rum; she having been secured to
the larboard side, the hands were piped to clear lighter.

I had been on duty on the main-deck; several ladies had come off early
in the morning, friends and relations of the officers. Some of them
were either in the ward-room or gun-room, and others were walking the
quarter-deck with the help of their gentlemen friends, as it was no easy
matter, the ship heeling over as much as she was then doing. They
thought it very good fun, however, and were laughing and talking as they
tried to keep their feet from slipping. I had been sent with a message
to Mr Hollingbury, our third lieutenant, who was officer of the watch;
he seemed out of temper, and gave me a rough answer, as he generally
did. He was not a favourite indeed with us, and we used to call him
"Jib-and-Foresail Jack"; for when he had the watch at night he was
always singing out, "Up jib," and "Down jib"; "Up foresail," "Down
foresail"; and from a habit he had of moving his fingers about when
walking the quarter-deck, we used to say that he had been an
organ-player in London. Just as I got back to the main-deck, I caught a
glimpse of a young lady in black, leading a little boy; she turned her
face towards me, and I saw that she was the very same who had come to my
wife's cottage the previous evening--indeed I should have known her by
the little boy by her side. I had to return to the quarter-deck again,
and when I once more came back to the main-deck I could nowhere see her;
but whether she went into the ward-room, or had gone below, I could not
learn. I asked several people, for I thought she might have brought me
off a message from Susan, and I might, I fancied, have been of use to
her in finding the person she wished to see. While I was looking about,
Mr Webb, the purser's clerk, who had received orders to go on shore in
charge of a boat, came up and ordered me to call the crew away; a couple
of midshipmen were going with him. This took up some time, and
prevented me from finding the young lady. Just then, as I went up to
report the boat gone to Mr Hollingbury, Mr Williams, the carpenter,
came up from the lower-deck, and requested that he would be pleased to
order the ship to be righted, as she was heeling over more than she
could bear. The lieutenant gave one of his usual short answers to the
carpenter, who went below, looking as if he did not at all like it. He
was back again, however, before I had left the deck, when