Chapter 42 - Page 2

order--like housemaids, whose business it is to
keep well-polished the knobs on the front door railing and the
parlour-grates.

Excepting the ring-bolts, eye-bolts, and belaying-pins scattered
about the decks, this bright-work, as it is called, is principally
about the guns, embracing the "_monkey-tails_" of the carronades,
the screws, _prickers_, little irons, and other things.

The portion that fell to my own share I kept in superior order,
quite equal in polish to Rogers's best cutlery. I received the
most extravagant encomiums from the officers; one of whom offered
to match me against any brazier or brass-polisher in her British
Majesty's Navy. Indeed, I devoted myself to the work body and
soul, and thought no pains too painful, and no labour too
laborious, to achieve the highest attainable polish possible for
us poor lost sons of Adam to reach.

Upon one occasion, even, when woollen rags were scarce, and no
burned-brick was to be had from the ship's Yeoman, I sacrificed
the corners of my woollen shirt, and used some dentrifice I had,
as substitutes for the rags and burned-brick. The dentrifice
operated delightfully, and made the threading of my carronade
screw shine and grin again, like a set of false teeth in an eager
heiress-hunter's mouth.

Still another mode of passing time, was arraying yourself in your
best "_togs_" and promenading up and down the gun-deck, admiring
the shore scenery from the port-holes, which, in an amphitheatrical
bay like Rio--belted about by the most varied and charming scenery
of hill, dale, moss, meadow, court, castle, tower, grove, vine,
vineyard, aqueduct, palace, square, island, fort--is very much
like lounging round a circular cosmorama, and ever and anon
lazily peeping through the glasses here and there. Oh! there is
something worth living for, even in our man-of-war world;
and one glimpse of a bower of grapes, though a cable's length off,
is almost satisfaction for dining off a shank-bone salted down.

This promenading was chiefly patronised by the marines, and
particularly by Colbrook, a remarkably handsome and very
gentlemanly corporal among them. He was a complete lady's man;
with fine black eyes, bright red cheeks, glossy jet whiskers, and
a refined organisation of the whole man. He used to array himself
in his regimentals, and saunter about like an officer of the
Coldstream Guards, strolling down to his club in St. James's.
Every time he passed me, he would heave a sentimental sigh, and
hum to himself "_The girl I left behind me_." This fine corporal
afterward became a representative in the Legislature of the State
of New Jersey; for I saw his name returned about a year after my
return home.