SAILORS' LIFE AND SAILORS' YARNS, B Y CAPTAIN RINGBOLT. Jo/in , NEW-YORK: . S. FRANCIS & CO. 252 BROADWAY. BOSTON : J. H. FRANCIS, 128 WASHINGTON STREET. 1847. IOAN STACK Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the yea-r 1846, BY C. S. FRANCIS & CO., lu the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of the State of New York. ; CONTENTS. PAGE. DEDICATION --------- v PREFACE v " A SAILOR'S LIFE 13 NATHAN SMITH 23 CAPTAIN DODGE .--81 THE PRETTY MISSIONARY 110 TOM BROWN, OR SUPERSTITION ----- 149 HARRY SPANKER'S LOVE STORY - - .- ; - 160 CHARLEY BRAIL'S TRUE STORY 173 DAVID WILLIAMS, THE STEWARD .... 182 A BARGAIN 's A BARGAIN 194 THE OLD SAILOR 208 VESSELS IN DISTRESS ------- 226 MISSING VESSELS ------- 231 SAILORS' RIGHTS AND SAILORS' WRONGS - - - 237 020 TO CAPT. E. WHEELWRIGHT, OF NEWBURYPORT. THESE pages are inscribed to you, ray dear grandfather, upon whose knee, in childhood, I have listened to those tales of the sea, which perhaps have influenced me in the choice of an occupation that I regard as the more honour- able because it has been yours. Your numerous descend- ants, whatever their avocations, can ask no greater blessing than such consciousness of rectitude as is enjoyed by you. May you long remain with us, to witness that an active life of virtue is rewarded by a respected and happy old age. DORCHESTER, Mass., Dec. 1, 1846. A PREFACE GENERALLY amounts to an apology, so here you have it : Most of the contents of this book, are contributions for the Boston Journal, written for my own amuse- ment in leisure hours, at sea, when I had no passen- gers, and the tedious hours of a long India voyage hung heavily upon me. Such is my excuse for writ- ing them, and my excuse for publishing them is the desire that they may amuse others. Most of the " yarns " are founded upon fact ; some are strictly true, with the exception of names of persons. Indeed, the only one which cannot be included in either of these classes, is the one for which its soi-disant narrator claims implicit credence. I have one more reason for intruding them upon the public, which is, the hope that the sentiments which some of them contain, may commend themselves to sailors, and to those interested in the sailor's wel- fare. These are all my apologies, and now, if you please, you may turn over the leaf. A SAILOR'S LIFE. " A SAILOR'S life is the life of a dog." So says every old salt, and still he persists in being canine. The truth is, that contentment is a jewel much sought after, but seldom found : for it matters not what may be the profession, trade or occupation of any individual, he always con- siders it as more onerous than that of his neigh- bour. The three learned' professions are as subject to these remarks as any other business of the world may be. When the M.D., snugly ensconced with his wife and children in bed, feeling as little disposition to turn out as did the man of the parable when importuned for a loaf of bread, hears the alarum sound of his night bell, and knows that he must leave his comfort- able quarters, light his lantern, harness his horse, and ride through rain and darkness for miles, to help some one into, or some one out of the world, O, how he envies his legal friend, as he passes his closed shutters, and reflects upon 2 14 , the domestic quiet that reigns within ! And with what feelings, on the morrow, does this same quiet lawyer, while poring over musty papers and perplexing his brain to link together a chain of evidence, supplying a shackle here and there from his own imagination, look out upon the bright sun-lighted street, and behold the doctor riding along so comfortably and go leisurely in his sulky, looked up to by all as the arbitrator .of their lives and then he thinks how much better had it been, had he studied medicine ! Now both these gentlemen look with more in- vidious eyes upon the parson than upon each other : " 6," say they, " what a delightful profession ! so quiet, so free from care, almost a 'little heaven below' so loved and respected by every one his salary annually paid enough to support him, which is all he needs like Goldsmith's hero : ' A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year.' " The poor parson says nothing, for he dares not; but he could say, " Go on with your quotation, and you'll find it as far from applicable as that you have already uttered : ' Unskilful he to fawn, or seek for power, By doctrines fashion'd to the varying hour.' " All perhaps true in the poet's time, and even in England, now, where the establishment allows a man more liberty of conscience than he can exercise in this free and happy land. "No, 15 no!" cries the poor parson, " there are few of ns. in these days, that can afford to be consci- entious and independent. We must do as we are told to do. or starve ! " So much for what are termed the learned pro- fessions ; and in every state of life, the like discontent and envy is more or less apparent. Still all seem to be aware that "rolling stones gather no moss," and mankind generally, not- withstanding their complaints, have the good sense left -them to persevere in the occupation which Providence has assigned them, solacing themselves with occasional murmurs of discon- tent, till the close of existence, when, if not be- fore, they come to the sage conclusion, that the world, arid every thing it contains, is one general assortment of vanity and vexation of spirit. Then why should not sailors call their life " the life of a dog," and growl accordingly? and yet why should not we be happy too, as other complaining spirits are? So we are, and so we will be. " Away with melancholy !" over- board with the foul fiend ! Launch ! and as the gurgling waves of returning blithsomeness close over him, three cheers for the gay goddess that floats so lightly upon them ! A sailor's life a dull life ? Who so constantly employed as he? What a mistaken idea is en- tertained of this on shore ! People imagine that, once clear of port, there is little or nothing to be done, but quietly to watch the course of the 16 A SAILOR'S LIFE. vessel to saunter about the decks, and do what each one lists, or do nothing at all, which latter is looked upon as a very happy state of exist- ence. Nothing to do ? Idleness ? The devil's own darn ! It has ruined many on shore, but, depend upon it, it will never ruin sailors in the merchant service. There is always enough to be done refitting, setting-up, turning-in, splic- ing, rattling down and tarring rigging, strapping blocks, keeping chafing gear in order, sail- making, scraping, scrubbing, painting all these are some of the constant and numerous employ- ments on board of a ship. These may be made onerous by useless work, but still there is enough to keep all hands usefully employed on the longest voyages. And then on board of all well-regulated ships, there is time given, and books furnished, for reading, and improving the mind ; and more knowledge is often acquired in these precious moments than if abundance of time were at disposal. They are sweet, like stolen fruit. Good appetites and sound sleep follow ; and though day after day has its usual* round in these respects, the young, seaman feels that he is improving in his calling, and qualify- ing himself for a higher station, while all look forward with pleasing anticipations to their ar- rival abroad, and with anticipations tenfold more pleasing, to their return 'to their homes. Tyrannical officers and quarrelsome shipmates often mar these sources of enjoyment, but not 17 as they did once : for the former are beginning to discover that the law of love is more powerful than the " cat," and the latter are fast escaping from the thraldom of intemperance, which has been a more cruel despot over them than was ever tyrant of flesh and blood. The sailor's fare is often hard ? Well, so it is, and shame to some of his employers for it ; but let good be returned for evil, and let us wish them no greater ill than to