Since laws were made for every degree,
I wonder we haven't better company on Tyburn tree.
"BEGGAR'S OPERA."
While I was on board of this ship, two poor men were executed for
mutiny. The scene was far more solemn to me than anything I had ever
beheld. Indeed, it was the first thing of the kind I had ever been
present at. When we hear of executions on shore, we are always prepared
to read of some foul atrocious crime, some unprovoked and unmitigated
offence against the laws of civilised society, which a just and merciful
government cannot allow to pass unpunished. With us at sea there are
many shades of difference; but that which the law of our service
considers a serious offence is often no more than an ebullition of local
and temporary feeling, which in some cases might be curbed, and in
others totally suppressed by timely firmness and conciliation.
The ships had been a long time at sea, the enemy did not appear, and
there was no chance either of bringing him to action or of returning
into port. Indeed, nothing can be more dull and monotonous than a
blockading cruise "in the team," as we call it; that is, the ships of
the line stationed to watch an enemy. The frigates have, in this
respect, every advantage; they are always employed on shore, often in
action, and the more men they have killed, the happier are the
survivors. Some melancholy ferment on board of the flag-ship I was in,
caused an open mutiny. Of course it was very soon quelled; and the
ringleaders having been tried by a court-martial, two of them were
condemned to be hanged at the yard-arm of their own ship, and were
ordered for execution the following day but one.
Our courts-martial are always arrayed in the most pompous manner, and
certainly are calculated to strike the mind with awe--even of a captain
himself. A gun is fired at eight o'clock in the morning from the ship
where it is to be held, and a union flag is displayed at the mizen peak.
If the weather be fine, the ship is arranged with the greatest nicety;
her decks are as white as snow--her hammocks are stowed with care--her
ropes are taut--her yards square--her guns run out--and a guard of
marines, under the orders of a lieutenant, prepared to receive every
member of the court with the honour due to his rank. Before nine
o'clock they are all assembled; the officers in their undress uniform,
unless an admiral is to be tried. The great cabin is prepared, with a
long table covered with a green cloth. Pens, ink, paper, prayer-books,
and the Articles of War are laid round to every member. "Open the
court," says the president.
The court is opened, and officers and men indiscriminately stand round.
The prisoners are now brought in under the charge of the
provost-marshal, a master-at-arms, with his sword drawn, and placed at
the foot of the table, on the left hand of the judge-advocate. The
court is sworn to do its duty impartially, and if there is any doubt, to
let it go in favour of the prisoner. Having done this, the members sit
down, covered, if they please.
The judge-advocate is then sworn, and the order for the court-martial
read. The prisoner is put on his trial; if he says anything to commit
himself, the court stops him, and kindly observes, "We do not want your
evidence against yourself; we want only to know what others can prove
against you." The unfortunate man is offered any assistance he may
require; and when the defence is over, the court is cleared, the doors
are shut, and the minutes, which have been taken down by the
judge-advocate, are carefully read over, the credibility of the
witnesses weighed, and the president puts the question to the youngest
member first, "Proved, or not proved?"
All having given their answer, if seven are in favour of "Proved," and
six against, "Proved" is recorded. The next question--if for mutiny or
desertion, or other capital crime--"Flogging, or death?" The votes are
given in the same way; if the majority be for death, the judge-advocate
writes the sentence, beginning with the president, and ending with the
judge-advocate. The court is now opened again, the prisoner brought in,
and an awful and deep silence prevails. The members of the court all
put their hats on, and are seated; every one else, except the
provost-marshal is uncovered. As soon as the judge-advocate has read
the sentence, the prisoner is delivered to the custody of the
provost-marshal, by a warrant from the president; and he has charge of
him till the time for the execution of the sentence.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, I received a message from one of
the prisoners, saying he wished much to speak with me. I followed the
master-at-arms down to the screened cabin, in the gun-room, where the
men were confined with their legs in irons. These irons consist of one
long bar and a set of shackles. The shackles fit the small part of the
leg, just above the ankle. The end of the bar is then passed through,
and secured with a padlock. I found the poor fellows sitting on a
shot-box. Their little meal lay before them untouched; one of them
cried bitterly; the other, a man of the name of Strange, possessed a
great deal of equanimity, although evidently deeply affected. This man
had been pretty well educated in youth, but having taken a wild and
indolent turn, had got into mischief, and to save himself from a severe
chastisement, had run away from his friends, and entered on board a
man-of-war. In this situation he had found time, in the intervals of
duty, to read and to think; he became, in time, sullen, and separated
himself from the occasional merriment of his mess-mates; and it is not
improbable that this moody temper had given rise to the mutinous acts
for which he was to suffer.
