g a bit," one of the men said, "we shall be out
round the Foreland by dinner-time."

The voyage was an uneventful one; Frank escaped the first fight in which
new-comers generally have to take part before they settle down in their
new sphere. He was thoroughly good-tempered, and fully a match for any
of his messmates in chaff, and he soon became a favourite in the
fo'castle. He was always ready to take his share of the work, and was
soon as much at home on the yards as the rest. The change and the
newness of the life were very good for him; he was never alone, and had
no time to think or brood over his troubles, and he was almost sorry
when the end of the voyage approached.

"Not a lively-looking shore," the mate said to him as he leaned against
the bulwark, looking at the low banks of the river a few miles below New
Orleans. "No, even an American may confess that there ain't much beauty
about this river. It's a great river, and a mighty useful one, but it
ain't beautiful. Now, what are you thinking of doing when you get
ashore?"

"I was thinking to begin by getting employment on board a boat of some
sort. What I shall do afterwards of course I do not know; but if I can
earn my living on the water for a few months, till I have time to look
round and see what is best to be done, I shall be well satisfied. I have
got a few pounds, but I don't want to touch them; they will come in
useful if I want to move, or to buy a horse, or anything of that sort."

"You will do," the mate said. "You have shown yourself a right-down
sharp fellow on board this ship, and I expect you will make your way
whatever you try a hand at. I have taken a fancy to you, and should be
glad to do you a good turn if I can. I have been in and out of this port
for some years, and know Orleans pretty tidy, and I can tell you that
there ain't a port on this side of the water or the other where a fellow
can be put out of the way more promptly than here; there are parts of
New Orleans which, I tell you, are a sort of hell on earth.

"There are places you couldn't go into without some one picking a
quarrel with you afore you have been in there two minutes, and a quarrel
here means knives out afore you have time to think. On the other hand,
Orleans is a place where a steady industrious fellow, with his head
screwed on right, has a good chance of getting on. The trade up the
river is immense, and will be far greater than it is now; and there's
pretty well a