Tom Cringle's Log

e is beyond

th, V

manage. The first lieutenant was engaged on deck, and the master was in his cot, suffering from a severe contusion; so when got on board the corvette, and dived into the gunroom in search

evening; but the offer of the grog sounded gratefully in mine ear, and I was about tackling to a stout rummer of the same, when a s

y, that he will be glad of your c

s I have had a snack. We have had no dinner

sent me, sir. He has not had any dinner either;

ces had been made with so much kindliness, that I got up, and made a strong endeavour to rouse myself; and,

spirit, who had taken the small liberty of using my faculties and tongue without my concurrence, I hastily asked the man if he was an American?-He stared in

full stop, and leant back against the door-post. The Captain, who was walking up and down the cabin, had heard me speak, but without comprehending

eady-so take that chair at the

drunk the ocean, had it been claret or vin-de-grave-to both of which I helped myself as largely as good manners would allow, or a little beyond, mayhap. All this while the Captain was stowing his cargo with great zeal, and tifting away at

by the bilge-grasp the neck, man, at least in this fervent climate-thank you. Pity you had not caught the captain though. What you told me of that man very much inte

he champaigne to trickle leisurely from a glass half a yard long, which he had applied to his lips, when I said, "Well, the imagination does sometimes play one strange tricks-I verily believe in second sight now, Captain, for at this

n behind him. It was about eighteen feet from me, and as there was no light nearer it than the swinging lamp over the table at which we were seated, the whole of the cabin thereabouts was thrown considerably into shade. The cape of the cloak was turned over, showing the white lining, and was rather bundled as it were into a round heap, about the size of a man's head. When first I looked at it, there was a dreamy, glimmering indistinctness about it that I could not well understand, and I wou

have vanished with the closing of my eyes; but it did not, for when I looked at it again, the wo

ry all this," I m

that you stare over my shoulder in that way? Were a woman now, I should tremble to l

s of his dying face! Why it is his face, and no fanciful grouping of my heated brain. Look there, sir-look there-I know it can't be but th

espiration to a degree that I thought I should have been suffocated. I had the feeling as if my soul was going to take wing. It was not fear, nor could I

dly; "your face was like the north-west moon in a fog but a minute ago, and now it is as

on the skipper, I thought to brazen it out by trying the free and easy line, which was neither more nor less than arrant impertinence in our relative positions. "Why, I have been heated a little, and amusing myself with sundry vain imaginings, but allow me to take wine with you, Cap

to my lips; but notwithstanding my increasing giddiness, and the buzzing in my ears, and swimming of mine e

ak, which now seemed to be stretched out at greater length, and to be altogether more voluminou

ed such things,--it stirs again-it takes the figure of a man-as if it were a pall covering hi

oak do y

e cabin? "-and I started on my legs.-"Captain Transom," I continued, with g

prised beyond

prehend you; indeed I cannot; but, Mafame, indulg

e of it, and was in the act of taking it from the locke

"Don't move the covering from his face, for God's sake-don't remove it," and I lay back in my chair

ugh somewhat distant, air of a superior officer to an inferior who was his

ur past fatigues, has been very trying, and as I will report it, I hope it may clap a good spoke in your wheel; but you are overheated, and have been over-excited; fatigue has broken you down, and I must really reque

opriety, not to say indecency, of my conduct; but there was a spell on me; I tried to speak, but could not; and, believing that I

that young gentleman, Mafame, and send Isaac to the doctor, and bid him come

y shattered nerves, the violent throbbing in my head ceased, and I began to hug mysel

breeze enough to set the sail to sleep, although not so strong as to prevent their giving a low murmuring flap now and then, when the corvette rolled a little heavier than usual on the long swell. There was not a cloud to be seen in the

hoy where the devil are you cruising to" So, to come back to my story. I went aft, and mounted the small poop, and looked towards the aforesaid moon, a glorious resplendent tropical moon, and not the paper lantern affair hanging in an atmosphere of fog and smoke, about which your blear-eyed poets haven't so much. By the by, these gentry are fond of singing of the blessed sun-were they sailors they would bless the moon also, and be-to them, in place of writing much wearisome poetry regarding her blighting propensities. But I have lost the end of my yarn once more, in the strands of these parentheses. Lord, what a word to pronounce in the plural!-I can no more get out now, than a girl's silk worm from the innermost of a nest of pill boxes, where, to ride the simile to death at once, I have warped

e is this end of your yarn, t

e mettle than I take you for, that is all.-You would have about as much quicksilver in your stomach, as I have in my purse, and all my silver

lver with its course diminished in the distance to a point, flowing towards us, from the extreme verge of the horizon, through a rolling sea of ink, with the waters of which for a time it disdained to blend. Concentrated, and shining like polished silver afar off-intense and sp

the vessel rolled, was so steady and slow, that they seemed stationary, while it was the moon and stars which appeared to vibrat

