d four guns, all of brass--forty-two pounders
on the lower-deck; thirty-two on the middle deck; and twenty-four
pounders on the quarter-deck, forecastle, poop, and main-deck. She had
huge lanterns at her poop, into which four or five of us boys could stow
ourselves away; and from the time she was first launched, in 1756, the
flag of some great admiral always floated from the masthead. When my
father left me, to attend to his duty, I thought I should have been lost
in the big ship, with deck above deck, and guns all alike one another on
either side; and hundreds of men bawling and shouting, and rushing about
here and there and everywhere. Sitting down on a chest, outside his
cabin,--my legs were not long enough to reach the deck,--I had a good
cry; and a number of boys, some of them not much bigger than myself,
came and had a look at me, but they did not jeer, or play me any tricks,
for they had found out that I was the bo'sun's son, and that they had
better not. I soon, however, recovered, and learned to find my way, not
only from one deck to another, but up aloft; and before many days were
over, had been up to the main-truck; though when my father heard of it,
for he was below at the time, he told me not to go again till I was
bigger. As I was continually, from ignorance, getting into scrapes, and
he could not keep an eye on me himself, he gave me in charge to Jerry
Dix, the one-legged fiddler and cook's mate. Jerry could take very good
care of me, but was less able to take care of himself when he had got
his grog aboard, and more than once when this happened I had to watch
over him. This made us firm friends, and I am very sure that he had a
sincere affection for me.

England was now engaged in what was known as the Seven Years' War, which
began in 1756, and had been going on for three years, the ships of
England fighting those of France whenever they could find them, and
generally giving them a drubbing. Our ship, which carried, as I have
said, the flag of Admiral Sir Edward Hawke, had, with several other
line-of-battle ships, been for some time watching the French fleet,
under Admiral Conflans, shut up in Brest harbour, when, a heavy gale
coming on, we were obliged to put into Torbay for shelter. We remained
there for some time, while it blew great guns and small arms, which
Jerry told me would keep the French ships shut up in harbour as securely
as would our cannon. At length the weather moderated, and our