Malta, which I have selected as the opening scene of the following
story, is, from its historical recollections, its fine climate, and
brilliant skies, a very interesting spot; although, for such beauty as
its scenery possesses, it must be acknowledged that it is indebted very
much more to art than to nature. Notwithstanding, however, the noise it
has made in the world, and will, I suspect, should we ever be driven
into a war with our vivacious continental neighbour, again make, it is
but a rock some twenty miles long, and twelve broad, in the middle of
the Mediterranean, with a smaller rock, Gozo, to the north of it, and
was, probably, at one time of this planet's existence, merely a
continuation of Sicily or Italy's toe, or a lump, as it were, kicked off
into the middle of the sea. If, also, report speaks true, the very soil
which gives verdure to its valleys, and nourishes its sweet-scented
orange-groves, was imported from richer lands; yet, notwithstanding
this, a larger number of inhabitants of every religion, colour, and
costume, continue to exist on its surface, than on any similar-sized
portion of the globe. But in its capital, Valetta, with its magnificent
fortifications, and superb harbour, are centred its chief attractions,
and which have gained for it a name imperishable on the page of history
as the bulwark of Christendom, against the pagan hosts of the Saracens.
But as my tale is with the present rather than with the past, I will not
stop to describe how, when it was called Mileta, Saint Paul landed on
the island,--how the Vandals and Goths took possession of it, and were
driven out by Belisarius,--how in 1530, the Knights of Saint John of
Jerusalem, driven away from Rhodes, here settled,--how they built a
fortress which withstood the mighty army of the Turks, and how those
gallant gentlemen hurled back the infidels defeated and disgraced,--how
they at length degenerated, and its inhabitants, deceived by treachery
from within and without their gates, yielded their liberty to the great
enemy of Europe, Buonaparte, and were unmercifully ill-treated, and
pillaged,--and how, in the year 1800, with the the aid of an English
fleet and a small English army, they drove out their conquerors, and put
themselves under the protection of Great Britain.
How Mr Cameron was first Civil Commissioner, and was succeeded by Sir
Alexander Ball, a man justly endeared to the inhabitants as the sharer
of their toils and victory,--how he was followed by Sir Hildebrand
Oakes, after whom reigned, as their first Governor, for eleven years,
commencing in 1813, Sir Thomas Maitland, called by irreverent lips, King
Tom; a gallant soldier, and the terror of ill-doers, on whose decease
the Marquis of Hastings and General Ponsonby successively became chiefs.
It was during the time that one of the three last-mentioned governors
ruled the land, that the events I am about to narrate took place, and as
it is in the capital, Valetta, and its magnificent harbour, that our
scene more particularly lies, it is somewhat important that the reader
should have them described to him.
Valetta is situated on that side of the island which faces the
north-east, though towards the southern end of it. The harbour is of a
very peculiar shape, and if the reader should not happen to possess a
chart of it, he may form one by placing his left hand on the table, with
the fingers separated as widely as possible from the middle finger: then
let him bend up the third finger of his right hand, and place, widely
apart, the tips of the others over the forefinger of his left hand. The
middle finger of his left hand is Valetta, with Saint Elmo Castle on the
nail, and its palaces and ramparts running along up to the knuckles.
The space on the right is the Great Port, and on the left, Port Marsa
Musceit, or the Quarantine Harbour. The tip of the little finger of the
right hand is Port Ricasoli. On the bent-up third finger is the Bighi
Palace, now a naval hospital, built by Napoleon as a residence for
himself. The middle finger is the Burgh, with Port Saint Angelo at the
end. The fore-finger is called Isola, with the Cotonera fortifications
at the knuckle, and the thumb is denominated Carodino, where the
Palatario is situated, while the spaces between each of the fingers are
smaller harbours of great depth and security; and from Port Saint
Angelo, numerous tiers of frowning batteries completely enfilade the
entrance of the harbour--the approach to which is further defended by
Forts Saint Elmo and Ricasoli. On the opposite side of Port Marsa
Musceit, are two forts--Port Tigne at the entrance, and Fort Manuel; and
there are several indentations, but of less depth and importance than
those to the south. Besides the forts I have mentioned, the city is
protected by the Floriana lines, and several other works. Indeed, it is
said that there are sixty miles length of walls, which, in these
economical times, are allowed slowly to crumble away. If our merchants
value their trade with the East--if our rulers value our possession of
India--if our philanthropists value the civilisation of the world, and
the continuance of peace, let not Malta be neglected. To open the door
is not the way to keep out a thief.
