NIGHTS IN THE GALLEY. 397 



and tell yarns to each other. I little thought then, lads, that I should 

 be here telling the yarn at this time." 



" I dare say not, I dare say not but go on," said Will Gibbons ; 

 " I want to hear who this Englishman was." 



" Well, when I said this, he answered that he would spin me a 

 yarn (for he had got hold of our lingo from what I had told him), 

 and I must tell him by-and-by all about an English man-of-war. 

 This I agreed to, and he was just going to begin, when Zuthea, 

 looking up from her spinning-wheel, asked her brother whether he 

 did not think I should catch cold if I was not used to sitting in the 

 open air by moonlight ? We laughed heartily at the idea of my 

 catching cold ; but the way she said it shewed the kindness with 

 which she always treated me. So, after explaining to her that I had 

 been used to be in the open air in all weathers, Yarnio again 

 began. 



" ' I am not afraid,' said he, ( though I have known you so short a 

 time, to tell you all the secrets of our situation, because I am sure 

 you will never betray us/ * I feel sure of that, too/ said I ; ' but still I 

 think you had better not put it into my power, for there are very few 

 men that will not betray their own brothers if they can gain any thing 

 by it,' ' I know that too well/ said he ; ' but your answer has only 

 made me more certain that you are one of those very few. So, first, 

 I must tell you that we have agents at Smyrna, and other of the chief 

 ports, from whence we learn when any merchant vessels are going to 

 sail, what they have in them, and where they are bound. Directly 

 we receive this intelligence we put to sea, and endeavour to fall in 

 with them ; when we do so, we examine their books, and if we find 

 any passengers, we bring them and all the valuable part of the cargo 

 away. This is in the event of no resistance being made ; but should 

 we have to fight for it, we then bring the ship in here, and break her 

 up to repair our boats, or sometimes to make new ones. It's now 

 about a year ago that we received news from our agent at Smyrna 

 of an English merchantman, called the Black Joke, laden with silks, 

 and an English nobleman, as a passenger as far as Egina. Imme- 

 diately we heard this, my father, who was too unwell to go himself, 

 sent me with two boats to cut them off, desiring me to bring all the 

 cargo of any value, and Lord . His person was so clearly des- 

 cribed by our agent, that we could not mistake him. I left Epi- 

 dauros at night, and cruised off Poros and Egina all the next day. In 

 the evening we saw a small brig, answering to the description of the 

 Black Joke. She was to windward of us, so we hauled our wind, and 

 found we overhauled her fast. In about two hours we got within 

 gunshot, and fired at her with our bow-chaser a small brass nine- 

 pounder on a swivel. She saw that it was useless for her to try to escape, 

 and so she hove to. I immediately boarded her, and sent one party of 

 men down to keep the hold, while I kept another on deck to prevent 

 their making an attack upon us. When I had done this I went down 



in the captain's cabin to look after Lord . When I got there I saw 



a young man of about nineteen sitting on a sofa : he had been so accu- 

 rately described that I knew him immediately, and going up to him 

 I said, ' Are you Lord Vaudeville?' ' Yes/ he said, ' I am; and if 



M.M. No. 106. 3 F 



