FEBRUARY. 33 



than Jem had written. The answers, of course, passed through the 

 same channel, and Davy prided himself no little upon the conquest 

 he had made in hoth cases, little dreaming how^ much his agent was 

 committing him to marriage, and a hundred things of the tender 

 devotional kind, when the stars which ruled the old sailor's destiny- 

 should grant him a happy meeting with them again. 



But the hrig went to London, and there the die was cast in favour 

 of the Dutchman's widow, for such was the one residing in Wapping. 

 It seems he had left a chest of capital clothes behind him, which re- 

 quired no alteration to fit the person of old Davy, who was willingly 

 adopted by the bereaved one to supply the vacant place in her affec- 

 tions. The rigging turned the scale ; and a day's liberty on shore 

 ended in the old tar's returning on board a married man, and — O 

 shame to a seaman! — wearing a pair of short black gaiters, which 

 soon caught the eye of the boys, and elicited the malicious inquiry 

 if they were the " dead Dutchman's .''" to Davy's violent wrath and 

 indignation. However, the marriage wore well whilst we remained 

 in London ; and being summer-time Davy went with us to the west- 

 ward, and, as luck would have it, afterwards to Wales, to the very 

 port where the deceived one was only too happy to have the oppor- 

 tunity of upbraiding him ; for both the widows being Welshwomen 

 and from the sanie place, his infidelity had soon reached her ears. 



Having no cargo on board, we did not haul into the quay, but 

 lay at anchor at some distance from it. The hands were idling 

 about the decks — for there was little to do — when a boat was seen 

 coming off to the brig. Of course all eyes, for want of something 

 to look at, were turned upon her ; a man row'ed, and a woman sat 

 in the stern. As she approached the vessel, old Davy was seen to 

 leave the deck, and quietly take his way up the fore-rigging, where 

 he folded his arms, and leaned upon the top-rail, casting his eyes 

 below. By that time the boat was alongside, and with very little 

 help the lady found her way upon deck, and inquired for him. He 

 was pointed out to her, quite out of harm's way as regarded her 

 talons, but not of her tongue, for she let that loose in a most mar- 

 vellous torrent of Welsh gutturals, which Davy received without 

 answering a word, patiently waiting for the squall to blow over. 

 At last he replied in a gentle tone, apparently to appease her wrath, 

 but it was only to rekindle it and to divert it from himself upon 

 Jem, on v/hose luckless head Davy had laid all the blame, asserting 

 his ignorance of what had been written, from his being no scholar. 

 However, the old adage proved good in this case, for between the 

 two stools she fell to the ground, and returned ashore protesting 

 that she did not value the loss of him a cockle, and only lamenting 

 that she had wasted the mittens and sundry other articles of woollen 

 comfort which she had made to keep his old bones warm. 



How long his married life lasted and how it w^ore, I am unable 

 to tell ; for shortly afterwards I left the brig, and saw him no more 

 for years, when we accidentally met by the side of the City Canal 

 in London. I offered to obtain him a berth well suited to his age 

 and his experience as a first-rate seaman, in the East- India ship I 



