lthough, should they change their minds after their money was all spent
and come forward to join another ship about to be commissioned, the
different periods they might have previously served afloat counted
towards the time required to qualify them for a pension.

When, therefore, the _Candahar_ was ordered to hoist the pennant and her
captain and other officers appointed, she only received a certain
percentage of trained gunnery hands from the _Excellent_, with a few
boys and marines.

She had to go into the open market, as it were, for the rest of her
crew, like any ordinary ship about to sail on a trading voyage.

Such being the case, following the usual practice at the time, the "Earl
Saint Vincent," a tavern on Common Hard, was chosen for our
rallying-place, or rendezvous.

A large broadsheet was exposed in the window of this tavern inviting
able-bodied seamen and artificers to join the battleship; one of our
lieutenants attending each day for a certain number of hours at the
little shipping office which was established in the bar parlour of the
tavern to inspect the discharge notices and certificates of any sailors
or landsmen who might wish to join.

The officer relegated to this duty took care to satisfy himself that any
candidates he selected should pass muster with the commander before
sending them on board.

He knew well enough that if the men had previously served in the navy
and their characters were marked "very good," or even "good," there was
little doubt of their acceptance.

Up to the date of my going on board the ship, though, our recruiting
agency had not been very successful.

Not half our required number of men, had, indeed, as yet volunteered for
the _Candahar_; for, most of the old hands worth their salt fought shy
of the station she was reported to be going to, on account less of its
unhealthiness, which to Jack is of small account, than to the absence of
any prize-money or extra pay, such as might be gained even on the deadly
West Coast, with its malarial fever and pestiferous mangrove swamps that
form the white man's grave.

But, all of a sudden, public opinion, so far as the sailor world was
concerned, veered round in our favour.

It had leaked out that there was a prospect of our having a scrimmage
with the mandarins.

In this case, of course, there would be dollars and other sorts of
"loot" knocking about.

So, that very day, volunteers began to come off to the ship; not by