if she were dressed with bunting in honour of some royal
birthday.

"And so have you too, Marline, as well as this young shaver," returned
the captain good-humouredly; "but I was not thinking of ourselves; for,
we're both young fellows, like Master Tom here, and able to brave
anything. Hasn't the ship suffered, though, poor old thing!" he added
as he glanced sympathetically over her and saw all the damage, which,
first the gale, and then our subsequent cutting away of the masts, had
effected.

"Aye, she doesn't look as trim as when she left port," said Mr Marline.

Nor did she by a long way!

The mizzen and mainmasts had been cut down close to the deck, while the
butt-end of the foremast stood up only some twenty feet or so above the
forecastle--a jagged broken piece of timber, with the stays and other
ropes stretching away from its head to the wreck of the spars tumbling
about in the sea in front of us. The bowsprit alone remained intact of
all our sticks, the gale having even spared the jib-boom; while the
martingale and dolphin striker, with the shrouds on either side of the
projecting spar were still all standing.

Looking inboards, the helm and steering apparatus were undamaged, as was
also the binnacle, although this had a severe list to starboard; but,
the skylight in the centre of the poop had been swept away, as well as a
portion of the bulwarks on the side that had been under water, the
rasping of the mizzen-mast having sawn them off flush with the deck.

This was the case, too, below in the waist, where the starboard timbers
had been carried away nearly to the fore-chains, which probably had
acted as a buffer and stayed further destruction in that direction; and
it was only owing to this that the galley and pump-box had been saved,
as otherwise both would have been swept overboard along with the dunnage
I had noticed collected under the lee of the forecastle.

"Well, we mustn't grumble," said Captain Miles after meditating a bit
over the damage with a serious face. "Our lives have been spared and
the ship floats; so, there you have two things to the good, to balance
our account on the other side of the ledger!"

"You're right, sir," replied Mr Marline; "but have you sounded her yet
to see if we have shipped much water?"

"Aye, I did that a long time ago, while you were dreaming," said the
captain with a chuckle. "Old Adze the carpenter saw to the matter as
soon as we righted. She has taken in