fresher and better. Then he soaked his
shirt in the water, and as far as possible removed the broad stains of
blood which stiffened it. Then he wrung it out and hung it up to dry,
and, putting on his coat, sat down and thought matters over.

He had never had the idea of entering the army, for the measures taken
to fill the ranks rendered the military service distasteful in the
extreme to the English people. Since the days of Agincourt the English
army had never gained any brilliant successes abroad, and there was
consequently none of that national pride which now exists in its bravery
and glorious history.

Still, Jack reflected, it did not make much difference to him whether he
became a soldier or a sailor. He had longed to see the world, to
share in deeds of adventure, and, above all, to escape from the dreary
drudgery of the clothier's shop. These objects would be attained as well
in the army as in the navy; and, indeed, now that he thought of it, he
preferred the active service which he would see under Marlborough or
Peterborough to the monotony of a long sea voyage. At any rate, it was
clear that remonstrance or resistance were vain. He as well as others
were aware of the law which had just been passed, giving magistrates the
power of impressing soldiers for the service, and he felt, therefore,
that although his impressment had no doubt been dictated by the private
desire of the mayor to get him out of the way, it was yet strictly
legal, and that it would be useless his making any protest against it.
He resolved, therefore, to make the best of things, and to endeavor to
win the goodwill of his officers by prompt and cheerful acquiescence in
the inevitable.

Presently some sailors brought down a tray with a number of hunks of
black bread, a large pot filled with a sort of broth, and a score of
earthenware mugs. Jack at once dipped one of the mugs into the pot, and,
taking a hunk of bread, sat down to his breakfast. A few others followed
his example, but most of them were too angry or too dispirited to care
about eating; and, indeed, it seemed to them that their refusal to
partake of the meal was a sort of protest against their captivity.

Half an hour afterward the sailors removed the food; and many of those
who had refused to touch it soon regretted bitterly that they had not
done so, for as the time went on hunger began to make itself felt. It
was evening before the next meal, consisting of black bread and a