This one had gone in for his beer, by what I
could make out; the old folks at 'ome had turned rusty;
no one knew where he had gone to. Here he was, slaving
in a merchant brig, shipwrecked on Midway, and packing
up his duds for a long voyage in a open boat. He comes
on board our ship, and by God, here he is a landed
proprietor, and may be in Parliament to-morrow! It's no
less than natural he should keep dark: so would you and
me in the same box."
"I daresay," said I. "But you saw more of the others?"
"To be sure," says he: "no 'arm in them from what I
see. There was one 'Ardy there: colonial born he was,
and had been through a power of money. There was no
nonsense about 'Ardy; he had been up, and he had come
down, and took it so. His 'eart was in the right
place; and he was well-informed, and knew French; and
Latin, I believe, like a native! I liked that 'Ardy: he
was a good-looking boy too."
"Did they say much about the wreck?" I asked.
"There wasn't much to say, I reckon," replied the man-
o'-war's man. "It was all in the papers.
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