"Why I misread the label on the bottle: instead of being Barclay and Perkin's 'brown stout, 'it must be Day and Martin's 'jet black,' I think-just look, will you, before you punish me unjustly."

"Yes, black enough," remarked the other as he loosed hold of his victim to view his own hands, at which time the youth stole out of his reach. "If my inside is as black as my hands, there's oure muckle more black there than will be wanted, I trow."

"You must swallow the brushes now, Mister Strachan, and they will polish your inside without further trouble?" observed young Boyson, who hitherto had not been able to make any remark on the scene he had witnessed for laughing.

"And even then his inside will only match his face, and not be half so black as the heart it contains. Stop, I think there's a piece of sponge in the locker here, I'll tie a piece of string to it, then Mister Strachan can swallow it, Jack, and you can draw it up his throat again, by which novel kind of stomach-pump you may perhaps get up part of the blacking he has gulped down-capital contrivance, I can assure you; look out, Jack, there it is; just endeavour to persuade Sandy to try it," said our hero, at the same time, in the most tantalising manner, throwing across the table a large piece of sponge with a string attached to it.

At this moment the quarter master of the watch made his appearance at the door of the mess cabin with a message from the lieutenant in charge to request Mister Strachan's attendance on deck.

"Take that, you infernal young scamp! I'll serve ye out, lod, for this yet, bide my time," said the infuriated midshipman, throwing the stone blacking bottle at the

head of the youngster without effect as he departed from the cabin.

"Why you are quite black in the face with passion, Sandy. Capital miss that, old Blowporridge. Hugh! hugh! hugh! Goodbye, old heave short-you'll remember treble X-done you brown this time, Sandy! Who blessed the Duke of Argyle, Sandy !—old Neversweat! old Spit-to-windward!" sung out young Reckless, who after jumping over the table at a spring had followed his senior messmate to the bottom of the ladder leading on deck.

I think you

"Well, my spark, I shall turn in now; have paid off Sandy pretty well for what he did to you yesterday; serves him quite right, he should not try to come the officer so much over us youngsters," observed young Boyson to our hero when the latter returned to the cabin.

"And I think I may venture now to turn in likewise, Jack, what think you?"

Why I see no reason that you should not, Reub, any more than myself, for if Sandy comes below to take revenge by cutting one of us down, he's sure to serve the other with the same sauce."

"Oh, I don't mean for fear of Sandy, he's had enough of us to night I'll warrant; but I mean, suppose Noll * should remember old Treadmill-Bob's orders, which he seems to have forgot, and rouse me out again. It would not be pleasant you know after I had got cozily into my hammock to be lugged on deck again."

"You are right, Reuben, indeed it would not, and I can hear Mr. Oliver's footstep overhead, which tells that

* Old Noll-a nickname of Oliver Cromwell's, after whom Mr. Oliver had been christened.

he has not turned in yet. Hark! Reuben, he is opening his door, you know that is his cabin just above this."

"I hear it," answered our hero, then as if chuckling to himself, added, "But I can't help thinking I have done old Treadmill Bob to-night at all events."

"Don't crow to soon, my spark, you know, Reuben, it is a wise cock that keeps his bill closed untill his adversary is dead."

At this period of their discourse a gentle rap at the door outside the cabin put a stop to any further conversation between the two midshipman. On the party being requested to come in, the door opened, and Mr. Oliver thrust in his head and thus addressed our hero, "Have you forgot, Mr. Reckless, that you were to keep an extra watch to-night?"

"No, sir," answered Reuben, “ I have not forgot, but I was in hopes you had, Mr. Oliver, and the order was not addressed to me if I recollect right. Mr. Rouseabout said you, sir, were to pass it on to the officer that relieved you on deck; but as I have not been sent for before, and it being my first offence of the kind, I was in hopes he had countermanded it and I was to be forgiven."

"Such would undoubtedly have been the case, young gentleman, if your messmate, Mr. Strachan, had not reminded me of that part of my orders which I most certainly had forgot, and if your abominable noise just now in this cabin had not almost distracted me. I'll thank you, Mr. Boyson, to knock off skylarking and turn in immediately; and you, Mr. Reckless, will please to walk on deck; give my compliments to Mr. Simpson, the lieutenant in charge of the watch, and tell him that he is to keep you on deck until the morning watch is

called, by Mr. Rouseabout's orders, as a punishment for leaving the cutter at St. Vincent's."

“Thank you, sir,” drily said our hero, as he once more rigged himself in his flushing jacket and trowsers, and went on deck to suffer the four hours penance that was laid upon him.

At daylight a large ship was descried on the horizon to windward of the Sea Nymph. Captain Dalrymple was called, who by the aid of his telescope was enabled to perceive that the stranger by her rig and the cut of her sails was an enemy's ship. He immediately sent for Mr. Sailwell, the master of the frigate, and ordered him to alter the course and the trim of the sails, so that the Sea Nymph might follow as near as possible in the wake of the stranger. After a two hours run the vessels were near enough to observe each other's colors, when the commander of the French ship evidently wishing to avoid an engagement, made all sail to keep away from the English Frigate, the latter crowding all sail in chase. Both ships appeared to be of about equal speed on all points of sailing, and in consequence thereof the chase was kept up with great perseverance by Captain Dalrymple for several days, during which time he once lost sight of his adversary altogether, she having changed her course in the night, which was cloudy, and the atmosphere rather hazy, but when she hove in sight again, that being the case the day but one following, the chase was once more continued with renewed vigour,— the one commander being determined to bring his enemy into action, and the other manifesting a strong inclination, either from private motives, or on account of his orders being to that effect, to avoid it altogether. Leaving the two vessels in the position we have already described, we will now draw this chapter to a close.

CHAPTER IV.

THE ENGAGEMENT.

O Love! Glory! what are ye who fly
Around us ever, rarely to alight?

But here are men who fought in gallant actions,
As gallantly as ever heroes fought,

But buried in the heap of such transactions

Their names are rarely found, nor often sought.---
Thus even good fame may suffer sad contractions,
And is extinguished sooner than she ought:

Of all our modern battles I will bet

You can't repeat nine names from each gazette.

BYRON.

"On blood and thunder! and, oh blood and wounds! these are but vulgar oaths, as you may deem too, gentle reader, and most shocking sounds!-- and so they are; yet thus is Glory's dream, unriddled."-Such were the words of that bard from whom we have borrowed the quotations at the head of our present chapter; and, alas! long ere this, many thousand victims have proved them to be too true, by having sacrificed their lives at her shrine. But, without further preface, we will at once resume our story.-Not many nights after the one referred to in our last chapter, and not many leagues from the track on which the frigate then sailed, the briny element was again illuminated far and wide. But on this night the coruscation did not proceed from a celestial body, for the moon had concealed herself behind a cloud, scorning to shine forth in rivalship with the red fierce glare produced from man's invention: and the scene of