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- 12180
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- 2026-01-30T20:48:14.846Z
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- 12101
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- ship-papers in his hand, and one by one called their names; and in
mellow bank notes—beautiful sight!—paid them their wages.
Most of them had less than ten, a few twenty, and two, thirty dollars
coming to them; while the old cook, whose piety proved profitable in
restraining him from the expensive excesses of most seafaring men, and
who had taken no pay in advance, had the goodly round sum of seventy
dollars as his due.
Seven ten dollar bills! each of which, as I calculated at the time, was
worth precisely one hundred dimes, which were equal to one thousand
cents, which were again subdivisible into fractions. So that he now
stepped into a fortune of seventy thousand American _“mitts.”_ Only
seventy dollars, after all; but then, it has always seemed to me, that
stating amounts in sounding fractional sums, conveys a much fuller
notion of their magnitude, than by disguising their immensity in such
aggregations of value, as doubloons, sovereigns, and dollars. Who would
not rather be worth 125,000 francs in Paris, than only £5000 in London,
though the intrinsic value of the two sums, in round numbers, is pretty
much the same.
With a scrape of the foot, and such a bow as only a negro can make, the
old cook marched off with his fortune; and I have no doubt at once
invested it in a grand, underground oyster-cellar.
The other sailors, after counting their cash very carefully, and seeing
all was right, and not a bank-note was dog-eared, in which case they
would have demanded another: for they are not to be taken in and
cheated, your sailors, and they know their rights, too; at least, when
they are at liberty, after the voyage is concluded:— the sailors also
salaamed, and withdrew, leaving Harry and me face to face with the
Paymaster-general of the Forces.
We stood awhile, looking as polite as possible, and expecting every
moment to hear our names called, but not a word did we hear; while the
captain, throwing aside his accounts, lighted a very fragrant cigar,
took up the morning paper—I think it was the Herald—threw his leg over
one arm of the chair, and plunged into the latest intelligence from all
parts of the world.
I looked at Harry, and he looked at me; and then we both looked at this
incomprehensible captain.
At last Harry hemmed, and I scraped my foot to increase the
disturbance.
The Paymaster-general looked up.
“Well, where do you come from? Who are _you,_ pray? and what do you
want? Steward, show these young gentlemen out.”
“I want my money,” said Harry.
“My wages are due,” said I.
The captain laughed. Oh! he was exceedingly merry; and taking a long
inspiration of smoke, removed his cigar, and sat sideways looking at
us, letting the vapor slowly wriggle and spiralize out of his mouth.
“Upon my soul, young gentlemen, you astonish me. Are your names down in
the City Directory? have you any letters of introduction, young
gentlemen?”
“Captain Riga!” cried Harry, enraged at his impudence—“I tell you what
it is, Captain Riga; this won’t do—where’s the rhino?”
“Captain Riga,” added I, “do you not remember, that about four months
ago, my friend Mr. Jones and myself had an interview with you in this
very cabin; when it was agreed that I was to go out in your ship, and
receive three dollars per month for my services? Well, Captain Riga, I
have gone out with you, and returned; and now, sir, I’ll thank you for
my pay.”
“Ah, yes, I remember,” said the captain. _“Mr. Jones!_ Ha! ha! I
remember Mr. Jones: a very gentlemanly gentleman; and stop—_you,_ too,
are the son of a wealthy French importer; and—let me think—was not your
great-uncle a barber?”
“No!” thundered I.
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