; so then I turned to and prayed all day long, and kept
the people awake, singing psalms all night. I knelt down and prayed on
the quarter-deck, main-deck, and lower deck. I preached to the men in
the tiers, when they coiled the cables, and groaned loud and deep when
I heard an oath. The thing took--the admiral said I was the right
sort, and he made a commander out of the greatest atheist in the ship.
No sooner did I get hold of the sheepskin, than to the devil I pitched
hassock and bible."

How long he might have gone on with this farrago, it is difficult to
say; but we were getting tired of him, so we passed the bottle till he
left off narrative, and took to friendship.

"Now I say (hiccup), you Frank, you are a devilish good fellow; but
that one-eyed son of a gun, I'll try him by a court-martial, the first
time I catch him drunk; I'll hang him at the yard-arm, and you shall
be my first lieutenant and _custos-rot-torum_, d----n me. Only you come
and tell me the first time he is disguised in liquor, and I'll settle
him, d----n his cock eye--a saucy, Polyphemus-looking _son of a--_
(hiccup) a Whitechapel bird-catcher."

Here his recollection failed him; he began to talk to himself, and to
confound me with the first lieutenant.

"I'll teach him to write to port-admirals for leave--son of a sea
cook."

He was now drawing to the finale, and began to sing,

"The cook of the huffy got drank,
Fell down the fore-scuttle, and
Broke his gin bottle."

Here his head fell back, he tumbled off his chair, and lay motionless
on the carpet.

Having previously determined not to let him be exposed in the streets
in that state, I had provided a bed for him at the inn; and, ringing
the bell, I ordered the waiter to carry him to it. Having seen him
safely deposited, untied his neckcloth, took off his boots, and raised
his head a little, we left him, and returned to the table, where we
finished our evening in great comfort, but without any other instance
of intoxication.

The next morning, I waited on him. He seemed much annoyed at seeing
me, supposing I meant, by my presence, to rebuke him for his
intemperance; but this was not my intention. I asked him how he felt;
and I regretted that the hilarity of the evening had been interrupted
in so unfortunate a manner.

"How do you mean, sir? Do you mean to insinuate that I was not sober?"

"By no means, Sir," said I; "but are you aware, that in the midst of
your delightful a