ands.

The first glimpse of the peaks of Tahiti was hailed with transport by
the Julia's weary mariners. They had got a notion that if the captain
left the ship, their articles were no longer binding, and they should be
free to follow his example. And, at any rate, the sickness on board and
the shaky condition of the barque, guaranteed them, as they thought,
long and blissful leisure amongst the waving palm-groves and soft-eyed
Neuhas of Polynesia. Their arrival in sight of Papeetee, the Tahitian
capital, was welcomed by the boom of cannon. The frigate Reine Blanche,
at whose fore flew the flag of Admiral Du Petit Thouars, thus celebrated
the compulsory treaty, concluded that morning, by which the island was
ceded to the French.

Captain Guy and his baggage were now set on shore, and it was soon
apparent to his men that whilst he nursed himself in the pure climate
and pleasant shades of Tahiti, they were to put to sea under the mate's
orders, and after a certain time to touch again at the island, and take
off their commander. The vessel was not even allowed to go into port,
although needing repairs, and in fact unseaworthy; and as to healing the
sick, selfish Paper Jack thought only of solacing his own infirmities.
The fury of the ill-fed, reckless, discontented crew, on discovering the
project of their superiors, passed all bounds. Chips and Bungs
volunteered to head a mutiny, and a round-robin was drawn up and signed.
But when Wilson, an old acquaintance of Guy's, and acting consul in the
absence of missionary Pritchard, came on board, the gallant cooper, who
derived much of his courage from the grog-kid, was cowed and craven. The
grievances brought forward, amongst others that of the _salt-horse_, (a
horse's hoof with the shoe on, so swore the cook, had been found in the
pickle,) were treated as trifles and pooh-poohed by the functionary, "a
minute gentleman with a viciously pugged nose, and a decidedly thin pair
of legs." But if Bungs allowed himself to be brow-beaten, so did not his
comrades. Yankee Salem flourished a bowie-knife, and such alarming
demonstrations were made, that the _counsellor_, as the sailors
persisted in calling the consul, thought it wise to beat a retreat.
Jermin now tried his hand, holding out brilliant prospects of a rich
cargo of sperm oil, and a pocket-full of dollars for every man on his
return to Sydney. The mutineers were proof alike against menace and
blandishment, and, at the secret