"And pray, gentlemen, which are your leaders in this threatened affray?" inquired the Captain.

The midshipman of the frigate immediately and without hesitation pulled out a morocco case, handsomely ornamented, from which he drew a gilt-edged card, which he presented to his superior officer. During the process, however, I could perceive that Captain Tomkin was rather disgusted with what, as a plain-dealing seaman, he conceived to have a cast of effeminacy with it; but the moment his eye rested on the name, he smiled complacently, but without at all descending from that dignity which his station in the Service allowed him to assume. "And now," turning to us, "which is your champion?"

"Here, Sir! here!" exclaimed several amongst us, pushing Pascoe forward, and he stood in front of our umpire, with his head uncovered, and boldly gave his name.

"This has been a silly affair," said the Captain. "You, my Lord," addressing the midshipman of the frigate," have presumed upon being an immediate servant of your King and country, to give offence to those who are employed in an equally honourable way. I must, however, strongly condemn you, young gentleman," turning to Pascoe, "for admitting your men to a familiarity which at all times is best avoided between officers and seamen, and which, not being permitted in the Royal Navy, drew down the remarks of his lordship and his messmates. Both parties have been in the wrong. But I see nothing to prevent an immediate reconciliation. My Lord, this is Mr. Pascoe, the son-as my young friend Grummett informs me-of one of the most influential merchants of which England can boast. Mr. Pascoe, this is Lord son of the Earl of, a nobleman whose title stamps no additional worth on his estimable character. Your fathers' children should be friends."

The moment Captain Tomkin had uttered this, the young lord frankly advanced to Pascoe, and extended his hand, which was seized with avidity; and the act produced so much gratification, that loud cheers burst spontaneously from every one, which the boats' crews caught up and prolonged. "And now, Mr. Grummett, allow me to introduce you to his Lordship as a young friend of mine who has seen more hard fighting than many who have been in the service for a long life; and I am confident therefore that he will immediately retract any injurious remark he may have been tempted in the heat of the moment to make."

The introduction was immediately made, and was cordially and frankly acknowledged on both sides; and as the young gentlemen of the frigate had come on shore to explore the island, it was agreed to bury all angry feelings, and form one jovial party. Captain Tomkin walked up with us to the parade in the town, and he informed me of his recent promotion and appointment to a 16-gun brig, then lying in the roads, and promised, if ever I felt an inclination to transfer my services to the Royal Navy, that he would always receive me, provided he held a command.

And here I am sure I shall be pardoned if I make a few remarks on the generous conduct of this worthy officer. Had he taken upon himself the authority which he might have done, and which but too many would have done, however much we might have yielded in obedience, still

there would have been an annihilation of respect for his character that would have left impressions of an injurious and even dangerous tendency on the minds of all. Each party conscientiously thought themselves aggrieved by the other; and austerity, instead of removing hostile feelings, would have been the cause of cherishing them with stronger bitterness, and perhaps at some future day have produced results which must have left a deep and lasting regret upon the survivors. At all events, by sending us back to our respective ships-which, under existing circumstances, was the only alternative to be pursued to prevent us from sacrificing each others' lives by the laws of what we foolishly thought honour-we should have parted as enemies; as it was we became friends, and several were afterwards sworn friends and confidants, in many an hour of peril uniting their best efforts for their common country. Captain Tomkin died a Rear-Admiral; but the nobleman alluded to is still living, and I am certain that when this meets his eye he will do justice to the observations I have been induced to make, and at the same time it will afford him a hearty laugh at the adventure. I sincerely hope that the example of Captain Tomkin will have the effect of producing imitators under similar circumstances, and that young officers will remember, when they put on the national uniform, their lives should be solely devoted to the service of their king and country.

But to proceed. The first place we visited was a sort of chapel, the inner walls of which were formed entirely of human skulls, I believe formerly worn upon the shoulders of the occupants of an adjacent monastery; and there was also an altar of the same description, presenting a curious, but certainly a most disgusting spectacle. The arrangement was very regular, but so many eyeless sockets and emblems of frail mortality were never intended by the Creator to be made an exhibition of. I have seen the catacombs of Paris, and something similar in the neighbourhood of Bordeaux; but they have their origin in a wise design, whilst this at Madeira seems to have been raised by monkish hands for the purposes of seclusion or penance.

