"Ay, ay."
"Young geese are the greatest cacklers."
"I'll tell you what," retorted the lad, drawing himself up with some
dignity, and reddening to the eyes, "I may be but a boy; but have the
goodness to remember, that every oak was a sapling, and every sapling an
acorn. If men trample on the acorn, it will never grow to be the oak;
for, little as it is, the spirit of the oak is in it.--D'ye read my
riddle?"
A good-humoured burst of approbation followed Springall's speech, which
was hushed by some one of the party saying, "Here comes our Captain, and we can form no plan till he is present."
The door accordingly opened after the hand, applied at last to the
latch, had evidently wandered over the panel, seeking the fastening
which at first it could not discover, and making outside a noise
resembling the scratching of a cat.
No race of beings so decidedly differ from every other in the world as
sailors: no matter whether they belong to a king's ship, to a smuggler,
or a merchantman. Though there may be shades among them, yet the grand
distinction between men of the sea and men of the land endures,--it is
impossible to confound them together. A seaman is ever so easily amused,
so reckless of consequences, so cheerful amid difficulties, so patient
under privations. His blue jacket is a symbol of enterprise and good
humour. Even his nondescript hat--black, small, and shining as a
japanned button, adhering to the back of his head by a kind of
supernatural agency, with which landsmen are unacquainted--can never be
seen by a true-born Englishman without feelings of gratitude and
affection, which, at all events, no other hat in the world can command.
Although the crew of the Fire-fly would have been looked upon by your
genuine seaman as a set of half-castes, which they really were, yet they
had, if possible, more recklessness of character than ever belonged to
any number of persons so congregated together; they had so often jested
at, and with death, in all its shapes, that it was little more than
pastime; and they had in their own persons experienced so many
hairbreadth 'scapes that they looked upon Springall's great and very
natural anxiety for the fate of the ship he loved, as a species of
madness which a little experience would soon cure him of. The elder ones
certainly knew that there was little use in their forming plans or
projects, as their commander would as usual adopt his own, and adhere to
them without their council or approval. It must be confessed that
lately they regarded his lying so constantly off so exposed a coast, a
proof of want of energy and forethought they had never noticed before;
but his prompt punishment of Jeromio had set his character again on a
firm footing; for, as Roupall said; "It proved that the Captain was
still himself."