him just as drunk 
 and sick as any man could wish, without the 
 slightest fear of his catching cold, as the heat of 
 the weather was almost insufferable, and he was 
 wrapped up with all the care of preservation. If 
 he called out, or if he did not, nobody cared, and 
 few could hear ; we retired to rest, and the next 
 morning, Sunday, no schoolmaster could be found. 
 The master-at-arms soon ferreted him out, and he 
 was brought on the quarter-deck exactly as we 
 had left him, with this exception, that if he were 
 sober, there was great doubt if he were alive. 
 
 The captain, who was an early man, saw his 
 moral and sober friend in this deplorable state : it
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 233 
 
 was evident he must have been drunk, or we never 
 could have done the deed. The doctor was sent 
 for, the mummy was unpacked, and the poor fel- 
 low rolled out naked, unable to stand, and with 
 difficulty gasping for breath. He was taken below, 
 fell desperately ill, a fever followed, and three 
 days afterwards he was raving mad. 
 
 In the mean time, notwithstanding the heat 
 of the weather, we decorated the mast-head, were 
 placed in watch and watch ; and, to be sure, had 
 full time to repent of our mischief. By degrees 
 the fever left the patient ; but he did not recover 
 his senses for months, and was ultimately left on 
 shore at Sierra Leone, by his own request, rather 
 than risk a repetition of the hardly-allayed ven- 
 geance of his implacable foes. I met him many- 
 years afterwards in Gibraltar, where he held some 
 rather lucrative situation : he welcomed me to his 
 house, and most hospitably received and housed 
 me. The injury seemed obliterated from his mind, 
 and I wish, with all my heart, I could erase it 
 from mine. I look back with horror at what might 
 have been the termination of the affair, and sin- 
 cerely do I hope, if ever this Life should fall into
 
 234 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 his hands, that he will pardon the boy who so se- 
 riously injured his reputation, and who now will- 
 ingly offers the only reparation, which is the 
 acknowledgement of the evil, and sincere repent- 
 ance. Poor fellow ! I wonder if he thought as 
 some one else did, — 
 
 Delightful task ! to rear the tender thought. 
 
 Now all this mischief arose from the schoolmaster 
 messing with the midshipmen : had he been placed 
 in the gun-room, it never could have happened ; 
 the old story, that " no man appears a hero in 
 the eyes of his valet," is here exemplified : we 
 saw our master in his unguarded hours, shortly 
 grew acquainted with his weak points, lost all 
 respect for either his talents or himself, and finished 
 by driving him mad. Poor fellow ! I never shall 
 forget, when the doctor desired he might be 
 placed in the bath, a cot full of water, and have 
 his head kept under nearly to suffocation ; all the 
 cunning of men in that state of mind was exhi- 
 bited ; the panting sufferer entreated the doctor 
 near him to feel his pulse; and when the real 
 Sangrado approached the bath, he was deluged
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 235 
 
 in water by his patient, who laughed with that 
 vacant demoniacal stare only seen on those occa- 
 sions. 
 
 I have often and often turned in my mind the 
 best method of conducting education on board. I 
 am satisfied, that if the chaplain could be made to 
 undertake it, with of course proper remuneration 
 for the worst of all undertakings — a regular school 
 established, not to be interfered with upon every 
 trivial occasion — in short the schoolboys obliged 
 to consider themselves more under the direction 
 of the chaplain than the first-lieutenant, that some 
 benefit might arise ; but as long as the first-lieu- 
 tenant can send one here, and the other there, as 
 he may want them, the business of the school 
 will be merely nominal. It must be an entire 
 system, supported by the discipline of the navy. 
 Boys are boys ; it is no use to consider them as 
 boys, and treat them as men : some of the latter 
 regulations of the Admiralty have gone exactly to 
 the consummation of this error. 
 
 We might borrow a hint or two from Russia in 
 respect to education. In the Russian army and 
 navy, every officer is obliged to know three Ian-
 
 236 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 guages before he can receive his commission. 
 The law, like all other laws, is abused upon oc- 
 casions ; but it would be a wise one for us to 
 enact. The Russians are obliged to be well ac- 
 quainted with their own, the French and the Ger- 
 man languages ; with those three tongues you 
 may go over Europe. It was a saying of the 
 Emperor Charles the Fifth, that a man who spoke 
 five languages was equal to five men ; and if the 
 northern emperor, like Charles, cannot make 
 watches or men's minds go alike, he has found out 
 a way for them to reciprocate their ideas. As to 
 Latin and Greek, it is perfectly useless to a sailor ; 
 exchange those for Spanish and Italian, and he 
 will become more useful and ornamental. I have 
 mentioned in the preface to this work how la- 
 mentably ignorant officers were during the war ; 
 the peace has polished . and enlightened them. 
 Why cannot it be made requisite that every mid- 
 shipman shall pass an examination in French and 
 German before he is admitted into the navy, or 
 why should not French alone be made a sine qua 
 non before admission ? 
 
 To the naval academy may safely be left all
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 237 
 
 nautical knowledge ; the talents of the professors, 
 the very fair mode of the examinations, the time 
 given before the passing, and the rewards in 
 store for those who most excel, are sufficient 
 pledges and spurs for attention and ambition. 
 French is taught there ; but a midshipman could 
 not be rejected at the examination for any want of 
 knowledge in this respect ; and consequently, it 
 is taught in a slovenly way, and with a boy, 
 where there is no compulsion, there is very seldom 
 any assiduity. All the other groundworks for a 
 sailor are admirably enforced, and a kind of disci- 
 pline and respect for the future profession is in- 
 culcated by the head-master being a post-captain, 
 and the ushers, lieutenants. This, however, would 
 be much better exchanged for a regular school- 
 master, as it is by no means unlikely that boys 
 would caricature their rulers with birch-rods in- 
 stead of swords. There are several drawbacks 
 to this seminary. A parent who pays for his 
 child's education, has certainly a right to complain 
 if the provisions are neither ample nor good — what 
 follows ? The captain commanding the school 
 immediately writes to the Admiralty, and then
 
