The Nineteenth Century 127 



to render him fit company for his papa old Neptune, he still looked as if his 

 ul-favoured parents had stolen him, and were trying in vain to disguise their 

 roguery by rigging him up in their own gipsy apparel. 



It was very nearly dark when I rowed back to the Lyra, which had been 

 hanging for the last half hour on the frigate's weather-quarter, at the distance 

 of a cable's length, watching for my return. The wind was so Hght, and the 

 brig so close, that no signal was made to heave to; indeed I had scarcely 

 rowed under the Alceste's stern, on my way back, before it was necessary to 

 call out, "In bow!" The rattle of the oar on the thwarts gave the earhest notice 

 of my approach to the people on board the little vessel, and I could hear the 

 first lieutenant exclaim in haste, "Attend the side! Where are the sides-men?" 



Scarcely had these words been spoken, when I heard a splash in the water, 

 followed by a faint cry of distress and despair. In the next instant the brig 

 was hove about, and the stern-boat lowered down, accompanied by all the 

 hurried symptoms of a man having fallen overboard. I made the people in 

 the boat tug at their oars towards the spot; but though we pulled over and 

 over the ship's wake twenty times, the water was everywhere unruffled and 

 immarked by any speck. At length I rowed on board, turned the hands up to 

 muster, to ascertain who was gone, and found aU present but our poor htde 

 Triton! It appeared that the lad, who was one of the sides-men, fatigued 

 with the day's amusement, had stretched himself in the fore-part of the 

 quarter-deck hammock-netting, and gone to sleep. The sharp voice of the 

 officer, on seeing the gig almost alongside, had roused the unhappy boy too 

 suddenly; he quite forgot where he was, and instead of jimiping in-board, 

 plunged into the sea, never to rise again! 



There are few accidents more frequent at sea than that of a man falling 

 overboard; and yet, strange to say, whenever it happens, it takes every one 

 as completely by surprise as if such a thing had never occurred before. What 

 is stiU more unaccountable, and, I must say, altogether inexcusable, is the 

 fact of such an incident invariably exciting a certain degree of confusion, 

 even in well-regulated ships. Whenever I have witnessed the tumultuous 

 rush of the people from below, their eagerness to crowd into the boats, and 

 the reckless devotion with which they fling themselves into the water to save 

 their companions, I could not help thinking that it was no smaU disgrace to 

 us, to whose hands the whole arrangements of discipHne are confided, that 

 we had not yet fallen upon any metliod of availing om'selves to good purpose 

 of so much generous activity. 



Saüors are men of rough habits, but their feehngs are not by any means 

 coarse; and, generally speaking, they are much attached to one another, and 

 vdll make great sacrifices to their messmates or shipmates when opportunities 

 occur. A very httle address on the part of the officers, as I have before hinted, 

 will secure an extension of these kindly sentiments to the quarter-deck. But 

 what I was alluding to just now was the cordiahty of the friendships which 

 spring up between the sauors themselves, who, it must be recollected, have 



