CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
At once the winds arise, The thunders roll, the forky lightning flies; In vain the master issues out commands, In vain the trembling sailors ply their hands: The tempest unforeseen prevents their care, And from the first they labour in despair. DRYDEN'S FABLES.
Halifax is a charming, hospitable place: its name is associated with somany pleasing recollections, that it never fails to extort another glassfrom the bottle which, having been gagged, was going to pass the nightin the cellaret. But only say "Halifax!" and it is like "Opensesame!"--out flies the cork, and down goes a bumper to the "health ofall good lasses!"
I related, in the last chapter, an adventure with an Irish Guinea-man,whose cargo my right honourable captain converted to the profitable usesof himself and his country. Another of these vessels had been fallen inwith by one of our cruisers, and the commander of His Majesty's sloop_Humming Bird_ made a selection of some thirty or forty stout Hiberniansto fill up his own complement, and hand over the surplus to the admiral.
Short-sighted mortals we all are, and captains of men-of-war are notexempted from this human imperfection! How much, also, drops betweenthe cup and the lip! There chanced to be on board of the same tradertwo very pretty Irish girls of the better sort of _bourgeoisie_; theywere going to join their friends at Philadelphia: the name of the onewas Judy, and of the other Maria. No sooner were the poor Irishmeninformed of their change of destination, than they set up a howl loudenough to make the scaly monsters of the deep seek their dark caverns.They rent the hearts of the poor tender-hearted girls; and when thethorough bass of the males was joined by the sopranos and trebles of thewomen and children, it would have made Orpheus himself turn round andgaze.
"Oh, Miss Judy! Oh, Miss Maria! would ye be so cruel as to see us poorcraturs dragged away to a man-of-war, and not for to go and spake a wordfor us? A word to the captain wid your own pretty mouths, no doubt hewould let us off."
The young ladies, though doubting the powers of their own fascinations,resolved to make the experiment; so, begging the lieutenant of the sloopto give them a passage on board, to speak with his captain, they added asmall matter of finery to their dress, and skipped into the boat like acouple of mountain kids, caring neither for the exposure of legs nor thespray of the salt water, which, though it took the curls out of theirhair, added a bloom to the cheeks which, perhaps, contributed in nosmall degree to the success of their project.
There is something in the sight of a petticoat at sea that never failsto put a man into a good humour, provided he be rightly constructed.When they got on board the _Humming Bird_, they were received by thecaptain, and handed down into the cabin, where some refreshments wereimmediately prepared for them, and every kind attention shown whichtheir sex and beauty could demand. The captain was one of the bestnatured fellows that ever lived, with a pair of little sparkling blackeyes that laughed in your face.
"And pray, young ladies," said he, "what may have procured me the honourof this visit?"
"It was to beg a favour of your honour," said Judy.
"And his honour will grant it, too," said Maria; "for I like the look ofhim."
Flattered by this little shot of Maria's, the captain said that nothingever gave him more pleasure than to oblige the ladies; and if the favourthey intended to ask was not utterly incompatible with his duty, that hewould grant it.
"Well then," said Maria, "will your honour give me back Pat Flannagan,that you have pressed just now?"
The captain shook his head.
"He's no sailor, your honour; but a poor bog-trotter: and he will neverdo you any good."
The captain again shook his head.
"Ask me anything else," said he, "and I will give it you."
"Well then," said Maria, "give us Phelim O'Shaugnessy?"
The captain was equally inflexible.
"Come, come, your honour," said Judy, "we must not stand upon triflesnowadays. I'll give you a kiss, if you'll give me Pat Flannagan."
"And I another," said Maria, "for Phelim."
The captain had one seated on each side of him; his head turned like adog-vane in a gale of wind; he did not know which to begin with; themost ineffable good humour danced in his eyes, and the ladies saw atonce that the day was their own. Such is the power of beauty, that thislord of the ocean was fain to strike to it. Judy laid a kiss on hisright cheek; Maria matched it on his left; the captain was the happiestof mortals.
"Well, then," said he, "you have your wish; take your two men, for I amin a hurry to make sail."
"Is it sail ye are after making; and do ye mane to take all those prettycraturs away wid ye? No, faith! another kiss, and another man."
