DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.53553#0365
329
who understood no joke, particularly when in Italian, ex-
claimed with a thundering voice, “ Halloo, who is that sky-
larking abaft there ?” Upon which Ganymede declared it
was the fire of Adonis, and the latter retorted the charge
upon his antagonist. Each party protested that the other
had fired the first shot, assertion against assertion. This ar-
gument, however, was soon brought to a close by the lieu-
tenant, who was excessively incensed at the disrespect of his
myrmidons : “ You rascals,” he exclaimed, <e you have
pleased yourselves by acting a sham-fight ; by G—d, you
shall please the company by performing a real one.”—So
saying, he ordered the steward to bring tw o ropes-ends, one
of which wras handed to each of the juvenile combatants,
with the threatening injunction, that if they did not lay on
each other with all their might, they should be lashed across
a gun, and have an argumentum a posteriori applied to their
center of gravity w ith a cat-o’nine-tails.
It was not the preceding menace alone which rendered
this novel mode of punishment very effectual; for as neither
party felt the strength of the blows he inflicted upon the o-
ther, each very soon imagined he received an oppressive
overplus, and accordingly exerted additional wrathful
strength towards equalizing the portions. Both, however,
began soon to roar so piteously, that Don Michele, whose
soul at bottom was most susceptible of compassion, strenu-
ously interceded for a cessation of arms, which was forth-
with granted, very much against the opinion of the Master,
who declared, that such a starting as this, twice or three
times a week, would do them no harm, and be w hat they rich-
ly deserved ; convinced as he felt, that both the rascals were
as great thieves as any on board of a Woolwich hulk, and
that it was one of them to a certainty that had stolen the pair
of compasses he left on the table the other day.
u u
Tran-
who understood no joke, particularly when in Italian, ex-
claimed with a thundering voice, “ Halloo, who is that sky-
larking abaft there ?” Upon which Ganymede declared it
was the fire of Adonis, and the latter retorted the charge
upon his antagonist. Each party protested that the other
had fired the first shot, assertion against assertion. This ar-
gument, however, was soon brought to a close by the lieu-
tenant, who was excessively incensed at the disrespect of his
myrmidons : “ You rascals,” he exclaimed, <e you have
pleased yourselves by acting a sham-fight ; by G—d, you
shall please the company by performing a real one.”—So
saying, he ordered the steward to bring tw o ropes-ends, one
of which wras handed to each of the juvenile combatants,
with the threatening injunction, that if they did not lay on
each other with all their might, they should be lashed across
a gun, and have an argumentum a posteriori applied to their
center of gravity w ith a cat-o’nine-tails.
It was not the preceding menace alone which rendered
this novel mode of punishment very effectual; for as neither
party felt the strength of the blows he inflicted upon the o-
ther, each very soon imagined he received an oppressive
overplus, and accordingly exerted additional wrathful
strength towards equalizing the portions. Both, however,
began soon to roar so piteously, that Don Michele, whose
soul at bottom was most susceptible of compassion, strenu-
ously interceded for a cessation of arms, which was forth-
with granted, very much against the opinion of the Master,
who declared, that such a starting as this, twice or three
times a week, would do them no harm, and be w hat they rich-
ly deserved ; convinced as he felt, that both the rascals were
as great thieves as any on board of a Woolwich hulk, and
that it was one of them to a certainty that had stolen the pair
of compasses he left on the table the other day.
u u
Tran-