Mr. Simper Arrives and Prescribes Non-Bleeding Treatment for Captain Whiffle
Mr. Simper Arrives and Prescribes Non-Bleeding Treatment for Captain Whiffle
Mr. Simper arrives—a young man with a delicate complexion and affected languid smile. He embraces the captain warmly and expresses sympathy for his condition. After feeling the captain’s pulse through his glove, Simper diagnoses the disorder as entirely nervous and prescribes tincture of castor and liquid laudanum instead of bleeding, reasoning these will compose the fermentation of the captain’s bile. The captain is put to bed, and orders are issued that no one walk on the side of the quarter-deck under which he lies. Simper’s care makes him so necessary that a cabin is constructed for him contiguous to the captain’s state room.
Captain Whiffle Enforces Strict Cabin Etiquette; Crew Spreads Gossip About Him
Captain Whiffle Enforces Strict Cabin Etiquette; Crew Spreads Gossip About Him
Upon recovery, Captain Whiffle issues strict regulations requiring lieutenants to appear on deck only with wigs, swords, and ruffles, and prohibiting midshipmen and petty officers from wearing check shirts or dirty linen. He further commands that no one except Simper and his own servants may enter the great cabin without first obtaining permission. These singular regulations do not prepossess the ship’s company in his favor; rather, they provide opportunity for scandal to busy itself with his character, accusing him of maintaining an improper correspondence with his surgeon.
Admiral’s Surgeon Orders the Detention of a Surgeon’s Mate in the West Indies
Admiral’s Surgeon Orders the Detention of a Surgeon’s Mate in the West Indies
When the ship receives sailing orders, the narrator hopes to revisit England soon. However, the admiral’s surgeon arrives and informs Morgan and the narrator that a great scarcity of surgeons exists in the West Indies. He announces orders to detain one mate from every great ship bound for England, directing them to decide between themselves by the next morning which will stay, or lots will be cast. Thunderstruck by this proposal, Morgan offers to remain only if given a surgeon’s warrant immediately, but learns no chief surgeon positions are available. Morgan flatly refuses to quit the ship, leaving the outcome to chance.
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