LAND AND SEA TALES.
THE writer of these volumes is already known to the public as the author of some broad and vigorous nautical sketches, which dis- played a good deal of force and much humour, with no more resem- blance to other writers than must have arisen from the profes- sional character of the subjects. In the Tales before us, the Old Sailor seems to have aimed at higher objects than heretofore ; attempting to superadd to the interest of single scenes, graphic descriptions, or " tough yarns," that more sustained one which springs out of a continued series of events artfully interwoven. In his new capacity the writer exhibits no deficiency in inven- tion—if that may be deemed such which connectedly strings together the wild and wonderful without much regard to truth and probability. Nor is he devoid of a certain melodramatic skill, which occasionally produces what the playhouse critics call "an in- teresting situation." But to observe events is not his forte ; nor has it been his pursuit to study them. As long as the Old Sailor sticks to his own element, this defect is easily pardoned, for the sake of the truthful and forceful pictures which the story is made the vehicle of presenting. But when he confines himself to terra firma,—and endeavours, as in " The Farmer's Daughter;' to carry us back to rustic English life in the days of CHARLES the Second, and to paint the character of the persecuted Puritans, and deal with the exploits of the highwaymen of the time,—or when, as in " Bel- your Castle," he would conjure up the manners prevalent during the reigns of RICHARD the Third and HENRY the Seventh,—those only who have seen a true-bred sailor bewildered on shore, can form a notion of the " double, double, toil and trouble," the misapplied strength, which our old friend displays. " The Painter of Dort" is a briefer and a better tale than either of the preceding,—perhaps from its very brevity, which prevents any ambitious attempts at dialogue and manners. These, whose titles we have enumerated, are the Land Tales. Those of the Sea are likewise three in number. " The Great Belt" derives its name from an incident that occurred in this Passage to the Baltic, when a young officer, contrary to orders, set on shore a Danish lady whose father's life hinged on her expedi- tion : its interest turns upon his capture and subsequent trial for disobedience of orders. " I Drink to Heads," is a tale of a bush expedition into the interior of British Guiana in search of some runaway slaves; and which, besides the feeling excited for two cf the parties, is made the instrument for presenting some capi- tal sketches of tropical scenery and of Indian and Negro characters. By far the longest and most dal orate tale of the whole series, is " The Warlock." The story—which seems in its more level parts to be a narrative of actual facts—is in its romantic passages much too mysterious, and too complicated with public events, for us to unravel. Suffice it to say, that the genuine novel-reader, who little regards probability, will be delighted with the mystery of Captain Pearce and his double the Pirate-chief, as well as with the obscurity which arises from these " two Dromios " and with the manner in which it is finally explained. In the Pirate-mate, who has been driven into evil courses by the tyranny of the Aris- tocracy, and by the lash, the Radical will find arguments in favour of the Ballot and the abolition of flogging. The critical reader may slightly estimate these things, but he will be pleased with the intimate views of nautical life on a foreign station that are opened up, as well as with the sketches of naval character
and the glimpses of Colonial manners displayed, How capital — notwithstanding some occasional over-fine or over-forceful writing—is the picture of the quiet little town of Sanctos, and its simple, superstitious, heretic-hating inhabitants ; or their excitement at the arrival of the Warlock, whose crew are almost unanimously conceived to be English devils ; or the account of the watering party,—a job that, besides giving rise to all the love of the tale, presents to us a living notion of an employment so often mentioned in the older voyagers ; or the masquerade on board ; or the scenes which pave the way for it, as well as some more stirring ones on the ocean or at Rio Janiero I
.The passages alluded to are too long for extract; but we will give a couple of another kind.
THE RATIONALE OF A CHACE.
Amongst the various trying and peculiar situations in which a true son of the mean may be placed, there is perhaps none that produces more mental excite- ment than chasing or being chased. A gale of wind demands both skill and vigilance—skill in reducing the sail to a correct balance, so as to keep the ship as steady as possible without endangering the sticks or straining the timbers ; vigilance in watching the seas, easing her to them, jogging the pumps, and other necessary duties after the sail has been reduced. In an engagement, one main object is to attain the point of impunity.—and then for a keen eye, s steady hand, and hard hammering ; no one is idle, it is downright heavy la- bur—there is no time to think. Gun• tackle falls, sponges and rammer*, small-arm men, sail-trimmers, boarders, and firemen, tram the first captain down to the powder-monkey of each piece of ordnance, all is rattle and thunder and noise, yet without the slightest approach to confusion. In a storm or in a battle one master-spirit directs the whole ; but in the former, when under snug canvass, half-a-tiozen pair of watchful eyes will suffice to look out for squalls ; in the latter, every eye must be open and vigilant, every limb must be active and supple, every ear must be quick, every heart bold, to achieve the victory. In chasing, however, there must be a combination of nautical talent, an incessant application of practical knowledge without noise or bustle ; and the suggestions of tried experience, though conning from before the mast, are never despised, and where the senior is a thorough seaman, seldom neglected. When the sails are set and well-trimmed, there is plenty of leisure for active thought, and the mind becomes occupied instead of the body. The sportsman can well understand the distinctions here attempted to be drawn. In matches against time, the running horse attracts undivided attention ; in a race where there are two or more horses, each has its share of notice according to the efforts made to take the lead. Against time, the jockey has only to keep up one uniform but fleet pace ; in racing, the jockies are pressed by each other, and the cleverest generally wins.
A SAILOR'S CLASSICALITY.
" Ah ! I thought we should come to it at last," said Ben. " Young eyes are soon dazzled by female beauty, and then away their hearts are whirled into the eddies and races between the Silly and Cribdish of love ; and then they founder amongst the Syringes, who will not so much as throw them a coil of their long hair to hold on by and keep them front sinking." " Well done, Ben ! " exclaimed the Lieutenant, after indulging in a hearty laugh ; " why, you are quite poetical. Pray, where did you learn any thing of Scylla and Charybdis?" " Why, .Mr. Hamilton," answered the veteran, with solemnity, in the counsel of gray hairs is not to be despised ; and respecting them there places, our parson—it was when I was a boy in the ould Billy-roughun, up the Medi- terrancau—our parson used to compare the temptations of the world to the wharlpools off Messina and that way ; and he tould us the rocks on each side were the Silly and Cribdish of the ancients. And then he used to spin a long yarn about loose women, whom he declared were like the beautiful Syringes that floated on the green sea like a cork, but which I takes to be marmaids; and they sung Toni Tough' and Poor Tom Bowline,' and other sich like songs, with so much sweetness that they 'ticed men to destruction."
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