ons.

"A charming sea-boat, Mr Wilder," he continued, "and one that never throws
a drop of spray abaft her mainmast. She is just the craft a seaman loves;
easy on her rigging, and lively in a sea. I call her the 'Dolphin,' from
the manner in which she cuts the water; and, perhaps, because she has as
many colours as that fish, you will say--Jack must have a name for his
ship, you know, and I dislike your cut-throat appellations, your
'Spit-fires' and 'Bloody-murders.'"

"You were fortunate in finding such a vessel. Was she built to your
orders?"

"Few ships, under six hundred tons, sail from these colonies, that are not
built to serve my purposes," returned the Rover, with a smile; as if he
would cheer his companion, by displaying the mine of wealth that was
opening to him, through the new connexion he had made. "This vessel was
originally built for his Most Faithful Majesty; and, I believe, was either
intended as a present or a scourge to the Algerines; but--but she has
changed owners, as you see, and her fortune is a little altered; though
how, or why, is a trifle with which we will not, just now divert
ourselves. I have had her in port; she has undergone some improvements,
and is now altogether suited to a running trade."

"You then venture, sometimes, inside the forts?"

"When you have leisure, my private journal may afford some interest," the
other evasively replied. "I hope, Mr Wilder, you find this vessel in such
a state that a seaman need not blush for her?"

"Her beauty and neatness first caught my eye, and induced me to make
closer inquiries into her character."

"You were quick in seeing that she was kept at a single anchor!" returned
the other, laughing. "But I never risk any thing without a reason; not
even the loss of my ground tackle. It would be no great achievement, for
so warm a battery as this I carry, to silence yonder apology for a fort;
but, in doing it, we might receive an unfortunate hit, and therefore do I
keep ready for an instant departure."

"It must be a little awkward, to fight in a war where one cannot lower his
flag in any emergency!" said Wilder; more like one who mused, than one who
intended to express the opinion aloud.

"The bottom is always beneath us," was the laconic answer. "But to you I
may say, that I am, on principle, tender on my spars. They are examined
daily, like the heels of a racer; for it often happens that our valour
must be well-tempered by discretion."

"An