NIGHTS IN THE GALLEY. 273 



saw something to windward, bearing down under all sail for the port. 

 Directly they saw this, they clapped every stitch of sail on her 

 ' Man the royal haulyards topmen, aloft ; shake out all reefs keep 

 her clean full, quarter-master/ says the skipper. ' Ay I ay ! Sir/ 

 She was getting close to them now, and directly she saw them, she 

 shortened sail, and tried to escape, by coming to the wind ; but it 

 was no go. After chasing her for about half an hour, they got within 

 gun-shot, and fired at her. She saw she had no chance of escape, 

 and afraid the frigate would take a better aim next time, she hauled 

 her colours down, and squared her main-yard. Directly they seed that, 

 down went the cutter, and a luff, a reefer, and the boat's crew went 

 to take possession ; when they got on board, they found she was one 

 o' them Spanish galloons (galleons) as every body wanted to grab in 

 the war-time. Well, they put twenty hands a-board, with a luff, to 

 take charge of her ; and the next day she sailed in company with the 

 frigate for Plymouth ; where they arrived, and got their prize-money 

 paid. They were all well up for money ; and, as they did not know 

 what to do with it, they determined that every man should have a 

 gold laced hat, like the skipper's ; and when they went on shore, on 

 leave, they bought each of them one, and the next day they all ap- 

 peared on deck in their gold-laced fore-and-afters ; and just before 

 dinner, as they were almost all on deck, a shore-boat comes along- 

 side, with one o' the foretopmen in it, and some o' the fellers looking 

 overboard, saw that he hadn't got a gold-lacer, but only a silver one ; 

 so they all said it was a shame, and agreed to go aft to the first-leaf- 

 tenant, and ask him not to let the feller come on board ; but, just as 

 they were going aft, the feller tried to come up the side, but he was 

 soon stopped, and asked why he hadn't a gold-laced hat on like the 

 rest on 'em. They wouldn't hear what he had to say at first, but 

 went on abusing him for a stingy son of a gun ; at last they consented 

 to hear him, and then he told them he had tried everywhere to get 

 one with gold-lace, but he couldn't, as there wasn't one left in the 

 town, so he took a silver one, but made the land-crab take the same 

 money as for a gold one. When they heard this, they were all satis- 

 fied, and allowed him to come on board, which was nothing but right, 

 'cause you know, it wasn't the poor feller's fault that he couldn't 

 find a gold-laced hat, and if he paid for one, that was all that he 

 could do don't you think so, lads ?" 



" Why, yes," said Jack Murray, who had returned from the 

 quarter-deck some time, and who now gave his opinion on this im- 

 portant question with the look of an oracle " why, yes, sartainly, if 

 so be as how he paid the same number of yellow boys for the silver 

 one as the others did for their gold ones, he could not do no more, so 

 they ought to have let him come on board ; but if he hadn't, I'll be 



d- cl if he should, if I'd had any thing to do with it. What do 



you say, Will?" 



" Sartainly he shouldn't," said Will; " a man has his prize-money 

 to spend, and he's no right to keep it screwed up in his pocket like 

 old Nibcheese." 



" To be sure he arn't no right at all," said Tom Bennett; and 

 they all appeared to be perfectly agreed that the man would have 



