a pleasant
voyage, with kind and indulgent officers, had every thing pleasant to
expect in the future. As Captain Turner would undoubtedly treat me with
indulgence and overlook any shortcomings on my part, for the sake of his
intimate friend, Captain Tilton, I determined, by my attention to duty,
and my general conduct, to deserve the favors which I was sure I should
receive.

Communing thus with myself, and lost in the rosy vagaries of a vivid
imagination, I unhappily for the moment forgot the objects for which I
was stationed on deck. I seated myself involuntarily on a spar, which
was lashed alongside the long boat, and in a few minutes, without
any intention or expectation of being otherwise than vigilant in the
extreme, WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE LAND OF DREAMS!

A check was suddenly put to my vagabond thoughts and flowery visions,
and I was violently dragged back to the realities of life by a strong
hand, which, seizing me roughly by the collar, jerked me to my feet!
At the same time, the voice of my kind friend and benefactor, Captain
Turner, rung in my ears like a trumpet, as he exclaimed in a paroxysm of
passion, "You little good-for-nothing rascal! This is the way you keep
watch! Hey? Wake up, you lazy ragamuffin! Rouse yourself!" And, suiting
the action to the word, he gave me two or three severe shakes. "Let
me catch you sleeping in your watch again, and I'll send you to the
cross-trees for four hours on a stretch. I knew I had got a hard bargain
when your uncle shoved you upon me, you sneaking, sanctimonious-looking
imp of Satan! But mind how you carry your helm, or you will have cause
to curse the day when you shipped on board the Dolphin!"

This was a damper, with a vengeance, to my aspirations and hopes.
The ladder on which I was about to ascend to fame and fortune was
unfeelingly knocked away, and I was laid prostrate flat on my back
almost before I began to mount! I was deceived in Captain Turner; and
what was of greater consequence to me, my self-confidence was terribly
shaken I was deceived in myself. My shipmates, nevertheless, sympathized
with me in my abasement; gave me words of encouragement; bade me be of
good cheer; keep a stiff upper lip; look out sharper for squalls in the
future, and I should yet "weather the cape."

An awkward accident happened to me the following day, which tended still
further to diminish the self-confidence I had so recently cherished. The
small boat had returned about su