CHAPTER I.
THE COLONY--REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST--IDEAS OF WILLIS THE PILOT--SOPHIAWOLSTON.
The early adventures of the Swiss family, who were wrecked on anunknown coast in the Pacific Ocean, have already been given to theworld. There are, however, many interesting details in theirsubsequent career which have not been made public. These, and theconversations with which they enlivened the long, dreary days of therainy season, we are now about to lay before our readers.
Becker, his wife, and their four sons had been fifteen years on thisuninhabited coast, when a storm drove the English despatch sloop_Nelson_ to the same spot. Before this event occurred, the family hadcleared and enclosed a large extent of country; but, whether theterritory was part of an island or part of a continent, they had notyet ascertained. The land was naturally fertile; and, amongst otherthings that had been obtained from the wreck of their ship, weresundry packages of European seeds: the produce of these, together withthat of two or three heads of cattle they had likewise rescued fromthe wreck, supplied them abundantly with the necessaries of life. Theyhad erected dwellings here and there, but chiefly lived in a cave nearthe shore, over the entrance to which they had built a sort ofgallery. This structure, conjointly with the cave, formed a commodioushabitation, to which they had given the name of _Rockhouse_. In thevicinity, a stream flowed tranquilly into the sea; this stream theywere accustomed to call _Jackal River_, because, a few days aftertheir landing, they had encountered some of these animals on itsbanks. Fronting Rockhouse the coast curved inwards, the headlands oneither side enclosing a portion of the ocean; to this inlet they hadgiven the name of _Safety Bay_, because it was here they first feltthemselves secure after having escaped the dangers of the storm. Inthe centre of the bay there was a small island which they called_Shark's Island_, to commemorate the capture of one of those monstersof the deep. Safely Bay, had, a second time, acquired a legitimatetitle to its name, for in it Providence had brought the _Nelson_safely to anchor.
By unwearying perseverance, indefatigable industry, and an untiringreliance on the goodness of God, Becker and his family had surroundedthemselves with abundance. There was only one thing left for them todesire, and that was the means of communicating with their kindred;and now this one wish of their hearts was gratified by the unexpectedappearance of the _Nelson_ on their shore. The fifteen years of exilethey had so patiently endured was at once forgotten. Every bosom wasfilled with boundless joy; so true it is, that man only requires a rayof sunshine to change his most poignant griefs into smiles andgladness.
The first impressions of their deliverance awakened in the minds ofthe young people a flood of projects. The mute whisperings thatmurmured within them had divulged to their understandings that theywere created for a wider sphere than that in which they had hithertobeen confined. Europe and its wonders--society, with its endearinginterchanges of affection--that vast panorama of the arts and ofcivilization, of the trivial and the sublime, of the beautiful andterrible, that is called the world--came vividly into their thoughts.They felt as a man would feel when dazzled all at once by a spectacle,the splendor of which the eyes and the mind can only withstand bydegrees. They had spelt life in the horn-book of true and simplenature--they were now about to read it fluently in the gilded volumeof a nature false and vitiated, perhaps to regret their formertranquil ignorance.
Becker himself had, for an instant, given way to the generalenthusiasm, but reflection soon regained her sway; he asked himselfwhether he had solid reasons for wishing to return to Europe, whetherit would be advisable to relinquish a certain livelihood, and abandona spot that God appeared to bless beyond all others, to run after thedoubtful advantages of civilized society.
His wife desired nothing better than to end her days there, under thebeautiful sky, where, from the bosom of the tempest, they had beenguided by the merciful will of Him who is the source of all things.Still the solitude frightened her for her children. "Might it not,"she asked herself, "be egotism to imprison their young lives in thenarrow limits of maternal affection?" It occurred to her that thedangers to which they were constantly exposed might remove them fromher; to-day this one, to-morrow another; what, then, would be her owndesolation, when there remained to her no bosom on which to rest herhead--no heart to beat in unison with her own--no kindly hand tograsp--and no friendly voice to pray at her pillow, when she wascalled away in her turn!