 238 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 comes an official letter from that board, some- 
 times censuring a parent for a want either of discri- 
 mination, or for impetuosity of language. Surely, 
 if a man pays for his son's education and feeding, 
 he has a right to see that the one is not neglected, 
 or the other scanty, or unwholesome ; and it is 
 really a positive injustice, that any remark he 
 may make should be subject to the official in- 
 terference of the Admiralty. We all know what 
 would be the consequence if the parent an- 
 swered the official letter with the frankness, and 
 manliness of opinion he would have done, had 
 their lordships kept their official fingers out of the 
 business. That the Admiralty do interfere rather 
 beyond the bounds of prudence, the following 
 will prove. A young lad belonging to the Naval 
 College had permission to visit the yacht : the 
 boatswain of the ship had been for many years 
 under the command of the boy's father ; and as, 
 thank God, it is one of the characteristic marks 
 of an English sailor to be grateful, so poor Pipes 
 testified his gratitude by making the son of his 
 old benefactor nearly as " half seas over," as if 
 the boy had been to St. Helena. When the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 239 
 
 youngster returned, one of the lieutenant ushers, 
 perceiving that his pupil did not walk quite so 
 straight as a soldier marching past his command- 
 ing officer, accused him of being " a sheet or two 
 in the wind" (meaning half drunk — I hate vul- 
 garity). The youngster hiccupped a negative, 
 which was quite affirmative. " Where did you 
 get the grog, sir ? — for I smell rum and water ; 
 who gave it you, sir?" — " I sh — shan't tell, sir," 
 replied the little hero. il But you must tell," 
 said the usher. " But I w — w — wont tell, though, 
 without you promise not to say a word about it." — 
 " Well, come, boy, I promise you not to say a word 
 about the business, if you will tell me." — " Well, 
 then," said the confiding lad, " the boatswain of 
 the yacht gave it me." Away goes the lieutenant, 
 and pleased beyond measure to show his vigilance, 
 but forgetting his honor, mentions every word of 
 the affair to the captain. The captain sits down 
 instantly, and writes a most important letter on so 
 grave a subject to the Admiralty. And the Ad- 
 miralty, with their usual promptitude, write down 
 one of their bashaw mandates, and supersede 
 the boatswain. Now, I should very much like to
 
 240 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 know where the board found any infringement of 
 the discipline or the standing orders in the navy, 
 in the boatswain of a yacht giving a glass of grog 
 to a youngster, who did not belong to the ship ; 
 and who was just as free from martial law, as he 
 was from the pope's blessing. It is true, the 
 father of the boy succeeded in getting his old 
 shipmate reinstated ; but the authority by which 
 he was superseded, and the right of making the 
 interior regulations of the Naval College binding 
 upon the service afloat, is what I beg leave to 
 doubt most uncommonly. The father of the lad 
 hurried to the College, and calling the head- 
 master captain, in the presence of his boy, said, 
 " Charles, they tell me you have been drunk. I 
 am very glad to hear it, my lad ; it is a poor 
 heart which never rejoices. I think none the 
 worse of you for it, and hope you may get many 
 times happily relieved from the cares of this world 
 before you die. Good morning, Captain L." 
 And away went the admiral. Now, had Captain 
 L. flogged the boy, the admiral would have re- 
 joiced at that ; because he himself was a good 
 disciplinarian ; but when he found the unfair
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 241 
 
 authority which had been exercised on his old 
 grateful shipmate, he retorted, by sanctioning 
 insubordination. There is no doubt both admiral 
 and Admiralty were wrong ; and these things ought 
 not to be. The discipline of the school ought to 
 be apart from, but imitative of the navy. Before 
 I quit this subject, I may venture to hint, that if 
 the boys were better fed, there would be fewer 
 complaints. I never spoke to one of the young- 
 sters of the college, who did not mention the short 
 allowance at the dinner-table. 
 
 It comes at last to this — That either every boy 
 ought to be educated at the college, or schools 
 should be instituted on board. The difficulties of 
 the latter I have partially enumerated ; and I 
 should not be over-fond of placing a boy at the 
 Naval Academy, if the Lords of the Admiralty were 
 to answer my letters. But on board is the real 
 difficulty — " No man can serve two masters ;" the 
 boys must be treated as boys under the school- 
 master, or they must learn " a day's work" the 
 best way they can, and be at the beck of the first- 
 lieutenant. In short, I quite despair of seeing 
 education prosper on board, until the whole busi- 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 242 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 ness is altered — the chaplains better paid, and 
 foreign languages taught. 
 
 If it could be managed to have a mess com- 
 posed of all the younger midshipmen, at which mess 
 the chaplain should preside, (although he might 
 belong to the gun-room mess, and have his own 
 cabin besides,) it would greatly tend to the proper 
 instruction and morality of the boys ; for it is at 
 the mess that the unlicensed tongue of the elder 
 midshipmen runs too often riots. It is the con- 
 versation of the oldsters which first depraves the 
 youngster, and a more determined separation than 
 has previously existed becomes absolutely requi- 
 site. I am content to allow the subject to have 
 more real difficulties than people unaccustomed to 
 a nautical life can imagine ; and I shall not 
 scruple to say, that "education" has not been 
 made the object it so decidedly deserves to be, 
 by those high functionaries who have taken the 
 Naval College under their direction, and have 
 offered facilities to the rich, which have been nig- 
 gardly denied to the poor.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 243 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The sky is changed ! — and such a change ! O night 
 
 And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong, 
 
 Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light 
 
 Of a dark eye in woman ! — Far along 
 
 From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, 
 
 Leaps the live thunder, — not from one lone cloud, 
 
 But every mountain now has found a tongue. 
 
 Childe Harold. 
 
 The principal object of our cruise was the sup- 
 pression of the Slave Trade ; and at the time I was 
 unfortunate enough to be in the Arethusa, this 
 traffic was at its height. The Americans were 
 the great carriers ; and not unfrequently English 
 ships, under the trans-atlantic flag and with Ame- 
 rican clearances, prowled about the sickly coast,
 
 244 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 to ship the victims of oppression to a foreign 
 shore. 
 
 Some intelligence of slavers having reached us, 
 the Arethusa suddenly put to sea, and proceeded 
 to the islands De Los, between which we sailed ; 
 first running down before the wind, then beating 
 up to windward again — capital exercise for the 
 ship's company, and very amusing, as we had 
 better opportunities of making remarks on the 
 various islands. It was nearly sunset when we 
 discovered an English brig lying near the Factory; 
 and, as we knew our countrymen just as fond 
 of negro slavery as some of those were who 
 now spout the most vehemently against it, we 
 bore up in chase. The wind was fresh, and the 
 ship under a crowd of canvass. We had passed 
 through the passage twice before during the day, 
 and the navigation as laid down in the Admiralty 
 Charts appeared perfectly safe, and free from 
 rocks or shoals. I was standing on one of the 
 forecastle carronade-slides with our unfortunate 
 dominie, who then had become innocently simple, 
 and who ventured to do what a great number of 
 equally foolish people still do — " prophesy forth-
 
 245 
 
 coming events." He declared " that misery was 
 at hand, and that the ungodly should perish." 
 Scarcely had he uttered the words, when the ship 
 struck, and pitched both prophet and author 
 headlong against the bulwark. Dominie yelled, 
 " 'Tis come ! 'tis come !" and ran below. Every 
 man was on deck in a moment. The ship had 
 been running at the rate of eight knots, and the 
 shock was terrific : then was to be seen, fore and 
 aft, countenances expressive of fear and horror ; 
 then came the momentary confusion, which even 
 discipline could not control ; and then the hur- 
 ried order none could obey. The sea which fol- 
 lowed the ship lifted her so as to float for the 
 second, and, roaring past, left us amidships on the 
 rock : she struck this time about two feet abaft 
 the step of the mainmast, which threw that mast 
 so far forward as to leave the stays in bites; 
 when she surged again, the masts flew back to 
 their proper positions with a jerk, which shook 
 the ship fore and aft, and carried away the main- 
 top-gallant-mast. The sea, which had placed us 
 in so uncomfortable a situation, was superseded 
 in kindness by its follower, which lifted us off
 
