respect. They could each boast of a magnificent head of hair,
which they allowed to grow to a great length on the back of the
head, where it was collected and fashioned into enormous queues,
which, when permitted to hang down, reached to the small of their
backs, and gave them the appearance of Chinese mandarins, or
Turkish pachas of a single tail. These tails were their pets
the only ornaments about their persons for which they manifested
any interest. This pride in their queues was the weak point in
their characters. Every Sunday they performed on each other the
operation of manipulating the pendulous ornaments, straightening
them out like magnified marlinspikes, and binding them with
ribbons or rope-yarns, tastily fastened at the extremity by a
double bow knot.

Queues, in those days, were worn on the land as well as on the
sea, and were as highly prized by the owners. On the land, they
were harmless enough, perhaps, and seldom ungratefully interfered
with the comfort of their benefactors or lured them into scrapes.
On shipboard the case was different, and they sometimes proved
not only superfluous but troublesome.

On our homeward passage a case occurred which illustrated the
absurdity of wearing a queue at sea a fashion which has been
obsolete for many years. A gale of wind occurred on the coast,
and the crew were ordered aloft to reef the fore-topsail. Jim
Bilton, with his queue snugly clubbed and tucked away beneath his
pea-jacket, was first on the yard, and passed the weather ear-
ring; but, unfortunately, the standing rigging had recently been
tarred, and his queue, escaping from bondage, was blown about,
the sport of the wind, and after flapping against the yard, took