170 BURIED ALIVE. 



coiled down and at hand, had it proved necessary to pay out, and 

 give him scope. 



** Now, Donovan, dear, come into the boat; do, and let us get 

 on board, will ye ? " 4 



" Benjamin Brail, I expected kindlier tilings at your hands, 

 Benjie. How can I go on board of the old Gazelle, seeing it has 

 gone six bells, and 1 'm to be hove overboard at twelve o' clock ? '^ 



I saw there was nothing else for it, so I whispered little 

 Binnacle to strike eight bells. At the first chime, poor Donovan 

 pricked up his ear; at the second, he began to settle himself on 

 deck ; and before the last struck, ^he was stretched out on a 

 grating with his eyes closed, and really as still and motionless as 

 if he had been actually dead. I jumped on. board, muttered a 

 sentence or two, from recollection, from the funeral service, and 

 tipping the wink, we hove him bodily, stoop and roop, overboard, 

 where he sank for a couple of fathoms, when we hauled him up 

 again. When he sank, he was much excited, and flushed, and 

 feverish, to look at ; but when he was now got into the boat, he 

 was still enough, God knows, and very blue and ghastly ; his 

 features were sharp and pinched, and he could only utter a low 

 moaning noise, when we had stretched him along the bottom of 

 the boat. " Mercy ! " said I, " surely my experiment has not 

 killed him." However, my best plan now was to get back to 

 the frigate as soon as might be, so I gave the word to shove off, 

 and in a' minute we were all on the Gazelle's quarterdeck, poor 

 Donovan being hoisted up, ^ashed into an accommodation chair. 

 He was instantly taken care of, and, in our excellent surgeon's 

 hands, I am glad to say that he recovered, and lived to be an 

 ornament to the service, and a credit to all connected with him 

 for many a long day afterwards. 



The first thing little Binnacle did was to explain to Sir Oliver 

 that poor Donovan had been ill for three days with brain fever, 

 having had a stroke of the sun; but aware of the heavy responsi- 

 bility of taking forcibly the command of a vessel from one's 

 superior officer, he was allowed to have it all his own way until 

 the Gazelle hove in sight. 



After little Binnacle had made his report to Sir Oliver, he, 

 with an arch smile, handed me the following letter open, which 

 I have preserved to this hour for the satisfaction of the curious. 

 Many a time have I since laughed and cried over this production 

 of poor Donovan's heated brain. , 