 246 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 again ; but in the downward surge the rudder 
 came in contact with the rock, and was forced in 
 spite of wood-locks, — being lifted so completely, 
 that the rudder-head came against the underpart 
 of the quarter-deck. This created a different 
 confusion ; for the captain's library, consisting of 
 some six odd volumes, and crowned with a box of 
 plums, which an American captain had bestowed 
 some few days ago, went right and left, some 
 tumbling downward to the rudder-coat, and some 
 jammed against the deck. The captain loudly 
 called out, " to let go the anchor ;" but this was 
 instantly and fortunately countermanded by the 
 first-lieutenant, who wisely remarked, that we 
 should anchor on the shoal, and the land wind 
 would swing us on the rock. The ship was afloat ; 
 and the rudder being useless, the sails were 
 worked as the first-lieutenant, who was a thorough, 
 expert, and practical sailor, directed : the captain, 
 like a good boy, repeated the order ; and we were 
 again free. 
 
 " Sound the well!" It was sounded; and the 
 carpenter reported the ship to have sprung a-leak 
 at the rate of six feet an hour. The chain-pumps
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 247 
 
 were instantly rigged and worked ; a fruitless exa- 
 mination took place below : the water was started, 
 and the ship directed towards the Factory. The 
 hour's hard work we had before we anchored: 
 gave us a very full opportunity of estimating the 
 horrors of severe, continued exertions in a cli- 
 mate like that of the coast of Africa. Few can 
 imagine the hardships men undergo, who, in 
 spite of the general lassitude of warm climates, 
 are constrained to toil, and toil, suffering from 
 thirst and heat, from hunger and unremitted 
 labor : the time was come, and our sufferings 
 had barely commenced. The leak at first was 
 thought to have been overrated ; but when the 
 ship increased her rapidity of motion, the water 
 rushed in greater quantities through the apertures, 
 and we found that it was rather under than 
 over estimated. In the hurry and confusion of 
 our unfortunate situation, we came to an anchor 
 close to the brig, and made a prize of her ; it 
 being quite clear to us that she must have been 
 waiting for slaves, and we were in want of an 
 empty vessel in which we could place our stores. 
 I have endeavoured up to this point to make
 
 248 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 myself as amphibious as possible; the mere evo- 
 lutions of a ship, the interior arrangements, the 
 nautical expressions would soon pall on a lands- 
 man. Even Marry at, who wrote in my opinion 
 the very best naval novel ever penned, " The 
 King's Own," has found it impossible to keep to 
 nautical scenes ; and the " Post Captain," a most 
 excellent specimen of nautical life, has wisely 
 painted the beauty of Cassandra, and made most 
 of the interesting scenes occur on shore. Now 
 I must become a sailor : a wreck, a gale of 
 wind, and a distressed ship must be sung or said 
 in a sailor's jargon. Ours was a night never to be 
 effaced from memory : it gave me an insight into 
 what human labor and human resources could 
 accomplish ; and I might have cruised until this 
 day in the Salsette, and never have seen a night 
 of such horrors and death, of sleepless anxiety, 
 continued labor, and multiplied misfortunes. 
 
 It became a doubt when we anchored, if the 
 ship could be kept afloat during the night ; and 
 had we not received about a hundred blacks from 
 the shore, we must have seen the Arethusa sink 
 under us before the dawn of day. As the sable
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 249 
 
 tribe could turn a winch as well as an able sea- 
 man, the whole of the reinforcement were placed 
 at the pumps, while our own crew were divided 
 into different lots : some were sent to bring the brig 
 alongside ; some furled the sails, and sent the 
 top-gallant-mast on deck ; others were making 
 preparations for getting the guns and provisions 
 out ; some hoisted out the boats on the booms ; 
 whilst others prepared for disembarking the 
 powder. 
 
 The ship was in fair discipline enough : the 
 first-lieutenant was worth his weight in gold, 
 having been one of those unfortunate duly-appre- 
 ciated men, whom the Admiralty consider they lose 
 as good first-lieutenants, when they promote them 
 to commanders. The other officers were active, en- 
 terprising men, and the ship's company excellent ; 
 otherwise our fate would have been different ; for 
 much I doubt the talent and ability of our cap- 
 tain to have commanded, and solely directed on 
 this occasion : he seemed to know his own in- 
 sufficiency, and became a very good echo of his in- 
 ferior officer's orders — a kind of speaking-trumpet 
 in the first-lieutenant's hands. Misfortunes never 
 come alone.
 
 250 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 We were progressing fairly in our work, when 
 an enemy in the shape of the elements began to 
 appear. It was a beautiful starlight night, the 
 moon shone brilliantly, the wind was gentle, and 
 the sea as smooth as a duck-pond : about ten 
 o'clock, a small black speck in the east soon ex- 
 tended itself into an awful thunder-cloud ; it 
 seemed an instant only, and the whole horizon 
 
 was darkened — " The sky was changed ; and such 
 
 • 
 a change!" The brightness of the night had 
 
 passed away like a dream, and a tornado was 
 about to supply its place. We knew not the force 
 of the foe ; but the cheering cry of — " Bear a hand, 
 lads, before the squall comes !" indicated too cer- 
 tainly the presages of the officer's mind. It fell 
 to my lot to be ordered to land the powder in the 
 yawl, having as few hands only as were absolutely 
 requisite for the labor required. My orders were 
 to place it in an empty house which the crew of 
 the brig had inhabited ; and seeing that the dark- 
 ening cloud increased apace, and was rapidly 
 approaching, I was anxious to get clear of my 
 charge, or, at any rate, to reach the shore before 
 the squall burst. We had not a hundred yards to 
 go, and scarcely had we " shoved off," when the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 251 
 
 forked lightning began to show itself in quick and 
 vivid flashes, while the loud roar of the thunder 
 increased in thunder as it neared the ship. We 
 had a tarpaulin in the boat to cover the powder- 
 barrels; but this was no security against the 
 lightning. The boat appeared not to move. i\ T o 
 sooner did I look with eager eye to the shore, 
 than an anxious glance was cast at the coming 
 enemy ; then would I double bank an oar, and 
 pull and tug with all my strength, whilst I cheered 
 my little crew to an additional exertion. We 
 landed the very moment the storm burst. Hea- 
 vens ! — no poetical imagination could convey the 
 hurried and varied feelings of that moment ! To 
 secure the boat was our first endeavour, which we 
 effected by placing her firmly on the beach, and 
 taking the painter to a neighbouring log. The 
 trees groaned as the whirlwind whistled through 
 the long branches ; and the rain fell, or rather 
 came from the clouds, with the force of water 
 ejected from a fire-engine. The long cocoa-nut 
 bent like a bow its branchless trunk, surging about 
 its leafy head in the storm ; and the lightning, 
 which flashed around us in horribly quick succes-
 
