CHAPTER TWENTY.
VALETTA--A GLIMPSE OF THE PIRATE.
Malta lay basking on the bright blue ocean, looking very white and veryhot under the scorching rays of a burning sun, as, early in theafternoon, we stood towards the entrance of the harbour of Valetta.Passing St. Elmo Castle on our right, and Fort Ricasoli on our left,whose numberless guns looked frowning down upon us, as if ready, at amoment's notice, to annihilate any enemy daring to enter with anexhibition of hostile intent, we ran up that magnificent inlet calledthe Grand Harbour.
Malta Harbour has been so often described, that my readers will notthank me for another elaborate drawing. Only, let them picture tothemselves a gulf from three to four hundred yards across, with severaldeep inlets full of shipping, and on every conspicuous point, on allsides, white batteries of hewn stone, of various heights, some flushwith the water, others rising in tiers one above another, with hugeblack guns grinning out of them, the whole crowned with flat-roofedbarracks, and palaces and churches and steeples and towers, with a bluesky overhead, and blue water below, covered with oriental-looking boats,and lateen-rigged craft, with high-pointed triangular sails of snowywhiteness, and boatmen in gayly-coloured scarfs and caps, andmen-of-war, and merchant-vessels--and a very tolerable idea will beformed of the place.
Valetta itself, the capital, stands on a hog's back, a narrow but highneck of land, dividing the Grand Harbour from the quarantine harbour,called, also, Marsa Muceit. The chief streets run in parallel linesalong the said hog's back, and they are intersected by others, which runup and down its steep sides. In some parts they are so steep thatflights of steps take the place of the carriage-way. The best known ofthese steps are the Nix Mangiari Stairs, so-called from the troops oflittle beggars who infest them, and assure all passers-by that they havehad nothing to eat for six days. "_Oh, signori, me no fader no moder;me nix mangiari seis journi_!" An assertion which their fat cheeks andobese little figures most undeniably contradict. Few people will forgetthose steep steps who have had to toil to the top of them on asweltering day, not one, but three or four times, perchance; nor willthose noisy, lazy, dirty beggars--those sights most foul--those odoursmost sickening--fade from his memory.
We ran up the harbour and dropped our anchor not far from the chieflanding-place, abreast of Nix Mangiari Steps. There were severalmen-of-war in the harbour. Among them was our old friend the "Trident."
"If Piper sees us, we shall soon have him on board to tell us all thenews," observed Porpoise. "I don't think Master Mite will forget us,either, if he can manage to come. Our good things, in the way of eatingand drinking, made no slight impression on his mind, whatever he mayhave thought of us as individuals. If he has an opportunity, thatlittle fellow will distinguish himself."
While stowing sails, the rest of the party having gone below to preparefor a visit to the shore, my eye, as it ranged round the harbour, fellon the sails of a Greek brig, which was just then standing out of thegalley port. I looked at her attentively, and then pointed her out toSnow, who was so earnest in seeing that his mainsail was stowed in thesmoothest of skins, that he had not observed her.
"What do you think of her?" said I.
"Why, sir, if she isn't that rascally craft which attacked us, she is aslike her as one marlinspike is to another!" he exclaimed, slapping hishand on his thigh. "I'll be hanged but what I believe it is her, and nomistake about it."
"I think so, too. Call Mr Porpoise," said I.
Porpoise jumped on deck with his coat off, and a hairbrush in each hand,to look at her.
"I couldn't swear to her; but she is the same build and look of craft asour piratical friend," he answered. "Hang it! I wish that we had comein an hour or two sooner; we might have just nabbed her. As it is, Ifear, before we can have time to get the power from the properauthorities to stop her, she will be far away, and laughing at us. Atall events, there is not a moment to be lost."
By this time all hands were on deck, looking at the Greek brig; but allwere not agreed as to her being the pirate. However, the gig waslowered, and we pulled on shore, to hurry up as fast as we could to thegovernor's palace, to make our report, and to get him to stop the brigbefore she got out of the harbour.