Valetta is a place of life, bustle, and animation. The Maltese are a
busy people, given to gesticulation; and it is full of naval and
military officers, and soldiers, and sailors, who are not addicted to
quietude, especially the latter; and there are Greeks, and Moors, and
Spaniards, and Italians, and Jews innumerable, congregated there, and
priests and friars of all orders, who delight in the ringing of bells,
so that silence is little known in this city of ramparts, steps, big
guns, and churches. The streets are wide and handsome; those running
along the middle finger, as I have described, are on a level, while
those which lead up from the water are at right angles to them, and are
occasionally steep, so that, in most instances, they consist of a broad
flight of steps, the best known of which are the Nix Mangiare stairs,
leading from the chief landing-place at the Great Port to the upper part
of the town. The houses are balconied, lofty, and spacious, with
terraces on the roofs, whence, in clear weather, Etna is visible; and
where, in the cool of the evening, the inhabitants may enjoy the
refreshing breeze from the sea, and behold it, in its intense blueness,
dotted with white sails gliding in all directions over its surface. It
is full of fine churches, the towers of which rise above the flat roofs
of the palace-like houses, the whole surrounded by a broad walk, and a
fringe of ramparts bristling with cannon.
It is to that part of the fortifications facing the mouth of the Great
Port that I particularly wish to conduct the reader.
It was some four hours or so past noon when the boat of a British
man-of-war ran in alongside the landing-place at the fort of Nix
Mangiare stairs, and out of her stepped two persons, whose blue jackets,
adorned with crown-and-anchor buttons, and the patches of white cloth on
their cohars proclaimed them to belong to the exalted rank of midshipmen
in the Royal Navy. But many might envy the free joyous laugh in which
they indulged, seemingly on finding themselves on shore, and the light
elastic tread with which they sprang up the long flight of steps before
them, distancing, in a moment, several civilians and soldiers of various
ranks, who, puffing and blowing, with handkerchiefs at their foreheads,
were toiling upwards, while they arrived at the summit without even
giving way to a gasp, and as cool, apparently, as when they landed.
Their ears, as they went up, were saluted by--
"_Yah hassare, carita_--Nix mangiar these ten days, sar--Mi moder him
die plague, sar! mi fader him die too," and other pathetic cries and
similar equally veracious assertions, from numerous cripples, deformed
creatures, and children of all ages, in rags and tatters, who
endeavoured to excite their compassion by exhibiting their wounds and
scars. The two youths had time to put their hands in their pockets, and
to distribute a few pence to the wretched-looking beings on their way;
both pocket and heart, if that were possible, being made lighter
thereby. On reaching the top of the flight of stairs, without stopping
to contemplate the height they had ascended, they turned to the right,
and took the way along the ramparts towards Fort Saint Elmo. There
seemed not to have been the slightest necessity for their hurry, as they
appeared to have come on shore simply to take a walk, for they now
slackened their pace, and proceeded on side by side.
"Well, I'm so glad, Duff, that you have joined us," exclaimed the one
who appeared to be somewhat the eldest. "Who'd have thought it, when we
parted four years ago at old Railton's that we were next to meet out
here. I didn't think you would have got leave to enter the service."