I am not going to relate how many kisses these lovely girls bestowed onthis envied captain. If such are captains' perquisites, who would notbe a captain? Suffice it to say, they released the whole of theircountrymen, and returned on board in triumph. The story reachedHalifax, where the good-humoured admiral only said he was sorry he wasnot a captain, and all the happy society made themselves very merry withit. The captain, who is as brave as he is good, was promoted soonafter, entirely from his own intrinsic merit, but not for this action,in which candour and friendship must acknowledge he was defeated. TheLord-Chancellor used to say, he always laughed at the settlement ofpin-money, as ladies were either kicked out of it or kissed out of it;but his lordship, in the whole course of his legal practice, never saw acaptain of a man-of-war kissed out of forty men by two pretty Irishgirls. After this, who would not shout "_Erin go bragh_!"
Dashing with a fine breeze out of the harbour, I saw with joy the fieldof fortune open to me, holding out a fair promise of glory and riches."Adieu!" said I, in my heart, "adieu, ye lovely Nova Scotians! learn infuture to distinguish between false glitter and real worth. Me yeprized for a handsome person and a smooth tongue, while you foolishlyrejected men of ten times my worth, because they wanted the outwardblandishments."
We were ordered to Bermuda, and on our first quitting the port, steeredaway to the southward with a fair wind at north-west. This breeze soonfreshened into a gale at south-east, and blew with some violence; butafter awhile it died away to a perfect calm, leaving a heavy swell, inwhich the ship rolled incessantly. About eleven o'clock the sky beganto blacken; and, before noon, had assumed an appearance of the mostdismal and foreboding darkness; the sea-gulls screamed as they flewdistractedly by, warning us to prepare for the approaching hurricane,whose symptoms could hardly be mistaken. The warning was not lost uponus, most of our sails were taken in, and we had, as we thought, so wellsecured everything, as to bid defiance to the storm. About noon it camewith a sudden and terrific violence that astonished the oldest and mostexperienced seamen among us: the noise it made was horrible, and itsravages inconceivable.
The wind was from the north-west--the water, as it blew on board, andall over us, was warm as milk; the murkiness and close smell of the airwas in a short time dispelled: but such was the violence of the wind,that, on the moment of its striking the ship, she lay over on her sidewith her lee guns under water. Every article that could move was dancedto leeward; the shot flew out of the lockers, and the greatest confusionand dismay prevailed below, while above deck things went still worse;the mizen-mast and the fore and main top-mast went over the side; butsuch was the noise of the wind, that we could not hear them fall; nordid I, who was standing close to the mizen-mast at the moment, know itwas gone, until I turned round and saw the stump of the mast snapped intwo like a carrot. The noise of the wind "waxed louder and louder;" itwas like one continued peal of thunder; and the enormous waves, as theyrose, were instantly beheaded by its fury, and sent in foaming sprayalong the bosom of the deep; the storm stay-sails flew to atoms; thecaptain, officers, and men stood aghast, looking at each other, andwaiting the awful event in utter amazement.
The ship lay over on her larboard side so heavily as to force the gunports, and the nettings of the waist hammocks, and seemed as if settlingbodily down
; while large masses of water, by the force of the wind, werewhirled up into the air; and others were pouring down the hatchways,which we had not had time to batten down, and before we had succeeded,the lower deck was half full, and the chests and hammocks were allfloating about in dreadful disorder. The sheep, cow, pigs, and poultrywere all washed overboard out of the waist and drowned; no voice couldbe heard, and no orders were given; all discipline was suspended; everyman was equal to his neighbour; captain and sweeper clung alike to thesame rope for security.
The carpenter was for cutting away the masts, but the captain would notconsent. A seaman crawled aft on the quarter-deck, and, screaming intothe ear of the captain, informed him that one of the anchors had brokenadrift, and was hanging by the cable under the bows. To have let itremain long in this situation, was certain destruction to the ship, andI was ordered forward to see it cut away; but so much had the gale andthe sea increased in a few minutes, that a passage to the forecastle wasnot to be found; on the weather side, the wind and sea were so violentthat no man could face them. I was blown against the boats, and withdifficulty got back to the quarter-deck; and going over to leeward, Iswam along the gangway under the lee of the boats, and delivered theorders, which with infinite difficulty at last were executed.
