And Now a Few Words

"He can be very agreeable companion, of course, but there times when he shows that particularly beefy arrogant English insensibility...and there is certainly one thing that jars on me—his great eagerness for prizes.  The sloop's discipline is more like that of a starving privateer than a King's ship."

"'It is a cant expression we have in the Navy. The swab is this' - patting his epaulette - 'and when we first ship it, we wet it: that is to say, we drink a bottle or two of wine.'"