'It stands to reason, not,' argued Jack Sheavehole, 'or, what's the use of a fellow having the stuff sarved out at all? Short allowance only brings a mist afore the eyes and circumpollygates the head till everything looms, like Beachy in a fog. But when you've your full whack, it clears the daylights, cherishes the cockles o' your heart, and makes you more handy, 'cause you often sees two first leftenants where there's ounly one.' 'Dat berry true, massa Jack,' said Mungo Pearl; 'me al'ays sweep de deck more clean when me tink me hab two broom in me hand.'

'In course,' continued Joe, more soothed: 'none but a Jolly would go to say anything again it, or doubt the woracity o' the thing. Well, shipmates, to heave ahead, I'm saying I was reg'larly bamblustercated when one of the genelmen up in the niches squeaks out, King Herod, I'll just thank you for a thimblefull of the stuff.'

'Did he say 'a thimble-full?' inquired Sam Slick, the tailor. It couldn't be a professional thimble, then, for they never has no tops to 'em. It shows, however, the antickity of thimbles; though I thought they never had any use for them in those days.'

"And why not you lubber?' asked Bob Martingale. 'Simply because their garments were not sewed together as they are in the present day,' answered the tailor.

"Tell that to the marines, Sam,' said the boatswain's mate; 'why what was Clipsypaddy ree's needle for, eh? But, get on, Joe; there's no conwincing such ignoramasses.'

'Ay, ay, messmate!' uttered Joe. Well,' says the genelman in the niche, 'I'll thank you for a thimbleful of that 'ere stuff.'-'With all the pleasure in life, your honour,' says I as I filled up the tot, and was going to carry it to him, but 'Give it to me, I'll take it,' says King Herod;' and up he gets,-my eyes! I never seed such a queer little ould chap in all my life!—and off he bolts to t'other mummy, steering precious wild, by the way; and he tips him the likser witey, and then back again he comes, and brings up in his ould anchorage. May I make bould to ax your majesty,' says I, 'what the name o' that genelman is as you've just sarved out the stuff to?'-'He's not a genelman, not by no manner o' means,' says he, in regard of his being a king.'-'And King who?' axes I. 'You're werry quizative, Muster Sailor,' says he; 'but it's in the natur o' things to want to know your company. That's King Hangabull.'-'And a devilish queer name, too,' says I, 'for a fellow to turn into his hammock with. Is he of Irish distraction?'-'His mother was an Irishman,' says the king, and his father came out of a Cartridge.'-'And a pretty breed they'd make of it,' says I, 'somut atwixt a salt cod and a marmaid.'-'Will you steal me a mummy?' comes the whisper again; 'you'd better, Joe.'-'No

threats, if you please,' says I.-'I never threatened you,' says the king, who thought I was directing my discourse to him; but, sailor, I must call over all their names now to see there's none absent without leave,' and I'm blow'd if he didn't begin with King Fairer; but there was a whole fleet of King Fairers and King Rabshakers, and King Dollyme, and ever so many more, every one answering muster, as if it had been a rope-yarn Sunday for a clean shirt and a shave, till at last I got fairly foozlified, and hove down on my beamends as fast asleep as a parish-clerk in sarmon time.'

'A pretty yarn you're spinning there, Mister Joe,' said old Savage, who it was evident had been listening, as he had often done both before and since he mounted his uniform coat:-'A pretty yarn you're spinning. I wonder you arn't afeard to pay out the slack o' your lies in that fashion.'

'It's all true as Gospel; Muster Savage,' responded Joe: 'I seed it, and suffered it myself, and afore I dropped asleep-'Mayhap,' thinks I, 'if I could steal a mummy for myself to give to my ould mother, it 'ud be a reg'lar fortin to her,-dead two thousand years, and yet drink brandy and chaw tobacco!' So I sleeps pretty sound, though for how many bells I'm blessed if I can tell; but I was waked up by a raking fire abaft, that warmed my starn, and I sits upright to clear my eyes of the spray, and there laid King Herod alongside of me, with one of the canteens as a pillow, and all the ould chaps had come down out o' their niches, and formed a complete circle round us, that made me fancy all sorts of conjuration and bedevilment; so I jumps up on to my feet, and lets fly my broadsides to starboard and port, now and then throwing out a long shot ahead, and occasionally discharging my starn chasers abaft till I'd floored all the mummies, and the whole place wrung with shouts of laughter, though not a living soul could I see, nor dead uns either,-seeing as they'd nothing but bodies. Well, shipmates, if the thought didn't come over me again about bolting with one on 'em, and so I catches up King Herod, and away I starts up some steps,-for the moon had got the watch on deck by that time, and showed her commodore's light to make every thing plain:-Away I starts with King Herod, who began to hollow out like fun, 'Stop-stop, sailor! stop!-where are you going to take me? I'm Corporal Stunt.'-Corporal H—!' says I, 'you arn't going to do me in that way, you said yourself you was King Herod.'-'It was all a trick,' says he, again, kicking and sputtering like blazes; 'I'm not King Herod, I'm only Corporal Stunt,' says he. That be d-;' says I, 'you're conwicted by your own mouth. And didn't the woice tell me you was the barbarous blaggard as murdered the babbies?'-'Yes,-yes; but I did it myself,' says he.-'I know you did,' says I, fetching him a poke in the ribs,-for, shipmates, I made sure he warn't pri

