touched the thwarts, we sent her through the water like a rocket.  A few minutes of such pulling opened the islands, one after another, in range of the point, and gave us a view of the Canal, where was a ship, under top-gallant-sails, standing in, with a light breeze, for the anchorage.  Putting the boat’s head in the direction of the ship, the captain told us to lay out again; and we needed no spurring, for the prospect of boarding a new ship, perhaps from home, hearing the news, and having something to tell of when we got back, was excitement enough for us, and we gave way with a will.  Captain Nye, of the Loriotte, who had been an old whaleman, was in the stern-sheets, and fell mightily into the spirit of it. ``Bend your backs, and break your oars!’’ said he. ``Lay me on, Captain Bunker!’’ ``There she flukes!’’ and other exclamations current among whalemen.  In the mean time it fell flat calm, and, being within a couple of miles of the ship, we expected to board her in a few minutes, when a breeze sprung up, dead ahead for the ship, and she braced up and stood off toward the islands, sharp on the larboard tack, making good way through the water.  This, of course, brought us up, and we had only to ``ease larboard oars, pull round starboard!’’ and go aboard the Alert, with something very like a flea in the ear.  There was a light land-breeze all night, and the ship did not come to anchor until the next morning.

As soon as her anchor was down we went aboard, and found her to be the whale-ship Wilmington and Liverpool Packet, of New Bedford, last from the ``off-shore ground,’’ with nineteen hundred barrels of oil.  A ``spouter’’ we knew her to be, as soon as we saw her, by her cranes and boats, and by her stump top-gallant-masts, and a certain slovenly look to the sails, rigging, spars, and hull; and when we got on board, we found everything to correspond,—­ spouter fashion.  She had a false deck, which was rough and oily, and cut up in every direction by the chines of oil casks; her rigging was slack, and turning white, paint worn off the spars and blocks, clumsy seizings, straps without covers, and ``homeward-bound splices’’ in every direction.  Her crew, too, were not in much better order.  Her captain was a slab-sided Quaker, in a suit of brown, with a broad-brimmed hat, bending his long legs as he moved about decks, with his head down, like a sheep, and the men looked more like fishermen and farmers than they did like sailors.

Though it was by no means cold weather (we having on only our red shirts and duck trousers), they all had on woollen trousers,—­ not blue and ship-shape, but of all colors,—­ brown, drab, gray, aye, and green,—­ with suspenders over their shoulders, and pockets to put their hands in.  This, added to Guernsey frocks, striped comforters about the neck, thick cowhide boots, woollen caps, and a strong, oily smell, and a decidedly green look, will complete the description.  Eight or ten were on the fore topsail yard, and as many more in the