At length, after mature deliberation, it was resolved that Beckerhimself, his wife, Fritz and Jack, two of their sons, should remainwhere they were, whilst the two other young men should return toEurope with a cargo of cochineal, pearls, coral, nutmegs, and otherarticles that the country produced of value in a commercial point ofview. It was, however, understood that one of the two should returnagain as soon as possible, and bring back with him any of hiscountrymen who might be induced to become settlers in this land ofpromise, Becker hoping, by this means, to found a new colony whichmight afterwards flourish under the name of _New Switzerland_. Themission to Europe was formally confided to Frank and Ernest, the twomost sedate of the family.
Besides the captain and crew, there was on board the ship now ridingat anchor in the bay a passenger, named Wolston, with his wife and twodaughters. This gentleman was on his way to join his son at the Capeof Good Hope, but had been taken seriously ill previous to the_Nelsons_ arrival on the coast. He and his family were invited onshore by Becker, and had taken up their quarters at Rockhouse.Wolston was an engineer by profession, but his wife belonged to ahighly aristocratic family of the West of England; she had beenbrought up in a state of ease and refinement, was possessed of all theaccomplishments required in fashionable society, but she was at thesame time gifted with strong good sense, and could readily accommodateherself to the circumstances in which she was now placed. Her twodaughters, Sophia the youngest, a lively child of thirteen, and Marythe eldest, a demure girl of sixteen, had been likewise carefully, butsomewhat elaborately, educated. Attracted no less by the hearty andwarm reception of the Swiss family, than determined by the state ofhis health and the pure air of the country, Wolston resolved to awaitthere the return of the sloop, the official destination of which wasthe Cape of Good Hope, where it had to land despatches from Sidney.
Captain Littlestone, of H.B.M.'s sloop _Nelson_, had kindly consentedto all these arrangements; he agreed to convey Ernest and Frank Beckerand their cargo to the Cape, to aid them there with his experience,and, finally, to recommend them to some trustworthy correspondents hehad at Liverpool. He likewise promised to bring back young Wolstonwith him on his return voyage.
Everything being prepared, the departure was fixed for the next day:the sloop, with the blue Peter at the fore, was ready, as soon as theanchor was weighed, to continue her voyage. The cargo had been stowedunder hatches. Becker had just given the farewell dinner to CaptainLittlestone and Lieutenant Dunsley, his second in command. These twogentlemen had discreetly taken their leave, not to interrupt by theirpresence the final embraces of the family, the ties of which, after somany long years of labor and hardship, were for the first time to bebroken asunder.
During the voyage, Wolston had formed an intimacy with the boatswainof the _Nelson_, named Willis, and he, on his side, held Wolston andhis family in high esteem. Willis was likewise a great favorite withhis captain--they had served in the same ship together when boys;Willis was known to be a first-rate seaman; so great, indeed, was hisskill in steering amongst reefs and shoals, that he was familiarlystyled the "Pilot," by which cognomen he was better known on boardthan any other. At the particular request of Wolston, who had somecommunications to make to him respecting his son, Willis remained onshore, the captain promising to send his gig for him and his twopassengers the following morning.
Whilst Wolston was busy charging the pilot with a multitude ofmessages for his son, Mrs. Becker was invoking the blessings of Heavenupon the heads of her two boys; praying that the hour might bedeferred that was to separate her from these idols of her soul. Beckerhimself, upon wh
om his position, as head of the family, imposed theobligation of exhibiting, at least outwardly, more courage, instilledinto their minds such principles of truth and rules of conduct as thesolemnity of the moment was calculated to engrave on their hearts.
The dial now marked three o'clock, tropical time. Willis, wiping, withthe cuff of his jacket, a drop that trickled from the corner of hiseye, laid hold of his seal-skin sou'-wester as a signal of immediatedeparture. Ernest and Frank were bending their heads to receive theparting benediction of their parents, when suddenly a fierce torrentof wind shook the gallery of Rockhouse to its foundation, and uprootedsome of the bamboo columns by which it was supported.
"Only a squall," said Willis quietly.
"A squall!" exclaimed Becker, "what do you call a hurricane then?"
"Oh, a hurricane, I mean a downright reefer, all square andclose-hauled, that is a very different affair; but, after all, thisbegins to look very like the real article."
