CHAPTER XXVII.
SOME THOUGHTS GROWING OUT OF MAD JACK'S COUNTERMANDING HIS SUPERIOR'SORDER.
In time of peril, like the needle to the loadstone, obedience,irrespective of rank, generally flies to him who is best fitted tocommand. The truth of this seemed evinced in the case of Mad Jack,during the gale, and especially at that perilous moment when hecountermanded the Captain's order at the helm. But every seaman knew,at the time, that the Captain's order was an unwise one in the extreme;perhaps worse than unwise.
These two orders given, by the Captain and his Lieutenant, exactlycontrasted their characters. By putting the helm _hard up_, the Captainwas for _scudding_; that is, for flying away from the gale. Whereas,Mad Jack was for running the ship into its teeth. It is needless to saythat, in almost all cases of similar hard squalls and gales, the latterstep, though attended with more appalling appearances is, in reality,the safer of the two, and the most generally adopted.
Scudding makes you a slave to the blast, which drives you headlongbefore it; but _running up into the wind's eye_ enables you, in adegree, to hold it at bay. Scudding exposes to the gale your stern, theweakest part of your hull; the contrary course presents to it yourbows, your strongest part. As with ships, so with men; he who turns hisback to his foe gives him an advantage. Whereas, our ribbed chests,like the ribbed bows of a frigate, are as bulkheads to dam off an onset.
That night, off the pitch of the Cape, Captain Claret was hurried forthfrom his disguises, and, at a manhood-testing conjuncture, appeared inhis true colours. A thing which every man in the ship had longsuspected that night was proved true. Hitherto, in going about theship, and casting his glances among the men, the peculiarly lustrelessrepose of the Captain's eye--his slow, even, unnecessarily methodicalstep, and the forced firmness of his whole demeanour--though, to acasual observer, expressive of the consciousness of command and adesire to strike subjection among the crew--all this, to some minds,had only been deemed indications of the fact that Captain Claret, whilecarefully shunning positive excesses, continually kept himself in anuncertain equilibrio between soberness and its reverse; whichequilibrio might be destroyed by the first sharp vicissitude of events.
And though this is only a surmise, nevertheless, as having someknowledge of brandy and mankind, White-Jacket will venture to statethat, had Captain Claret been an out-and-out temperance man, he wouldnever have given that most imprudent order to _hard up_ the helm. Hewould either have held his peace, and stayed in his cabin, like hisgracious majesty the Commodore, or else have anticipated Mad Jack'sorder, and thundered forth "Hard down the helm!"
To show how little real sway at times have the severest restrictivelaws, and how spontaneous is the instinct of discretion in some minds,it must here be added, that though Mad Jack, under a hot impulse, hadcountermanded an order of his superior officer before his very face,yet that severe Article of War, to which he thus rendered himselfobnoxious, was never enforced against him. Nor, so far as any of thecrew ever knew, did the Captain even venture to reprimand him for histemerity.
It has been said that Mad Jack himself was a lover of strong drink. Sohe was. But here we only see the virtue of being placed in a stationconstantly demanding a cool head and steady nerves, and the misfortuneof filling a post that does _not_ at all times demand these qualities.So exact and methodical in most things was the discipline of thefrigate, that, to a certain extent, Captain Claret was exempted frompersonal interposition in many of its current events, and thereby,perhaps, was he lulled into security, under the enticing lee of hisdecanter.
But as for Mad Jack, he must stand his regular watches, and pace thequarter-deck at night, and keep a sharp eye to windward. Hence, at sea,Mad Jack tried to make a point of keeping sober, though in very fineweather he was sometimes betrayed into a glass too many. But with CapeHorn before him, he took the temperance pledge outright, till thatperilous promontory should be far astern.
The leading incident of the gale irresistibly invites the question, Arethere incompetent officers in the American navy?--that is, incompetentto the due performance of whatever duties may devolve upon them. But inthat gallant marine, which, during the late war, gained so much of whatis called _glory_, can there possibly be to-day incompetent officers?