 252 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 sion, only showed us the wreck of ruin which sur- 
 rounded us, leaving us in tenfold darkness. The 
 ship, which we saw through the momentary flame 
 of fire, appeared a mass of ropes ; the yards were 
 hanging in different directions ; the fierce wind 
 swung her about with the ease that a cradle is 
 moved ; and the flash, which showed her broadside 
 on, would be succeeded in the moment by another 
 which showed her bow to the shore. The instant 
 lull, before the loud wind and hoarse roaring of the 
 elements resumed their fury, only bore upon its 
 wings the confusion on board the ship and the 
 brig ; and the succeeding flash exhibited its own 
 power, as it rent the main-topmast from top to 
 bottom : a prolonged existence of a moment's 
 light showed us the fishes of the mainmast rent 
 from their iron fastenings. The time elapsed since 
 the commencement of the squall was about ten 
 minutes, when a calm, as tranquil as an infant's 
 sleep, succeeded the storm. The sky assumed its 
 former serenity, the moon and stars again shone, 
 and few could imagine, who had not witnessed a 
 hurricane, the desolation and ruin of an African 
 tornado. We imagined our miseries at an end,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 253 
 
 and cheerfully resumed our labors. Delusive 
 hope ! for soon, too soon we found the evil had 
 but commenced, and that Fortune, already unkind, 
 only smiled for the moment, to make her frown 
 more severely felt. In the mean time we availed 
 ourselves of the calm. The negroes still worked 
 at the pump, and our nautical term of " Spell oh !" 
 gave way to some elegant word in the black voca- 
 bulary. A party of hands were employed to 
 thrumb a sail — a process by which canvass is con- 
 verted into a mat ; and this was intended to be 
 hauled under the ship's bottom to stop the leak, 
 or at any rate to be so far sucked up into the 
 holes, as to block up in some degree the unwel- 
 come apertures. The quarter-deck guns were 
 transferred to the brig ; the ship was made a little 
 more snug aloft, and the launch despatched with 
 ten men and a lieutenant to Sierra Leone, to desire 
 the attendance of any man-of-war there, and to 
 urge them to use all possible dispatch in coming 
 to our assistance. The powder was safely landed, 
 and we returned to the ship as wet and as tired 
 as rain and labor could make us. Every man in 
 the ship was turned to some use; the servants
 
 254 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 were taken from the lieutenants and midshipmen, 
 and all on board put their shoulders to the wheel 
 in good earnest. 
 
 Our men worked hard, and in silence ; but the 
 blacks sung some of their outlandish songs, as they 
 labored at the pumps and kept the winches at a 
 rapid rotatory movement. This singing soon gave 
 way to fatigue ; and from their surly looks and 
 sulky dispositions we argued no very flattering 
 degree of obedience, if they were at all oppressed 
 by labor. Every thing was going on favorably ; the 
 different requisite works were progressing towards 
 a termination, and we anticipated some hours' 
 sleep, notwithstanding our misfortune. 
 
 At one o'clock in the morning, another black 
 cloud showed its head above the horizon, and soon 
 spread its sable wings over the whole sky. We 
 knew what was coming fast enough : the other 
 bower and sheet anchor were let go, the ropes all 
 properly belayed, for nothing can impede work 
 more than wet ropes eternally dabbing in one's face. 
 The main-topmast, or rather its wreck, had been 
 struck, and the fishes of the mainmast removed ; 
 the quarter-deck guns had been hoisted into the
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 255 
 
 brig, and we had done prodigies in the way of 
 labor. The instant the squall was observed, the 
 brig was cast off, towed some small distance, and 
 well secured, as far as anchors could secure her ; 
 and we were soon prepared for the coming squall. 
 It came howling and whistling in all the fury of 
 the former one, accompanied by the rain, the 
 thunder, and the lightning ; the wind moaned 
 through the rigging, coming from all quarters at 
 once, and heeling the ship, first on one side, then 
 the other, like boys on a see-saw. The blacks, 
 who seem rather partial to a squall on shore, 
 began to manifest considerable uneasiness when 
 they heard the unusual roar of strange sounds ; 
 and it was with some difficulty and gentle vio- 
 lence that they were made to continue their work. 
 They toiled sullenly and silently, until a flash of 
 lightning struck the ship, and ran along the decks. 
 This fatal flash left three men dead at the pumps : 
 the blacks hid their faces in their hands, and threw 
 themselves on the deck, roaring and howling as 
 dismally as the wind, creating a confusion quite 
 beyond description. A report that the lightning 
 had gone through the ship below occasioned an
 
 256 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 instant search : the monotonous sound of the wa- 
 ter, as it bubbled through the leak forward, was 
 audible enough ; but we could not trace any 
 further damage, or discover any other mischief. 
 During this interval the leak gained upon us, for 
 the blacks disregarded all threats of punishment, 
 or all promises of reward : the removal of the 
 dead operated like a charm ; it is quite " out of 
 sight, out of mind" in Africa ; so the blacks forgot 
 the danger in the removal of their friends, and 
 went to work again. Our men were kept at work as 
 many as possible on the sail, and the rest were 
 sent to their hammocks to steal a few hours' sleep, 
 for we had plenty to do, without intermission, for 
 at least a week. The squall passed over us, and 
 left us the same calm and beautiful night which 
 had preceded its coming. Day dawned, and 
 what a sight presented itself! No longer the dash- 
 ing Arethusa, in all the trim neatness of a well- 
 ordered ship ! No longer the tall mast and the 
 squared yard, the tight rope, and the man-of- 
 war's appearance. She was as much altered in 
 one night, as the face of a beauty after an attack 
 of small-pox. A wreck — a palpable wreck ; the
 
 THE LIFE OP A SAILOE. 257 
 
 crew jaded and fatigued ; the blacks nearly- 
 exhausted; the rigging more like a Russian 
 frigate's under repair, than the boasted neat- 
 ness of an English man-of-war ; around us a scene 
 of desolation and destruction, without a prospect 
 of further assistance ; and with an African sun 
 rising, to scorch us into sickness and fever. From 
 the shore, the ship's appearance was by no means 
 flattering. The mainmast was standing; but 
 here and there were pieces rent by the lightning : 
 the long fish in front of the mast was lying in the 
 booms, with its end on the quarter-deck. It was 
 a sight to humiliate any pride, such as Nelson felt 
 when his fleet was dispersed in a gale. One night 
 had reduced us from the most powerful adversary ^ 
 the French had on that coast, to the level of the most 
 insignificant cruiser. Alas ! our sufferings were 
 but begun, for hitherto the rain had kept us cool ; 
 but heat and thirst, and sickness and fever were 
 yet to follow up the disaster; and there is no 
 calamity like a hot sun and a parched throat 
 when fatigue and indisposition are to be endured. 
 It was useless prognosticating misfortunes ; it 
 was the business of men and officers to remedy
 
