except in a fog!'- Lor, father,' said my little sister, I just fancy I see our Offey ordering the men about. What will you say to them, Offey?'—' You be hung!' replied I, in my altitudes. 'Offey, Offey, you 'll break your mother's heart if you take to swearing like a trooper in that fashion !'-'A trooper,' said I, bristling up like a lieutenant; ah, mamma, I beg your pardon, but do not British tars always swear?'-' Never you swear, whatever other naughty boys do; but try to engage your companions' affections by uniformly amiable conduct, gentlemanly manners, and virtuous habits; sooner or later, my dear boy, depend on it, you will gain the esteem of the whole fleet, and be consulted by the port admiral as long as he lives!'

"All things must come to an end, and so did our dinner. It was now four o'clock, and the mail in which my place had been booked was to pass at six; we therefore cried and kissed alternately for the hundred and twenty minutes that were yet remaining. My mother as a parting gift provided me with six cambric pocket handkerchiefs, in case I should be troubled with catarrhs; my father, on his part, presented me with his blessing, and three deal planks for boarding, taken from poor Carlo's kennel. These last were tied to the top of my gun case,-or, as I afterwards learned to call it, guncarriage, and were, I understood, indispensable as a part of my outfit: lastly, my little sister, hanging round my neck, pressed into my hand a little pink box, with a white lable on the middle, on which was inscribed in gold characters, A Souvenir from Sunderland.' At last, bidding them all good b'ye, and giving Carlo a pinch on the ear to keep him in mind of me, for which he gave me a bite on the thumb to keep me in mind of him, I left the home of my youth: Tom, the footman, accompanied me down to the mail, which had already heaved-to opposite the Hen and Chickens. My knapsack, consisting of two trunks and the gun-carriage, was shipped on board, and I stowed myself away in the hold.

"There were already in before me one old gentleman, and a boy about my own age, who, with his aunt, was proceeding to a seminary in the vicinity of London. My language now became strictly technical. Well, messmate, what cheer?' said I, poking the boy amidships, for I wished to impress him with proper notions of my dignity. Sir!'-'What cheer, eh, brother? 'I do not know what you allude to, sir.'-' Here's a hay-making son of a sea-cook! Mayhap, old lady, this youngster a 'nt in the service?' In service, sir! do you take my nephew for a footboy?' Avast! avast! old lady, slow your jaw, and mind your helm, will you? I only wished to know if this youngster had the honour of serving his king and country, as I have, instead of wearing out his lubberly carcass at home in idleness. A tea-pot in a storm!' said the old gentleman in the corner, who had as yet said nothing. A tea-pot, sir? Do you allude to me? I will tell you what it is, old fellow, I will clear away my guns, and fire into you in a pig's whisper, if you poke your fun at me in that fashion.'-- Ah, you 'll clear away your guns and fire into me in a pig's whisper, if I poke my fun at you; you will, will you?' Ay, that will I, old fellow; so mind your eye, my hearty, and haul down your foretopmast stay-sail! If you don't look to yourself I'll luff you in less than no time, and have you into the latter end of next week before you know where you are!'

As this last observation produced nothing but a laugh, I felt somewhat nettled; but I durst scarcely proceed to open demonstrations of hostility as I might have chanced to get the worst of it, so I pretended not to hear, but put my head out of the window, and hailed the coachman with Maintop a hoy! how's the weather?' -Pretty well, youngster; how are you?'

"This second rebuff fairly drove me into port; but I contented myself with thinking of the old proverb of the pearls and swine, and kept my nautical demonstrations to myself for the rest of the voyage. Suppose this ended, and me landed at the White Horse, Fetter Lane. Here I found a servant waiting for me, who conducted me to a dark-looking house in Fore Street in the city, tenanted by a wholesale draper, who had been in the habit of transacting all my father's pecuniary business for him. He was a little, short, middle-aged man, by name and surname John Stubbs, and had lately provided himself with a helpmate, who was amazingly fine on the strength of having received her education at a boardingschool at Peckham: to me she was all sugar, to her husband all lemon. She talked a good deal of Italian skies, and asked me if I had seen the last Keepsake, and when I had last had the felicity of meeting with my revered uncle Sir Hector, and how Lady Blowhard and the olive branches were getting on. I returned satisfactory answers to the queries; and as all evenings must come to an end, so did this, although it was somewhat of the longest. Next day I had a private conference with Mr. Stubbs as touching my outfit, and was surprised to find that most of the articles with which I had provided myself were, comparatively speaking, useless. This, however, he undertook to set to rights for me. Accordingly he acted as my guide to a house in Cornhill, well known to all those gentlemen whose fate it is to be outward bound; and here I was provided with all things that might be necessary as a viaticum in my future progress to the Nelsonship of England. All these matters being settled, and my place taken in the Portsmouth mail, I partook my farewell dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs, and wended on my way, like John Bunyan's pilgrim, rejoicing.

