"Well, messmate, I was on the gunnel as soon as the others, and a sword
came down upon me like a flash of lightning. I had just time to lift my
cutlass and save my head, and then I found that it was the sword of the
French lieutenant who commanded the gun-boat. He was a tall,
clean-built chap, with curls hanging down like a poodle dog's--every
curl not thicker than a rope yarn, and mayhap a thousand of them--and he
quite foamed at the mouth (that's another fault of these Frenchmen, they
don't take things coolly, but puts themselves in a passion about
nothing); so thinks I to myself it won't do for you to go on chopping at
that rate, for when I fended off he made my whole hand tingle with the
force of his blow; so I darts at him and drives the hilt of my cutlass
right into his mouth, and he fell, and his own men trod him underfoot,
and on we went, hammer and tongs. By this time the boarding of the
launch and pinnace to leeward, for they could not get up as soon as we
did, created a divarsian, and bothered the Frenchman, who hardly knew
which way to turn; however, as there were more of our men on the other
side, they most on 'em faced about; and the French officer was then able
to get on his knees again, and while I was busy and did not see him he
just give me this cut across the figure-head, which don't add to my
beauty, anyhow. Well, it was cut for cut, messmate; I just took one
look at the beggar, and I drove my cutlass into his skull, just as he
was rising up, and he never rose again. That's my story."
"I suppose you took the craft?"
"Yes; and her consort too. But many lost the number of their mess, and
I lost all my beauty. Just hand me the 'baccy, messmate; and, Jack, go
for the next pot of beer."
I found them both smoking in silence when I returned; but, after a few
minutes, my father said, "Messmate, as I have told you how I got this
chalk, suppose you tell me in return how you got that nose of yours
fixed so hard a starboard? That's fair play."
"Exactly so," replied Ben. "Why, d'ye see? I sarved most of my early
life in the whaling line. I was three voyages to the north; but taking
the black whale counts for nothing; you must go south arter the
sparmacitty if you wish to see sport."
"I never was in that line," replied my father; "but I've heard fellows
spin the devil's own yarns about it."
"And so they may, and tell the truth, that's sartain, shipmate. You
see, the sparmacitty don't take the harpoon quite so quietly as the
black whale does; he fights hard to the last, and sometimes is very free
with his jaws. The very large ones are the most easy to kill; so we
always look out for them when we can, as they give less trouble, and
more oil: the most dangerous are the half-grown, which we call
`forty-barrel bulls,' as that's about what oil we get out of them."
"Well," said my father, "I'm blessed if ever I knew whales were called
bulls before this night."
"Yes, that's our term," replied Ben; "and now to my story. We were down
off the coast of Japan; when, about one hour after daybreak, the man
looking out at the masthead gave the usual word when he sees a whale
blowing--`There she spouts.' And this he repeats every time the fish
rises. We had a clean hold at the time, for we had but just come to our
fishing-ground, and we were mighty eager. The boats were down in a
jiffy, and away we pulled. We were within a quarter of a mile of the
whale, when, to our disappointment, he peaked his flukes--"
"What's that, messmate?" inquired my father.
"Why, you see, it's the right term after all, for the tail of
sparmacitty is like the flukes of an anchor; and, of course, now you
understand me."
"Yes, you mean to say he went down, I suppose."
"Of course; for how could he go down head-foremost, without peaking his
tail in the air?"
"One lives and larns as long as one lives," observed my father. "Heave
ahead again, old boy."
"Well, as you can't know what you haven't heard anything about, I must
now tell you that these animals be as regular as the bells in a
man-of-war; and whenever they goes down to feed, they always stays
exactly about the time allowed for dinner in a comfortable ship; that
is, seventy minutes exactly. An hour, you see, is the regular time
allowed, and the other ten minutes are by favour of the officer of the
watch, or first lieutenant. We knew that we must wait that time for
him, so we tossed up our oars, and laid by."
"I suppose them sparmacitty chaps have a watch in their pockets," said
my father, smiling.