 258 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 what had befallen us. The sail was completed and 
 placed under the bottom, and it afforded no small 
 gratification to find it answered its purpose effec- 
 tually : it so far relieved the men, that the hand- 
 pumps kept her free, and we got rid of a great 
 part of our black assistance : had they not been 
 on board, the Arethusa would have sunk. The 
 ship was set to rights aloft, and soon assumed a 
 creditable appearance : preparations were made 
 to reimbark the powder and the guns ; and that 
 evening would have seen us a formidable foe. 
 The quarter-deck was scuttled abaft; and, after 
 using all kinds of ingenious methods, the rudder was 
 forced down in its proper place ; but both pintles 
 and gudgeons being strained, it moved with con- 
 siderable stiffness. However, there it was, and 
 we could steer by it, without the eternal shivering 
 of the mizen- topsail, or hauling out the driver 
 to keep the ship's head the right way. It was 
 deemed advisable to have the frigate as light as 
 possible ; for which reason a part of the guns, 
 and most of the provisions, with stores, &c, were 
 kept on board the brig. It was proposed to re- 
 move the main-deck guns ; but this met with
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 259 
 
 vigorous opposition, for there was a French fri- 
 gate on the coast ; and not long before our arrival, 
 our predecessor, the Amelia, had discovered that 
 it was not every English frigate which could make a 
 sure prize of a French ship of equal force, although 
 she was supposed to be half laden with gold-dust. 
 I do not make this remark to throw the least pos- 
 sible blame upon the Amelia ; unfortunately, Cap- 
 tain Irby and all his officers were wounded early 
 in the day, and we know how often the loss of 
 rulers damps the ardor of the men, as well as 
 deprives them of the advantage of superior sea- 
 manship. I mention it, because it was a caution 
 to us not to be too headstrong, and we were 
 willing to profit by example. 
 
 I must now beg leave to introduce myself to my 
 readers no longer as a good curly-headed midship- 
 man, " pride in my look, defiance in my eye," 
 strutting the quarter-deck with the proper official 
 step, repeating the commands of my superior, 
 or hastily answering, " Ay, ay, sir ;" but as a 
 midshipman's boy, — the servant of the mess, the 
 drudge of all drudges. Life is full of strange 
 vicissitudes; and a man who goes down the stream,
 
 260 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 always escaping the shoals and rocks of misfor- 
 tune, has only read the title-page of a great 
 work, the leaves of which) are as chequered as a 
 chess-board. Happiness is quite by comparison ; 
 no one knows real happiness who has not met 
 with untoward occurrences. Thank God, I have 
 learnt to be contented ! 
 
 It became necessary that some one should do 
 the dirty work, and look after the eating depart- 
 ment of our mess ; our servant was better em- 
 ployed about assisting at other more important 
 work than feeding youngsters. The lot first fell 
 upon the captain's son; who, although a very 
 nice lad, was by no means likely to come into 
 our views with his father within hail ; besides, as 
 it was, he was a parlour-boarder, and therefore, 
 in some degree, independent of us. The captain's 
 nephew came next ; but he was a weak plant, and 
 not fit to stem the current of adversity ; besides, 
 he had been ordered to dine every day in the 
 cabin, which was a much greater calamity than 
 any we could inflict ; so that we were contented 
 to leave him to his burgoo and his pride, whilst 
 I was installed in all the honors of the situation.
 
 THK LIFE OF A SAILOR. 261 
 
 I am quite of Lord Byron's opinion, in Don Juan, 
 that knowledge is gained by such occurrences, 
 and then 
 
 We know what slavery is, and our disasters 
 May teach us better to behave when masters : 
 
 but true it is, beyond all contradiction, that there 
 is no tyrant like an emancipated slave. The kicks, 
 cuffs, and curses so roughly and so frequently 
 bestowed upon me, have made me cautious, from 
 the experience of my own feeling, of inflicting 
 them upon others. I found, I must confess, that 
 every sentence of Solomon's is not always correct — 
 " A mild answer turneth away wrath" for in- 
 stance. My first essay at cooking (for every man 
 can make tea who can boil a kettle, although on 
 this point there is a difference of opinion, for Sir 
 H. Davy put the tea in after the water, in defiance 
 of two hundred years' experience,) was a beef- 
 steak pie ; for while we remained near the island, 
 we occasionally stumbled upon an unhappy 
 bullock; a jumble of pepper and salt junk made 
 the dish palatable enough ; of which I had the 
 strongest evidence, as my masters, I believe I had
 
 262 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 ten, did not leave one morsel for their cook, 
 and seemed disposed to rob me of a small portion 
 of the skin of some pork, with as many bristles 
 thereon as could be found in a scrubbing-brush, 
 and which did not belong to them but to the 
 boatswain. "Water 1 ." was the universal cry; 
 but we were on short allowance of that ; for, when 
 the ship struck, that was started, and what was 
 left was used sparingly : we had no men for extra 
 work. My next specimen was in the shape of a 
 mouse-pie ; the tails of the little animals were 
 collected like pigeons' feet : I was cuffed for that. 
 No man living could tell the difference between a 
 mouse and a sparrow-pie blind-folded, and the 
 quadrupeds cur-tailed. My occupations in the 
 berth were no excuse for not keeping watch ; and 
 I can safely aver, that no dog who draws a 
 butcher's barrow had more to do, less to eat, 
 and greater temptation, than I had. The heat of 
 the sun had one good effect, it almost entirely 
 deprived us of appetite ; and we were on short 
 allowance enough. In a week the squadron ar- 
 rived, consisting of the Meteor, the Tiger, and a 
 schooner : under their escort we weighed anchor,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 263 
 
 and put to sea, shaping a course for Sierra Leone. 
 A detail of the sufferings of the boat's crew of the 
 launch would make a man's hair stand an end 
 for a fortnight ; they returned to us as the crew 
 of a Charon boat of spectres, mere ghost resur- 
 rections of bones. 
 
 On getting to sea we found the sail answered 
 very well ; it had so far sucked into the leaks, that 
 the additional assistance of the chain-pumps, twice 
 a day, kept her free : the ship progressed but 
 slowly, and her wake was as ragged as a splinter. 
 We arrived in safety at Sierra Leone, and came 
 to an anchor off that sink of human wretchedness, 
 misnamed a town. The beautiful fragrance of 
 the limes, on entering the river, with the delightful 
 verdure of the shore, cruelly deceived us as to 
 the painful reality we had such ample time to 
 experience. The wooden huts were distributed 
 in careless irregularity, and the church was not 
 discernible by any outside show : it was a picture 
 of misery, poverty, and meanness; there was no 
 cheering sight, no bustle, no activity ; all seemed 
 wretched, naked, and disgusting. Guavas and 
 yams, plantains and limes, could be procured in
 
 264 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 abundance ; and, with the exception of some mi- 
 serable spruce-beer, pine-apples, and oranges, little 
 else could be procured. On the right of the 
 town was a wood and a swamp ; on the left the 
 low bank of the river is frequently overflowed, 
 and a swamp was inevitable ; and behind these 
 splendid structures for human habitation was a 
 swamp : day and night mosquitoes buzzed with 
 their ceaseless buzz, excepting when they rested 
 to bite their victim. The alligators appeared the 
 lords of the deep, and floated carelessly, some- 
 times within a boat-hook's length of the ship, 
 showing their flat heads and scaly backs, which 
 defied a musket-ball ; or when annoyed by the 
 noise, merely sunk tail foremost, to rise at a more 
 respectful distance : the sharks disputed the right 
 to swallow the unfortunate fellow who trusted 
 himself within their element, and added to the 
 comfortable reflection, that starvation and sickness 
 attended us on shore, and death was lurking in 
 the water, if the heated wretch dared to cool 
 himself, or drink by absorption. I have seen 
 many — many places in my life ; I have been east 
 and west, north and south, ascended mountains,
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 265 
 
 and dived in mines ; but I never knew, nor ever 
 heard mention of so villanous, sickly, and mi- 
 serable an abode as Sierra Leone. The only harm 
 1 wish those who have induced government to 
 father the colony, and be blind to the dirty job 
 is, that they may be condemned to reside there 
 six months even now ! — with all the comforts the 
 splendid town may possess, and in full enjoy- 
 ment of all the sylvan sports and rural shades 
 which nature affords, or art has made. 
 
