The first mate of the ship, who was inclined to drink too much, happened to see in the ship’s log one day this unfortunate item: “The mate was drunk today.” No matter how he pleaded with the captain to change the sentence, the head man clung steadfastly to his resolve to let the record stand.

Sometime later it became the mate’s duty to note the day’s happening in the log. Remembering the permanent wrong done by him a few pages back, the mate wrote: “The Captain was sober today .”