When we arrived at Newbern, the people, having heard of the dreadful
prophecies, were prepared to receive the pamphlets and devour their
contents. Cochran's name, connected with the day of judgment, was in
every mouth. Groups collected at the corners of the streets and on the
wharves, composed of persons of various characters and all complexions,
and discussed the subject of the prediction with wonderful earnestness
and intensity of feeling. Indeed, the excitement in Newbern and
vicinity, caused by this pamphlet, was hardly exceeded in sober New
England in 1839 and 1840, when the charlatan, Miller, by his ridiculous
predictions, spread a panic through the land; when many persons,
discarding the modicum of brains they were supposed to possess,
abandoned their farms, neglected their families, gave away to wiser
persons the little property they owned, and actually prepared their
"ascension robes," to meet with decency and decorum the day of doom.
On the second day after our arrival at Newbern, when I had finished my
labors for the day and was preparing for rest, Captain Thompson came
hurriedly down the wharf and sprang on board the schooner. "Hawser,"
said he, as soon as he recovered breath, "you must rig yourself up a
little and go with me to Captain Merritt's."
"What is going on there, sir, that requires my presence?"
"The boarders want you to read Cochran's pamphlet, and you MUST come."
"But I have no suitable clothes to rig myself up with, sir."
"Never mind your clothes. Wash your face, comb your hair, straighten up
your collar, look in the glass, and you will do well enough. But bear a
hand. They are waiting for you now."
I arranged my toilet in accordance with the captain's suggestions. When
I gave it the finishing touch, by "looking in the glass," I was not
satisfied, believing my costume could hardly reflect honor on the
company; and my heart throbbed with emotion as I accompanied Captain
Thompson to his boarding house. We entered the dining hall, the centre
of which was occupied by a long table, around which were seated some
fifteen or twenty well-dressed individuals, chiefly masters of vessels,
and very different in their appearance and manner from the Ocracoke
pilots. At the head of the table was an empty chair, towards which I was
led by my conductor, who told me to be seated.
Naturally bashful, and conscious of my inferior position, I hardly knew
whether I was asleep or awake; but was soon restored to my senses
by Captain Thompson, who said, in an off-hand manner, "Hawser, these
gentlemen are anxious to hear you read Cochran's pamphlet, which
tells about the judgment day;" and he pushed towards me a copy of the
prediction.
I took the familiar document and commenced my labors. My voice was
tremulous at first, but I soon became accustomed to its sound, and as,
by this time, I knew the greater portion of the book by heart, I got
through the tissue of extravagance with great credit, not only to the
prophet Cochran but myself.
My auditors listened with the closest attention, hardly seeming to
breathe, and it was curious to mark the various expressions which their
tell-tale countenances exhibited as I proceeded. After I had completed
my task, the gentlemen breathed more freely, and stared at one another
in silence. One or two were inclined to treat the prediction with
levity, but their remarks were not well received. It was generally
conceded that the subject was not a proper one for a joke. I received
the thanks of several of my auditors for the acceptable manner in which
I had performed my part in the drama. A few evenings afterwards I was
again called upon to lay the contents of this everlasting pamphlet
before another set of eager listeners! And I rejoiced when, with a full
cargo of naval stores and Carolina notions, the schooner left the wharf,
bound on a voyage to Baltimore.
On reaching Ocracoke Inlet, it appeared that the impression which the
predictions of Cochran had made upon the minds of the inhabitants was
not effaced. We lay at anchor there three days waiting for a wind to
cross the bar, and every evening I was called upon to read chapters
in the Bible for the edification of the worthy Ocracoke pilots, who
probably had not heard a chapter of Scripture recited for years. The
prophecy had taken a deep hold on the minds of some; and ribald jests
and disgusting oaths were seldom heard in the neighborhood of "the
Swash."
I was treated with kindness by Captain Thompson, and performed many of
the duties of mate without occupying the station or receiving the pay.
On the passage to Baltimore the captain exhibited occasional symptoms
of piety, and at one time would listen to a chapter in the Bible with
commendable gravity, and discourse seriously on serious subjects; half
an hour afterwards he would resume his profane and disorderly habits,
and chase away reflection by getting drunk! He was not at peace with
himself; and he dearly loved whiskey and peach brandy.
It was a pleasant season of the year, and the trip to Baltimore, through
the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, was an interesting one. I expected to
find in Baltimore a distant relative, who had often visited my father's
house; been for a time domiciled in his family, and had received
repeated favors. He was now in a respectable position in Baltimore, and
in the simplicity of my heart I longed to visit him, talk with him over
family matters, and listen to words of advice and encouragement from a
friend and relative.