 Our Sunday walks were quite sufficient to 
 make us acquainted with all the luxuries and ele- 
 gances of this delightful retreat. We were not 
 deficient in amusement : scenes like the following 
 often occurred. A tall black, with nothing in 
 the world on but a cocked-hat, would strut by 
 us ; and now and then a sable dandy, with a long- 
 tailed coat, but deficient in every other part of 
 dress, would stand in naked pride for our ad- 
 miration. The women exhibited in natural nudity 
 all their glowing charms, and some of the younger 
 of these were beautifully formed ; but Love never 
 could nestle on the thick black lips of an African 
 niggar. Some gentleman painted the southern 
 vol. I. M
 
 266 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 wall of his garden black, to retain the heat and 
 ripen his fruit early in the season ; perhaps it is 
 the colour and the sun which places a girl of 
 twelve years old at Sierra Leone in so ripe a 
 point of view. Saving their faces, the best re- 
 semblance to which is, in their imitative compa- 
 nions of the woods, the monkeys, the young ladies 
 of Sierra Leone might rival the finest figures of 
 European manufacture. In purchasing one of 
 these animals, you did not buy a pig in a poke ; 
 you saw your bargain as bare as Eve, and conse- 
 quently could not be taken in like the Chinese 
 who buys a wife he has never seen, and finds, 
 instead of a houri of seventeen, a tigress of forty. 
 The rain fell in torrents, succeeded by a sun 
 burning one's skin : in short, I know not where 
 the devil walks — but his direction, or poste re- 
 stante, is at Sierra Leone.
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 267 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Hark, he answers — with tornados 
 
 Strewing yonder sea with wrecks. 
 Wasting towns, plantations, meadows, 
 
 Is the voice with which he speaks. 
 
 Cowpeb. 
 
 It is needless to say one word about the climate 
 of the coast of Africa : we have been taught to 
 regard it as the worst under the sun, and certainly 
 I for one am not going to gainsay it. "Society, 
 friendship, and love," resided not in Sierra Leone ; 
 the few commission merchants who were sent out 
 to die, or to turn a dollar, could hardly constitute 
 society. No men are more bitter enemies than 
 rival houses of the mercantile world ; and love, 
 with all its soft enchantments, heightened by edu-
 
 268 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 cation and warmed by affection, can hardly be 
 found in an unlettered, barbarous, naked negress. 
 
 In this climate, and surrounded by such people, 
 we had to repair the Arethusa. To heave her down 
 was impossible, we had not the requisite materials, 
 neither was there a place eligible for such an un- 
 dertaking. To have attempted to reach the West 
 Indies would have been madness, for although we 
 were sure of a fair wind the whole way, yet we 
 were not secured against a likely accident, such as 
 the sail wearing away, the leak returning in all its 
 force, the rudder failing us, or the mainmast walk- 
 ing over the side. Either of these very probable 
 circumstances would have rendered the attempt 
 extremely hazardous. 
 
 On the right of the city of Sierra Leone there 
 is a bay called St. George's Bay, and here the rise 
 and fall of water in spring-tides amounts to four- 
 teen or fifteen feet. This place was fixed upon 
 to run the ship on shore in, and, after shoring her 
 up, to see what repairs could be accomplished. 
 We were ignorant of the situation of the greatest 
 leak ; the one forward bubbled loudly, so did the 
 one near the mainmast ; but as to the extent of
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 269 
 
 either we were quite in the dark. The toil and 
 the labor of clearing the ship was partly borne by 
 the crew of the Meteor ; but the fatigue was im- 
 mense, owing to the burning heat of the sun, in 
 the glare of which, unprotected by any shade, the 
 whole work was to be accomplished. When the 
 ship was cleared of all but a very little ballast, 
 and with only the lower masts and yards standing, 
 we warped her to the St. George's Bay, and, at 
 the highest of the tide, ran her on shore, and se- 
 cured her in an erect position by numerous spars. 
 Two anchors had been laid out astern, in order to 
 heave her off again when the repairs should be 
 finished ; hawsers were run out to some trees, for 
 fear we should float again (a very useless pre- 
 caution) ; and the ebb of the tide left the Are- 
 thusa high and dry as far aft as the step of the 
 mainmast. It was a veiy queer sight to see a 
 large frigate in such a position; but we had 
 nothing for it but the attempt. When the water 
 was at its lowest, to walk forward from the quar- 
 ter-deck was some exertion, — it was walking up a 
 steep hill ; and returning was proportionably easy. 
 The forefoot was entirely gone, and the car-
 
 270 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 penters set to work to make another : there was 
 plenty of wood to be had. We found a very 
 respectable hole in the starboard-bow; and a 
 black diver, who appeared as much at home as an 
 alligator in the water, and who swore he would 
 face one, scales and all, for two gilt buttons or a 
 cocked-hat, made honorable mention of a very 
 large aperture a little abaft the mainmast. The 
 two first leaks we repaired in the most satisfactory 
 manner : the forefoot was made on shore by our 
 men, over which we placed a sentinel every night. 
 When the dew of the evening began to fall, we 
 carefully kept our crew on board ; a man subject 
 to the rays of the moon and the night-damp air, 
 after the burning heat of the day, was almost sure 
 of a fever. The moon, both here and in the West 
 Indies, is more powerful than the sun : meat hung 
 in the rays of the former becomes tainted sooner 
 than if exposed to the latter. It was strange that, 
 two mornings running, we found the sentinel 
 dead, without the smallest appearance of bodily 
 injury. It then occurred to our rulers that a guard 
 was perfectly useless ; for the blacks would never 
 think of eating the forefoot, and they could not
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 271 
 
 extract the iron without making a considerable 
 noise ; and as the article itself lay right under the 
 bowsprit, the sentinel on the forecastle could 
 watch it as well as the man on shore. Wisely, 
 our crew, notwithstanding the uneasy position of 
 our vessel, were not removed, for the fever had 
 begun to show itself; and the quiet of the ship 
 tended much to alleviate it. One day, when the 
 crew were at dinner, a sudden crash was heard, 
 and the ship, then nearly high and dry, gave a 
 sudden heel to port. It required no boatswain's 
 whistle to turn the hands up, for in a moment 
 every man was on deck, anticipating, from the 
 sudden heel, that the ship would fall on her bilge. 
 One shore had more weight than its neighbours, 
 and snapped under its load : it was replaced by 
 another in a shorter period of time than a man 
 unaccustomed to see what human labor can per- 
 form could credit. When the tide rose, we rec- 
 tified the difference of weight, and once more had 
 the ship upright. Before the spring tides re- 
 turned all the repairs were finished. Some da- 
 mages we could not reach, and therefore could 
 not touch. We watched with impatience for the
 
