in a rage to the quarter-deck, where we were all summoned, and the
reason of the noise demanded. I had, till then, kept myself in the
background, content with being the _primum mobile_, without being seen.
I was always strict to my duty, and never had been complained of; my
coming forward, therefore, on this occasion, produced a fine stage
effect, and carried great weight.

I told the lieutenant we were groaning for the poor boy who had been
pickled. This increased his rage, and he ordered me up to the
mast-head. I refused to go until I had seen the captain, who at that
moment made his appearance on deck. I immediately referred to him,
related the whole story, not omitting to mention the repeated acts of
tyranny which the lieutenant had perpetrated on us all. I saw in a
moment that we had gained the day. The captain had given the most
positive orders that no one should be punished without his express
permission. This order the lieutenant had disobeyed; and that, added to
his unpopular character, decided his fate. The captain walked into his
cabin, and the next day signified to the first lieutenant that he must
quit the ship on her arrival in port, or be tried by a court-martial:
this latter he knew he dared not stand.

I should have informed my reader that our orders were to see the
East-India convoy as far as the tenth degree of north latitude, and then
proceed to Bermuda. This was of itself a pleasant cruise, and gave us
the chance of falling in either with an enemy or a recapture. Ships not
intending to cross the line usually grant a saturnalia to the crew when
they come to the tropic of Capricorn; it is thought to renovate their
spirits, and to break the monotony of the cruise, or voyage, where time
flows on in such a smooth, undeviating routine, that one day is not
distinguishable from another. Our captain, a young man, and a perfect
gentleman, never refused any indulgence to the men compatible with
discipline and the safety of the ship: and as the regular trade-wind
blew, there was no danger of sudden squalls. The ceremony of crossing
the line, I am aware, has been often described--so has Italy and the
Rhine; but there are varieties of ways of doing and relating these
things; ours had its singularity, and ended, I am sorry to say, in a
deep tragedy, which I shall remember "as long as memory holds her seat."

One beautiful morning, as soon as the people had breakfasted, they began
to prepare, by stri