Willis the Pilot : A Sequel to the Swiss Family Robinson

  CHAPTER X.

  THE PIONEERS--EXCURSION TO COROMANDEL--HINDOO FANCIES--A CAGEDHUNTER--LOUIS XI. AND CARDINAL BALUE--A FURLONG OF NEWS--CARNAGE--THEBARONET AND HIS SEVENTEEN TIGERS--FIFTY-FOUR FEET OF CELEBRITY--STERNE'SWINDOW--PROMENADE OF THE CONSCIENCES--EMULATION AND VANITY.

  When a country is released from the presence of an enemy that annoyedand harassed them, the people feel as if a weight had been taken offtheir shoulders; so the inhabitants of New Switzerland had breathedmore freely since the capture of the chimpanzee.

  The works at Falcon's Nest were completed, and the two families hadtaken possession of their aerial dwellings, where they were perchedlike a pair of rookeries within call of each other.

  The confined air of towns has a tendency to plunge men into lethargyand indolence, and to precipitate the decadence of a constitution inwhich the seeds of disease have been sown; whilst, on the other hand,the pure air of the country braces the nerves, excites a healthyaction in the system, and invigorates a shattered frame; so it waswith Mr. Wolston--under the benign influences of the genial climateand the refreshing sea breeze, he gradually, but steadily, recoveredhealth and strength.

  A larger breadth of land had been cleared and fitted for receivinggrain, which it was susceptible of reproducing a hundred-fold. Such isthe sublime contract God has made with man, that, in exchange for hislabor and skill, a single grain of wheat will produce seven or eightstalks, each bearing an ear containing fifty grains; a single grainhas been known to yield twenty-eight ears, and Pliny states that Neroreceived a grain bearing the enormous number of three hundred andsixty ears. Strange that such a singular instance of fecundity shouldpresent itself during the domination of a man, or rather monster, whodared to wish that the Roman people had only one head, so that hemight cut it off at a single blow!

  Willis and the Wolstons were as yet ignorant of the extent and limitsof the colony; there were two inclosed and cultivated sections, namedrespectively Waldeck and Prospect Hill, which they had not yetinspected. With a view to enable them to form a more accurateconception of the boundaries of the territory they inhabited, a grandexcursion was decided upon that would enable them leisurely toinvestigate every nook and cranny of the settlement.

  The storehouse was accordingly overhauled, and the ladies called in toprepare viands for the journey; they were likewise invited to furnisha supply of certain enchanted travelling bags, in which the gentlemenwere often astonished to find, during their distant expeditions, athousand and one useful things that they would never have dreamt ofbringing with them of their own accord.

  Becker, Wolston, Ernest, and Frank set about the construction of avehicle on four wheels for the luggage and the ladies; they did notcontemplate erecting a machine with elastic springs and gilded panels,like the Lord Mayor's state coach--their object was to produce amachine that would ease, without dislocating, the limbs of thetravellers, and that would move at least more gently than a gardener'scart, loaded with hampers of greens for Covent Garden Market. It mayreadily be supposed that Ernest's Latin was not of much service inthese operations, for even Wolston's mechanical skill was sorely triedin elaborating the design.

  Fritz, Willis, and Jack had already started as pioneers of theexpedition to examine the buildings, and to see that no more apes orother piratical marauders had established themselves on theirpremises; and, in compliance with a request made by Willis, whostrongly objected to becoming a bushranger, they had gone by water. Itwas further arranged that, on their return, all should starttogether--the entire community in one cavalcade, like an army on themarch.

  The young ladies were as much pleased in anticipation with thisjourney as if the destination of the travellers had been Brighton orRamsgate. To children of their age, change is always pleasing. Often,in consequence of a death, the collapse of a bank, the loss of alaw-suit, or some dire disaster of that sort, parents have seenthemselves compelled to abandon the home of their fathers, endeared tothem by many gentle recollections, perhaps to embark for some fardistant land; they stifle their sighs, and bid a mute farewell to eachstone and each tree, familiar to them as household words; they departwith reluctance, and often turn to cast a lingering look behind atobjects so dear to their memory. Not so the children; they issue fromthe door like a flock of caged pigeons just let loose; they sing andleap and laugh with glee; the old house has no charms for them, theyare as glad to depart as their elders are wishful to stay; the trunkdesires to multiply its roots on the soil, but the buds prefer to blowelsewhere--for the latter life resolves itself into the word FUTURE,and for the former into the word PAST.

  Leaving Wolston, Becker, and his two sons hard at work on thecarriage, let us turn to the pinnace which was now making its wayalong the shore under the guidance of the Pilot.

