not much climbing in getting on board of a gun-boat; indeed, we
were at it before we were out of the boat, for the Frenchmen had pikes
as long as the spanker-boom; but we soon got inside of their points, and
came to close work. They stood a good tussle, I will say that, and so
they always do. We may laugh at 'em, and call 'em Johnny Crapows, but
they are a right brave nation, if they aren't good seamen; but that I
reckon's the fault of their lingo, for it's too noisy to carry on duty
well with, and so they never will be sailors till they larn English."

"I never heard them carry on duty in French," said Ben; "it quite beats
my comprehension how they can do it at all."

"Well, I have," replied my father; "and every word they use is as long
as the maintop bowling, and the mast is over the side before they can
get them out. Why, would you believe it? I once asked one of those
fellows what he called the foremast in his language, and what d'ye think
he said? Why, I'm blowed if he didn't call it a _'Mar-darty-marng'_ (and
that's the only bit of French I know); but how is it possible to work a
ship in such gibberish?"

"Quite unpossible," replied Ben.

"Well, as I've yawed a little out of my course, suppose we have another
swig before I takes a fresh departure?"

After they had both drunk, my father proceeded:

"Well, messmate, I was on the gunnel as soon as the others, and a sword
came down upon me like a flash of lightning. I had just time to lift my
cutlass and save my head, and then I found that it was the sword of the
French lieutenant who commanded the gun-boat. He was a, tall,
clean-built chap, with curls hanging down like a poodle dog's--every
curl not thicker than a rope yarn, and mayhap a thousand of them--and he
quite foamed at the mouth (that's another fault of these Frenchmen, they
don't take things coolly, but puts themselves in a passion about
nothing); so thinks I to myself it won't do for you to go on chopping at
that rate, for when I fended off he made my whole hand tingle with the
force of his blow; so I darts at him and drives the hilt of my cutlass
right into his mouth, and he fell, and his own men trod him underfoot,
and on we went, hammer and tongs. By this time the boarding of the
launch and pinnace to leeward, for they could not get up as soon as we
did, created a divarsion, and bothered the Frenchman, who hardly knew
which way to turn; however, as there were more of our men on the other
side, t