Southern shield., 1840-03-28
M1ggHI,s1l E 2. a. A s.sIissR .si NDS S.
' ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE.


 with impunity, and who pockets everything short of a blow with the best possible hu- mor In general, the individuals of this description are designated, in the mess room vocabulary, Good old stagers,' and 'OLd SAckers' meaning thereby that they can go at the bottle, and stick at the table till 'alPs blue
 One of these, Quartermaster of lnfar- try, with a nose of the genuine Bardolph complexion, rosy and eternal smile, al short figure and big head having dined with party of brother officers at the Three Cups, Ilarwich-the day on which his regiment marched into the barracks of that town--was in the best possible humoi; sol much so, that he gave the bottle no rest until about eleven o'clock, and became glo- rious. Just as the company broke up, right or wrong he would go along with three of the youngest subalterns to ramble by the seaside in the moonshine having been SO long I the sun They permitted him, le- luctantly--perhaps indeed, because they could not prevent him; but when the party got down to the place where passengers and goods are generally embarked the Quartermaster became totally oyerpower ed, and sank senseless into a snore The officers whom he accompanied could not think of carrying his corpus back to the inn; nor were there many persons near whom they could employ for the purpose, One of them opened the door of private car riage which stood near, unshipped from it's wheels, ready for embarkation, and in moment the sleeper was bundled into it l,o l,ft l. .l., door fast shut upon him.
 Next morning at daybreak, (about three o'clock) the coach, with its contents, was put on board the Hamburg packet, and slowed away at the very bottom of the hold In half an hour after this the vessel put to sea-
 For the whole of the day the packet had brisk breeze and at midnight was Q good hundred miles away from Harwich A dead calm set in It was a beautiful night in July, and the passengers were not all gone to bed; some walked the deck, and others sat below at cards; everything was silent, except the rattling of the ropes as the ship yielded to the smooth and gentle swell oi the sleeping North Sea. About this time the Quartermaster, it is supposed, awoke; at least he had not been heard before to utter his complaints, probably from the bus tie consequent on the managing of the yes sel in stiff breeze However, it was at this time that his cracked and buried voice first fell upon the ears of the crew, and for about twenty minutes the panic it created is ndescribable The whist company in | the cabin at first thought it was one of che l sailors in chest and called the captain, | who declared he had been that minute ex- amining into the cause of the unearthly | sounds, and had mustered his crew all of whom were on deck, as much astonished as he was; nay, more so, for one of them, a Welchman, felt convinced that the voice proceeded from the speaking of the ghost of David Jones. his former shipmate, "who had died in ill will with him"
 "Hallo-o-o-o!''- -" Murder" now a. rose upon all ears, as if the voice were at the bottom of the sea The Welchman fell upon his knees and begged forgiveness of his injured friend, David Jones; the rest of the crew caught a slight tinge of his fears, and paced about in couples to and fro some declaring that it was below the rud- | der, and others that it was at the masthead. | The passengers, one and all, hurried on deck in short, none on board, nor even the | captain and the oldest seamen. were free from alarm, for they had searched every habitable place in the vessel without dis covering the cause of their terrors; and the hold, 1t was evident, could not have con- tained an extra rat. it was so crammed with luggage, &c. Let me out, you d---d rascals let me outlet me out, say!' screamed the voice with increased vigor.-l These exclamations the Welchman declar- ed were addressed to the devils--that they were tormenting his deceased David; and he uttered fervent prayer for the peace of the wandering and unhappy soul. But a different idea was awakened in the mind of the captain by the words, "Let me out!' "There is somebody packed up in the hold exclaimed he; and instantly ordering the men to follow him down, all began to re- move the upper layer of articles, which being done, the voice became louder and more distinct.
 "Where are you2" bawled the captain.
 Il I'm here in a coach, d----n you" an swered the Quartermaster.
 The mystery was now solved. and the Welchman made easy; but no one could imagine how human being could have got into the carriage. However, satisfac- ton on this point was not to be waited fol; so the men fell to work, and after half an