Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-07-27

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nose, and square mouth, kept open
so as to show that he wanted four front
teeth. The frame belonging to this
remarkable head and face was singu-
larry vigorous, though grievously mis-
shapen. His long arms went far down
his legs; his back, without having a
hump, was as round as a shell, and he
looked as if he measured q yard and
half from shoulder to shoulder. |
watched this strengthening creature
with great curiosity until lost sight OF
him in the forecastle.
The men hustled over the side with
great alacrity, bawling for their bags
and property to be handed up in a great
variety of accents. There were two
Dutchmen, and copper-colored man,
with African features, among them; the
rest were English.
The moment the last man was on
board, Duckling cried: aft here, some
OF you' and ship this gangway. Boat
swain pipe all hands and get the ship
Under way" and turning to mo with
a wink, he added: eff the grub is 90
ing to bring more rows, we must fl CHIT
'em on the high seas"
There was a little breeze from the
southwest, quite enough to give US
Roadway against the tide that was run
ming up the Channel. The men, zeal
GUS as all newcomers are, fastened
brlskly out and manned the windlass.
Within quarter of an hour from the
time the first order was given the ship
was under way.
The breeze freshened as we stretched
seward, and the ship soon carried a
deal of canvass. The men seemed
pleased with her pace
The day was gloriously fine. The
sea was an emerald green, alive with
little lcaping waves, each with its mar
row thread of froth.
This part Of the channel was full of
shipping, and know, by the vividness
with which my memory reproduces the
, scene, how beautiful was the picture
impressed upon it. All on our right
were the English shores, made delicate
and even fanciful by distance; here and
there fairy-like groups of houses,
standing on the heights among trees
or embosomed in valleys, with silver
sands sloping to the sea; deep shadows
staining the purity of the brilliant
chalk; and foreground of pleasure
boats, with sails glistening like pearl,
and bright flags streaming And to
our right and left vessels of different
rigs and sizes standing up or down
channel, some running, like ourselves,
free, with streaming wakes, others
coming up close-hauled, some in ballast
high out of water, stretching their
black sides along the sea, and expos
ing to windward shining surfaces of
copper.
At half-past two o'clock in the after
noon, all sail that was required having
cd h. i =.
hands were divided into watches, and
I, having charge of the port watch.
came on deck. The starboard watch
went below, but, as the men bad not
dined, portion of " own watch
joined the others in the forecastle to
get their dinner.
L now discovered that the copper
faced man, to whom l have drawn at
tention, was the new cook. l heard
the men bandying jokes with him as
they went in and out of the galley, car
rying the steaming Jumps of pork and
rocking dishes of pea-soup int to the fore
castle, whence 1 concluded that they
had either not yet discovered the quail
ity of the provisions, or that they were
more easily satisfied than their prede-
cessors had been.
Among the men in my own watch
was the great, strapping fellow whom
had likened to life-guardsmen.
had thought the man too big to be
handy up aloft, but was very much de-
celved, for in all my life l never wit
messed such feats of activity as he per
formed. His long legs had enabled
him to take two ratlines at time, and
he saved himself the trouble of getting
over the futtock shrouds by very easily
making two steps from the main
shrouds to the main-yard, and from
the main-yard to the main-top. l
watched him leave the galley, carrying
his smoking mess; but 1 also noticed
before l lost sight of him, that he took
a suspiciously long sniff at the steam
under his nose, and then violently ex-
perforated.
l presently noticed the cooks cop
per-face, crowned with an odd kind of
knitted cap, protruding from the gal
ley, and his small eyes gazed intently
at me. paced the length of the poop,
and when returned, the cooks head
was still at its post; and then his body
came out and he stood staring in my
direction.
l had to turn abruptly to hide my
mirth, for his face was ornamented
AOAA sS"A "a P1Co0AOA VI ulSSuSG 0AQu1S-
ltely comical with the wrinkled nose,
the arched, thick mouth and the
screwed-up eyebrows.
When again looked, he was COM
ing along the deck, swinging a piece
of very fat pork at the end of a string
He advanced close to the poop-ladder,
at the top of which Twas standing, and
holding up the pork. said:
You see dis, sarP''
Eyes" 1 answered.
'Me belong to country where we
no eat pork" he exclaimed, with
great gravity, still preserving his
wrlnkled nose and immensely dig
gusted expression.
What country is that?" 1 asked.
"Hot country, sar," he answered.
"But me will eat pork on board ship"
Every proper"
But me will not eat rotten pork
on board shin or anywhere elsel,, he