On the forecastle I found the oldest and stoutest seamen holding on bythe weather-rigging, and crying like children: I was surprised at this,and felt proud to be above such weakness. While my superiors in age andexperience were sinking under apprehension, I was aware of our danger,and saw very clearly, that if the frigate did not right very shortly, itwould be all over with us; for in spite of our precautions, the waterwas increasing below. I swam back to the quarter-deck, where thecaptain, who was as brave a man as ever trod a plank, stood at thewheel, with three of the best seamen; but such were the rude shockswhich the rudder received from the sea, that it was with the utmostdifficulty they could prevent themselves being thrown over the ship'sside. The lee quarter-deck guns were under water; but it was proposedto throw them overboard and as it was a matter of life and death, wesucceeded. Still she lay like a log, and would not right, and settleddown in a very alarming manner. The violence of the hurricane wasunabated, and the general feeling seemed to be, "To prayers!--toprayers!--all lost!"
The fore and mainmasts still stood, supporting the weight of rigging andwreck which hung to them, and which like a powerful lever, pressed thelabouring ship down on her side. To disengage this enormous top-hamperwas to us an object more to be desired than expected. Yet the case wasdesperate, and a desperate effort was to be made, or in half an hour weshould have been past praying for, except by a Roman Catholic priest.The danger of sending a man aloft was so imminent, that the captainwould not order one on this service; but calling the ship's company onthe quarter-deck, pointed to the impending wreck, and by signs andgestures, and hard bawling, convinced them that unless the ship wasimmediately eased of her burden, she must go down.
At this moment every wave seemed to make a deeper and more fatalimpression on her. She descended rapidly in the hollows of the sea, androse with dull and exhausted motion, as if she felt she could do nomore. She was worn out in the contest, and about to surrender, like anoble and battered fortress, to the overwhelming power of her enemies.The men seemed stupefied with the danger, and I have no doubt, couldthey have got at the spirits, would have made themselves drunk, and inthat state, have met their inevitable fate. At every lurch, themainmast appeared as if making the most violent efforts to disengageitself from the ship; the weather shrouds became like straight bars ofiron, while the lee shrouds hung over in a semicircle to leeward, orwith the weather-roll, banged against the mast, and threatened instantdestruction, each moment, from the convulsive jerks. We expected to seethe mast fall, and with it the side of the ship to be beaten in. No mancould be found daring enough, at the captain's request, to venturealoft, and cut away the wreck of the main top-mast, and the main yard,which was hanging up and down, with the weight of the top-mast andtopsail-yard resting upon it. There was a dead and stupid pause, whilethe hurricane, if anything, increased in violence.
I confess that I felt gratified at this acknowledgment of a danger whichnone dared face. I waited a few seconds to see if a volunteer wouldstep forward, resolved, if he did, that I would be his enemy for life,inasmuch as he would have robbed me of the gratification of my darlingpassion--unbounded pride. Dangers, in common with others, I had oftenfaced, and been the first to encounter: but to dare that which a gallantand hardy crew of a frigate had declined, was a climax of superioritywhich I had never dreamed of attaining. Seizing a sharp tomahawk, Imade signs to the captain that I would attempt to cut away the wreck,follow me who dared. I mounted the weather-rigging; five or six hardyseamen followed me; sailors will rarely refuse to follow where they findan officer lead the way.
The jerks of the rigging had nearly thrown us overboard, or jammed uswith the wreck. We were forced to embrace the shrouds with arms andlegs; and anxiously, and with breathless apprehension for our lives, didthe captain, officers, and crew gaze on us as we mounted, and cheered usat every stroke of the tomahawk. The danger seethed passed when wereached the catharpings, where we had foot room. We divided our work;some took the lanyards of the top-mast rigging; I, the slings of themain yard. The lusty blows we dealt were answered by correspondingcrashes; and at length, down fell the tremendous wreck over the larboardgunwale. The ship felt instant relief; she righted, and we descendedamidst the cheers, the applauses, the congratulations, and, I may add,the tears of gratitude of most of our shipmates. The work now becamelighter, the gale abated every moment, the wreck was gradually clearedaway, and we forgot our cares.
This was the proudest moment of my life, and no earthly possession wouldI have taken in exchange for what I felt when I once more placed my footon the quarter-deck. The approving smile of the captain--the heartyshake by the hand--the praises of the officers--the eager gaze of theship's company, who looked on me with astonishment and obeyed me withalacrity, were something in my mind, when abstractedly considered, butnothing compared to the inward feeling of gratified ambition--a passionso intimately interwoven in my existence, that to have eradicated it thewhole fabric of my fame must have been demolished. I felt pridejustified.
