at first; the people at the inn have been down on me."
"What have they charged your honour, if I may ax?"
"Rather tell me first, Mr J—, how many glasses I ought to pay for. We'll soon see then who has been trying it on me."
"Certainly, measter," answered Steeve, and he scratched his head as if in calculation. Then, after the pause, he added, "I can't recollict noan after the zix-and-thirtieth."
Whereupon his representative said he thought he would pay the score without further taxing.
The next example was in a much higher walk of life – a gallant admiral who at his London club used to consume nightly eleven tumblers of whisky-toddy. On a certain day he learned that he had been appointed to an important command, and that evening, in honour of the event, he increased his whack by ten tumblers, making it twenty-one tumblers all told.
AN ANECDOTE – SCIENCE VERSUS FICTION.
Perhaps I have said too much about excessive drinking, which, as we may fairly hope, is becoming unpopular. If so, I will try to compensate for the error by saying something about another admiral who was certainly open to no reproach on the score of self-indulgence, but noted for good and gallant service of which he bore the marks on his person. This fine old sailor, having his flag flying on board a line-of-battle ship in the West Indies, was taking the general officer then commanding the land forces round the islands, that he might pleasantly and rapidly visit the different stations of his command. As they were passing the island of St Lucia, the admiral pointed to a small sugar-loaf-shaped rock close to it, named Pigeon Island, and said, – "That barren-looking cone will always have an interest for me because, insignificant as it is, it was the scene of my first real separate responsibility." On being asked what the position was to which he alluded, he went on to say: "I am speaking of the day when we took the island – long enough ago now. I was a very small actor in the affair; but they considered it necessary to occupy Pigeon Island, and they had not at first troops immediately disposable to send thither. The consequence was, that I, with two or three boats' crews, was ordered to land there and hold the rock until I should be relieved of my charge by a military officer. Proud enough I was of my position. I was governor of an island for several hours. At length my government came to an end; for an ensign with a party came to relieve me. So I handed over my government to Mr Somebody-or-other – I haven't the least recollection of his name or regiment – and retired once more into very subordinate life."
Whereupon the general, who had been listening to the story with much interest, sprang to his feet, brought his right hand down with emphasis on his left, and exclaimed –
"And, by G—, I was the man who came and relieved you!"
The remarkable thing was, that these two chiefs, who had now grown old and grey in the service, had never again seen each other since, as lads, they hastily exchanged duties, until they came together as commanders – and that,
