, when he speaks to a boiler."

During this speech Bertram was descending the ship's side: when he had
seated himself in the boat, he looked up; and, seeing the Captain
lounging over the taffarel, he said by way of parting speech--

"You are right, Captain le Harnois; perfectly right: and I shall always
remember the very great difference I found between the Halcyon and the
Fleurs de Lys."

The old ruffian grinned, and appeared to comprehend and to enjoy the
_equivoque_. He was in no hurry to clear scores with Bertram; but
leisurely pursued the boat with a truculent leer; nailed Bertram with
his eye; and, when the boat was just within proper range, he took his
speaking-trumpet and hailed him:

"Tom Drum, ahoy!--Take care now, when you get ashore, where you begin
your old tricks--portmanteaus, old women, tumbling; mind you don't
begin _hocus pocus_ too soon: steer large, and leave Walladmor Castle
on the larboard tack: for there's an old dragon in Walladmor that has
one of his eyes on you by this time. He's on the look-out for you. So
farewell: he's angling for you. Good bye, my lily-white Tom! A handier
lad has been caught than you, Tom. So let the old women pass quietly,
till Walladmor's out of hearing. I can't cry, Tom: but here's my
blessing."

So saying Captain le Harnois drank up his goblet of brandy; and,
tossing his heel-taps contemptuously after the boat, rolled away to his
orgies at the carronade. And in this manner terminated Bertram's
connexion with the _Trois Fleurs de lys_.

It was not very agreeable to Bertram that the gallant Captain's farewell
speech had drawn the attention of all in the boat upon himself, and in
no very advantageous way. Most of the party laughed pretty freely: at
the bottom of the boat lay a man muffled up in a cloak, and apparently
asleep: but it appeared to Bertram that he also was laughing. To relieve
himself from this distressing attention, he took out his pocket-book and
busied himself with his pencil; using it alternately for minuting memoranda
of the scene before him, or sketching some of its more striking features.
These were at this moment irresistibly captivating. The boat was
gliding through a sea unrippled by a breeze: the water was exquisitely
clear and reflecting the rich orange lights of the decaying sunset: a
bold rocky shore was before him--haunted by gulls and sea-mews, flights
of which last pursued the boat for the sake of the refuse fish which
were occasionall