f his ability, with
a like result; while the second mate was a blustering bully, whose great
pride and boast it was that he could always make one man do the work of
two. Hence, from the very commencement of the voyage, the quarterdeck
and the forecastle, instead of pulling together and making an united
effort to overcome the difficulties of their position, rapidly grew to
regard each other with mutual feelings of enmity and distrust.

Matters had consequently, as might be expected, been steadily growing
from bad to worse, from the first moment of sailing; and on the day
before the gale a very unpleasant incident had occurred on board.

It arose in this way. On the second mate's watch being called, one of
the men remained in his hammock, sending word by one of his shipmates to
the officer of the watch that he was ill and unfit for duty. The second
mate, instead of reporting the circumstance to the master, and having it
inquired into, as was the proper course, jumped at once to the
conclusion that the man was merely feigning sickness, in order to avoid
the performance of his proper share of work; and, taking the matter into
his own hands, he proceeded to the forecastle, armed with a "colt," and,
dragging the unhappy seaman out of his hammock, drove him on deck,
abusing him roundly the while in no measured terms, and setting him to
work to grease the main-mast, from the truck downward.

The poor fellow, who was really ill, procured a pot of grease and
started up the rigging, but, finding himself wholly unequal to the task
of going aloft, descended again, and proceeding aft to the poop went up
to the captain, who happened to be standing conversing with some of the
passengers, and requested to be released from duty, repeating his plea
of illness. The second mate had, however, in the meantime mentioned the
matter to the captain, putting his own construction upon it; the request
was therefore harshly and hastily refused, the refusal being accompanied
by the assertion that the pleader was a mean, skulking, mutinous rascal,
not worth his salt.

Lieutenant Walford happened to be one of the passengers standing near at
the moment, and, as the dissatisfied seaman turned away, Walford turned
to the captain and said--

"We in the army have a very short and simple method of dealing with
fellows like that--we flog them; and, I assure you, it proves a
never-failing cure."

The sick man heard this remark, so did the man at the w