Landing among empty casks and bales on the sandy shore, we hurried upNix Mangiari Stairs, greatly to the detriment of Porpoise'sconversational powers, and then on to the residence of the governor,once the palace of the Grand Master of the far-famed Knights of Malta; ahuge square structure, imposing for its size, rather than for the beautyof its architecture. The governor was within, and without delay we wereushered through a magnificent suite of rooms into his presence. Hereceived us politely, but raised his eyebrows at the account of ouradventure with the pirate, and seemed to insinuate that yachtinggentlemen might be apt to be mistaken, and that we had perhaps after allonly found a mare's-nest.
"But, hang it, sir," exclaimed Hearty, "the villain fired into us asfast as he could; and that gentleman, Mr Bubble, and several of mypeople, were hit. There was no fancy in that, I imagine."
"Ah, I see; that alters the case," said the governor. "We will send andstop the brig; but understand, that you will have to prove that she isthe vessel which fired into you; and, if she is not, you must beanswerable for the consequences."
"By all manner of means," sung out Hearty. "I suppose the consequenceswon't be very dreadful."
"Hang the consequences," he exclaimed, as soon afterwards we were leftto ourselves, to await the report from the telegraph-station. "I cannotbear to hear these official gentlemen babbling of consequences whenrogues are to be punished, and honest men protected. A thing must beeither right or wrong. If it's right, do it--if it's wrong, let italone. I hate the red-tape system which binds our rulers from beginningto end. We must break through it, and that pretty quickly, or OldEngland will come to an end."
We were all ready enough to argue with Hearty in this matter, though thesaid breaking through an old deep-rooted system is more easy to proposethan to carry into effect.
After we had waited some time, word was brought to the palace that, as Iexpected would be the case, the suspicious brig had got out of theharbour; and was out of the range of the guns on the batteries beforethe message had reached them. A gun was fired to bring her to, but ofcourse she paid no attention to the signal. Once more we were usheredinto the presence of the governor. He was very civil and very kind, beit understood.
"Your best course is to go to the admiral, and tell him your story, andperhaps he will send a man-of-war after her."
"Thank you, sir," said Hearty, rising. "We will do as you advise;though I fear, before a man-of-war can get under way, our piraticalfriend will be safe from pursuit."
"It matters little. He is very certain to be caught before long; and wewill have him hung at his own yard-arm, like some of his predecessors,"observed the governor, politely bowing us out.
"Humph!" muttered Hearty, as we descended the superb steps of thepalatial abode. "It matters not, I suppose, how many throats may becut, and how many rich cargoes sent to the bottom, in the mean time.Hang official routine, I say again. We must get these things altered inParliament." [Note.]
The admiral was living on shore, and to his residence we repaired asfast as our legs would carry us, with the thermometer at 90.
"I wish that we had taken the law into our own hands, and made chaseafter the fellow in the yacht," exclaimed poor Porpoise, wiping theperspiration from his forehead. "A few hours' fighting would have beenbetter than this hot work."
"All very well if we could prove that she was the vessel which attackedus; but if it should have turned out that we were mistaken, we shouldhave been in the place of the pirates, and have been accused of murder,robbery, rapine, and all sorts of atrocities," remarked Bubble. "No,no; depend on it, things are better as they are. Retribution willovertake the fellows one of these days."
The admiral's abode was reached at last; but the admiral was not athome, though his secretary wa
s. The admiral had gone into the country,and would not return till the cool of the evening. The secretaryreceived us very politely, though he seemed rather inclined to laugh atour suspicions.
A pirate sail into Malta Harbour,--beard the lion in his den! The ideawas too absurd. It was scarcely possible that any pirates could existin the Mediterranean. A few had appeared, from time to time, it wastrue; but several had been hung, and the example had proved a warning toother evil-doers. He would, however, as soon as the admiral returned,mention the circumstance to him, and if he thought fit he wouldundoubtedly send a vessel in chase of the suspected polacca.
Such was the substance of the worthy secretary's remarks to us. Wecould not go in search of the admiral, as it was uncertain where he wasto be found, so, very little satisfied with our morning's work, we leftthe house.
"What shall we do next?" exclaimed Hearty. "There seems to be no chanceof our catching Master Sandgate."
"Oh, by all means, let us go on board and get cool," answered Porpoise.
"Certainly," said Bubble, "I want to look out some zephyr clothing. Onecan bear nothing thicker than a cobweb this sultry weather."
