LIEUTENANT JACK ROGERS AT HOME--HIS BROTHER TOM RESOLVES TO FOLLOW IN
HIS WAKE--HIS OLD SHIPMATES DISCUSSED--LETTER FROM TERENCE ADAIR
DESCRIPTIVE OF HIS FAMILY--ADMIRAL TRITON PLEADS TOM'S CAUSE--THE
ADMIRAL'S ADVICE TO TOM--LEAVING HOME.
"Really, Jack, that uniform is excessively becoming. Do oblige us by
standing up as if you were on the quarter-deck of your ship and hailing
the main-top. I do not remember ever having seen a naval officer above
the rank of a midshipman in uniform before. Do you, Lucy?"
"Only once, at a Twelfth-night party at Foxica, to which you did not go,
when Lady Darlington persuaded Admiral Triton to rig himself out, as he
called it, for our amusement, in a naval suit of the time of Benbow,
belonging to her great-grandfather. I prefer Jack in his uniform, I
own, and he looks infinitely better in it than he does in top-boots and
a hunting-coat, when he is eclipsed by many of the young farmers who
have not two ideas to string together."
These remarks were made in the presence of Jack Rogers by his young and
pretty sisters, Mary and Lucy, soon after his return home from China, on
his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant, when one morning he entered the
breakfast-room, dressed in a bran-new uniform, which, with inward
satisfaction, he had put on at their request, that he might exhibit it
to them. It set off to advantage his manly, well-knit figure, at which
no one could look without seeing that he must possess ample strength of
limb and muscle. An honest, kind heart beamed through a somewhat broad,
very sun-burnt countenance. His features were good, though, and his
head was well set on a wide pair of shoulders, which made him look
shorter than he really was, not that he could boast of being a man of
inches. Take him for all in all, Jack Rogers was a thoroughly good
specimen of the British naval officer. Of course his sisters admired
him--what sisters would not?--but their admiration was surpassed by that
of his youngest brother, Tom, who was firmly of opinion that there never
had been and never could be anybody like him; yet Tom was Jack in
miniature, and the portrait of Jack, taken just before he went to sea,
was frequently supposed to be that of Tom. At school (Tom went to Eagle
House, which, though old Rowley had retired to enjoy a well-earned
"otium cum dignitate" in his native Cumberland, still kept up its
ancient character under an able master) his great delight was to talk of
the sayings and doings of "my brother Jack," and to read extracts from
the accounts of the latter, which from time to time came home. Tom's
schoolfellows knew almost as much about Jack's adventures as those who,
in subsequent years, read them in print, and they all agreed that he
must be a first-rate chap.
"I should think so, indeed," said Tom, in a tone of confidence. "If you
were just to see him once you'd say I am right, and my great wonder is,
that the Lords of the Admiralty don't make him a post-captain right off
at once. They couldn't help themselves if they knew him as well as I
do."
Thus admiring Jack, it was natural that Tom should have resolved to
follow in his footsteps. His whole heart was set upon being a sailor,
and going some day to sea with Jack. He did not talk much about his
intentions; that was not his way, except, perhaps, to one or two very
intimate friends; but he had confided his hopes and wishes to Admiral
Triton, who had promised to forward them.
"You can't choose a better profession, and I'll see about it when the
time comes," answered the Admiral. "Not that the service is what it
was, but I never hold with those who swear that it's going to ruin, and
I shall have no fear on that score as long as there are plenty of fine
young fellows in it, like your brother Jack and his friends Murray and
Adair and scores of others, and such as you'll turn out, Tom, I'm sure.
No, no. I've a notion, however, that we should have been much the
better if those abominable, smoky tea-kettles of affairs introduced of
late years had never been thought of, but one comfort is, that they
never can be of the slightest possible use as men-of-war, though they
may serve to tow ships into action when forts are to be attacked and
such-like work. Never do you get appointed to one if you can help it,
Tom. They'll spoil our sailors as sailors if they do nothing else."
