NIMROD OF THE SEA; OK, 



abound." Bill, as in duty 

 bound, responded as fol- 

 lows ' But I will not give 

 Charlie's quotation from my 

 worthless speech, which I 

 was sorry for afterward. 

 From the snug quarters of 

 the mizzen-top I believe the 

 meeting described adjourned 

 to a dimly-lighted calaboose 

 (or watch-house) in the town. 

 It was not clear to us how 

 matters came about ; but 

 some yarn about the Amer- 

 ican consul's wanting us 

 brought us to the door of 

 the barrack and calaboose. 

 After a little row with the 

 armed soldiers, we found 

 ourselves inside a bamboo 

 house on one of the usual 

 flea-ridden, dusty floors com- 

 mon in this town. In the 

 stocks to the right of the en- 

 trance were three pisanoes, 

 who had brought the fruits 

 of their little gardens 'to this 

 morning's market, and had been seized by a press-gang, 

 and destined for transfer to-morrow to the decks of the 

 Libertad, to serve as sailors. The poor fellows were sad 

 enough. Perhaps their people would never learn their fate. 

 As the prisoners were Indians, one of our boys, a black, 

 became sadly afraid that he might be spirited away also. 

 Our mischief -loving Smith, who " sabe'd Spanish," primed 



TUB PRISONER. 