be obliged to feed upon the like and at the same time, wish them the ability to digest it, which can only be derived from health, and which in its turn is a conse- quent of exercise and cheerfulness. " A con- tented mind is a continual feast." Their minds might be somewhat more contented, if their dis- positions were more liberal. Be that as it may, we have determined to be contented, come what will ! It is hard to be roused from a snug berth, after having accomplished a good day's work, and already stood a four hours' watch ; for but just now we had turned in, after shifting our jvet clothes, and putting on the last dry flannels in our chests. We had resolved upon one good four hours' watch below, and had already begun to carry out this resolution. Who sleeps so sound as the sailor, for who has earned a sounder sleep ? Nor is it sleep alone a cheer- ful smile rests on his weather-beaten face his happy spirit has left it there, and then taken wings and flown away for a time, leaving its 18 easily disordered companion to be retimed by repose. Now travels the mind upon the wings of imagination, to which fleet messenger thous- ands of leagues are as nothing, arid distance is a thing unknown. In an instant the spirit is at home. Home ! who ever speak or think that word without emotions of pleasure? But to the sailor, it is invested with charms such as no one else can feel, or can scarcely imagine. Yes, dearest home ! they only know How sweet thy joys to wand'rers are, Who distant from thy portals go ! Our morning sun our evening star Still shine upon our rugged way, And cheer our oft desponding hearts ! There's joy in every peaceful ray Thy living light on us imparts ! In the midst of these sweet dreams, while yet in the embraces of parents, brothers and sisters, arid perhaps of some one else, three heavy stamps, and an unwelcome voice "All hands ahoy ! bear a hand up and reef topsails ! " call back the truant spirit to its deserted dwelling, and mind and body are obliged to combine their energies the former gradually being made con- scious of the stern 'reality which the latter speedily is acquainted with, by the cold sleet, penetrating the skin. This is hard ; but to youth, health and strength, even this is not unmixed with pleasure. The excitement is pleasure and who talks of the entire monotony of a life upon the ocean, and says there is no 19 excitement in it? He knows nothing: for there is excitement enough in watching the angry" sky, the combing sea sparkling in the dark nig^t as every drop of the briny deep teems with bright existence the vivid lightning shoot- ing madly through the threatening heavens, while the tempest now whistles among the creaking spars and rigging; and now bellows in unison with the foaming surges. No excitement in this ? O, there is ! such as even the prince of poets could not feel when he stood in view of the "majestic mountains of Switzerland," and exclaimed " The sky is changed ! and such a change ! O night, And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong, Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light Of a dark eye in woman ! Far along, From peak to peak, the rattling crags among, Leaps the live thunder ! Not from one lone cloud, But every mountain now hath found a tongue, And Jura answers, through his misty shroud, Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud ! " There he stood, safe upon the solid land, and paid to nature this immortal tribute of a death- less song yet standing, as it were " Amid the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds ! " a mere looker-on, how conscious he must have felt of his own weakness and insignificance. Fain would he have been " A sharer in the fierce and far delight, A portion of the tempest and of thee." But taking part in this elemental warfare as the sailor does, knowing that he is contending 20 against the rage of nature, and trusting to come off victorious, as he has done before, from the fearful strife can this but complete an excite- ment never to be felt but by those " Whose march is on the mountain wave, Whose home is on the deep !" Such is a sailor's life, or rather, such, you will say, is the poetry of his life ; but sad is the real- ity of the sailor's death. To die upon the ocean, far, far from home and friends, with none of the soothing accompani- ments that smooth the rough passage through the valley of the shadow of death these soft alleviations are a mother's tenderness and a sis- ter's care ! Oh, these are wanting to the poor sailor, as he writhes in agony upon his hard berth-boards, in the damp, pent-up forecastle, with no one to cheer his fainting spirit and his dying groans, sometimes responded to with blas- phemy, to stop his cries. This is no exaggera- tion. They tell you of the nobleness and gene- rosity of the sailor : but go among them in the forecastle to learn of their depravity. Believe not the plausible stories of those whose little ex- perience, strong prejudices, and interested mo- tives, would lead you to believe that all the sail- or's misery at sea is the consequence of brutal treatment of their officers. Such things are not so, nor would the captain of the Pilgrim have been thus abused, had not death rendered him powerless in his own defence. No, there is de- A SAILOR'S LIFE. 21 pravity in the sailor's heart as well as in that of the landsman. Thank God such scenes as I was describing do not often occur ; but, alas, I have seen them, nevertheless. Still often will the sympathizing tear be dropped, and the ready hand of assistance be extended, to the dying sailor; but what is this, when exercised to the utmost extent that the rough nature of his ship- mates is capable of? What is it to one pressure of the hand, one glimpse of his mother? "Oh," he exclaims, "she knows not what I suffer now, for if she did, she would be surely here. Thou- sands of miles of fathomless depths between us would not keep her away. By some means she would come to the side of her dying son. And then I should die happier. Oh ! mother !" And he dies with that blessed name upon his lips, which will be a passport for his soul through the realms of space, and to the throne of God! What a charm is there in that word ! It brings me again to infancy's pleasures, Sweet home, with its sweetest allurement I see, Oh, I ask not of earth aught else of its treasures, Such thoughts of my home are riches to me. " My mother !" Dear mother, I'll never forget thee, Whenever, wherever, on earth I may roam ; Cares my encircle, temptations beset me, Their power shall all vanish at thoughts of my home. From infancy's dawn to manhood's progression, The object I've been of thine unceasing care, And often for me what blest intercession, Has risen to heaven in my mother's fond prayer. 2* 22 If the prayer of tVie fervent is more than another, In the ear of the High and Infinite One, May he listen to thine, my own dearest mother, As often poured forth for thy wandering son ! Need I offer excuses. for this simple tribute to her? 'T is because my pea would follow my thoughts, that I have thus written. And many a brother sailor's thoughts, I well know, are the same. It is in indulging such feelings as these, that often a middle watch is spent at sea. And if death should overtake us in such a frame of mind, he will find our last thoughts on earth worthy of beins^ those nearest to heaven. I NATHAN SMITH; OR, THE MAN THAT WAS LAUGHED AT. u UNCLE Jonas, I can't stand it any longer; and what's more, I won't ! " This exclamation proceedsd from the mouth of Nathan Smith. The there and then was under the roof of his uncle, in the interior of Vermont, on the second day of November, 1830. "Can't stand what, you impudent rascal ?" demanded his affectionate relation. 1 Can't stand what ?" was re-echoed in a shrill tone by his indulgent aunt. " Why, I can't stand like a docked colt tied up in a stall, as I am here. Now here I am seventeen years old, and you keep me drudging and digging, and give me no chance to learn anything, so that every body laughs at me." "Who laughs at you?" asked Mr. Jonas Smith. " Why, amongst others, J J Jane Beaton ! 