the ship, running almost gunwale down in the water. But if the squall came without notice, it quitted us without notice, for in half an hour the sky was clear, the wind down, and the ship all in order, making her way through the waves."

“When a squall comes on, sailors should get out their anchors, and the strongest cables they have, to keep the ship steady."

"The cables must be very long, boys, to enable them to anchor in the middle of the Mediterranean. Perhaps you have never read the account given by Captain Hall, of attempting to anchor in deep water with a chain cable!”

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No, never! Please to tell us all about it."

"I have it at hand here, and will read it to you. He says, 'The chain cable is difficult of management in deep water; that is to say, when the soundings are more than twenty or twenty-five fathoms. Nothing is so easy as getting the anchor to the bottom in such cases; it is the facilis descensus with a vengeance! But when the anchor is to be pulled up again, then comes the tug. I once let go my anchor, with a chain cable bent to it, in forty-five fathoms, without having calculated on the probable effects of the momentum. Though the cable was bitted, all the stoppers snapped like packthread; and the anchor, not content with shooting to the bottom with an accelerated velocity, drew after it more than a hundred fathoms of chain, in such fearful style that we thought the

poor ship must have been shaken to pieces. The noise was like that of rattling thunder, and so loud that it was impossible to hear a word; indeed it was even difficult to speak, from the excessive tremour caused by the rapid and violent passage of the links, as the chain leaped, or rather flew up the hatchway, flashing round the bits, and giving out sparks like a fire-work. Finally, it tore its way out at the hawse-hole, till the whole cable had probably piled itself on the anchor in a pyramid of iron at the bottom of the sea. The inner end of the cable had, of course, been securely shackled round the heel of the mainmast, but the jerk with which it was brought up made the ship shake from end to end as if she had bumped on a rock; and every one fully expected to see the links fly in pieces about the deck, like chain-shot fired from a cannon. It cost not many seconds of time for the cable to run out, but it occupied several hours of hard labour to heave it in again. The ordinary power of the capstan, full manned, scarcely stirred it; and at the last, when to the weight of chain hanging from the bows there came to be added that of the anchor, it was necessary to apply purchase upon purchase in order to drag the ponderous mass once more to the bows."

"How it must have frightened them when the anchor and chain cable ran out in that way!"

"British tars are not very soon frightened, though I dare say that it made them look about

them. If you are in the mood to listen to a laughable story, I can tell you a very curious tale of a sailor's marriage that happened some time since. It was told me a few days after the ceremony.'

"Can you? Please to begin it at once. Please do!"

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"Some

Well, then, you shall have it without delay, as nearly as I can remember, in the language in which it was related to me. That the story has been a little embellished there can be no doubt. years ago, a certain church in the metropolis stood in need of repair; and the bishop gave order that such marriages only should be solemnized therein as had been, before commencing the repairs, proposed by banns three times, but that in cases where the banns had not been put up three times, the marriages should be deferred until they had been regularly proposed at a neighbouring church, recently erected. No wonder that this arrangement occasioned some sad disappointments."

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"Ay, that would disappoint those that came to the church to be married, and could not."

"On Monday morning a jolly Jack-tar hove in sight, rigged out excellently; under his convoy was his sweetheart Poll, who bore down gallantly, her sky-scrapers fluttering in the wind. After a little heeling to larboard and starboard on the part of Jack, he came with Poll into safe moorings, entering the church door under a press of sail."

"We can just fancy that we see them."

"As Poll stood up the middle aisle, with her pendants flying, she seemed a prize fit for an admiral, and Jack himself was as right and tight a bit of craft as could be seen on this side the Channel. Jack was not long in hailing Mr. Parson, and in giving him to understand that he was bound for Cape Matrimony!"

"That's so like a sailor."

"On looking over the banns-book, however, the worthy minister discovered that Jack's marriage had been proposed twice at that church, and once at the new church, and, therefore, in conformity with the order of the bishop, the banns had to be put up twice more in the new church before the marriage could be solemnized."

"What did the sailor say to that?"

"No sooner was this made intelligible to Jack than he began to overhaul the minister with a little of his old-fashioned lingo. Wait a fortnight, Mr. Parson! No that I won't for the West Indies; so you may just as well give over your palavering, and pick up your book. I came here to be spliced, and spliced I'll be. Wait a fortnight! that's a good un! Why, haven't we made signals for three Sundays? how long would you keep us cruizing about, while you are in snug quarters? The long and the short of it is this: Poll and me have come here to be spliced, and we 'll wait a fortnight for nobody."

"The sailor spoke his mind pretty freely, how

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"The minister, knowing the free habits of sailors, bore Jack's observations with great good humour, but told him it was utterly impossible to marry him. 'I am sorry for it,' said he, but if you were to give me the navy of England I could not marry you.' This remark was a broadside that almost laid Jack on his beam-ends, but he plucked up his spirit, went on another tack, and instead of rashly boarding his opponent, tried to enter on a friendly parley. Why, look you, Mr. Parson,' said he, I'll tell you how the land lies. I shall be off in a few days on a cruise, and if I goes to sea, and leaves Poll in port, she 'll get spliced to somebody else, before I comes back again, so you see I can't wait a fortnight.'

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"Oh! oh! oh! Then he was afraid to trust Poll, though he was going to marry her."

"Jack's rhetoric, however, was all in vain, for the minister told him, that if he must be married that day, there was no other way than going to Doctors' Commons for a license. And who's Doctor Commons,' inquired Jack; and what will the shiners be?' No sooner were these questions answered, than away goes Jack. Never mind, Poll; never mind, Mr. Parson! I'll soon be back.' Saying this, he quits the church, jumps into a coach at the coach-stand near the church gates, and gets under weigh to Doctors' Commons, telling

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