Page:The Naval Officer (1829), vol. 2.djvu/79

 sort of truce during the presence of a third object: it reminded me, comparing great things with small, of the partition of Poland.

I found that there was neither honour nor profit for me in this diversion, so I no more went a whale fishing, but took my passage to Halifax, in aschooner; one of those vessels, built during the war, in imitation of the Virginia pilot boats; but, like most of our imitations, about as much resembling the original as a cow is like a hare, and bearing exactly the same proportion in point of velocity. And as if it had been determined that these vessels should in every respect disgrace the British flag, the command of them was conferred on officers whose conduct would not induce captains to allow them to serve under them, and who were therefore very unwisely sent into small vessels, where they became their own masters, and were many of them constantly drunk; such was the state of my commander from the time I sailed until we reached Halifax. The example of the