A SKETCH IN THE TKOPICS. 151 



stepped up to him and whispered something. Ap- 

 proaching the Spaniard for the second time, Eeady 

 invited him to partake of a slight refreshment in his 

 cabin, a courtesy which it is usual for the captains of 

 merchant vessels to pay to the visiting officer. The 

 Spaniard accepted, and they went below. 



The steward was busy covering the cabin table 

 with plates of Boston crackers, olives, and almonds, 

 and he then uncorked a bottle of fine old Madeira 

 that looked like liquid gold as it gurgled into the 

 glasses. Captain Eeady seemed quite a different 

 person in the cabin and on deck. Throwing aside 

 his dry say-little manner, he was good-humour and 

 civility personified, as he lavished on his guest all 

 those obliging attentions which no one better knows 

 the use of than a Yankee when he wishes to admin- 

 ister a dose of what he would call " soft sawder." 

 Eeady soon persuaded the officer of his entire guilt- 

 lessness in the unpleasant affair that had just occurred ; 

 and the Spaniard told him by no means to make 

 himself uneasy, that the pass had been given for 

 another person, and that the prisoner was a man of 

 great importance, whom he considered himself excess- 

 ively lucky to have been able to recapture. 



Most Spaniards like a glass of Madeira, particularly 

 when olives serve as the whet. The American's wine 

 was first-rate, and the officer seemed to find himself 

 particularly comfortable in the cabin. He did not 

 forget, however, to desire that the prisoner's baggage 



