wering my top-gallants as I passed round under his bows.
'Officer,' said he, 'you and I should know one another, methinks.'
'Success attend your honour,' said I; 'do you remember your
master-gunner when you captured the Spanish galleon, who carried away
a spar or two in the action?' 'What, Tom Tackier said he: 'Heaven help
thee, lad! I'd give the bounty of a good boat's crew if I could put you
into sailing-trim and commission again; but here, officer, is something
to drink to old acquaintance with, and if you can find your way on board
the Peranga to-morrow, I'll take care they don't throw you over the
ship's side before you have had a skinfull of grog: 'so seizing fast
hold of my single tin with both his grappling-irons, I thought he would
have shook it out of the goose-neck at parting; and when I went on board
next day, he treated me like a port-admiral, and sent me on shore with
every cranny well-filled, from my beef-tub to my grog-bucket, and put
a little more of the right sort o' stuff" in my jacket pockets to pay
harbour dues with. That's the commander for me! And now I hear, after
having taken ~186~~and destroyed all the Spanish king's navy, he's off
to give the Grand Signor a taste of his quality. My forelights! how
I should like to see him with his double rows of grinders wide open,
bearing down upon a whole fleet of Mussulmen--there'd be weeping, and
wailing, and gnashing o' teeth among the Turks! I wouldn't give my
wooden pin for the whole of the Grand Sultan's flotilla. But come,
shipmate, may I never want 'bacca, if we don't drink his health, and
that 'ere gemman you've taken in tow shall join us, if he likes." I
was too much amused to desire to part company just yet, and the
good-humoured tars perceiving my bent, linked themselves to each arm,
and in this way, laughing at the curiosity we provoked, did our party
reach the middle of Point-street, and brought ourselves to anchor
under the head of old Admiral Benbow, where Tom assured us we should
be supplied with the best of grog and ship-stores of the first quality.
Horace had proceeded to escort some ladies, whom he met with on board
the steamboat, to the house of a friend in the High-street, where I
had appointed to meet him in the space of an hour. Sitting myself down
therefore with my two jovial associates, I determined to humour
the frolic which had brought me into the society of such eccentric
characters. "Shiver my timbers! Jem," said the one-legged ma