This man now apologised for the liberty he had taken, and said he would
not detain me long. "You see, sir," said he, "that my poor friend is
quite overcome with the horror of his situation: nor do I wonder at it.
He is very different from the hardened malefactors that are executed on
shore: we are neither of us afraid to die; but such a death as this, Mr
Mildmay--to be hung up like dogs, an example to the fleet, and a shame
and reproach to our friends--this wrings our hearts! It is this
consideration, and to save the feelings of my poor mother, that I have
sent for you. I saw you jump overboard to save a poor fellow from
drowning; so I thought you would not mind doing a good turn for another
unfortunate sailor. I have made my will, and appointed you my executor;
and with this power of attorney you will receive all my pay and
prize-money, which I will thank you to give to my dear mother, whose
address you will find written here. My motive for this is, that she may
never learn the history of my death. You can tell her that I died for
my country's good, which is very true, for I acknowledge the justice of
my sentence, and own that a severe example is wanting. It is eleven
years since I was in England; I have served faithfully the whole of that
time, nor did I ever misbehave except in this one instance. I think if
our good king knew my sad story, he would be merciful; but God's will be
done! Yet, if I had a wish, it would be that the enemy's fleet would
come out, and that I might die, as I have lived, defending my country.
But, Mr Mildmay, I have one very important question to ask you--do you
believe that there is such a thing as a future state?"
"Most surely," said I; "though we all live as if we believed there was
no such thing. But why do you doubt it?"
"Because," said the poor fellow, "when I was an officer's servant, I was
one day tending the table in the ward-room, and I heard the commander of
a sloop of war, who was dining there with his son, say that it was all
nonsense--that there was no future state, and the Bible was a heap of
lies. I have never been happy since."
I told him that I was extremely sorry that any officer should have used
such expressions at all, particularly before him; that I was incapable
of restoring his mind to its proper state; but that I should recommend
his immediately sending for the chaplain, who, I had no doubt, would
give him all the comfort he could desire. He thanked me for this
advice, and profited by it, as he assured me in his last moments.
"And now, sir," said he, "let me give _you_ a piece of advice. When you
are a captain, as I am very sure you will be, do not worry your men into
mutiny by making what is called a smart ship. Cleanliness and good
order are what seamen like; but niggling, polishing, scraping iron bars
and ring-bolts, and the like of that, a sailor dislikes more than a
flogging at the gangway. If, in reefing topsails, you happen to be a
minute later than another ship, never mind it, so long as your sails are
well reefed, and fit to stand blowing weather. Many a sail is split by
bad reefing, and many a good sailor has lost his life by that foolish
hurry which has done incredible harm in the navy. What can be more
cruel or unjust than to flog the last man off the yard? seeing that he
is necessarily the most active, and cannot get in without the imminent
danger of breaking his neck; and, moreover, that one man _must_ be last.
Depend upon it, sir, `that nothing is well done which is done in a
hurry.' But I have kept you too long. God bless you, sir; remember my
poor mother, and be sure you meet me on the forecastle to-morrow
morning."
The fatal morning came. It was eight o'clock. The gun fired--the
signal for punishment flew at our mast-head. The poor men gave a deep
groan, exclaiming, "Lord have mercy upon us!--our earthly career and
troubles are nearly over!" The master-at-arms came in, unlocked the
padlock at the end of the bars, and, slipping off the shackles, desired
the marine sentinels to conduct the prisoners to the quarter-deck.
Here was a scene of solemnity which I hardly dare attempt to describe.
