commission now: the Stars and Stripes floated from her
peak, and strict naval discipline had been established. She mounted a
"Long Tom" amid-ships, in the shape of a six-pounder pivot gun; and on
the berth-deck was an ample supply of small arms, consisting of
cutlasses, pikes, pistols, and muskets. The crew numbered twenty boys,
including captain, lieutenants, masters, midshipmen, warrant and petty
officers, and seamen. They were dressed in the uniform of the United
States navy; and the first lieutenant, whose whole soul was wrapped up
in his duties, had drilled them until they were as handy and expert as
the crew of any man-of-war.

The boys never grew tired of their work: they were passionately fond of
this new branch of the service, and their efforts to perfect themselves
in every department of their duties were amusing, and sometimes
ridiculous. On one occasion, a frigate came into the harbor and anchored
a short distance from the Storm King. Instantly the students were on the
alert, for that was the time to learn something. Captain Steele ordered
his executive to follow the man-of-war in striking the time of day; and
this show of respect very soon attracted the attention of the commodore,
who, in the afternoon, put off in his gig to visit the Storm King, where
he was piped over the side, and received with all the ceremony due his
rank. The students obtained liberty, visited the vessel, talked with the
old tars on the streets, and the result was soon apparent: the boat's
crew began to pull the regular man-of-war stroke; the seamen took to
wearing their caps on the back of their heads, hitched up their trowsers
with their elbows, grumbled in the most approved sailor fashion when any
thing went wrong with them, and, when they walked, they rolled from side
to side like vessels in a gale of wind. They remembered all the
sea-phrases they heard the old tars use, and never failed to bring them
in on all proper occasions. It was certainly laughable to hear a
fair-haired little fellow exclaim, "Sink my tarry wig!" whenever he
heard any thing that astonished him.

The boatswain's mate of the yacht made friends with the boatswain of the
frigate, put himself under instructions, and soon learned to use his
whistle with wonderful skill, and to issue his commands in a voice which
seemed to come all the way up from his boots. And then, when he gave an
order, he would hasten obedience by such expressions as--"Rouse a bit,
there!" a