Now came a succession of gusts, each succeeding one more powerful thanits predecessor, till every beam of the gallery bent and quivered;dense copper-colored clouds appeared in the atmosphere, rollingagainst each other, and disengaging by their shock, the thunder andlightnings. Then fell, not the slender needles of water we call rain,but veritable floods, that were to our heaviest European showers whatthe cataracts of the Rhine, at Staubach, or the falls of Niagara, areto the gushings of a sylvan rivulet. In a few minutes the Jackal riverhad converted the valley into a lake, in which the plantations andbuildings appeared to be afloat, and rendering egress from Rockhousenearly impossible.
However much of a colorist Willis might be, he could not have painteda storm with the eloquence of the elements that had cut short hisobservation.
"You will not attempt to embark in weather like this?" inquired Mrs.Becker anxiously.
"My duty it is to be on board," replied the Pilot.
"The craft that ventures to take you there will get swamped twentytimes on the way," observed Becker.
"The worst of it is, the wind is from the east, and evidently carrieswaterspouts with it. These waterspouts strike a ship without theslightest warning, play amongst the rigging, whirl the sails aboutlike feathers--sometimes carry them off bodily, or, if they do not dothat, tear them to shreds and shiver the masts. In either case, theconsequences are disagreeable."
"A reason for you to be thankful you are safe on shore with us!"remarked Mrs. Wolston.
"It is all very well for you, Mrs. Wolston, and you, Mrs. Becker, totalk in that way; your business in life is that of wives and mothers.But what will the Lords of the Admiralty say, when they hear that thesloop _Nelson_ was wrecked whilst Master Willis, the boatswain, wasskulking on shore like a land-rat?"
"Oh, they would only say there was one useful man more, and a victimthe less," replied Fritz.
"Why, not exactly, Master Fritz; they would say that Willis was apoltroon or a deserter, whichever he likes; they would very likelycondemn him to the yard-arm by default, and carry out the operationwhen they get hold of him. But I will not endanger any one else; all Iwant is the use of your canoe."
"What! brave this storm in a wretched seal-skin cockle-shell likethat?"
"Would it not be offending Providence," hazarded Mary Wolston, "forone of God's creatures to abandon himself to certain death?"
"It would, indeed," added Mrs. Wolston; "true courage consists infacing danger when it is inevitable, but not in uselessly imperilingone's life; there stops courage, and temerity begins."
"If it is not pride or folly. I do not mean that with reference toyou, Willis," hastily added Wolston; "I know that you are open as day,and that all your impulses arise from the heart."
"That is all very fine--but I must act; let me have the canoe. I wantthe canoe: that is my idea."
"Having lived fifteen years cut off from society," gravely observedBecker, "it may be that I have forgotten some of the laws it imposes;nevertheless, I declare upon my honor and conscience--"
"Let me have the canoe, otherwise I must swim to the ship."
"I declare," continued Becker, "that Willis exaggerates therequirements of his duty. There are stronger forces to which the humanwill must yield. It is one thing to desert one's post in the hour ofdanger, and another to have come on shore at the express desire of asuperior officer, when the weather was fine, and nothing presaged astorm."
"If there is danger," continued the obstinate sailor, whom the unitedstrength of the four men could scarcely restrain, "I ought to shareit; that is my duty and I must."
"But," said Wolston, "all the boatswains and pilots in the world cando nothing against hurricanes and waterspouts; their duty consists insteering the ship clear of reefs and quicksands, and not in fightingwith the elements."
"There is one thing you forget, Mr. Wolston."
"And what is that, Willis?"
"It is to be side by side with your comrades in the hour of calamity,to aid them if you can, and to perish with them if such be the will ofFate. At this moment, poor Littlestone may be on the point of takingup his winter quarters in the body of a shark. But there, if thesloop is lost while I am here on shore, I will not survive her; allthat you can say or do will not prevent me doing myself justice."
At this moment Jack, who had disappeared during this discussion,unobserved, came in saturated to the skin with water, and in a statedifficult to describe. Like the boots of Panurge, his feet werefloating in the water that flowed from the rim of his cap.
"What is this?" exclaimed his mother. "You wilful boy, may I askwhere, in all the world, you have been?"