The day was clear and beautiful; the top-gallant yards were crossed on
board of all the ships; the colours were flying; the crews were all
dressed in white trousers and blue jackets, and hung in clusters, like
bees; on the side of the rigging facing our ship: a guard of marines,
under arms, was placed along each gangway, but on board of our ship they
were on the quarter-deck. Two boats from each ship lay off upon their
oars alongside of us, with a lieutenant's and a corporal's guard in
each, with fixed bayonets. The hands were all turned up by the
boatswain and his mates with a shrill whistle, and calling down each
hatchway, "All hands, attend punishment!"
You now heard the quick trampling of feet up the ladders, but not a word
was spoken. The prisoners stood on the middle of the quarter-deck,
while the captain read the sentence of the court-martial and the order
from the commander-in-chief for the execution. The appropriate prayers
and psalms having been read by the chaplain with much feeling and
devotion, the poor men were asked if they were ready; they both replied
in the affirmative, but each requested to have a glass of wine, which
was instantly brought. They drank it off, bowing most respectfully to
the captain and officers.
The admiral did not appear, it not being etiquette; but the prisoners
desired to be kindly and gratefully remembered to him; they then begged
to shake hands with the captain and all the officers, which having done,
they asked permission to address the ship's company. The captain
ordered them all to come aft on the top and quarter-deck. The most
profound silence reigned, and there was not an eye but had a tear in it.
William Strange, the man who had sent for me, then said, in a clear and
audible tone of voice:--"Brother sailors, attend to the last words of a
dying man. We are brought here at the instigation of some of you who
are now standing in safety among the crowd: you have made fools of us,
and we are become the victims to the just vengeance of the laws. Had
you succeeded in the infamous design you contemplated, what would have
been the consequences? Ruin, eternal ruin, to yourselves and to your
families; a disgrace to your country; and the scorn of those foreigners
to whom you proposed delivering up the ship. Thank God! you did not
succeed. Let our fate be a warning to you, and endeavour to show by
your future acts your deep contrition for the past. Now, sir," turning
to the captain, "we are ready."
This beautiful speech, from the mouth of a common sailor, must as much
astonish the reader as it then did the captain and officers of the ship.
But Strange, as I have shown, was no common man; he had had the
advantage of education, and, like many of the ringleaders at the mutiny
of the Nore, was led into the error of refusing to _obey_, from the
conscious feeling that he was born to _command_.
The arms of the prisoners were then pinioned, and the chaplain led the
way, reading the funeral service; the master-at-arms, with two marine
sentinels, conducted them along the starboard gangway to the forecastle.
Here a stage was erected on either side, over the cathead, with steps
to ascend to it; a tail block was attached to the boom-iron, at the
outer extremity of each foreyard-arm, and through this a rope was rove,
one end of which came down to the stage; the other was led along the
yard into the catharpings, and thence down upon the main deck. A gun
was primed and ready to fire, on the fore part of the ship, directly
beneath the scaffold.
I attended poor Strange to the very last moment; he begged me to see
that the halter, which was a piece of line, like a clothes' line, was
properly made fast round his neck, for he had known men suffer
dreadfully from the want of this precaution. A white cap was placed on
the head of each man, and when both mounted the platform, the cap was
drawn over their eyes. They shook hands with me, with their mess-mates,
and with the chaplain, assuring him that they died happy, and confident
in the hopes of redemption. They then stood still while the yard-ropes
were fixed to the halter by a toggle in the running noose of the latter;
the other end of the yard-ropes were held by some twenty or thirty men
on each side of the main deck, where two lieutenants of the ship
attended.
All being ready, the captain waved a white handkerchief, the gun fired,
and in an instant the poor fellows were seen swinging at either
yard-arm. They had on blue jackets and white trousers, and were
remarkably fine-looking young men. They did not appear to suffer any
pain; and at the expiration of an hour, the bodies were lowered down,
placed in coffins, and sent on shore for interment.
On my arrival in England, nine months after, I acquitted myself of my
promise, and paid to the mother of William Strange upwards of fifty
pounds, for pay and prize-money. I told the poor woman that her son had
died a Christian, and had fallen for the good of his country; and having
said this, I took a hasty leave, for fear she should ask questions.