  "I should like much," said Fritz, "to present Mr. and Mrs. Wolstonwith a couple of bear, leopard, or tiger skins."

  "So should I," said Jack.

  "I wish you could think of some other sort of gift," suggested Willis;"what do you say to a couple of seal or shark skins?"

  "Won't do," replied both Fritz and Jack in one voice. "What objectionshave you to the others?"

  "Well, you are in some sort consigned to my care; I should like you toreturn to your parents with your own skins entire."

  "Then you think it is a terrific affair to kill a tiger or two? Youhave been accustomed to the sea, and fancy landsmen are good fornothing but shooting crows and wild-cats; that is a mistake, however;we are familiar with larger game."

  "Shiver my timbers! do you call bears and tigers game?"

  "I am afraid, Willis, you are a bit of a milksop."

  "Avast heaving there, Master Fritz! as it is, I am a half-hanged manalready, so death has now no terrors Dov me; it is the first pang thatis most felt."

  "Yes; but in the case of tigers, they never give you time to feel asecond pang; miss your aim, and it is all over with you."

  "True; and therefore I wish you would give up the project. As formyself, I would face anything with a four-pounder, but rifle practiceon board ship is mostly confined to the marines; it is not that,however, I am troubled about; I am certain your worthy father wouldnever forgive me if I countenance this project."

  "You need not tell him anything about it."

  "Where, then, are the skins to come from? Can you say you bought themat the furrier's? You must really hit upon some other fancy."

  "But it is not a fancy, Willis, it is a necessity; it is not our ownamusement we are consulting. Just imagine yourself what will happenduring the excursion now being arranged. Our parents will, of course,offer their bear skins to Mr. and Mrs. Wolston; there will be refusalson the one side and entreaties on the other."

  "And, as is usual in these sort of discussions," added Jack, "Mrs.Wolston will call her carriage."

  "Yes," continued Fritz, "and my mother will most certainly depriveherself of a covering that is absolutely indispensable during the coldnights of this climate."

  "There is reason in what you say," observed Willis, scratching hisear.

  "You see, Willis, the thing ought and must be done."

  "As you put it, yes; but it will take time to prepare the skins."

  "They will not be ready in time for this expedition certainly, and mymother must do without her skin this journey; but it is our duty toprevent anything of the sort happening in future."

  "Were I to consent to this project," said Willis, "there is stillsomething more required."

  "What, Willis?"

  "Why, the tigers and what's-a-names; it is necessary to find the brutebefore you can get its skin."

  "Granted; there would be a difficulty in the case had we not herequite handy a magnificent covering of wild animals, all ready to killor to be killed. Just steer a point to the east, Willis; there, thatwill do. Just beyond that bluff you see yonder, there is a low flatplain covered with brushwood and tufted with trees; on the left, thisprairie is bounded by a chain of low hills, and on the right a broadriver, which last we have named
the St. John, because it bears someresemblance to a stream of that name in Florida; beyond this plainthere is a swamp."

  "And," added Jack, "behind this swamp there is a magnificent forest ofcedars, peopled with the finest furs imaginable, but garnished,however, with formidable claws and rows of teeth."

  "I was not aware," said Willis, "that we were within reach of suchamiable neighbors."

  "Oh, they cannot reach us; thanks to the conformation of that chain ofhills you see yonder, there is only one pass that opens into oursettlement, and that we have taken care to shut up and fortify."

  "It appears then," said Willis, "that there will be no difficulty infinding the animals, but--"

  "Come, Willis, no more buts; you hunt in your own way from morningtill night, let us for once hunt in ours."

  "I go a-hunting?"

  "Yes, there you are, charging your piece just now."

  "Oh, my pipe you mean; but look at the difference; mosquitoes bitehuman beings, they don't eat them!"

  "And, you may add, their skins don't make bed-clothes. Besides, if mymother takes rheumatism or the ague, it will be you that is to blame."

  "I would rather face all the tigers in Bengal and all the lions inAfrica than incur such a responsibility. I will, therefore, take apart in your cruise, and if any accident happens to either of you, Ishall stay in the forest till nothing is left of me but my cap and mybones. In this way I will escape all reproach in this world, and I mayas well, after all, rejoin my old commander, Captain Littlestone, bythis road as by any other."

  In the meantime, they had reached the coast of Waldeck, and havinglanded, they found the outhouses and sheds that had been erected therein satisfactory order; the apes had not forgotten a battue that hadonce been got up for their special behoof, as not an individual was tobe seen in the neighborhood. A morass of the district that had beenconverted into a rice plantation, promised an abundant crop; and thecotton plants, that Frank had once mistaken for flakes of snow, rearedtheir woolly blossoms, looking for all the world like the powderedheads of our ancestors. After a slight repast, the pinnace was oncemore in motion, and the party steering for Prospect Hill.

