'Well, as we were running through the fair, what should I see but a man's bald head sticking out of a hole in one of the tents--to cool, I suppose,--so I just lifted up my cudgel, and just laid it down again; when, in a moment, out came a whole set of fellows from the tent, and the man asks which of us had broken his head.
'It was myself,' says I, 'but curse me if I could help it, that skull of your's looked so inviting.
'Accordingly both parties began a battle, and then others, who had nothing better to do, came and joined; they did not know why, but no matter for that. Any one may fight when there is an occasion; but the beauty of it is, to fight when there is no occasion at all.
'Howsomever, in the midst of it up came the military to spoil sport as usual; and they dispersed us, and made some of us prisoners, I among the rest, and we were put into Bridewell. Well, that was very well. So at night we contrived to break it open, beat the keepers, and make our escape. Then what to do with myself was the question. It would go hard with me if I were caught again; so I skulked about the country several days, till happening to meet some lads going beyond seas to reap the English harvest, they persuaded me to buy a reaping-hook, and go with them.
'But to be sure, to be sure, such a hurricane as we had at sea, and such tumbling and tossing; and then we were driven to the world's end, or the Land's End, or some end; but I know I thought I was come to my own end. In short, such wonderful adventures never were known.'
'What adventures, my friend?' cried I. 'I love to hear wonderful adventures.'
'Why,' said he, 'we had an adventure every moment, for every moment we were near going to the bottom.'
'Then,' said he, 'there was such pulling of ropes, and reefing and rigging; and we went over so many seas and channels; the Irish Channel, and the British Channel, and the Bristol Channel, and the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic Sea, and---- Oh dear, as good as forty more.'
'Forty more!' cried I. 'And pray what were their names?'
'Bad luck to me if I can remember,' said he.
'Probably you were in the Red Sea,' said I.
'And in the White Sea, and the Pacific Ocean?'
'And pray what kind of seas are they?' asked I.