laughed in your face.

"And pray, young ladies," said he, "what may have procured me the honour
of this visit?"

"It was to beg a favour of your honour," said Judy.

"And his honour will grant it, too," said Maria; "for I like the look of
him."

Flattered by this little shot of Maria's, the captain said that nothing
ever gave him more pleasure than to oblige the ladies; and if the favour
they intended to ask was not utterly incompatible with his duty, that he
would grant it.

"Well then," said Maria, "will your honour give me back Pat Flannagan,
that you have pressed just now?"

The captain shook his head.

"He's no sailor, your honour; but a poor bog-trotter: and he will never
do you any good."

The captain again shook his head.

"Ask me anything else," said he, "and I will give it you."

"Well then," said Maria, "give us Phelim O'Shaugnessy?"

The captain was equally inflexible.

"Come, come, your honour," said Judy, "we must not stand upon trifles
nowadays. I'll give you a kiss, if you'll give me Pat Flannagan."

"And I another," said Maria, "for Phelim."

The captain had one seated on each side of him; his head turned like a
dog-vane in a gale of wind; he did not know which to begin with; the
most ineffable good humour danced in his eyes, and the ladies saw at
once that the day was their own. Such is the power of beauty, that this
lord of the ocean was fain to strike to it. Judy laid a kiss on his
right cheek; Maria matched it on his left; the captain was the happiest
of mortals.

"Well, then," said he, "you have your wish; take your two men, for I am
in a hurry to make sail."

"Is it sail ye are after making; and do ye mane to take all those pretty
craturs away wid ye? No, faith! another kiss, and another man."

I am not going to relate how many kisses these lovely girls bestowed on
this envied captain. If such are captains' perquisites, who would not
be a captain? Suffice it to say, they released the whole of their
countrymen, and returned on board in triumph. The story reached
Halifax, where the good-humoured admiral only said he was sorry he was
not a captain, and all the happy society made themselves very merry with
it. The captain, who is as brave as he is good, was promoted soon
after, entirely from his own intrinsic merit, but not for this action,
in which candour and friendship must acknowledge he was defeated. The
Lord-Chancellor used to say, he always laughed at the settlem