1 won't stand it, I say, I'm going to sea ! " 24 NATHAN SMITH. Having given vent to the thoughts which had been long working in his inner man, Nathan stood resolutely, fully expecting torrents of wrath and floods of tears but he found that Jane was not the only one who laughed at him, for his worthy relatives, at this speech, indulged in the most obstreperous merriment, and said, they " would like to see him do it." They soon left the kitchen, however, much to his relief, telling him to finish boiling the potatoes, and to feed the pigs, before he went to sea. " They'd like to see me do it, would they ? " soliloquized the youth, when left alone. " Well, I'll be an obedient boy ; I'll boil the potatoes and feed the pigs, and then I'll go to sea." Now old Mr. Smith was a good farmer; he could bring up com and potatoes better than he could bring up children ; and the knowledge and breeding of his nephew was, as he has hinted, much too confined ; but it is probable that the young man would not have discovered it had it not been that Jane Beaton laughed at him. Good gracious, what things are women ! You can't stand their laughing, you can't stand their crying you can't stand any thing they do ! They just heave their grappling irons, and you are fast. A Saccarapper might just as well try to get away from a Baltimore clipper. That's the way they do before marriage. If they keep it up after they are spliced 3 matrimony must be an awful thing very ! NATHAN SMITH. 25 It was nearly dark when Nathan had boiled the potatoes and fed the pigs for the last time. He then proceeded to his garret, and dressed himself in his " Sunday- go- to-meetings," made a bundle of his remaining effects, and bade adieu to home. But it was not easily done. Notwithstanding the joy of escaping from his uncle's petty tyranny, the remembrance of some sunshiny spot's in his childhood stole over him, and it was his home after all. He had no other. As he looked back upon the black walls of the building, he half repented; but just then his uncle's voice reached his ear: " He go to sea! What sort of a sailor would he make? He's good for nothing any where ! " Nathan turned his back and walked rapidly away, but not as yet to the main road. There was a house near by, where lived a certain 'Squire Beaton, and it seems that Nathan had some business there yet to transact. He ap- proached it with a very awkward feeling, and proceeded to reconnoitre through the windows before attempting an entry. A crackling fire burned on the hearth. The old 'Squire sat read- ing the newspaper aloud to Mrs. Beaton, who was busily employed at her knitting, and to another lady, who engrossed all the attention of our spying visitor. If you had been looking in that window, you'd have called her " sweet sixteen," and acknowledged that you never saw more rosy cheeks and luxuriant hair, and you'd 26 NATHAN SMITH. have wondered what made those roguish eyes dance so with seeming delight. ' " Laughing at me now ! I'll bet," thought Nathan ; " but I will say good-bye to her." So he laid his bundle down by the fence, and knocked at the door. " Come in ! " cried the. full voice of the old 'Squire, and at the same instant his blooming daughter jumped to open the door for the visitor. "Why, Nathan Smith!" exclaimed she; "Why need you knock? I was just thinking about you !" but a blush came over her face as she added, "at least mother was saying something about you." "I thought so," replied the young man : "I thought you were laughing at me." "You did, sir?" answered Jane, becoming suddenly sedate, "and how did you know I was laughing at all ? " " Jane, Jane!" cried Mrs. Beaton, " do come in ; who in the world are you talking with so long in the entry?" The young lady speedily obeyed this sum- mons, followed by Nathan, assuring her mama that she "wasn't saying any thing to any body, only that the door-handle is so hard to turn." "Yes, very!" said her father; "Jane, I wasn't born yesterday" and, without raising his eyes from the newspaper, he added, " Good evening, Nathan; walk in and sit down." He accepted the invitation, and after answer- NATHAN SMITH. 27 ing the old people's questions in regard to the welfare of his uncle and aunt, then came a pause which no one saw fit to interrupt. In the mean time his eyes wandered toward Jane, who was amusing herself with rolling up a bright ribbon which she seemed so anxious to exhibit that she at length asked, " Well, Mr. Nathan, what do you think of this, and who do you think gave it tome?" "Ned Saunders, I think likely," replied Nathan. " So it was how good you are at guessing ! what a nice fellow Ned is !" Poor Nathan ! he knew no more about a wo- man then than he did about a ship, or he would have interpreted this as "I don't care a bit for Ned, but only say so to make you jealous." Nathan certainly was jealous of the young shop- keeper, nor was this the first instance of his be- ing troubled with the green-eyed monster. " But what makes you so dull this evening?" cried the gay girl, bursting into a merry laugh as she saw the effect the ribbon had produced, " has anybody stolen your heart ?" He might have said "yes," and have laid his hands as he did his eyes upon the thief, but he fetched a long sigh, and said, "Miss Jane, I've come to say ' Good-bye,' for I am going to sea." The newspaper and the knitting- work dropped simultaneously, and the gay laugh ceased for an instant. If Nathan's eyes had not been this mo- 28 NATHAN SMITH. ment upon the old people, who were uttering various exclamations-oT surprise, he might have seen the colour forsake those blooming cheeks, and leave them paler than if all the shopkeepers in Vermont were at the bottom of the ocean. But for an instant only- then her laugh redoub- led, and poor Nathan thought, " how little she cares for me !" "You may laugh," he said, at length fairly aroused, " but good-bye you won't see me again till I am Captain of a ship I'm sorry I can't stay to Mrs. Saunders' t wedding." This rather increasing the young lady's mer- riment, he seized his hat and opening the door, bolted into the road, followed by peals of laugh- ter, and "Good-bye, Captain Smith!" "I wonder why Nathan should take such a fancy into his head," said Mrs. Beaton when the door was closed, and they were again drawn around their pleasant fire-side. 11 It is not at all surprising," said the 'Squire ; ''ever since his parents died, and Jonas Smith took charge of him in his infancy, he has had a hard time of it. You shouldn't have laughed at him so, Jane, it was unkind." His daughter drew her chair nearer, and grasp- ing her father's knees, she looked into his face with those full eyes so lately sparkling with mer- riment, but now dimmed with starting tears. "Do you really think he will go, father?" she asked, in a low and almost trembling voice. NATHAN SMITH. 