Tom Cringle's Log

in an aleho

y fame for a pot o

III. II

s bitter exceedingly, and grievous to be 'borne. Cooped up in a small suffocating cabin, scarcely eight feet square, and not above four feet high, with the certainty of being murdered, as I conceived, were I to try to force my way on deck, and the knowledge that all my earthly prospects, all my dreams of promotion, were likely to be blasted, and for ever ruined by my sudden spiriting away, not to take into the heavy tale the misery which my poor mother and my friends must suffer, when they came to know it-and "who will tell this to thee, Mary

cheese and assafoetida, and seldom stirs aboard when the sun is up, but lies concealed in the most obscure and obscene crevices it can creep into; so that, when it is seen, its wings and body are thickly covered with dust and dirt of various shades, which any culprit who chances to fall asleep with his mouth

ve. I first tried the skylight; it was battened down-then the companion hatch; it was locked-but the ladder leading up to it being cooler than the noisome vapour bath I had left, I remained standing in it, trying to catch a mouthful of fresh air through the joints of the door. All this while we had been slipping along shore with the land-wind on our beam, at the rate of five or six knots, but so gently and silently, that I could distinctly hear the roar of the surf, as the long smooth swell broke on the beach, which, f

for the sea-breeze, and exclaiming from time to time in his barbarous lingo, "Souffle, souffle, San Antonio." But the saint had no bowels, and there we lay roasting until near ten o'clock in the forenoon. During all this period, Obed, who was shortsighted, as I learned afterwards, kept desiring his right arm, Paul Brandywine, to keep

uds to windwa

and the question was rep

windward, sir, right in the wake of the sun, just now, bu

ed, and said there is nothing; and he said go again seven times, and it came to pass the seve

s it struck me, unless he wished to wear them out by flapping against the masts. He was indeed a strange mixture of skill and carelessness; but, when

ing down as usual in cats' paws, and freshening gradually; nor did I expect there would be, although I was certain it would soon blow a merry capful of wind, which might take in some of the schoon

lying jib, which was scarcely done, when the moaning sound roughened into a roar, and the little vessel began to yerk at the head seas, as if she would have cut through them, in place of rising to them, and to lie over, as if Davy Jones himself had clapperclawed the mast he

e death out of the maintop, or off the weather-yard arm, would to my imagination have been an easy exit comparatively; but to be choked in this abominable hole, and drowned darkling like a blind puppy-the very thought made me frantic, an

all hands seemed to be doing their duty energetically and well. "Come, the vagabonds are sailors after all, we shan't be swamped this turn;" and I resumed my place on the companion ladder, with more ease of mind, and a vast deal more composure, than when I was pitched from it when the squall came on. In a moment after I could hear the captain sing out, loud even above the howling of the wind and rushing of the water, "There it comes at last-put your helm hard a-port-down with it, Paul, down with it, man-luff, and shake the wind out of her sails, or over we goes, clean and for ever.' Everything

h Paul, with a congratulatory chuckle; "but I say, sir, what is

ow, Paul? Negroes bur

d flew over the bluff with that swirl,

pped my head out, to the no small dismay of the mate; but Obed was up to me, and while with one hand he seized the glass, he ran the sliding top sharp up against my neck, till he pinned me into a kin

sir, is round

alarm, so soon as they could venture down to the overseer's house, which was on the smuggling boat shoving off, and Mr Fyall immediately despatche

f there be," rejoined th

ke a man-of-war-and that must have been t

ng matter if we are caught with this young splice on board

, long

sir; I can see her ensign and pennant

d Obed, in great perplex

; "the breeze has lulled, and in light winds she

he water, as they threw bucketfuls on the sails, to thicken them and make them hold more wind, w

he will stand the main-gaff-topsail yet-set it, Paul, set it;" and his heart warmed as he gained confidence in the qual

rmerly ascertained there was a candle in the cabin, on the small table, stuck into a bottle; so I immediately struck a light, and as I knew that meekness and solicitation, having been tried in vain, would not serve me, I determined to go on the other t

ome capital cigars. By this time I was like to faint with the heat and smell; so I filled a tumbler with good half-and-half and swigged it off. The effect was speedy; I thought I could eat a bit, so I attacked the salt junk and made a

that be none of our ditties, I gu

deck, sir,'

it must be he, and no one else; the

, as he removed the skylight,

mediately chucked half a tumbler of very strong grog, and under cover of it attempted to bolt through the scuttle, and ther

to you," said Obed, laying the emphasis on the la

own, you long-legged Yankee smuggling scoundrel, or I'll blow your bloody buccaneering craft out of the water like the pee