"It's a true bill, nevertheless, messmate, and they never alter: how and
why they keep to their time, the Lord who gave them the sense to do so
only knows. It is one of the wonders of the deep, which they only who
go on the great waters can bear witness to."
"It beats my comprehension quite entirely," replied my father; "and yet
I have seen animals with a great deal of sense. In one ship, we had a
sheep who would chew tobacco and drink grog. Now go ahead again."
"Well, we had waited about half an hour, when we saw a whiff at the
masthead of the ship; we knew that it was to direct our attention to
some other point, so we looked round the horizon, and perceived that
there was a `school' of young bulls, about three miles from us. We were
four boats in all; and the first mate desired my boat and another to go
in chase of them, while he remained with the other two, for this old
whale to come up again. Well, off we went, and soon came up with the
school: they are the most awkward part of whale fishing; for they are
savage, and, moreover, easily `gallied,' that is, frightened. I picked
out one, and tried to come up with him, but he was very shy, and at last
he raised his head clean out of the water, and set off at the rate of
ten miles an hour; this showed that he was aware of danger. I had just
thought of giving him up, and trying for another, when he suddenly
turned round, and came right towards the boats. That we knew meant
mischief; but, in coming towards us, he passed close to the other boat,
and the steersman gave him the harpoon right well into him. This made
him more savage, and he stood right for my boat, ploughing up the sea as
he rushed on. I was all ready in the bow with the harpoon, and the men
were all ready with their oars to pull back, so as to keep clear of him.
On he came, and when his snout was within six feet of us, we pulled
sharp across him; and as we went from him, I gave him the harpoon deep
into the fin. `Starn all!' was the cry as usual, that we might be clear
of him. He `sounded' immediately, that is, down he went, head-foremost,
which was what we were afraid of, for you see we had only two hundred
fathoms of line in each boat; and having both harpoons in him, we could
not bend one to the other, in case he `sounded' deep, for sometimes they
will go down right perpendicular, and take four lines, or eight hundred
fathoms, with them; so we expected that we should this time lose the
whale as well as our lines, for when they were run out, we must either
cut or go down with him. Well, the lines ran out so swift, that we
poured water on them that they might not fire--and we thought that it
was all over, for the lines were two-thirds out, and he was going down
as fast as ever, when all of a sudden he stopped. We were hauling in
the slack lines, when we saw him rise again, about a quarter of a mile
off. It was a hurrah, for we now thought that we had him. Off he set
with his nose up, right in the wind's eye, towing the two boats at the
rate of twelve miles an hour; our stems cleaving through the sea, and
throwing off the water like a plume of feathers on each side of the
bows, while the sun's rays pierced through the spray and formed bright
rainbows. We hoped soon to tire him, and to be able to haul in upon our
lines, so as to get near enough to give him our lances; but that was
only hope, as you'll hear. Of a sudden, he stopped, turned round, and
made right for us, with his jaws open; then, all we had to do was to
baulk him, and give him the lance. He did not seem to have made up his
mind which boat he would attack--we were pretty near together, and he
yawed at one, and then at the other. At last he made right for the
other boat, and the boatsetter dodged him very cleverly, while we pulled
up to him, and I put the lance up to the stock into his side. He made a
plunge as if he were going to `sound' again; and as he did so, with his
flukes he threw our boat into the air a matter of twenty feet, cutting
it clean in half, and one of the boat's thwarts came right athwart of my
nose, and it never has been straight since. So now you have it,
messmate; and I shouldn't mind if you passed the beer this way, for this
long yarn has made my throat somewhat dry."
"When you've had your swig, old chap, you may as well tell us how the
matter ended," observed my father.
"Why, it just ended in our losing the whale in the first place, and the
boat with her gear in the second. We were picked up by the other boat,
and there was no time to be lost, for the sharks were brought together
by the scent of the whale's blood; the whale sounded again, and we were
obliged to cut the line, and return on board. But God bless you,
messmate, I could tell you many a longer yarn than that, and mayhap I
shall some day or another."
