Looking Over The Rail A Few Moments Afterward, We Saw Him
At The Galley-Door Talking To The Cook.
This was a great comedown,
from the highest seat in the synagogue to a seat in the galley with
the black cook.
At night, too, when supper was called, he stood in
the waist for some time, hoping to be asked down with the officers,
but they went below, one after another, and left him. His next
chance was with the carpenter and sail-maker, and he lounged round
the after hatchway until the last had gone down. We had now had
fun enough out of him, and taking pity on him, offered him a pot
of tea, and a cut at the kid, with the rest, in the forecastle.
He was hungry, and it was growing dark, and he began to see that
there was no use in playing the caballero any longer, and came
down into the forecastle, put into the "grub" in sailor's style,
threw off all his airs, and enjoyed the joke as much as any one;
for a man must take a joke among sailors. He gave us the whole
account of his adventures in the country, - roguery and all - and
was very entertaining. He was a smart, unprincipled fellow, was at
the bottom of most of the rascally doings of the country, and gave
us a great deal of interesting information in the ways of the world
we were in.
Saturday, Feb. 13th. Were called up at midnight to slip for
a violent north-easter, for this rascally hole of San Pedro is
unsafe in every wind but a south-wester, which is seldom known
to blow more than once in a half century. We went off with a
flowing sheet, and hove-to under the lee of Catalina island,
where we lay three days, and then returned to our anchorage.
Tuesday, Feb. 23d. This afternoon, a signal was made from the
shore, and we went off in the gig, and found the agent's clerk,
who had been up to the pueblo, waiting at the landing-place, with a
package under his arm, covered with brown papers and tied carefully
with twine. No sooner had we shoved off than he told us there was
good news from Santa Barbara. "What's that?" said one of the crew;
"has the bloody agent slipped off the hooks? Has the old bundle of
bones got him at last?" - "No; better than that. The California
has arrived." Letters, papers, news, and, perhaps, - friends, on
board! Our hearts were all up in our mouths, and we pulled away
like good fellows; for the precious packet could not be opened
except by the captain. As we pulled under the stern, the clerk
held up the package, and called out to the mate, who was leaning
over the taffrail, that the California had arrived.
"Hurrah!" said the mate, so as to be heard fore and aft;
"California come, and news from Boston!"
Instantly there was a confusion on board which no one could account
for who has not been in the same situation.
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