  "Ah," sighed Willis, "I wish we had only Sir Marmaduke Travers' cagehere."

  "Cage!" cried Fritz, laughing, "what, to shut up the game first andshoot it afterwards?" "No, quite the reverse: to shut up the hunters."

  "Ah, you would serve us in the same way as Louis XI. served CardinalBalue."

  "I know nothing of either Louis XI. or Cardinal Balue; but the cage Ispeak of was an excellent invention, for all that."

  "Which you would like to prove to us by caging ourselves, eh?"

  "Sir Marmaduke Travers," continued Willis, "was an English gentleman,and he was travelling in Coromandel, no one knew why or for whatpurpose."

  "For the fun of the thing, probably," suggested Jack; the English aresaid to be great oddities."

  "At that time there happened to be a Hindoo widow somewhere in thoseparts. This lady was very rich, very young, very beautiful, and veryfond of tormenting her admirers. And, as fate would have it, thetravelling Englishman was completely taken captive by this darkbeauty; and taking advantage of the hold she had obtained upon hisheart, she amused herself by making him do all sorts of out of the waythings. Sometimes she would bid him let his moustache grow, then shewould order him to cut it off; he had to worship Brahma, adopt thefashion of the Hindoos, and had even to undergo the indignity ofhaving his head tied up in a dirty pocket-handkerchief."

  "That is to say," remarked Jack, "that the lady, not having a pug or amonkey, made Sir Marmaduke a substitute for both."

  "Very likely, but still Sir Marmaduke was no fool; he was, on thecontrary, a gentleman and a philosopher."

  "I doubt that," said Jack.

  "You are wrong, then. You have been brought up in an out of the waypart of the world, and are not familiar with the usages of civilizedsociety. When once a man has allowed the tender passion to take rootin his breast, it cannot afterwards be extinguished at will; it growsand grows like an oil spot, so that what might easily have beenmastered at first, makes us in time its devoted slave."

  "I cannot admit," said Fritz, "that any sensible man would allowhimself to be treated in the way you state."

  "The wisest and bravest have often, for all that, been obliged to bendtheir heads to such circumstances; in fact, those only escape whosehearts have been steeled by time or adversity. Well, nothing wouldplease the lady in one of her caprices short of Sir Marmaduke's goingalone to the jungle and killing a tiger or two for her. This causedhim some little uneasiness."

  "I should think so," remarked Jack, "unless he had been accustomed toface the animals."

  "However, the widow's hand was to be the reward of the achievement,and the thing must consequently be done. Being, however, as I havesaid, a bit of a philosopher, he considered with himself that if, bychance, he should perish in the attempt he would lose the widow allthe same, and that he could not think of with any thing likeequanimity. To extricate himself from this dilemma he sent a despatchto an enterprising friend of his, then stationed with his regiment atCalcutta, requesting his advice."

  "And this friend, no doubt, sent him a couple of tigers all readytrussed?"

  "No, better than that; he sent him a strong iron cage fifteen feetsquare, very solid. This was shipped on board a cutter commanded byCaptain Littlestone, and I was entrusted with the task of erecting iton shore, whilst an express was sent off to Sir Marmaduke."

  "Ah!" said Jack, "I begin to understand now."

  "Well, he rigged himself in tiger-hunting costume, went and bade thelady good-bye, who coolly wished him good sport, mounted a horse, androde off to conquer a lady who, as a proof of her affection, had socavalierly consigned him to the tender mercies of the wild beasts."

  "Why, it was dooming him to certain destruction," said Fritz.

  "In the meantime the cage had been conveyed to a valley surroundedwith mountains, the caves of which were known to shelter entirecolonies of tigers. Here also came Sir Marmaduke. The cage was firmlyembedded in the soil, the exterior was thickly studded over with sharpspikes screwed into the bars; inside were placed a table and a sofa,with crimson velvet cushions."

  "A lady's boudoir in the wilderness," said Jack.

  "In one corner there was a case containing a dozen bottles of paleale, and as many of champagne; in another was a second case containingcurry pies and a variety of preserved meats; in a third case were fiveand twenty loaded rifles, together with a complete magazine inminiature of powder and shot. On the table were sundry cases ofhavannahs, a box of _allumettes_, the last number of the _EdinburghReview_, and a copy of the _Times_."

  "What is the _Times_?" inquired Jack.