what a beauteous change! Now each mast, with its gently swelling canvass, the higher sails decreasing in size, until they tapered away nearly to a point, though topsail, topgallant sail, royal and skysails, showed like towers of snow, and the cordage like silver threads, while each dark spar seemed to be of eb

forward, or were stowed out of sight under the lee of the boats; the first Lieutenant, as if captivated by the serenity of the scene, was leaning with folded arms on the weather gangway, looking abroad upon the ocean, and whistling now and then either for a wind, or for want of thought. The only being who showed sign of li

ight look-out there," s

m the four look-ou

gway, "All's well" rose s

k-out, and ending with the response of the man on the poop. My dream was dissipated-and

ils are; that mizzen-topsail is well cut, eh? Sits well, don't

chip-the deck was alive in an insta

f the mizzen-top?" grow

e, s

ok at that sail, sir,-how many turns can you count in that clew, si

ut the obnoxious turns were shaken out, and the sail set again so as to please even the fastidi

are as good as one of us now, only want the order to join, you know-so will you oblige m

bly,-with mu

a few steps towards where the old q

head, Quar

If the wind holds, we shall wea

lancing backwards and forwards across

hat are you skylarking about the mizen-ch

tion to his serva

Captain, and tell him that I am quite well n

general of my actions; but the Doctor, to whom he had been sent, having now got a leis

o, but it is quite gone off, or nearly so-there, feel my pul

re," feeling in his waistcoat pocket, "here are a couple of capers for you; take them now, will you?" (And he handed me two blue pills, which I the next moment chucked overboa

am regularly done up myself," quoth the

y piccaroon should make a dash at any of them. They slid noiselessly along like phantoms of the deep, every thing in the air and in the water was so still-I crossed to the lee side of the deck to look at them-The Wave, seeing some one on the h

said I to myself, "and the f

in the cabin, again returned with increased violence-"It was no deception af

seaman on board the little vessel, but my heated fancy did not so construe it. Th

me, Tom?" said th

e Firebrand's shadow, so that her sails, but a moment before white as wool

id I, audibly, "and calls me-g

that in a low tone, for she was now close under the counte

n for a moment with a boat-hook in the dark shadow of the ship. This was done so silently, that neither the lookout on the poop, who was rather on the

n, my lads; qui

hange had come over the spirit of my dream, for I now was again conscious that I w

ard it, "make more sail, and haul out from the fleet for Man

moke. When she had shot a cable's length a-head of the Firebrand, we kept away a point or two, so as to stand more in for the land, and, like most maniacs, I was inwardly exulting at the success of my manoeuvr

sir

the life-buoy-lower away the

an ignis fatuus. The cordage rattled through the davit blocks, as the boats dashed into the water-the splash of the oars was heard, and presently the twinkle of the life-buoy was lost in the lu

repeated from one to an

nough,"

back, sir?" said

here without us-no, no; crack on, we

until I suffered the most excruciating agony, as if my bones had been converted into red-hot tubes of iron, and the marrow in them had been dried up with

did all they could once or twice they seemed about standing back to the ship, but, "make sail, make sail," was my only cry. They did so, and there I lay without any thing between me and the wet planks but a thin sailor's blanket and the canvass of the hammock,

take me down, I am sure I shall see him, and the dead m

in me and about me as if the deck on which I lay had been steel at a white heat, and the gushing blood, as under the action of a force-pump, throbbed through my head, like it would have burst on my brain-and such a racking, splitting headache-no langu

rs every now and then, while I raved about Obed, and Paul, and the scenes I had witnessed on board during the chase, and in the attack. None of my rough but kind nurses expected I could have held on till nightfall; but shortly after sunset I became more collected, and, as I was afterwards

ding cahn in the animal; but the poor fellow to whom I had expressed myself so endearingly, was, I learned, most awfully put out and dismayed. He twisted and turned his iron features int

more like bunches of frosted carrots, dipped in a tar-bucke

is any longer, I'll give you my grog for the next two day

g-hall, which was the back entrance into the overseer's house, opened flush into the little garden through which we had come in-there were lights, and sounds of music, singing, and jovialty within. The farther end of the room, at the door of which I now rested, opened into the piazza, or open veranda, which crossed it at right angles, and constituted the front of the house, forming, with this apartment, a figure somewhat like the letter T. I stood at the foot of the letter, as it were, and as I looked towards the piazza, which was gaily lit up, I could see it was crowded with male and female negroes in their holyday apparel, with their wholesome clear brown-black skins, not blue-black as

