THE CAST-AWAY. 145 



Mattapoisett pleaded for the whole crowd, 

 urging that his followers were a well-meaning 

 lot of lads ; gentle little things, you know, and 

 very young ; and that they were not altogether 

 familiar with the customs of Mahe, and had 

 offended unwittingly. How were an innocent 

 crew of foreigners to know that the ladies of 

 Victoria objected to being promiscuously kissed ? 

 In New Bedford, he insisted, it was so different. 

 They were very, very sorry, and would never, 

 never, never disturb the island again. 



The upshot of the matter was that the drunken 

 sailors were all shipped off to the whalers in the 

 harbor; and, thanks to Mattapoisett' s logic and 

 rhetoric, no arrests were made. However a gens 

 d'armes came aboard the Hope to notify me that 

 my crew had received an official reprimand, and 

 from the Hope he went directly to the captain of 

 the lime juicer. 



" CieZ/" he said, "Vos hommes, ne sont-ils pas 

 mediants f " 



Now, when the English officers counted noses 

 next morning, they found many a grog-blossomed 

 bill, but there were not quite bills enough to suit 

 them. Some one was missing. 



There was no cooper to be found amongst the 

 crew ! 



