ed (divil choke them for that same), and av coorse the water
gained an us; and troth, to be filled with water is neither good for man
or baste; and she was sinkin' fast, settlin' down, as the sailors call
it; and faith I never was good at settlin' down in my life, and I liked
it then less nor ever; accordingly we prepared for the worst and put out
the boat and got a sack o' bishkits and a cask o' pork, and a kag o'
wather, and a thrifle o' rum aboord, and any other little matthers we
could think iv in the mortial hurry we wor in,--and faith there was no
time to be lost, for, my darlint, the _Colleen Dhas_ went down like a
lump o' lead, afore we wor many sthrokes o' the oar away from her.

"Well, we dhrifted away all that night, and next mornin' we put up a
blanket an the end av a pole as well as we could, and then we sailed
iligant; for we darn't show a stitch o' canvas the night before, bekase
it was blowin' like bloody murther, savin' your presence, and sure it's
the wondher of the world we worn't swally'd alive by the ragin' sae.

"Well, away we wint, for more nor a week, and nothin' before our two
good-lookin' eyes but the canophy iv heaven, and the wide ocean--the
broad Atlantic--not a thing was to be seen but the sae and the sky; and
though the sae and the sky is mighty purty things in themselves, throth
they're no great things when you've nothin' else to look at for a week
together,--and the barest rock in the world, so it was land, would be
more welkim. And then, soon enough, throth, our provisions began to run
low, the bishkits, and the wather, and the rum--throth _that_ was gone
first of all--God help uz--and oh! it was thin that starvation began to
stare us in the face,--'O, murther, murther, Captain darlint,' says I,
'I wish we could land anywhere,' says I.

"'More power to your elbow, Paddy, my boy,' says he, 'for sitch a good
wish, and throth it's myself wishes the same.'

"'Och,' says I, 'that it may plaze you, sweet queen iv heaven, supposing
it was only a _dissolute_ island,' says I, 'inhabited wid Turks, sure
they wouldn't be such bad Christians as to refuse us a bit and a sup.'

"'Whisht, whisht, Paddy,' says the captain, 'don't be talking bad of any
one,' says he; 'you don't know how soon you may want a good word put in
for yourself, if you should be called to quarthers in th' other world
all of a suddint,' says he.

"'Thrue for you, Captain darlint,' says I--I called him darlint, and
made free