1 88 Sporting Sketches 



the sea in ships, especially cheesy-planked, paint- 

 tinkered ships, quite a few are foggy in their con- 

 ceptions of what constitutes a square deal land 

 measure. For, be it known, there are a few, merci- 

 fully only a few, skippers of crafts for hire, who 

 appear to labor under the delusion that a man from 

 New York is a sort of little brother to a distillery 

 and naturally a man of proper spirit. While un- 

 doubtedly a good deal of the true spirit of sport has 

 been transferred to paper and canvas, it has never 

 been put up in glass, hence the wise man will keep 

 that section of the stores solely for emergency. 



But there are A. B. skippers and stanch craft, 

 though but few of the rating of Captain H. and his 

 beloved Osprey. Long, lean, and weather-checked 

 as a stick from some old pirate, Cap might pose for 

 a study of the Ancient Mariner himself. The 

 Osprey, too, is an ancient. Only the boys of the 

 Old Brigade can recall when she was the crack of 

 her class in fact, a racing single-sticker of more 

 than ordinary merit. She has one modern improve- 

 ment which must almost break her heart, but which 

 is exceedingly useful during windless, midsummer 

 days. It is a gasoline engine which Cap introduced 

 for the purpose, as he invariably explains, of " kickin' 

 her along home so's the city fellers kin be sure of 

 ketchin' their train." 



The Osprey has a crew, too, a taciturn, weather- 

 beaten, bow-legged crew, with a breast huge and 

 hairy as a cow's paunch and arms, ye gods ! 

 such arms ! Silent, no-necked, barrel-like, when he 

 wanted to go anywhere he never" attempted to use 

 his amazingly short, parenthetical legs. Instead, he 



