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Article PENCILLIJSTGS FEOM THE SKETCH-BOOK OF A ... ← Page 3 of 7 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Pencillijstgs Feom The Sketch-Book Of A ...
that of another ship hard by ; and therefore not until you are thoroughly drenched , and your baggage in a very moist condition , do you get the assistance of a rope from the sailors to enable you to haul alongside—I say , have you ever been thus situated ? If your reply be in the affirmative , then do you know what is , so long as it
lasts , one of the minor miseries of human life . The only comfort is , that the duration of such a position is a brief one ; and now I got on board , not , however , without making some affectionate inquiries regarding the disposal of a trunk which it seems had not been cleared with the rest of my things , and in respect of which a very conscientious officer of excise at the gangway demanded a certificate that it contained nothing contraband . Here was a dilemma to be
placed in , when we were to sail the following morning . I most anxiously assured him . all was right , offering him the alternative of searching to satisfy his scruples , when the chief mate hearing a demur on deck , came to my rescue , and all the turbulence of spirit of the revenue man at once subsided under the pacifying influence of
a glass of " cold without" to which we helped him . I introduced myself to the cuddy of the private trader , John , Benjamin Freeman , commander , bound to Madras and Calcutta , — burthen 350 tons , carrying , as the advertisements of the London papers of the day expressed it , an experienced surgeon .
Somehow or other , all ships are described as having experienced surgeons ; and yet a friend of mine , on his voyage home from India , has a son of his a cripple for life in consequence of the exceedingly bungling way in which an arm , dislocation of which had resulted from a fall on board ship , " had been set by the medical gentleman .
In the aforesaid chiel-cabm , I lound several youths , who , like myself , were destined for a military life . There they were , with merry smiling faces , delighted with the novelty of the scene , to which was added the elation of feeling , natural on first finding themselves enrolled among the sons of the sword—of itself no inconsiderable gratification to a young and ardent temperament . With these and
other passengers I soon made myself at home . A comfortable fire , in as large a stove as the place would admit of , was no bad magnet to attract around it all who could find room ; and did not the jolly cadets , of all others , contrive this ? There each sat apparently possessed with an all-conquering faith in a fortunate future . And what ,
indeed , is more exhilarating to the youthful mind , than when on the entry to a life of public service , in sound health , and with the elastic and buoyant spirits of his age , the stripling first takes his place on the world ' s great stage ?
Ci Through what scenes and changes must he pass . And hopefully and trustfully he essays to perform his part in the first act of the drama of life . What honours , distinction , and fortune might be in reserve for hiiu ! Very pleasing and flattering all this to the boy , viewed through the vista of a long perspective . Happy , too . is he who in after life shall have been doomed to disap-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Pencillijstgs Feom The Sketch-Book Of A ...
that of another ship hard by ; and therefore not until you are thoroughly drenched , and your baggage in a very moist condition , do you get the assistance of a rope from the sailors to enable you to haul alongside—I say , have you ever been thus situated ? If your reply be in the affirmative , then do you know what is , so long as it
lasts , one of the minor miseries of human life . The only comfort is , that the duration of such a position is a brief one ; and now I got on board , not , however , without making some affectionate inquiries regarding the disposal of a trunk which it seems had not been cleared with the rest of my things , and in respect of which a very conscientious officer of excise at the gangway demanded a certificate that it contained nothing contraband . Here was a dilemma to be
placed in , when we were to sail the following morning . I most anxiously assured him . all was right , offering him the alternative of searching to satisfy his scruples , when the chief mate hearing a demur on deck , came to my rescue , and all the turbulence of spirit of the revenue man at once subsided under the pacifying influence of
a glass of " cold without" to which we helped him . I introduced myself to the cuddy of the private trader , John , Benjamin Freeman , commander , bound to Madras and Calcutta , — burthen 350 tons , carrying , as the advertisements of the London papers of the day expressed it , an experienced surgeon .
Somehow or other , all ships are described as having experienced surgeons ; and yet a friend of mine , on his voyage home from India , has a son of his a cripple for life in consequence of the exceedingly bungling way in which an arm , dislocation of which had resulted from a fall on board ship , " had been set by the medical gentleman .
In the aforesaid chiel-cabm , I lound several youths , who , like myself , were destined for a military life . There they were , with merry smiling faces , delighted with the novelty of the scene , to which was added the elation of feeling , natural on first finding themselves enrolled among the sons of the sword—of itself no inconsiderable gratification to a young and ardent temperament . With these and
other passengers I soon made myself at home . A comfortable fire , in as large a stove as the place would admit of , was no bad magnet to attract around it all who could find room ; and did not the jolly cadets , of all others , contrive this ? There each sat apparently possessed with an all-conquering faith in a fortunate future . And what ,
indeed , is more exhilarating to the youthful mind , than when on the entry to a life of public service , in sound health , and with the elastic and buoyant spirits of his age , the stripling first takes his place on the world ' s great stage ?
Ci Through what scenes and changes must he pass . And hopefully and trustfully he essays to perform his part in the first act of the drama of life . What honours , distinction , and fortune might be in reserve for hiiu ! Very pleasing and flattering all this to the boy , viewed through the vista of a long perspective . Happy , too . is he who in after life shall have been doomed to disap-