The boy tar; or, A voyage in the dark (1860) (14756757476)

"Boy Tar"
Identifier: boytarorvoyagein00reid (find matches)
Title: The boy tar; or, A voyage in the dark
Year: 1860 (1860s)
Authors: Reid, Mayne, 1818-1883 Keene, Charles, 1823-1891
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, Ticknor and Fields
Contributing Library: Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Digitizing Sponsor: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill



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acquaintance thus singularly formed between theyoung waterman and myself, soon ripened into a strongfeeling of friendship. His name, as I have said, wasHarry Blew, and — if I may be allowed to play uponthe word — he was true blue, for he was gifted witha heart as kind as it was brave. I need hardly addthat I grew vastly fond of him, and he appeared to re-ciprocate the feeling, for he acted towards me fromthat time forward as if I had saved his life, instead ofits being the other way. He took great pains to makeme perfect in swimming; and he also taught me theuse of the oar; so that in a short time I was able torow in a very creditable manner, and far better thanany boy of my age or size. I even attained to such pro-ficiency that I could manage a pair of oars, and pullabout without any assistance from my instructor. ThisI esteemed a great feat, and I was not a little proudwhen I was intrusted (as was frequently the case) to takethe young watermans boat from the little cove where he
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THE DINGY. 23 kept her, to some point on the beach where he might bewaiting to take up a fare. Perhaps in passing ananchored sloop, or near the beach, where some peoplemight be sauntering, I may have heard remarks madein a sneering tone, such as, You are a queer chap tobe handlin a pair o oars ! or Oh, jimminj ! Lookat that millikin pin, boys! And then I could hearother jeers mingled with shouts of laughter. But thisdid not mortify me in the least. On the contrary, Ifelt proud to show them that, small as I was, I couldpropel my craft in the right direction, and perhaps asrapidly as many of them that were even twice ray size.After a time I heard no more of these taunts, unlessnow and then from some stranger to the place. Thepeople of our village soon learned how well I couldmanage a boat; and small as I was, they held mein respect — at all events, they no longer jeered atme. Often they would call me the little waterman,or the young sailor, or still oftener was I known bythe name of t