 272 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 rising of the tide the day previous to the highest 
 flow of water ; and on that evening prepared to 
 launch the ship. We had lashed, at low water, a 
 block to the cable, through which we rove a haw- 
 ser : the hawser was brought to the capstan, and 
 at nine o'clock at night we commenced operation. 
 In vain we rallied the men. In vain the lieutenant 
 cried, " Heave together, my lads — one heave more 
 and she 's afloat." That heave carried away the 
 hawser, without starting the ship an inch. Fear- 
 ful that it might unreave, ,,and willing again to try 
 another effort before we gave up the business in 
 despair, we despatched a black diver to find the 
 end. He was down an unusually long time, when 
 one of the crew, who swore he would rather be 
 swallowed by the sharks than remain another 
 month in such a hole, jumped overboard on the 
 same errand as the black. 
 
 It so happened that the last man grazed against 
 the first, who, seeing beneath him something white, 
 concluded it was a shark's white belly; for, owing 
 to the situation of a shark's mouth, the voracious 
 fish is obliged to turn nearly on its back before it 
 can seize its prey. Up came blackee, trembling
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 273 
 
 like an aspen-leaf, spluttering out water, and a 
 cry for assistance together. He was instantly- 
 handed into the boat : our man was not a second 
 behind him, having, as he declared, run against 
 an alligator ; and being perfectly convinced he 
 had been rescued from destruction by the inter- 
 position of divine help, nothing in the world 
 could persuade him to risk his life again, or even 
 to put his feet overboard. Equally fruitless was 
 persuasion on the black man; he was offered 
 cocked-hats for himself and family, with buttons 
 enough to make his wife a necklace, — all to no 
 purpose; he declared that he felt the shark's jaw 
 graze against his legs; and there sat in mute 
 astonishment and fear both shark and alligator, — 
 the one white and damp, the other black, and as 
 dry as a duck, the water running off his oily skin 
 like drops from a sword blade. With desponding 
 hearts the crew retired to rest. If we failed the 
 next night, we had another month's horror before 
 us, and then the chances were more against us ; the 
 longer we remained, the more the bed of sand, 
 formed round the ship, would accumulate, and 
 consequently the greater difficulty we should ex-
 
 274 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 perience in heaving her through it. In vain all 
 hands endeavoured, before they quitted the cap- 
 stan, to make the black understand the truth, and 
 to believe it. The time was gone, the water 
 ebbed, and we were left, as usual, a hulk high and 
 dry at the fall : at low water we spliced the haw- 
 ser again, and added another purchase. The 
 next night the very first heave launched us, and 
 we floated away to the anchorage with light hearts 
 and cheerful countenances. All hands were eager 
 to leave the cursed hole ; and the knowledge that 
 we were to return to England gave additional 
 enterprise to the men; the stores were soon shipped, 
 the guns, powder, and spars on board, the water 
 completed, the ship a-taunto, and the Arethusa 
 as warlike and as neat as before the accident. So 
 well had the carpenters repaired the ship, that one 
 hand-pump kept her free the whole way home. 
 Every preparation being completed, and having 
 buried the second-lieutenant and some few of the 
 sailors, and persuaded some blacks to volunteer 
 for free labor, we left that confounded sink of 
 human life — that hell upon earth, and once more 
 found ourselves at sea. Our prize was condemned
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 275 
 
 to us, and left behind to be sold, or ransomed, I 
 forget which. We had as much legal claim to her 
 as England had a few years since to the kingdom 
 of France. 
 
 We were departing exactly at the right time, for 
 the tornado season had commenced : we had the 
 benefit of one of these gales every morning at 
 nine o'clock, as regularly as the day came. As 
 the hour advanced, the sky began to lower, then 
 came a small but darker cloud than the rest, to 
 announce the arrival of the wind. We heard it 
 long before it reached us ; and there would some- 
 times be a fresh breeze at the mast-head, while 
 the water was as calm as death. We were 
 always well prepared, as we furled sails directly 
 the clouds began to gather, and, making the ship 
 snug aloft, patiently awaited the wind and the 
 rain. On they came, howling and whistling, 
 creating little whirlwinds, and raising a mist from 
 the waters as thick as a London fog. The sea 
 was white with foam, and the spray blew over 
 the reeling frigate. No seamanship was of any 
 avail ; we generally kept up the forestay-sail, 
 leaving the vessel to pay off before the wind, to
 
 276 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 which position she would no sooner get, than the 
 wind would suddenly shift, and round she would 
 come again. In about a quarter of an hour it 
 would settle into a hard and regular gale ; the 
 sea would soon begin to run high ; and, in about 
 two hours, the squall, the rain, the gale would 
 have passed, the sea comparatively tranquil, the 
 hands turned up to make sail, and the Arethusa 
 on her way to the Western Islands. Such is a 
 tornado : the terrific violence of the first unsettled 
 gust is beyond all description ; trees are torn up 
 by the roots, houses (if there are any) are un- 
 roofed ; in short, desolation is in high force, and 
 ruin inevitable. It is an awfully grand moment, 
 in which the veteran is sometimes a coward, 
 and the hardy villain a trembling suppliant. It is 
 in the fierce tornado, or unrestrained hurricane, 
 in the midst of the roar of the elements, when the 
 thunder rattles over the head, the lightning flashes 
 in the eye, the wind howls, and the rain pours, 
 that man — proud man, may find some humiliation, 
 and know his own insignificance ; it is then that 
 the richest is impoverished in a second, without 
 the assistance of a villain, and the poor left house-
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 277 
 
 less and homeless, to wandering vagrancy or hasty 
 starvation. Bear witness, Barbadoes ! — A man 
 who has only seen the squalls of this country, 
 which now and then actually blow down a chimney- 
 pot, or conveys the London dust with more than 
 usual rapidity, can form no more idea of the feel- 
 ings of those who face a hurricane, than a plough- 
 boy can imagine the sea. There are thoughts — 
 thoughts unknown to the bustler of a town — which 
 steal over the mind in solitude, when, left at sunset 
 on some high mountain, the traveller, in the calm 
 evening, views the silent scene around him. I 
 can only describe the feelings in a tornado as ex- 
 actly the reverse of those : one is a calm view of 
 the greatness and mercy of God; the other, a 
 fearful hurried knowledge of his power and 
 vengeance ; — one, an idea of tranquil grandeur 
 and eternal content ; the other, noisy desolation 
 and immediate death. 
 
