Wills then began to relate some of his reminiscences. He never liked to be out-done by Osborn.
"Two or three voyages ago," said he, "we had a black cook on board; and when we were at the office, being shipped, some talk went on about tattooing. One of the young gentlemen was entering our names in the ship's register, and a sailor was showing his arms and chest the while. He was beautifully tattooed with red and blue both. He had the royal arms on his chest, and a girl, skipping, with a wreath of flowers round her; and his arms were all over letters and anchors and crosses, and what not.
"'Is any other of you so grand as this?' asked the young gentleman.
"Two or three had marks, but none so good, and he turned to the nigger.
"'You don't need mark of mouth, Sambo, I suppose?' said he.
"'Me marked though, massa,' said the darkie, grinning from ear to ear,—'me marked. Me fall in fire when boy, and the mark of burn never gone. Scored, massa, me was,—branded by hot bar. Golly! it were bad.'
"And he rolled up his sleeve, and showed the scars of a terrible burn.
"Well, we sailed in bad weather, and met with an awful storm two days after. The ship was pooped, the name-board washed away, and much damage done. We managed to put it to rights though, and went on our way; but others were less lucky. It was off the coast of Wicklow, and in that same storm, another ship went down with all hands; and some of the drowned men were washed up among the wreckage, and our name-board, with 'Osprey, Liverpool' painted on it quite plain.