Tom Cringle's Log

life in tumult

he Corsa

occur for Jamaica, and we were lounging about one forenoon on the fortifications, looking with

as a Cor

was a

aniny buc

a me Peter

jiggery,

claimed Mr Splinter; "where

free and easy dat, anyh

the negro, very gravely, without lifting his head, as he sat mending his jacket in one of the

scream, for song it

ally's d

hoe in an

halffull

e knew not

ery,

well enough, my man; and you can scarcely have forgot

er him, as he sat tailor-fashion, he fairly capsized out of his perch, and toppled down on his nose-a feature fortunately so flattened by the ha

ty, gentlemen, where have you drop from?-Where is de old Torch? Many a time hab I Peter Mangrove, pi

u scour her copper agains

ok, and laid his hand on his breast "

l never give you that trouble again-foundered-all

I put up my needle, and I will take a turn wid you." Here he drew himself up with a great deal of absurd gravity.

one of the squadron arriving from this; but here have we been for more than a month, without a single pennant belonging to the station having looked in: our money

y at us, then carefully aro

of my own; but, beside dat, it is good for me at present to make some friend

gainst your name in the mas

mosh to return to my poor wife, Nancy Cator, dat I

resist putti

led, Peter,-fine child that; no

sa-I meant, about to be confine in de workhouse, for stealing de admiral's Muscovy ducks;" and he laughed loud and long.-"However, if you will promise

nage this? There is no Kingston trader here at present, and y

en we get to Jamaica? Secondly, wi you promise dat you will not seek to know more of de vessel

you know I saved your bacon in that awkward affair, wh

u saved him from being seized upt when de gratings, boatswain's mates, an

d as I guess you mean one of the forced traders, we will venture in her, rat

into a canoe that lay beneath, and in a trice we saw him jump on board of a lon

ished gold on her very sharp bows and beautiful run; and we could see from the bastion where we stood, that her decks were flush and level. She had no cannon mounted that were visible, but we distinguished grooves on her well-scrubbed decks, as from the recent traversing of carronade slid

ts, until they fined away into slender wands. The sails, that were loose to dry, were old, and patched, And evidently displayed to cloak the character of the vessel, by an ostentatious show of their unserviceable condition, but her rigging was beautifully fitted, every rope lying in the chafe of another being carefully served with hide. There were several large bushy-whiskered fellows lounging about the deck,

in a sea-way. The new-comer was strong and broad-shouldered, with long muscular arms, and a chest like Hercules; but his legs and thighs were, for his bulk, remarkably puny and misshapen. A thick fell of black wool, in close tufts, as if his face had been stuck full of cloves, covered his chin and upper lip; and his hair, if hair it could be called, was twisted into a hundred short plaits, that bristled out, and gave his head, when he took his hat off, the appearance of a porcupine. There was a large sabre-cut across his nose, and down his cheek, and

e master of that vesse

are desirous of a passage to Jamaica." Th

not sail with the devil; and who ever saw a negro Scotchman befo

d many a voyage I have made as cabin-boy and cook, in the good ship the Peggy Bogle, with worthy old jock Hunter; but that matters not. I was told you wanted to go to Jamaica; I dare say our captain will take you for a moderate pass

chman. His dress was quizzicaly enough, white trowsers, a long-flapped embroidered waistcoat, that might have belonged to a Spanish grandee, with an old-fashioned French-cut coat, showing the frayed marks where the lace had been stri

safe in Mancheoneal Bay; but how shall ve man

nd; I dare say the smell of the pa

rework. In the present instance, it was held aloft on a boat-hook, and cast a strong spectral light on the band of lawless ruffians, who were so crowded together, that they entirely filled the boats, no part of which could be seen. It seemed as if two clusters of fiends, suddenly vomited forth from hell, were floating on the surface of the midnight sea, in the midst of brimstone flames. In a few moments, our crew was strengthened by about forty as ugly Christians as I ever set eyes on. They were of all ages, countries, c

ore we started?" said I to the Dutch ca

the Philistines, where a quarrel would have been worse than useless. I was gulping down the insult as well as I could, when the black captain came-aft, and, with the air of an eq

des mounted, six of a side, with their accompaniments of rammers and sponges, water buckets, boxes of round, grape, and canister, and tubs of wadding, while the combing

