NOT a little disturbed, lest I should distrust the quality of his valor, the major approached me shortly after we had set sail, and having stroked his beard for a few seconds, said: "I do hope, sir, you will not think it strange I did not use my sword to avenge the insult offered me by the enemies who mixed up with my friends on the wharf. But I am a man of discretion, and my forbearance was in consideration of my friends, whose bodies might perchance gave got scarred by the blows aimed at my foes. Being a friend and fellow fortune seeker, I need have no scruple in saying to you, that I have always held it an axiom, that all great men husband their valor well, and never use it except with great discretion. In truth, and as I hope to honor the profession to which I belong, it was the exercise of that worthy discretion God implanted in my heart that saved me from two duels, the consequences of which might have been very bloody. I assure you, I have often thought how, if it had been my fate to die in either of those sanguinary contests, my wife Polly would have heen left to mourn the loss of a most excellent husband and father. And yet I have just been thinking, how nothing in the world would so much please me as to see the 'Two Marys' engaged in battle with a Sound pirate, for then it would afford me an opportunity of letting you see a little of the courage that distinguished me when at the head of my regiment in Mexico."

The "Two Marys" was an exceedingly formidable craft, and very safe in a sea, of which Captain Luke Snider, fashioning after those who build very bad steamers for a very good natured government, never failed to boast. Indeed, the "Two Marys," like several of our best boasted war steamers, was not blessed with a capacity for speed, and had only made forty miles' distance in three days, which fact was ascertained by the log Luke's wife kept with a piece of chalk on the top of the companion slide.

It was on the afternoon of the third day, then, that there arose a terrible storm. The wind was in the south-west, and with a pelting rain, the sea rose into such angry waves as to threaten serious consequences to all on board, and more especially to old Battle, who had quarters near the windlass bits, to which he was tied, and where, notwithstanding the major's constant solicitude, he became so lean of frame that a speedy dissolution was seriously apprehended. And this great event, so disastrous to the major's future prospects, would have been welcomed by Captain Luke, of whose deck he was making sad havoc, and who had twice been heard to say he was only a pack of useless bones, whose life would be better saved by his being thrown overboard. The major overhearing this, was not a little wounded in his pride, for he set great store by old Battle, and declared him an inseparable part of his fortunes.

And now, while the "Two Marys" bowed her head to the sea, and shook her great jib in the face of the wind, old Battle swung to and fro, and could with great difficulty keep his feet, while his legs were so swollen, that it required some effort to use them. The major attributed the largeness of old Battle's legs to a rheumatic gout he was at times troubled with, and which went far to show that he was a horse of good constitution, who had been reared in the care of a Christian gentleman of rank.

While there the animal stood shivering in the pelting storm, presenting as forlorn a figure as could well be imagined, the major descended into the cabin, and soon returned, bringing with him his shattered saddle and holsters, and with an air that indicated an amount of courage almost incalculable, soon had it girthed upon his favorite animal. This done, he demanded the animal to stand firm, and, with a self confident toss of the head, mounted, to the great surprise of all who witnessed so curious an act of daring. He then braced himself in his saddle, and commenced to look defiant in the "teeth" of the gale. He had not, however, remained long in this position, when a sharp sea struck the "Two Marys," causing her to lurch to starboard, and prostrating old Battle broadside upon the deck. Nor did the sea, which was mightier than the major, vouchsafe the slightest respect for him, inasmuch as it sent him head foremost against the knight heads, and with so much force, that, had not his skull been thicker than an ordinary bombshell, there was no telling how many fragments had been made of it. As the matter now stood, it only added another proof to the many instances in which warriors owe the preservation of their lives to the thickness of their skulls. "I commend my soul to heaven, and call all present to bear witness that I die forgiving my enemies," spoke, or rather groaned the major, as his left hand rubbed convulsively over his haunches, and he cast an imploring look upward at those who had gathered about him to render succor. One of the sailors now picked him up in his arms, and laid him upon the tarpaulin of the main hatch, when, certain restoratives having been applied by Luke's wife, he soon began to scratch his head, and exhibit such other signs of animation as made it certain the country would not be deprived of his services just yet. Nor was it many minutes after he had given out such strong proofs of his willingness to meet death, when he looked piteously up at the good woman, and begged her to get to his poor beast, who was groaning loudly in his distresses, and render him such relief as his case demanded.

Great efforts were now made to raise the poor animal from his perilous position, which great work, to the no small joy of the major, was effected by putting the "Two Marys" on the other tack. Old Battle now shook the water from his mane, and as if to thank his deliverers, gave out a loud neigh. And so suddenly did this bring the major to his feet, in the full possession of his senses, that he set about thanking heaven for its kind interposition in saving him and his horse to his country, which now stood in such great danger of being dissolved into fragments, that his whole energies would be required to save it. Another thankful look cast upon those about him, and he spake and said it was, after all, but an interposition of Providence, merely for the purpose of showing how many trials great politicians had to overcome, and how necessary it was that they have heads like New Hampshire oak. And while the docile animal did penance in the teeth of the pelting storm, the major, his legs seeming to have shortened with the fall, staggered aft, and approaching me with a confidential air, said: "I respect the great reputation you have made, young man. And I think you will admit that it required no small amount of valor even to attempt such a feat as you have just witnessed. I have read many histories of great men, and they were all liable to accidents at times. But if I did not achieve what I undertook, you must bear in mind the fact, which has been established by certain philosophers who write in Putnam's Magazine, that the terrors of war are nothing to the terrors of disgrace and dishonor; and to face such a sea, mounted upon such a charger, was quite equal to advancing upon the artillery of an enemy. Now, upon my word, I am not so much bruised after all; and as the accident was not from any want of courage in me, I will presently give you an opportunity of seeing what sort of metal Major Potter is made of." Here the major paused as if to regain his thoug............