IN WHICH WILLIS SHOWS, THAT THE TERM PRESS-GANG MEANS SOMETHING ELSE
BESIDES THE GENTLEMEN OF THE PRESS.
"When I was a youngster, about a year or two older than you are now,
Master Fritz, I slipped on board the brig _Norfolk_ as boatswain's
mate. The ship at the time was short of hands, so there was no
immediate probability of her weighing anchor; but on the same day I
scratched my name on the books a despatch arrived, in consequence of
which we left the harbor, and proceeded out to sea under sealed
orders. One day, when off the Irish coast, I was called aft by the
first lieutenant.
"'You know something of Cork, my man, I believe?' said he.
"'Yes, your honor, I have been ashore there once or twice,' said I.
"'Very good,' said he; 'get ready to go ashore there again as quick as
you like.'
"Leave to go on shore is always agreeable to a sailor. He prefers the
sea, but likes to stretch himself on land now and then, just to enjoy
a change of air, and look about him a bit; so it was with all possible
expedition that I made the requisite preparations.
"When I reappeared, I found a party of twenty men mustered on deck in
pipe-clay order. A full ration of small arms was served out to them,
and, under the command of the lieutenant, we embarked in the long-boat
and rowed ashore. We landed at a point of the coast some miles distant
from Cork, and it was dark before we reached the military barracks of
that town, which, for the present, appeared to be our destination.
"I had not the slightest idea of what we were to do on shore. From our
being so heavily armed, I knew it was no mere escort or parade duty
that was in question, and began to think there was work of some kind
on hand. This gave me no kind of uneasiness. I only wondered whatever
it could be, for there was clearly a mystery of some kind or other.
Were we going to besiege Paddy, in his own peaceable city of Cork? Had
some of the peep-o'-day boys been burning down farmer Magrath's ricks
again? or was there a private still to be routed out and demolished? I
could not tell.
"Half an hour after our arrival, I was called into a private room by
the lieutenant, who was seated at a table with a package of clothes
beside him. The first lieutenant of the _Norfolk_, I must remark, was
a bit of an original. He had won his way up to the rank he then held
from before the mast. His build was rather squat, and his face was
garnished with a pair of fiery red whiskers, so he was no beauty,
added to which he was reckoned one of the most rigid martinets in the
service; yet, for all that, his crew liked him, for they knew his
heart was in the right place.
"'See, my man,' said he, 'take this package, and rig yourself out in
the toggery it contains.'
"I obeyed this order, and soon after stood before him, in a pair of
jack-boots, with a slouching sort of tarpauling hat on my head, so
that I might either have passed for a manner out of luck or a dustman.
"'Well,' said the lieutenant, laughing, 'now you have quite the air of
the hulks about you.'
"This remark not being very complimentary, I did not feel called upon
to make any reply.
"'You know,' he continued, 'that the brig is short about a dozen
hands, and I want you to pick up a few likely lads here. I understand
there are a number of able-bodied seamen skulking about the
public-houses, where they will likely remain as long as their money
lasts. I should like to secure as many of them as possible, and then
capture a few stout landsmen to make up the number; but, in the first
place, I want you to go and find out the best place to make a razzia.'
"I stared when I found myself all at once promoted to the post of
pioneer for a party of kidnappers, and muttered something or other
about honor.
"'Honor, sir!' roared the lieutenant, 'what has honor to do with it,
sir? It is duty, sir. It is the laws of the service, sir, and you must
obey them, sir.'
"'But it is hard, your honor,' said I, 'that the laws of the service
should force men to do what they think is wrong.'
"'And what right, sir, have you to think it is wrong, or to judge the
acts of your superiors? If the laws of the service order you fifty
lashes at the yard-arm to-morrow, you will find that you will get
them. Do you want to be handed over to the drummer, and to cultivate
an acquaintance with the cat?'
"'No, your honor,' said I, laughing.
"The lieutenant's face by this time was as red as his whiskers, and,
though he was in a towering rage, he quickly calmed down again, like
boiling milk when it is taken off the fire.
"'Then,' said he, quietly, 'am I to understand you refuse?'
"'No, your honor,' said I. 'If it is my duty, I must obey; but you
will pardon the liberty, when I say that it is hard to be forced to
drag away a lot of poor fellows against their wills.'
