with a dozen geese, and two ducks, tied by the legs, but without the two
men, who had given them the slip, so that there were now three men gone,
and I knew Mr Falcon would be very angry, for they were three of the
smartest men in the ship. I was now determined not to run the risk of
losing more men, and I ordered the boat's crew to shove off, that I
might lie at the wharf, where they could not climb up. They were very
mutinous, grumbled very much, and would hardly obey me; the fact is,
they had drunk a great deal, and some of them were more than half tipsy.
However, at last I was obeyed, but not without being saluted with a
shower of invectives from the women, and the execrations of the men
belonging to the wherries and _shore_ boats which were washed against
our sides by the swell. The weather had become much worse and looked
very threatening. I waited an hour more, when the sergeant of marines
came down with two more men, one of whom, to my great joy, was Hickman.
This made me more comfortable, as I was not answerable for the other
two; still I was in great trouble from the riotous and insolent
behaviour of the boat's crew, and the other men brought down by the
sergeant of marines. One of them fell back into a basket of eggs, and
smashed them all to atoms; still the marine officer did not come down
and it was getting late. The tide being now at the ebb, running out
against the wind, there was a very heavy sea, and I had to go off to the
ship with a boat deeply laden, and most of the people in her in a state
of intoxication. The coxswain, who was the only one who was sober,
recommended our shoving off, as it would soon be dark, and some accident
would happen. I reflected a minute, and agreeing with him, I ordered
the oars to be got out, and we shoved off, the sergeant of marines and
the gun-room steward perched up in the bows--drunken men, ducks and
geese, lying together at the bottom of the boat--the stern sheets loaded
up to the gunwale, and the other passengers and myself sitting how we
could among the crockery and a variety of other articles with which the
boat was crowded. It was a scene of much confusion--the half-drunken
boat's crew _catching crabs_, and falling forward upon the others--those
who were quite drunk swearing they _would_ pull. "Lay on your oar,
Sullivan; you were doing more harm than good. You drunken rascal, I'll
report you as soon as we get on board."

"How the devil can I pull, your h