This was said before the _Nemesis_ in China, and other steamers had done
good service, which even seamen of the old school could not disparage.
Of course Tom regarded steamers with the utmost contempt, and never
spoke of them without quoting the remarks of Admiral Triton, who,
however, in the course of time, learnt to modify his opinions.
Tom, who had come home for the holidays with secret hopes of not having
to return to Eagle House, sat proudly smiling his assent to their
sisters' remarks on Jack, stopping for awhile from the vigorous attack
on a plate of ham and eggs, which he had before been making. Jack, who
had taken a chair at the table, asked quietly,--"do you really wish to
hear me hail the main-top?" Mary nodded.
Tom's eyes twinkled, his countenance beamed all over with delight.
Jack got up, planted his feet firmly on the floor, and put his hand to
his mouth as if about to hail.
"I had better not," he said, laughing, "lest I frighten the household
out of their propriety. They will think that some wild bull has got
into the breakfast-room."
"Oh, never mind that; we want to hear how you do speak on board ship,"
said Lucy; "just a few words, you know."
"As you like it," said Jack, and then, putting his hand to his mouth, he
shouted simply, "Maintop there!"
The sound made his sisters jump from their chairs. Tom clapped his
hands with delight, and laughed till the tears rolled down his cheeks.
In rushed the butler and footman and two housemaids, with dusters in
their hands, to ascertain what was the matter. Sir John came hurrying
in from the garden with a look of astonishment on his countenance, and
her ladyship's own maid was sent down to know if anything had happened.
"I told you so," said Jack to his sisters. "I was only speaking as we
do sometimes at sea," he added, turning to the servants, the female
portion of whom lingered to take an admiring look at their young master.
Sir John gazed with a father's pride at his manly son, and then looked
at Tom, about whom he had the evening before received a letter from
Admiral Triton, saying that if the boy still wished to go into the Navy,
he should have great pleasure in getting him forthwith appointed to a
ship.
"If the service turns him out as fine a fellow as his brother, I shall
not regret should he choose it," thought the baronet. "I'll talk to him
and Jack about the matter by-and-by, and ascertain the real bent of the
boy's inclinations." Had Tom known what was passing in his father's
mind he would speedily have decided the question.
The whole party were soon assembled at breakfast--that pleasantest and
most sociable of meals in an English country-house. Besides the members
of the family already introduced, there was Lady Rogers--fair, comely,
gentle-mannered--and kind-hearted--Paul the eldest son, studying the law
that he might take the better care of his paternal estates; and, lastly,
Sidney, a captain in the Guards, at home on leave. Then there were
several guests, county neighbours, who had come for a couple of nights,
a brother officer of Sidney's and a school-fellow of Lucy's. Jack cast
an appreciating glance over the breakfast-table, with its plates of
attractive little rolls, its racks of thin, crisp toast, its small pats
of butter, swimming amid ice in elegantly-designed bowls of crystal, its
eggs under snow-white napkins, its covered dishes containing muffins or
sausages or other minute delicacies, its hissing urn and cream and milk
jugs, and tea set at one end, and its coffee set at the other, presided
over by two sweet-looking girls; and then he smilingly looked over his
shoulder at the side-board, on which, among various comestibles,
appeared a round of beef, another of brawn, a huge ham, and a
venison-pasty.
Who that has been long a wanderer from home has not gone back in memory
to such a scene as now greeted Jack's eyes, especially when hunger has
been gnawing or provender coarse? Jack often had, and though he had
never grumbled at privations or hardships, he was, notwithstanding, all
the more ready to do ample justice to the viands spread out before him.
He showed this when, after having helped several of the party from the
side-board, he returned with his own well-loaded plate to the table.
