as the purser; and, on this point, the doctor went over to the enemy.
All the lieutenants followed, the master stood neuter, and the marine
officer fell asleep--thus poor Silva stood alone in his glory, to fight
the unequal battle; and in doing so, after the manner of authors, lost
his temper.

Five, six, seven times was the book begun, but, like the hackney
coaches, the audience could not get off the stones. The book and the
discussion were always closed together in anger, just as the author was
_paving his way_. As he adopted the phrase with a parental fondness,
the father was called the "_paviour_."

All this duly reached the ears of the captain. He immediately wrote to
Don Silva, requesting his company to dinner, particularly soliciting him
to bring his excellent work. Of course, the little man took care to
have the doctor and purser. The claret is on the table, the Amphytrion
settles himself into a right critical attitude, but with a most
suspicious leer in the corner of his eye. Our friend begins to read his
book exultingly, but, at the memorable passage, as was previously
concerted, the hue and cry is raised.

During the janging of argument Reud seems undecided, and observes that
he can only judge the matter from well understanding the previous style
and the context, and so, every now and then, requests him, with a most
persuasive politeness, to begin again from the beginning. Of course, he
gets no farther than the paving. After the baited author had re-read
his page-and-a-half about six or seven times, the captain smiles upon
him lovingly, and says in his most insinuating tones, "Just read it over
again once more, and we shall never trouble you after--we shall know it
by heart."

As it was well understood that the author was never to get beyond that
passage until he had acknowledged it absurd and egregiously foolish,
anybody who knows anything about the _genus irritabile_ will be certain,
that if he lived till "the crack of doom," Don Silva would never have
passed the Rubicon. It was thus that the poor fellow was tormented: and
every time that he was asked to dine in the cabin, he was requested to
bring his Tour, in order that the _whole_ of it might be read.

The best and most imposing manner of writing is, to lay down some wise
dogma, and afterwards prove it by example. I shall follow this august
method. It is unwise for a midshipman to argue with the lieutenant of
the watch, whilst there are t