of

"I could not help feeling rather surprised at finding the same old gentleman as a companion, with whom I had travelled up from Sunderland; he, too, seemed to recognize me, but did not show any outward symptoms of being aware of my presence. I must own that I felt somewhat cowed, I scarcely knew why, and refrained from demonstrating my nautical ardour by any outward tokens, so the journey passed heavily enough, being only interrupted by a dispute between two drunken sailors on the top of the coach, and a cheating pot-boy. It is, however, scarcely worth while recording all the questions and answers delivered on both sides till the matter ended by the pot-boy being knocked head over heels by one of the sailors whom he attempted to cheat. Suppose us, then, to have arrived at Portsmouth, and to be fairly deposited at the Fountain; and now having smelt the salt water, I felt myself all alive again. I ought at once to have reported myself, but this I was determined not to do until I had aired my uniform a little. I proceeded, therefore, down the street, and called in at the Blue Posts for a nor❜wester, requesting the waiter to amalgamate the alcohol and lymph in the proportions of one half grog and the other half spirits neat,

thus speedily setting at nought my father's precepts, as it was as bright a day as a man would wish to look upon. But, as before remarked, I was now an officer and gentleman, and wished in this manner to demonstrate my independence.

"I now lighted a weed, and proceeded onwards ready for any adventure that might befall me. My first impulse was to stop at a small optician's shop, to contemplate my epaulettes in one of those round mirrors which are there to be found suspended in the window. Upon seeing my mouth elongated to an unnatural size, and my head degenerated into somewhat the appearance of a Norfolk biffin, I was immediately seized with the not unnatural desire to proceed to the voir du fait, and retaliate this insult upon the aggressor. In pursuance of this object, I shoved my fist through the window, thereby breaking and creating many panes, and was immediately collared by a whey-faced apprentice, who demanded my name, and the sum of fourteen and sixpence for damages. With the first I was very ready, Maintop-crosstree-man, Theophilus Gangway, H.M.S. Outrageous, now lying at Portsmouth, and fitting out for the West Indies, nephew to Sir Hector Blowhard, now one of the Lords' Commissioners of the Admiralty; but as to the latter demand, I could only reply-no effects; for although I had the wherewithal about me to satisfy the demand, I thought that it must be beneath the dignity of an officer and a gentleman to pay for that which he had damaged. Accordingly, I left my dirk in pledge, and being somewhat rudely ejected from the tenement, I snatched a parting glance at my epaulettes, and proceeded down the High Street, with the most professional swagger I could muster up.

"I was much surprised at the small respect which was paid me, as also at the ill-suppressed sneer, and the impertinent stare with which the announcement of my rank was received. I determined, however, to gain that by my own exertions which was denied to me by the ignorant vulgar. I soon found myself at the Battery, where there were two or three sentinels upon duty; and being somewhat nettled by the ill-usage I had met, I determined to prove to the world the extent of that authority with which his Majesty had been pleased to invest me; so I saluted the sentries with, Heave-to, ye lubbers, and bear up on the topsail tack; fore and main-sails haul up, now back the maintop-sail, and fire a broadside up to larboard, d'ye hear!'—'Ay, ay, sir; if you tells us, I suppose we must; but it's clear ag'in orders! I say, Bill, does he take us for marines? but if this officer says we must do it, I'spose we must, so bear a hand-sharp's the word!-But, please your honour, the admiral's stopped our allowance of powder, as he says, to retrench the expenditure of the executive: how can we manage?'Why double shot the guns, to be sure, you set of know nothings!' This last observation proceeded from a gentleman habited like myself, and I of course, ashamed to have been non-plushed, chimed in with, Bear a hand, and about it smartly!'-' Knock off the guns!' said my new friend, Stand by-cant 'em round-all ready there forward? 'Ay, ay, sir!'- Fire away then!'

"I had screwed myself up to concert pitch to hear the explosion; but instead of the guns going off, I was surprised to hear all my friends bursting out into a laugh that seemed to be a direct insult to me, so I addressed them with, I will tell you what it is, my fine fel

lows, if you do not put your helm up, and stand by to run right up to the top of the square-sail in less than no time, I will have you all confined in the court martial, as sure as I am an officer and a gentleman!'

