stores; so, when a survey was held on his remains, they were found to be all right.

To remedy such abuses, many orders were given out by Lord St. Vincent, when he commanded the fleet; and many regulations were made by him when he was afterwards First Lord of the Admiralty. Among the orders he issued to the fleet, this was one-that every ship should have attached to each mast, between the decks, and also on the quarter-deck and forecastle, a canvass bag to receive the shakings, which were to be carefully gathered every time the decks were swept. The use for which the bag was made, was also to be painted upon it.

Another circumstance connected with the incident which I am about to mention is, that there was some peculiarity in the manner in which Lord St. Vincent used to lay the fleet to, when it was necessary for. the ships to communicate with the flag-ship, or with each other. Instead of laying the main-top-sail flat aback, and the helm a turn a-lee, in the old-fashioned way, he was fond of keeping steerage-way upon the ships, not letting them drive like mere hulks, but keeping them going through the water, fast enough to be under control of the helm. The object probably was to enable them better to preserve their relative position to each other, and to be more ready on the instant to perform any evolution. It was also a very handy way of giving a boat a good long row in a cold morning, particularly if the captain, who might be in her, had added to its length, by having his ship further astern than she ought to have been, in which case, a small touch of the weather-helm and the lee-main-brace might keep the boat riding for any length of time. I should also mention, that about this time, the fashion of captains going in their state-barges upon all occasions, was beginning to wear out, with the gold-headed cane of the doctor on shore. And of this change his Lordship approved so much, that it was alleged these twelve or fourteen-oared boats always had a longer row than a four or six-oared boat.

Now, the story is, that shortly after the promulgation of the order about the shakings-bags, the captain of one of the ships in the fleet, who was endeavouring to get on board the flag-ship, was in his barge, rowing under the stern, while Lord St. Vincent was on the poop, looking out upon his fleet, or pacing the deck with his glass under his arm, and now and then casting a glance over the stern, to watch the progress of the barge, as she gained slowly on the ship. In doing this, his eye caught sight of a piece of rope-yarn, about two inches long, loosened into oakum, floating on the water, and which appeared to have come from his own ship. He hailed the barge, to let the Captain know of the impending loss of this part of the King's stores, and ordered that the piece of oakum should be picked up. The bowman laid in his oar, and reaching over the bow of the boat, caught the oakum between his finger and thumb, and held it up, but would not lift it into the boat.

"It is dirty, Sir!" to his Captain.

"It is dirty, my Lord," repeated the Captain.

"Wash it, Sir; wash it, Sir."

The oakum was washed, and brought on board the flag-ship, where it was deposited in the quarter-deck shakings-bag, at the main-mast, with all proper care.

But, to resume my narrative. The navy had not yet profited by this illustration of the maxim, that all service must be honourable by which the country can be benefited; so our Captain was very angry about the lower-deck guns being put in the hold, and resigned his command. Of course he was never employed again.

This truly benevolent and respectable man had been a very active officer in his youth, but he had not been employed between the time of the first war with America and that of his present appointment. In the interval he had got about him a rising family of ten children; and though willing enough to take his chance in the North Sea, it is probable that he did not like the prospect of dying ingloriously of the yellow-fever, however advantageous such a result might have been to junior officers, who would have profited by the vacancy in all the gradations from the post-captain downward.

He left us, however, and thus I lost my early patron and friend. Before he left the ship, he recommended that another youngster, of whom he had also taken a particular charge, and myself, should be removed into a smaller ship, "That we might be made to learn our duty better." In a large ship there are generally so many midshipmen, that it is a task for the first-lieutenant to find employment for them, to keep them out of mischief. In a small one, there are or were so few, that they must all be made useful in some way. In consequence of this recommendation, we joined H. M. S. P. She was attached to the same fleet as my former ship, namely, that under Admiral Christian.

