Wherever I happen to be, whether in town or at a seaport, the sight
of a genuine tar has a fascination for me, and I feel bound to speak
to the man, if he is at all a decent person and has a civil and clean
tongue. I find that the average sailor is a very reticent fellow on
first acquaintance, probably taking every landsman for a shark; and as
that is his belief, he is very wary of strangers who may wish to engage
him in conversation. No doubt, in ports all over the world, Jack meets
with plenty of unprincipled people, ready to take advantage of him in
any way that presents itself, and, knowing this, he is consequently on
his guard, and in time looks with doubt upon all strangers, as possible
enemies, sailing under false colours. Thus is Jack taciturn on first
acquaintanceship, both at home or abroad, but when once he finds that
he has a friend to deal with, his tongue is loosened and the bulkhead
of cautious reserve soon battered down, and he will then fire off his
jokes and yarns in a most amicable and boisterous manner.
Old John Beamish, whom I met in the port of Aberdeen, was one of
these peculiarly reserved men, carrying his character in his face, as
a stout, true, hard-headed North Briton; and it was only after several
friendly “cracks” that I could at all thaw the apparently austere
Captain Beamish.
The gallant skipper no doubt put me down as a bad lot, seeing that I
lived in a gipsy-van, and when I informed him that I only wandered
about for my own pleasure, tapped his short fat forefinger on his
nose, which I took to be a sign that my statement was somewhat open to
doubt. He could not conceive that any sane person, with a fair income,
should live on wheels, with no permanent address, when the said income
would provide “a nice snug little house, with a tidy bit of garden, a
summer-house, and a tall flagstaff, for its possessor.”
However, after I had persuaded the captain to pay me several visits,
he came to the conclusion that I might by some chance be speaking the
truth after all, and we had several pleasant evenings, which were
passed in chatting, cards, and whisky. Captain John loved cribbage very
much, but whisky more; and, on one or two occasions, I had to steady
him as he took his departure from my van, the step-ladder, or companion
as he called it, being very steep.
When I broached the subject of hypnotism the good man was unfeignedly
alarmed, and I fully believe placed my cards, whisky, and hospitality
down to a bad cause. I think he expected I had been luring him on to
rob him, or take some other advantage of him, and for several days I
could not prevail upon him to spend another evening with me, until I
informed him that I was to depart in a day or two. Then I invited him
to pay me a farewell visit. My invitation was accepted, and he came,
but I very soon noticed one thing, and that was, that he had left his
watch at home.
He played and drank as usual, and as the evening wore on he mellowed
under the influence of “mountain dew.” With each successive draught his
uneasiness gradually disappeared, until he became quite communicative;
and then--well then, feeling for all the world like a murderer--I added
him to the number of my victims.