"Neither did I expect to get afloat, and still less to become your
messmate, when you, lucky dog that I thought you, left school. I moped
on there for nearly another year, and then wrote to my governor and told
him that if he didn't let me go to sea I should never be fit for
anything. At last he believed that I was in earnest, and with a light
heart I turned my back upon Brook-green, and shipped on board the old
_Rodney_. But, I say, old fellow, what sort of a chap is our skipper?
He looks like a taut hand."
"There is not a better fellow afloat," was the answer. "He's none of
your milk-and-water chaps who'll let butter melt in their mouths, of
that you may be assured; but he knows what ought to be done, and what
man can do; and he makes them do it too. There's no shirking work or
being slack in stays when he carries on the duty, and there's not a
smarter ship in the service, nor a happier one either, though he won't
allow an idler on board. The fact is, my boy, both officers and men
know that no one can shirk their work, so it comes easy to all, and we
have more leave and less punishment than nearly any other vessel on the
station.
"But, I say, Jack Raby, is it true, that he makes the midshipmen do the
duty of topmen?" asked the youngest of the two.
"I believe you, my boy," answered Jack Raby. "He makes all the
youngsters lie out in the topsail-yards, and hand the canvas in fine
style, ay, and black down the rigging at times too. By Jove, he's the
fellow to make your kid-glove-wearing gentlemen dip their hands in the
tar-bucket, and keep them there, if he sees they are in any way
squeamish about it."
"By jingo, he seems to be somewhat of a Tartar," exclaimed the
midshipman called Duff, with a half-doubtful expression of countenance,
as if his new shipmate was practising on his credulity.
"Not a bit of it," was the rejoinder. "Let me tell you, that you'll
soon find that your slack captains are the worst to sail with. They let
every one do as they like till all hands begin to take liberties, and
the hard work falls on the most willing, and they then suddenly haul up,
and there is six times more flogging and desertion than in a strict
ship, and she soon becomes a regular hell afloat. I hate your
honey-mouthed, easy-going skippers, who simper out, `Please, my good
men, have the goodness to brace round the foreyard when the ship's taken
aback.' No, no--give me a man who knows how to command men. Depend on
it. Duff, you'll like Captain Fleetwood before you've sailed with him a
week, if you are worth your salt, mind you, though."
By this time they had reached an angle of the ramparts, where, jumping
up on the banquette, they could enjoy a good view up the harbour.
"There," exclaimed Raby, pointing to a fine man-of-war brig, which lay
at the mouth of the dockyard creek just off Fort Saint Angelo. "Isn't
the _Ione_ a beauty now?"
"Yes, she is, indeed; and a fine craft, I dare say, in every respect,"
answered Duff.
"Oh, there's nothing can come up to her!" exclaimed Jack Raby, warming
with his subject. "She'll sail round almost any ship in the fleet; and
I only wish, with Charlie Fleetwood to command her, and her present
crew, we could fall in with an enemy twice her size. We should thrash
him, I'd stake my existence on it, and bring him in as a prize before
long."
"Glorious!" exclaimed the other youth, catching the enthusiasm of his
companion. "It's a pity the war is over. I'm afraid there's no chance
of any fun of that sort."
"Oh, you don't know--something may come out of this row between the
Greeks and the Turks; and we, at all events, shall have some amusement
in looking after them, and cruising up the Archipelago--where I hear we
are to be sent, as soon as we are ready for sea."
Jack Raby was the speaker.
"How soon will that be?" asked his companion. "We might sail to-morrow,
I should have thought."
"Why, you see, there are more reasons than one for our not being ready,"
observed Jack. "And I suspect the skipper himself is in no hurry to get
away; for, don't you go and talk about it now, but the fact is, he has
been and fallen desperately in love with a sweetly pretty girl, who,
from what I can observe, likes him not a little in return, so he'll be
very sorry to get out of sight of her smiles; at least, I know that I
should be loath to be beyond hailing distance if I were in his place.
