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Perhaps the most universally popular song among seamen is Rule Britannia; but in general they do little more than sing the chorus, and the way in which a crew of tars, when half-seas-over, will monotonously drawl out 'Britons never, never, never shall be slaves! repeating it over and over again, as if they never could have too much of a good thing is highly amusing.
A comical object he looked, as, half-seas-over, he attempted to pull on a mud-covered boot, which he had just extricated from the hole where it and his leg had parted company. A piece of wood, which his imagination transformed into a shoe-horn, was in his hand. Put it into the starboard side there it goes well done, old girl," and he triumphantly rose from the ground, and reeled away.
Do you want to catch flies? or did you never see a chap half-seas-over before?" I replied, "That I had never been at sea in my life, but that I was going." "Well, then, you're like a young bear, all your sorrows to come that's all, my hearty," replied he. "When you get on board, you'll find monkey's allowance more kicks than half-pence. I say, you pewter-carrier, bring us another pint of ale."
Only at intervals was the old woman's cheerfulness disturbed, and that was during the occasional visits of her ne'er-do-well son Dick, for he was generally drunk or "half-seas-over" when he came.
On one side through an archway was seen a second apartment, in which, round a large table covered with tumblers, jugs, and flat round bottles, were seen seated a dozen or more merchant seamen of various nations, those from Yankee-land predominating, with an equal number of half-caste females gaudily dressed in Oriental costume, the whole party by their attitudes and looks already more than half-seas-over; some shouting and singing at the top of their voices, others attempting to sing, but uttering only spasmodic sounds, as the fumes of the liquor they were pouring down their throats mounted to such brains as they might possess.
When they came up to Mr Rush he was found to be more than half-seas-over, and commenced grinding out odds and ends of profanity about the shabby trick that had been played on the port watch on the occasion when the captain's grog was purloined and some people had to be sent to bed. "Shut up about that," responded the conscience-pricked James, in a sudden gust of rage.
"There, Billy," he said, "I've had enough of it." "Of grog, d'ye mean?" asked the boy. "No, but of the hell-upon-earth down there," replied the young man. "Well, Ned, I should just think you have had enough o' that," said Billy, "an' of grog too though you don't seem much screwed after all." "I'm not screwed at all, Billy not even half-seas-over.
Reef the t'gallant sails of your temper, boy, and don't run foul of an old man who has been all but a wet-nurse to ye taught ye to walk, and swim, and pull an oar, and build ships, and has hauled ye out o' the sea when ye fell in from the time ye could barely stump along on two legs, lookin' like as if ye was more nor half-seas-over."
If the judge had not been with him I would have kicked him out long ago. He has a sharp, impudent tongue, when he has a mind to be ugly." "Yes," said Sealy, "I am glad he has gone and taken the judge with him; for, even though he was more than half-seas-over, he did not wish to compromise himself by listening to our conversation upon that subject. I think he was glad that Peters called him out."
All felt that Kennedy's tact had saved the situation and restored the equilibrium. It was the poet now who stood before them the man of genius the man whose name was known the country through. That he was drunk was only part of the performance. Booth had been drunk when he chased a super from the stage; Webster made his best speeches when he was half-seas-over was making them at that very moment.
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