Star.
London, England, 1827-05-28 00:00:00

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ti
The Mater, Sketak.,4lllhok 11 yds. 12mo. By an
Ogeir of the Line.
Thew are the most entertaining volumes we have fa
a long time met M i h, and by the military IntifLisioa in
particular cannot fail of being well received.
ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE; or, Gone .ro SBA in • Co•eu.
" Ay; now we we k.
And there's the cos& r-.-eaverner.

IS In puny, If not in most, of the Regiments Of *or Army, there
Is to be found a sect of Mar who is a privileged oddity,—who
takes liberties with all his brethren of the mew with impunity, and
who pockets every thing short of a blow with the best pos.
sale humour. In general, the individuals of this description an

designated in the inessarOom vocabulary • Goon-multi= OLo
fimoaaa; and Oar Swum, meaning thereby, that they can
• go' at the bottle, and stick' at tie table till' all's blue.'
"One of them, a Quartermaster of Infantry, with a nails of the
=tat: Barealph complexion, a rosy and eternal smite, a short
sad a big bead, baying dined with a party of brother Officers
it the Tatum Coes, Harwich—the day on which his Regiment
marched into the barracks of that town—was in the best possible

spirits: so mock so, that he gave the bottle no rest until shout
eleven o'clock; and became' autumn: just as the company broke
up—right Or wrong be wools go along with three of the youngest
Sebeltents..to ramble by the sea-side in the nmonehine, having
been •ee Loan a' visa sine.' They permitted him reluctantly'
perhaps, Indeed, became they could not prevent him; but when
the party gut down to the place where passengers and goods are
usually embarked; the Quartermaster became totally overpowered,
end sank senseless into a more. The Officers whom he accom-
panied cook" not think of carrying his coaros back to the inn ; nor
were there any persona near Wheal they could employ for the par.
Peat one of them, therefore, spoked the door of a private carriage
which steed near, ' unshipped' from the wheels—ready for em-
"'halloos and in a moment the sleeper was bundled Into it, where
4e was left to his repose with the door fast shut open hint.
" Next morning at daybreak (about three o'clock) the coach,
with its contents was pot oo board the Hamburgh packet, and
stewed away at the 'err bottom of the hold; in half an boar after
tkbhihe 'maid put to sea.
" For the whole of the day the packet had a brisk bream, and at
eskissYbe was a good hundred miles away from Harwich; a dead
eOse. Min- It was a beautiful night in July, and the passeogers
:Were Set all gone to bed; some walked the deck, and others sot
islaw at cards—every thing was silent, except Se rattling of the
lisps as tht ship yielded to the smooth and gentle swell of the
pimples North Sea. About this time the Quartermaster, it Is sop.
Need, awoke; at least he had not been heard before to utter his
Minplaints probably from the bustle consequent on the managing
'llif the vessel in a stiff breeze. However; it was at this time that his
Cracked and buried voice first fell upon the ears of the crew; and
for abouistwenty minutes the panic it created is indescribable. The
whist company in the cabin, at first thougbt it was one of the sailors
in a chest, and called the Captain, who declared be had been that
minute examining into the cause of the unearthly sounds, and had'
mustered his crew, all of whom were on deck, as much astouished
as he was—nay, more so, for one of them, a Welchman. felt coa.l
'Weed that the voice proceeded from the speaking trumpet of the
l
ghost of David Jones, his I shipmate,' who had died in iV
will with him.'
44

!"—Murder!'—' Murder!' now rose

upon all ears, as if the voice were at the bottom of the sea, The
Welshman fell upon bis knees, and begged forgiveness of his in-
jured and departed friend, David Jones: the teat of the crew
caught a slight tinge of his fears, and paced about in couples to
and fro; some declaring the voice was below the rudder, and
others that it was at the mast-head. The passengers, one and ail,
hurried on deck.; in short, none on board, not even the Captain
and the oldest seaman, were free from alarm; for they had
searched every wasireata place in the vessel without discovering
the cause of their terrors, mad the bold, it was evident, could not
have contained an extra rat, it was so tramined with luggage, &c.
Let me out, you d—d rascals! let me out—let me out, I say !'
screamed the voice with increased vigour. These exclamations the
Welshman declared were addressed to devils,,that were torment-
ing his deceased enemy, David; and he uttered a fervent prayer
for the peace of she wandering and unhappy soul: Mit a diferent
idea was awakened in the mind of the Captain, by the words--
' Let me out.' ' There is somebody packed up in the hold," ea
claimed he ; and instantly ordering the men to follow him down,
all began to remove the upper layer of articles; which being done,
the voice became louder atiol more distinct.
Where are you,' bawled the Captain.
" ' I'm here in a coach, d—n you!' answered the Quarter-
master.
" The mystery was now calved, and the Welshman Made easy;
but no one could ima4iae hes* 'a humeri being could have? gm hats)
the carriage. However; sattifaction on this point was net to be'
waited for ;.sti the men fellitiViork, and after about half an hour's
bard exertion, succeeded in tlisfncombering the vehicle. They then
proceeded to unpack the Quartermaster, whose astonishment
amounted almost to madness, when be found that he had not only
been confined in a teach, but in a ship, and that the said ship was
then in the middle of the German Ocean !
It was impossible to put back to Harwich, so no remedy was left
the little fat Gentleman but to proceed to the end of the voyage,
and to take a passage back from Hamburgh as soon as•posslble..
This was bad enough ; but his hopes of en early return were almost
destroyed by the setting in of adverse wln4s, which kept the Vessel
beating about in a most bile-brewing and stomach-stirring Ocean,
for ten days and nights ; during which time, when not sea sick, the
Quartermaster was employed in profoundly meditating how be
could have got into the coach ; and even after having taken the
opining) of the Captain, the crew, and all the passengers, upon the
matter, he felt himself as much in the desk as ever. The last thing
he could recollect of ' the land he had left,' was that he dined and
mean at the Three Cups,'—what followed was chaos.
" But the worst of the affair, decidedly, was, that the day en
which he bad been err To sea was tbe 22d of the month, and as it
was impossible for him to make his appearance with his regiment
on the 24th, he knew he must, as a matter of coarse, be reported
AlilllT wrzuouT Leave at Head-quarters, and that he would
most probably be 110711111tDItti. This reflection was even worse
than the weather to the Quartermaster, though the rough sea bad
already almost brought his heart up.' However, he had great
hopes of being able to join his regiment on the lOth of the follow-
ing month—the next RITI/iN nar—and, by due application, he
thought he might contrive to prevent supersesdoo. Ten days of
this time was, however, consumed before he seta foot upon the
German shore, and then only half of his excursion was over: 'all
his hopes rested upon a quick passage back to Harwich. 71111, haw-
ever, the Fates denied him; for having drawn en the agent--got
the cash —engaged his passage to England—laid in sea stock, and
all things necessary—the packet, just as she was leaving Hansburgh,
was run foul of by a five hundred ton ship, and so much injured
that she was obliged to put back, and the unfortunate Quarter-
Master was thus compelled to wait a fortnight for another oppor.
tuuity of returning to England. He cot only was delayed beyond
the Inds (return-day) but beyond the following 24th, and when he
DO) arrive, be found that be had been not only superseded by the
Commander.in-Chief, but considered dead by all his friends and
celeriacs!
" However, on personally applying for reinstatement, he ob-
tained it, and once more joined his old corps at Harwich, where he
' many a night amused the mess with the recital of his trip to sea in
the. coach ; which was always given with most effect when he was