Having procured a guide, we were with some difficulty, and at no small expense, provided with horses, mules, donkeys, and various kinds of vehicles, and forming a strange cavalcade, away we started to ascend the mountain, for the purpose of visiting the convent near its summit, and which forms so conspicuous an object to the mariner whilst at anchor in Funchal Roads. It is a delightfully romantic-looking place, that island of Madeira; and often have I stood upon the deck at carly dawn, when the lower parts of the land have been entirely obscured by the silvery clouds, and gazed upon that white convent with the lofty dark peak above it, towering into the heavens, and apparently resting on the fleecy vapours,-a sunny island in the clear blue sky. Then, as the day advanced, the glorious luminary would draw aside the aerial screen, which, parting hither and thither, gradually brought the other parts of the land into view, and churches, houses, and moving industry, gave a finish to the picture.

Lord and Pascoe were now installed the leaders for the day; and the cadets received positive directions to obey orders, on pain of dismissal from the company. Being designed, however, for the army, they were by far the best riders, for many a fall happened to the young

tars, and that, too, in places where the huge precipice hung beneath us, and the road so narrow and bad, that I have often since shuddered at the recollection of the many escapes. Going up, however, was tolerably easy; and, indeed, we were amply repaid for any inconvenience we suffered, by the grandeur of the scene from the convent, which baffles all attempts at description. Far as the eye could reach, the light blue sky bounded the dark blue ocean: the Dezertos, or, as seamen generally call them, the "Deserters," looked like dots upon the water; and the ships in the roads, in all their beautiful symmetry, appeared no larger than some of those exquisite models manufactured by the French who were detained in our prisons during the war: deep chasms, steep precipices, verdant vineyards,-it was, indeed, a grand spectacle, and well-calculated to awaken in the mind a reverence for the Great Being who had thus spread the wondrous works of his hands before his crea tures, to testify his power. The convent, however, looked much prettier from Funchal Roads than on a nearer inspection; its pure whiteness, when seen at a distance, became dingy when close to the building, but it certainly was a pretty spot.

Full of laughter, fun, and mirth, we reached the gates, and found a number of army officers with several English ladies (passengers in the fleet) seated on the ground, partaking of a repast, which was plentifully displayed; and our ride having given us sharp appetites, we began to think of getting something to eat. Alas! the convent could supply us with but little food; and, in the thoughtlessness of youth, we had neglected taking any provisions with us, so that the consequences were long faces and hungry stomachs,-and we were preparing to make a hasty retreat down the mountain, when the Honourable Captain Awho was going out to the Governor-General on the Staff, recognized our aristocratic leader, Lord and ascertaining the dilemma in which he was placed, invited him to partake of their fare. This, however, he positively, but politely, declined, declaring that he would run his chance with the rest, as he could not think of enjoying refreshment in which we did not all share. His Lordship was, however, introduced to some of the senior officers present, and the result was, a general invitation to the feast; and the hungry reefers and half-famished cadets soon made clear decks of the victuals, amidst the hearty laughter of those who were already satisfied.

The thrumming of guitars by several of the sisters, with the aid of some pleasing voices, formed a pretty concert; and a lively air having commenced, about half a dozen of us youngsters got to dancing: the example was not lost, and in the course of a few minutes there was not an idle pair of heels to be found. All reserve was banished, the loftiness of rank and station yielded to the hilarity of the moment, and joy and pleasure abounded. There was, certainly, something in the cool delicious breeze which played around us, that purified the pride of human nature, and distance from our native land made us feel more strongly that we were fellow-creatures claiming one mother country. Most of the seniors then present have since "shook off this mortal coil:" several fell in Spain-others died in India; but there are yet some few remaining who must look back upon that day with welltreasured gratification. Of the juniors, numbers became early victims to the diseases incidental to an eastern cline; many attained to rank,

and breathed their last breath upon the field of battle; and I could name three or four yet living, who are enjoying honourable distinction and meritorious titles, achieved in the "cannon's mouth."