Hurricanes are rarely of long continuance; this was succeeded by a gale,which, though strong, was fine weather compared to what we had seen. Wefell to work, rigged our jury-mast, and in a few days presentedourselves to the welcome gaze of the town of Halifax, which, having feltthe full force of the hurricane, expressed very considerable alarm forour safety. My arms and legs did not recover for some time from theeffects of the bruises I had received in going aloft, and for some daysI remained on board. When I recovered, I went on shore, and was kindlyand affectionately received by my numerous friends.
I had not been long at Halifax before a sudden change took place in thebehaviour of my captain towards me. The cause I could never exactlydiscover, though I had given myself some room for conjecture. I mustconfess with sorrow, that notwithstanding his kindness to me on everyoccasion, and notwithstanding my high respect for him, as an officer anda gentleman, I had raised a laugh against him. But he was toogood-humoured a man to be offended at such a harmless act of youthfullevity; and five minutes were usually the limits of anger with thisamiable man on such occasions as I am about to relate.
The fact was this; my truly noble captain sported a remarkably wide pairof blue trousers. Whether he thought it sailor-like, or whether histailor was afraid of putting his lordship to short allowance of cloth,for fear of phlogistic consequences, I know not; but broad as was thebeam of his lordship, still broader and more ample in proportion werethe folds of this essential part of his drapery, quite enough to haveembraced twice the volume of human flesh contained within them, large asit undoubtedly was.
That "a stitch in time saves nine," is a wise saw, unhappily, like manyothers of the same thrifty kind, but little heeded in this our day. Soit was
with Lord Edward. A rent had, by some mischance, been made inthe central seam, and, on the morning of the hurricane, was stillunmended. When the gale came, it sought a quarrel with anything itcould lay hold of, and the harmless trousers of Lord Edward becamesubject to its mighty and resistless devastation; the blustering Boreasentered by the seam aforesaid, and filled the trousers like the cheeksof a trumpeter. Yorkshire wool could not stand the inflated pressure,the dress split to ribbons, and soundly flagellated the very part it wasintended to conceal. What could he do, "in sweet confusion lost, anddubious _flutterings_"--the only defence left against the rude blast washis shirt (for the weather was so warm that second garments weredispensed with), and this too being old, fled in tatters before thegale. In short, clap a sailor's jacket on the Gladiator in Hyde Park,and you have a fair view of Lord Edward in the hurricane.
The case was inconvenient enough; but as the ship was in distress, andwe all expected to go to the bottom in half an hour, it was not worthwhile to quit the deck to replace the dress, which would have availedhim nothing in the depths of the sea, particularly as we were not likelyto meet with any ladies there: nor if there had been any, was it amatter of any moment whether we went to Davy's locker with or withoutbreeches; but when the danger was passed, the joke began to appear, andI was amusing a large company with the _tale_, when his lordship camein. The titter of the ladies increased to a giggle, and then by regulargradation, to a loud and uncontrollable laugh. He very soon discoveredthat he was the subject, and I the cause, and for a minute or two seemedsulky; but it soon went off, and I cannot think this was the reason ofhis change of sentiments; for, although it is high treason in amidshipman to look black at the captain's dog, much less to laugh at thecaptain under any circumstances, still I knew that my captain was toogood a fellow to be offended with such a trifle. I rather suspect I waswished out of the ship by the first lieutenant and gun-room officers;and they were right, for where an inferior officer is popular with themen, discipline must suffer from it. I received a good-natured hintfrom Lord Edward that another captain in a larger frigate would be happyto receive me. I understood him; we parted good friends, and I shallever think of him with respect and gratitude.
My new captain was a very different sort of man, refined in his manner,a scholar, and a gentleman. Kind and friendly with his officers, hislibrary was at their disposal; the fore cabin, where his books wereusually kept, was open to all; it was the school-room of the youngmidshipmen and the study of the old ones. He was an excellentdraughtsman, and I profited not a little by his instructions; he lovedthe society of the ladies, so did I; but he being a married man was moreselect in his company and more correct in his conduct than I couldpretend to be.