Let me give you a piece of advice, Duff; don't go and fall in love. It
is a very inconvenient condition for a midshipman to be in, let me tell
you."
"Not if I can help it," said Duff. "At least, till I am a lieutenant.
However, I felt rather queer about the region of the brisket the other
night, when I was dancing with that pretty little Maltese girl, with the
black eyes, and cherry lips, though we neither of us could understand a
word the other said, and I didn't know what was to come of it.
Fortunately, next morning, the sensation had gone off again, and I got
out of the scrape. But the fact is, since I grew up (the rogue was
scarcely fifteen), I have been so little on shore, that I have had no
time to lose my heart."
Jack Raby, who was a year older, and therefore considered himself a man
at all events, burst into a loud fit of laughter, in which his companion
joined him, at the absurdity of their conversation; of which, although
they had spoken in earnest, they were both somewhat conscious. "But I
say, old fellow, without any more humbug about love and such like bosh,
just look at the dear old craft! how beautifully she sits on the water--
what a graceful sheer she has--and how well her sixteen guns look run
out, like dogs from their kennels, all ready to bite. You should see
her under weigh though, and how beautiful she looks with her canvas
spread! You'd know her for a man-of-war twenty miles off by the cut of
her royals. See, what square yards she's got! and how well her masts
stand. How light she looks aloft--and yet everything that is required--
not a block too large--and yet everything works as easy as possible. On
deck, too, you'll find there's no jim-crack nonsense about her--
everything is for service, and intended to last; and yet, where there is
any brass or varnished wood, it's kept as bright and clean as can be.
There isn't a ship on the station can come up to us in reefing or
furling; and, let them say what they like in other ships, there isn't a
happier berth, or a better set of fellows to be found, on board any of
them--take my word for it, Duff."
"Well, from all you say, I haven't a doubt but that I shall like the
little _Ione_ very much," observed the other. "And, at all events, I
wouldn't mind a worse ship, for the sake of being with you. But, I say,
who is the young lady your skipper--I may now, though, call him our
skipper--has fallen in love with?"
"A Miss Garden. She is very young, and very fair, and very bright and
lively. I'm not surprised at any one's admiring her! it's much more
wonderful that everybody doesn't fall in love with her over head and
ears: for my part, though I've only seen her two or three times, I'm
ready to fight and die for her, too, if it were necessary."
"Oh, of course! that we should all be ready to do, as in duty bound, for
our skipper's wife, and much more for the lady of his love," observed
Duff; "but I want to know who she is?"
"I was going to tell you. She has no father nor mother; and her only
living relation, that I know of, is an old colonel Gauntlett, on whose
protection she is entirely thrown. He is rather a grumpy old chap, they
say--but she has no help for it; and he takes her about wherever he
goes. He has got some money--but he hates the navy, and swears she
shall never marry a sailor, or if she does he'll cut her off with a
farthing. He came out here some months ago, and has never let any one
with a blue jacket come inside his door; but, somehow or other, Captain
Fleetwood got introduced to her, and as he was in mufti, the old chap
didn't know he was in the navy, and told him he should be happy to make
his acquaintance. He did not find out his mistake for some time; and
when he did--my eyes, what a rage he was in! He did not mind it so
much, though, afterwards, as he is going away in a few days, and thought
the captain and his niece were not likely to meet again; but the
skipper, you see, is not the man to let the grass grow under his feet in
making love, more than in anything else, and in the mean time he had
managed to come it pretty strong with Miss Garden. How it will end I
can't say--I only know that our captain is the last man in the world to
yield up a lady if he loves her, and believes she loves him--he'd as
soon think of striking his flag to an enemy while he had got a shot in
the locker; so, I suppose, he'll either win over the old cove, or run
off with her, and snap his fingers at him--he doesn't care for his
money;--and, to my idea, that would be the best way to settle it."