The day was drawing to a close, when the signal was made for departure, and by request, our party was to take the lead,—and a pretty lead it was. Our pace up the mountain had been tolerably sober, but down again, the reckless youngsters, cheered by the dance and inspirited by that generous liquid, which a writer describes as a compound "of the juice of women's tongues and lions' hearts," rattled away at a most tremendous pace, and had not many of the asses been the wiser animals of the two, both donkey and rider would have perished together. As it was, there were some tremendous falls, and though no bones were broken, yet many received severe contusions and bruises. It was in vain that the guides reiterated their cautions, and wrung their hands in agony. It is true, they cared but little whether our necks were broke or not; but it was quite another thing with respect to the creatures we were mounted upon,-they were their own property. At last we got into one general chase and pushed on, helter-skelter, that a spectator would have shuddered to behold; when, on turning an angle of the road, and before we could do anything to avoid or prevent it, we had capsized and rode completely over a gentleman, who was leisurely trotting his horse towards the town; and how he escaped death has always been a mystery to me. But he did escape, and that, too, without much injury. As soon as we could arrest the career of our animals, we returned back upon the road and met the individual who had suffered from our reckless conduct: he was again mounted, but presenting a miserable figure, his clothes, which had been made in the first style of fashion, rent and tattered, and dirty, the blood trickling down his face from a cut in the head,-and his countenance as rueful as it is possible to conceive, yet I immediately recognized the dandy cadet Beaumgardte. The moment Pascoe discovered who it was, he hastily went towards him and apologised in the most humble terms of regret; but the humility of his manner only served to increase the irritability of the other, who loaded my poor messmate with invective, and expressed his positive conviction that the whole was the result of design. Finding the impossibility of allaying his irascible temper we left him, and the whole cavalcade pulled up at a wine-house, where, overcome with heat and thirst, we demanded wine. The host, observing we had plenty of cash, did not hesitate to supply us with some of his best malmsey, and as we drank out of leather mugs, containing about a quart each, and the sweet wine went down refreshingly pleasant, it was swallowed with the same eager avidity that a thirsty drayman would have emptied a pot of good London porter. Measure after measure was filled, and their contents as quickly disappeared, till, as a natural consequence, the fever of thirst instead of being allayed was heightened, and at the next wine-shop a second halt was made and the drinking bout was renewed, till at least two-thirds of us were completely intoxicated, and not a few madly so. With feelings of shame I acknowledge such was the case with myself: it was the first time, however, and though an offence that will scarcely admit of a palliative in its favour, yet it arose from no love of liquor, but proceeded from the incautious manner in which I had endeavoured to cool a parched tongue; and my principal motive in mentioning this at

all is, that it may operate as a caution to young officers, should they at any time be placed in similar circumstances.

Unfortunately, whilst in this terrible state of excitement, Beaumgardte rode up; and as some of the expressions he had used were but too well remembered, restraint and discretion were set at defiance, and he was surrounded by a wild mad assemblage, who were ripe and ready for any mischief, without giving one moment's thought to its natural consequences. The unfortunate cadet, smarting with pain, and by no means deficient in courage, endeavoured to force his way through the barrier opposed to his progress; but he was prevented, overpowered, -compelled to dismount and forced to drink with us; for even dirks were drawn, and life threatened. But now a new theme of contention arose. The cadets (who greatly outnumbered us) began to think their whole body had been insulted in the person of one of the fraternity, and at first murmurings arose, which soon grew into loud and angry expressions, which, under the influence of inebriety, ended in blows.

Beaumgardte had been remounted, and detained in our centre as a prisoner; but the cadets, determined on his liberation, made a rapid attack and rescued him from our clutches. He, too, notwithstanding it had been forced upon him, had drank freely of the wine, which, operating powerfully on his already heated blood and inflamed passion, produced nearly as violent an effect upon him as it had done upon us; and as he was the aggrieved party, he was quickly installed the leader of his new friends, and a regular battle took place. I have but an imperfect recollection of what followed; but on recovering from insensibility, I found myself in a state of nudity stretched on the mess-table in the cockpit of the Lady Graves; the surgeon and his assistant had their sleeves tucked up, and with one or two of the men, were trying by severe rubbing to restore animation. I had been snatched from sudden death. It appeared from what I afterwards learned, that Pascoe and myself had made a shift to get to the Loo Rock, where the boat was to be in attendance to bring us on board, and in trying to descend I missed the steps, and tumbled from a height of nearly thirty feet into the water; happily the boat was some distance away, so that my fall was clear, without striking against anything; and on my rising to the surface, Davis had jumped overboard and supported me till I was taken into the pinnace, apparently lifeless, and conveyed on board. The means of resuscitation were used with success; and on the following morning I turned out of my hammock, my head ready to split with pain, and my body stiff with bruises.

me;

"A pretty finish we made of it last night," said Pascoe, addressing "and that lubberly cadet-though I am sorry he got hurtBeaumgardte has not only made a formal complaint to Captain Burgess, but has also interested Major Campbell in his favour; so bear a hand, my boy, and see all clear for squalls."

My head! my head! Pascoe," said I, "it feels as if it didn't belong to me. I am sick and ill, and must go to the doctor."

"You ought to be grateful you are alive," returned Pascoe; "and as for the doctor-come forud to the boasun's store-room, and let's get old Snatchblock to give us a drop of brandy from my old dad's storemy head is filled with proclamations. But I say, Grummett, the most remarkable occurrence of last night is, that Marshall came on board