  "It is a furlong of paper, folded up and covered with news,advertisements, and letters from the oldest inhabitant of everywhere.Leaving, then, Sir Marmaduke seated in the centre of his cage, wetowards night returned to the cutter, first scattering two or threequarters of fresh beef in the vicinity of the cage."

  "That should have assembled all the tigers in Coromandel," saidFritz.

  "Anyhow, it brought enough. Towards midnight Sir Marmaduke could countthirty noble brutes capering in the moonlight and feasting upon thebeef that had been provided for them."

  "What did the Englishman do then?"

  "He took aim at the most magnificent specimen of the herd and fired.No sooner had he done this than the whole pack came scampering towardsthe cage, thinking, doubtless, they had nothing to do but scrunch thebones of the solitary hunter. This was the signal for a regularslaughter. Sir Marmaduke discharged his rifles point blank in thenoses of the animals that environed him on all sides; those who werenot wounded by the balls were severely injured by the spikes of thecage in their furious efforts to seize their enemy. The howling,yelling, and fury was quite a new sensation for Sir Marmaduke; herather enjoyed the thing whilst the excitement lasted. However, allthings must have an end; when the sun appeared on the horizon thewo
unded retired, leaving the dead masters of the situation."

  "I suppose, in the meantime," remarked Fritz, "that the amiable Hindoowas considering whether or not, under the circumstances, she shouldwear mourning for her defunct cavalier."

  "Be that as it may, the defunct made his appearance, safe and sound,that same day, whilst the cutter stood out to sea with every vestigeof the cage except the dead tigers. Shortly after, the widow wasastonished to see an army of coolies marching in procession towardsher door, all, like the slaves of Aladdin, heavily laden; and she wasnot awakened from her surprise till the master of the ceremonies hadplaced the following letter in her hands:

  "Madam,--With this you will receive seventeen fall-grown tigers, whichI have had the honour of shooting for you.

  "Marmaduke Travers."

  "That was a choice bijou for a lady," said Jack.

  "Yes," added Fritz; "and if the ladies of Coromandel have stands intheir drawing-rooms, to display the tributes to their charms, SirMarmaduke's present afforded abundant material for adorning those ofthe widow."

  "Well, the consequence was, that Sir Marmaduke's name rung from oneend of India to the other. The feat of killing, single-handed,seventeen tigers, converted him into a hero of the first magnitude. Nofestival was complete without him, he was courted by the fashionablesand worshipped by the mob; some enthusiasts even proposed to erect atomb for him, that being the way they honor their great men in easternnations."

  "Every country," remarked Fritz, "has its own peculiarities in thisrespect. The memory of the illustrious men of Greece and Rome wasperpetuated in the intrinsic merit of the works of art erected intheir names. In England quantity takes the place of quality; there issaid to be in London a statue of a hero disguised as Achilles, sixyards in height, and perched upon a pedestal twelve yards high."

  "Making in all," remarked Jack, "exactly eighteen yards of fame."

  "The handsome Hindoo," continued Willis, "was proud of the feat hercharms had inspired. She gloried in showing off the redoubtabletiger-slayer at her _reunions_, and ended in being completelyfascinated herself with her former slave. The match that she hadformerly sneezed at she now earnestly desired, and, as Sir Marmadukedid not declare himself so speedily as she desired, she determined togive him a little encouragement by sending one of the most invitingand most odoriferous of notes."

  "Sir Marmaduke must then have considered himself one of the happiestof men," said Fritz.

  "Well," continued Willis, "neither man nor woman can, in affairs ofthis kind, depend upon themselves for two consecutive hours. Theaspirations of a whole life-time may be dispelled in five minutes, andthe wishes of to-day may become the detestations of to-morrow. The newsensations awakened in Sir Marmaduke by the affair of the cage--hisrecollection of the ferocious brutes as they clung with expiringenergy to the bars of the cage, their streaked skins streaming withblood, the fearful howling and terrific death yells, the formidableclaws that were often within an inch of his face--had, somehow orother, chased the passion he had felt for the widow completely out ofhis breast."

  "Oh, the scamp of a Travers!" said Jack, energetically.

  "He began to ask himself coolly what a lady, who had made suchextraordinary demands upon him before marriage, might not require himto do after; and the result of his cogitations is expressed in thefollowing reply that he sent to the now smiling widow:--

  "'Sir Marmaduke Travers is highly flattered by the charming note ofthe adorable daughter of Brahma; he shall gladly continue to bask inthe sunshine of her smiles, out his ambition desires and will acceptnothing more.'"

  "Flowery and laconic," said Fritz.

