“And now we’ll have one from the other side of the house,” said Moggy, as soon as the plaudits were over.

“Come then, Anthony, you shall speak for us, and prove that we can sing a stave as well as honester men.”

“With all my heart, William;—­here’s my very best.”

The smuggler then sang as follows: 

       Fill, lads, fill;
       Fill, lads, fill. 
     Here we have a cure
       For every ill. 
     If fortune’s unkind
     As the north-east wind,
     Still we must endure,
     Trusting to our cure,
       In better luck still.

       Drink, boys, drink;
       Drink, boys, drink. 
     The bowl let us drain
       With right good will. 
     If women deceive
     Why should we grieve? 
     Forgetting our pain,
     Love make again,
       With better luck still.

       Sing, lads, sing;
       Sing, lads, sing. 
     Our voices we’ll raise;
       Be merry still;
     If dead to-morrow,
     We brave all sorrow. 
     Life’s a weary maze—­
     When we end our days,
       ’Tis better luck still.

As the wounded men occupied the major part of the lower deck, and there was no accommodation for the numerous party of men and women on board, the carousing was kept up until the next morning, when, at daylight, the cutter was run into Cherbourg.  The officers who came on board, went on shore with the report that the cutter belonged to the English government, and had been occupied by Sir Robert and his men, who were well known.  The consequence was, an order for the cutter to leave the port immediately, as receiving her would be tantamount to an aggression on the part of France.  But this order, although given, was not intended to be rigidly enforced, and there was plenty of time allowed for Sir Robert and his people to land with their specie and baggage.

Ramsay did not forget his promise to the corporal.  He went to the French authorities, stated the great importance of his forwarding a letter to Amsterdam immediately, and that the way it might be effected would be very satisfactory.  That, aware that King William was at the Hague, they should write a letter informing him of the arrival of the cutter; and that his Majesty might not imagine that the French government could sanction such outrages, they had sent her immediately on to him, under the charge of one of their officers, to wait upon his Majesty, and express their sentiments of regret that such a circumstance should have occurred.  The authorities were aware that, to obey Sir Robert would not be displeasing to the court of Versailles, and that the excuse for so doing could only be taken as a compliment to the English court, therefore acted upon this suggestion.  A French officer was sent on board of the cutter with the despatch, and Ramsay’s letter to Mynheer Krause was committed to the charge of the corporal.