We were ordered to Quebec, sailed through the beautiful Gut of Canso,and up the spacious and majestic St. Lawrence, passing in sight of theIsland of Anticosta. Nothing material occurred during the passage, savethat a Scotch surgeon's assistant, having adopted certain aristocraticnotions, required a democratical lecture on heads, which was dulyadministered to him. He pretended that he was, by birth and education(at Edinburgh), entitled to be at the head of our mess. This Iresisted, and soon taught the ambitious son of Esculapius that thescience of defence was as important as the art of healing; and that ifhe was skilful in this latter, I would give him an opportunity ofemploying it on his own person: whereupon I implanted on his sinciput,occiput, os frontis, os nasi, and all other vulnerable parts of hisbody, certain concussions calculated to stupify and benumb thesensorium, and to produce under each eye a quantity of black,extravasated blood; while, at the same time, a copious stream of carminefluid issued from either nostril. It was never my habit to bully ortake any unfair advantage; so, having perceived a cessation of arms onhis part, I put the usual interrogatives as to whether the partycontending was satisfied, and being answered in the affirmative, I laidby my metacarpal until they might be further wanted, either for reproofor correction.
We anchored off Cape Diamond, which divides the St. Lawrence from thelittle river St. Charles. The continuation of this cape, as it recedes,forms the Heights of Abraham; on which the immortal Wolfe defeatedMontcalm, in the year 1759, when both the generals ended their gloriouscareer on the field of battle. The city stands on the extremity of thecape, and has a very romantic appearance. The houses and churches aregenerally covered with tin, to prevent conflagration, to which the placewas remarkably subject when the houses were covered with thatch orshingle. When the rays of the sun lay on the buildings, they had theappearance of being cased in silver.
One of our objects in going to Quebec was to procure men, of which thesquadron was very deficient. Our seamen and marines were secretly andsuddenly formed into pressgangs. The command of one of them wasconferred on me. The officers and marines went on shore in disguise,having agreed on private signals and places of rendezvous; while theseamen on whom we could depend acted as decoy-ducks, pretending tobelong to merchant vessels, of which their officer was the master, andinducing them to engage, for ten gallons of rum and three hundreddollars, to take the run home. Many were procured in this manner, andwere not undeceived until they found themselves alongside of thefrigate, when their oaths and execrations may be better conceived thandescribed or repeated.
It may be proper to explain here that the vessels employed in the timbertrade arrive in the month of June, as soon as the ice is clear of theriver, and, if they do not sail by or before the end of October, areusually set fast in the ice, and forced to winter in the St. Lawrence,losing their voyage, and lying seven or eight months idle. Aware ofthis, the sailors, as soon as they arrive, desert, and are secreted andfed by the crimps, who make their market of them in the fall of the yearby selling them to the captains; procuring for the men an exorbitant sumfor the voyage home, and for themselves a handsome _douceur_ for theirtrouble, both from the captain and the sailor.
We were desired not to take men out of the merchant vessels, but tosearch for them in the houses of the crimps. This was to us a source ofgreat amusement and singular adventure; for the ingenuity in concealingthem was only equalled by the art and cunning exercised in the discoveryof their abodes. Cellars and lofts were stale and out of use: we foundmore game in the interior of haystacks, church-steeples, closets underfireplaces where the fire was burning. Some we found headed up insugar-hogsheads, and some concealed within bundles of hoop-staves.Sometimes we found seamen, dressed as gentlemen, drinking wine andtalking with the greatest familiarity with people much above them inrank, who had used these means to conceal them. Our information led usto detect these excusable impositions.
I went into the country, about fifteen miles from Quebec, where I hadheard of a crimp's preserve, and after a tedious search, discovered somegood seamen on the rafters of an outhouse intended only to smoke andcure bacon; and as the fires were lighted, and the smoke ascending, itwas difficult to conceive a human being could exist there: nor should wehave discovered them if one of them had not coughed; on which hereceived the execrations of the others, and the whole party wasinstantly handed out. We immediately cut the strings of their trousersbehind, to prevent their running away (this ought never to be omitted),and, placing them and ourselves in the farmer's waggon, made him put histeam to and drive us all to Quebec, the new-raised men joining with ourown in all the jokes which flew thick about on the occasion of theirdiscovery. It was astonishing to me how easily these fine fellowsreconciled themselves to the thoughts of a man-of-war; perhaps theapproaching row with the Yankees tended very much to preserve goodhumour. I became an enthusiast in man-hunting, although soberreflection has since convinced me of its cruelty, injustice, andinexpediency, tending to drive seamen from the country more than anymeasure the government could adopt; but I am not going to write atreatise on impressment. I cared not one farthing about the liberty ofthe subject, as long as I got my ship well manned for the impendingconflict; and as I gratified my love of adventure, I was as thoughtlessof the consequences as when I rode over a farmer's turnips
in England,or broke through his hedges in pursuit of a fox.
