Chapter 8

SELVAGEE CONTRASTED WITH MAD-JACK.

Having glanced at the grand divisions of a man-of-war, let us now
descend to specialities: and, particularly, to two of the junior
lieutenants; lords and noblemen; members of that House of Peers,
the gun-room. There were several young lieutenants on board; but
from these two--representing the extremes of character to be
found in their department--the nature of the other officers of
their grade in the Neversink must be derived.

One of these two quarter-deck lords went among the sailors by a
name of their own devising--Selvagee. Of course, it was intended
to be characteristic; and even so it was.

In frigates, and all large ships of war, when getting under
weigh, a large rope, called a _messenger_ used to carry the
strain of the cable to the capstan; so that the anchor may be
weighed, without the muddy, ponderous cable, itself going round
the capstan. As the cable enters the hawse-hole, therefore,
something must be constantly used, to keep this travelling chain
attached to this travelling _messenger_; something that may be
rapidly wound round both, so as to bind them together. The
article used is called a _selvagee_. And what could be better
adapted to the purpose? It is a slender, tapering, unstranded
piece of rope prepared with much solicitude; peculiarly flexible;
and wreathes and serpentines round the cable and messenger like
an elegantly-modeled garter-snake round the twisted stalks of a
vine. Indeed, _Selvagee_ is the exact type and symbol of a tall,
genteel, limber, spiralising exquisite. So much for the
derivation of the name which the sailors applied to the Lieutenant.

From what sea-alcove, from what mermaid's milliner's shop, hast
thou emerged, Selvagee! with that dainty waist and languid cheek?
What heartless step-dame drove thee forth, to waste thy fragrance
on the salt sea-air?

Was it _you_, Selvagee! that, outward-bound, off Cape Horn,
looked at Hermit Island through an opera-glass? Was it _you_, who
thought of proposing to the Captain that, when the sails were
furled in a gale, a few drops of lavender should be dropped in
their "bunts," so that when the canvas was set again, your
nostrils might not be offended by its musty smell? I do not _say_
it was you, Selvagee; I but deferentially inquire.

In plain prose, Selvagee was one of those officers whom the sight
of a trim-fitting naval coat had captivated in the days of his
youth. He fancied, that if a _sea-officer_ dressed well, and
conversed genteelly, he would abundantly uphold the honour of
his flag, and immortalise the tailor that made him. On that rock
many young gentlemen split. For upon a frigate's quarter-deck, it
is not enough to sport a coat