ny of his fellow-men. He, like Tom Bowling, was
the darling of the crew; for although he wielded his authority with a
taut hand, he could be lenient when he thought it advisable, and was
ever ready to do a kind action to any of his shipmates. He could always
get them to do anything he wanted; for, instead of swearing at them, he
used endearing expressions, such as "My loves," "My dear boys," "My
charming lads." Thus, "My darlings," he would sing out, "be smart in
handling that fore-topgallantsail," or "Take down two reefs in the
topsails, my cherubs," or when setting studding-sails, he would sing
out, "Haul away, my angels," or again, when shortening sail, "Clew up--
haul down, my lovely dears." He varied his expressions, however,
according to the urgency of the case. If more speed was required, the
more endearing were his words. I won't undertake to say that he did not
sometimes rap out words of a very different signification, but that was
only in extreme cases, when all others seemed to fail, or he had
exhausted his vocabulary; but the men did not mind it a bit, for it only
showed them that they must exert all their strength and activity if the
masts were to be saved or the ship preserved from capsizing, or any
other catastrophe prevented. The men were well aware of the motive
which induced him to use strong expressions. We had two black men, who,
having long served on board merchant vessels, spoke English pretty well.
One of them, called Quambo, acted as steward; the other, Sambo, being
ship's cook, spent a good portion of his time in the caboose, from which
he carried on a conversation on either side with the men who happened to
be congregated there. He, as well as Quambo, had to do duty as a
seaman, and active fellows they were, as good hands as any of the crew.
Sambo, besides his other accomplishments, could play the fiddle, and in
calm weather the merry tones of his instrument would set all the crew
dancing, making even Tom Tubbs shuffle about out of sight of the
officers; for it would have been derogatory, he considered, to have been
seen thus conducting himself in public. We had an Irishman, a
Scotchman, three Finns, and a Portuguese, who was generally known as
"Portinggall." The captain and the rest were Englishmen, two of whom
had seen better days. One had been a schoolmaster and the other a
lawyer's clerk. There was also a runaway from home of gentle birth, but
who had so long mixed with rough cha