The guardsman watched him with astonishment, and even his brother, the
barrister, thought that Jack had got an enormous appetite. Jack, who
was hungry, saw no reason why he should not eat till he was satisfied,
and had laid in a store of food to last him till the seven o'clock
dinner, for luncheon he eschewed as effeminate and an unnecessary
interruption to the business of the day.
Before breakfast was concluded the post-bag was brought in, opened by
Sir John, and its contents distributed. An official-looking letter,
addressed to Jack, attracted universal attention.
"Who is it from?" asked Mary anxiously.
"About your prize-money, Jack?" inquired his mother. "You are not yet
again appointed to a ship, I hope, my dear boy?"
"I am, though!" exclaimed Jack exultingly, for the moment not thinking
of his mother's feeling, "and second of a fine new thirty-six gun
frigate the _Plantagenet_, commanded by my old friend Hemming. Couldn't
wish for anything better. Where there's work to be done he is sure to
be sent."
"But you will not have to go away at once, dear Jack, I trust," cried
Lucy, who loved her sailor brother dearly.
Tom said nothing, and it might have been difficult to decide whether he
was about to cry or laugh. He evidently felt as much interested in the
announcement as Jack himself.
"Faith, they do work you hard," observed his guardsman brother. "If the
purchase-system was allowed in your service I suspect that buyers would
be rare."
"I am very glad it doesn't; for now, if a hardworking fellow gets his
foot on the ratlines he has a chance of climbing upwards," answered
Jack. "However, as the _Plantagenet_ has only just been commissioned, I
shall be able to enjoy the civilising influences of home for a short
time longer. In truth, I am almost ashamed at being pleased with the
thoughts of going off again to sea; but after having knocked about all
one's life as a midshipman it is satisfactory to feel that one is an
officer in reality, with a cabin of one's own."
"Of course, my boy; much more natural than to wish to be dangling after
your sisters, or any other of the petticoat tribe who might take it into
their heads to patronise you," said Sir John, glancing with all a
father's pride at his gallant son. "To what station are you to be
sent?"
"As far as I can discover, that remains as yet in the mysterious depths
of my Lords Commissioners' minds," answered Jack, glancing over some
other letters. "Hemming has an idea that it may be to the West Indies;
at least such is the opinion of the Portsmouth tailors, who have
generally more correct information on these matters than any one else.
Just now, when the world is so peaceably disposed, it is not of much
consequence where we go; and as I have never been in those seas I would
rather be sent there than anywhere else."
"I trust that it will not be to the West Indies, my dear boy," said Lady
Rogers. "I have read such sad accounts of the dreadful yellow fever
which kills so many people, and of those terrible hurricanes which send
so many ships to the bottom, and devastate whole islands whenever they
appear, that I tremble at the thoughts of your going there."
"Pray don't let such an idea trouble you, mother," answered Jack; "the
yellow fever only comes once in a way, and hurricanes appear even less
frequently; so that we may hope to escape both one and the other, even
if we do go there. I have no wish, however, to leave home in a hurry,
and should be glad to remain long enough to receive Murray and Adair,
whom I invited to come here, but I am afraid when they hear of my
appointment that they will write to put off their visit till another
time, which may never arrive. It is not likely that we shall be at home
together again. They are capital fellows. You remember them, Lucy,
when we were all on shore after our first trip to sea, and they came to
call on us in London, and afterwards Adair went down with us for a few
days into the country."
"Yes, indeed. Mr Adair, I suppose I must now call him, was, I
remember, a terrible pickle; while Mr Murray appeared to be a
wonderfully sedate, taciturn young Scotchman, a pattern of correctness
and propriety," said Lucy.
"Maybe, but as noble and brave a fellow as ever breathed!" exclaimed
Jack warmly. "I should like to know what opinion you would form of him
now. I must write by to-day's post, and beg him to put off other
engagements if he can, and come to us at once."
