ded very seriously:
"There is no knowing what might have happened had we all taken to
napping. At the same time I am sure," said he, "this sharp lesson put
_him_ off doing it again, and it may have saved our lives, though, poor
man, he wasn't very much use when left to himself."

Many more experiences not identical but similar to those I have been
relating were crammed into a long passage, which relieved the monotony
of the stereotyped character of everyday life. Day after day, when the
weather was fine, the same kind of work was carried on with unbroken
regularity. In the morning at five-thirty the cook made coffee for the
watch on deck, and at six they commenced to wash bulwarks, decks, etc.
By eight o'clock this was finished. The watch who had to relieve them
were knocked out at seven-thirty, had breakfast and came on deck at
eight o'clock. The duties of these watches varied: If the rigging was
being rattled down, the mate's watch did the fore, while the second
mate's did the main and mizen; or if it were only the fore, main, or
mizen that was being "rattled," the port side was done by the chief
officer's men, and the starboard by the second officer's. There was
great rivalry among the seamen who were selected to do this or any
other skilled work, but only in regard to the quantity done and its
neatness. At times, of course, there was a common understanding that a
certain number of ratlines should be put on. This greatly depended on
the treatment they were receiving. If it was good, no restriction was
arranged, for each tried to excel the other, and this applied to every
department of work. Some of the dodges to evade work may not be written
here; but if it could be done it would reveal a phase of sea life that
has never been put into print. If it were not that our conventions
forbid offending the finer senses it might be written, and thereby show
something more of the really comic side of Jack when he is on the
rampage against constitutional government. There were occasions when
the pride of the British tar was not abashed at being called a dockyard
loafer, but these were rare.

In making a sea passage there was great care taken that no chafing was
going on to the foots of the square sails, nor to the rigging, when the
yards were braced up against it. Hence thrum and sword mats were
constantly being made and laced on in order to obviate the possibility
of a chafe wherever there was a nip. Then the sails had to be k