orty-five days at sea, we got sight one morning
of "the Caskets," in the middle of the English Channel, about thirty
miles west of Cape LaHogue, and on the following day entered the harbor
of Havre, the seaport of Paris, situated at the mouth of the Seine.

Chapter XXXIV. THE GENERAL ARMSTRONG

Nothing remarkable happened during our stay in Havre, excepting an
unpleasant affair in which our good-humored shipmate, Jonas Silvernail,
played a principal part. The master of an English brig, an ignorant man,
but excessively arrogant and presuming, one day took some of our men to
task on the quay, accusing them of having taken a portion of his crew
to a grog-shop, where they plied them with liquor until they were drunk,
and then left them alone in their glory.

Jonas, in behalf of the crew of the Casket, stoutly but respectfully
denied the correctness of the statement, so far as himself or his
shipmates were concerned, and was about making an explanation, which
must have been satisfactory, when he was interrupted by the excited
Briton, who not only gave him the lie direct, but went so far as to
define, in coarse and profane language, the particular character of the
lie.

Jonas, although a model of subordination on shipboard, nevertheless
possessed the spirit of a man, and would not brook abuse or insolence
from any one who had no rightful authority over him. His eye sparkled,
his lip quivered, and his fingers convulsively contracted, while he
remarked, in a tone somewhat emphatic, "When a blackguard gives a
gentleman the lie, he is, of course, prepared to defend himself!"

Acting upon this supposition he levelled a blow at the Englishman's
face, which laid his cheek open to the bone, and stretched him on the
wharf in double-quick time, as flat as a halibut!

Here was a pretty business! The affair looked serious for Jonas, as the
Englishman swore vengeance against the Yankee ruffian, if there was any
law or justice among a frog-eating people! Jonas was arrested, but by
the kind agency of Mr. Beasley, the American consul, he was relieved
from restraint on payment of a moderate fine. The choleric Briton was
taught a valuable lesson, and in all likelihood put a curb on his tongue
ever afterwards when talking to strangers, especially if the stranger
happened to be a Yankee!

After having discharged our cargo of cotton, we sailed from Havre in
ballast. We encountered a strong head wind in the chops of the Channel,
and