they
were bullied or tortured into it by revolting methods of
wrong which were recognised at that time in England to be
legal. To their shame be it said, but how often have I
heard men who had sprung from the masses and abject poverty,
and who had succeeded in getting into position (so far as
money would allow them to do so), deplore the introduction
of a larger educational system and the enactment of more
rigid laws to provide against a despotism that had become a
national disgrace! And it was not until a few demoniacs had
committed hideous murder, and were hung for it, that the
legislature took the trouble to inquire into what was going
on upon the high seas--nay, at times even before their very
eyes.

One duty of a young sailor is to tar down the fore and aft
stays. At any time and under any circumstances this was a
precarious undertaking, and yet these fine young athletes
would undertake it quite joyously, provided it was called
for in the ordinary course of their duty, and there was no
intimation or suspicion of it being intended as a "work-up"
job, as they called it. The main and mizen stays stretched
from mast to mast; the fore stays were more perpendicular,
as they stretched from the masts to the jib-boom and
bowsprit. It was usual to have a boatswain's chair to sit
and be lowered down in while tarring these stays. Some mates
disdained pampering youths with a luxury of this kind, so
disallowed it, and caused them to sit in a bowlin' bight
instead. But the most villainous thing of all was when a boy
for a mere technical offence, perhaps, indeed, no offence
at all, would be ordered to ride a stay down without either
chair or bowlin'. The tar-pot was held in one hand, the
tarring was done with the other, and the holding on was
managed by a process of clinging with the legs and body as
they slid along in a marvellously skilful way; and woe to
the unhappy culprit who allowed any drops of tar to fall on
the decks or paint-work! Sometimes these lads lost their
balance and fell with their bodies under the stay, and
failed to right themselves; in that case they had to slide
down to where the stay was set up, get on top of it again,
and climb up to where they had left off tarring. They were
not allowed, even if they could have done so, to ride over
the painted portion by sliding over it. Occasionally there
occurred fatal falls, but this was a rare thing. I remember
losing my balance while riding down a main top-gal