That the execution of a man on board of a ship of war does not always
produce a proper effect upon the minds of the younger boys, the
following fact may serve to prove. There were two little fellows on
board the ship; one was the son of the carpenter, the other of the
boatswain. They were both of them surprised and interested at the
sight, but not proportionably shocked. The next day I was down in one
of the wings, reading by the light of a purser's dip--_vulgo_, a
farthing candle; when these two boys come sliding down the main hatchway
by one of the cables. Whether they saw me, and thought I would not
`peach', or whether they supposed I was asleep, I cannot tell; but they
took their seats on the cables, in the heart of the tier, and for some
time appeared to be in earnest conversation. They had some articles
folded up in a dirty check shirt and pocket handkerchief; they looked up
at the battens, to which the hammocks are suspended, and producing a
long rope-yarn, tried to pass it over one of them; but unable to reach,
one boy climbed on the back of the other, and effected two purposes, by
reeving one end of the line, and bringing it down to the cables again.
They next unrolled the shirt, and, to my surprise, took out the
boatswain's kitten, about three months old; its fore paws were tied
behind its back, its hind feet were tied together, and a fishing-lead
attached to them; a piece of white rag was tied over its head as a cap.
It was now pretty evident what the fate of poor puss was likely to be,
and why the lead was made fast to her feet. The rope-yarn was tied
round her neck; they each shook one of her paws, and pretended to cry.
One of the urchins held in his hand a fife into which he poured as much
flour as it would hold out of the handkerchief; the other held the end
of the rope-yarn: every ceremony was gone through that they could think
of.
"Are you ready?" said the executioner, or he that held the line.
"All ready," replied the boy with the fife.
"Fire the gun!" said the hangman.
The boy applied one end of the fife to his mouth, blew out all the
flour, and in this humble imitation of the smoke of a gun, poor puss was
run up to the batten, where she hung till she was dead. I am ashamed to
say I did not attempt to save the kitten's life, although I caused her
foul murder to be revenged by the _cat_. After the body had hung a
certain time, they took it down, and buried it in the shot-locker; this
was an indictable offence, as the smell would have proved, so I lodged
the information; the body was found, and, as the facts were clear, the
law took its course, to the great amusement of the bystanders, who saw
the brats tied upon a gun and well flogged.
The boatswain ate the kitten, first, he said, because he had "_larned_"
to eat cats in Spain; secondly, because she had _not_ died a natural
death (I thought otherwise); and his last reason was more singular than
either of the others: he had seen a picture in a church in Spain, of
Peter's vision of the animals let down in the sheet, and there was a cat
among them. Observing an alarm of scepticism in my eye, he thought
proper to confirm his assertion with an oath.
"Might it not have been a rabbit?" said I.
"Rabbit, sir! damn me, think I didn't know a cat from a rabbit? Why one
has got short ears and long tail, and t'other has got _wicce wercee_, as
we calls it."
A grand carnival masquerade was to be given at Minorca, in honour of the
English, and the place chosen for the exhibition was a church; all which
was perfectly consistent with the Romish faith. I went in the character
of a fool, and met many brother officers there. It was a comical sight
to see the anomalous groups stared at by the pictures of the Virgin Mary
and all the saints, whose shrines were lit up for the occasion with wax
tapers. The admiral, rear-admiral, and most of the captains and
officers of the fleet were present; the place was about a mile from the
town.
Having hired a fool's dress, I mounted that very appropriate animal--a
donkey, and set off amidst the shouts of a thousand dirty vagabonds. On
my arrival, I began to show off in summersaults, leaps, and all kinds of
practical jokes. The manner in which I supported the character drew a
little crowd around me. I never spoke to an admiral or captain unless
he addressed me first, and then I generally sold him a bargain. Being
very well acquainted with the domestic economy of the ships on the
station, a martinet asked me if I would enter for his ship.
"No," said I, "you would give me three-dozen for not lashing up my
hammock properly."
"Come with me," said another.
"No," said I; "your bell-rope is too short--you cannot reach it to order
another bottle of wine before all the officers have left your table."
Another promised me kind treatment and plenty of wine.
