The captain and those on board were naturally anxious to know something
about the young orphans, and how it happened that they and their father
had been left alone on board the sinking ship.
"The people would not take poor papa in the boat, and we would not leave
him," said Emily, when the captain first spoke on the subject.
"I should think not," said Walter. "It was very, very sad to have poor
papa so ill, and no one to help him except us. The poor captain and the
first officer had been washed overboard; and the surgeon was killed by
the falling of the masts, when papa was hurt at the same time. He was
ill, though, when we sailed; but he thought the change, and the warm
climate of the country we were going to, would restore him to health.
We had good reason, however, to be thankful we did not go in the boats;
for scarcely had they left the ship, as I was watching them from the
companion-hatch, than I saw the sea break over one of them, and down she
went, the unfortunate people in her struggling for a few instants before
they all sank. I was in hopes that the other, which was larger, might
escape; but she had got to no great distance when it seemed to me that
she went right into a curling sea. Whether she went through it and rose
again I could not discover, for I saw no more of her. It was very
dreadful; but I had to hurry back to papa, for I heard Emily calling me.
I did not tell him what had happened, for I thought it would make him
even, more sad than he was."
The boy, overcome with his feelings, could with difficulty speak, and
was for some minutes silent. He then continued:--
"The ship was the _Mountaineer_. We had been three weeks at sea, and
had had frequent calms, when we met with the fearful gale from which she
suffered so much. Papa was going out as British Consul to --, in the
Brazils; and as mamma died a year ago, and he had no one to leave us
with, he determined, to our great joy, that we should accompany him.
Emily had been at school; but when mamma was ill she came home to stay
with her, and after that papa could not hear the thoughts of again
parting with her. I had been at Winchester School, and had intended
going into the army; but papa lost his fortune soon after mamma's death,
and told me that I must give up all thoughts of that, as he could not
purchase my commission, and I could not be in the army without money.
The loss of his property tried him very much. He had to take me away
from school; and he used to say he was afraid we should all die of
starvation. However, when he got the appointment he was in better
spirits, and Emily and I hoped we should see him once more like
himself."
"But have you no relations or friends, young gentleman?" asked the
captain, in a kind tone.
"I do not know about friends," answered Walter; "but I have some
relations. Unfortunately, however, my father was not on good terms with
them. His elder brother--my uncle--had quarrelled with him. Why, I do
not know. But when, before we were leaving England, papa desired to be
reconciled to him, he refused; and I know, from what I have heard, that
he would on no account have anything to say to Emily or me."
"But had your mother no relations?" asked Captain Davenport.
"Not many. She had, I know, a brother, and I think I recollect him when
I was a little boy; but he left England many years ago, and I know has
not for a long time been heard of. Papa, besides his brother, had some
cousins. One, I know, is Lord Heatherly; but I never saw him, and I
think papa kept up no communication with him. We now and then saw his
brother, Mr Tom Heathfield--for the family name is the same as ours.
He is a very good-natured, merry person, and used always to try to make
us laugh when he called. And our eldest uncle had some sons, but I
never met them; indeed, I am sure their papa would never have let them
come to the house."
"From all accounts, then, the only relation you know anything about is
your father's cousin, Mr Tom Heathfield. Do you know where he lives?"
Walter thought a moment. "No," he answered; "somewhere in London, I
know, and I daresay I can find out."
"Well, we must do our best to discover him when we get on shore," said
the captain.
It was evident to him that the young people had not realised their
thoroughly destitute condition. Whatever property their poor father
might have had must have been lost in the _Mountaineer_. "However," he
thought to himself, "if the brother's heart cannot be moved to take care
of the orphans, perhaps this Mr Tom Heathfield or Lord Heatherly will
do so. In the meantime, I must look after them."
The _Bussorah Merchant_ reached the Thames in safety, and went into the
docks to discharge her cargo.
"You must come with me, my young friends, till we can find out your
cousin," said the kind captain. "My good wife, Mrs Davenport, will be
very glad to see you, as will our little girl Grace. You must be
content with such fare as we can offer, and you may be sure of a hearty
welcome."
"Thank you, sir," said Walter. "Emily and I, I am sure, shall be very
happy with you. Do you live in the West End of London?"