"And that terrible pickle, as Lucy calls him, your Irish friend, Mr
Adair, are we to have the honour of renewing our acquaintance with him
before you go away?" asked Mary. "I must protest against having him
here unless you are present to restrain his exuberant spirits, and the
various eccentricities in which he may take it into his head to
indulge."
"Oh, Paddy Adair is as gentle as a pet lamb if you only manage him
properly," answered Jack, laughing. "Those various eccentricities are
merely his little frolicsome ways, which can be restrained by silken
cords. There isn't a quieter fellow breathing in the society of
grown-up young ladies, such as you now are. Remember, you were school
girls when you saw him last, and he possibly did not think it necessary
to treat you with the respect he now would."
"He must indeed be much altered then," observed Lucy. "He had then a
curious fancy for standing on his head, jumping out of windows, and
climbing in at them too, dressing up the dogs and cats in costume,
letting off squibs under horses' noses, putting gunpowder into candles,
etcetera, while his tongue kept up a continued rattle from morning till
night."
"Avast there, sister," cried Jack, interrupting her; "I beg your pardon;
you have made me speak like a sailor on the stage. I assure you that
Paddy would not dream of committing any of the atrocities you enumerate;
on the contrary, if you ask him what is the chief drawback to his
pleasure in society he will tell you that it is an overpowering
bashfulness, which prevents him from expressing himself with the fluency
he desires, and that his great wish when mixing in society is to receive
sympathy and gentle encouragement to enable him to feel at his ease."
"From what I recollect of your friend, Mr Adair, I should have thought
it difficult to find a young man more at his ease in any society into
which he may be thrown," observed Lady Rogers, who was somewhat matter
of fact; "I beg therefore, my dear Jack, that you will not persuade your
sisters to give him any of that sympathy and gentle encouragement he
wishes for, or I do not know where he will stop short."
"Depend on me, mother, I will be as discreet as a judge," said Jack, who
had thus succeeded as he desired in turning the thoughts of Lady Rogers
and his sisters from the yellow fever and hurricanes of the West Indies,
and the conversation for the remainder of breakfast-time became general.
He wrote immediately to his two old messmates, begging them to come at
once, and telling them of his appointment to the _Plantagenet_. Much to
his regret, and possibly to that of his sisters, who were curious to see
into what sort of persons the young midshipmen had grown, they could
neither of them immediately avail themselves of his invitation. They
congratulated him on his good luck, and said that as their friends were
exerting their interest to get them afloat it was possible that they
might ere long meet again, though as they were of the same standing in
the service they could not hope all to be appointed to one ship. Alick
Murray wrote from Scotland. He had taken under his wing a young orphan
cousin, Archy Gordon, who longed to go to sea. Alick said that his
great wish was to have the lad with him, should he get a ship, "if not,"
he added, "I shall be thoroughly satisfied to have him with either you
or Adair, as I am sure that you will both stand his friend in case of
need, and keep an eye on him at all times."
"Of course I will," said Jack to himself. "Murray's friends must always
be my friends, and those he cares for I must care for; however, I hope
that he will not be allowed to rust long on shore; little chance of it
when once he has made himself known."
Adair was in Ireland. "Things are not quite so bad as I expected to
find them in the halls of my ancestors," he wrote. "Although the estate
with its thousands of acres of forest and bog was knocked down as I told
you, the old castle of Ballymacree, with a few dirty acres surrounding
it, was bought back again, and still serves as a residence for my father
and mother, and the best part of a score of my brothers and sisters, and
the wives and husbands and children of the elder ones--a pretty large
party we make, you may fancy. I felt myself quite lost at first among
them all, and the noise and confusion which prevailed after the quiet
and regularity of a man-of-war quite confounded me; however, I have got
accustomed to it now, and can join heartily in the fun and frolic which
goes on from morning till night, and considering my bashful and retiring
disposition, this will show you that I feel myself at home and perfectly
happy."
