our getting anything more. Mother, poor soul!
has not enough for herself to eat, and she very often gives us her
dinner and goes without. I can't stand it any longer; what shall we do?
shall we seek our fortunes?'

"'Yes,' says Andrew, 'and when we are gone mother will have enough for
herself.'

"'Well, they say anything is better than going to sea, but I don't know
how we can do anything else.'

"'Well, Archy, going to sea may be the worst of all, but it's better
than taking the victuals out of poor mother's mouth.'

"'That's very true, so we'll be off, Andrew.'

"They walked down to the pier, and then they fell in with the captain of
a vessel going foreign, and they asked him whether he wanted any boys on
board.

"'Why,' says he, 'I wouldn't care, but you've never been to sea
before.'

"'No,' said Archy; 'but there must be a beginning to everything.'

"'Well,' said the captain, 'I suppose you've run away from your friends,
and, as I can't get apprentices now, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll
take you on board, and as soon as we get round to another port in the
Channel, I'll bind you as apprentices for three years. Will you agree to
that?'

"The boys said 'yes,' and the captain told them that he should sail the
next morning about daylight, and that they must be down at the pier by
that time; so they went back again to their mother, and said nothing
about what had passed. There was no supper that night, which confirmed
them in their resolution. They kissed their mother, and went up to bed,
packed up all their clothes, and before she was downstairs the next
morning they were on board of the vessel.

"Well, they were duly apprenticed when the ship arrived at Weymouth, and
then off they went. The other men on board were, as usual, very much
afraid of being pressed, and every plan was hit upon for stowing away
when they were boarded by a man-of-war. Well, time passed, and after
many voyages they had both nearly served their time. They were tall,
stout young men, and looked older than they really were. At last, one
day, when off the Western Isles, they were boarded by a frigate, and the
officer who came in the boat asked Archy what he was, and he replied he
was an apprentice.

"'You an apprentice!' cried he; 'that won't do.'

"'But here are the indentures.'

"'All forged,' cried the officer; 'just get into the boat, my lad.' (You
see that's a very common trick of officers; if a boy's grown up and fit
for se