The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-06-30

|
II shouldn't be surprised, yer honor,'
replied the tar, touching his cap.
How many of his children have we
aboard who have not seen their father?''
questioned the captain
Six, besides the boys, making eight,
yer honor"
You'd better see that the font is ready
for the old man when he comes, hadn't
you?"
Right you are, sir;n said Dublin, as he
turned and walked forward
During the remainder of the dog watch
seven or eight of the Oldest of the crew
congregated near the main hatch and held
a whispered consultation.
| AT eight bells, as the watch was about to
change, the man on the lookout sang out:
Light on the weather bow.'
Where away!n followed the mate from
the quarter deck, aft.
:" Two points tn windward sir.v
Just then fog-horn was heard on the
weather bow, although the night was clear
and the water like a sea of glass.
"Ship ahoy! Throw me a burline and
take me in tow; want to come aboard"
came in stentorian growls from over the
/ ships head
"Who are you!" asked the mate.
"Got any fresh-water swabs aboard! If
| you have, | want to see EN-
- 1t dun be ole Neptune, hisselfn ex-
claimed the cook, who had stepped outside
his galley to find out the cause of the noise.
GOOD Lawdy He dun shade dis niggah,
| shuah.' and he disappeared in the galley
and fastened the slide.
tall, misunderstanding being with
vermilion-hued countenance clambered
into the ships chains, then swung himself
over the bulwarks and dropped inboard.
A piece Of sailcloth round his waist was
his only covering, unless massive beard
and luXuriant growth of hair could be
| reckoned as such His hirsute develop
ment around the head was a dirty yellow,
and contrasted strangely with the black
growth on his chest and well-tanned arms
| Several india-ink sketches on his fore
| arms seemed somewhat familiar to me. and
when he spoke il was with slight brogue
which made me wonder if Neptune was a
native of Irish seas. As he handed his
triton to ''Hlnglish AIRY" a sailor in the
| port watch, thought | recognized it as the
ships grange, with which we harpooned
dolphins.
Stir round, ye lubbers, an rig oop er
shake-down fer mesilf an the Guild
woman he said, as he assisted his wife to
the deck, 'Bear er hand, yees divils, an
be loivelyr'
/ The "ould woman" was modestlv attired
in yingy tarpaulin and a heavy switch of
| gulf stream sea- weed, and from the muscu-
lar development of her arms l rather
| thought the could man" would be likely to
| come off second best in a hair pulling
match. The mate took them in tow, and
they went aft to pay their respects to the
| skipper, and there remained until the next |
morning.
1t was my watch below in the morning |
| and on being routed out at noon l noticed |
a peculiar Commotion outside my cabin, |
which was just forward of the stewards
| pantry. About four bells, as the wheel
| changed hands, | heard sounds of laugh
| ter, and on ascending to tho deck l found
| old Neptune seated on a throne that had
| been ilnprovised for the occasion from
| boxes covered with sailcloth. His majesty
was perched on a coil of new rope and the
"old woman " sat complscently by his
side, occasionally squirting a fine jet of to-
! bacco juice on the tarpaulin beneath her.
| The sergeant-d arms Of this marine court
| looked suspiciously like Boston Ben, our
! hoatsWain; but as his face was plentifully
| bedaubed with vermillion and black
| streaks, the principal resemblance be-
tween them was confined to a long scar on
the right cheek and the lack of star
board glimmer.
Bring on Their SUPERB roared his
majesty, and felt myself seized from be-
| hind by two pair of strong arms and blind
! folded. My next sensation was that of be-
| ing carried up rickety platform, where
was released after having my hands tied
behind me.
"Phawts yer name!" asked the voice of
old Neptune.
Not knowing what might be the result if
l refrained from answering, l opened my
mouth and essayed to reply. As a conse
quence had my mouth stopped with
plug of oakum saturated with soap and
pepper.
Their divars doomb. Shure, he can't
talk troo his whskers. Figaroo, We spal-
| peen, come here wild yer moog an razzer.
Phawt dye name, yer yeller landswob, ter
be coomin' ter soy yer faithur widout yer
pinnacle scraped! Bad cess ter We fur
er Crane tarrur, ov Oh don't think yer
Arthur nadin' shompo''
A shout of merriment arose from those
of the crew who stood by, for in as little
time as it takes to tell it, the barber had
smudged my face with a tar-brush and
given me two rakes with a razor made
! from the hoop of harness-cask; and no
| sooner was this operation ended when my
| hat was removed, and on being replaced
on my head an avalanche of dirty lather
spread itself through my hair. The soapy
| extract trickled down my forehead beneath
my bandage and filed my eyes Between
the pepper in my mouth and the soap in my
eyes was nearly frantic but as my hands
were securely tied could not help myself,
and each breath Inhaled half strangled me
with pepper. | felt coarse finger thrust
in my mouth, and the oakum plug was re
moved just in time to prevent my swallow
! ing it to escape suffocat;on.
! "Where war We barn2' questioned my
! woody -mouthed tyrant
Any attempt to reply would have been
drowned in a stream OF water that struck
my face at the time. The water afforded
much needed relief for the space of half
minute. The next instant after | recov-
cred my breath heard my tyrant say
"Misther Super is afther falin err little
phaint, tscther; havre yees e'er err pill
erbout yer gan2y"
AYE, aye, yer honor" said voice l
recognized as the stewards.
Its betthur yer give wan NV thin ter
| Il. Is Istt1 fha,