We arrived at Baltimore on a Friday afternoon. I had spoken to Captain
Thompson about my relative and my anticipations of a cordial welcome.
His experience, however, had led him to entertain an unfavorable opinion
of mankind in general, and he expressed a doubt whether a knowledge
of my forlorn condition would not repel the advances and freeze the
affectionate welcome which under other circumstances I might have
expected. I was indignant at such an insinuation, and made known my
intention to call upon my kinsman the next day, and put his feelings to
the proof. The captain kindly aided my purpose. He received information
from the wharfinger of the place of business and position of my
relative; and on the following afternoon, after making myself look as
respectable as possible, I proceeded, with a guide furnished by the
wharfinger, to the counting room or office of my father's friend and
protege in a distant part of the city.
I found him alone, writing at his desk, and recognized him immediately.
But he stared at me, and inquired my business. I mentioned my name; upon
which he seemed greatly astonished, bade me be seated, and questioned me
about myself and connections. I told him the tale of my adventures, gave
him the name of the schooner to which I belonged, the wharf at which
she was lying, and also of the wharfinger, one of his intimate
acquaintances, who had directed me to his office.
He expressed gratification that I had called upon him, said he should
always be glad to hear of my welfare, and after a pause of a few
minutes, rather gravely remarked that he would gladly render me any
service in his power; but he was at that time busy, and requested me to
visit him at his boarding house the next morning at nine o'clock,
when he should have leisure to talk with me further. I returned to the
schooner well satisfied with my reception, and recounted to Captain
Thompson the particulars of the interview. The captain shook his head,
and smiled incredulously.
The next morning, being Sunday, I put myself in what I considered
passable trim, and proceeded with a light heart to the boarding house,
which I found to be a handsome edifice in a genteel part of the city. I
knocked at the door and inquired for my kinsman. The servant ushered me
into a hall and left me. He was absent some time, during which I was an
object of curiosity to several persons of both sexes who entered or left
an adjoining apartment. One very pretty young woman seemed unpleasantly
struck with my appearance, and expressed in audible tones her
astonishment at my impertinence in entering the front door. The servant
at length returned and said the gentleman I wanted was unwell, and could
not be seen.
I was thunderstruck at this announcement, and declared it must be a
mistake. I bade him return and tell the gentlemen I was the person whom
he requested to call that morning at nine o'clock on important business.
Some ten minutes elapsed; my pride took the alarm. Could he be inventing
some paltry excuse for getting rid of what he might consider my
importunities? The young woman again appeared who had before honored me
with her notice, and who I presumed was the daughter of the woman who
kept the house. She accosted me in a manner by no means flattering to my
self-esteem, and told me the gentleman whom I so absolutely persisted in
seeing was quite unwell, and unable to converse with any one that day;
that I must come tomorrow or the day following, or some other day, when
he would be quite well and at leisure! With a contemptuous toss of her
pretty head, she showed me the door, and motioned me to depart.
"Tell him," said I, "that I shall not trouble him again." She smiled, as
if my remark met her hearty approval, and closed the door with a slam!
I slowly returned, through the many magnificent thoroughfares of
Baltimore, to the schooner. The streets were thronged with people
elegantly dressed, who appeared to be rejoicing in their good fortune
and happy in their friends and families. As I pensively wandered along,
unnoticed and unknown, I felt all my loneliness, and began to think the
prosperous and happy times would never arrive that had been promised in
my dreams. The conduct of my relative disappointed me much. It shook
my confidence in mankind, and paralyzed my small stock of self-esteem a
quality essential to even ordinary success in life.
Captain Thompson, perceiving my dejected air, inquired into the
particulars of my interview. I related to him the facts, but suggested
excuses, and placed the matter in as favorable a light as the truth
would admit. The straightforward sailor, however, saw through it all.
He could not contain his indignation: after letting it explode in true
sailor fashion, he concluded with this piece of practical philosophy:
"Never mind, Hawser; 'tis the way of the world. I have always found it
so. As for gratitude, affection, disinterested kindness, and friendship,
'tis all a humbug! RELY ON YOURSELF. Fight the battle of life alone. If
you conquer, you will find friends, kind friends, disinterested friends.
Ha, ha, ha! Cheer up, my boy."
I still clung to a hope that there was some mistake, perhaps a blunder
on the part of the servant who delivered the message, and that I should
receive a note or a visit the next day which would set the matter right.
But neither note nor visit came. In a few days the schooner Mary left
Baltimore on the return to Newbern.