"Well, I hope you will," replied my father; "but your fishing story has
put me in mind of rather a curious fish, caught by a lad on board of a
man-of-war: and suppose I finish what's at the bottom of this here pot;
send Jack for another, and when he comes back, I'll tell you all about
it."
"There's nothing gives me more satisfaction," replied Ben, "than to pass
away the evening in a sober, quiet way, as we are doing now, telling and
listening to long yarns. Ain't you sleepy, Jack?"
"Oh! no," replied I, "not a bit. I'll run for the porter; and don't let
father begin till I come back, Ben. The house will be shut up soon:
shall I get more than a pot?"
"Yes, Jack; but not more beer," replied my father, putting some silver
into my hand; "get one pot of beer, and a bottle of rum. We'll have
that by way of a nightcap, old boy."
I ran for the beer and liquor, and was soon back. My father and Ben
refilled their pipes, and the former commenced as follows:--
"When I was quarter-master on board of the Melpomene, we had an old chap
for first lieutenant whose name was Fletcher. He was a kind-hearted man
enough, as he never worried the ship's company when there was no
occasion; but, at the same time, he was what you call a great stickler
for duty--made no allowances for neglect or disobedience of orders,
although he would wink at any little skylarking, walking aft, shutting
his eyes, and pretending not to see or hear it. His usual phrase was,
`My man, you've got your duty to do, and I've got mine.' And this he
repeated fifty times a day; so at last he went by the name of `Old
Duty.' I think I see him now, walking up and down with his spy-glass
under his left arm, and the hand of the other pushed into his breast, as
if he were fumbling for a flea. His hat was always split and worn in
the front, from constantly taking it off, instead of touching it, when
he came on the quarter-deck; and, as soon as it was too far gone in
front to raise the purchase off his head, he used to shift it end for
end, bringing the back part in front, and then he would wear it, until,
as the Yankees say, it was in `taterations altogether,' and he was
forced to bend a new one.
"Now, we had a boy on board, who entered one day when the captain landed
at Torquay to dine with a friend. His name was Jack Jervis: his father
and his whole tribe had been fishermen for as long as could be
remembered; and Jack himself had been drafted out of his cradle into a
coble; and there he had continued day and night, from one year's end to
another, helping his father to fish--so, you see, it had become second
nature to him; and, after he came on board, his liking for his former
calling still remained with him, and he never was so happy as when his
line was overboard, or when he was snooding a hook in some corner or
another. He went by the name of Jack the Fisherman; and a smart,
active, willing lad he was, sure enough.
"Now, there was a little difficulty between Old Duty and Jack the
Fisherman. Old Duty would not allow the lines to be overboard when the
ship was in harbour; as he said it was untidy in appearance, and that
there was always plenty of work, and no time for fishing. So Jack
hadn't pulled up his line ten or a dozen times before he was pulled up
himself. `Whose line's that?' says Old Duty. `Mine, sir,' says Jack,
touching his hat. `I don't allow fishing, young man,' said the first
lieutenant. `You understand me?--I don't allow fishing. You've your
duty to do, sir, and I've got mine.'
"Jack, who had only been two or three days on board, and who, I believe,
would never have entered, had he known that there would have been such a
`_weto_,' as the boatswain used to call it, looked quite astonished, and
said,--
"`What, mayn't I fish, sir?'
"`No, my man, you must not fish without permission; and that I never
give in harbour. If I catch you fishing again, you get two dozen at the
gun, recollect that. You've got your duty to do, and I've got mine.'
"Well, Jack could not give up his habit, so he used to fish at night,
and all night long, out of the fore-chains; but it so happened that the
ship's corporal caught Jack in the middle watch, and reports him to the
first lieutenant.
"`So, you've been fishing again, sir,' says Old Duty. `No, sir,'
replied Jack, `not fishing--only laying night lines.'
