hes
above the deck. The cabin of the Tomtit is twelve feet long, eight feet
wide, and five feet six inches high. It has roomy lockers, and a snug
little fireplace, and it leads into two recesses forward, which make
capital storerooms for water, coals, firewood, and so forth. When I have
added that the Tomtit has a bright red bottom, continued, as to colour,
up her sides to a little above the watermark; and when I have further
stated that she is a fast sailer, and that she proved herself on our
cruise to be a capital little seaboat, I have said all that is needful
at present on the subject of our yacht, and may get on to our crew and
ourselves.

Our crew is composed of three brothers: Sam Dobbs, Dick Dobbs, and Bob
Dobbs; all active seamen, and as worthy and hearty fellows as any man in
the world could wish to sail with. My friend's name is Mr. Migott, and
mine is Mr. Jollins. Thus, we are five on board altogether. As for our
characters, I shall leave them to come out as they may in the course of
this narrative. I am going to tell things plainly just as they
happened. Smart writing, comic colouring, and graphic description, are
departments of authorship at which I snap my fingers in contempt.

The port we sailed from was a famous watering-place on the western
coast, called Mangerton-on-the-Mud; and our intention, as intimated at
the beginning of these pages, was to go even farther than the Land's
End, and to reach those last morsels of English ground called the Scilly
Islands. But if the reader thinks he is now to get afloat at once, he is
lamentably mistaken. One very important and interesting part of our
voyage was entirely comprised in the preparations that we made for it.
To this portion of the subject, therefore, I shall wholly devote myself
in the first instance. On paper, or off it, neither Mr. Migott nor
myself are men to be hurried.

We left London with nothing but our clothes, our wrappers, some tobacco,
some French novels, and some Egyptian cigars. Everything that was to be
bought for the voyage was to be procured at Bristol. Everything that
could be extracted from private benevolence, was to be taken in
unlimited quantities from hospitable friends living more or less in the
neighbourhood of our place of embarkation. At Bristol we plunged over
head and ears in naval business immediately. After ordering a ham, and
a tongue, marmalade, lemons, anchovy paste, and general groceries, we
set forth to the quay to