A tradesman at Quebec had affronted me, by refusing to discount a billwhich I had drawn on my father. I had no other means of paying him forthe goods I had purchased of him, and was much disconcerted at hisrefusal, which he accompanied with an insult to myself and my cloth,never to be forgotten. Turning the paper over and over, he said, "Amidshipman's bill is not worth a farthing, and I am too old a bird to becaught with such chaff."
Conscious that the bill was good, I vowed revenge. My search-warrantenabled me to go wherever I could get information of men beingconcealed--this was easily obtained from a brother mid (the poor manmight as well have been in the hands of the holy brotherhood). Mycompanion stated his firm conviction that sailors were concealed in thehouse: I applied to the captain, and received orders to proceed by allmeans in execution of my duty. The tradesman was a man of consequencein Quebec, being what is there called a large storekeeper, though we inEngland should have called him a shopkeeper. About one o'clock in themorning, we hammered at his door with no gentle tap, demandingadmittance in the name of our sovereign lord the king. We were refused,and forthwith broke open the door, and spread over his house, like anest of cockroaches. Cellars, garrets, maids' rooms, ladies' rooms, weentered _sans ceremonie_; paid little regard to the Medicean costume ofthe fair occupants; broke some of the most indispensable articles ofbedroom furniture; rattled the pots and pans about in the kitchen; and,finding the two sons of the master of the house, ordered them to dressand come with us, certain, we said, that they were sailors.
When the old tradesman saw me he began to smell a rat, and threatened mewith severe punishment. I showed him my search-warrant, and asked himif it was a _good bill_. After having inspected every part of thehouse, I departed, leaving the two young cubs half dead with fear. Thenext day a complaint was lodged at the government house; butinvestigation is a long word when a man-of-war is ordered on service.Despatches from Albany reached Quebec, stating that the President of theUnited States had declared war against England; in consequence of which,our captain took leave of the governor, and dropped down the river withall speed, so I never heard any more of my tradesman.
We arrived at Halifax fully manned, and immediately received orders toproceed to sea, "to sink, burn, and destroy." We ran for Boston Bay,when, on the morning we made the land, we discovered ten or twelve sailof merchant vessels. The first we boarded was a brig; one of our boatswas lowered down; I got into her, and jumped on the deck of the Yankee,while the frigate continued in chase of the others. The master of thevessel sat on a hen-coop, and did not condescend to rise or offer me theleast salute as I passed him; he was a short, thick, paunchy-lookingfellow.
"You are an Englishman, I guess?"
"I guess I am," I said, imitating him with a nasal twang.
"I thought we shouldn't be long in our waters afore we met some of youold-country sarpents. No harm in what I said, I hope?" added themaster.
"Oh, no," said I, "not the least; it will make no difference in the longrun. But where do you come from, and where are you bound?"
"Come from Smyrna, and bound to Boston, where I hope to be to-morrowmorning, by the blessing of God, and a good conscience."
From this answer, I perceived that he was unacquainted with the war, andI therefore determined to play with him a little before I gave him thefatal news. "And pray," said I, "what might your cargo consist of? Youappear to be light."
"Not so light neither, I guess," said the man; "we have sweet-oil,raisins, and what we calls notions."
"I have no notion," said I, "what they might be. Pray explainyourself."
"Why you see, notions is what we call a little of all sorts like. Somelikes one thing, you know, and some another: some likes sweet almonds,and some likes silk, and some likes opium, and some" (he added, with acunning grin) "likes dollars."
"And are these the notions with which you are loaded?" said I.
"I guess they are," replied Jonathan.
"And what might your outward cargo have been?" said I.
"Salt fish, flour, and tobacco," was his answer.
"And is this all you have in return?" I asked. "I thought the Smyrnatrade had been a very good one."