So on board we went, and lay each man in his cabin with all theskylights off, and wind-sails down, an awning over the deck, and apunkah invented by Bubble, kept working, which sent a stream of airthrough every portion of our abode, so that we were far more comfortablethan we could have been anywhere else. When yachting I always make apoint of going everywhere in the yacht, and living on board her,scarcely ever entering an hotel. We thus spent two or three hours--somereading, others smoking or talking, Bubble every now and then givingvent to his feelings in snatches of song. I am not certain that we didnot all drop asleep. We were aroused from our quietness by the sound offootsteps on deck, and by the descent of the steward into the cabin.
"Please, sir, that young gentleman that came aboard from thesloop-of-war, after we lost our masts, wants to know if he may comebelow to see you," said he to Hearty.
"By all means," cried Hearty, springing up; "glad to see him."
Master Mite had followed the steward, and heard the last observation.
"Thank you, sir," quoth he, helping himself to a seat. "Glad to seeyou, too. Scarcely thought you would be here so soon. Just in time fora grand ball. You'll like it. We can take you there. I'm a greatfavourite with the signora. Told me to bring all my friends--the morethe better--very hearty people for Smaitches. That's what we call theMaltese here, you know. I saw your craft come in, and wanted to come onboard before, but couldn't. A midshipman is not always his own master,you know. At last I got leave from our jolly old first, Tom Piper. Hetold me to say that he would come as soon as he could. I know that hewants to press you to come to the ball, also."
Thus did the young midshipman run on. Hearty told him that he should bevery happy to go to his friend's house under his chaperonage, and thatso should we all, which mightily pleased Master Mite.
"That's right," he exclaimed. "It will be jolly good fun, I can tellyou. There are some very nice English people, too, great friends ofmine. Such a splendiferous girl, too--a Miss Mizen--came out with heruncle, old Rullock, in the `Zebra.' I dance with her whenever I can.If you could but see her I'm sure you'd say my taste was very good.Some people think that she is cut out by another fine girl, a Miss JaneSeton; but I don't. Jane's all very well in her way, very fine to lookat, and all that sort of thing; but to say the truth, she's ratheraddicted to snubbing midshipmen, and that we don't approve of. As forher mother, she wouldn't touch one of us with a boarding-pike. She's aterrible old harridan, and that's not in Jane's favour. Oh, no, give meLaura Mizen for my money, and all our mess say the same. She's thetoast of the mess just now, I can tell you."
While the youngster was running on thus I watched Hearty's countenance.He fairly blushed, and looked more pleased and astonished and puzzledthan I had ever seen him before in my life. He evidently did not liketo stop the boy, though he winced at hearing Miss Mizen spoken of as thetoast of the mess. He was astonished, and clearly delighted at hearingthat she was so near him, for, as may be remembered, I had not told himthat she and her mother had come out to Malta, nor did he hear of thecircumstance during our stay at Gibraltar. Dinner was soon brought onthe table, and Tom Mite did not fail to do ample justice to it.
"Well, you yachtsmen do live like princes," quoth the young gentleman,as he quaffed his cool claret. "When I come into my fortune, I'll get ayacht, and cut the service. Then, if Miss Mizen, or some other fineyoung girl like her, will have me, she shall become the rover's bride.Oh, wouldn't it be jolly! Here's to her health in the mean time."
I could stand the joke no longer, and burst into a fit of laughter.
"What's the matter?" asked Tommy, guessing he might have been sayingsomething he had better not have said.
"Only that Captain Rullock and his sister and niece are great friends ofours, and that they will be highly flattered at the high estimation inwhich they are held by your mess," I answered.
Mite, who had plenty of tact, very adroitly replied, "Well, gentlemen, Ihope that you will come to the ball, and meet your friends."
His invitation was backed by Lieutenant Piper, who soon afterwards cameon board, and it was arranged that we should call alongside the"Trident" for them just before sunset.
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Note. Let no one suppose that this incident is intended to reflect onany particular governor of Malta. It is, unhappily, only toocharacteristic of many of our governors, ambassadors, and consuls, andother authorities in various parts of the world, both at home andabroad. Certainly, old Tom, well-known to fame, would not have soacted.