rawl it out very slow to imitate
them. But first let me say, when they were through with this chorus, the
leader put in his tongue again, inventing a sentiment to rhyme with the
first, howling it out as if he would split his throat in the endeavor.
This is what it all was:--

'We've picked up a lubber in New Bedford town,--
Come away, away, sto-r-m along, John,
Get a-long, storm a-long, storm's g-one along,'

'Our lubber's lugger-rigged, and we'll do him brown,--
Come away, away, sto-r-m along, John,
Get a-long, storm a-long, storm's g-one along.'

"The last sentiment about lugger-rigged lubber being done brown made them
all laugh even more than the other, and caused an interruption of the
chorus to the extent of at least four revolutions of the windlass; but
when the laugh was over, they went at the dismal chorus with double the
energy they had shown before, repeating all they had then said about
'John's getting along,' and 'storming along,' as if they rather liked
John for doing these things. Thus they went on without much variety,
until I was sick and tired enough of it. The 'lubber' part of it was too
clearly aimed at me to be mistaken; but I could not discover in it
anything but nonsense all the way through to the end.

"After a while I heard some one cry out, 'The anchor's away,' which as I
afterwards learned, meant the anchor had been lifted from the bottom;
and then the sailors all scattered to obey an order to do something,
which I had not the least idea of, with a sail, and with some ropes,
which appeared to me to be so mixed up that nobody could tell one from
the other, nor make head nor tail of them. In the twinkling of an eye,
however, in spite of the mixed-up ropes, there was a great flapping of
white canvas, and a creaking and rattling of pulleys. Then the huge
white sail was fully spread, the wind was bulging it out in the middle
like a balloon, the ship's head was turned away from the town, and we
were moving off. Next came an order to 'lay aloft and shake out the
topsail'; but happily in this order I was not included, but was,
instead, directed to 'lend a hand to get the anchor aboard,' which
operation was quickly accomplished, and the heavy mass of crooked iron
which had held the ship firmly in the harbor was soon fastened in its
proper place on the bow, to what is called a 'cat-head.' By the time
this was done, every sail was set, and we were flying before the wind
out into the great ocean.

"