Page:The Naval Officer (1829), vol. 1.djvu/39

 with an air of conscious superiority; "then you will be so good as to turn round, go down to Mutton Cove, take a boat, and have your person conveyed with all possible speed on board of His Majesty's ship, the Lee," (imitating me); "and tell the first lieutenant it is my order that you be not allowed any more leave while the ship is in port; and I shall tell your captain he must teach his officers better manners than to pass the port-admiral without touching their hats."

While this harangue was going on, I stood in a circle, of which I was the centre, and the admiral and captains formed the circumference: what little air there was, their bodies intercepted, so that I was not only in a stew, but stupified into the bargain.

"There, Sir, you hear me—you may go."

"Yes, I do hear you," thinks I; "but how the devil am I to get away from you?" for the cruel captains, like school boys round a rat-trap, stood so close that I could not start. Fortunately,