166 NIGHTS IN THK GALLEY. 



" I say, Tom," said a young top-man, who had never seen a shot 

 fired in anger, but who ardently wished for an, opportunity of blowing 

 somebody's brains out, or else having his own, which was as perfectly 

 indifferent to him as it was to Roger Wildrake " do you think, if 

 we were to go to war with the Mounseers again, we should give them 

 such a drubbing as we did last war ?" 



" Certainly we should," said Tom ; " why not ? I never heard of 

 a Frenchman licking an Englishman when they were equal in force, 

 but once, and then it wasn't our faults." 



" Yours ? why were you in her, Tom ?" 



" Aye, that I was, worse luck, for I was clapped up in a French 

 prison for six months." 



" Oh, tell us all about it." 



" Aye, do, Tom," said Will Gibbon, " it's your turn now. I and 

 Jack Murray cry spell O !" 



" There's not much to tell, except as how we was taken. It was 



in the " But, though Jack always mentions names, it is not, 



perhaps, prudent that I should ; so we'll call it the Raven. " It was 

 in the Raven, commanded by Captain Thomas. She was an eighteen- 

 gtm brig, and sailed like a witch, but the captain was such a bullying 

 feller none on us had no peace by day nor night ; we was always 

 exercising reefing and furling, shifting masts and yards, and all 

 that 'ere sort o' work ; and then there was lots o' your black list 

 men's work, copper belaying-pins and brass caps to the carronades, 

 scrubbing the sides once a- week, holystoning every morning ; we 

 had to knock the nails into the upper-deck three times in two years ; 

 he thought he never could give us enough to do. There was a 

 flogging-match every day, and while he was a-flogging the poor 

 fellers, he used to laugh and joke at them if they sung out ; lie 

 never forgave a man but once, and that was an Irishman, a d d 

 wild, devil-may-care sort of feller, as was always a skylarking ; his 

 hide was as tough as leather ; he cared no more for a flogging nor 

 he did for taking his grog ; and one day he asked leave to go on 

 shore at Portsmouth, while we was fitting out, and the first-lieu- 

 tenant refused him, 'cause he'd broke his leaf the day afore ; so, 

 when he was refused, he makes no more ado but just goes for'ard in 

 the head, and lowers himself down in the water, and away he swims 

 on shore ; the next day, off he comes, as if nothing had happened. 

 The master-at-arms reported him to the first-leaftenant, and he was 

 put in the report. The next day the hands was turned up for pu- 

 nishment ; up he comes with a soger behind him, looking as modest 

 as a parson at the christening of his own bastard. ' Strip, Sir,' says 

 the captain ; and just as he was seized up, he turns his head round 

 to the captain and says, ' Plase your honour, will you allow me just 

 to spake to your honour ?' ' Speak away, you d d rascal,' says the 

 skipper. So he says, as coolly as possible, ' Sure and I am much 

 obliged to your honour's honour, God bless you, for putting this here 

 grating to my belly, and if your honour will just put another to my 

 back, you may flog away with all your might/ When he said this 

 the captain burst out laughing, and so you know he could not well 

 flog him after laughing ; so he said, ' Cast the blackguard off, and I'll 



