"'We were talking of that unlucky adventure the other day,' said Westwood, glancing at me, but rather taken aback, as I thought. 'Ay?' said I, carelessly. 'Yes,' continued he; 'Miss Hyde had no idea you and I were particularly acquainted, and seems to think me a respectable clergyman, but I must tell you, Ned, she has rather a suspicious opinion of yourself!' 'Oh, indeed!' said I, suddenly. 'Fact, Ned,' said he; 'she even remembers having seen you before, somewhere or other--I hope, my dear fellow, it wasn't on the stage?' 'Ha! ha! how amusing!' I said, with the best laugh I could get up. 'At any rate, Collins,' he went on, 'she sees through your feigned way of carrying on, and knows you're neither griffin nor land-lubber, but a sailor, for I fancy this is not the first time the young lady has met with the cloth! _What_ do you suppose she asked me now, quite seriously?' 'Oh, I couldn't guess, of course,' replied I, almost with a sneer; 'pray don't----' 'Why, she inquired what could be the design of one concealing his profession so carefully--and actually appearing to be on a secret understanding with some of the sailors! Directly after, she asked whether that brig mightn't really have been a pirate, and taken off the poor general, Miss Fortescue, and the rest?' 'Ah,' said I, coldly, 'and if I might venture to ask, what did you----' 'Oh, of course,' replied Westwood, laughing, 'I could only hide my amusement and profess doubts, you know, Ned!' 'Very good joke, Mr Westwood,' thought I to myself, 'but at least you can't weather on _me_ quite so innocently, my fine fellow! I didn't _think_ it of him, after all! By Heaven, I did _not_!' "'By-the-by, Collins,' exclaimed Westwood in a little, as he kept his eye astern, 'there's something away yonder on our lee quarter that I've been watching for these last ten minutes--what do you think it may be? Look! just in the tail of the moonshine yonder!' What it might be, I cared little enough at the time, but I did give a glance, and saw a little black dot, as it were, rising and falling with the long run of the water, apparently making way before the breeze. 'Only a bit of wood, I daresay,' remarked I; 'but whatever it is, at any rate, the drift will take it far to leeward of us, so you needn't mind.' Here we heard a steward come up and say to the first officer, who was waiting with the rest to take a lunar observation, that Captain Williamson had turned in unwell, but he wanted to hear when they found the longitude; accordingly they got their altitude, and went on making the calculations on deck. 'Well, steward,' said the mate, after a little humming and hawing, 'go down and tell the captain, in the meantime, about _five east_; but I think it's a good deal over the mark--say I'll be down myself directly.'