^ NIGHTS IN THE GALLEY. 



can't make up my mind to leave them ; so, lads/ says he, ( I shall 

 just go home in this here craft as is a-coming up, and take my chance ; 

 I dare say I shall be able to get into the country and pick up a 

 living where I am not known, and die in old England.' Well, so all 

 the men tried to persuade him not to go, ' for,' says they, f you are 

 sure to be found out, and you shall have command of this ship as 

 long as you like ;' but it would not do, he was determined to go 

 home, 'cause, as he told my father, he could not bear the thought of 

 never seeing old England again. It happened luckily one of the men 

 was able to speak Spanish, so they dressed him out as flashy as a new- 

 made luff, and sent him on board the merchant ship with my uncle 

 as interpreter, and told them it was a Spanish frigate, and asked tKem 

 if they would give my uncle a passage to England, they said they 

 would ; so he returned on beard the Hermione to pack up his traps, 

 and, after shaking hands with all his old shipmates, was just going 

 over the side, when up comes old Nibcheese, and begged to be 

 allowed to go with him to England, promising he would not say a 

 word about what had happened ; all the men laughed at him at first, 

 and pushed him back ; but my uncle said he would trust him, and 

 prevailed upon the men to let him go ; every body advised him not 

 to take the old rascal, but he did, and so they went on board toge- 

 ther, and spun a yarn about being left at the hospital, and all that 

 sort o'gammon, and it was all right. Away they went with a spank- 

 ing breeze for England, and soon lost sight of the frigate. In three 

 days they made the Lizard, and run up Channel with a fair wind, a 

 good south-wester that's the ticket, is'n't it, lads?" 



" Aye, aye ! Jack, but go on." 



" Well, when they got off Plymouth, my uncle asked them to put 

 him on shore ; and a fishing-boat coming alongside, away he went 

 with old Nibcheese, and soon landed at Mutton Cove. Up they went 

 together ; the purser said my uncle should go to an inn with him and 

 be his guest, and not pay a farthing. He refused at first, but at last 

 away they went together to the Albion in Fore-street, Dock ; it was 

 called Dock then, not Devonport; you mind when it was called 

 Dock, don't you Will ?" 



" Aye, that I do," said old Will Gibbon, puffing out a volume of 

 smoke that would have stifled any body but a galley ranger. 



" Well, when they got to the inn, down they sat to a good dinner, 

 and after that they began to drink, and my uncle was soon glad to 

 go to bed; away he went, and directly he was safely housed, what 



do you think that d d rascally purser did ? Why away he 



went to the admiral's secretary, and told him the whole affair ; so the 

 master of arms, a luff tackle, a serjeant with a party of Joeys from 

 the flag-ship, were sent to the Albion to bring my uncle on board 

 the flag-ship. They dragged him out of bed, took him on board, 

 and clapt him, both legs in irons, with a sentry over him, down in 

 the forehold, and it was not till the morning that he heard who it 

 was betrayed him ; and when he was told, he said he would rather 

 be in the situation he was then, both legs in irons and sure of being 

 hung in a few days, than he would be such a mean dastardly 

 scoundrel as the purser. Well, there was no help for him, poor 