"Well, so it is," said the unwary Yankee. "Thirty thousand dollars inthe cabin, besides the oil and the rest of the goods, ain't no badthing."
"I am very glad to hear of the dollars," said I.
"What odds does that make to you?" said the captain; "it won't be muchon 'em as'll come to your share."
"More than you may think," said I. "Have you heard the news as you camealong?"
At the word "news," the poor man's face became the colour of one in thejaundice. "What news?" said he, in a state of trepidation that hardlyadmitted of utterance.
"Why, only that your president, Mr Madison, has thought fit to declarewar against England."
"You're only a joking?" said the captain.
"I give you my word of honour I am serious," said I; "and your vessel isa prize to His Britannic Majesty's ship, the ---."
The poor man fetched a sigh from the waistband of his trousers. "I am aruined man," said he. "I only wish I'd known a little sooner of the waryou talk about: I've got two nice little guns there forward; youshouldn't a had me so easily."
I smiled at his idea of resistance against a fast-sailing frigate offifty guns; but left him in the full enjoyment of his conceit, andchanging the subject, asked if he had anything he could give us todrink, for the weather was very warm.
"No, I ha'n't," he replied, peevishly; "and if I had--"
"Come, come, my good fellow," said I, "you forget you are a prize;civility is a cheap article, and may bring you a quick return."
"That's true," said Jonathan, who was touched on the nicest point--self;"that's true, you are only a doing your duty. Here, boy, fetch up thatere demi-John of Madeira, and for aught I know, the young officer mightlike a drop o' long cork; bring us some tumblers, and one o' they claretbottles out o' the starboard after locker."
The boy obeyed--and the articles quickly appeared. While this dialoguewas going on, the frigate was in chase, firing guns, and bringing-to thedifferent vessels as she passed them, dropping a boat on board of one,and making sail after another. We stood after her with all the sail wecould conveniently carry.
"Pray," said the captain, "might I offer you a bit of something to eat?I guess you ha'n't dined yet, as it isn't quite meridian."
I thanked him, and accepted his offer: he ran down instantly to thecabin, as if to prepare for my reception; but I rather thought he wishedto place some articles out of my sight, and this proved to be the case,for he stole a bag of dollars out of the cargo. In a short time, I wasinvited down. A leg of cured pork, and a roasted fowl, were veryacceptable to a midshipman at any time, but particularly so to me; and,when accompanied by a few glasses of the Madeira, the barometer of myspirits rose in proportion to the depression of his.
"Come, captain," said I, filling a bumper of claret, "here's to a longand bloody war."
"Damn the dog that won't say amen to that," said the master; "but wheredo you mean to carry me to? I guess to Halifax. Sha'n't I have myclothes and my own private _venter_?"
"All your private property," said I, "will be held sacred; but yourvessel and cargo are ours."
"Well, well," said the man, "I know that; but if you behave well to me,you shan't find I'm ungrateful. Let me have my things, and I'll giveyou a bit o' news as will be of sarvice to you."
He then told me, on my promising him his private venture, that we hadnot a moment to lose, for that a vessel, just visible on the horizon,was from Smyrna, richly laden; she was commanded by a townsman of his,and bound to the same place. I turned from him with contempt, and atthe same moment made the signal to speak the frigate. On going onboard, I told the captain what I had heard from the master of the prize,and the promise I had given. He approved of it; the proper number ofmen were instantly sent bac
k to the brig, the prisoners taken out, andthe frigate made sail in chase of the indicated vessel, which shecaptured that night at nine o'clock.
I would not willingly believe that such perfidy is common among theAmericans. On parting with the master of my brig, a sharp dialogue tookplace between us.
"I guess I'll fit out a privateer, and take some of your merchanters."
"Take care you are not taken yourself," said I, "and pass your time onboard one of our prison ships; but, remember, whatever may happen, it'sall your own fault. You have picked a German quarrel with us, to pleaseBoney; and he will only spit in your face when you have done your bestfor him. Your wise President has declared war against themother-country."
"Damn the mother-country," muttered the Yankee; "stepmother, I guess youmean, tarnation seize her!!!"
