Now what did all this mean? Why, just this. They had found some of the gingerbread not done quite through. That was all. On board of most ships they would have been hard at work with "all hands on deck," all the afternoon, and had hard bread and beef only for supper. No doubt they would have enlivened the meal by growling about that in just the same way. In spite of all his mutterings in the forecastle, this man Nielson would come out on deck and be a model man in his behavior. His cheerful, "Aye, aye, sir!" would ring out to every order, and his respectful manners joined to his good seamanship had made him a favorite with captain and officers. The explanation of this unreasonable conduct is that expressed in the well-known lines of Dr. Watts: "Let bears and lions growl and fight, For 'tis their nature to." So it is with an old sailor, he must growl. Officers of ships often say, they would not give a snap for a sailor that didn't growl, and there is a good deal of truth in the remark. It by no means follows that all who growl are good men, but it is certainly a fact that most of the thorough-going old sailors are inveterate growlers. This growling is a natural result of the life they lead. Spleen enters more or less into the constitution of every one's character, and all, at times, desire an opportunity of exercising this latent spite upon some person or thing. The man on shore has a wide range of objects upon which to scatter it. There are his household and family arrangements, his employment and business relations, the religious tenets of others, the affairs of his city and the politics of the country. He comes home from his day's business with an accumulation of spleen, resulting from numerous annoyances. His good breeding and consideration perhaps keep him from venting it upon his family, and he holds it in until after tea; then he takes up the evening paper, glances over its contents and entertains his patient wife or a friendly neighbor with a good, hearty growl about the stupidity of the cabinet officers, the short-sightedness of the President, the absurdity of the financial policy, and then berates a politician for his foolish speech. Now his pent-up wrath has escaped. He feels easier. Gradually cheerful conversation creeps in as his shrewd companion notices his subsiding temper. Soon all his vexations have escaped his mind or become far lighter burdens, and the next morning he walks down town with a good courage and joyous heart.