slowly along the land, this personage took a
position between the knight-heads, on the bowsprit, where he could
overlook the scene, and at the same time hear the dialogue of the
forecastle; and both with suitable decorum. Strand was as much of a
monarch forward as Cuffe was aft; though the appearance of a lieutenant,
or of the master, now and then, a little dimmed the lustre of his reign.
Still, Strand succumbed completely to only two of the officers--the
captain and the first lieutenant; and not always to these, in what he
conceived to be purely matters of sentiment. In the way of duty, he
understood himself too well ever to hesitate about obeying an order; but
when it came to opinions, he was a man who could maintain his own, even
in the presence of Nelson.

The first captain of the forecastle was an old seaman of the name of
Catfall. At the precise moment when Strand occupied the position named,
between the knight-heads, this personage was holding a discourse with
three or four of the forecastle-men, who stood on the heel of the
bowsprit, inboard--the etiquette of the ship not permitting these
worthies to show their heads above the nettings. Each of the party had
his arms folded; each chewed tobacco; each had his hair in a queue; and
each occasionally hitched up his trousers, in a way to prove that he did
not require the aid of suspenders in keeping his nether garments in
their proper place. It may be mentioned, indeed, that the point of
division between the jacket and the trousers was marked in each by a
bellying line of a clean white shirt, that served to relieve the blue of
the dress, as a species of marine facing. As was due to his greater
experience and his rank, Catfall was the principal speaker among those
who lined the heel of the bowsprit.

"This here coast is moun_tain_ious, as one may own," observed the
captain of the forecastle; "but what I say is, that it's not _as_
moun_tain_ious as some I've seen. Now, when I went round the 'arth with
Captain Cook, we fell in with islands that were so topped off with
rocks, and the like o' that, that these here affairs alongside on 'em
wouldn't pass for anything more than a sort of jury mountains."

"There you're right, Catfall," said Strand, in a patronizing way; "as
anybody knows as has been round the Horn. I didn't sail with Captain
Cook, seeing that I was then the boatswain of the Hussar, and she
couldn't have made one of Cook's squadron, being a post-ship, and