"'Look ye,' replied the lieutenant, 'I tolerate your freedom of speech
for two reasons--the first, because we are here alone, and no harm is
done; the second, because I entertain the same opinion myself; but,
mind you, we are both bound by the regulations of the service, and it
is mutiny for either of us to disobey.'
"According to the moral law, the mission with which I was charged
could scarcely be considered honorable; but, according to the laws of
the land, or rather of the sea, it was perfectly unexceptionable.
Amongst the seamen, a foray amongst the landlubbers was regarded more
in the light of a spree than anything else. If, indeed, it were
possible to pick up the lazy and idle amongst the population, this
mode of enlistment might be useful; but often the industrious head of
a family was seized, whilst the idle escaped. It was rare, however,
that a ship's crew were employed in this sort of duty; men were more
usually obtained through the crimps on shore, who often fearfully
abused the authority with which they were invested for the purpose. As
for myself, the lieutenant's arguments removed all my scruples, if I
ever had any.
"I then suggested a plan of operations, which was approved. The men
were to be kept ready for action, and the lieutenant himself was to
await my report at the 'Green Dragon,' one of the hotels in the town.
"At that time there was in the outskirts of Cork a sort of tavern and
lodging-house, called the 'Molly Bawn.' This establishment was
frequented by the lowest class of seamen and 'tramps.' Thither I
wended my way. It was late when I arrived in front of the place; and
whilst hesitating whether I should venture into such a precious
menagerie, I happened to look round, and, by the light of a dim lamp
that burned at the corner of the street, I caught a glimpse of the
lieutenant leaning against the wall, quietly smoking an Irish dudeen."
"Like Rono the Great in the island of Hawai," suggested Jack.
"Something. This, however, cut short my deliberations. I walked in.
There was a crowd of men and women drinking and smoking about the bar.
These, however, were not the people I sought. The regular tenants of
the house were not amongst that lot, and it was essential for me to
find out in what part of the premises they were stowed. I commenced
proceedings by ordering a noggin of whisky, and making love to the
damsel that brought it in. After having formally made her an offer of
marriage, I asked after the landlord. She told me he was engaged with
some customers, but offered to take a message to him.
"'Then,' said I, 'just tell him that a friend of One-eyed Dick's would
like to have a parley with him.'"
"And who was One-eyed Dick?" inquired Fritz.
"One of the crew of a piratical craft captured by one of our cruisers
a few months before, and who at that time was safely lodged in
Portsmouth jail.
"The girl soon returned. She told me to walk with her, and led me
through some narrow passages into what appeared to be another house.
She knocked at a door that was strongly barred and fastened inside. A
slight glance at these precautions made me aware that there was no
chance of making a capture here without creating a great disturbance.
So, after reflecting an instant, I decided upon adopting some other
course.
"When the door was opened I could see nothing distinctly; there was a
turf-fire throwing a red glare out of the chimney, a dim oil-lamp hung
from the roof, but everything was hidden in a dense cloud of tobacco
smoke, through which the light was not sufficiently powerful to
penetrate."
"The atmosphere must have been stifling," observed Fritz.
"Yes, it puts me in mind of your remark about the air, which, you
said, consists of--let me see--"
"Oxygen and hydrogen."
"Just so; but the air a sailor breathes when he is at home consists
almost entirely of tobacco smoke. At last, I could make out twenty or
thirty rough-looking fellows seated on each side of a long deal table
covered with bottles, glasses, and pipes. Dan Hooligan, the landlord,
sat at the top--a fit president for such an assembly. He was partly a
smuggler, partly a publican, and wholly a sinner. I should say that
the liquor consumed at that table did not much good to the revenue.
How Dan contrived to escape the laws, was a mystery perhaps best known
to the police."
"So you are a pal of One-eyed Dick's, are you?' said he.
"'Rather,' said I, adopting the slang of the place.
"'Well,' said he, 'Dick has been a good customer of mine, and all his
pals are welcome at the 'Molly.' I have not seen him lately,
however--how goes it with him now?'
"'Right as a trivet,' said I, 'and making lots of rhino.'
"'Glad to hear it; and what latitude does he hail in now?'
"'That,' said I, 'is private and confidential.'
