Ben Burton | Page 7

out to meet the demands of his increasing corpulency;
but no art or skill could do more for them; and as he was unwilling to
procure others till those were worn out, he looked, when walking the
quarter-deck, very much as if he had on a straight waistcoat.
Captain Cobb was not disregardful of his creature comforts, and in
order to supply himself with milk for breakfast and tea, he had shipped
on board, some time back, a she-goat, which fully answered his wishes.
Seamen will make pets of everything--monkeys, babies, lions, pigs,
bears, dogs, and cats. The goat had become a favourite, for she was a
handsome creature, and very tame, but it was chiefly in connection with
Quacko, who was soon taught to ride upon her. Quacko was certainly
very well aware that he must never venture upon the quarter-deck, and
before, therefore, he reached the sacred precincts on his daily rides, he
always managed to wheel the goat about and retrace his steps forward.
Quacko was a wonderfully sagacious monkey, and held his position in
the good opinion of the crew in spite of my rival claims. Had I been
thrown entirely upon their mercy as Quacko was, I might have
completely cut him out; but having my mother and Mrs King, with two
or three select friends to look after me, the remainder very naturally felt
that they had not so much interest in the matter. On one occasion, when
I was about three years old, the frigate was caught in a typhoon. I was
safe below in my poor mother's arms, but Quacko remained on deck to

see what was going forward. Nobody was thinking of him. The seamen,
indeed, had to hold on with might and main to secure their own lives.
Some preparation had been made, and fortunately it was so, for all the
sails still set were blown out of the bolt ropes. The frigate was hove on
her beam-ends. Where Quacko had come from nobody knew, when on
a sudden he was seen hanging to the slack end of a rope. In vain one of
the topmen made an attempt to grasp him. The rope swung away far
over the foaming sea. He swung back, but it was to strike the side
apparently, for the next instant the rope returned on board and no
Quacko hanging to it. The ship righted without having suffered much
damage; indeed, the loss of Quacko was our greatest misfortune.
After the sad event just mentioned, Quacko's friends made various
attempts to appropriate me; indeed, Mrs King and Toby Kiddle had, in
order to console them for their loss, to give me up to them occasionally.
"Here, Toby, let's have the little chap and learn him to ride," said Tom
Trimmers, one of the topmen. "Why, Nanny will be forgetting how to
carry a human being as she has been accustomed to do, and you will
soon see what a capital horseman he will make, won't you, Ben?"
"Ay, ay," I answered, for though I could not say much I could say that,
and so Nanny was brought forth, and I was placed on her back, Toby,
however, remarking, that though some day I should have more sense
than the defunct Quacko ever had, yet at present, as I had no experience
in riding, he must decline allowing me to mount unless he held me up.
"It will be time when the little chap has had some practice to let him go
along by himself," he observed, looking round at our shipmates. "Now,
you don't know what would become of him, for Nanny is more than
likely to trot off on the quarter-deck and make herself disagreeable
there, and maybe pitch Master Benjy down the main hatchway. No, no,
I will stand by and hold him on till he is a bit older."
This resolution was certainly very prudent; but I very soon began to
complain of it, and to assert, by signs rather than by words, that I was
well able to take care of myself, and steer the goat as Quacko had done.
"And where is Quacko, Master Ben?" asked Toby, who understood me

better than anyone else. "He thought he could take care of himself, but
he could not do so, you see, nor can any of us, and that's my opinion. If
there was not one better able to take care of us than we are of ourselves,
we poor sea-going chaps would be in a bad way."
In spite, however, of Toby Kiddle, my other friends managed
occasionally to let me have my own way; and with great pride they
looked on while I, with the end of a mop stick in my hand, went
galloping about the deck, belabouring the goat's hinder