Punch (72.1877)

March 24, 1877.]

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

131

OUE NOVEL SEEIES.

ALL IN THE DOWNS:

OE, THE BOTTOMKY BOND!

A NAUTICAL NOVEL, BY

S. PL-MS-LL, M.P.

Chapter VI.—Dead Eyes and Shrouds.

Yes, William and Mary Maybud were on board the doomed ship
whose fate had been settled by the Bottomry Bond, signed, sealed,
and delivered between the Stevedore and the Warden.

For days and days in calm weather they sailed.

The Captain, as I have said, a lad of only seventeen, was joyous
and careless. In the evening he played the fiddle, not tunefully,
but merrily, while Polly, as she was now termed, sang sweetly.

A Ship's Chandler (whom they had picked up in passing a light-
ship) illumined the state cabin with sea-dips, and they were as gay
as larks in the morning.

rudder. The Purser, in his boat, managed to save the Mate with
five hands, the two steerage wheels, and that was all.
Where were William Tailleur and Polly ?
Alas ! they had disappeared.

Charter VII.—Land at Last,
Now my task is nearly done.

William and Polly were subsequently picked up by the Purser,
whose boat was a four-oar, manned and steered by that useful
person the Mate with five hands, to whom the Government subse-
quently gave a handsome reward.

Then they fixed the two steerage wheels to the Captain's gig, and,
having found a quiet animal, they drove overland to England.

William arrived at Lloyd's just in time to see the Committee
before closing for the day, and, on his representation, a Policeman
was sent down to arrest the Stevedore and the Junior Warden.

I would I had the graphic power of MM. Erckmanx-Chatrian
(as I have once before observed in my Pamphlets, having long ago
felt a twist for novel Avriting*), and I would describe the agony of
the Stevedore, and the remorse of the wicked old Warden,
who bargained for mercy, by offering to disclose the secret

of Mary Maybud's
parentage.

The Judge who
heard the case (Mr.
O'Dowd, the Coun-
sel of the Board of
Trade, appeared for
the prosecution t),
being much inte-
rested, accepted the
offer, and the War-
den confided to His
Lordship that Mary
Maybud was his
(the Judge's) own
daughter.

His Lordship was
not astonished, as
he thought he had
lost a daughter some
time ago, and was
delighted to find
himself mistaken. +
So the Spanish
Stevedore was
handed over to his
own Government,
and hung at Cor-
dova. The Junior
Warden was fined,
disgraced, and ban-
ished. He never
returned.

William Tail-
leur was subse-
quently7 created
"Sir William; "
then, in consequence
of the valuable
lights he was able
to throw upon all

.The Skipper skipped, and the Ship's Husband danced. The Mate matters of maritime interest, he was made.a Peer (taking precedence
with five hands performed several amusing tricks of legerdemain, i of the Chain Pier and the Old Pier at Brighton), with a seat in the
let they were not happy. Polly sent home two letters by the | Lighthouse under the style and title of the Earl of Shlpsbeacons-
stern-post, of which we may hear more by-and-by. field. Mary is a Countess. And that's all.

At three bells on a cloudy morning they sighted what they made j Ye who read this, help me to do my best to destroy the
out to be the Pharo Isles on the coast of Egypt. ! homicidal system, and never let the two thousand working-men of

The Steward, however, felt certain that it was an immense Bank. : Derby, who have never seen a ship in their lives, or a sailor, and

The Purser, pleased at this information-for he had a quantity of i w£° don't know a bow from a keek or a jib from a forecastle and
paper which he wished to change for gold—put off in a small boat \ whose conduct, m sending me to Parliament, is therefore all the
and made for the Bank. At the same time, there being some ™re disinterested and. generous-let them, I say, never forget what
inequality on board, the Mate took a pair of ship's scissors and 1 nave done, what I will do, for the sailor s wrongs ; and let them
began trimming the cargo ever, and always, send 7ne to the House as their Member—honest,

Before the Purser could' return, indeed before he could reach his ^uff, hearty, and earnest S. P., as they know me to be. And they
destination, the Mate's action had brought about the long-dreaded h.ave stood S™ once-let them stand Sam again. And when the
catastrophe; for the grain, which had gradually been rising, sud- , *lme comes; though other lips and other hearts of oak then- tales of
denly burst all limits, forced the planks of the upper deck until the l°7e ma5r tel}> le£ Jem remember me, the Author of All m the
bags rose in a steaming, seething mass, blackening the atmosphere, ' n°wns i °r, the Bottomry Mond.^ _
and embedding mast after mast in their pudding-like overwhelming Finis.
embrace. _ Then the sacks exploded with a tremendous report. A j • Vide "An Appeal on behalf of our Seamen."—S. P.
report which, thank Heaven, reached Lloyd's.* t I throw tbis in just to do an excellent friend a good turn.—S. P.

A moment more, and all was over, or rather, under. Nothing of ! + This is really a very weak ending, as so little interest has been created
the Albert Moss was visible except a few spars, masts, and the about Mary beforehand. However, Mb. Pl-ms-ll is, it must be remem-

j bered, a novice at novel-writing, and at all events he has told us—what the
* Fact.—S. P. previous attempts have failed to do—a story.—Ed.