On the passage, the captain was testy, petulant, and unhappy. The
prophecy of Cochran had taken a stronger hold on his mind than he was
willing to acknowledge. I was called upon to read aloud chapters in the
Bible, and especially in the Book of Revelation, Knotty passages in the
pamphlet I was also required to read from time to time. But the oftener
they were read, and the more closely they were examined, the greater was
the puzzle, the more complete the mystification.
We reached Ocracoke in the evening, and the next morning had a fair wind
over the bar and across Pamlico Sound. This was the day on which
the dreaded prediction was to be fulfilled. The sun rose in a clear,
unclouded sky on the morning of that day, and its beams flashed
brilliantly and benignly, as with a gentle breeze from the northward we
entered the mouth of the River Neuse. There could not be a lovelier
day. Even Captain Thompson felt apparently relieved of his anxiety as he
looked abroad upon the beauties of nature and beheld no indications of
the day of doom. He saw no anger in the heavens; he heard no moans
from the distressed animals instinctively snuffing the near approach of
danger and death; he breathed no stifled and sulphurous atmosphere nor
witnessed any other sign of the near approach of a terrible calamity.
He even ventured to express an opinion that "the prophecy of that old
rascal Cochran would not prove true after all."
We reached Newbern in the afternoon, and found everybody gazing at the
heavens with eager looks, in which it would be difficult to say whether
fear or curiosity predominated. Many would not venture to bed till their
hopes were made certain by the striking of the midnight hour; and then
they were so overjoyed at what appeared a new lease of life, that sleep,
that "sweet restorer," was a stranger during the night. In the morning,
however, a gloom was again cast over the spirits of some of the most
superstitious by the remark of a meddlesome old West India captain,
that undoubtedly Cochran, like the seers of olden times, made his
calculations according to the "old style" of computing time. Thus twelve
additional days were allowed to pass before they dared give a full loose
to their joy at the failure of the prediction.
After we had discharged our cargo in Newbern, I indicated to Captain
Thompson that I should like to pass a few days on shore, take respite
from labor, look around the town, and take note of the place and its
inhabitants.
He admitted the reasonableness of my proposition, but took decided
measures to prevent my being led astray by bad company. The worthy
captain, although addicted to irregular habits himself, and in his own
person and character a dangerous exemplar for a young man, watched my
proceedings with the closest scrutiny, and lost no chance to impress on
my mind correct rules of conduct. He particularly cautioned me against
the habit of drinking intoxicating liquors. "It is," said he with a
sigh, "a rock on which many a noble vessel has been wrecked." So much
easier is it to preach than to practise.
With a view to insure my moral safety, Captain Thompson insisted that
while I remained on shore I should stay at his boarding house and occupy
the same room with himself. I accordingly took up my quarters at
Captain Merritt's, where I was heartily welcomed by the landlord and his
boarders.
The impression made upon my mind by the good people of Newbern was
decidedly favorable. I was advised, by several substantial citizens to
whom I was introduced, to make Newbern my home. I was assured that I
should meet with success corresponding with my merits. I regarded the
suggestion as a compliment; and having agreed to accompany Captain
Thompson on another coasting voyage to New York, I determined to take
the matter into consideration. I never returned to Newbern. But I have
always felt grateful for the kind conduct and encouraging words which
I received from the good people of that pleasant and flourishing city.
Ever since that time the name of Newbern falls gently on my ear, and
conjures up a thousand agreeable associations.
The owner of the Mary, Mr. Jarvis, was an active and enterprising
man. He did not allow his vessels to remain idle. In a few days we had
another cargo on board, and proceeded down the river on our way to New
York. Being detained as usual at the Inlet, several of the pilots and
other inhabitants of Portsmouth came on board, and the ribald jest,
the oath, and the dram cup passed freely round. Cochran's pamphlet was
consigned to oblivion. I was no longer called upon to read passages from
the Holy Scriptures. Solemn looks and serious conversation were voted
a bore. They laughed at their former fears; a reaction had taken place,
and the struggle now seemed to be who should surpass his fellows in
wickedness.
So much for Cochran's famous prediction, closely resembling in character
that of Miller at a later day, and uttered with as much confidence and
believed by as many persons. Morever, it is probable that Cochran was as
sincere in his belief as Miller, perhaps more so, for the miserable man,
finding his imagination had played him a trick, and that his prediction
had not been fulfilled, overcome by mortification, and not supported by
a pure religious principle, COMMITTED SUICIDE BY CUTTING HIS THROAT.
It is hardly worth while for man to attempt to solve mysteries in order
to ascertain when the day of judgment will arrive. He should strive so
to regulate his actions, that, let it come when it will, he need not
fear the result.