"No," answered the captain, smiling; "I live at Poplar. It is a
different sort of locality; but I have had a good many losses, and am
not so well off as some masters of ships. But my life has been
preserved when others have lost theirs, and I retain my health and
strength. I have a good wife and an affectionate little girl, and I
have therefore reason to be thankful; and so I am."
Captain Davenport, as soon as he was at liberty, accompanied by his
young charges, set off for his home. It differed, however, greatly from
the sort of house Walter and Emily had been accustomed to live in. But
it was very neat; with green palings in front, and neatly-painted
shutters, and the whitest of stone steps leading up to the hall door.
The captain had had no time to tell his wife of the guests she might
expect. After, therefore, the first greetings between them were over,
and he had embraced his little daughter Grace, Mrs Davenport naturally
inquired who the young strangers were. No sooner had she heard their
history than she gave an affectionate embrace to Emily.
"Yes, indeed, you are welcome here," she said; "and if you are content
with this house, we shall be glad to have you remain in it. And I am
sure Grace will do her best to make you at home, young lady," she said,
placing the girls' hands in each other's.
The captain, of course, had a great deal to do on his first arrival
after a long absence, and could not, therefore, go in search of Mr Tom
Heathfield, Walter's cousin. Walter acknowledged that he was not likely
to find him himself, as he had but seldom been in London, and did not
know his way about. All he could tell was, that he lived somewhere in
the West End, and he thought he belonged to two or three clubs.
"Very likely, young gentleman," said the captain, laughing. "However,
when I can get hold of one of those books they call Court Guides, I may
be able to find him."
A week passed pleasantly enough away. Grace was very kind to Emily, and
Walter was never tired of walking about the docks, and watching the
large ships loading and unloading the bales and casks of goods coming
and going to all parts of the world. It gave him some idea of the vast
amount of commerce of London, when such a stream of merchandise was
coming in and going out all day long.
At length the captain told him that he had some hours to spare, and they
set off together to try and find Mr Heathfield. They got down at
Charing Cross, where a bookseller allowed them to look over a Court
Guide.
"Yes, that must be my cousin," said Walter, seeing the name. "I now
remember going there with my father. Yes, and those are the clubs he
belongs to."
Having put down the address, the captain and Walter at once set off to
find it. They were not long in getting there. A woman opened the door.
"Mr Heathfield is not in town; he seldom is at this time," was the
answer. "He may come up for a day, or he may not; but letters addressed
here will find him."
"But can you tell me where he is?" asked Walter. "I am a relation of
his."
"As to that, he may be at Newmarket, or some other races. You know he
is a sporting gentleman, and is likely to be in one place one day and in
another place another. But he sends for his letters, and, as I have
told you, if you like to write, one will find him."
This was not very satisfactory information.
"I am afraid he is not likely to do much for the poor children," thought
Captain Davenport. "However, there is nothing like trying."
He then bethought him that he would inquire the address of their uncle,
whose heart might relent when he heard of the death of his brother. "If
not, I will write to Lord Heatherly himself," said the captain.
The nobleman's address was easily found, and after some trouble the
captain ascertained that of Walter's uncle, and with this information he
returned home.
"You must have patience, my boy," he said. "If you are not tired of
staying with us, we are not tired of you."
On reaching home, the captain wrote the three letters. Several days
passed by, and no answer came. At length two appeared by the same post.
One was from the orphans' uncle, stating that he had children of his
own, and that he had long ceased to have any communication with his
brother. He must therefore decline interfering in the matter. The
other contained the words:--"Lord Heatherly presents his compliments to
Mr Davenport, and not having been personally acquainted with the late
Mr Heathfield for many years, must decline in any way interfering with
regard to any children he may have left."
"Oh dear me!" said Mrs Davenport, when she saw the letters. "If the
poor young orphans are treated in this way by their nearest relative and
by the head of their family, I am afraid we can expect very little from
the only other relation we have heard of."
"Well, my dear wife," said the captain, "if nobody else looks after
them, God intends that we shall. We must not decline the charge he has
given us, but do the best we can for them."
The following day a private cab was seen passing along the street with a
sporting-looking tiger behind. The gentleman driving stopped once or
twice, then turning round, brought up at Captain Davenport's door. Down
jumped the tiger, and out sprang the gentleman. Walter and Emily were
in the parlour.
"Why, that is cousin Tom!" exclaimed Walter, and he ran out to open the
front door.