29 "Yes, my child, I do." " Then," she exclaimed, falling upon his neck giving full vent to her feelings, " Heaven protect him, and forgive me !" The thoughts of the wanderer would have been far different as he pursued his lonely way that night, had he known that his wakefulness was shared by another, and that her pillow was bedewed with weeping on his account. Not many days after this, a country bumpkin had wended his way down State-street and come into view of the shipping in Boston harbor. He had some idea of what a vessel was, from hav- ing seen pictures of them, so that he could distin- guish one from a brick building nor, when he approached nearer, was he so ignorant as one of his verdant predecessors is said to have been, who, when he first examined a vessel, exclaim- ed, "I snum, Zeek, she's holler!" But all rigs were alike to Nathan, and he made a bold push for the first craft in his way, which happened to be a New York packet schooner. "Capting," said he, addressing one of the crew, "you don't want any green hands for this ship, do you?" This query was answered by a roar of laugh- ter, and the advice of the Captain, who stood on the wharf, for him to make application to yonder schooner, which happened to be a full-rigged ship. 30 NATHAN SMITH. " Laugh away," thought our hero, " it ain't so bad as Jane's ;" and nothing daunted / on he went to the ship. " I'll be careful," thought he, " this time, and find out who the captain is, be- fore I ask." He therefore took a fair survey of the lumpers and loafers about the wharf and the vessel, and came to the conclusion that no one of these could be the captain. But at length he es- pied a gentleman upon the quarter deck, whose back was turned to him. He was dressed some- what fantastically, as he thought, wearing a cocked hat, and having a flaming red collar to his overcoat, but very likely that might be his uniform. "Ah, that must be he," said Nathan to himself, "however, I'll ask him." He accordingly passed over the gangway, and walking towards the supposed captain, he said, " Capting of this schooner, ain't you?" But he made a hasty retreat when the big ba- boon turned sharply round upon him, chattering and grimacing, arid but for the shortness of his chain, ready to give him a grip far from affec- tionate. " Laugh away," cried Nathan, as the lumpers joined the baboon, " you're a set of monkeys, the whole of ye !" "And is't me for one, ye spalpeen, that ye're after calling a monkey ?" said one. "Shouldn't wonder a mite if you was," said our unsuccessful and somewhat angry applicant. "Take that then, for want of a shillaleh !" NATHAN SMITH. 31 said the lumper, giving him a side-winder with his fist. "Don't want it," replied Nathan; "take it back again !" and down went the fellow, into the hold. Upon this, a dozen comrades of the fallen champion rushed upon our hero, seeking revenge, when a voice came from the companion-way : "Stop this, you rascals a dozen upon one ! Let me see one of you lay your hands upon that young man, if you dare, and I'll throw the whole pack of you into the dock ! You'll find that it's ABEL COFFIN, and not the monkey, that's captain here. " Let 'em come, let 'em come !" cried Nathan ; "so you're Capting, and on my side there ain't more than a dozen of 'em, and we'll lick 'em all into sawdust. Here goes !" and he was about to make a dive into the midst of the fellows, who had stood silently by, the instant they were re- buked, but his headway was stopped by the grasp of a powerful right hand, which before then, had held a larger man than him, at arm's length, while another was as firmly held by the left, and their heads knocked together till mutiny was knocked out of them, "I like your spirit, youngster," said he, "but you are in a passion. Never get angry keep cool you've punished them quite enough, and you need not fear their troubling *y u again. 32 NATHAN SMITH. But what do you want here, and who sent you?" " Why," replied Nathan, " the Capting of that ship, there, said he didn't -know but you might want me aboard the schooner, here." Captain Coffin smiled, for he saw how the lad had been imposed upon. "What a fine sailor you'd be," he said, " not knowing the difference between a ship and a schooner !" "Well, Capting," rejoined Nathan, "you know there's a beginning to every thing, creation and all, and I suppose there must be to sailors." " There, Mr. S ," said the captain to the owner, who stood by his side, "hear what that lad says : he's green enough, but I wish Con- gress had as good an idea in their heads as that. Government knows nothing, or cares nothing, about commerce or seamen. I believe there's no patriotism in Washington. They all look to par- ties. No one dares propose a measure of real utility, for fear it should take up too much time, and offend some one of the same party that wants all day to 'define his position.' Now, if they had the good of a pretty extensive portion of their country at heart, they would enact some law that would make American seniors. See how our ships are manned : not one-seventh of the crews of foreign traders are American. 'Tis true, we are obliged to have two-thirds of our crews protected. But what are these pro- tections? The great majority are false, or NATHAN SMITH. 33 transferred from one man to another, as suits a landlord's convenience. All shipmasters are obliged to connive at this, for otherwise how could we get our crews? Many of these foreign sailors are good ones, too ready made to our hand. A good Dutch or English sailor comes to me with an American protection he eats no more than a green-horn, and is a sailor for the whole voyage. Economy is the order of the day I must do as others do, and I ship the for- eigner, knowing him to be a liar, his,landloi$- kriowing it too, and the custom-house conniving at it, while there are hundreds of young men, sons of our own countrymen, comirig down to the wharves and willing to go for nothing. I'd take my share with pleasure, if others would but they won't, and nothing but a law made and enforced, can oblige any one to do it." "Ay, there's a great deal of truth in what you say," said Mr. S.. himself an'old shipmaster, "but what would you have Cgrigress do?" "What would I have them $o, sir?" said Cap- tain Coffin; "I'd soon teli tnem ; why, in five minutes; yes, in five minutes, they might confer a lasting benefit on their country ; and then, for aught I care, they might have the rest of the ses- sion to make speeches and squabble about noth- ing. Here's the law I'd make I've had it in my head these twenty years. Every vessel for every hundred tons shall carry one native born ap- prentice. That, sir, would make us all equal ; 34 NATHAN SMITH. would soon man our ships with young men of so- briety and some education, instead of the miser- able offscourings of the earth ; with men who, when we are threatened with war, will have an interest in the flag under which they fight, and will not see it hauled down so long as they can raise an arm in its defence !" u Yes, yes," said Mr. S., "I have long been sensible, too, that some such law was necessary ; and until there is one, improvement in the char- acter of seamen in our merchant service will be much retarded. It is of little use for one or two ship-owners to furnish examples to others. Eco- nomy is a stronger principle with most men than patriotism or benevolence. We must have a law, and one too that shall not be so easily evad- ed as the present one in regard to protections. However, I'll furnish one example in this in- stance, and I rather fancy this lad, too. You can ship him, if you like." "Very well, sir,," replied Captain Coffin, and turning to Nathan, he continued : " Youngster, you're fortunate. It's not every greenhorn gets a berth aboard of an Indiaman with so little trouble as you have done, especially after con- founding the Captain and a monkey together, which is not very complimentary to rne. As to your wages, they must be small, for you'll be but an encumbrance for at least the passage out." 'Now. Capting," interrupted Nathan, "you've giv'n it back to me ! I'd rather be called a mon- NATHAN SMITH. 