I may mention here that the midshipmen's mess in the ship I now joined, consisted of a mate, two midshipmen, a captain's clerk, and a surgeon's mate (for we had no assistant-surgeon in those days). They were all grown-up men, and as the First-Lieutenant did not think their manners very exemplary, he very kindly and considerately put the other youngster and myself to mess with the gunner, a veteran seaman, from whom we heard nothing worse than some superstitious notions about foretelling the weather by the phases of the moon, and according to whether she set upon her back with her horns turned up: this last was a sure symptom of bad weather. Also, among some true stories of venerable date, I remember the one that gave rise to a saying often used by sailors when they would express a violent contest or struggle, "Pull devil-pull baker." The story is, that a merchantship, (of which my sage informant had the name, as well as the names of her owners, master, and crew,) had been supplied with very bad biscuit by a certain baker in London. During the passage outward to Smyrna, her crew had been very sickly, by reason of the bad biscuit; and while there, she had buried some of her men, from a continuance of the same cause. On her passage home, she met with bad weather, and put into some port in Italy. Having sailed from thence, she was becalmed under Mount Stromboli. While lying there becalmed, her Captain saw a figure like the wicked baker, on the verge of the burning crater. He appeared to be struggling hard with somebody.

As the smoke from the mountain spread itself, so as to inclose the ship, the captain could make out the person of the baker distinctly; and was also able to discover that of his opponent, who was no less a personage than the old devil himself. The object of the devil was to pull the baker into the crater of Mount Stromboli, while the baker, as

he could not free himself from the grasp that had been laid on him, endeavoured to pull his satanic majesty from his strong hold. The victims of the baker's knavery in the mean time regarded the contest with eager delight; at first, highly pleased to see him in so fair a way of meeting with his deserts; but when he appeared to make a good fight of it, they forgot all their vindictive feelings; and in the true English spirit of fair play, cheered on the combatants, clapping their hands and vociferating-" Pull devil-pull baker!" as each in his turn made a good struggle for the mastery. The baker fought well. But in such a contest the event could not long be doubtful. When the devil found he had such a "tough-un" to deal with, he put forth a little more of his mettle, and soon dragged the poor baker over the edge of the crater, and plunged along with him into the raging gulf, that boiled with rising fury to receive them. The satisfactory evidence that they had not been deceived by the vision, was, that on the arrival of the ship in London, they found that the baker had died, and, of course, gone to the devil at the very hour that they had beheld his plunge into the volcano of Mount Stromboli.

With regard to my good messmate's notion, that the moon's being seen to set on her back is an omen of bad weather, it is much more easy to reconcile it to truth than the idea of the influence of her changes on the weather, which has been handed down from generation to generation, in opposition to the evidence of continued experience. In this climate, the prediction of bad weather will prove true three times out of four. This amount of accuracy in the practical result is more than sufficient to satisfy the disciple of a preconceived theory. Now the crescent of the young moon always sets upon her back ;* and as the prediction of bad weather, " more or less," is so generally a safe one, it is safe when the moon can be seen to go down upon her back; that is, when the growing moon can be seen to set.

The converse of this proposition is, I imagine, assumed, although we never hear it expressed; namely, that it is an indication of fine weather, when the moon is seen to go down with her horns foremost, and her back up. Now she does so only when, being on the wane, she is reduced to a crescent, and in this case she sets under a shining sun; whereas the crescent of the increasing moon sets after the sun is gone down. It therefore happens, that the setting of the waning moon, when she is reduced to a crescent, is not observed; and, therefore, good weather is not predicted, which it ought not to be, in this country, by any prophet who has a respect for his prophetical fame.

Now, I hope, I have satisfactorily proved, not only the theory we set out with, but also the converse thereof; and I feel that I have, therefore, some right to demand of other theorists on the moon's influence on the weather, that they should prove their's. But a very requisite preliminary to the proving of a theory is the enunciation of it. Now, it is a most curious matter to consider, that although some notion of the moon's ruling influence on the weather is so general as to be almost universal, yet there is not one in a hundred of those who

This is more remarkably the case in the spring of the year; because, at this time, the declination of the growing moon, when first seen, is more northerly than that of the sun.

maintain this notion, that can give a clear definition of their own belief in the nature or effects of that power. To the vague notions that cannot be expressed, there can, of course, be no answer. It is demanded, "Why should not the moon have an influence over the weather, as well as over the tides?" To this I answer, that I do not pretend to say that she should not. All that I assert is, that no such power is reconciled to any known or recognised law of nature; and that, in point of fact, the observations on which it is assumed are not made. Few will ask the above question who have satisfied themselves of the truth of Newton's problem of the three bodies, by following his demonstration; and have then considered the moon's and earth's centres as two of those bodies; and a particle of water on the earth's surface, as the third body. To those who have not, it may be answered, that the amount of the moon's influence, as having a tendency to make a wave of the atmosphere analogous to the lunar wave of the ocean, is known and appreciated; but that it is so small, compared with the chemical causes which act upon the atmosphere, particularly those of heat and cold, by the expansions and contractions which they cause, that its effects are not perceptible upon the currents of air or winds. If it were otherwise, its effect should follow the diurnal periods of the moon; which is rather more than what is asserted by her most devoted disciples.

