vivor besides himself on board, and brought into Falmouth by
the passing steamer which had rescued her. He was a most extraordinary
man to look at. Short, with a dreamy face and lanky, whitish-brown
hair, and a patch or shade over one eye, which gave him a very peculiar
appearance, as the other eye squinted or turned askew, looking, as
sailors say, all the week for Sunday.

"Do," said I. "There's nothing that I should like better!"

Clearing his throat with a faint sort of apologetic cough, and staring
apparently round the corner with his sound, or rather unshaded eye, he
began without any further hesitation.

"The cap'en p'raps was in the wrong at first, as I said afore, sir. You
see, some men are born to authority, and some isn't, and Captain Jarvis
was one of those that aren't. I don't wish to speak ill of a man, when
he's dead and gone to his account, and not here to answer for himself;
but I must say, if I speak the truth, that it was all through Cap'en
Jarvis' fault the _Gulnare_ came to grief and all on board murdered each
other; and what weren't murdered were swept off the ship and drowned in
the storm that came on afterwards, when everybody was seeking each
other's blood, and so met their doom in that way--all, that is, barrin'
little Peter and me, who only lived through the scrimmage and the gale
to tell the story of the others' fate. The cap'en had a bad temper and
didn't know how to keep it under; that was at the bottom of it all; and
yet, a nicer man, when the devil hadn't got the upper hand of him, and a
handsomer chap--he was better looking than me, sir," said the mate in an
earnest way, as if his statement was so incredible that he hardly
expected it to be believed--"yes, a nicer and a handsomer chap you never
clapped eyes on in a day's run than Cap'en Jarvis! He stood a trifle
taller than me, and had a jolly bearded face with merry blue eyes; but
with all that and his good-humoured manner when everything was up to the
nines and all plain sailing, he had old Nick's temper and could show it
when he liked! We left Mobile short-handed; and when you leave port to
cross the Atlantic short-handed at this time of the year, I guess,
mister, you've got your work cut out for you, you have! There was only
the cap'en; myself, first mate; the second officer, boatswain, and ten
hands all told, includin' idlers, to navigate a ship of over eight
hundred tons from Mobile to Liverpool in the very worst time of t