The captain watched me very closely, wishing to train me up in the way I should go, and many a harsh-sounding order or rebuke I got from him on deck, all the more galling because given in the presence of the men. But personally the captain seemed favorably inclined toward me, or else he feared lest I might make a report of his doings to the owner, and thus sought frequent opportunities to talk with me and smooth over my ruffled feelings. It is not customary for a captain to have any conversation with a third mate, and I was not quite sure as to his motive, though I leaned to the latter opinion, judging from the tenor of all his stories, talk and advice, which was to the sole end of discipline, or, perhaps more exactly, of fighting sailors. In consulting with the mate as to this he gave me a decided opinion. "All the old man wants," said he, "is to have you tarred with the same brush as himself, and then he thinks you wouldn't injure him ashore, for you know it doesn't do for the pot to call the kettle black." One day we were reefing the mizzen-topsail and I was astride of the yard-arm hauling out the weather earing. The captain saw from the deck that the men had not gathered up all the slack sail on top of the yard, before tying the reef-points; and he at once set up a roar of mingled oaths and orders, which, with a storm howling past my ears produced a bewildering effect. With some difficulty I divined the pith of his remarks, and gave the necessary directions; but this was not enough for the captain, who sang out to me, "What's the use of sitting there and talking to them, get up on the yard and kick their heads off." A good deal more followed, but I was too angry to hear anything else and paid no attention. The captain saw that I was rather out of sorts for the rest of the day, and in the dog-watch came up to me as I was leaning against the booby-hatch and began in his pleasant fluent way to tell me a story. "You never met Mr. Jones of Baltimore did you?" "No sir, I never did." "Well, he was my second mate, when I had the ship 'Daphne' in the China trade." I had heard from good authority on shore that the "Dublin" was the only ship Capt. Streeter had ever commanded, and since being at sea with him I had learned that Mr. Jones was his ideal officer, and whenever he wished to give a hint to his present mates upon points where he felt he could not command, his favorite and usual method was to convey it in a story about Mr. Jones, and Mr. Jones' name had already become a by-word among the officers. I knew what was coming and prepared to receive instructions.