A sailor ashore, after a long cruise, is a natural curiosity. Twenty-four
hours' liberty has made him the happiest dog in existence; and the only
drawback to his perfect felicity, is the difficulty of getting rid of his
prize-money within the allotted time. It must, however, be confessed, that
he displays a vast deal of ingenuity in devising novel modes of spending
his rhino. Watches, trinkets, fiddlers, coaches, grog, and girls, are the
long-established and legitimate modes of clearing out his lockers; but
even these means are sometimes found inadequate to effect the desired
object with sufficient rapidity. When there happens to be a number of
brother-tars similarly employed, who have engaged all the coaches,
fiddlers, and sweethearts in the town, it is then that Jack is put to his
wits'-end; and it is only by buying cocked-hats and top-boots for the
boat's-crew, or some such absurdity, that he can get all his cash
scattered before he is obliged to return on board. This is a picture of a
sailor _ashore_, but a sailor _aground_ is a different being altogether.
An unlucky shot may deprive him of a leg or arm; he may be frost-nipped at
the pole, or get a _coup de soleil_ in the tropics, and then be turned
upon the world to shape his course amongst its rocks and shallows, with
the bitter blast of poverty in his teeth. But Jack is not to be beaten so
easily; although run aground, he refuses to strike his flag, and, with a
cheerful heart, goes forth into the highways and byeways to sing "the
dangers of the sea," and, to collect from the pitying passers-by, the
coppers that drop, "like angel visits," into his little oil-skin hat.
These nautical melodists, with voices as rough as their beards, are to be
met with everywhere; but they abound chiefly in the neighbourhood of
Deptford and Wapping, where they seem to be indigenous. The most
remarkable specimen of the class may, however, frequently be seen about
the streets of London, carrying at his back a good-sized box, inside
which, and peeping through a sort of port-hole, a pretty little girl of
some two years old exhibits her chubby face. Surmounting the box, a small
model of a frigate, all a-tant and ship-shape, represents "Her Majesty's
(God bless her!) frigate Billy-ruffian, on board o' which the exhibitor
lost his blessed limb."
Jack--we call him Jack, though we confess we are uncertain of his
baptismal appellation--because Jack is a sort of generic name for his
species--Jack prides himself on his little Poll and his little ship, which
he boasts are the miniature counterparts of their lovely originals; and
with these at his back, trudges merrily along, trusting that Providence
will help him to "keep a southerly wind out of the bread-bag." Jack's
songs, as we have remarked, all relate to the sea--he is a complete
repository of Dibdin's choice old ballads and fok'sl chaunts. "Tom
Bowling," "Lovely Nan," "Poor Jack," and "Lash'd to the helm," with
"Cease, rude Boreas," and "Rule Britannia," are amongst his favourite
pieces, but the "Bay of Biscay" is his crack performance: with this he
always commenced, when he wanted to enlist the sympathies of his
auditors,--mingling with the song sundry interlocutory notes and comments.
Having chosen a quiet street, where the appearance of mothers with blessed
babbies in the windows prognosticates a plentiful descent of coppers, Jack
commences by pitching his voice uncommonly strong, and tossing Poll and
the Billy-ruffian from side to side, to give an idea of the way Neptune
sarves the navy,--strikes, as one may say, into deep water, by plunging
into "The Bay of Biscay," in the following manner;--
"Loud roar'd the dreadful thunder--
The rain a deluge pours--
Our sails were split asunder,
By lightning's vivid pow'rs.
"Do, young gentleman!--toss a copper to poor little Poll. Ah! bless you,
master!--may you never want a shot in your locker. Thank the gentleman,
Polly--
"The night both drear and dark,
Our poor desarted bark,
There she lay--(lay quiet, Poll!)
"There she lay--Noble lady in the window, look with pity on poor Jack,
and his little Polly--till next day,
In the Bay of Biscay O."
"Pray, kind lady, help the poor shipwrecked sailor--cast away on his
voyage to the West Ingees, in a dreadful storm. Sixteen hands on us took
to the long-boat, my lady, and was thrown on a desart island, three
thousand miles from any land; which island was unfortunately manned by
Cannibals, who roast and eat every blessed one of us, except the cook's
black boy; and him they potted, my lady, and I'm bless'd but they'd have
potted me, too, if I hadn't sung out to them savages, in this 'ere sort of
way, my lady--
"Come all you jolly sailors bold,
Whose hearts are cast in honour's mould,
While British valour I unfold--
Huzza! for the Arethusa!
She was a frigate stout and brave
As ever stemm'd the dashing wave--
"Lord love your honour, and throw the poor sailor who has fought and bled
for his country, a trifle to keep him from foundering. Look, your honour,
how I lost my precious limb in the sarvice. You see we was in the little
Tollymakus frigate, cruising off the banks o' Newf'land, when we fell in
with a saucy Yankee, twice the size of our craft; but, bless your honour,
that never makes no odds to British sailors, and so we sarved her out with
hot dumpling till she got enough, and forced her to haul down her stripes
to the flag of Old England. But somehow, your honour, I caught a chance
ball that threw me on my beam-ends, and left me to sing--
"My name d'ye see's Tom Tough,
And I've seen a little sarvice,
Where the mighty billows roll and loud tempests blow,
I've sail'd with noble Howe,
And I've fought with gallant Jarvis,
And in gallant Duncan's fleet I've sung--yo-heave-oh!"
"A sixpence or a shilling rewards Jack's loyalty and eloquence. A violent
tossing of Polly and the ship testify his gratitude; and pocketing the
coin he has collected, he puts about, and shapes his course for some other
port, singing lustily as he goes--
"Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves!"
Farewell, POOR JACK!
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