people. A long kind of sprit was held up, split at the end to
receive the letters. When in the boat, one man clipped them with a pair of
scissors, another fumigated them with brimstone, a third bedabbled them
with dirty vinegar and threw them into a leathern bag, taking care not to
touch them with his hands.

CHAPTER XV.

A LINE OF BATTLE SHIP.

The ship arrives--Captain's attempt to form a band--Sail
again--Attacked by rheumatic fever and invalided ashore--Ordered to
join H.M.S. _Tonnant_--Proceed to Mediterranean--At Oran:
experiences ashore.

The ship anchored at Cawsand Bay four days afterwards, when we joined her,
leaving the prizes in charge of the agent. I found her with the yellow
flag flying at the masthead. She had been put in quarantine on her
arrival, which we paid off with the foretop-sail, as we sailed the day
after for a six weeks' cruise in the chops of the Channel. At the end of
that period we returned to our anchorage with another French brig laden
with Colonial produce. Our gallant and would-be musical captain consulted
us all respecting harmonious sounds, but, alas! we were weighed in the
musical balance and found wanting. This, however, did not discourage him.
Nine of the crew came forward with three of the marines, offering
themselves as candidates for the band. The captain, after having consulted
one of the sergeants of marines, who played the hautboy, whether anything
might be made of the men who had come forward as musicians, it was
determined _nem. con._ that a pease-barrel should be manufactured into a
big drum, that two ramrods should be metamorphosed into triangles, that
the two bassoons and the hautboy taken in the French frigate should be
brought into action without loss of time, that the marine and ship's
fifer, with the marine drummer, should be drilled with the others, under
the direction of the sergeant, in the captain's cabin twice a day, and a
horrible confusion of unmusical sounds they made for more than six weeks.
The skipper was in his glory, and everybody else amazed. Some of my
messmates prayed for them heartily, particularly the first lieutenant, who
thought the captain musically mad. The mids declared they never would be
respectable enough to be called a band, but would be bad enough to be
called a banditti, as they looked more like brigands than musician