vileged above ground,-'I know you did,' says I, ‘and I'm blessed if the first leftenant shan't bring you to the gangway for it!' And then he shouts out, and I hears the sound of feet astarn coming up in chase, and I carries on a taut press, till I catches sight of Clipsypad dyree's needle, that sarved me for a beacon, and I hears the whole fleet of mummies come 'pad-pad' in my wake, and hailing from their leather-lungs, 'Stop, sailor-stop!' but I know'd a trick worth two of that, shipmates; so I made more sail, and the little ould chap tries to shift ballast so as to bring me down by the head; but it wouldn't do, and he kept crying out, ‘Let me down! pray let me go, I'm ounly Corporal Stunt!' -Corporal Stunt or Corporal Devil,' says I, giving him another punch to keep him quiet; I knows who you are, and I'm blessed if the ould woman shan't have you packed up in a glass cage for a show! you shall have plenty o' pigtail and brandy:' and on I carries, every stitch set, and rattling along at a ten-knot pace, afeard o' nothing but their sending a handful o' monyments arter me from their bow-chasers, that might damage some of my spars. At last I makes out the battery, and bore up for the entrance, when one of the sodgers, as was sentry, hails, 'Who goes there?' 'No-no!' says I, seeing as I warn't even a petty officer. That won't do,' says the sodger; 'you must give the countersign.'-'What the blazes should I know about them there things?' axes I, 'you may see I'm a blue-jacket.'-'You can't pass without the countersign,' says he.-"That be d-d!' says I, 'arn't I got King Herod here? and arn't there King Fairer, and King Dollyme, and King Hangabull, and a whole fleet more on 'em in chase!' says I.-'Oh, Tom Morris, is that you?' says King Herod.-'Yes,' says the sentry; 'why, I say, sailor, you've got hould o' the corporal!'-Tell that to the marines,' says I, for I knows well enough who he is, and so shall my ould mother when I gets him home! But, I'm blessed, but here they come!' and, shipmates, I heard 'em quite plain close aboard o' me, so that it was all my eye to be backing and filling palavering there afore the sentry, and get captured, and with that I knocks him down with King Herod, and in I bolts with my prize right into the officer's quarters. 'Halloo! who the devil have we got here?' shouts the leftenant, starting up from his cot.-'It's not the devil, your honour,' says I, 'not by no manner o' means; it's Joe Nighthead, and King Herod,' and I pitches the wagabone upright on to his lower stancheons afore the officer. There, your majesty,' says I, 'now speak for yourself.’— 'Majesty' says the leftenant, onshipping the ould fellow's turban and overhauling his face,-'majesty!' why, it's the corporal-Corporal Stunt; and pray, Muster Corporal, what cruise have you been on tonight?'-and then there was the clattering of feet in the battery, and, 'Here they all are, your honour!' says

I, 'all the culd ancient kings of Egypt as are rigged out for mummies. My eyes, take care o' the grog bottles, for them fellows are the very devil's own at a dram! Stand by, your honour! there's King Dollyme and all on 'em close aboard of us! but, I'm blowed if I don't floor some on 'em again as I did in the wault!' Well, messmates, in they came; but, instead of mummies in their oil jars, I'm bless'd if they warn't rigged out like sodger officers, and they stood laughing at me ready to split their sides when they saw me squaring away my yards all clear for action.'

'But, what was they, Joe?' inquired the boatswain's mate, they must have shifted their rigging pretty quick.'

I think I can explain it all,' said the sergeant, laughing heartily, for I happened to be there at the time, though I had no idea that our friend Joe here was the man we played the trick on.'

'Just mind how you shapes your course, Muster Sergeant!' exclaimed Joe, angrily. I'd only give you one piece of good ad wice,-don't be falling athwart my hawse, or mayhap you may wish yourself out o' this.'

'Don't be testy, Joe,' said the sergeant, on my honour I'll tell you the truth. Shipmates, the facts are these:-I belonged to the party in the battery, and went with some of the officers to explore a burial-ground, not without hopes of picking up a prize or two, as the report was that the mummies had plates of gold on their breasts. Corporal Stunt went with us; and, when we got to the place we lighted torches and commenced examination, but, if they ever had any gold about them the French had been there before us, for we found none. Whilst we were exploring, a storm came on, and not being able to leave the vault the officers dressed Stunt up in some of the cerements that had been unrolled from the mummies by way of amusement, little expecting the fun that it was afterward to produce. When Jo came in as he has described, we all hid ourselves, and. if truth must be spoken, he was more than half sprung.' Joe grumbled out an expletive. Stunt went to him, and we had as fine a piece of pantomime—'

'Panter what?' uttered Joe, with vehemence, there's no such rope in the top, you lubber! and arter all you can say I werily believes it wur King Herod; but, you see, messmates, what with running so hard, and what with losing my canteens, I got dumbfoundered all as once, and then they claps me in limbo for knocking down the sentry.'

'And the officers begged you off,' said the sergeant, on account of the fun they'd enjoyed, and you was sent away on board, to keep you out of further mischief, Joe, and to prevent your going a mummy-hunting again. As for Corporal Stunt

"Corporal D-n!' exclaimed Joe in a rage, 'it's all gammon about your Corporal Stunt; and in regard o'