"No," said I, "in your ship I should be coals at Newcastle; besides,
your coffee is too weak, your steward only puts one ounce into six
cups."
These hits afforded a good deal of mirth among the crowd, and even the
admiral himself honoured me with a smile. I bowed respectfully to his
lordship, who merely said--
"What do you want of me, fool?"
"Oh, nothing at all my lord," said I; "I have only a small favour to ask
of you."
"What is that?" said the admiral.
"Only to make me a captain, my lord."
"Oh, no," said the admiral, "we never make fools captains."
"No!" said I, clapping my arms akimbo in a very impertinent manner;
"then that, I suppose is a new regulation. How long has the order in
council been out?"
The good-humoured old chief laughed heartily at this piece of
impertinence; but the captain whose ship I had so recently quitted was
silly enough to be offended: he found me out, and went and complained of
me to the captain the next day; but my captain only laughed at him, said
he thought it an excellent joke, and invited me to dinner.
Our ship was ordered to Gibraltar, where we arrived soon after; and a
packet coming in from England, I received letters from my father,
announcing the death of my dearest mother. Oh how I then regretted all
the sorrows I had ever caused her; how incessantly did busy memory haunt
me with all my misdeeds, and recall to mind the last moment I had seen
her! I never supposed I could have regretted her half so much. My
father stated that in her last moments she had expressed the greatest
solicitude for my welfare. She feared the career of life on which I had
entered would not conduce to my eternal welfare, however much it might
promise to my temporal advantage. Her dying injunctions to me were,
never to forget the moral and religious principles in which she had
brought me up; and with her last blessing, implored me to read my Bible,
and take it as my guide through life.
My father's letter was both an affecting and forcible appeal; and never,
in the whole course of my subsequent life, were my feelings so worked
upon as they were on that occasion. I went to my hammock with an aching
head and an almost broken heart. A retrospection of my life afforded me
no comfort. The numerous acts of depravity or pride, of revenge or
deceit, of which I had been guilty, rushed through my mind, as she
tempest through the rigging, and called me to the most serious and
melancholy reflections. It was some time before I could collect my
thoughts and analyse my feelings; but when I recalled all my misdeeds--
my departure from that path of virtue so often and so clearly laid down
by my affectionate parent--I was overwhelmed with grief, shame and
repentance. I considered how often I had been on the brink of eternity;
and had I been cut off in my sins, what would have been my destiny? I
started with horror at the danger I had escaped, and looked forward with
gloomy apprehension at those that still awaited me. I sought in vain,
among all my actions since I left my mother's care, one single deed of
virtue--one that sprang from a good motive. There was, it is true, an
outward gloss and polish for the world to look at; but all was dark
within; and I felt that a keener eye than that of mortality was
searching my soul, where deception was worse than useless.
At twelve o'clock, before I had once closed my eyes, I was called to
relieve the deck; having what is called the middle-watch, i.e. from
midnight till four in the morning. We had, the day before, buried a
quarter-master, nick-named Quid, an old seaman who had destroyed himself
by drinking--no very uncommon case in His Majesty's service. The corpse
of a man who has destroyed his inside by intemperance is generally in a
state of putridity immediately after death: and the decay, particularly
in warm climates, is very rapid. A few hours after Quid's death, the
body emitted certain effluvia denoting the necessity of immediate
interment. It was accordingly sewn up in a hammock; and as the ship lay
in deep water, with a current sweeping round the bay, and the boats
being at the same time all employed in the dockyard, the first
lieutenant caused shot to be tied to the feet, and, having read the
funeral service, launched the body overboard from the gangway, as the
ship lay at anchor.
I was walking the deck, in no very happy state of mind, reflecting
seriously on parts of that Bible which for more than two years I had
never looked into, when my thoughts were called to the summons which
poor Quid had received, and the beauty of the funeral service which I
had read over him--"I am the resurrection and the life." The moon,
which had been obscured, suddenly burst from a cloud, and a cry of
horror proceeded from the look-out-man on the starboard gangway. I ran
to inquire the cause, and found him in such a nervous state of agitation
that he could only say,--"Quid--Quid!" and point with his finger into
the water.