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the cuddy in disgust and sought the solitude of his own cabin.

But the Bay of Biscay was soon passed and brighter prospects began to dawn upon Peregrine Pultuney and his associates. One by one, the gentlemen appeared regularly at table, and then the ladies, all looking a little sallower, and a little thinner, than they did at first; and every succeeding day saw a greater havoc committed among the legs of mutton and the loins of pork at the cuddy table. And "fry" was eaten for breakfast, and bread and cheese for tiffin, and the ladies actually began to venture to walk up and down the deck.

We have often heard it observed that board ship is the stupidest place in the whole world; now in our opinion, it is not the ship but the people to whom the stupidity is properly attributable. It is so very common-place to talk about "resources within oneself," that we shall not hazard any thing on the subject; but we regard this mere hint as sufficient to put things in their true light, for it is very hard that timber and canvass should be chargeable with the deficiencies of every wooden head, that may happen to be confided to their safe guard.

That the gentlemen passengers of the Hastings were all wooden-headed we do not take upon ourselves to affirm; but it is very certain that they almost every one of them were sufficiently loud in abusing the stupidity of the ship. Peregrine Pultuney, we have frequently taken an opportunity to observe,

was of a very accomodating disposition and adapted himself to circumstances so peculiarly well, that in a little time he was as happy on board ship as he ever had been on shore.

The secret of this was, that Peregrine Pultuney, in the first place, was never idle; and in the second, it so fell out that he was a prodigious favourite with all on board, with the exception of the long cornet, who, to tell the truth, was one of the most conceited and most disagreeable of created beings. Peregrine Pultuney did all he could to avoid an outbreak with this worthy, but the Fates would not permit it.

The amusement resorted to on board ship, for the purpose of killing time, are, generally speaking, of a somewhat strange and a very puerile description. They consist chiefly in back-gammon, cribbage, "putting," on fine days, shooting at bottles, baiting for sharks, criticising the ladies, abusing the dinner, and laying wagers on every trifling occasion. All these were resorted to by the passengers of the Hastings; besides sundry other athletic feats, such as going up the mizen-stays hand over hand, chalking under one's leg, lifting weights, holding out chairs, and other such diversions which were always resorted to at first with peculiar expressions of gratification, and abandoned after a little time, without one expression of regret.

At all these things Peregrine Pultuney was what is usually termed a dab, that is to say he beat everybody else at them whenever he made the attempt,

though, in truth, he did not indulge very frequently in recreations of this description, having taken a strange fancy into his head, that it would be better to employ his time in study-a whim upon his part which all will acknowledge to be equally singular and absurd.

As for Julian Jenks, with his merry face and his short stumpy figure, he was here, there, and everywhere, belying his own discontent at the miseries of the "confounded hole" by looking the very picture of happiness and serenity, and by laughing almost all the day long.

And with regard to poor Doleton and the long cornet, we have likewise a few words to say before we proceed to detail the grand incidents of this part of our history. The cornet, whose name was Drawlincourt, began the voyage, as we have already incidentally stated, by roasting the unhappy greenhorn. This continued for a few weeks, and after that, the long cornet and the nervous youth became suddenly sworn friends.

Peregrine Pultuney, for some time, could not bring himself to account for such a miraculous change. Drawlincourt had heretofore evinced a strong propensity to torture poor Doleton in every way his imagination could suggest. He had worked upon the poor youth's fears, by narrating dreadful stories of shipwrecks and battles, until the wretched boy's nerves were in a more deplorable condition than ever they had been before. He had told

him more lies relating to India-the horrors of its climate, its wild beasts, its savage inhabitants, its constant massacres, than it had ever entered into the mind of any other man to conceive. All these poor Doleton had believed, because they had been told to him at seasons when Peregrine Pultuney was not near to give the cornet the lie. Indeed, to our hero it seemed that Doleton took occasion to avoid him; he had once or twice seen the nervous youth approach him, as though anxious to say something, look round, see the long cornet standing near, and turn away in a confused manner. Peregrine Pultuney took no notice of this, but certain stories reached his ears through other quarters, which caused him to know pretty well that poor Doleton stood in awe of the long cornet; and Peregrine Pultuney determined ere long to rescue the poor youth from such a thraldom.

But Peregrine Pultuney had not long been on the look out for an opportunity, when he was made conscious that a sudden change had taken place in the state of affairs. Doleton and the long cornet became inseparable companions. The poor fellow was almost always closeted in Drawlincourt's cabin; and whenever he chanced to be on deck he was seen seated near the cornet. Nay, actually, this great man condescended, with singular regularity every day at dinner, to cast his eyes down the table and say "Doleton, a glass of wine." Upon which the poor fellow would utter a sort of ner

vous-voiced "Thank you," and look round for the steward to help him to a glass of sherry.

These strange manifestations were, it may easily be supposed, a source of considerable curiosity amongst the younger passengers of the Hastings. What could induce a gentleman like Drawlincourt, who stood so high in his own estimation, to make a friend of such a miserable wretch as was this unfortunate Doleton? Conjecture was at a stand still, when Peregrine unravelled this mighty mystery.

Great as was the penetration of our hero, his judgment had for once been at fault. He had conceived that Drawlincourt was making a fool of Doleton, whereby, in some manner or other, he might revenge himself on Peregrine Pultuney. But this was not the case. Drawlincourt was far more prone to exert himself for his own interest than for the injury of any body else. He could not see any particular advantage in crushing an enemy, who did not stand in the way of his advancement in the world. As much as he hated Peregrine, he troubled himself very little about the matter, he had other game to ensnare.

But what this game was, nobody discovered till the good ship Hastings was about crossing the line. Then, as is the custom on such occasions, there was a vast deal of talk about Neptune, the tar barrel, Neptune's clerk and the bear. And then there was a beating up for donations in the way of old silk gowns, pasteboard, and vermilion paint; and the

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