EARLYthenextmorningthestarboardwatchweremustereduponthequarter-deck，andourworthycaptain，standinginthecabingangway，haranguedusasfollows:-

　　“Now，men，aswearejustoffasixmonths’cruise，andhavegotthroughmostallourworkinporthere，Isupposeyouwanttogoashore。Well，Imeantogiveyourwatchlibertyto-day，soyoumaygetreadyassoonasyouplease，andgo；butunderstandthis，IamgoingtogiveyoulibertybecauseIsupposeyouwouldgrowllikesomanyoldquartergunnersIdidn’t；atthesametime，ifyou’lltakemyadvice，everymother’ssonofyouwillstayaboard，andkeepoutofthewayofthebloodycannibalsaltogether。Tentoone，men，ifyougoashore，youwillgetintosomeinfernalrow，andthatwillbetheendofyou；forifthesetattooedscoundrelsgetyoualittlewaysbackintotheirvalleys，they’llnabyou-thatyoumaybecertainof。Plentyofwhitemenhavegoneashorehereandneverbeenseenanymore。TherewastheoldDido，sheputinhereabouttwoyearsago，andsentonewatchoffonliberty；theyneverwereheardofagainforaweek-thenativessworetheydidn’tknowwheretheywere-andonlythreeofthemevergotbacktotheshipagain，andonewithhisfacedamagedforlife，forthecursedheathenstattooedabroadpatchcleanacrosshisfigure-head。Butitwillbenousetalkingtoyou，forgoyouwill，thatIseeplainly；soallIhavetosayis，thatyouneednotblamemeiftheislandersmakeamealofyou。Youmaystandsomechanceofescapingthemthough，ifyoukeepcloseabouttheFrenchencampment，andarebacktotheshipagainbeforesunset。

　　Keepthatmuchinyourmind，ifyouforgetalltherestI’vebeensayingtoyou。There，goforward:bearahandandrigyourselves，andstandbyforacall。Attwobellstheboatwillbemannedtotakeyouoff，andtheLordhavemercyonyou！“

　　Variousweretheemotionsdepicteduponthecountenancesofthestarboardwatchwhilstlisteningtothisaddress；butonitsconclusiontherewasageneralmovetowardstheforecastle，andwesoonwereallbusilyengagedingettingreadyfortheholidaysoauspiciouslyannouncedbytheskipper。Duringthesepreparations，hisharanguewascommenteduponinnoverymeasuredterms；andoneoftheparty，afterdenouncinghimasalyingoldsonofasea-cookwhobegrudgedafellowafewhours’liberty，exclaimedwithanoath，“Butyoudon’tbouncemeoutofmyliberty，oldchap，forallyouryarns；forIwouldgoashoreifeverypebbleonthebeachwasalivecoal，andeverystickagridiron，andthecannibalsstoodreadytobroilmeonlanding。“

　　Thespiritofthissentimentwasrespondedtobyallhands，andweresolvedthatinspiteofthecaptain’scroakingswewouldmakeagloriousdayofit。

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