" Strand was a gray-headed seaman, and he had served with Captain Cuffe when the latter was a midshipman, and had even commanded the top of which the present boatswain had been the captain.

The boatswain, set over this work, was a seaman of great coolness, who inspired Captain Hull with every confidence.

A boatswain on board an English ship-of-war is a more important personage than he is apt to be on board an American.