35 key than that I know I'm green, and I thank you for your k'indness. I don't want any wages, being that this is the first time, but if I aint riper before I get back, serve me as I did that fellow, and call me anything else but Nathan Smith." " You shall have wages, my lad, if you be- have as well as I trust you will," said Mr. S. " If I have boys at all on board my vessel, I pay them for their work. The ship has not yet dis- charged her homeward cargo, and will not be ready for sea in less than ten days. You may then join her." Nathan explained his circumstances in a few words to the kind merchant, asking liberty to come on board at once, and endeavour to make himself useful, assuring him that he would be of no expense, having yet nine shillings left, which would find him in doughnuts and cheese for a fortnight. This consent was readily given, and he was moreover advised to invest his funds in some other way, for his board would be paid. Highly elated with his success, he was thereupon turned over to the mate, to be formed and fashioned into a sailor. " Upon my word, you are quite a politician, Captain Coffin," said Mr. S., as they walked up the wharf together. ' Politician, sir !" exclaimed Captain Coffin, " worse and worse : first a monkey is mistaken 36 NATHAN SMITH. for .me, and then I'm mistaken for a politician. No, sir, I trust I'm too honest for that ! But I should like to speak to those lawyers in Wash- ington once, if I could clap a stopper on their nonsense as neatly as you did upon their Latin up there in the State House ; ' Ja smokit tanka,' &c. ; that Nor- west Indian quotation did them a deal of good, and I wish I could do them as much in Congress." " O, we'll send you there yet," replied Mr. S., acknowledging the compliment: '-'and after you've carried your favourite project, what will you do next? " . "I really don't know," answered he ; "there's so much overhauling and repairing to be done, I shouldn't know where to begin. There is the matter of those foolish treaties with the Dutch- men and the Danes and the Swedes, which play mischief with our trade ; and then there is an everlasting row about slavery and State rights. They seem to think that we 'are so far off in the corner, that \ve are nobody. I wonder if we would be considered nobody if any fighting was to be done? I should like to vote (if I could get a majority it would be done, because a majority, like the Pope, is infallibly right) for a young earthquake that should crack the dirt all round the boundary lines of New JGn gland, and shove us off the other side of the Gulf Stream, and then see how the rest of them would work ship without us. Well, sir, these are some of NATHAN SMITH. 37 my politics ; I shouldn't have mentioned them if you hadn't asked me." " They savor a little too much of nullification," said Mr. S., smiling; " however, I think you'll be able to carry that vote, nearly as soon as you will that really good and necessary law in re- gard to seamen. As to that young man who has been the means of extorting your politics, I hope he may turn out welL; and don't forget to let me know how he succeeds." With this, our worthy friends parted, each on his separate business. How many poets have written of the ocean, yet how few have done their subject justice ! Byron and Pollok, only have approached it. But it is not now our purpose to contemplate it in its magnificence and glory, but rather in the contrast with which it is regarded by the luxurious slave, Whose soul would sicken on the heaving waye." Where, among ancient or modern poets, is a worthy ode to sea-sickness? Andre Chenier, who wrote toward the close of the last century, was a Frenchman, and as such, admirably quali- fied for the task, filled, as we may suppose his stomach to have been, with soup bouilli, frica- sees, ragouts, pates des fois gras, and the hun- dred entremets which emanate from a French kitchen, and which constitute so great a part of the national glory at the present day. But let 3 38 NATHAN SMITH. not his ghost arise to haunt me, because of an imperfect translation : Who can forget the passing over From Calais 'cross the Straits of Dover ! Prostrate upon the cabin floor The trav'ller lies with stomach sore, And utters many groans pathetic While undergoing his emetic ; His head is swimming, eyesight is obscured, He thinks no one the like has e'er endured. He's like one drunk beneath the table- He tries to rise, but is unable ; The ship's now rolling now she's jumping His liver 'gainst his heart is thumping, The carpet gets the emptied cargo, He must discharge, spite of embargo ; His mind is full of fancies drear Shipwrecks he sees death hov'ring near But still by fear he's not opprest: He looks on death, expecting rest ; Though dying friends require his care, Their woes he will no longer share ; He faintly opes his glassy eye, And prays that he may likewise die ! Poor Nathan did not exactly wish to die, but he felt, as no one can imagine, unless they have been precisely in his situation, when the ' ( Gen- too," with Boston light twenty miles astern, was pitching into an ugly south-east sea, which still rolled into Massachusetts Bay, although the east- erly storm had given place to the fresh nor- wester, which was fast driving them off the coast. Confused thoughts of Jane Beaton, of the com- fortable fireside of the good old 'Squire, even of Uncle Jonas and his aunt, and a half-uttered NATHAN SMITH. 39 wish that he was hoiling potatoes for the pigs, flitted through his distempered brain. The passenger, if sea-sick, can retire to his cabin, throw himself into his berth, and lie on his back till he gets well again. But it was not 4 so with Nathan. None have any sympathy for a youngster that is sea-sick. They forget all about having been so themselves ; or if they remember it, it is only to prompt them to play the same jokes on others, which they themselves once had to bear. "I say, Chips," said an old tar to the carpen- ter, "don't you want some chalk? 'cause if you do, just knock off a piece from that boy's face." "Johnny Raw," said another, "does your mother know you are out?" " Now knock off plaguing the boy, will you ?" said one more " How do you feel, Nathan ? can't you take anything that would do you good?" The soft tone in which this was uttered, cheer- ed his heart, as he exclaimed, " Oh, if you could tell me of any thing !" " Well, I can," said his sympathizing friend ; "just you bend a ropey arn onto a piece of salt pork, and swallow it ; so keep hauling it up and down, till your insides are well swabbed out ! " This was the unkindest cut of all, and did not fail to produce its intended effect. "Come, come, boy, what are you doing there, looking over the side?" bawled the second mate, 40 NATHAN SMITH. " get a broom and sweep down the quarter deck." As Nathan was employed in executing this order, the captain accosted him in a really kind voice. " Well, Smith, my lad ; I know you feel badly, but don't be discouraged. Remember, if you do your best, I'm your friend, and that's a good deal on board of a ship ; and Mr. S. is your friend, and that's a fgood deal in Boston. Just remember what I say, and keep these two words in your mind Go ahead ! " What an effect has a word of encouragement from the mouth of one who has the power to give it ! Captain Coffin had, (to use a cant phrase,) " worked his own way up." He had undergone many buffetings, and had met with little kindness from others : and now, instead of retaliating upon his inferiors, he knew the value of sympathy, by having himself been deprived of it, too well not to bestow it upon those under his command. Still, he used little familiarity with his men. His discipline was strict even severe. He never unnecessarily over- worked his crew, but never allowed watch and watch observing that it gave men so much time that they did not set a just value upon the article. But the forenoon watch below was always al- lowed, and so was the afternoon of Saturday, that there might be no excuse for neglect of cleanliness upon the Sunday. On that day no work not absolutely required by necessity was NATHAN SMITH. 