"I have just come from the bay. O father and mother! O Mr. and Mrs.Wolston! O Master Willis! if you had only seen! The sea is furious;sometimes the waves rise to the skies and mingle with the clouds, sothat it is impossible to say where the one begins and the other ends.It is frightful, but it is magnificent!"
"And the sloop?" demanded Willis.
"She is not to be seen; she is no longer at anchor in the bay."
"Gone to the open sea, to avoid being driven ashore," said Wolston."Captain Littlestone is not the man to remain in a perilous positionwhilst there remained a means of escape; besides, nothing thatscience, united with courage and presence of mind, could do, wouldhave been neglected by him to save his ship."
"In addition to which," observed Becker, "if he had found himself inpositive danger, he would have fired a gun; and in that case, thoughwe are not pilots, every one of us would have hastened to hisassistance."
"You see, Willis," said Mrs. Wolston, "God comes to ease your mind;were we to allow you to go to the sloop now, the thing is simplyimpossible."
"I have my own idea about that," insisted Willis, whilst he keptbeating a tatoo on the isinglass window panes.
Whilst thus chafing like a caged lion, Wolston's youngest daughterwent towards him, and gently putting her hand in his, said,"Sweetheart" (for so she had been accustomed to address him), "do youremember when, during the voyage, you used to look at me very closely,and that one evening I went boldly up to you and asked you why youdid so?"
"Yes, Miss Sophia, I recollect."
"Do you remember the answer you gave me?"
"Yes, I told you that I had left in England, on her mother's bosom, alittle girl who would now be about your own age, and that I could notobserve the wind play amongst the curls of your fair hair withoutthinking of her, and that it sometimes made my breast swell like themizen-top-sail before the breeze."
"Yes, and when I promised to keep out of your sight, not to reawakenyour grief, you told me it was a kind of grief that did you more goodthan harm, and that the more it made you grieve, the happier you wouldbe."
"All true:" replied the sailor, whose excitement was melting awaybefore the soft tones of the child like hoar frost in the sunshine.
"Then I promised to come and talk to you about your Susan every day;and did I not keep my word?"
"Certainly, Miss Sophia; and it is only bare justice to say that yougracefully yielded to
all my fatherly whims, and even went so far asto wear a brown dress oftener than another, because I said that mylittle Susan wore that color the last time I kissed her."
"Oh, but that is a secret, Willis."
"Yes, but I am going to tell all our secrets--that is an idea of mine.You then went and learned Susan's mother's favorite song, with whichyou would sometimes sing me to sleep, like a great baby that I am, andmake me fancy that I was surrounded by my wife and daughter, and wascomfortably smoking my pipe in my own cottage, with a glass of grog atmy elbow."
Willis said this so earnestly, that the smile called forth by theoddness of the remark scarcely dared to show itself on the lips of thelisteners.
"Very well," resumed the little damsel, "if you are not morereasonable, and if you keep talking of throwing your life away, I willnever again place my hand in yours as now; I shall not love you anymore, and shall find means of letting Susan's mother know that youwent away and killed yourself, and made her a widow."
Men can only speak coldly and appeal to reason--logic is their panaceain argument. Women alone possess those inspirations, those simplewords without emphasis, that find their way directly to the heart, andfor which purpose God has doubtless endowed them with those soft, mildtones, whose melodies cause our most cherished resolutions to vanishin the air; like those massive stone gates we have seen in some of theold castles in Germany, that resist the most powerful effort to pushthem open, but which a spring of the simplest construction causes tomove gently on their formidable hinges.
Willis was silent; but no openly-expressed submission could have beenmore eloquent than this mute acquiescence.
In the meantime the tempest raged with increased fury, the windshowled, and the water splashed; it appeared at each shock as if theelements had reached the utmost limit of the terrific; that the sea,as the poet says, had lashed itself into exhaustion! But, anon, therecame another outburst more terrible still, to declare that, in hisanger as in his blessings, the All-Powerful has no other limit thanthe infinite.
"If it is not in the power of human beings to aid the crew of the_Nelson_," said Mrs. Becker kneeling, "there are other means moreefficacious which we are guilty in not having sought before."
Every one followed this example, and it was a touching scene to beholdthe rough sailor yield submissively to the gentle violence of thechild's hand, and bend his bronzed and swarthy visage humbly besideher cherub head.