CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE FRIGATE IN HARBOUR.--THE BOATS.--GRAND STATE RECEPTION OF THECOMMODORE.
In good time we were up with the parallel of Rio de Janeiro, and,standing in for the land, the mist soon cleared; and high aloft thefamed Sugar Loaf pinnacle was seen, our bowsprit pointing for itstraight as a die.
As we glided on toward our anchorage, the bands of the variousmen-of-war in harbour saluted us with national airs, and gallantlylowered their ensigns. Nothing can exceed the courteous etiquette ofthese ships, of all nations, in greeting their brethren. Of all men,your accomplished duellist is generally the most polite.
We lay in Rio some weeks, lazily taking in stores and otherwisepreparing for the passage home. But though Rio is one of the mostmagnificent bays in the world; though the city itself contains manystriking objects; and though much might be said of the Sugar Loaf andSignal Hill heights; and the little islet of Lucia; and the fortifiedIhla Dos Cobras, or Isle of the Snakes (though the only anacondas andadders now found in the arsenals there are great guns and pistols); andLord Wood's Nose--a lofty eminence said by seamen to resemble hislordship's conch-shell; and the Prays do Flamingo--a noble tract ofbeach, so called from its having been the resort, in olden times, ofthose gorgeous birds; and the charming Bay of Botofogo, which, spite ofits name, is fragrant as the neighbouring Larangieros, or Valley of theOranges; and the green Gloria Hill, surmounted by the belfries of thequeenly Church of Nossa Senora de Gloria; and the iron-gray Benedictineconvent near by; and the fine drive and promenade, Passeo Publico; andthe massive arch-over-arch aqueduct, Arcos de Carico; and the Emperor'sPalace; and the Empress's Gardens; and the fine Church de Candelaria;and the gilded throne on wheels, drawn by eight silken, silver-belledmules, in which, of pleasant evenings, his Imperial Majesty is drivenout of town to his Moorish villa of St. Christova--ay, though muchmight be said of all this, yet must I forbear, if I may, and adhere tomy one proper object, _the world in a man-of-war_.
Behold, now, the Neversink under a new aspect. With all her batteries,she is tranquilly lying in harbour, surrounded by English, French,Dutch, Portuguese, and Brazilian seventy-fours, moored in thedeep-green water, close under the lee of that oblong, castellated massof rock, Ilha Dos Cobras, which, with its port-holes and loftyflag-staffs, looks like another man-of-war, fast anchored in the way.But what is an insular fortress, indeed, but an embattled land-slideinto the sea from the world Gibraltars and Quebecs? And what amain-land fortress but a few decks of a line-of-battle shiptransplanted ashore? They are all one--all, as King David, men-of-warfrom their youth.
Ay, behold now the Neversink at her anchors, in many respectspresenting a different appearance from what she presented at sea. Noris the routine of life on board the same.
At sea there is more to employ the sailors, and less temptation toviolations of the law. Whereas, in port, unless some particular serviceengages them, they lead the laziest of lives, beset by all theallurements of the shore, though perhaps that shore they may nevertouch.
Unless you happen to belong to one of the numerous boats, which, in aman-of-war in harbour, are continually plying to and from the land, youare mostly thrown upon your own resources to while away the time. Wholedays frequently pass without your being individually called upon tolift a finger; for though, in the merchant-service, they make a pointof keeping the men always busy about something or other, yet, to employfive hundred sailors when there is nothing definite to be done whollysurpasses the ingenuity of any First Lieutenant in the Navy.
As mention has just been made of the numerous boats employed inharbour, something more may as well be put down concerning them. Ourfrigate carried a very large boat--as big as a small sloop--called a_launch_, which was generally used for getting off wood, water, andother bulky articles. Besides this, she carried four boats of anarithmetical progression in point of size--the largest being known asthe first cutter, the next largest the second cutter, then the thirdand fourth cutters. She also carried a Commodore's Barge, a Captain'sGig, and a "dingy," a small yawl, with a crew of apprentice boys. Allthese boats, except the "dingy," had their regular crews, who weresubordinate to their cockswains--_petty officers_, receiving pay inaddition to their seaman's wages.
The _launch_ was manned by the old Tritons of the fore-castle, who wereno ways particular about their dress, while the otherboats--commissioned for genteeler duties--were rowed by young follows,mostly, who had a dandy eye to their personal appearance. Above all,the officers see to it that the Commodore's Barge and the Captain's Gigare manned by gentlemanly youths, who may do credit to their country,and form agreeable objects for the eyes of the Commodore or Captain torepose upon as he tranquilly sits in the stern, when pulled ashore byhis barge-men or gig-men, as the case may be. Some sailors are veryfond of belonging to the boats, and deem it a great honour to be a_Commodore's barge-man_; but others, perceiving no particulardistinction in that office, do not court it so much.
On the second day after arriving at Rio, one of the gig-men fell sick,and, to my no small concern, I found myself temporarily appointed tohis place.
"Come, White-Jacket, rig yourself in white--that's the gig's uniformto-day; you are a gig-man, my boy--give ye joy!" This was the firstannouncement of the fact that I heard; but soon after it was officiallyratified.
I was about to seek the First Lieutenant, and plead the scantiness ofmy wardrobe, which wholly disqualified me to fill so distinguished astation, when I heard the bugler call away the "gig;" and, without moreado, I slipped into a clean frock, which a messmate doffed for mybenefit, and soon after found myself pulling off his High Mightiness,the Captain, to an English seventy-four.
