but i see also that some of the things for sale are not quite so harmless-i see that some of my young men , like that young rascal arthur mcbride and his friend ian mcconnaughey , right down there on the deck below me , have already used some of their money to buy certain things from the bumboats , but not fine presents for their mothers , nor the best dutch tobacco for their fathers ' pipes , nor soft cloth for their sisters to sew into pretty dresses , nay , not any of that , but instead cheap versions of gentlemen 's swords for themselves , which they now buckle about their waists .