We continued following the ship, and by night-time the frigate hadsecured eight prizes; one of them being a brig in ballast, the prisonerswere put on board of her, my Yankee friend among the number, and turnedadrift, to find their way home. We took care to give to all of themtheir private ventures and their clothes. I was in hopes of beingallowed to go to Halifax with my prize; but the captain, knowing how Iwas likely to pass my time, kept me with him. We cruised two months,taking many privateers, some large and some small; some we burned, andsome we scuttled.
One day we had one of these craft alongside, and having taken everythingout of her that was worth moving, we very imprudently set her on firebefore she was clear of the ship's side; and as we were on a wind, itwas some minutes before we could get her clear. In the meantime thefire began to blaze up in a very alarming manner under the mizen chains,where, by the attraction of the two floating bodies, she seemed resolvedto continue; but on our putting the helm up I and giving the vessel asheer the contrary way, as soon as we were before the wind, she partedfrom us, to our great joy, and was soon in a volume of flame. Ourreason for setting her on fire alongside was to save time, as we wantedto go in chase of another vessel, seen from the mast-head, and loweringa boat down to destroy this vessel would have detained us.
Before the end of the cruise, we chased a schooner, which ran on shoreand bilged; we boarded her, brought away her crew and part of her cargo,which was very valuable. She was from Bordeaux, bound to Philadelphia.I was sent to examine her, and endeavour to bring away more of hercargo. The tide rising in her, we were compelled to rip up her decks,and discovered that she was laden with bales of silk, broad cloths,watches, clocks, laces, silk stockings, wine, brandy, bars of steel,olive-oil, etcetera, etcetera. I sent word of this to the captain; andthe carpenter and plenty of assistants arriving, we rescued a greatquantity of the goods from the deep or the Yankee boats, who would soonhave been on board after we left her. We could perceive in the holdsome cases, but they were at least four feet under water. It wasconfoundedly cold; but I thought there was something worth diving for,so down I went, and contrived to keep myself long enough under water tohook one end of a case, by which means we broke it out and got it up.It was excellent claret, and we were not withheld from drinking it byany scruples of conscience; for if I had not dived for it, it wouldnever have come to the mouth of an Englishman. We discussed athree-dozen case among just so many of us, in a reasonable short time;and as it was October, we felt no ill effects from a frequent repetitionof the dose.
I never felt colder, and diving requires much stimulant. From practiceat this work, I could pick up pins and needles in a clear, sandy bottom;and, considering the density of the medium, could litre like a beaverunder water; but I required ample fees for my trouble. When we returnedon board, we were very wet and cold, and the wine took no effect on us;but as soon as we thawed, like the horn of the great Munchausen, thesecret escaped, for we were all tipsy. The captain inquired the causeof this the next day, and I very candidly told him the whole history.He was wise enough to laugh at it; some captains would have floggedevery one of the men, and disgraced the officers.
On our return into port, I requested permission to go to England inorder to pass my examination as lieutenant, having nearly completed myservitude as a midshipman. I was asked to remain out, and take mychance for promotion in the flag-ship; but more reasons than I chose togive induced me to prefer an examination at a sea-port in England, and Iobtained my discharge and came home. The reader will no doubt give mecredit for having written some dozen of letters to Eugenia: youth,beauty, and transient possession had still preserved my attachment toher unabated. Emily I had heard of, and still loved with a purer flame.She was my sun; Eugenia my moon; and the fair favourites of the westernhemisphere, so many twinkling stars of the first, second, and thirdmagnitude. I loved them all more or less; but all, their charmsvanished, when the beauteous Emily shone in my breast with refulgentlight.
I had received letters from my father, who wished me to come home, thathe might present me to some of the great men of the nation, and securemy promotion to the highest ranks of the service. This advice was good,and, as it suited my views, I followed it. I parted with my captain onthe best terms, took leave of all my mess-mates and the officers in thesame friendly manner; and last, not least, went round to the ladies,kissing, hugging, crying, and swearing love and eternal attachment.Nothing I declared, should keep me from Halifax, as soon as I hadpassed; nothing prevent my marrying one, as soon as I was a lieutenant;a second was to have the connubial knot tied when I was a commander; anda third, as soon as I was made a captain. Oh, how like was I to DonGalaor! Oh, how unlike the constant Amadis de Gaul! But, reader, youmust take me as I was, not as I ought to have been.
After a passage of six weeks, I arrived at Plymouth, and had exactlycompleted my six years' servitude.