( 269 ) 

 NIGHTS IN THE GALLEY. FOURTH YARN. 



THE next night I went on shore,, and was thereby prevented hear- 

 ing what passed in that receptacle of news on board a ship, " The 

 Galley." But I rather suspect some very important question had 

 been discussed ; for, when I took my station on the following night, 

 I found Will Gibbon, Jack Murray, and Tom Bennett in earnest 

 conversation. I could not understand, from the part of the argument 

 that I he<ird, what was the subject, having arrived only in time to 

 hear the few following words : 



"You be d d, Jack, for a yarner; you don't mean to say that, 



do ye, lad ?" said Will Gibbon, 



" Ay, that I do, bo' ; and what's more nor that, I heerd the first- 

 leaftenant say it myself." 



" Well," said Tom, " howsomnever it may be, I don't care ; for I'm 

 sure the first-luff would do no harm to none of us." 



" You are right there, lad," said Jack ; " so now let's have a yarn. 

 Come, Will, it's your turn now. I say, you cook's-mate's minister's 

 playfellow, tip's a light, will you ?" said Jack, to a worthless rascal, 

 who had been put in the galley to assist the cook's-mate after the 

 first-lieutenant had tried him in all other situations, but found him so 

 stupid and lazy that nothing else could be done with him. " Come, 

 bear a fist, you lazy son of a sea-cook, or I'll freshen your hawse," 

 said Jack ; who, being a smart, active fellow himself, had no mercy 

 on what sailors term, " a king's hard bargain/' This fellow knew Jack 

 too well to delay ; and after he had given him a light, W T ill was 

 unanimously called upon to contribute to the amusement of the 

 galley-rangers. 



" I say, Will," said Bob Short, " I should like to hear about that 

 action as Captain Smith fought in the Millbrook against a frigate. 

 Was you in her at the time?" 



" Ay was I, lad ; I was his coxswain ; he was only a luff-tackle 

 then, and made for the action." 



" Well, let's have it, Will, and I'll spin you a yarn arterwards, if 

 there's time," said Jack Murray. 



The short pipe was stuck in one corner of the mouth, and having 

 settled himself on the quarter-tackle, with his listeners around him, 

 after a preliminary cough, always used by Jack as well as boarding- 

 school misses, to command silence and attention, he commenced : 



c( Well, I think it was some time in 1807> as Leaftenant Smith 

 commissioned of us at Plymouth. We was a schooner with sixteen 

 guns, fitted on the non-recoil principle, and sent to cruize off Lisbon, 

 Oporto, and that ere coast. One morning it was quite a calm, we was 

 off the bar of Oporto, when we seed a large convoy o' marchantmen 

 in the offing that we took for English ; and a little while afterwards 

 we spied what looked like a French two-and-thirty ; she was becalmed 

 as well as us ; and Captain Smith (we always called him Captain for 

 all he was only a luff, 'cause you know he was skipper) thought if a 



M. M. No. 105. 2 N 



