most sonorous aside.

"Mum," said Captain Reud, putting his finger to his nose, and
endeavouring to look very mysterious, and full of important meaning;
"but when I get him in blue water--if he were the king's son--heh!
Farmer?"

"To be sure. Then he is the son of somebody, sir?"

"More likely the son of nobody--according to the law of the land,--
whoever launched him: but I'll never breathe a word, or give so much as
a hint that he is illegitimate. I scorn, like a British sailor, to do
that by a sidewind, Farmer, that I ought not to do openly; but there are
two sides to a blanket. A popish priest must not marry in England.
Norman Will was not a whit the worse because his mother never stood
outside the canonical rail. Pass your wine, Farmer; I despise a man, a
scoundrel, who deals in innuendos;--O it's despicable, damned
despicable. I don't like, however, to be trusted by halves--shall keep
a sharp look-out on the joker--with me, a secret is always perfectly
safe."

"O, then there is a secret, I see," said Mr Farmer. "You had better go
now, Mr Rattlin, and attend to the captain's orders to-morrow." The
word mister sounded sharply, yet not unpleasingly, to my ear: it was the
first time I had been so designated or so dignified. Here was another
evidence that I had, or ought to, cast from me the slough of boyhood,
and enact, boldly, the man. I therefore summoned up courage to say that
I did not perfectly understand the purport of the captain's order, and
solicited an explanation.

"Yes," said he; "the service has come to a pretty pass, when the
youngest officer of my ship asks me to explain my orders, instead of
obeying them."

"I had better give him a note to the commanding officer, for I may not
happen to be on board when he arrives."

A note was written, and given me.

"Good-night, Mr Rattlin," said the captain.

"Good-night, sir," said I, advancing very amiably to shake hands with my
little commander. My action took him more aback than a heavy squall
would have done the beautiful frigate he commanded. The prestige of
rank, and the pride of discipline struggled with his sense of the common
courtesies of life. He half held out his hand; he withdrew it--it was
again proffered and again withdrawn! He really looked confused. At
length, as if he had rallied up all his energies to act courageously, he
thrust them resolutely into his pockets; and then said, "There, younker,
that will do. Go and turn