He was a remarkably
tall man, and was obliged to stoop as he passed along between
decks. The prisoners were disposed for a frolic, and kept the officer
in their company for some time, flattering him with expectations, till
he discovered their insincerity, and left them in no very pleasant
humor. As he passed along, bending his body and bringing his broad
shoulders to nearly a horizontal position, the idea occurred to our
minds to furnish him with some recruits from the colony in the snuff
box. A favorable opportunity presented, the cover of the box was
removed, and the whole contents discharged upon the red-coated back of
the officer. Three cheers from the prisoners followed the migration,
and the officer ascended to the deck, unconscious of the number and
variety of the recruits he had obtained without the formality of an
enlistment. The captain of the ship, suspecting that some joke had
been practised, or some mischief perpetrated, from the noise below,
met the officer at the head of the gangway, and seeing the vermin
crawling up his shoulders, and aiming at his head, with the instinct
peculiar to them, exclaimed, 'Hoot mon! what's the maitter wi' your
back!' * * * By this time many of them in their wanderings, had
travelled from the rear to the front, and showed themselves, to the
astonishment of the officer. He flung off his coat, in a paroxysm of
rage, which was not allayed by three cheers from the prisoners on
deck.
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