"I said so," exclaimed Jack triumphantly, showing the letter to his
sisters; "I told you what a quiet, sedate fellow Terence has become, and
here is proof of it. Let us see what more he says." Jack read on:--
"I confess, however, that the sooner I am away and afloat again, the
better for the rest of the family. How they all manage to exist is to
me a puzzle. To be sure there are fish in the streams and
neighbouring lakes, and game in abundance, which we retain the right
of shooting; and sheep on the hills, which, as my father does not
attempt any new-fangled plans for improving the condition of the
people, are allowed to exist; and there are praties in the fields, and
fruit and vegetables in the garden; but there is a scarcity of flour
and groceries, and instead of the claret which, in the good old days,
flowed freely at table, we are reduced to drink whisky, of which the
excise has not always had an opportunity of taking due cognisance. My
father does not quite see the matter in the light I do, and was
inclined to be offended when I ordered down a cask of the cratur from
Dublin, as a salve to my conscience, and a few dozen of claret, as a
remembrance of days gone by; but as the latter went in about as many
evenings, we shall have to stick to the whisky in future. However, if
the house holds together till the _Plantagenet_ is paid off, I can
promise you plenty of amusement of one sort or another, and the
enjoyment of magnificent scenery, if you, my dear Jack, will pay a
visit to Ballymacree. You may depend, too, on as hearty a welcome as
I am sure I should have received by your family had I been able to
avail myself of your invitation. To be sure we muster somewhat
stronger than you do, I suspect, and, might possibly exhibit, what
with your sedate English ideas you would consider an exuberance of
spirits, and I am almost afraid that you would think my five fair
young sisters rather hoydenish young ladies, compared to your own.
One of them, Kathleen, is looking over my shoulder and exclaims,
`Arrah, now Terence, don't be after saying that same, or Leeftenant
Rogers will be thinking us a set of wild Irish girls, with no more
civilisation than a family of gipsies;' but I tell her I won't scratch
out what I have written, but I'll add that she's not the ugliest of
the lot; so, dear Jack, when you do come, you can form your own
opinion; I only wish that I had the chance of making some prize-money
for their sakes. By-the-bye, the eldest of them, Nora, who, at
sixteen, married Gerald Desmond, has got a son called after his
father, who has taken it into his head to go to sea, and as nothing I
can say will make him alter his mind, I suppose he must have his way.
I have written to our cousin, Lord Derrynane, and asked him to try and
get Gerald appointed to the _Plantagenet_, as I should like him to be
under Hemming and you. He is a `broth of a boy,' as we say here, and
I know for my sake, Jack, that you will look after him. They say that
he is very like me, which won't be in his disfavour in your eyes--
though I don't think I ever was such a wild youngster as he is; not
that there's a grain of harm in him. Mind that, and he'll soon get
tamed down in the navy. I don't think I ever wrote so long a letter
in my life, and so as it's high time to bring it to an end, farewell,
Jack, till we meet, and may that be soon, is the sincere wish of,
"Yours ever faithful and true,
"TERENCE ADAIR."
"Of course I will look after his nephew, as I would my own brother.
I'll write and tell him so, though he knows it," exclaimed Jack; "and
now, Lucy, what do you think of my old shipmate?"
"I cannot exactly say that I admire the style of his epistle, but I have
no doubt that he is as kind-hearted and brave as you describe him,"
answered Lucy.
"I don't mean to say that he is much of a letter-writer," said Jack;
"but at all events he writes as he feels and speaks, in the belief that
no eye but mine would read what he had written. His mind is like a
glass--it can be seen through at a glance; and he has no idea of
concealing a single thought from those he trusts, though he is close
enough with the world in general; and I can tell you that he is as true
as steel, and as brave and high-spirited as he is kind-hearted and
generous."
"A perfect hero of romance," observed Lucy, laughing; "I am really sorry
that he is not coming here to enable us to judge of him fairly."
