The other personage was the first lieutenant, whom Nature had pleased to fashion in another mould. He was as tall as the captain was short--as thin as his superior was corpulent. His long, lanky legs were nearly up to the captain's shoulders; and he bowed down over the head of his superior, as if he were the crane to hoist up, and the captain the bale of goods to be hoisted. He carried his hands behind his back, with two fingers twisted together; and his chief difficulty appeared to be to reduce his own stride to the parrot march of the captain. His features were sharp and lean as was his body, and wore every appearance of a cross-grained temper. He had been making divers complaints of divers persons, and the captain had hitherto appeared imperturbable. Captain Plumbton was an even-tempered man, who was satisfied with a good dinner. Lieutenant Markitall was an odd-tempered man, who would quarrel with his bread and butter. [Illustration: _He walked with his coat flying open, his thumbs stuck into the arm-holes of his waistcoat._] 'Quite impossible, sir,' continued the first lieutenant, 'to carry on the duty without support.' This oracular observation, which, from the relative forms of the two parties, descended as it were from above, was replied to by the captain with a 'Very true.' 'Then, sir, I presume you will not object to my putting that man in the report for punishment?' 'I'll think about it, Mr. Markitall.' This, with Captain Plumbton, was as much as to say, No. 'The young gentlemen, sir, I am sorry to say, are very troublesome.' 'Boys always are,' replied the captain. 'Yes, sir; but the duty must be carried on, and I cannot do without them.' 'Very true--midshipmen are very useful.' 'But I'm sorry to say, sir, that they are not. Now, sir, there's Mr. Templemore; I can do nothing with him--he does nothing but laugh.' 'Laugh!--Mr. Markitall, does he laugh at you?' 'Not exactly, sir; but he laughs at everything. If I send him to the mast-head, he goes up laughing; if I call him down, he comes down laughing; if I find fault with him, he laughs the next minute: in fact, sir, he does nothing but laugh. I should particularly wish, sir, that you would speak to him, and see if any interference on your part----' 'Would make him cry--eh? better to laugh than cry in this world. Does he never cry, Mr. Markitall?' 'Yes, sir, and very unseasonably. The other day, you may recollect, when you punished Wilson the marine, whom I appointed to take care of his chest and hammock, he was crying the whole time; almost tantamount--at least an indirect species of mutiny on his part, as it implied----' 'That the boy was sorry that his servant was punished; I never flog a man but I'm sorry myself, Mr. Markitall.' 'Well, I do not press the question of his crying--that I might look over; but his laughing, sir, I must beg that you will take notice of that. Here he is, sir, coming up the hatchway. Mr. Templemore, the captain wishes to speak to you.'