Do not suppose that this was done heartlessly, and without the captain’s consent.  By no means.  That worthy son of Neptune assisted at his own banishment.  In fact, he was himself the chief cause of it, for when a consultation was held after the honeymoon, as to “what was to be done now”, he waved his hand, commanded silence, and delivered himself as follows:—­

“Now, shipmates all, give ear to me, an’ don’t ventur’ to interrupt.  It’s nat’ral an’ proper, Ruby, that you an’ Minnie and your mother should wish to live together; as the old song says, ’Birds of a feather flock together’, an’ the old song’s right; and as the thing ought to be, an’ you all want it to be, so it shall be.  There’s only one little difficulty in the way, which is, that the ship’s too small to hold us, by reason of the after-cabin bein’ occupied by an old seaman of the name of Ogilvy.  Now, then, not bein’ pigs, the question is, what’s to be done?  I will answer that question:  the seaman of the name of Ogilvy shall change his quarters.”

Observing at this point that both Ruby and his bride opened their mouths to speak, the captain held up a threatening finger, and sternly said, “Silence!” Then he proceeded—­

“I speak authoritatively on this point, havin’ conversed with the seaman Ogilvy, and diskivered his sentiments.  That seaman intends to resign the cabin to the young couple, and to hoist his flag for the futur’ in the fogs’l.”

He pointed, in explanation, to the scullery; a small, dirty-looking apartment off the kitchen, which was full of pots and pans and miscellaneous articles of household, chiefly kitchen, furniture.

Ruby and Minnie laughed at this, and the widow looked perplexed, but perfectly happy and at her ease, for she knew that whatever arrangement the captain should make, it would be agreeable in the end to all parties.

“The seaman Ogilvy and I,” continued the captain, “have gone over the fogs’l” (meaning the forecastle) “together, and we find that, by the use of mops, buckets, water, and swabs, the place can be made clean.  By the use of paper, paint, and whitewash, it can be made respectable; and, by the use of furniture, pictures, books, and baccy, it can be made comfortable.  Now, the question that I’ve got to propound this day to the judge and jury is—­Why not?”

Upon mature consideration, the judge and jury could not answer “why not?” therefore the thing was fixed and carried out and the captain thereafter dwelt for years in the scullery, and the inmates of the cottage spent so much of their time in the scullery that it became, as it were, the parlour, or boudoir, or drawing-room of the place.  When, in course of time, a number of small Brands came to howl and tumble about the cottage, they naturally gravitated towards the scullery, which then virtually became the nursery, with a stout old seaman, of the name of Ogilvy, usually acting the part of head nurse.  His duties were onerous, by reason of the strength of constitution, lungs, and muscles of the young Brands, whose ungovernable desire to play with that dangerous element from which heat is evolved, undoubtedly qualified them for the honorary title of Fire-Brands.