 I had been relieved from my dignified situa- 
 tion of midshipman's boy, and was every inch an 
 officer again. Well did that convince me, that no 
 man knows the value of happiness who had not 
 been in adversity, any more than a man can duly 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 278 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 appreciate the blessings of fortune, who has not felt 
 the rude gripe of poverty and distress. I returned 
 only to make a more desperate leap ; for, being 
 half- starved, and consequently ungenteelly vora- 
 cious, two other midshipmen and myself placed our- 
 selves by the ladder which leads from the half-deck 
 to the steerage, which is a descent from light to 
 immediate darkness. When the captain's steward 
 was cautiously descending with a dish of unusual 
 tripe in one hand, and salt beef in the other, we 
 took the liberty of dipping our paws into both, 
 and walking off with our seizure to the boatswain's 
 cabin, where we began a rapid mastication. The 
 steward, on arriving in his berth, discovered the 
 theft, and, as the scent was strong, he soon found 
 the covey. We did not attempt to conceal the 
 business. The steward knew it was impossible for 
 him to frame a sufficient excuse, and therefore 
 mentioned the affair to his master. Good God ! 
 the captain's tripe to be pilfered ! the savoury 
 morsel, hoarded with care and cooked with nig- 
 gard measurement of appetites ! What ! when he 
 had over-calculated the hunger of himself and 
 others — when what was left was an unexpected
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 279 
 
 treasure — could he pardon the violators of the 
 eighth commandment, or forgive the ungentle- 
 manly act of resorting to pilfer, merely to stuff a 
 moment's hunger ! Not a bit of it. There was 
 no more generosity in that man's mind than in his 
 pocket : he was as niggard of charitable feelings 
 as he was of tripe ; and, instead of compassion- 
 ating the hunger which prompted gentlemen's 
 sons (if not gentlemen themselves) to have re- 
 course to such a method of obtaining food, we 
 were publicly called on the quarter-deck, dis- 
 rated, and put before the mast. I was made over 
 to the captain of the main-top to do my duty as 
 a common sailor : one of the others had the fore- 
 top for the field of his ambition ; and, as I had 
 been placed in the larboard watch, the third be- 
 came my top-mate, and figured as a pendant in 
 the starbolings. The uniform was placed in the 
 chest, and a round jacket came into play. I was 
 instantly sent to my station ; and from that hour 
 to my arrival in the Western Islands, I answered 
 my call with the men, did my duty aloft, learnt 
 to knot, splice, hand-reef, and steer ; sing a jolly 
 song, laugh at vindictive malice, hate oppres-
 
 280 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 sion, compassionate misfortune, and sleep in the 
 royal or top-gallant studding-sail, as quietly 
 and as composedly as the most virtuous lady in 
 the softest of beds. 
 
 Sailors have hearts, and feeling hearts too. I 
 soon found my new acquaintances possessing a 
 good proportion of Christian feeling. No one 
 dared insult me : the captain of the top placed 
 the shield of a strong arm over me, and only once 
 was I at all made sensible of my degradation so 
 as to hurt my feelings. It was one night in 
 taking in the royals, which we set flying. I was 
 in the top, and owing to a want of strength, not 
 of inclination, the sail did not come down so 
 expeditiously as it ought to have done : for this 
 the man aloft had his grog stopped : he vented 
 his spleen upon me in copious abuse, and ulti- 
 mately struck me. The captain of the top found 
 me in tears, and began to cheer me up. " Never 
 mind, my boy !" said he, "no ship goes a long 
 voyage without a chap of the wind, and you '11 
 veer away to a snug mooring when we get into 
 harbour." I told him what had occurred ; he 
 gave one most scientific seaman's curse, jumped
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 281 
 
 at the sailor, knocked him down, and, together 
 with the rest of the topmen, they kicked, and 
 thrashed him most unmercifully ; and, after that, 
 they contrived that I was never left alone with my 
 enemy. 
 
 I was duly re-instated to all my honors on our 
 arrival at the Western Islands, when I was told by 
 my old friends, " that I must clap on my toggery, 
 and ship my quarter-deck face ;" which I confess 
 was by no means disagreeable news, or sluggishly 
 performed. 
 
 The disrating,* or punishing a midshipman after 
 the above manner, is quite obliterated in the 
 navy, and very properly. It is hard to hurl a 
 person from his station in life, which birth has 
 given him ; and it is a punishment no one man has 
 a right to inflict. Dishonorable conduct is pu- 
 nished by society at large ; and, officially, neglect 
 of duty, or violation of the law, meets its proper 
 
 * Since the Peace, the following Order has been issued: "No 
 captain shall discharge or disrate an)- mate, or midshipman, or first- 
 class boy, without an order from their lordships, on a home station; 
 or, if the ship be on a foreign station, without the order of the com- 
 mander-in-*chief, who is to report the case and cause of the dis- 
 charge, or disrating, for their lordships' information."
 
 282 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 
 
 penalty ; but this penalty ought never to be of 
 that description which is likely to ruin the mind 
 as well as the health of the guilty. We all know 
 how apt boys are to imitate men : now a strict 
 imitation of a sailor's conversation and mode of 
 life would be very amusing perhaps, but very 
 disgusting in good society. Luckily, nature inter- 
 fered in my behalf ; the first piece of tobacco put 
 in my mouth, in humble imitation of a main-top- 
 man's quid, made me sick for a week, and quite 
 cured me of that propensity. My vocabulary 
 was certainly increased ; my naval anecdotes em- 
 bellished ; and had I been very anxious of the 
 honor, I might have profited so much as to have 
 become the greatest blackguard in the navy. No 
 longer now can a captain flog a midshipman ; 
 neither can he disrate him without the sanction 
 of the Admiralty, or order of his admiral. Mast- 
 heading is almost worn out ; and the watch-and- 
 watch system dies daily. The first-lieutenant 
 must invent some new punishment, for punish- 
 ment there must be, or the midshipmen will not 
 be worth a straw. 
 
 We arrived safe and sound in Plymouth : it
 
 THE LIFE OF A SAILOR. 283 
 
 blew a hard gale when we anchored, and the 
 plea of that and the leak was sufficient to war- 
 rant our anchorage in that port. Ships from 
 foreign stations always were ordered to Ports- 
 mouth, and Plymouth was reserved for the Chan- 
 nel fleet. I wrote a hasty dispatch, requesting to 
 be removed from my dashing frigate ; and by re- 
 turn of post an order arrived for my removal into 
 the Menelaus, then under the command of Peter 
 Parker. It was a custom of the Venetians to 
 write down an injury received, and there to retain 
 it until it was revenged and cancelled. In my 
 mind I have religiously treasured up the injury 
 done to my feelings by that tyrannical injustice in 
 being disrated, Now, with the publicity of the 
 event, and this means of revenge, I erase it from 
 my memory, and write down with Loredano, — 
 " Vha pagata "— 
 
 A long and just one — Nature's debt and mine. 
 END OF VOL. I.
 
 PEINTLD BY A. .1. VAl.J'Y, RID I.ION COURT, FLEET STKELT.
 
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