o an
incident of this kind is one of the most gruesome in the
annals of maritime life. The captain of a vessel, anchored
in Elsinore Roads, was rowed into the harbour. The crew of
the boat were told that he would require them at 10.30 that
night. The cabin-boy was left in charge, and the two A.B.'s
and the oldest apprentice proceeded to a grog-shop, where
they became more or less intoxicated. The captain had
ordered a keg of gin to the boat, and at midnight he ordered
the men to go off to the vessel with it, and come for him in
the morning. They did not wish to go, as there was a strong
south wind and current in the sound, but the captain
insisted, and they went, with the result that the boat was
picked up the following day covered with ice, and four dead
bodies were the ghastly occupants of it.

Well nigh two years had passed away since our young friend
planted his feet for the first time aboard ship. He had
sailed far and learned much. The treatment he had been
accustomed to made strong impressions on him; and he
determined to emancipate himself from such tyranny the first
opportunity he had; so that, when his vessel glided into a
lovely landlocked harbour on the north-west coast of Ireland
one bleak winter morning, his plan of escape having been
secretly formed and kept, he determined to put it into force
as soon as it was discreet to do so.

All hands having been paid off, excepting the mate and
three apprentices, the task of cooking fell upon the
cabin-boy. He always had to do this when in a home port;
that was another of his many functions, and not the least of
them, which caused him very frequently to come to grief,
though this young man had been impressed with the importance
of learning to cook, amongst other things, long before he
left home, so that, as a rule, he got along fairly well
whenever it became his duty to work up a plain meal, which
usually consisted of soup and doboys, that is, small
dumplings boiled in the soup with the beef. A double-decker
sea-pie was not only a favourite mess, but was considered
even a luxury at that time, and most sailor-boys could cook
it. It was made in a large pan or in the galley coppers, and
consisted of the following ingredients: A layer of potatoes,
small pieces of beef and onions well seasoned with pepper
and salt, and covered over with water; then a deck of paste
with a hole in the middle to allow the water to have free
access, then more potatoes, beef, onions,