Possibly Lucy thought more about Lieutenant Adair than she chose to
acknowledge. She could not, however, help reflecting that her mamma
would look upon an Irish half-pay naval lieutenant, with a host of
penniless brothers and sisters, in no very favourable light, should he
come in the character of a suitor, so that after all it was just as well
he could not accept Jack's invitation.
Jack made the most of his time while he remained at Halliburton Hall,
winning the good-will of everybody in the neighbourhood. He laughed and
talked and danced with the fairer portion in the most impartial manner;
young and old, pretty and plain, all came in for a due share of his
attentions. His sisters were quite vexed with him for not falling in
love with one of three or four of their especial friends. They had a
preference for a Julia Giffard; but should Jack fail to lose his heart
to Julia, or Julia decline bestowing hers on him, there were at least
three others of almost equal attractions and perfections, either of whom
they could love as a sister-in-law; and it would be so delightful, while
Jack was away, to have some one to whom they might talk about him, and
to whom he would write such delightful letters which they, of course,
would have the privilege of reading.
Then, some day, when he was a commander or post-captain, he would come
home, and marry, and settle down in a pretty little cottage near them,
and take to gardening, as many naval officers do, and be so happy. One
day they delicately broached the subject to Jack. He burst into a
hearty laugh.
"I fall in love with Julia Giffard!" he exclaimed. "My dear girls, what
a miserable fate you are suggesting for your friend. Suppose she were
to engage herself to me! Away I go for three or four years; back for
two months, and off again for a cruise of like duration as the first.
In the mean time she meets half-a-dozen more likely fellows than I am,
as far as money is concerned at all events, but cannot encourage them on
account of her fatal engagement to me; and perhaps, after all, I get
knocked on the head and never come home at all, while the best years of
her youth have gone by. No, no, girls; young naval officers who intend
to follow up their profession have no business to marry; that's my
opinion, and I intend to act on it."
Jack's sisters were disappointed, for they saw that he was in earnest,
and had sound sense on his side, still they were not inclined to give
in.
"Then why were you so anxious to get your two brother officers to come
here?" asked Lucy, with considerable _naivete_.
"Whew! was that running in your head, missie?" cried Jack. "There's no
use denying the fact."
What that fact was Jack did not say. Lucy blushed, and said no more
about Julia Giffard to her hard-hearted brother. Jack went on as usual,
making himself agreeable, to the best of his power, and no one would
have suspected who saw them together, that the pretty Julia had been
suggested to him as his future wife, least of all the young lady
herself. He and every one of the family had soon another matter to
engage their attention--Admiral Triton arrived. Tom on seeing him could
scarcely conceal his agitation. The crisis of his fate, as he believed,
had arrived. The Admiral was diplomatic, however, not knowing how Sir
John, or at all events Lady Rogers, would receive his proposal to send
off another of their sons as an offering to Neptune. He and Tom had a
long talk, first in private. Tom acknowledged that he had serious
thoughts of stowing himself away in Jack's chest, not to come out till
the ship was well at sea when he could not be landed; or, failing that
plan, to run off and enter as a powder-monkey or cabin-boy under a
feigned tame. Go he would he had determined, in some way or other, for
if not, he should certainly fall into a decline, or at all events pine
away till he was fit for nothing. As the Admiral looked at his sturdy
figure and rosy cheeks he burst into a fit of laughter.
"I don't fear any such result even should you meet with a refusal, Tom,"
he observed, wishing to try him a little further.
"Oh, Admiral Triton, you don't think that they would wish to make a
parson or a lawyer of me surely?" exclaimed Tom, in a tone of alarm.
"I cannot say honestly that I consider you cut out exactly for either
profession, though I have no doubt you would do your duty should you be
induced to adopt one or the other," was the answer. "However, I will
speak to your father and mother, and if they give me leave I will see
what can be done for you at the Admiralty, and should there be a vacancy
get you appointed to Jack's ship."
