“So it is, William.”
“It is a very odd Christian name! You were called after some other person?”
“Yes, I was, William; he was a very rich man.”
“Do you know, Ready, I should like very much if you will one day tell me your history—I mean your whole life, from the time you were a boy.”
“Well, perhaps I may, William; for there are many parts of my life which would prove a lesson to others: but that must be after we have got through our work.”
“How old are you, Ready?”
“I am turned of sixty-four; a very old age for a seaman. I could not obtain employment on board of a vessel if it were not that I am well known to several captains.”
“But why do you say ‘old for a seaman?’”
“Because sailors live faster than other people, partly from the hardships which they undergo, and partly from their own fault in drinking so much spirits; and then they are too often reckless and care nothing for their healths.”
“But you never drink spirits now?”