41 done. The Church prayers were read, and books were furnished from the cabin to all who wished to read. Nor did that strict disciplina- rian find that his authority was the less respect- ed for this course. There are a class of men, who imagine that they must always dress their countenances with a frown when speaking to a sailor ; and that obedience is more readily ensured if their orders are accompanied with a few oaths, and some spicy blackguardism, illustrations of which would disgrace the press. But one of the most common, most disgraceful to themselves, and annoying to the person addressed, is a curse, coupled with the insinuation that his maternal ancestor was a quadruped. The phrase will be readily called to mind by those who use it, and have heard it used. No wonder a sailor's life is called "a dog's life !" Such officers are gen- erally detested and despised seldom feared, and never respected. They may occasionally keep up an appearance of discipline by brute force, but work is not done " with a will," and of course is not done so quick or so well. We would not be understood to say that se- verity, and sometimes great severity, is never to be used : for there are men so stupid, so brutish, that they cannot be reached by kindness, and to whom irons and the cat must be applied. And this must be the case so long as our merchant service is allowed to consist chiefly of foreigners. 42 *' NATHAN SMITH. Democracy may perhaps succeed on shore ; but at sea, nothing short of absolute authority will preserve order. There is a disposition in juries to think otherwise, and too readily to believe the forged or exaggerated tales of a crew which are incited by a landlord, and dovetailed together by some ingenious scoundrels who disgrace the name of lawyers men whom I could point out as having become rich, solely by getting up these complaints, and dividing the profits wrung from defendant and plaintiff, with the sailor landlords ! Cases are brought forward by these men, that never would have been dreamed of by the sai- lors. Men are told what to testify to, by having the desired testimony repeated over to them ver- batim, till it is committed to memory ; and they are, as far as possible, put on their guard against cross questioning. Now, gentlemen of the jury, just recollect, for I state it, believing it as fully as I do that the sun will rise to-morrow morning, in more than one-half of these cases, the dama- ges you render to the plaintiffs, do not benefit those plain tiffs one dollar, but are the hard-earned wages of a captain or officer, gone to feed the hungry maws of two greedy cormorants ajaw- yer and a landlord. And even these are but a small part of their unrighteous gains. A far greater proportion consists of sums their victims are generally willing to pay them outright, to avoid the vexations and expense of lawsuits. I make no apology to the "gentle reader" for NATHAN SMITH. 43 this digression. If it does not interest him, he is not the reader whose attention I wish to obtain, and he may turn over to the advertising columns and read about Oak Hall or Sands' Sarsaparilla, for aught I care. I don't write for money. I write partly for my own amusement, partly for yours, partly to fill up the spare room in my friend Hawser Martingale's paper, and partly with the hope of pleasing and benefiting that class of men to which I am proud to belong. Nor will it be a waste of ink and paper, if I can point out to them their enemies, and induce them to place confidence in their friends. There are many who imagine themselves to be the sailor's friends, who really do him harm, by giv- ing him a deal of their sympathy for the tyran- nical treatment they imagine him to experience at sea. Their sympathy runs ahead of their knowledge. I was speaking of discipline. Many, from the natural benevolence of their own hearts, think it is too hard ; that too much power is given to the master, and that, at any rate, flogging should be dispensed with by law. Do that, and it is at once the subversion of all order. God forbid that it should be often resorted to, but it must re- main in the statute books, that the fear of it may deter from evil. Will not irons do as well in all cases ? No, men do not always feel the disgrace of this punishment; besides, it cannot be always resorted to, because often the loss of one man 44 NATHAN SMITH. taken off from active duty is seriously felt in a small crew. Moreover, the experiment has been tried in the English merchant service, and the result is known to every nautical man. There is no such thing as good order and discipline on board of their ships, while those of our nation are generally remarked all the world over, for the comparative quietness that exists among the men- True it is, that the laws favouring good order may be abused, and made an excuse for tyran- ny, yet we can but think that such cases occur much less frequently than many imagine. If officers would be careful to "order their own conversation aright," they would seldom be called upon to enforce severe penalty, and often no punishment at all. "Now, Mr. Davenport," continued Captain Coffin, "call all hands aft and divide the watches." " Ay, ay, sir," said the mate; " lay aft here, every body." They were accordingly mustered, and after the division had been made, they looked up to the captain, expecting the customary speech. "I'm not used to preaching long sermons," said he, in a low, but distinct voice. " All is Do your duty and you'll fare well ; but if you don't/' he added in a voice of thunder, and struck his brawny fist upon the companion way, " Remember ', / am ABEL COFFIN." Our friend Nathan went forward with the rest. NATHAN SMITH. 45 Various were the opinions expressed in the fore- castle, as to the character of the "Old Man,'' and various were the plans proposed for getting round him. Nathan had a plan of his own, and it was, to "Go ahead!" It was this that anima- ted him, and though sea-sickness for a time held on, the desponding thoughts which he had be- gun to indulge, vanished like morning mists be- fore the sunshine the sunshine of Hope. He resolved to cast no lingering look behind, but to leave all care and regrets astern, as readily as the good ship, aided by the freshening breeze, sunk the dim land in the distance. In a surprisingly short time his greenness wore off. We will not follow him step by step, for it is enough to say, that before the outward passage was completed, he had not only gone through the elementary branches of making spun-yarn and seanet, but could reef, hand and steer, and cross or send down a royal-yard as quickly, and in as seaman-like manner, as any man in the forecastle. He received indeed his share of ini- tiation, for his shipmates would play a few pranks upon him ; but then they were always ready to show him how to do his work. He never forgot " Go ahead !" But occasionally when Nathan I 1 , ad the look- out at night, he would pace the topgallant fore- castle, and turn his thoughts towards home. Poor fellow ! it had few attractions for him. His parents had died before his recollection, and 3* 46 NATHAN SMITH. there were none whom he could regard as hav- ing supplied their care. Still in every heart there is a sacred spot consecrated by nature, and set apart for filial love ; and when the memory of parents cannot dwell there, the memory of such as are most dear, must occupy its place. These were to him, the hills, the brooks, the trees, for these were the companions of his childhood. Little as such things would dwell in the minds of those blessed with father and mother, brothers and sisters, they were some- thing more than inanimate objects in the eyes of the orphan. He had delighted to wander among them in the days of his boyhood. To them he had given names, and with them he would sit for hours engaged in childish prattle. All this came to his recollection, and so he thought of them as of absent friends. But the smile thus brought upon his countenance would be dispelled when he thought of Jane. He was not one of your sentimental lovers. Yet he had been in love, and though he had tried to persuade himself to the contrary, he was still in love. But little thinking how ardently his affection was returned, from the time he left her father's door, pained beyond endurance by her conduct, he had fancied her the future bride of his rival, and had, therefore, tacitly resigned all his claims. And now ho endeavoured to forget her, and by devoting all his energies to his oc-* 1 cupation, to drive every reminiscence of her from NATHAN SMITH. 