MY FIUST VOYAGE. 107 



land, had brought friends anxious to defer as long as possible the 

 parting moment, were leaving us one by one, as the boatmen could 

 persuade their sorrowing freight away. Amid all the excitement of 

 the scene, I could not forget tlie tearful entreaties of my mother or 

 the sterner remonstrance of my father, both urging me to alter the 

 choice I had made, (for it was against the wishes of both that I would 

 be a sailor) and could they then have been renewed, my obstinacy 

 might perhaps have been subdued, as it was already half repented of. 

 However, with the buoyancy of youth I soon dashed the tear from 

 my eye and went about my duty with at least seeming alacrity. I 

 must acknowledge, however, that this last phrase is very badly chosen 

 without it was my duty to be of as little service, and as much hinder- 

 ance as possible, for after various minor misdemeanours, hearing some 

 one call out, in a tone which led me to suppose we were all going to 

 the bottom immediately, ** Let go the starboard fore-topsail braces," 

 1 let go the first rope I happened to lay hands on, and this being the 

 halyards of the said sail, it was a let go with a vengeance, so after 

 being run over by one man, kicked into the scupper by another, and 

 very unpolitely execrated, ad aternum, as a young whelp by the mate, 

 I was glad to get into a tolerably out of the way place, and be con- 

 tent to watch the proceedings of my shipmates, which I did with 

 much interest. In a short time we had all sail set, and weie trudging 

 along at a tolerable rate ; at 12 o'clock we got our dinners, after which 

 we were divided into watches, and proceeded to put things in order, 

 the decks being in the state of confusion usual upon quitting harbour. 

 The ordinary routine of a vessel, and first sensations of a boy 

 about to become a sailor, have however been so often and so 

 graphically described that I shall not reiterate the description. 



We soon found that the commodore's frigate, under courses merely 

 could easily have left us far behind, and indeed seemed very much inclined 

 to do 80 (we had already dropped several slower sailers than even our 

 ship, and left them to take care of themselves) and on the evening of the 

 fifth day from leaving tlie Downs we perceived a craft which had been 

 dodging at a distance all day, and concerning whose character there 

 could be no doubt, rapidly overhauling us, and as the nearest vessel 

 of war was all but invisible. Monsieur no doubt thought he would 

 manage things very nicely. However our captain, a fine tough slip 

 of oak as ever trod plank, was not disposed to visit France at present. 