As in the camp ashore, so on the quarter-deck at sea--the trumpets ofone victory drown the muffled drums of a thousand defeats. And, indegree, this holds true of those events of war which are neuter intheir character, neither making renown nor disgrace. Besides, as a longarray of ciphers, led by but one solitary numeral, swell, by mere forceof aggregation, into an immense arithmetical sum, even so, in somebrilliant actions, do a crowd of officers, each inefficient in himself,aggregate renown when banded together, and led by a numeral Nelson or aWellington. And the renown of such heroes, by outliving themselves,descends as a heritage to their subordinate survivors. One large brainand one large heart have virtue sufficient to magnetise a whole fleetor an army. And if all the men who, since the beginning of the world,have mainly contributed to the warlike successes or reverses ofnations, were now mustered together, we should be amazed to behold buta handful of heroes. For there is no heroism in merely running in andout a gun at a port-hole, enveloped in smoke or vapour, or in firingoff muskets in platoons at the word of command. This kind of merelymanual valour is often born of trepidation at the heart. There may bemen, individually craven, who, united, may display even temerity. Yetit would be false to deny that, in some in-stances, the lowest privateshave acquitted themselves with even more gallantry than theircommodores. True heroism is not in the hand, but in the heart and thehead.
But are there incompetent officers in the gallant American navy? For anAmerican, the question is of no grateful cast. White Jacket must againevade it, by referring to an historical fact in the history of akindred marine, which, from its long standing and magnitude, furnishesmany more examples of all kinds than our own. And this is the onlyreason why it is ever referred to in this narrative. I thank God I amfree from all national invidiousness.
It is indirectly on record in the books of the English Admiralty, thatin the year 1808--after the death of Lord Nelson--when Lord Collingwoodcommanded on the Mediterranean station, and his broken health inducedhim to solicit a furlough, that out of a list of upward of one hundredadmirals, not a single officer was found who was deemed qualified torelieve the applicant with credit to the country. This fact Collingwoodsealed with his life; for, hopeless of being recalled, he shortly afterdied, worn out, at his post. Now, if this was the case in so renowned amarine as England's, what must be inferred with respect to our own? Butherein no special disgrace is involved. For the truth is, that to be anaccomplished and skillful naval generalissimo needs naturalcapabilities of an uncommon order. Still more, it may safely beasserted, that, worthily to command even a frigate, requires a degreeof natural heroism, talent, judgment, and integrity, that is denied tomediocrity. Yet these qualifications are not only required, butdemanded; and no one has a right to be a naval captain unless hepossesses them.
Regarding Lieutenants, there are not a few Selvagees and Paper Jacks inthe American navy. Many Commodores know that they have seldom taken aline-of-battle ship to sea, without feeling more or less nervousnesswhen some of the Lieutenants have the deck at night.
According to the last Navy Register (1849), there are now 68 Captainsin the American navy, collectively drawing about $300,000 annually fromthe public treasury; also, 297 Commanders, drawing about $200,000; and377 Lieutenants, drawing about half a million; and 451 Midshipmen(including Passed-midshipmen), also drawing nearly half a million.Considering the known facts, that some of these officers are seldom ornever sent to sea, owing to the Navy Department being well aware oftheir inefficiency; that others are detailed for pen-and-ink work atobservatories, and solvers of logarithms in the Coast Survey; while thereally meritorious officers, who are accomplished practical seamen, areknown to be sent from ship to ship, with but small interval of afurlough; considering all this, it is not too muc
h to say, that nosmall portion of the million and a half of money above mentioned isannually paid to national pensioners in disguise, who live on the navywithout serving it.
Nothing like this can be even insinuated against the "_forwardofficers_"--Boatswains, Gunners, etc.; nor against the _pettyofficers_--Captains of the Tops, etc.; nor against the able seamen inthe navy. For if any of _these_ are found wanting, they are forthwithdisrated or discharged.
True, all experience teaches that, whenever there is a great nationalestablishment, employing large numbers of officials, the public must bereconciled to support many incompetent men; for such is the favouritismand nepotism always prevailing in the purlieus of these establishments,that some incompetent persons are always admitted, to the exclusion ofmany of the worthy.
Nevertheless, in a country like ours, boasting of the politicalequality of all social conditions, it is a great reproach that such athing as a common seaman rising to the rank of a commissioned officerin our navy, is nowadays almost unheard-of. Yet, in former times, whenofficers have so risen to rank, they have generally proved of signalusefulness in the service, and sometimes have reflected solid honourupon the country. Instances in point might be mentioned.
Is it not well to have our institutions of a piece? Any Americanlandsman may hope to become President of the Union--commodore of oursquadron of states. And every American sailor should be placed in sucha position, that he might freely aspire to command a squadron offrigates.