ain to cause his
displeasure, he replied with energy and warmth that he had told him he
would "go and see his betters who had known him before he (the captain)
was born. And what do you think the impudent fellow said? He told me I
might go to h--ll if I liked, and so I'm here to see whether _he's_
to boss me, or if I'm to take orders from you. He actually had the
impudence to give me an order for my money on the office instead of
paying me as the others did in cash!"

This was the only time he ever complained to me about the treatment he
received from anyone. I was much amused, and humoured the old man into
a good temper. He never quite forgave the insult that had been offered
him, but went away satisfied that he had scored. Twelve months after
this there were signs that the hard usage of his earlydays was breaking
him up. He struggled on in the hope that his iron constitution would
throw off the malady that held him in its grip, but ere long the
suffering old hero passed away.

My brother once volunteered to teach another old illiterate, who shared
his watch, to read and write. It was one of the most comical
proceedings I ever witnessed, and when I reflect on it now I see a
touch of pathos that fills me with remorse for the part I took in
making fun of that fine seaman, who had been brought up in an
atmosphere of heathenism, and was, in many ways, little better than a
heathen himself. He stood six feet four inches, and had the frame of a
giant; a large, well-formed head poised above a pair of broad
shoulders; his face was strong and highly intellectual; his nose, mouth
and full blue eyes indicated that he had sprung from a race of
well-bred people who may have declined on their luck. Had his
intellectual faculties been given a chance when young, he might have
been great in any profession. As it was, he was merely a rough, uncouth
man, but a well-trained and accomplished sailor. He had been trained in
the hardest of all schools, that of the coasting trade, and he knew
every swirl of the tide and every sandbank between St Abb's and
Dungeness. He did not rise to be captain, though he frequently went as
mate during the winter months. It was not until his ambition led him to
a knowledge of the bigger world far beyond the continents of Europe
that he determined to learn how to read and write. I am not sure
whether he ever felt humiliated at having to seek the aid of a young
man so much his junior and occupying a subordinat