the Rodneyrig; these pranks of crossing the
Line were sometimes the cause of one or two
buckets being thrown overboard, with other
losses, for which he did not choose to be
responsible to the owners of the ship: in
addition to which it sometimes happened that
a passenger fell overboard, and was lost.

About one o'clock in the morning I was
awoke by a loud hooting, and clattering, and
yelling, intermingled with long guttural
screams, and short panting grunts; and then
a rush of many feet, witli shouts and laughter
all along the between decks. "What's that,
Isaac?" cried I.—"It's only a pig hunt,"
said he: "one of the pigs has got out, or
somebody has pulled him out, and now a lot
o' fellows are having a good hunt." Presently
the voice of Captain Pennysage was heard,
and suddenly he appeared in the 'tween
decks with a dark lanthorn, the bull's-eye
of which he turned right into our cabin, so
that I fell back in my berth as if shot, crying
out, "It wasn't us, sir! At this Isaac
laughed like a fool for several minutes.
Everybody had safely regained his cabin
before the captain showed his light; he
therefore declared aloud that he would put the
three ringleaders of the disturbance in irons
the next morning, and named three of the
quietest men in the ship, who had certainly
never stirred out of their cabins all night.

July 17th.—Wind blowing fresh—ship
running ten knots an hour—very quick for us.
Wind rising, men ordered to take in a flying-jib.
In consequence of many splices in a rope,
one of them got entangled, or would not run
through a block, or something of that kind,
and five men went out to clear the rigging,
when a sudden gust struck the flapping sail
and crash went the jib-boom, which instantly
fell into the sea, carrying with it, of course,
the flying jib-boom, and both sails, together
with the five men. In an instant all was
confusion on deck. Ropes were thrown over
the side for the men to catch at—the life
buoy was cut adrift, but was so jammed
that it would not fall down—some ran to
lower the quarter boats—others called out
for the life-boat to be got out—and Captain
Pennysage ran about giving all sort of orders,
and not attending to any one of them being
put into execution. Meantime the ship had
been hove to—three of the men were clinging
to the wreck of ropes and spars in the sea—
and Arrowsmith and the second mate, both
first-rate swimmers, jumped overboard, and
swam to their assistance. Just as they had
helped the third man up the side, a loud
shriek was heard to leeward, followed by a
cry from the deck of "Shark! Shark!" and
a rush of all the passengers to the leeward
side. One of the poor fellows had been taken
down by a shark. Mr. Pounderby and Mrs.
Pyke both saw it. The remaining sailor was
still swimming for his life, and crying out for
a boat. Arrowsmith and the second mate,
with excited gestures and large eyes, came
scrambling up the ship's side. A loud cry,
swelling into a combined scream, from all the
passengers! I looked over the side, and was
just in time to see the sailor, with a face as
white as a ghost, swung backwards and
disappear beneath the wave. His mouth was
wide open—I think with horror—some said he
gave a scream, but I never heard it.

Sunday, 18th.—Waits brought into the cabin
a small piece of dry touchwood. He asked
me to guess what it was. I said, "Stuff to
light a pipe with, to be sure." He said, "Yes,
it was; but what had it lately been, or what
had it been part of?"—"Of the inside of some
old rotten tree or branch," said I. Waits
folded it up in paper, and put it in his
box. "Part of the jib-boom of the Rodneyrig!
said he, "just at the place where it
broke. No wonder it broke. Two men's
lives lost by a rotten spar, and a narrow
escape for five others. That's the way to fit
out ships to make money by passengers!" I
was glad to find Isaac had so much public
spirit. "I suppose you don't object," said I,
"to my inserting what you have just said in
my Diary." He thought a little, and then
said "No."

SILKEN CHEMISTRY.

THE assay of gold and silver has already
been described in this miscellany, and most
persons are familiar with analyses of various
minerals and vegetables, made with a view
of ascertaining and determining their relative
degrees of purity. But a method by which
such a delicate fabric as silk is capable of
being assayed; of being put through a fire
and water ordeal, flung into a crucible, and
brought out free from all impurities, is a
novelty of a rather startling nature; for who
ever dreamt that silk is adulterated?

Silk is, from its nature, more susceptible
of absorbing moisture than any other fibrous
article. In fact, it approaches in this respect
to the quality of sponge: well-dried silk,
when placed in a damp situation, will very
rapidly absorb five or six per cent, of moisture;
and, being very dear and being always
sold by weight, this property gives large
opportunity for fraud; yet it is not the only
channel for mal-practices. Silk, as spun by
the silk-worm, contains amongst its fibres, in
very minute portions, a quantity of resin,
sugar, salt, &c, to the extent generally of
twenty-four per cent, of the entire weight.

This peculiarity leads to the fraudulent
admixture of further quantities of gum, sugar,
and even of fatty substances, to give weight
to the article; consequently when a dealer
or manufacturer sends a quantity of raw silk
to a throwster to be spun into silk thread, it
is no unusual thing to find it heavily charged
with adulterate matters. When he sends
that silk to be dyed he will find out the
loss, provided the dyer does not follow up
the system by further adulteration.