47 his mind. At length he fancied that he had ac- complished this, and he began to consider his heart as his own. Ah, Nathan ! You did not know it, but there was a line well fast to it, that led all the way to Vermont, and sometimes it would taughten and fetch such a strain ! Perhaps it was well that he was so ignorant of himself; for if we may believe concurrent tes- timony, love is not favourable to diligence in the various pursuits of life. Nay, young ladies, don't frown so. I don't mean all love. I mean the sentimental, sighing, sickening, dying love, that takes possession of the brain to the exclusion of reason and common sense; but then again I don't mean to advocate its exact extreme. "Will you say yes or no ? Speak quick, because I'm in a hurry ! " The learned Dr. Buchan classes love among diseases, and Campbell gives us to understand, in hisV' Pleasures of Hope," that all mankind are inoculated with it in youth. In some pa- tients it takes mildly, and has a good effect on the constitution, while in others it is attended with painful and febrile symptoms. The learn- ed medical author above quoted, clearly conveys this idea, but lie neglects some important distinc- tions. The disease is evidently acute and chro- nic, sometimes both. The acute, it must be ac- knowledged, is more common in males, and 1 easily cured, while the chronic prevails more among the female sex, and some times -proves 48 NATHAN SMITH. fatal. But when a patient is attacked with acute and chronic together, there is the greatest danger, and no medicine has yet been found suf- ficiently powerful to effect a cure. Then there is the inflammatory kind, and lastly the periodical, and that comes on in severe twinges patient starts convulsively, rolls up his eyes at the stars, puts his hands in his pockets, and then whistles, and so the fit goes off. That was the way it troubled Nathan. Now, then, " gentle " readers, by which I mean here of course the ladies, I have inserted this episode for you, instead of following the hero of the story, through what, to you, might seem the monotony of a long voyage. Love and poetry for the ladies ! You've had a dose of the former, and now we'll consider that Nathan is on his return. Let us imagine him keeping his look-out on a splendid night, off Bermuda, singing singing* what 1 Come, I'll find the words if you will find the tune : Thus lightly o'er the moon-lit sea, O'er ripples whispering with glee, Homeward bound, as blithe and gay, We cheerily pursue our way. No clouds above th' horizon lower To mar the beauty of the hour, Nature around, beneath, above, Breathes but the atmosphere of love. What though the stormy winds may sweep, And rouse the fury of the deep ? And forked lightnings too may play Where Cynthia shed? her placid ray ? NATHAN SMITH. 49 When Nature frowns we'll humbly bow, But we'll enjoy her smiling now. Oh! could we life but thus enjoy, Nor let our coming ills annoy, By searching through the future drear T' anticipate its woes full near, Then life were like the ocean's breast, Though ruffled oft, yet oft at rest ! One day, after an absence of a year, and Nathan was aloft, being sent to loose the main royal, " Take a look round, Smith," said the captain; "see if there is any thing that looks like land." "Ay, ay," sir; 1 ' and in an instant he cried, "Land, ho!" "Where away?" " Right ahead, sir." "Keep her off W. N. W.," said Capt. Coffin to the man at the wheel, for it was the high land of Cape Cod. As the after yards were squared in, the good ship seemed to participate in the joyful alacrity of her crew. Out went the stun' sail booms, and in a few moments she was "shingled down on fore and main," and spanking away with a quartering easterly wind at the rate of ten knots an hour, for Boston light. Landsmen, you do not know, you cannot ima- gine, the thrill of pleasure which the sailor feels, when, after a long absence, he catches the first glimpse of Boston light! It is the subject of conversation and of anticipated joy, during the 50 NATHAN SMITH. whole voyage. Often, when a rising or a setting star appears on the verge of the horizon, comes the exclamation, "Oh, if that was Boston light!" It may be said of it, as the poet said of home, " Through cloud and sunshine, calm and storm, Across life's devious way, A light to brighten and to warm Each dark and cheerless day ! " Onward flew the "Gentoo," and in a little less than three hours, this long-desired sight, Boston light, was greeted by a general shout of joy as it hove up at the distance of fifteen miles. The wind had by this time increased to a gale. the light sails having been taken in and furled soon after they were set. Capt. Coffin well knew that they would serve but for a short time so suddenly do these snow storms come on in the bay but he hoped, by straining every nerve, to gain the anchorage before it should come on in its thickness and fury. All he asked no \v was an hour or two of clear weather and then let it snow for a month. But the light was just discerned, as already mentioned, and he had scarcely time to get its exact bearing, when the full blast of the gale came" upon them, from the eastward, accompanied with rattling hail and blinding snow. "Tell old Bill to take the helm," said the captain; "and now, Bill, keep her steady for your life !" "Ay, ay, sir," said the old tar; and taking NATHAN SMITH. 5i a fresh mouthful of the weed, he handled the spokes as composedly as if he was running down the trades. She was now under double reefs, and sail was soon reduced to two topsails, close reefed. On she flew, with her headway but little diminish- ed. The Captain took his station on the jib- boom end. No noise but that of the whistling gale was heard, fore and aft. All knew what a fearful risk they were running, and all eyes were fixed on the steady old helmsman, in whose hands were their lives. There he stood, unmind- ful of the storm, which beat upon him ; although conscious of the responsibility which was his, he had thrown down his hat, and taken off his jack- et. Often, when scudding a ship in a gale, another man will be sent by an officer, or comes voluntarily, to render assistance at the "lee wheel." One such came now. It was Nathan but he had scarcely touched the wheel, when old Bill, without turning his eyes from the com- pass, shoved him with one arm to leeward, say- ing, " Well meant, my lad ; but this is no time for boy's play out of my way." "Look in the binnacle, one of you, and ,see what time it is," cried the captain, from his place of look-out. The word was passed aft, arid our hero, hav- ing just had his services refused by Bill, cast his eye upon the time-piece, and ran forward to communicate the information, "It lacks five 52 NATHAN SMITH. minutes of ten, sir," he shouted from the night- heads. " Come out here, Nathan," answered the captain ; " what time did you say it was ?" " He repeated his answer, and was about to return inboard, when he was told to remain. " What, my lad, can't you keep a look-out as well as the 'old man?' " " I should have been glad to, long ago, sir, only I was afraid of interfering." " Very well," replied the captain; " don't be afraid of that any longer, but stay here with me, and keep your eyes open. We are not up with the light yet, by eight miles but a good look-out is never amiss. Mr. Davenport ! " "Sir!" "Put the close reef in the mizen topsail, and reef both the courses. Then roll up the sails, and let them hang by the bunt gaskets, with one man aloft to each, ready to drop at the word. Then station all the rest at tacks, sheets and braces, on both sides," The mate sought no explanation of this order, but answered with a cheerful "Ay, ay, sir;" and the work was soon accomplished the men at stations, and silence again reigned, fore and aft. The captain kept his place, unmoved, and Nathan tried to pierce the gloom of night, but could see scarcely the ship's length, except at rare intervals, when there would be a short respite to the thickness of the air. NATHAN SMITH. 