rt with worked collar, and fresh straw hat, seemed in no way to
despise his ragged dress. In a kind tone he asked Ned why he was going
on board. Ned told him.

"Hope you'll succeed, mate," he observed. "A year ago, I was like you--
only paler and thinner, and maybe fewer clothes to my back--and trembled
when I went aloft; and now there are not many aboard can reach the
main-truck from the deck before me, or lay out smarter on a yard."

The tide was against them, so that Ned had time to tell his new
acquaintances a good deal of his history before they reached the ship.
They all seemed to take an interest in him, especially the lad--a fine,
strong ruddy-faced young fellow of sixteen.

"Well, just do you ask for Bill Hudson--that's me--after you've seen the
first lieutenant and the doctor; and then I'll tell you what to do,"
said the latter. "You might lose yourself, do ye see, otherwise, about
there."

When they arrived alongside the huge ship, and Ned proffered his
sixpence, the men wouldn't let him pay it, but helped him up the side
through the entrance port, when he found himself, for the first time, on
the main-deck of a man-of-war. While Bill Hudson went to find the
proper person to take him to the officers for examination, he was lost
in wonder, looking at the huge guns, with their polished gear, the
countless number, it seemed, of boys and men moving about--all so
cleanly and neatly dressed--and the spotless decks, white as a wooden
platter.

At length he was summoned. He trembled with agitation, for he felt so
dirty, and poor, and miserable, that he thought the officers, when they
saw him, would quickly turn him out of the ship again. The first
lieutenant, however, important as he looked, seemed pleased with his
appearance and manner; the surgeon pronounced him a healthy, able-bodied
lad, fit for the service; but he had brought no certificates of
parentage or age. Had he his parents' permission to come to sea? he was
asked. They were both dead: he had no friends; but he produced a tin
case which had been his father's. The contents showed that the owner
had been a petty officer in the navy, and had borne an excellent
character. But another question was put; could he read and write? (No
boys could be received at that time unless they possessed those
accomplishments.) Poor Ned had to confess that he was ignorant of both
arts.

He was finally rejected. There was no help for it; though, as his
fat