French
man-of-war, Cape Finistere bearing about six leagues on the weather bow,
and the chase three leagues to leeward, going before the wind: whereupon
I set my studding sails; and coming up with her, hoisted my jack and
ensign, and poured in a broadside, before you could count three rattlins
in the mizen shrouds; for I always keep a good look-out, and love to
have the first fire."

"That I'll be sworn," said Hatchway: "for the day we made the Triumph
you ordered the men to fire when she was hull-to, by the same token we
below pointed the guns at a flight of gulls; and I won a can of punch
from the gunner by killing the first bird."

Exasperated at this sarcasm, he replied, with great vehemence, "You lie,
lubber! D-- your bones! what business have you to come always athwart
my hawse in this manner? You, Pipes, was upon deck, and can bear witness
whether or not I fired too soon. Speak, you blood of a ----, and that
upon the word of a seaman: how did the chase bear of us when I gave
orders to fire?"

Pipes, who had hitherto sat silent, being thus called upon to give his
evidence, after divers strange gesticulations, opened his mouth like
a gasping cod, and with a cadence like that of the east wind singing
through a cranny, pronounced, "Half a quarter of a league right upon our
lee-beam."

"Nearer, you porpuss-faced swab," cried the commodore, "nearer by
twelve fathom: but, howsomever, that's enough to prove the falsehood of
Hatchway's jaw--and so, brother, d'ye see," turning to Pickle, "I lay
alongside of the Flour de Louse, yard-arm and yard-arm, plying out great
guns and small arms, and heaving in stink-pots, powder-bottles, and
hand-grenades, till our shot was all expended, double-headed, partridge
and grape: then we loaded with iron crows, marlin-spikes, and old nails;
but finding the Frenchman took a good deal of drubbing, and that he had
shot away all our rigging, and killed and wounded a great number of our
men, d'ye see, I resolved to run him on board upon his quarter, and so
ordered our grapplings to be got ready; but monsieur, perceiving what we
were about, filled his topsails and sheered off, leaving us like a log
upon the water, and our scuppers running with blood."

Mr. Pickle and the landlord paid such extraordinary attention to the
rehearsal of this exploit, that Trunnion was encouraged to entertain
them with more stories of the same nature; after which he observed, by
way of encomium on the governm