alone was outraged when Samuel, school teacher, gentleman, and heir to the Henan farm, shipped to sea before the mast.  Margaret had an abiding faith in her son’s star, and whatever he did she was sure was for the best.  Like everything else connected with his glorious personality, there had never been known so swift a rise as in the case of Samuel.  Barely with two years’ sea experience before the mast, he was taken from the forecastle and made a provisional second mate.  This occurred in a fever port on the West Coast, and the committee of skippers that examined him agreed that he knew more of the science of navigation than they had remembered or forgotten.  Two years later he sailed from Liverpool, mate of the Starry Grace, with both master’s and extra-master’s tickets in his possession.  And then it happened—­ the thing the old crones had been shaking their heads over for years.

It was told me by Gavin McNab, bos’n of the Starry Grace at the time, himself an Island McGill man.

“Wull do I remember ut,” he said.  “We was runnin’ our Eastun’ down, an’ makun’ heavy weather of ut.  Oz fine a sailor-mon oz ever walked was Samuel Henan.  I remember the look of hum wull thot last marnun’, a-watch-un’ them bug seas curlun’ up astern, an’ a-watchun’ the old girl an’ seeun’ how she took them—­the skupper down below an’ drunkun’ for days.  Ut was ot seven thot Henan brought her up on tull the wund, not darun’ tull run longer on thot fearful sea.  Ot eight, after havun’ breakfast, he turns un, an’ a half hour after up comes the skupper, bleary-eyed an’ shaky an’ holdun’ on tull the companion.  Ut was fair smokun’, I om tellun’ ye, an’ there he stood, blunkun’ an’ noddun’ an’ talkun’ tull humsel’.  ‘Keep off,’ says he ot last tull the mon ot the wheel.  ‘My God!’ says the second mate, standun’ beside hum.  The skupper never looks tull hum ot all, but keeps on mutterun” an’ jabberun’ tull humsel’.  All of a suddent-like he straightens up an’ throws hus head back, an’ says:  ’Put your wheel over, me mon—­now domn ye!  Are ye deef thot ye’ll no be hearun’ me?’

“Ut was a drunken mon’s luck, for the Starry Grace wore off afore thot God-Almighty gale wuthout shuppun’ a bucket o’ watter, the second mate shoutun’ orders an’ the crew jumpun’ like mod.  An’ wuth thot the skupper nods contented-like tull humself an’ goes below after more whusky.  Ut was plain murder o’ the lives o’ all of us, for ut was no the time for the buggest shup afloat tull be runnun’.  Run?  Never hov I seen the like!  Ut was beyond all thunkun’, an’ me goun’ tull sea, boy an’ men, for forty year.  I tell you ut was fair awesome.

“The face o’ the second mate was white oz death, an’ he stood ut alone for half an hour, when ut was too much for hum an’ he went below an’ called Samuel an’ the third.  Aye, a fine sailor-mon thot Samuel, but ut was too much for hum.  He looked an’ studied, and looked an’ studied, but he could no see hus way.  He durst na heave tull.  She would ha’ been sweeput o’ all honds an’ stucks an’ everythung afore she could a-fetched up.  There was naught tull do but keep on runnun’.  An’ uf ut worsened we were lost ony way, for soon or late that overtakun’ sea was sure tull sweep us clear over poop an’ all.