Her foremast and bowsprit were immensely strong and heavy, and her
mainmast was so long and tapering, that the wonder was, how the few
shrouds and stays about it could support it: it was the handsomest stick
we had ever seen. Her upper spars were on the same scale, tapering away
through topmast, topgallant--mast, royal and skysail--masts, until they
fined away into slender wands. The sails, that were loose to dry, were
old, and patched, And evidently displayed to cloak the character of the
vessel, by an ostentatious show of their unserviceable condition, but her
rigging was beautifully fitted, every rope lying in the chafe of another
being carefully served with hide. There were several large
bushy--whiskered fellows lounging about the deck, with their hair
gathered into dirty net bags, like the fishermen of Barcelona; many had
red silk sashes round their waists, through which were stuck their long
knives, in shark--skin sheaths. Their numbers were not so great as to
excite suspicion; but a certain daring reckless manner, would at once
have distinguished them, independently of any thing else, from the quiet,
hard--worked, redshirted merchant seaman.
"That chap is not much to be trusted," said the Lieutenant; "his bunting
would make a few jackets for Joseph, I take it." But we had little time to
be critical before our friend Peter came paddling back with another
blackamoor in the stem, of as ungainly an exterior as could well be,
imagined.
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