"
"Mr Simple, a boatswain is an officer, and is entitled to a sword as
well as the captain, although we have been laughed out of it by a set of
midshipman monkeys. I always wore my sword at that time; but now-a-days,
a boatswain is counted as nobody, unless there is hard work to do, and
then it's Mr Chucks this, and Mr Chucks that. But I'll explain to you
how it is, Mr Simple, that we boatswains have lost so much of
consequence and dignity. The first lieutenants are made to do the
boatswain's duty now-a-days, and if they could only wind the call, they
might scratch the boatswain's name off half the ships' books in his
Majesty's service. But to go on with my yarn. On the fourth day, I
called with my handkerchief full of segars for the father, but he was at
siesta, as they called it. The old serving-woman would not let me in at
first; but I shoved a dollar between her skinny old fingers, and that
altered her note. She put her old head out, and looked round to see if
there was anybody in the street to watch us, and then she let me in and
shut the door. I walked into the room, and found myself alone with
Seraphina."
"Seraphina!--what a fine name!"
"No name can be too fine for a pretty girl, or a good frigate, Mr
Simple; for my part, I'm very fond of these hard names. Your Bess, and
Poll, and Sue, do very well for the Point, or Castle Rag; but in my
opinion, they degrade a lady. Don't you observe, Mr Simple, that all our
gun-brigs, a sort of vessel that will certainly d----n the inventor to
all eternity, have nothing but low common names, such as Pincher,
Thrasher, Boxer, Badger, and all that sort, which are quite good enough
for them; whereas all our dashing saucy frigates have names as long as
the main-top bowling, and hard enough to break your jaw--such as
Melpomeny, Terpsichory, Arethusy, Bacchanty--fine flourishers, as long
as their pennants which dip alongside in a calm.
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