were placed aft, and at the gangways and bows, who every now and then passed the word to keep a bright look-out, while the rest of the watch were stretched silent, but evidently broad awake, under the lee of the boat. We noticed that each man ha

nce. The black veil crept gradually on, until it shrouded the whole firmament, and left us in as dark a night as ever poor devils were out in. By and by, a narrow streak of bright moonlight

er to me in a whisper. At this moment it lightened vividly. "I am sur

dark speck against the bright background, rising a

s aware of her proximity. We were mistaken in this, however, for the captain su

; but, doucement, you land crab!-Man the fore clew-garnets.-Hands by the topgallant clewlines-peak and

ked, carefully extinguished-a hundred and twenty men at quarters, and the ship under bare poles. The head yards were then squared, and we bore up before the wind. The

hasing de Gobel,"

a heavy cutter without doubt our old fellow-cruiser t

om her; it is only dat footy little

and she is from Santa Martha with a freight of s

onjecture be true, I know the craft-a heavy vessel of her class, and you may dep

hand before I strike; better that than have one's bones bleached in chains on a key at Port Royal.-But, you see you cannot control us, gen

loose on both sides, and double-shotted; the long gun slewed round; the tack of the fore-and-aft foresail hauled up, and w

ith the water roaring and flashing at her bows. As the vessels neared each other, they bot

acks her commander hailed,

Blackie, as he bac

hooner i

sh schoone

and whith

na to Por

d send your b

ne that wil

ng-to, and I w

ptain, in a low stern tone; "let them

ning through the davit blocks, and the splash of the jolly boat touching the water, then the measured stroke

stake on board of a pirate, on the eve of a fierce contest with one of our own cruisers, was aggravated by the consider

and called out, leaning well over the nettings, "Get

, while the fingers of the other were laid on his lips. He could not have said more plainly, "Hold your tongu

il I see what you are made of; and as he spoke he sprung on board, but the instant he got over

side, which crashing through her bottom, swamped her in a moment, precipitating the miserable crew into the

r, and take out the

, when the blackamoor, clapping a pistol to his head, bid him, as he feared instant death, hail "that the boat had swamped under the

nter, "don't you mean to

savage answered in a voice of thunder, "Let

ious villainy. By her light the cutter's people could see that there was no one struggling in the water now, and that the

e making sail, did the same, and after h

't you run to leewar

gain for another boat," said the

ars, as one who had looked his last look on earth; the large tears were flowing down his cheeks, and mingling with the crimson streaks,

ide was poured in, and we could hear the shot rattle and tear along the cutter's deck, and th

and cursing, each in his own tongue, most hideously, yet their very numbers, pent up in a small vessel, were against them. At length, amidst the fire, and smoke, and hellish uproar, we could see that the deck had become a very shambles; and unless they soon carried the cutter by boarding, it was clear that the coolness and discipline of my own glorious service must prevail, even against such fearful odds, the superior size of the vessel, greater number of guns, and heavier metal. The pirates seemed aware of this themselves, for they now made a desperate attempt forward to carry their ant

n, sunk, burned, and destroyed I am! Captain, Captain, we

eck soon ceased the cannon were again plied gradually the fire slackened, and we could hear that the pirate had scraped clear and escaped. Some time after this, the lieutenant commanding the cutter came down. Poor Mr Douglas! both Mr Splinter a

o you hear, tell him to come to me when he is done forward, but not a moment soone

arted-but at this momen

d; scarcely one of us untouched." The poor fellow

fellows in the boat have died?" Here he was cut short by a tremendous scuffle on the ladder,

his hair; but again the uproar was renewed, and Donnally was lugged in, scrambling and struggling, between two seamen-"thi

nced again. "There were four of them, yeer honour-a black one and two blue ones-and a piebald one, with four legs and a bushy tail-each with two horns on his head, for all the world like those on Father M'Cleary's red cow-no, she was humbled-it is Father Clannachan's I

rove, jumping from the berth. "Look at me, you Irish tief, an

in the salt sea, had his bullet head not encountered the broadest part of the purser, who was in the act of descending, with such violence, that he shot him out of the companion several feet above the deck, as if he had been discharged from a culverin