First one large boat crammed with men, who sat even on the gunwales, moved slowly away; then another and another followed; a lubberly thing, half lighter, half jolly-boat, was soon loaded with baggage, amid which some soldiers' wives and a scattering population of babies were seen; till by degrees the deck was cleared, and none remained of all that vast multitude, save the "mate" and the "watch," who proceeded to get things "ship-shape,"--pretty much in the same good-tempered spirit servants are accustomed to put the drawing-rooms to rights, after an entertainment which has kept them up till daylight, and allows of no time for sleep. Till then I had not the slightest conception of what a voyage ended meant, and that when the anchor dropped from the bow, a scene of bustle ensued, to which nothing at sea bore any proportion. Now, I had no friends; no one came to welcome me,--none asked for _my_ name. The officers, even the captain, in the excitement of arriving, had forgotten all about me; so that when the mate put the question to me, "why I didn't go ashore?" I had no other answer to give him than the honest one, "that I had nothing to do when I got there." "I suppose you know how to gain a livin' one way or t' other, my lad?" said he, with a very disparaging glance out of the corner of his eye. "I am ashamed to say, sir, that I do not." "Well, I never see'd Picaroons starve,--that's a comfort you have; but as we don't mean to mess you here, you 'd better get your kit on deck, and prepare to go ashore." Now, the kit alluded to was the chest of clothes given to me by the captain, which, being bestowed for a particular purpose, and with an object now seemingly abandoned or forgotten, I began to feel scruples as to my having any claim to. Like an actor whose engagement had been for one part, I did not think myself warranted in carrying away the wardrobe of my character; besides, who should tell how the captain might resent such conduct on my side? I might be treated as a thief,--I, Con Cregan, who had registered a solemn vow in my own heart to be a "gentleman"! Such an indignity should not be entertained, even in thought. Yet was it very hard for one in possession of such an admirable wardrobe to want a dinner; for one so luxuriously apparelled on the outside, to be so lamentably unprovided within. From the solution of this knotty question I was most fortunately preserved by the arrival of a corporal of the--th, who came with an order from Captain Pike that I should at once repair to his quarters in the Upper Town. Not being perhaps in his captain's confidence, nor having any very clear notion of my precise station in life,--for I was dressed in an old cloak and a foraging-cap,--the corporal delivered his message to me with a military salute, and a certain air of deference very grateful to my feelings. "Have you a boat alongside, Corporal?" said I, as I lounged listlessly on the binnacle. "Yes, sir; a pair of oars,--will that do?"