r inquiry. Accordingly one
of them addressed him:--

"Your name vas John Jones, mynheer?"

"No, sir," said Johnny; "my name's John Armstrong."

"Ah, a small shange--dat is all. You vas John, and he vas John, and you
be both John togidder; so, you must come to de shore wid us."

"Catch me there, lads," quoth Johnny. "The deil a shore I'll gang to,
please Providence, but Leith shore. Na, na; I've had aneuch o' this
wark, and I'm determined to bring't till an' end noo."

"Donner and blitzen!" shouted out one of the men, passionately, "but
you must go!"--at the same time seizing Johnny by the collar, and
drawing a pistol from his bosom.

In utter amazement at this extraordinary treatment, Johnny Armstrong
imploringly called on the captain and the other passengers for
protection; but, as none of them were in the least acquainted with him,
and therefore did not know whether he was John Jones or not, they all
declined interfering--the captain saying that it would be more than his
ship and situation were worth to aid any one in resisting the laws of
the country--that he could not, dare not do it. His appeals, therefore,
to those around him being vain, he was eventually bundled into the
cutter and conveyed on shore, placed in a temporary place of confinement
for the night, and next day carried before a magistrate to be
identified. To effect this, several witnesses were called, when one and
all of them, after examining Johnny pretty narrowly, pronounced, to the
great disappointment of the officers who had apprehended him, that he
was _not_ the man! They, however, asserted that the resemblance between
the real and supposed John Jones was very remarkable. On the discovery
being made that the prisoner was not Jones, the magistrate apologized to
Johnny in the most polite terms for the trouble he had been put to, and
expressed great regret for the mistake of the officers; but said that,
as the witnesses had stated there was a strong resemblance--an
unfortunate one, he must call it--between him and the real defaulter,
and seeing, moreover, that they were both natives of Britain, the
officers were perfectly justified in doing what they had done, however
much the hardship of the case might be matter of regret. The magistrate
having thus delivered himself, Johnny Armstrong was dismissed with great
civility, and wished, by all present, safe home to his own country--a
wish in which he most heartily concurred, but which seemed to him m