noon
Thenceforward I was kept busy every day , assisting the skipper and Mr Lovell in the task of fitting-out ; and so diligently did we work that by mid-day of the 26th of November the _ Dolphin _ was all ataunto and ready for sea . And a very handsome , rakish , and formidable craft she looked , as she lay alongside the quay , her enormously long and delicately-tapering masts towering high above the warehouse roof ; her wide-spreading yards , extending far over the quay , accurately squared ; her standing and running rigging as taut and straight as iron bars ; her ten long nine-pounders grinning beneath her triced-up port-lids ; her brightly-polished brass long eighteen-pounder mounted upon her forecastle ; her spacious deck scraped and scoured until it was as white as snow ; and her new copper and her black topsides gleaming and shimmering in the gently-rippling tide . Day after day , as the work of fitting-out progressed , the quay was crowded with people who came down to watch our operations and admire the schooner ; and so favourable was the impression she created that , had we been in want of men , we could have secured volunteers in plenty from among the idlers who spent day after day alongside , watching us at work , and speculating among themselves -- with their hands in their pockets -- as to the measure of success that our bold venture was likely to meet with . When we knocked off work at noon , to go to dinner , our work was completed ; and as Mr White had taken care to secure our letters-of - marque in good time , it was determined that the _ Dolphin _ should proceed to sea that same evening , the crew having already signed articles , and been warned to hold themselves in readiness for a start at a moment 's notice . As for me , my traps were already on board , and nicely arranged in my cabin -- my sister Dora having , with her usual tenderness of affection , insisted upon attending to this matter herself -- there was therefore nothing for me to do but to go home , say good-bye , and rejoin the ship . This ceremony I had always found to be a most painful business ; but it was especially so in the present case ; for I was not only once more about to brave the ordinary perils incidental to a sailor 's life , but was , in addition , to be exposed to the still greater hazards involved in battle with the enemy . Poor Dora and my aunt were but too well aware , from the experience of others in the last war , what these hazards were ; they knew how many men had gone out from their homes , hale , strong , and full of enthusiasm , either to find death in their first engagement , or to be brought back , sooner or later , maimed , helpless , and physically ruined for the remainder of their lives ; and , as tender , loving women will , they anticipated one or another of these evils for me , and were therefore distressed beyond all hope of comfort .