Cousin Tom came in, and shook hands with Walter and Emily, and was soon
talking away to Mrs Davenport as if he had known her all his life.
"I am very much obliged to you and to your worthy husband for all you
have done for these young people," he said. "And my poor cousin Harry,
I little thought he was so soon to be cut off. However, we must not
talk about those sort of things. Why, Walter, you are almost a man now.
We must see what we can do for you. Your uncle Bob will not help you;
I have heard all about that. We will not talk about him; and as for
Heatherly, there is no help to be got from him. I am going out of town
to-night, or I would have had you, Walter, come and dine with me and
talk matters over. However, if your friends will look after you for a
day or two longer, I hope we may settle something. I have an idea that
my aunt, Lady Di Pierpoint, will take charge of Emily. I must insist
upon her doing so. She mixes a good deal in the world, rouges, and is
rather addicted to scandal, it is true; but I say, Emily, you must not
follow her example, and you will get on very well with her. Look after
her lapdogs, feed her parrots, write her notes for her, and all that
sort of thing. Well, I think we may consider that settled.--And now, my
good madam, I must wish you and the young people good-bye. I hope to be
back in a few days with Lady Di's answer. And as to Walter, I have no
doubt about him. In the meantime, I will just beg you to take these two
notes, which you will have the kindness to expend as you think best in
getting a proper outfit for the young people--as I have no doubt they
lost everything when the ship went down; and I should wish, if you will
allow me, to repay you for the expense to which you have been put."
"Thank you, sir," said Mrs Davenport. "We desire no repayment; but I
will gladly expend the money to the advantage of my young friends as you
desire."
"Well, well, do as you like!" exclaimed Mr Tom. "I am very much
obliged to you in every way. And now, good-bye, Emily; good-bye,
Walter; and I wish you farewell, madam. Present my compliments to your
kind husband. I should have liked to have made his acquaintance. I
hope to do so another time. I am deeply indebted to him, for I had a
great regard for poor Harry. Though he might not have been very wise--
none of us are; and his wife, she was an angel. Good-bye, good-bye!"
Thus rattling on, Mr Tom Heathfield ran out at the door, and jumped
into his cab; the tiger skipped up behind, and off he drove.
Day after day passed by, and no news came of Mr Tom Heathfield. The
packet he had left behind contained a couple of ten-pound notes, with a
few words written on the paper surrounding them:--"It is all I have got;
but if Constellation wins, I will send another hundred."
Captain Davenport was now again busily engaged in preparing his ship for
another voyage. She required but few repairs, so she was likely to be
soon ready. He had resolved to take his wife and daughter with him; and
Grace was _very_ full of the thoughts of accompanying her father. Mrs
Davenport had made two or three voyages; but Grace had not been at sea
since she was a very little girl.
"I wish I was going too," said Emily; "how delightful it would be!"
"I am sure I wish that I was going!" exclaimed Walter. "I have often
thought I should like to be a sailor; and though I once should only have
wished to go into the royal navy, I should now like to go anywhere with
Captain Davenport."
Week after week passed by. The _Bussorah Merchant_ was ready for sea.
A cabin had been fitted up for Mrs Davenport, and another for Grace.
No news came from Mr Tom Heathfield. Captain Davenport wrote: he
considered it his duty to do so. The day before he sailed, his letter
came back in an enclosure, stating that Mr Tom Heathfield had broken
his neck riding a steeple-chase, and that though he had wished to leave
his property to his young cousin, as all would be swallowed up in paying
his debts, there would be none forthcoming. Walter and Emily felt very
sorry when they heard the sad end of their poor cousin, though Emily
confessed to Grace she was very glad that she had not to go and live
with Lady Di Pierpoint.
"Well, my young friends," said Captain Davenport, "I have no one with
whom I can leave you, and I certainly will not desert you. If,
therefore, Emily would like to come and be Grace's companion, we shall
be very glad of her company; and, Walter, if you wish to come to sea and
learn to be a sailor, I will undertake to instruct you as if you were my
own son."
Walter was truly glad to accept the kind captain's offer; indeed, it
would be difficult to say what else he could do.
"When we return to England," said Captain Davenport, "we will make more
inquiries about your relations, and if they still persist in refusing to
acknowledge you, you will, at all events, have learned a profession, and
be independent of them. After all, you will be far better off than had
you been brought up in idleness, and dependent on those who might care
very little for your true interests and welfare."