53 " Do you see any thing, Nathan?" asked Captain Coffin, observing that the lad was look- ing earnestly on the starboard bow, where his eyes were also intently fixed. " Yes, sir, I think I do there !" answered he, pointing with his finger in the direction where a dark object was now rapidly becoming visible "Yes, sir, it's a sail !*" " Yes,'" replied the captain, " and a pilot boat, or I'm much mistaken On deck there ! Mr. Davenport !" "Sir!" " If that boat hails, make no reply ! " "Ay, ay, sir," answered the officer, still not questioning his superior's order. He knew not the reason why he had been called upon to ex- ecute the former ones, and he now wondered in his own mind at the singularity of the last. Not take a pilot, when, if ever, a pilot seemed need- ed ? Strange, indeed ! but he knew how to keep his thoughts to himself, for he was well practised in his duty. In another moment a hail came on the blast, all of which that could be heard was "pilot!" but, unmindful of it, the ship flew on, and in an instant the little boat was shrouded in darkness astern. The reason of the order in regard to the sails will soon explain itself; but the pilot was thus refused command, because the captain knew that the boat must have been lying to, and drifting pro- bably so long, that his knowledge of the bearing 54 NATHAN SMITH. light was not equal to his own, for he had run directly for it since first seen, and its present bearing would be made more uncertain by the loss of time and the evolution of rounding to, in order to receive the pilot on board. Still it was a fearful responsibility to take, for should the ship be lost, every one would blame him for having refused a pilot. He pressed his hand upon his forehead for a moment, with an intensity of feeling that no reader who has not been placed in circumstances somewhat similar, can imagine " You've good eyes, my lad," he said, '-'to have seen that boat before I did keep them wide open in at least half an hour we'll see the light, or if the tide has played us a trick, feel the Graves, or be on Nan- tasket beach !" "Oh, no, sir," answered Nathan, emboldened by his superior's slight familiarity, " we shall get in safe, I'm confident !" " Confident !" replied the Captain, " the young are always confident but why afe you so now ?" " I trust in God, sir!" The Captain grasped his hand, and said, 11 'Tis a good motto, boy better than the one I gave you, when we left home, and which you have nobly adhered to. Yes, trust in God ! who- ever can do that on such a stormy night as this, may safely trust him for deliverance in every storm of life ay, and in the darkness of the night of death!" '-* NATHAN SMITH. 55 Now came the time of hazard. If not affected by the tide, the light when seen again should ap- pear directly ahead. Often, when the snow falls thick as at this time, it is not visible till the re- volving flash is thrown upon a vessel's deck. The captain still maintained his place, but Na- than had crawled out to the end of the flying jib- boom, and was gazing earnestly around on both bows. " Light, ho !" shouted Nathan; " I see it, sir, broad on the weather bow !" " Down helm !" cried the captain, jumping in on deck. " Let fall, aloft there! Brace up sharp, and sheet home ! Down tacks and aft sheets !" Had the "Gentoo" been manned as scantily as many vessels are, these orders could not have been promptly executed, and she would have been a wreck upon Nantasket beach, and the lives of the crew would have been sacrificed to the cu- pidity of her owners but she was well manned and well disciplined. Every man knew his place, and the orders were in execution as soon as ut- tered. But on the instant she began to come to the wind, a fearful rumbling sound was heard under the main chains, which had the effect of momentarily paralyzing all exertion. "Oh, she's ashore!" exclaimed one whose fright fairly overcame him. " Take that for your information !" roared the stentorian voice of Abel Coffin and as his fist, 56 NATHAN SMITH. with the power of a sledge hammer, sent him rolling into the lee scuppers, he added, " Obey your orders, every man of you !" At that moment she felt the full force of her courses sails which no common circumstances would have justified, being given to a ship in such a gale and as this additional press of can- vass laid her almost on her beam ends, her draft of water was lessened and she crawled off from the shelving beach. " Keep her close at it, Bill," said the captain in his usual tone. " How does she head, now?" "N. by E. 5 sir." " There's the light about three points under our lee, sir," said Mr. Davenport. " Ay, then it bears N. N. W., we've come inside of the Hardings, and now must weather the shoal off Point Alderton. Watch the light by the compass, and let me know when it bears N. W. Keep her close at it, Bill !" "Close at it, sir!" " Stand by the after braces." " The light bears N. W., sir," said the mate, in a few moments. " Square the main yard, and haul up the main- sail ! Keep her right for the light !" " Keep her for the light, sir," responded Bill. In a few moments the ship had approached so near the light, that she was exactly in mid- channel, and her course was again altered. " Lay the yards square ! keep her W. by S. NATHAN SMITH. 57 half S., haul up the foresail, and stand by to clew up the topsails. Is your anchor all clear, Mr. Davenport ?" "All clear, sir!" The ship once more flew on as it were through a sea of milk, for the breakers on every side were combing and hissing around her but in a few moments these gave place to smooth water, while the intervening land hushed the loud roar of the blast, and the noble ship, so late the sport of the elements, rode quietly at her anchor the conqueror of her foes ! A day or two after the arrival of the "Gentoo," the crew were assembled, according to custom, in the counting-room of Mr. S , to be paid off. Their accounts were all made out, and on the paper of each one, was placed the exact amount of money due him. Outside the door Stood their kind friends, the landlords for they were not allowed to enter there, nor to receive'the wages from orders signed by sailors, and signed often too in a drunken fit. But they were all ready the moment each man came out, to handle his cash and take care of it for him I And they do take care of it, so that it is but little the sailor ever sees of it again. Let me ask, not of sailors, (for full well do they know, and yet they seem unable to awake from their infatuation,) but of people on shore, have you any idea of the system of robbery that is carried on by these land-sharks? Often, gene- 58 NATHAN SMITH. rally, seamen who have been absent twelve or eighteen months, and those who have been paid off from a three years' cruise in a man-o'-war to the amount of three or four hundred dollars, go to sea again in a fortnight so much in debt to these landlords who have " kept their money " for them, that they are obliged to pay them their two months' advance ! Were examples wanting, I could pile them up to the main-top. One is enough just now. Tfrree years ago a ship arrived from India, hav- ing been absent eighteen months. Some three weeks afterwards I was about to sail on a for- eign trading voyage of uncertain duration, of from ten months to two years. The captain of the ship lately arrived, recommended his cook to me, and I accordingly shipped him. We were to sail on the morning of Saturday, and on Friday evening, the cook, intoxicated, was brought down by his landlord and another negro, with his bed and chest in a handcart. I ordered the cook and his "dunnage" to be passed on board, and put below. "Stop minute, sir," said the landlord, "jus you put your name on dis paper first." Thus it read : " Captain and owners ship Please pay to the order of s all the wages that may be due me on the arrival of the , at port of discharge in the United States. Value re- ceived, his Signed, Henry >