True to his kingship, he loved true coin; though abroad on the sea, and no land but dollarless dominions ground, all this silver was worthless as charcoal or diamonds.

Nearly one and the same thing, say the chemists; but tell that to the marines, say the illiterate Jews and the jewelers.

Go, buy a house, or a ship, if you can, with your charcoal! Yea, all the woods in Canada charred down to cinders would not be worth the one famed Brazilian diamond, though no bigger than the egg of a carrier pigeon.
Ah! but these chemists are liars, and Sir Humphrey Davy a cheat.
Many's the poor devil they've deluded into the charcoal business, who otherwise might have made his fortune with a mattock.
Groping again into the chest, we brought to light a queer little hair trunk, very bald and rickety.

At every corner was a mighty clamp, the weight of which had no doubt debilitated the box.

It was jealously secured with a padlock, almost as big as itself; so that it was almost a question, which was meant to be security to the other.
Prying at it hard, we at length effected an entrance; but saw no golden moidores, no ruddy doubloons; nothing under heaven but three pewter mugs, such as are used in a ship's cabin, several brass screws, and brass plates, which must have belonged to a quadrant; together with a famous lot of glass beads, and brass rings; while, pasted on the inside of the cover, was a little colored print, representing the harlots, the shameless hussies, having a fine time with the Prodigal Son.
It should have been mentioned ere now, that while we were busy in the forecastle, we were several times startled by strange sounds aloft.
And just after, crashing into the little hair trunk, down came a great top-block, right through the scuttle, narrowly missing my Viking's crown; a much stronger article, by the way, than your goldsmiths turn out in these days.