drill in vogue with the johnnies of our new regime was
that of `closing watertight doors.'

The signal for this being about to be carried out was the blowing of a
particularly excruciating sort of foghorn at some unexpected hour of the
day or night--it used to be in every watch on the _Mermaid_; and at the
sound of this melodious instrument, which was most likely selected by
the authorities in recollection of the story of Joshua and his trumpet,
the `walls,' or, rather, bulkheads, of the ship did not `come down,' but
were run up!

By this means every compartment throughout the ship was isolated and all
communication cut off between the various flats.

The officers were shut into their wardroom; the engineers and stokers in
their own special domain; and the men forward, perhaps, on their mess-
deck; until the officer of the watch had made the rounds and those in
charge of the respective watertight doors had affirmed the fact, from
personal supervision, that all these were closed, when, this gratifying
intelligence was communicated to the captain, and he gave the order to
open them again.

In addition to these exercises, there was the old `fire quarters' drill,
to which I was accustomed; and `man and arm ship,' when all of us
hurried to our stations on the main-deck batteries--those who formed
part, that is, of the crews of the several guns of different types we
had aboard; while the rest of us lined the sides of the upper deck,
prepared to pepper away with our rifles at any approaching foe, and
repel, with our sword-bayonets at the `charge,' all possible boarders.

We had about a week's cruising in the Channel, to knock us into shape as
well as test our machinery, the _Mermaid_ being a new vessel and not
long delivered over from the contractors; but, Captain Hankey being a
smart officer, besides being ably seconded by his subordinates, this was
so satisfactorily achieved, as regards both ship and men, that ere we
reached old Gib, whose couching lion-head facing out to sea reminded me
strongly of the more familiar Bill of Portland, any one inspecting us
would really have thought the _Mermaid_ an old stager and that our raw
company had been working together for months, instead of only a week or
two!

`Old Hankey Pankey,' though, as he was called on the lower deck--sailors
having always a nickname for their officers, whether they like them or
dislike them--possessed the rare art of managing those under his command
to