"'Oh,' said he, 'there are no outsiders here, we are all sworn friends
of Dick's, every mother's son of us.'
"'Then,' said I, 'Dick is off the Cove in the schooner _Nancy_, of
Brest,'"
"Holloa, Willis," cried Jack, "there was a fib!"
"Well, I told you to look out for something of that sort when I
began."
"'What!' cried the landlord, 'Dick in a schooner off the Irish coast?'
"'Yes,' said I; 'and aboard that schooner there is as tight a cargo of
brandy and tobacco as ever you set eyes upon.'
"Here the landlord pricked up his ears, and the rest of the company
began to listen attentively. The fellow that sat next me coolly told
me that both he and Dick had been lagged for horse-stealing, and had
subsequently broken out of prison and escaped. He further told me that
most of the gentlemen present had been all, one way or another, mixed
up with Dick's doings; from which I concluded they were a rare parcel
of scamps, and resolved, within myself, to try and bag the whole
squad. They were all stout fellows enough, most of them seamen. I
thought they might be able to 'do the State some service,' and
determined to convert them into honest men, if I could.'
"'Dick cannot come ashore,' said I; 'some one of his old pals here has
peached, and there is a warrant out against him.'
"This information threw the assembly into a state of violent
commotion. They rose up, and swore terrible vengeance against the head
of the unfortunate culprit when they caught him. The oaths rather
alarmed me at first, for they were of a most ferocious stamp.
"'Yes,' continued I, 'Dick is aboard the schooner, but, as there are
two or three warrants out against him, he does not care about coming
ashore; so said he to me, 'We want a lugger and a few hands to run the
cargo ashore; and if you look in at the 'Molly,' and see my old pal,
Dan, perhaps you will find some lads there willing to give us a turn.
The captain said, if the thing was done clean off, he would stand
something handsome."
"'Just the thing for us!' shouted half a dozen voices.
"'But the lugger?' said I.
"'Oh, Phil Doolan, at the Cove, has a craft that has landed as many
cargoes as there are planks in her hull. Besides, he has stowage for a
fleet of East Indiamen.'
"'Well, gentlemen," said I, 'the chaplain, One-eyed Dick, and myself,
will be at Phil Doolan's to-morrow at midnight; do you agree to meet
us there?'
"This question was answered by a universal 'Yes;' and by way of
clenching the affair, I ordered a couple of gallons of the stiffest
potheen in the house. This was received with three cheers, and before
I left the 'Molly' every man-jack of them had disappeared under the
table. Dan himself, however, kept tolerably sober, and promised, on
account of his friendship for One-eyed Dick, to have the whole kit
safe at Phil Doolan's by twelve o'clock next night, and with this
assurance I made my exit from the premises, and steered for the
'George and Dragon.'
"The lieutenant agreed with me in thinking that it would cause too
much uproar to attack the 'Molly Bawn.' He congratulated me on my
success in laying a trap for the people, and promising to meet me at
the Cove, he ordered a car, and drove off in the direction of the
_Norfolk's_ boat. Early next morning I started to reconnoitre the
ground and organize my plan of operations. I found Phil Doolan's
mansion to be a mud-built tenement, larger, and standing apart from,
the houses that then constituted the village. It was ostensibly a
sailor's lodging-house and tavern for wayfarers, but, like the 'Molly
Bawn,' was in reality a rendezvous of smugglers, occasionally
patronized by fugitive poachers and patriots. It was known to its
familiars as 'The Crib,' but was registered by the authorities as the
'Father Mahony,' who was represented on the sign-post by a full-length
portrait of James the Second. What gave me most satisfaction was to
observe that the building was conveniently situated for a sack.
[Illustration]
"When night set in I marched the _Norfolk's_ men in close order,
and as secretly as possible, to the Cove. Approaching Phil Doolan's in
one direction, I could just catch a glimpse of the red coats of a file
of marines advancing in another, with the lieutenant at their head,
and, exactly as twelve o'clock struck on the parish clock, the 'Father
Mahony' was surrounded on all sides by armed men. Two or three
lanterns were now lit, and dispositions made to close up every avenue
of escape."
"'There he is!' cried Willis, interrupting himself, and staring into
the air.
"Who?" inquired Jack--"Phil Doolan?"
