shipwrack agen?" he exclaimed.

"No, no," quoth Johnny--"bad aneuch, but no just sae bad as that." And
he proceeded to inform his friend of the real state of the case.

The good-natured Dutchman was shocked at the recital, and felt ten times
more than ever for Johnny's unhappy situation and complicated
misfortunes. When he had concluded his affecting story--

"I tell you what you do, mine goot freend," said Vander Dunder--"you go
vith me to Slootzsloykin, and you remain vith me dere till your ship
sail. You do dat, mine goot freend."

"Wi' a' my heart," said Johnny, "and muckle obleeged to ye for yer
kindness."

"No, no--no obleege at all," replied the kind-hearted Dutchman,
impatiently. "Yo do the same to me in your coontry if I was shipwrack
and in misfortune, and put to trooble for an innocent thief."

"Aweel, maybe I wad; but, nevertheless, its kind o' you to offer me the
shelter o' yer roof," replied Johnny.

Dunder Vander Dunder now took his friend into a tavern, and treated him
to a glass of schnaps. Shortly thereafter the two embarked in a canal
boat for Slootzsloykin, where they finally arrived in safety. Here
Johnny met with the same kind treatment as before; and of that kindness
there was no abatement during the whole fortnight of his sojourn. At the
end of this period, Johnny Armstrong once more set out for Rotterdam, on
the day previous to the sailing of the vessel in which he now hoped to
reach his native land, without further molestation or interruption. And,
certainly, everything had the appearance of going right on this
occasion. The vessel, with Johnny on board, sailed at the appointed
time, and, before embarking, he had read distinctly on the ticket--a
large black board, with yellow letters, which was fastened to the
shrouds--that she was bound for Leith, and was the identical vessel he
had had in his eye. So far as this went, there could be no mistake
whatever. There was, indeed, one little circumstance that startled
Johnny, but which he had not discovered till the vessel had been some
time at sea. This was, that all the crew were Dutchmen, there not being
a Scotchman amongst them. The circumstance did not, indeed, greatly
alarm Johnny, but he certainly did think it a little odd; for he
naturally expected that, as she was a Leith vessel, her crew would be,
for the most part, at any rate, natives of Britain. However, he made no
remarks on the subject, thinking it, as it really was, a matter of