Sally,' that was the admiral's daughter, bringing
along with her the old ship's cow and pigeons and a lot of other stock
he had ordered from his place t'other side of Portsdown Hill on the road
to Petersfield, `Merchiston Hall,' I think he called it, or some other
Scotch name sounding like that."

"Oh, yes," put in Mr Stormcock, satirically--"I recollect it all quite
well. Heave ahead, my hearty!"

The assistant-paymaster, however, took no notice whatever of the
interruption, pursuing the even tenor of his narrative.

"The admiral had the cow and stock taken in; but just as his daughter
Sally was coming across the gangway, he ordered her back, for the royal
yacht was now coming up. `Stop where you are, Sally!' he shouted out
from the poop. `Stop, Sally, stop!' bawling out the words so loudly
that you could have heard him in Common Hard, for he had a powerful pair
of lungs had Old Charley, and could raise his voice above a gale.
Almost in the same breath, too, he sang out to the wives and friends of
the sailors who had come out from Portsmouth to wish them good-bye,
`Now, all you women and people there! go aboard the tug with my darter,
and when Her Majesty has passed you may come back again.' Of course,
they all cleared out at once, the master-at-arms and his corporals
assisting them over the side; but when they were all comfortably landed
on board the tug, she steamed off right away for the harbour, with a
long string of wherries and shore boats pulling like blue niggers after
her, the men in them swearing like anything at being cheated of their
fares. We all the while were getting up anchor and in another minute or
two were under weigh. Captain Gordon, who was the admiral's flag
captain, spoke to him about the poor watermen and bumboat women being
robbed of their money by our starting so suddenly; but he could get no
satisfaction from old Charley. `Bumboat women be hanged!' was all he
said. `Let 'em take their payment out of the fore tops'l, and the main
topgallant s'l shall be witness to the bargain!' With that, he orders
the men, who were muttering to be piped down."

"But the cow, sir," said I, on the paymaster's assistant thus coming to
a conclusion, without alluding to what I considered the principal point
of his story. "You haven't told us yet about that, sir."

"Oh, yes, I forgot," said he. "It was a fine beast, I remember, one of
the red Alderney breed. Well, this cow was first stowed away in a