"heehaw, heehaw."-"Smash my eyes, man, but them barrels be full of pimento, all but tha

pimento, I'll set fire to

s chap, a brave slip, to carry it so, w

down to the cabin, doubling his long limb

but I can't stand back now." "Why, may I ask?" "Simply, because one of your men-of-war schooners an't more than hull down astarn of me at this moment; she is working u

means so s

and forereach on you, ay, and weather on you too, hand over hand; so this is my compact-if he nails you, you will require a friend at court, and I will stand that friend; if you escape-and I will not interfere either by advice or otherwise, either to get you taken or to get you clear will you promise to put me on board of the fi

rom my finger-ends; one might conceive of Norwegian bears greeting each other after this fashion, bu

pend on me; smuggler though I be, and somewhat w

there could be no deception, and from that moment we were on what

you, so let us have

tain, come on deck, if you p

see the spirits of the crew fell, as if conscious they had no chance if it f

nd driving the joints into each other, with such vehemence as if he would have b

about and about, as he tried to hit his own very peculiar focus. At length he took a long, long, breathless look,

ngtail with more cloths in it than our squaresail

this will do,' thought I; 'she is after us; and if old Dick Casket brings that fiery sea

" cried Paul, trembl

ree flags at the fore.-She must, I'll bet a hundred dollars, have taken ou

deceive old Dick-he is not the man to take a herring for a h

ead," sung out three men

t so. "Come, Master Obediah, it thic

en flurried at the first, but he was collected and cool as a cucumber now, when he saw every thing dependin

never see the broad, smooth Chesapeake again-no more peach brandy for Paul

fearfully the poor fellow's foreb

and I went forward to where the captain was reconnoitring the sail a-head through the

little vessel snug under mainsail, foresail, and jib, which was as much as she could stagger under, and every thing right and tight, and all clear to make more sail should the breeze lull, he ordered the men below, and took the helm himself. What queer animals sailors are! We were rising the corvette fast; and on going aft again from the bows, where I had been lookin

white smoke spouted over the bows of the Gleam, about twenty yards to windward, and then blew back again amongst the sails and rigging, as if a gauze veil had for an instant been thrown over the littl

d the Captain; "the Long Tom must be a tearer

d up in the companion, there would have been no

few more as well aimed, and he

all the apparent composure in the world, he smiled as he said, "Not so fast, Lieutenant; you and I have not

d had hauled his wind also, so that I did not conceive it possible t

try it, Obe

ejoined he. "Does that corvette now ca

s 32-pound

ng your cot in her g

he thrashed at it, sending the spray flashing over her mastheads at every pitch; but notwithstanding her weatherly qualities, the heavy cross sea, as she drove into it, headed h

would have chased her under water; the only chance remaining was to stand on, and trust to the breeze taking off, and try to weather

gun on his topgallant forecastle, as if to ascertain beyond all doubt the extent o

winkling of feet, and here and there a busy peering face through the ports, that the crew were at quarters fore and aft, while fourteen marines

ight well prepared and ready for you, that I can tell you; the skipper of that ship has had some dedication, I guess, in the war on your coast, for he seems up to your tricks, and I don't doubt but he will tip you the stem, if need be, with as little compunction as I would kill a cockroach, devil confound the whole breed! There,-I see

