after-cabin. in which there were no guns. The man of wrath eyed first one, and then the other, with a most malignant expression.

Poor Augustus, with his arm upon the table and his head reclining on his hand, sat in a mournful abstraction. He heard not, or at least regarded not, the roar of the artillery, and when a shot from one of the enemy's ships passed through the cabin, crashing the ship's sides, he neither noticed it by any exclamation nor altered his position. This useless firing soon ceased on both sides. The first lieutenant came and reported this to the Commodore, which he knew well enough. He received the orders to secure the guns, and beat the retreat. After this, the uncle again approached his nephew, who stood up to receive him as he stepped in from his stern-walk. The Commodore's countenance was darker, more demoniac than ever. He began addressing Augustus by swearing a terrible oath, which was interrupted by Mr. Alsop again appearing, and announcing that

the guns were secured, and that the ship was well off from the land.

"And pray, sir, what damage have these cowardly, skulking French reprobates done

us ?"

"Hulled us three times, Sir Octavius, shot away the main-spring stay, and damaged the running rigging a little."

"Wounded any spars?"

"Thank God! There is an especial Providence that watches over the interests of religion and loyalty. These regicide French can do nothing against his Britannic Majesty, God bless him!"

"But, Sir Octavius, I am sorry to acquaint you, that one man is killed outright, and five wounded grievously."

"Mere casualties of war-the spars are safe." "May we pipe to grog, Sir Octavius ?"

"No, sir, not until I have settled my little

affair with that young, sulky scoundrel,” mean

ing, by these polite epithets, his nephew, who made the third person in the after-cabin. The first lieutenant stood for some moments motionless, yet anxious as to what next might ensue, whilst the Commodore paced athwart and athwart, now his weather-beaten face as pale as it could be with concentrated passion, now all his ferocity on the verge of breaking out into maniac rage. At length, he broke forth thus:

"Mark you me, Mr. Alsop, mark you me. We have done our duty, sir; and yet, after chasing them half round the world, those rascally French atheists are safely moored in their stinking pool of a harbour. May they and their ships rot there! But there they are safe, and with at least twenty of our merchantmen."

"Forty-five, Sir Octavius; forty-five I counted myself, sir."

"Well, sir, and suppose you did; d-n it, sir, do you call this subordination, contradicting the commander-in-chief? Well, sir, say there

were thirty, yet we have done our duty. So, sir, these twenty or thirty--I suppose that the master has put down the lesser and the more probable number in the log-I repeat, sir, these twenty merchant-ships will, just now, be a great loss to the country. Yet we have, I say, done our duty."

"No doubt on't, Sir Octavius."

"Yet his Majesty, God bless him! and the Admiralty, may they be dd! and the country-the tag-rag, foh !-no, none of them dare say I have not done my duty."

"Undoubtable, Sir Octavius."

"Is it so, Mr. Alsop? And mark you me, I'll still do it, sir. I will flog this young gentleman."

"Sir-r-r," said the astounded first-lieutenant, falling back two paces.

"You hear it, sir; I will flog him. Let the boatswain, and the quarter-master, and the seizings be in the fore-cabin directly. Is not that order plain?"

"Sir Octavius, if I might most humbly, and most deferentially, and most circumambiently," -the poor shocked first lieutenant wished for eloquence, and so he chose the longest word of which he knew not the meaning-"most circumambiently mention, that shots have been fired in anger-several broadsides of shot, Sir Octavius; life has been taken, and blood spilled; in fact, Sir Octavius, we have been in action; and ever since I have been in his Majesty's navy, which, man and boy, has been about-let

me see

"Silence, sir!"

46

I was only going to observe, Sir Octavius, that, after a shot fired in anger, punishment-" "Obey !" roared out the Commodore, dashing his iron-loaded arm violently on the table. Mr. Alsop made a hasty retreat, and, when fairly outside the door of the after-cabin, swore an oath so terrible, in which the word tyrant bore a prominent part, that the chaplain said it made his very hair stand on end. It must,