er fireside--for, like the storyteller of the "Arabian Nights,"
a thousand and one tales could he tell--stories of desperate adventures
by flood and field--of storms, hurricanes, and shipwrecks--long voyages
in open boats--encounters with pirates and Indians--battles with sharks,
and seals, and whales bigger than houses--terrible conflicts with wild
beasts--as bears, wolves, lions, and tigers! All these adventures had
our old uncle encountered, or said he had, which to his admiring
audience was pretty much the same thing.

After listening to such thrilling narrations, no wonder I became tired
of home, no wonder my natural inclination grew into a passion I could no
longer resist. No wonder I ran away to sea.

And I did so at the age of sixteen--the wonder is I did not go sooner,
but it was no fault of mine that I did not; for from the time I was able
to talk I had been constantly importuning my parents for leave to go. I
knew they could easily have found a situation for me, had they been so
minded. They could have bound me as an apprentice on board some of the
great merchant vessels sailing for India, or they could have entered me
in the Royal Navy as a midshipman, for they were not without high
interest; but neither father nor mother would lend an ear to my
entreaties.

At length, convinced they would never consent, I resolved upon running
away; and, from the age of fourteen, had repeatedly offered myself on
board the ships that traded to the neighbouring seaport, but I was too
small a boy, and none of them would take me. Some of the captains
refused because they knew I had not the consent of my parents; and these
were the very kind with whom I should have preferred going; since the
fact of their being such conscientious men, would have ensured me good
treatment. But as these refused to take me I had no other resource but
to try elsewhere, and I at length succeeded in striking a bargain with a
skipper who had no scruples about the matter, and I was booked as an
apprentice. He knew I was about to run away; and more than this,
assisted in the design by letting me know the exact day and hour he was
to take his departure from the port.

And I was aboard at the time specified; and before any search could have
been made for me, or even before I could have been missed, the vessel
had tripped her anchor, spread her sails, and carried me off beyond the
possibility of pursuit.

CHAPTER TWO.

I was not twelve hou