"No--Bill Stubbs, late of the _Nelson_."
"Where?"
"That squat, broad-shouldered man there, bracing the maintops."
"Yes, now that you point him out, I think I have seen him before,"
said Fritz.
"Holloa, Bill," cried Jack.
"You see," said Willis, "he turned his head."
"How d'ye do, Bill?" added Jack.
"Are you speak'ng to me, sir?" inquired the sailor.
"Yes, Bill."
"Then was your honor present when I was christened? I appear to have
forgotten my name for the last six-and thirty years."
"No use, you see," said Willis; "he is too old a bird to be caught by
any of these dodges. But I have lost the thread of my discourse."
"You had surrounded the cabin, and were lighting lamps."
"Half a dozen men were stationed at the door, pistol in hand, ready to
rush in as soon as it opened. The lieutenant and I went forward and
knocked, but no one answered. We knocked again, louder than before,
but still no answer.
"'Open the door, in the King's name!' thundered the lieutenant.
Silence, as before.
"Calling to the marines, he ordered them to root up Phil Doolan's
sign-post, and use it as a battering ram against the door. The first
blow of this machine nearly brought the house down, and a cracked
voice was heard calling on the saints inside.
"'Blessed St. Patrick!' croaked the voice, 'whativer are ye kicking up
such a shindy out there for? Whativer d'ye want wid an old woman, and
niver a livin' sowl in the house 'cept meself and Kathleen in her
coffin?'
"'Kathleen is dead, then?' said the lieutenant with a grin.
"'Save yer honor's presence, she's off to glory, an' as dead as a
herrin,' replied the voice.
"'Really!' said the lieutenant, 'and where is Phil Doolan?'
"'Och, yer honor? he's gone to get some potheen for the wake.'
"'Well,' said the lieutenant, 'I should like to take a share in waking
the defunct--what's her name?'
"'Kathleen, yer honor.'
"'Well, just let us in to take a last look at the worthy creature.'
"The door then creaked on its rusty hinges, and we entered. Not a
soul, however, was to be seen anywhere, save and except the old woman
herself. The coffin containing the remains of Kathleen, resting on two
stools, stood in the middle of the floor, with a plate of salt as
usual on the lid. I fairly thought I had been done, and looked upon
myself as the laughing stock of the entire fleet."
"So far," remarked Jack, "your story has been all right, but the last
episode was rather negligently handled."
"How?" inquired Willis.
"Why, you did not make enough of the coffin scene; your description is
too meagre. You should have said, that the wind blew without in fierce
gusts, the weathercocks screeched on the roofs, and caused you to
dread that the ghost of the defunct was coming down the chimney; large
flakes of snow were rushing through the half-open door; a solitary
rushlight dimly lit up the chamber, and cast frightful shadows upon
the wall."
"Well; but the night was fine, and there was not a breath of wind."
"What about that? A little wind, more or less, a weathercock or so,
some drops of rain, or a few flakes of snow, do not materially detract
from the truth, whilst they heighten the color of the picture."
"And if some lightning tearing through the clouds were added?"
"Yes, that would most undoubtedly increase the effect; but go on with
your story."
"I knew Phil to be an artful dodger, and was determined not to be
foiled by a mere trick, so I laid hold of a lantern and closely
examined the walls and flooring. My investigation was successful, for
just under the coffin I detected traces of a trap-door."
"'Well, my good woman, what have you got down there?" inquired the
lieutenant.
"'Is it underground, ye mane, yer honor? divil a hail's there, if it
isn't the rats.'
"'Well, just remove the coffin a little aside; we shall see if we
cannot pepper some of the rats for you.'
"Here the old woman appealed to a vast number of saints, and protested
against Kathleen's remains being disturbed. The lieutenant, however,
grew tired of this farce, and ordered the coffin to be shifted. A
sailor accordingly laid hold of each end.
"'Blazes!' said one, 'here is a body that weighs.'
"'Perhaps,' said the other, 'the coffin is lined with lead.'
"The trap-door was drawn up, and the lieutenant, pistol in hand,
descended alone.
"'Now, my lads,' said he, addressing some invisible personages, 'we
know you are here, and I call upon you to yield in the King's
name--resistance is useless, the house is surrounded, and we are in
force, so you had better give in without more ado.'
