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Updated: May 21, 2025
It will thus be seen that the expedition numbered seventy-seven souls in all nearly the half of our ship's company, in fact the brig being left in charge of the first luff, with the master, the purser, the surgeon, young Burdett of the midshipmen's mess, the cook and his mate, captain's, gun-room, and wardroom stewards, and seventy-eight seamen.
Mr Pridhomme was smoking in a lover-like and melancholy fashion, against orders, a short pipe in the midshipmen's berth. As the ashes accumulated, he became at a loss for a tobacco-stopper, and I very good-naturedly handed him over the broken, broad-topped, vulgar-looking pencil-case, the gift of the adorable Jemima.
Their names were O'Connor, Mills, and Gascoigne. The other shipmates of our hero it will be better to introduce as they appear on the stage. After Jack had dined in the cabin, he followed his messmates Jolliffe and Gascoigne down into the midshipmen's berth.
On their way they met the Prometheus sloop of war, Captain Dashwood, which had on board the wife, daughter, and infant child of the British consul, Mr McDonnell. The two ladies, disguised in midshipmen's uniforms, had with great difficulty escaped, but as they were passing through the gateway the infant, who had been concealed in a basket, uttering a cry, was detained and carried to the dey.
He had, we found, been already arranging a plan to search for us, and to discover and capture the smugglers. The latter part of it, our Commander determined forthwith to execute. Before we went to breakfast, Stretcher was sent for to make his report a proceeding of which I did not approve, for I was very sharp-set; but midshipmen's appetites are seldom much thought of on such occasions.
Then, having had a satisfactory interview with the tailor and the purser, I went ashore and laid in a stock of linen, etcetera, together with a chest, all of which I brought off with me. As I had quite anticipated, the captain invited everybody to meet me at dinner that day, even to Copplestone and Parkinson, who were now the sole occupants of the midshipmen's berth.
My descent to the midshipmen's berth for the purpose of making my few preparations was the signal for a general fusillade of questions from my inquisitive messmates as to the why and wherefore of my summons to the cabin, and great was the disgust which each felt that he had been passed over in favour of so unimportant a personage as myself.
"Don't you dine in the cabin, Simple?" said the caterer. "Yes," replied I. "Then don't eat any pork, my boy, now, for you'll have plenty there. Come, gentlemen, fill your glasses; we'll drink happiness to our new messmate, and pledging him, we pledge ourselves to try to promote it." "I'll just join you in that toast," said O'Brien, walking into the midshipmen's berth.
The black, a herculean Krooboy, picked up when we first arrived on the Coast, and promptly christened "Cupid" by the master's mate, who, possibly because of sundry disappointments, had developed a somewhat sardonic turn of humour, grinned appreciatively at Nugent's sorry jest respecting "our best china breakfast-set," and proceeded to rout out the heterogeneous assortment of delf and tin cups, basins, and plates that constituted the table-equipage of the midshipmen's berth, poured out a generous allowance of cocoa for each of us, and then departed, with the empty bread-barge, in quest of a supply of ship's biscuit.
Permit them, as yet, to remain secret. There is no guilt attached to them. May I sail with you in the capacity of your servant?" "I have told you before that you cannot be my servant solely; you must be the servant of the midshipmen's berth." "Yes, with all my heart, provided that you pledge me your honour that I shall never be put to any other duty."
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