United States or Peru ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
"I wish to Heaven that he had remained the winter, or that his chests were all to the bottom! I don't know where the devil we are to stow them. O! here they come! Boatswain's mate, 'tend the side there."
"I wonder you survived all your misfortunes, Mr Johnson," observed Spellman, who, next to Gogles and Toby Bluff, seemed to place the most perfect belief in the boatswain's veracious narratives, as he was pleased to designate his amusing inventions. "Why, do you see, Mr Spellman, I'm tough very tough!" he answered, with a hoarse laugh.
The sleeping city awakened by enchantment. Natives appeared upon all sides, hailing each other with the magic cry "Ehippy" ship; the Queen stepped forth on her verandah, shading her eyes under a hand that was a miracle of the fine art of tattooing; the commandant broke from his domestic convicts and ran into the residency for his glass; the harbour-master, who was also the gaoler, came speeding down the Prison Hill; the seventeen brown Kanakas and the French boatswain's mate, that make up the complement of the war-schooner, crowded on the forward deck; and the various English, Americans, Germans, Poles, Corsicans and Scots the merchants and the clerks of Tai-o-hae deserted their places of business, and gathered, according to invariable custom, on the road before the club.
The boatswain stands near the break of the forecastle, with his bright silver call or whistle in his hand, which ever and anon he places just at the tip of his lips to blow out any crumbs which threaten to interfere with its melody, or to give a faint' too-weet, too-weet, as a preparatory note to fix the attention of the boatswain's mates, who being, like their chief, provided with calls, station themselves at intervals along the main-deck, ready to give due accompaniment to their leader's tune.
O'Brien would be standing on the boatswain's locker or rope and tar-pot pantry in the vessel's bows with a large old quarto Bible, black with age, laid before her between the knight-heads, and reading aloud to her three meek little lambs.
The slaves heaved, and with a creak and splash of oars the great galeasse skimmed forward towards the mouth of the cove. Up and down the gangway ran the boatswain's mates, cutting fiercely with their whips to urge the slaves to the very utmost effort. The vessel gathered speed. The looming headland slipped by. The mouth of the cove appeared to widen as they approached it.
I must send down and tell the captain at once." With that, he hailed the midshipman of the watch and despatched him with the news to Captain Hankey's cabin aft; while at the same time he rang the engine-room gong, and shouted down through the voice-tube to tell them below to `stand by, as probably we would want steam up in a very short time; directing also the coxswains of the boats alongside to make ready, as well as passing the word forward for the boatswain's mates and the drummer and bugler to be handy when wanted.
After her cargo was discharged, which was done "to the sound of flutes and soft recorders" something as work is done in the navy to the music of the boatswain's pipe the Lascars were set to "stripping the ship" that is, to sending down all her spars and ropes. At this time, she lay alongside of us, and the Babel on board almost drowned our own voices.
"`Very well, then, said the captain; `strip, sir. So Bill Short pulls off his shirt, and is seized up. `Boatswain's mate, said the captain, `give him a dozen. "`Beg your honour's pardon, said Jack Holmes, stepping out of the row of men brought out for punishment; `but I can't bear to see an innocent man punished, and since one must be flogged, it must be the right one.
Now, let the hands be piped down." I had paused just below and under cover of the coamings long enough to hear this speech to its conclusion; now, as the boatswain's pipe sent forth its shrill sounds, I scurried off and made the best of my way to the midshipmen's berth.
Word Of The Day