We now come back to the advantage of having an enunciation to our theory. I have sometimes known the attempt to make one turn out to be a cure for the belief. But if, after reducing the theory to an intelligible form, any one shall believe that he can predict the change or continuance of any sort of weather from the changes of the moon, let him, after writing down his theory, keep a written account of the weather for twelve months, and compare them. I will answer for his conversion, or be ready to investigate his theory and observations in order to be convinced; unless the theory be of that vague sort, that anything or everything may be made to agree with it. This plan of writing down what is believed and what is observed, seems the more necessary as even the learned Dr. Hayley was led by the almost universal voice on this subject, to suppose that the changes of the moon had an observable influence on the weather. He drew up a formula for predicting the weather, which depended chiefly upon the hour of the day at which the moon changed. Thus, making the weather at any place depend upon the longitude. The advantage of this process to Dr. Hayley was, that upon trial he found that the theory was untenable, and he abandoned it altogether. But many have heard of this formula, who do not know that it was renounced by its author.

Among the various modifications of this said influence of our lunar satellite upon the weather, I have heard the following statements. "When the moon changes, we shall have a change of weather." "If, when the moon changes, we have a change of weather, we shall have the weather that then comes for the whole of that moon," &c. Again, some are contented to attribute this power to the change of the moon; some to the full and change, and some to the days of her entering into her four quarters a day or two before, or a day or two after. These last are pretty sure to be right, in the endeavour to reconcile their theory with observation; for they have two thirds of the time wherein

to look for a point at which the weather may be suitable to compare with the other third, for the purpose of this reconcilement ; so that being able to demonstrate the truth of their theory by undeniable observation, I fear that, like my good friend the gunner, this class of believers cannot be converted. Those who have taken up some of the other notions on trust, may be, if they will try the proposed experiments.

The ensuing winter was one of more violent and continued storms than any I have seen since; and now began my turn to be broken in for the realities of a sea-life. I well remember the day when I first found out that a sailor's profession required a greater portion of patient endurance and attention than I had yet been called upon to give it. I discovered what my late captain meant by being made to learn my duty in a small ship.

The signal was made for the fleet to weigh, in order to rendezvous at St. Helen's, as a more ready place to start from than Spithead. We had to beat down in a raw, cold day, blowing fresh with a drizzling rain. I was stationed to take charge of the crossjack-braces; and as Ĭ had learned the distinction between starboard and larboard, and knew the difference between letting go a rope, and pulling upon it, I thought I had my lesson perfect. There were certain other sounds which I had not yet learned to connect with my charge; such as-" Shiver the mizen topsail," "main-topsail haul," &c. But by a few sharp ratings from the first lieutenant for my stupidity, and being assisted by the superior knowledge of the men under my orders, I soon learned to be of some use at this business, as long as I could fix my attention; but this habit I had yet to learn. Whenever there was a cessation for a few minutes, I found myself wandering from the spot in which I should have remained, to look at some of the hundreds of vessels passing and repassing, among which we were threading our way, beating out between the Horse and Dean and the Warner Sands, luffing for one, bearing up for another, heaving all aback for a third.

I was not allowed to remain long in these reveries. The now wellknown sound of "shiver the mizen-topsail," recalled me, to find that I was in a scrape which threatened a four hours' spell at the masthead. After four or five hours of tacking and backing and filling, we anchored at St. Helen's, amidst a wood of masts. On the morning of the -day of November, the wind had made a treacherous show of coming round to the north-east. The admiral made the signal to weigh.

After the usual delay of waiting for the ill-managed portion of the transports and merchant ships, many of which had boats on shore contrary to orders, and the usual repetition of signals, and expense of powder to enforce them, this immense fleet was under way. The menof-war, the transports, with ten thousand troops and their appointments, and a large convoy of merchant ships, made the fleet amount to more than 300 sail. We could steer our course down Channel with the wind something to the eastward of north. This questionable sort of fair wind continued during the night, and in the afternoon of the next day we were in sight of the Promontory, which forms the western limit of Torbay, called Berry Head. The wind was then freshening up from the north-west, and continuing to back, (or shift its direction