As we were bounding along, the cockswain suddenly cried "Oars!" At theword every oar was suspended in the air, while our Commodore's bargefloated by, bearing that dignitary himself. At the sight, CaptainClaret removed his chapeau, and saluted profoundly, our boat lyingmotionless on the water. But the barge never stopped; and the Commodoremade but a slight return to the obsequious salute he had received.
We then resumed rowing, and presently I heard "Oars!" again; but fromanother boat, the second cutter, which turned out to be carrying aLieutenant ashore. If was now Captain Claret's turn to be honoured. Thecutter lay still, and the Lieutenant off hat; while the Captain onlynodded, and we kept on our way.
This naval etiquette is very much like the etiquette at the Grand Porteof Constantinople, where, after washing the Sublime Sultan's feet, theGrand Vizier avenges himself on an Emir, who does the same office forhim.
When we arrived aboard the English seventy-four, the Captain wasreceived with the usual honours, and the gig's crew were conductedbelow, and hospitably regaled with some spirits, served out by order ofthe officer of the deck.
Soon after, the English crew went to quarters; and as they stood up attheir guns, all along the main-deck, a row of beef-fed Britons,stalwart-looking fellows, I was struck with the contrast they affordedto similar sights on board of the Neversink.
For on board of us our "_quarters_" showed an array of rather slender,lean-checked chaps. But then I made no doubt, that, in a sea-tussle,these lantern-jawed varlets would have approved themselves as slenderDamascus blades, nimble and flexible; whereas these Britons would havebeen, perhaps, as sturdy broadswords. Yet every one remembers thatstory of Saladin and Richard trying their respective blades; howgallant Richard clove an anvil in twain, or something quite asponderous, and Saladin elegantly severed a cushion; so that the twomonarchs were even--each excelling in his way--though, unfortunatelyfor my simile, in a patriotic point of view, Richard whipped Saladin'sarmies in the end.
There happened to be a lord on board of this ship--the younger son ofan earl, they told me. He was a fine-looking fellow. I chanced to standby when he put a question to an Irish captain of a gum; upon theseaman's inadvertently saying sir to him, his lordship looked daggersat the slight; and the sailor touching his hat a thousand times, said,"Pardon, your honour; I meant to say _my lord_, sir!"
 
; I was much pleased with an old white-headed musician, who stood at themain hatchway, with his enormous bass drum full before him, andthumping it sturdily to the tune of "God Save the King!" though smallmercy did he have on his drum-heads. Two little boys were clashingcymbals, and another was blowing a fife, with his cheeks puffed outlike the plumpest of his country's plum-puddings.
When we returned from this trip, there again took place thatceremonious reception of our captain on board the vessel he commanded,which always had struck me as exceedingly diverting.
In the first place, while in port, one of the quarter-masters is alwaysstationed on the poop with a spy-glass, to look out for all boatsapproaching, and report the same to the officer of the deck; also, whoit is that may be coming in them; so that preparations may be madeaccordingly. As soon, then, as the gig touched the side, a mightyshrill piping was heard, as if some boys were celebrating the Fourth ofJuly with penny whistles. This proceeded from a boatswain's mate, who,standing at the gangway, was thus honouring the Captain's return afterhis long and perilous absence.
The Captain then slowly mounted the ladder, and gravely marchingthrough a lane of "_side-boys_," so called--all in their best bibs andtuckers, and who stood making sly faces behind his back--was receivedby all the Lieutenants in a body, their hats in their hands, and makinga prodigious scraping and bowing, as if they had just graduated at aFrench dancing-school. Meanwhile, preserving an erect, inflexible, andram-rod carriage, and slightly touching his chapeau, the Captain madehis ceremonious way to the cabin, disappearing behind the scenes, likethe pasteboard ghost in Hamlet.
But these ceremonies are nothing to those in homage of the Commodore'sarrival, even should he depart and arrive twenty times a day. Upon suchoccasions, the whole marine guard, except the sentries on duty, aremarshalled on the quarter-deck, presenting arms as the Commodore passesthem; while their commanding officer gives the military salute with hissword, as if making masonic signs. Meanwhile, the boatswainhimself--not a _boatswain's mate_--is keeping up a perseveringwhistling with his silver pipe; for the Commodore is never greeted withthe rude whistle of a boatswain's subaltern; _that_ would be positivelyinsulting. All the Lieutenants and Midshipmen, besides the Captainhimself, are drawn up in a phalanx, and off hat together; and the_side-boys_, whose number is now increased to ten or twelve, make animposing display at the gangway; while the whole brass band, elevatedupon the poop, strike up "See! the Conquering Hero Comes!" At least,this was the tune that our Captain always hinted, by a gesture, to thecaptain of the band, whenever the Commodore arrived from shore.
It conveyed a complimentary appreciation, on the Captain's part, of theCommodore's heroism during the late war.
To return to the gig. As I did not relish the idea of being a sort ofbody-servant to Captain Claret--since his gig-men were often calledupon to scrub his cabin floor, and perform other duties for him--I madeit my particular business to get rid of my appointment in his boat assoon as possible, and the next day after receiving it, succeeded inprocuring a substitute, who was glad of the chance to fill the positionI so much undervalued.
And thus, with our counterlikes and dislikes, most of usmen-of-war's-men harmoniously dove-tail into each other, and, by ourvery points of opposition, unite in a clever whole, like the parts of aChinese puzzle. But as, in a Chinese puzzle, many pieces are hard toplace, so there are some unfortunate fellows who can never slip intotheir proper angles, and thus the whole puzzle becomes a puzzle indeed,which is the precise condition of the greatest puzzle in theworld--this man-of-war world itself.