mitting to any slight superiority Jake
might have over him in his sailor-like rig; but one Sunday the latter
donned an old blue coat that had been presented to him by Mr Marline.
It was ornamented with brilliant brass buttons, and the effect was
completed by a bright bandana handkerchief which he had begged from me,
and this, contrasting with a white shirt and duck trousers, made his
toilet so thoroughly effective that Cuffee was greatly aggrieved.

"You tink youself one fine gen'leman now, I s'pose?" he said, with a
snort of indignation, when Jake went down into the waist in all this
grand array after prayers on the poop. "Fine fedders make fine birds,
yah, yah!"

"Me tinks what I like," replied Jake nonchalantly, proceeding forward to
the topgallant forecastle, where he sat down in such a lordly manner
that Cuffee, unable to stand it any longer, hurriedly went into his
caboose and bringing out a bucket of dirty water pitched it over Jake
with much heartiness, sousing him from head to foot.

"Dere, you big fool of niggah, take dat!" he cried triumphantly. "Guess
dat'll take de shine out ob your ole coat, wid yer grandy airs an'
bumptiousness!"

The men on the fo'c's'le shouted with laughter, and Jake rushed to
resent the affront; but they held him back until his temper evaporated,
and then the two made it up somehow, for afterwards I saw that Jake was
enjoying a savoury mess of lobscouse which Cuffee had cooked for him in
amends for the bucket of greasy water.

Jake, however, paid out the cook for the indignity a little later on;
for, when Cuffee came up on the forecastle while the hands were there
yarning in the evening, he gave him the cold shoulder.

"Wat for you come hyar?" he asked the poor cook. "Dis is de place for
sailor man, not for de idlers aboard. You go back inter yer ole
caboose, cookee!"

There was another laugh at this, and Captain Miles hearing what had been
said, every word being distinctly audible on the poop, began speaking to
Mr Marline about the imitative habits of negroes.

"They are just like monkeys," he said; "and, in dress and in language
will copy anyone they think superior to them, no matter how ridiculous
their imitation may be--a sort of burlesque of the original."

"Yes," replied Mr Marline. "Jake, I have noticed, has taken Jackson
for his model on week-days. Have you observed how he copies him in
every particular?"

"Well, he couldn't have a better study for a thorough