"No answer was returned to this exordium; but we heard the murmuring
of muffled voices, as if the rapscallions were deliberating. I now
descended with my lamp, followed by some of the seamen, and beheld my
friends of the night before either stretched on the ground or propped
up against the walls, like a lot of mummies in an Egyptian tomb.
"They were handcuffed one by one, pushed or hauled up the stairs, and
then tied to one another in a line. When we had secured the whole lot
of them in this way--
"'Lieutenant,' said I, winking, 'will you permit me to send a ball
into that coffin?'
"'Please yourself about that, young man,' said he.
"Here the old woman recommenced howling again and called upon all the
saints in the calendar to punish us for my sacrilegious design.
"'Shoot a dead body,' said I, 'where's the harm?' Besides, what is
that salt there for?'
"'To keep away evil spirits,' was the reply.
"'Very well,' said I, 'my pistol will scare them away as well.' Then,
cocking it with a loud clink, I presented it slowly at the coffin."
"The lid all at once flew off--the salt-was thrown on the ground with
a crash--the defunct suddenly returned from the other world in perfect
health, and sat half upright in his bier. I did not recognize the
individual at first, but, on closer inspection, found him to be my
communicative companion of the preceding night--the horse-stealer of
the 'Molly Bawn;' and, being a stout young fellow, he was harnessed to
the others, and we commenced our march to the boats."
"You do not appear to have had much trouble in effecting the capture,"
remarked Fritz.
"No; the men were unarmed, and were nearly all intoxicated. You never
saw such a troop; scarcely one of them could walk straight; they
assumed all sorts of figures; the file of prisoners was just like a
bar of music, it was a string of quavers, crotchets, and zig-zags.
Luckily, it was late at night, else we might have had the village
about our ears, and, instead of flakes of snow and screeching
weathercocks, we might have had a shower of dead cats and rotten eggs.
Probably a rescue might have been attempted; at all events, we might
have calculated on a volley of brickbats on our way to the boats.
There would have been no end of commotion, uproar, confusion, and
hubbub, possibly smashed noses, blackened eyes, broken beads--"
"Holloa, Willis!"
"You said just now that a little colouring was necessary."
"Certainly; but the privilege ought not to be abused. Besides, broken
heads and smashed faces are the realities, and not the accessories of
the picture."
"Oh, I see. If it is night, the moon should be introduced; and if it
is day, the sun--and so on?"
"Of course; and, if the circumstances are of a pleasing nature, you
must leave horrors and terrors on your pallette; change gusts into
zephyrs, snow into roses and violets, and the weathercocks into golden
vanes glittering in the sunshine."
"I understand."
"You want to color a popular outbreak, do you not?"
"Yes."
"Then you should introduce a tempest howling, the waves roaring, the
lightning flashing, and discord raging in the air as well as on the
earth."
"Well, to continue my story. Although it was midnight, the disturbance
began to wake up the villagers, and a crowd was collecting, so we
hurried off our prisoners to the boats as speedily as we could. Some
five and twenty able bodied men were thus added to his Majesty's
fleet. The object of our visit to the Irish coast was accomplished,
and the _Norfolk_ continued her voyage to the West Indies. Now you
know what is meant by the word _pressed_, and likewise the nautical
signification of the word _press-gang_."
"And you say that Bill Stubbs has been trapped on board this ship by
such means?"
"Yes, at New Orleans."
"According to your story, then, that does not say very much in his
favor?"
"No, not a great deal; still, that proves nothing--the fact of his
calling himself Bob is a worse feature. A man does not generally
change his name without having good, or rather bad, reasons for it."
"What appears to me," remarked Fritz, "as the most singular feature of
your press-gang adventure is, that you are alive to tell it."
"Why so?"
"Because I think it ought to end thus: 'The victims of the press-gang
strangled Willis a few days after,'"
"Aye, aye, but you do not know what a sailor is; our recruits had not
been a fortnight at sea before they entirely forgot the trick I had
played them."
Just as Willis concluded his narrative, the man at the mast-head
called out, "Sail ho!"
"Where away?" bawled the captain.
"Right a-head," replied the voice.
The _Hoboken_ had hitherto pursued her voyage uninterruptedly, and the
Yankee captain now prepared to signalize himself by a capture.