The Project Gutenberg EBook of Paul Gerrard, by W.H.G. Kingston

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Title: Paul Gerrard
The Cabin Boy

Author: W.H.G. Kingston

Release Date: June 12, 2007 [EBook #21812]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAUL GERRARD ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

Paul Gerrard, The Cabin Boy, by W.H.G. Kingston.
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Here is another book in the true Kingston style - lots of swimming,
sharks, wrecks, battles, pirates, woundings.

Paul goes to sea in the first place because his father has lost a legal
case in which the Devereux family had been claiming his estates and
land. To Paul's surprise, who should be in the midshipman's mess but a
young man called Devereux, whose life Paul was able to save following
his serious wounding. So we just need to keep in mind that Paul is
always looking slightly askance at Devereux. Eventually they become
great friends.

It makes a good audiobook.
________________________________________________________________________
PAUL GERRARD, THE CABIN BOY, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.

CHAPTER ONE.

Darkness had set in. The wind was blowing strong from the southwest,
with a fine, wetting, penetrating rain, which even tarpaulins, or the
thickest of Flushing coats, would scarcely resist. A heavy sea also was
running, such as is often to be met with in the chops of the British
Channel during the month of November, at which time of the year, in the
latter part of the last century, a fine frigate was struggling with the
elements, in a brave attempt to beat out into the open ocean. She was
under close-reefed topsails; but even with this snug canvas she often
heeled over to the blast, till her lee-ports were buried in the foaming
waters. Now she rose to the summit of a white-crested sea; now she sunk
into the yawning trough below; and ever and anon as she dashed onward in
spite of all opposition, a mass of water would strike her bows with a
clap like that of thunder, and rising over her bulwarks, would deluge
her deck fore and aft, and appear as if about to overwhelm her
altogether. A portion o