had
In that dear old Southern town.

The apprentice fell in with a dark lady--indeed "she came tripping right
into his way." It was an unfortunate encounter. He became her "darling
flash boy." He could readily put the case against her when, as receiver
of stolen goods, he had served some years in jail; and then, like the
author of _George Barnwell_, he addressed apprentices on the subject:

So all young men take a warning and
Beware of that black velvet tie.

But yet, and here was the charm of the ballad, and the token of his
entanglement by Neaera's hair, ever and anon came the burden

For her eyes they shone like the diamonds,
I thought her a Queen of the land,
And the hair that hung over her shoulders was
Tied up with a black velvet band.

When Mead later on gave me a copy of this song, which I shall not forget,
duly set out in "cantos," he was good enough to ornament it with a little
picture of the black bow as tailpiece.

The heat became very strong, and as the day declined, a great cloud-bank
rose up out to sea, and the air settled to that stillness in which the
fall of the ripples from the side sounds most insistent. Dark came
on, and from two arches or caverns of smouldering twilight under the
extremities of that mighty cloud the lightnings burst; lightnings in
whose general wide waft of brightness intense white wreaths suddenly
lived and withered, branches of fire stretched forth and were gone; while
in the opposite heaven "like a dying lady," went the horned moon.

Meanwhile the _Bonadventure_ not slacking her unusual speed came to a
lightship; then (for this was a pilot station) the engines thrashed up
the water as she manoeuvred for the pilot's most comfortable approach.
The boatmen came rowing him lustily out to us; our rope ladder was
lowered--at these moments I was sensible of a sort of proud anxiety on
the part of all aboard, that such a detail should be carried out with
all despatch--and up he came. And after him, a rope was asked for, and
sent down; up came a great stringful of fish, gleaming like the sea
under the moon; and once more the rope went down, and a collection of
jars which were at once thought to contain wine was hauled on board.
Then, from the boat "Finish!" but she did not depart, making fast to the
_Bonadventure_. She circling about the lightship, at length brought
her companion within a stone's throw. Then the boat was cut adrift,
and we went o