I had seen before; this much I could discern, for the light fell strong on them, especially on the face of the latter, which shone like a star of the first magnitude, or a lighthouse in the red gleam-the usual family of the overseer, the book-keepers that is, and the worthy who had been the proximate cause of all my sufferings, the ove

n the visage of no other human being, he made to describe a small circle round the centre of his face, and slewing his head on one side, he was warbling, ore Yotundo, some melodious ditty, with infinite complacency, and, to all appearance, to the great delight of his auditory, when his eyes lighted on me,-he was petrified in a moment, I seemed to have blasted him,--his warbling ceased instantaneously, the colour faded from his cheeks, but there he sat, with open mouth, and in the same attitude as if he still sung, and I had suddenly become deaf, or as if he and his immediate compotators, and

appalling object, when the voice of him who spok

possessed-I cannot call it by any other name-an unnatural strength pervaded my shrunken muscles and emaciated frame, and I stepped boldly into the hall. While I had stood at the door, listless and feeble as a child, hanging on the arms of the two topmen, after they had raised me from the hammock, the whole party had sat silently gazing at me, with their faculties paralysed with terror. But now, when I stumped into the room like the marble statue in Don Juan, and glared on them, my eyes sparkling with unearthly brilliancy under the fierce diste

t for we door; we all shall dead, oh-we all shall go dea

an awful sicht!" quod

tt of a musket," quoth the cowboy@an Irishman to be sure, whose round bullet head wa

face as long as my arm, and a drawl worthy of a Methodist parson; "an

s if half ashamed, speedily extricated themselves from the chaos of chairs and living creatures, righted the table, replaced the candles, and having sat down, looking as grave as judges on the

ll, "you are right for once,

k as I advanced, with a most laughable cast of countenance, between jest and earnest, while Fyall kept shouting to him-"If it be

g attorney. Another hitch, which carried him clean out of the supper-room, and across the narrow piazza; but, in this last movement, he made a regular false step, the two back feet of his chair dropping over the first step of the front stairs, whereupon he lost his balance, and toppling over, vanished in a twinkling, and rolled down half-a-dozen steps, heels over head, until he lay sprawli

etely dumfoundered by all this, that they could not speak. At length,

ther gentlemanlike or Christian like, to be after funning and fuddling, while a fellow creature, and hi

the lead in setting the whole household immediately to work, to have me properly cared for. The best room in the house was given up to me. I was carefully shifted and put to

erves you for bed-curtains; while beyond you look forth into the sequestered court-yard, overshadowed by one vast umbrageous kennip tree, that makes every thing look green and cool and fresh beneath, and whose branches the rushing wind is rasping cheerily on the shingles of the roof-and oh, how passing sweet is the lullaby from the humming of numberless glancing bright-hued flies, of all sorts and sizes, sparkling among the green leaves like chips of a prism, and the fitful whirring of the fairy-flitting humming bird, now here, now there, like winged gems, or living atoms of the rainbow, round which their tiny wings, moving too quickly to be visible, form little haloes-and the palm tree at the house-corner is shaking its long hard leaves, making a sound for all the world like the pattering of rain; and the orange-tree top, with ripe fruit, and green fruit, and w

my bed. Although weak as a sucking infant, I had a strong persuasion on my mind that all danger was over, and that I was convalescent. I had no

notice

coolly, man, and thank God that you are now f

y shou

he nerves of the two parts; sometimes I felt as if touched by the hand of another; at others, as if I had touched the person of some one else. When I raised my hand to my forehead, my fingers instinctively moved to take hold of my hair

d I. "A kale-blade, whe

e-blade here, And

ghter, and I saw he kept his quizzical face turned towards

Aaron-where's my

all, "your hair will soon

o!-"Ah, Mary, and are you the Delilah who have s

ies, black, brown, and white, (I give the pas to the staple of the coun

y head, you dog?" said I. "You cannibal Indian,

ush, Mary Palma. Cringle there will fight, but he will have 'P

ue, made me so forgiving, that I could be angry with no one.-At this mom

ively gay this morning! Preserve me!-why hav

r a very remarkable fashion, certainly! Why, man, do you intend to make a mummy of me, with a

ther blis

t have you been doing with my feet? The soles

mustard and bird-pepper

d pray, what is that long fiddle case

h, my gun-case. I am a great sportsman, you must know-but draw d

your game-box, Doctor. However, thanks be

oof of the house, and presently a loud croak, and a strong rushin

ohn-Crows, as they are called, flying away. They have been holding a council of war upon you since early daw

after all!" muttered I; and again I lay back, and offered up my he

out of my great sickness, to look round on dear friends, and on the idol of my heart, once more, after all my grievous sufferings! I took Mary's hand-I could not raise it for lack of strength, or I would have kissed it; but, as she leant over me, Fyall came behind her and gently pressed her sweet lips to mine, while the dear girl blushed as red as Aaron Bang's face. By this my a

lk, these, sir," he continued, in what was meant for sotto voce, and for my ear alone, but it was more like the growling of a mastiff puppy than any thing else. "Kind folk, sir-bad as their mountebanking looked the first night, sir-why, Lord bless your honour, may they make a ma

s hospitable roof, as rapidly almost as I had sickened, and within a fortnight, all bypast strangeness explai