38 AN AMERICAN FARMER IN ENGLAND. 



thing but a floating-hotel keeper. It is plain, nevertheless, 

 that his eye is everywhere, and a single incident will show 

 that the savage custom of the sea has not been without the 

 usual influence upon him. He went to the kitchen the other 

 day and told the cook he must burn less wood than he had 

 been doing. The cook, who is a peculiarly mild, polite, 

 peaceable, little Frenchman, replied that he had along been 

 careful not to use more than was necessary. The captain 

 immediately knocked him down, and then quietly remarking, 

 &quot; You ll take care how you answer me next time,&quot; walked 

 back to join the ladies. The cook fell on the stove, and was 

 badly burned and bruised. 



The men complain that their food is stinted and poor, and 

 they are worked hard, at least they are kept constantly at 

 work ; men never exert themselves much when that is the 

 case. It has been evident to me that they all soger systemat 

 ically. (Sogering is pretending to w T ork, and accomplishing as 

 little as possible.) It is usually considered an insult to 

 accuse one of it, but one day I saw a man so evidently trying 

 to be as long as he could at some work he had to do in the 

 rigging, that I said to him, 



&quot; Do you think you ll make eight bells of that job 1&quot; 



He looked up with a twirl of his tongue, but said nothing. 



&quot; Have you been at it all the watch 1&quot; 



&quot; Ay, sir, I have.&quot; 



&quot; A smart man would have done it in an hour, I should 

 think.&quot; 



&quot; Perhaps he might.&quot; 



&quot; Do you call yourself a soger ?&quot; 



&quot; Why, sir, we all sogers, reg lar, in this here craft. D ye 

 see, sir, the capten s a mean man, and ould like to get two 

 days work in one out on us. If he d give us watch-and- 

 walch, sir, there d be more work done, you mote be sure, sir.&quot; 