ut Obed was mute as a stone. At length I took the glass from my

s far as they could clutch the tiller to windward, and his enormous head, supported on his very short trunk, that seemed to be countersunk into the deck, gave him a most extraordinary appearance. But this was not all; his complexion, usually sallow and sunburnt, was now ghastly and blue, like that of the corpse of a drowned man; the muscles of the neck, and the flesh of the cheeks and chin were rigid and fixed, and shrunk into one half of their usual compass; the lips were so compressed that they had almost entirely disappeared, and all that marked his mouth was a black line;

wn it; and any man who would undervalue my courage in consequence, can never, taking into consideration the peculiarities of my situation, have known the appalling sound, or infernal effect of a discharge of grape. Round shot in broadsides is a joke to it; musketry is a joke to it; but only conjure up in your imagination, a shower

ade-on the contrary, they had taken all the precautions men could do in their situation, to keep out of harm's way, or at least to lessen the danger-there they sat, silent, and cool, and determined. "I shall never undervalue an American as an enemy again," thought I. I lay down on the side of the

he mainmast, I ex

thick stream of blood was trickling down

shed down as the poor fellow appeared to be under some fearful and mysterious conscious

d tongue"-was the

nger;" and making a spring, I jammed myself through the skylight, until I sat on the deck, looking aft, and confronting him, and there we were, stuck up like the two kings of Brentford, or a couple of smiling cherries

pper sheathing, clear as glass, and glancing like gold, was seen high above the water, throughout her whole length, above which rose her glossy jet black bends, surmounted by a milk-white streak, broken at regular intervals into eleven goodly ports, from which the British cannon, ugly customers at the best, were grinning, tompion out, open-mouthed at us; and above all, the clean, well-stowed white hammocks filled the nettings, from tafferel to cathead oh! that I had been in one of them, snug on the berth deck! Aloft, a cloud of white sail swelled to the breeze, till the cloth seemed inclined to say goodby to the bolt ropes, bending the masts like willow-wands, as if the devil, determined to beat Paganini himself, was preparing fiddlesticks to play a spring

e locks,) in their clean white frocks and trowsers, the officers of the ship, and the marines, clea

with life, struggling to tear away the ensign haulyards, and to escape high into the clouds; while, from the main-royal-masthead, the long white pennant streamed upwards into the azure he

hot forth its glance of flame, without a word being uttered, as she kept away to bring them to bear in succession, while the long feathery cloud of whirling white smoke that shrouded her sides from stem to stem, was sparkling brilliant

ll that?'

r hull, and made the splinters glance about merrily; and the musketballs were mottling our top sides and spars, plumping into the timber, whit whit!

? The iron has clenched some of your chaps down there.-Stay a

give in, I cannot give in; all I have in the world swims in the litt

blooded, calculating scoundrel-brave I will neve

deeds done in my time, which at a moment like this I don't much like to think upon. I am

isted I. He wou

cks after all. I paid it off, and, God help me, I have never thriven since, enemy although he was. I see the poor fellow's face yet, as I!"-He checked himself suddenly, as if aware that he might say more than could be conveniently retracted. "But I dare not be take

up of the small arms again. Two round shot now tore right through the deck, just beneath the larboard coamings of the main hatchway; the little vessel's deck, as she lay over, being altogether exposed to, the enemy's fire, they made her whole frame tremble again, smashing every thing in their way to shivers, and going right out through her bottom on the opposite side, within a dozen str

you can't go on t'other tack, surely, with these pretty eyelet holes between wind and water on the weather side there? Your captain

for me to raise my voice here, which the small scuttle, like Dionys

p my pisto

me he had become so intensely excited as he was now, he spoke wi

er you won't strike, y

cut off in the prima vera of his days, and to part for ever from-. Poo, that there line is not my forte. However, finding the haemorrhage by no means great, and that the wound was in fact slight, I took the captain's rather strong hint to be still, and lay quiet, until a 32-pound shot struck us bang on the quarter. The subdued force with which it came, showed that we were widening our distance, for it did not drive through and through with a crash, but lodged in a timber; nevertheless it started one of the planks across which Paul and I lay, and pitched us both with extrem

ments increased-the blood began to flow from his mouth-his hands became clay-cold and pulseless-his features sharp,

report became more and more faint, an

he Wave, resuming her superiori