"So I think," observed the other youngster. "I've made up my mind, when
I want to marry, if I cannot get the old one's consent, to take French
leave, and settle the matter in an offhand way. But where do you say
the grumpy colonel and his pretty niece are going to; for the captain
must look sharp after her, or he'll be carrying her away somewhere
inland, out of sight of salt water, where he can't get at her."
"No fear of that; the old dragon has too great an opinion of his own
soldiership not to fancy that he can keep guard over his ward," observed
Raby. "But we'll see if a sailor can't weather on him. Nothing I
should like so much as to help the skipper, and I only hope he may ask
me. He hasn't much time to lose, either; for we heard that the colonel
and his niece were bound shortly for Cephalonia, or one of the Ionian
Islands, where he has got an appointment. If we were ordered there
also, we might find an opportunity; but, you see, the captain won't have
the chances of meeting her without being observed, which he has here,
and a hundred to one the uncle claps half a dozen lobsters as sentries
over her, if he sees the _Ione_ come off the place."
"Then I should be for carrying her off at once, if I were the captain,
and letting the old lion growl away without her," exclaimed Duff; and
the two midshipmen walked on fully persuading themselves into the hope,
that they should be called upon to assist their captain in running away
with Miss Garden.
There were few people abroad to interrupt their conversation; for the
heat of the sun kept most of the Maltese within doors. As the Italians,
or Spaniards, I forget which, observe, none but dogs and Englishmen walk
the streets when the sun shines in summer. There were, however,
sentries on duty, and a few seamen belonging to men of war; or
merchantmen of various nations would pass by; and here and there a
cowled priest, a woman in the dark faldetta, a ragged beggar boy--or an
old gentleman in three-cornered hat, a bag-wig, riding on a donkey, with
a big red cotton umbrella over his head, would appear from one of the
neighbouring streets, as necessity called him forth.
On the two happy youths went, careless of the heat, till they reached
that part of the ramparts called the lower Barraca. It is a broad open
space directly above the water, where stands a conspicuous object from
the sea, in the form of a Grecian temple, a monument to the memory of
that excellent man, and brave officer, Sir Alexander Ball, one of Lord
Nelson's most steemed captains. As they reached the spot, they
encountered a person, who was apparently about to descend the way they
had come; he was a man of about forty years old, with a countenance
slightly weather-beaten, and hands which showed that they were no
strangers to ropes and tar, and there was an undeniable roll in his
gait, which betrayed the seaman, though his costume was that of a
denizen of the shore; he wore a long, swallow-tailed, black coat, a
round beaver hat, and a coloured waistcoat; but the wide duck trousers,
and low shoes were those of a thorough salt. Jack Raby looked at him
earnestly, and then held out his hand, which was shaken warmly by the
other.
"What, Bowse, as I live," he exclaimed; "what has brought you to Malta,
old fellow? I thought you were snugly housed at home with Mrs Bowse,
and had given up the sea altogether."
"Well, sir, so did I think too, and for a time I was comfortable enough;
but at last I began to wish to have a look at the blue water again; and
I grew sick, and then sicker, till I felt that nothing but a sniff of
the salt air would do me good. You know, sir, when I was bo'sun of the
jolly little _Dart_, your first ship, I took to learning navigation, and
was no bad hand at it. Ah! I loved that craft, and nothing but having
that windfall of a fortune would have made me leave her. Well, as I was
saying, when I wished to go to sea again, I turned in my mind that I
could not do better with my money than take a share of a merchantman,
and go master of her. No sooner said than done. Up I went to London,
where I knew a respectable shipowner. He was glad enough to favour my
wishes, for he knew he could trust me; and I soon became part owner and
master of the _Zodiac_, a fine brig, of a hundred and sixty tons. I
have made two voyages in her, and am now bound to the eastward to
Cephalonia and Zante. I sail to-morrow or next day, according to
circumstances. If you'll step up here, sir, I think you'll see her, for
we've hauled out ready for a start, as soon as my passengers come on
board."