"Having thus expectorated my spleen, and shown them who it was they had to deal with, I prepared to evacuate the ground, as I felt myself scarcely equal to carry on the dialogue. My brother officer turned round, and severely reprimanded the military; and then joining me, took my arm, and requested to know to what ship I belonged, at the same time expressing a wish to improve my acquaintance. He told me that he had made physiognomy a study, and had never seen so fine a developement of countenance as mine; indeed he might say that he had dabbled in bumpology, and could at once inform me in what part of the service I was likely to succeed: if I would but permit him, he thought that he might be of some service to me in this way. He then twitched off my cap, and proceeded to demonstrate. Hem! a large organ of boarding.-Well, I never! I say, messmate, have you met with an accident here? the organ of rising in the service most prominent !-Destruction clearly marked! A most promising indication of secretiveness; why you'll be a treasure to the mess!''Mess, sir!' said I, bristling up, what d'ye mean? Why that you are a broth of a boy, as the Kilkenny cats are in the habit of observing; and that you'll prig bottles of wine from the gunroom, till all's blue again. But I'll tell you what it is, my hearty, we'd better get on board, for the chancellor of the exchequer has issued orders to that effect. No, you don't say so!'- Yes, but I do, though; so we'll get into the gig, and be on board in the twinkling of a bed-post!' In a gig? None of your tricks upon travellers; I'm up to snuff, my fine fellow!'-' Ay, and a pinch or two over; we shan't do you in a hurry, I see!'

"I felt invigorated by this compliment, and accompanied my new friend down to the Point, where we stepped into a boat and shoved off. He soon pointed out to me a black-looking ship with two masts, which he informed me was H.M.S. Outrageous, of one hundred and twenty guns, only the guns were not yet on board. There were a number of dark men in tarpaulin hats, hauling sacks of coals up the side; he observed, as a matter of course, that the junior lieutenants had taken more than usual exercise this morning. As my cue was not to be surprised at anything, I contented myself with agreeing with him, and we pulled up alongside. My friend observed that the companion-ladder had been removed in consequence of the equinoctial gales, but that we could easily mount by means of a rope. In a few moments I had scrambled up the side, and every vein swelled with patriotic pride, as I trod for the first time the quarter-deck of my gallant ship."

*

My gentle public, when you were a little boy (I speak of you collectively), was it ever your fate in those halcyon days, when a nail brush and a dancing-master were things "to dream of not to tell;" when you despised your sisters because they were girls, and liked lollypops and Bonaparte's ribs because they were sweet;-was it, I say, ever your fate to come across two compilations, or either of them, of which one was called Tales of Terror, the other Legends of Hor ror? In these were to be found Agnes, or the Bloody Nun, and the Field of the Forty Footsteps, in all their primal glory. You have, I

am sure. Then you must remember that the style of conclusion to each number was this, that they wound your infant mind up to the highest pitch of expectation, and then, when you had twisted one or more of the metal buttons off your bottle-green suit with intensity of interest, that you were let down short (like an upset at the corner of Hatton Garden, where the eight pennyworth of danger rises to its highest power), by one of the conjunctions copulative or disjunctive. "The lady sate in that lone and distant turret, listening to the fitful sobbing of the moaning breeze; she clasped her infant to her breast, and looked at the clock, for well she knew that the fatal hour was come when that dark and malignant spirit might no more influence the destiny of Sir Bertoldo's heiress. The hand is now upon the hour! one second more, and she is safe!-one-only one! Merciful Heaven! a sound of footsteps is heard in the corridor, the door bursts open, and-"

So, even so, by the malignity of that base and degrading editor is the public cut off from the conclusion of the history of this gallant youth; all the sprees in Portsmouth, the metaphysical allusions to soap, the quarter-deck scene, the cockpit scene, the gunroom scene, the maintop scene, the nigger scene, two shipwreck scenes, and one of famine- unmitigated famine, two battle scenes, and a ball at Bermuda!

THE BLIND GIRL TO HER MOTHER.

O mother dear! I'm sure 'tis spring-
Pray lead me forth among the flowers
To where my gentle brothers play,
And pass such happy hours;

To where the stream runs purling by,
Whose tiny waves, as I am told,
Look, when reflected by the sun,
Like beauteous dazzling gold.
O mother dear! my sisters kind
They bring me flowers I cannot see,

And talk of things so beautiful,

The sight of which is not for me;
Of how the sun shines forth at day,
And decks a sky most fair to view;
How moon and stars appear at night,
Amid a space of azure blue.

While, mother dear, the sun, and moon,
And stars to me are all the same,-
Flowers, and streams, and budding trees,
I know them only by their name.
But yet, dear mother, I'm not sad;
For, when I'm seated on thy knee,
I hear thee whispér "God is love,"
That He will ever watch o'er me.
And when, dear mother, thou art gone,
And sisters, brothers pass'd away,
I hear thee whisper, "He'll be near,
To guide my steps and cheer my way."
My mind you fill with holy things;
And, though I cannot see,

That unto others seeming dark

Is light and clear to me.

J. M. C.