  "Well," inquired Willis, "was I not right in wishing to have the cageof Sir Marmaduke here?"

  "Yes, but we cannot get it. We have no ingenious trend at Calcutta tosend us such a machine, and furnish it with crimson-cushioned sofasand pale ale, so we shall have to rest satisfied with our owningenuity, tact, and agility."

  Fritz and Jack were justified in relying upon their own resources.They had been often sorely tried, and never had been found wanting incases of emergency. Since the arrival of the Wolstons their couragehad become almost temerity; previous to that event, they had beencontent to meet danger bravely when it was inevitable, and never wentdeliberately in search of it. Now, however, if we apply the glass ofwhich Sterne speaks to their breasts and spy what is passing therein,we shall fad that an imperious desire to become heroes had takenpossession of their inward souls--a determination to make themselvesconspicuous at all hazards was burning within them; that, in fact,they were courting the admiration of the new audience that Providencehad sent to the colony, the praise of which found more favor in theirhearts than the paternal admonitions.

  This was far from being commendable; but, although emulation andvanity have some features in common, still they must not beconfounded: the former consists in generous efforts to equal orsurpass some one in something praiseworthy; the second is a kind ofself-love, that seeks to purchase respect or flattery at no matterwhat cost;--the one is a vice, the other a virtue.

  Fritz and Jack were not actuated by vanity; they were urged on bytheir impulses, without weighing the circumstances that gave themrise; and indeed they were not even conscious of being more desirousof renown now than they had been hitherto.

  The temperament of Ernest and Frank was of another kind. Their natureswere much less excitable, and it did not appear that the recentarrivals had altered their outward demeanor in the slightest degree;they continued calm, staid, and reflective, as they had ever been.

  All four were a singular mixture of the child and the man--knowingmany things that young people are ignorant of, they were yet almosttotally unacquainted with the ordinary attributes of sociallife--unsophisticated and naive to an extreme degree, they would haveappeared in a fashionable drawing-room downright fools. On the otherhand, they possessed great clearness of perception, presence of mindin danger, promptitude in action, and the utmost coolness in the faceof apparently insurmountable obstacles--qualities that would haveutterly confounded the young men who shine in the saloons of Europe,whose chief merit often consists in their being familiar with theunmeaning conventionalisms of fashionable life.

  At Prospect Hill they found the outhouses and plantations in much thesame position as at Waldeck. Here the crimson flowers of the caperplant, the white flowers of the tea plant, and the rich blossoms ofthe clove tree, perfumed the air and promised a fragrant harvest. Thiswas a charming caravansary, all ready with its smiles to welcome theillustrious colonists as soon as they presented themselves.

  These points being settled to the satisfaction of the three pioneers,a sheep was taken on board the pinnace at the request of Willis--whoseemed to have taken a violent fancy for mutton chops--and they setsail towards the east.

  In the first instance they made for a projecting head-land that seemedto bar their progress in that direction, and, much to the astonishmentof the Pilot, they entered a cavern that formed the entrance to anatural tunnel. This, besides being an interesting feature in thecoast scenery, was one of the treasures of the colony, for itcontained vast quantities of edible birds' nests, so much prized bythe Chinese. The voyagers did not, however, tarry here; these were notthe objects they were now in search of. Nautilus Bay and the Bay ofPearls were likewise traversed unheeded, nor could the attractivebanks of the St. John, fringed with verdant foliage, divert them fromthe project they had in contemplation.

  Wise men, when they indulge in folly, are often more foolish than realfools; so it was with Willis: now that he had joined in the scheme, heevinced more ardor in its execution than the young men themselves. Hesaid that it would not be enough to capture skins for Mr. and Mrs.Wolston, they must also capture one a-piece for Mary and Sophialikewise, and talked as if the adventure of Sir Marmaduke and hisseventeen tigers had been a bagatelle.

  Some hours before dark they landed at a spot well known to both Fritzand Jack; it was a place where Becker and his sons had some timebefore been eng
aged in deadly conflict with a herd of lions, and whereone of their dogs had fallen a victim to the enraged monarchs of theforest.

  "My plan," said Willis, "is to kill the sheep and place the quarterson the shore, just as bait is thrown into the water to bring the fishwithin the net."

  "A reminiscence of Sir Marmaduke," said Jack.

  "Then," continued Willis, "we shall light a fire to take the place ofthe sun, who is about to retire for the night. This done, I proposethat we should return to the pinnace, keep the mutton within riflerange, and riddle the skins that come to feast upon it."

  After some opposition on the part of Fritz and Jack, who preferred toencounter their antagonists on more equal terms, the proposal ofWillis was ultimately agreed to.