Tom thanked the Admiral from the very bottom of his young heart, though
he felt a qualm at the thoughts of the sorrow he should cause his
mother, even should she consent to part with him her youngest born. It
did not, it must be confessed, last very long, and he looked forward
anxiously to the result of the Admiral's application on his behalf.
Admiral Triton waited till after dinner, when the party were assembled
in the drawing-room to broach the subject. A very short conversation
with Sir John showed him that there would be no strong opposition on his
part, and he accordingly stumped over to Lady Rogers, by whose side he
seated himself on the sofa, sticking out his timber toe and commencing
with a warm eulogy on Jack.
"A right gallant fellow is that son of yours. I knew from the first
that he would turn out well; has fully equalled my expectations; had the
true spirit of a sailor as a boy; we want a succession of such in the
service; had I a dozen suits I would send them all to sea, that is to
say if they wished to go. Naval men, generally, don't think as I do,
perhaps. They fancy that the country doesn't appreciate their services,
and, therefore, won't appreciate their sons, and so look out for berths
on shore for them; but it's possible, Lady Rogers, that they
over-estimate themselves. The case is very different with Jack; he is
as modest as a maiden of sixteen, and yet as bold and daring as a lion;
a first-rate officer; he's sure to get on; he'll be a commander in three
or four years, and be a post-captain not long after. Now, there's your
boy, Tom, just such another lad as Jack was--sure to rise in the
service; and yet he'd be thrown away in any other profession. If you
send him to Oxford or Cambridge he'd expend all his energies in
boat-racing, or steeple-chasing and cricket--very good things in their
way, but bringing no result; whereas, the same expenditure of energy in
the navy would insure him honour and promotion; and depend on it he'll
get on just as well as Jack."
"But do you think, Admiral, that Tom really wishes to go to sea?" asked
Lady Rogers, in a slightly trembling voice.
"No doubt about it; determined as a young fellow can be, with yours and
his father's permission," answered the Admiral; and he gave an account
of his conversation with Tom, assuring her ladyship that Sir John had no
objection provided she would consent.
Lady Rogers called up Tom, who had been watching her and the Admiral
from a distant part of the room, guessing what was going forward. With
genuine feeling he threw his arms round his mother's neck, and while,
with tears in his eyes, he confessed that he had set his heart on going
to sea, he told her how very sorry he felt at wishing to leave her.
"The news does not come upon me unexpectedly, my dear boy," she
answered, holding his hand and looking with all a mother's love into his
honest face. "I have long suspected that you wished to go to sea; but,
as you did not say so positively, I thought, perhaps, that you might
change your mind. However, as Admiral Triton assures me that you are
cut out for a sailor, and that he can answer for your becoming as good
an officer as your brother Jack is said to be, if your father gives his
consent, I will not withhold mine."
"Thank you, mother, thank you!" cried Tom, again throwing his arms round
her neck, when something seemed to be choking him, and he could say no
more.
"He has the right stuff in him, never fear, never fear, Lady Rogers,"
said the Admiral, nodding his head approvingly behind Tom's back; "he'll
do."
The rest of the evening was spent in discussing several important points
connected with Tom's outfit, Jack being called in to the consultation.
Admiral Triton confessed that, not expecting a refusal, he had already
made all arrangements at the Admiralty for Tom to join the _Plantagenet_
with Jack; and Tom, his ardent hopes realised, went to bed to dream of
his dashing frigate, of Howe, Nelson, and Collingwood, of the countless
adventures in which he expected to engage, and of the heroic exploits he
had determined to perform.
Tom got up the next morning, feeling two inches taller, and walked about
all day with the full consciousness that he was no longer a schoolboy,
but a midshipman in the Royal Navy, with the right to demand due respect
from all civilians; indeed the female portion of the establishment, with
whom he was a monstrous favourite, were perfectly ready to humour him to
his heart's content. He had been the last baby in the family, and it
was only a wonder that he had escaped being utterly spoiled. His
manners did not escape the notice of the Admiral, who, highly amused,
called him to take a turn in the grounds.