As the master of the merchantman spoke, he advanced to a part of the
ramparts over which they could look down upon the great harbour, where,
some way below the custom-house, was seen a merchant brig, laden and
ready for sea.
"She's as fine a sea boat as ever floated, I can assure you, sir. It's
a pleasure to be her master," he continued, as he pointed with pride to
her. Every good seaman is fond of his vessel, and overlooks her faults,
whatever they may be, as a good husband does those of his wife.
"I am heartily glad of your success, Bowse, I can assure you," said the
midshipman warmly; "I owe you much; for you gave me my first lessons in
seamanship, and I shall never forget them. You must come and dine with
us to-morrow, and I shall introduce you as my friend, Captain Bowse."
"No, sir--no, pray don't do so," answered the mariner; "I've served on
board a man-of-war, and I know my place and rank better. Captains of
king's ships, if you please, sir,--but masters of merchantmen. I know
the difference between a collier and a seventy-four, I think. But I'll
dine with your mess, sir, with much pleasure, if I don't go to sea
to-morrow."
"We shall expect you, then, if we see the _Zodiac_ still in the
harbour," said Raby. "I see you've got a spy-glass there, let me take a
squint at her. You carry six guns, I observe; and I must say I like the
look of your craft."
"Very necessary, too, in the places to which we trade," answered the
master. "Those Greek chaps among the islands don't scruple to plunder
any vessels they may find unarmed, particularly in these times; but the
truth is, two of those are quakers--their look is much worse than their
bite. However, between this and Cephalonia there's no danger."
"Why, you know, if any pirates attacked you, and were caught, you'd have
the satisfaction of having them strung up by King Tom, like those chaps
yonder," said Raby. "By the bye, Duff, did you ever observe King Tom's
Rubber of Whist?"
"No," answered Duff. "What do you mean?"
"Take that glass, and look at the outer bastion of Port Ricasoli. What
do you see there?"
"Four figures, which are hanging by their necks from gibbets," answered
Duff. "What are they?"
"Those are four Englishmen,--at least, one, by the way, was a Yankee,
their master,--who turned pirates, and tried to scuttle another English
brig, and to drown the people. It's too long a story to tell you now.
But old King Tom got hold of them, and treated them as you see."
"That fellow, Delano, the Yankee master, was a terrible villain,"
observed Captain Bowse, shuddering. "It was not the first black deed of
the sort he had done, either. One doesn't know what punishment is bad
enough for such scoundrels. It's a hundredfold worse when such-like
acts are done by our countrymen, than when Greeks or Moors do them,
because one does not expect anything better from their hands. But I
see, sir, you are casting an eye at one of those strange-looking native
crafts standing in for the land with the sea breeze."
Raby had the telescope at his eye, and he was pointing it towards a sail
which was rapidly approaching the shore. So broad and lofty was the
canvass, that the hull looked like the small car of a balloon, in
comparison to it, as if just gliding over the surface of the blue and
unruffled sea.
The view both up and down the harbour, and in every direction, was very
interesting. Directly facing them was Port Ricasoli, with its tiers of
guns threatening any invader, and the black, wave-washed rocks at its
base. A little to the right, in a sort of bay between it and Port Saint
Angelo, appeared the white and elegant buildings of the Naval Hospital;
and further on, towering upwards from the water, the last-mentioned
fort, with its numerous rows of heavy guns, having behind it the
Dockyard creek, or Galley harbour, where, in the days of yore, the
far-famed galleys of the knights were drawn up, and secure from attack.