"A little advice from an old salt, who has seen no small amount of
service, will do you no harm, my boy," he began, after they had walked
some way, talking of various matters. "You cannot steer a straight
course, either on shore or afloat, without a definite object to guide
you. Let yours be Duty. Never mind how disagreeable or how arduous or
difficult it may seem, do that which you believe you ought to do,
strictly obey the orders you receive, never neglect an opportunity of
doing the right thing or of gaining professional knowledge, and never be
tempted to do the wrong one. Every officer, remember, and man, too,
from the commander-in-chief downwards, is bound to act to the best of
his abilities for the good of the service. Whatever you are ordered to
do, or however you may be treated by those above you, believe that they
are actuated by that principle. If you remember that whatever you may
be doomed to bear is for the good of the service, you will be able to
endure an immense amount of what you may think hardship without
grumbling. You will find a good many persons above you on board ship
whom you will be bound to obey--your brother Jack among them. Be as
zealous and as ready in obeying him as any one else. Never take offence
from superiors or equals; it is the sign of a weak mind. When spoken to
or even abused, whether you are in the right or the wrong, don't answer
again, and don't be ashamed of expressing regret when anything has gone
wrong. Do your best on all occasions--more you cannot do. There, Tom,
I have given you a pretty long lecture; log it down in your memory, and
act upon it. I repeat--let Duty be your guiding star; do your best for
the good of the service, and don't grumble at your superiors or abuse
your inferiors. These are golden rules well worth remembering, my boy."
"Thank you very much, Admiral Triton; I will try and not forget them,"
answered Tom.
"By-the-bye, you'll not find midshipmen of much 'count on board ship,"
continued the Admiral, with a twinkle in his eye, watching to see how
Tom took his remark. "Not only are they inferior in rank to all the
commissioned officers, but to the three warrant officers who have risen
from before the mast, and even the petty officers and men are inclined
to treat them as nurses do the babies under their charge; so you must
not be disappointed if you do not meet with the respect you may possibly
expect from those whom you may look upon as your inferiors, though
they'll obey you readily when you repeat the orders you have received
from your superiors."
"I understand, Admiral," said Tom, wincing a little at the remark about
the babies, though he laughed as he spoke; "but I suppose, if I set to
work to learn my duty and get quickly out of petticoats, I shall be sent
away in charge of boats, as Jack used to be, and have opportunities of
proving that I am worth something."
"Well said, Tom; it won't be long before you are breeched, depend on
that," said the Admiral, laughing and patting him on the back. "Just
don't mind asking for information from those able to afford it, and you
will soon become a sailor."
The last days at home went rapidly by. Tom enjoyed the satisfaction,
shared in by the whole household, of appearing in his new uniform, an
old one of Jack's, which exactly fitted him, having been sent to Selby,
the Portsmouth tailor, as a pattern. With no little pride also he
buckled on a sword to his side, dirks having by that time gone out of
fashion. Dreading the Admiral's quizzing glances, he took the
opportunity of his absence to exhibit himself, again putting on plain
clothes before his return, and only at his mother's request did he
venture to resume his uniform at dinner, not again for many a day to
appear in mufti.
Admiral Triton insisted on accompanying Jack and Tom to Portsmouth,
where he was always glad of an excuse for going. It was a consolation
to Lady Rogers to see Tom go off under Jack's wing, as she knew that, as
far as one human being can take care of another, Jack would watch over
Tom. Jack left Halliburton without having, by word or look, confessed
an attachment, even if he felt it, for Julia Giffard, or for any other
young lady among his sisters' dear friends. He and Tom were much
missed, and certainly Julia Giffard, who came to stay there, took
considerable interest in listening to his sisters' accounts of Jack's
numerous exploits--so at least these young ladies fancied.