On either side were white stone walls and buttresses, glittering in the
sunshine; overhead a sky of intense blueness; and below, a mirror-like
expanse of waters, reflecting the same cerulean hue, on which floated
innumerable crafts, of all shapes, sizes, and rigs, from the proud
line-of-battle ship which had triumphantly borne the flag of England
through the battle and the breeze, to the little caique with its great
big eyes in its bow and strange-shaped stem and high outlandish stern,
filled with its swarthy, skirmish crew of vociferating natives. Among
the merchantmen, the ensigns of all nations might be seen--the stars and
stripes of Uncle Sam's freedom-loving people alongside the black
lowering eagle of Russia; the cross of the Christian Greek, and the
crescent of the infidel Turk; there was the banner of the Pope, and of
Sardinia, and of various other Italian States; but outnumbering them
all, by far, was the red flag of Britain. Far out to the eastward,
where the sky and sea formed the horizon, there was a slight,
gauze-like, whitish haze, through which could be seen the lofty canvas
of several vessels, rising, as it were, like spirits from the watery
deep, and just catching the rays of the sun declining in the opposite
direction, which gave an unusual brilliancy to their wide-spread sails.
But the craft which most attracted the attention of our friends was the
one Raby had been looking at.
He pointed her out to his brother midshipman, and handed him the
telescope.
"What do you think of her?" he asked. "She is a rum one to look at,
isn't she?"
Duff burst into a fit of laughter.
"Why, if the fellows haven't set their jib right between the long poking
yards of their foresail and mainsail," he exclaimed, "I never did see
such an odd rig as that before. What in the world is she?"
"That's what they call a speronara in these parts, sir," answered Bowse;
"but you'll see rummer rigs than that before long, when you go up the
Archipelago. You see that wide spread of canvass is made by crossing
her two latine sails, and setting their jib as a topsail between them.
They can lower that down, and haul their wind in an instant. These
sails, to my mind, are very good where light airs and smooth seas
prevail, though they would not answer in our northern latitudes; and
they require a good many more people to handle them than we could spare
for the work. They reef their canvas, not like fore-and-aft sails in
general, by the foot, but by the leach along to the yard. There's no
doubt, however, though they have an outlandish look, that they sail well
on a wind, and not badly before it, too, as we see by the craft below us
there."
Onward gracefully glided the speronara--such is the name given to the
craft which ply between Malta and Sicily with goods and passengers, and
from some port in the latter island she seemed to have come, from the
direction in which she appeared. On she came very rapidly, considering
the light breeze; she was evidently a very fast craft of her class. She
came abreast of Fort Saint Elmo, and soon after took in her outlandish
topsail, as Duff called, just before she passed close under the spot
where our friends were posted, so that they could look directly down on
her deck. She seemed to be full of men habited in the long blue caps
and striped shirt of Mediterranean mariners, with light-blue trowsers,
and a red sash round the waist. She was of considerable size, and, what
is unusual with craft of her description, she was decked fore-and-aft,
though her between-decks must have been inconveniently low. There was a
place sunk aft where stood the helmsman holding his long tiller, and on
either side were arranged, ready for use, several long sweeps; but the
wind was at present sufficient to impel the vessel along without their
aid. Thus much was seen as she ran up the harbour. She passed close to
the _Zodiac_, the mate of which, by his gestures, seemed to be speaking
to the crew, and scolding them for the risk they ran of getting foul of
her, and they then appeared to be uncertain where to bring up. At last
she crossed over to the _Ione_, and finally rounding to, took in her
foresail, and dropped her anchor off the custom-house.
The midshipmen and their companion soon got tired of looking down upon
the harbour. Captain Bowse was obliged to part from them, as he had
business to transact; and they finally agreed, as they had still a
couple of hours of daylight, to hire a couple of horses of old
Salvatore, in the Palace-square, and to take a gallop into the country,
as a preparation for a grand ball which was to take place that evening
at the Auberge de Provence, and where Raby promised Jemmy Duff he would
point him out Miss Garden. Away hurried the two happy youngsters,
without casting another thought on the speronara. I, however,
particularly wish my readers not to forget her, and also to remember the
man-of-war brig, and the merchantman, as both are destined to play a
conspicuous part in the following narrative.