"`Oh! that's it,' replied the first lieutenant; `only laying night
lines! Pray, what's the difference?' `Please, sir,' said Jack,
touching his hat, `the difference is--that it's not the same thing.'"
"`Well, sir, I see but one difference, and I'll meet it accordingly.
You've your duty to do, and I've got mine.'
"The boys' heads and ears having been pulled about and examined by the
master-at-arms, they were dismissed; and Jack thought that he had got
off--but he was mistaken.
"After the hammocks had been piped down, and it was dark, the boys were
ordered up by the master-at-arms; Jack was seized to the gun, and had
his two dozen. `There, sir,' said Old Duty, as they cast the seizings
off, `if fishing at night is not fishing, punishment at night is not
punishment. Now we're quits. You've your duty to do, and I've got
mine.'
"I don't think that Jack perceived any more difference in the two dozen
at night-time than the first lieutenant did between day and night
fishing; however, Jack did not fish for some time afterwards. But it so
happened, that the first lieutenant was asked on shore to dine with the
port-admiral; and, although he seldom left the ship, he could not refuse
such a compliment, and so he went. As soon as it was dark, Jack thought
his absence too good an opportunity not to have a fish; so he goes into
the mizen-chains, and drops his line. Well, he fished (but I don't know
whether he caught any) till the boat was hailed in which the first
lieutenant was coming on board, and then Jack thought it time to haul in
his line; but, just at that moment, there was a jerk; and Jack, who knew
that fish was at the bait, could not for the life of him pull up his
line--for, you see, he was a fisherman heart and soul; so Jack trusted
to Providence and the first lieutenant's going down below as soon as he
came on deck.
"Now, you see, the ship was lying at the time 'cross the tide, the wind
blowing against the current: the starboard side (being to leeward as to
the wind, but to windward as to the tide) had been cleared away, and
manned for the boat, and Jack made sure that the first lieutenant would
pull to that side; but he was mistaken. Whether it was that the first
lieutenant wished to have a look round the ship or not, I do not know,
but he pulled across the bows, and went round the stern, passing the
larboard side: as he passed, Jack shrunk under the lee of the deadeyes
and lanyards, hoping he might not be seen; but the first lieutenant,
having the clear horizon on the other side, perceived the line which
Jack had half hauled up, and, having an eye like a cat, makes out Jack
also.
"`I see you, sir--I see you, Mr Jervis, fishing again, sir. Very
well,' cried the first lieutenant, from the stern-sheets of the boat, as
he passed by. `You've your duty to do, and I've got mine.' `That's as
good as two dozen to-morrow morning at muster,' thought Jack, who cursed
his luck, and, in a very melancholy mood, began to haul up his line,
which, as soon as he had been discovered, he had let go down to the
bottom again. Now, it so happened that, as Old Duty went up the other
side, his foot slipped; and, how it was I can't tell, for they say he
wasn't the least groggy, but down he fell, between the boat's gunnel and
the ship's side, just like a deep-sea lead, and disappeared. There
being so few men on deck, there was not much of a bustle--there was a
dive or two for him with the boat-hook, but all in vain--Old Duty was
gone.
"In the meantime, Jack on the other side was slowly hauling up his line;
but he had not got it half-way up when he felt a heavy strain, and he
thought that a large conger eel had followed the bait up, as they do
sometimes, and he hauled and hauled with all his might. At last, who
should he bring to the surface of the water but Old Duty, who had been
sucked under the ship's bottom by the tide, and had been hooked by Jack,
as he was pulling up. When Jack saw it was the first lieutenant, as he
told me, his first idea was to let him down again; but that was only for
a moment. The words of the first lieutenant still rang in his ears,
`You've your duty to do, and I've got mine'--so Jack did his duty. He
hollows out that he had caught Old Duty, and the boat shifted round and
took him on board. The old fellow was quite senseless; but as he had
been but a short time in the water, he was put to bed, and resuscitated
by the surgeon. The next morning he was all just as if nothing had
happened, walking the deck with his right hand in his breast, and his
spy-glass under his left arm, as usual.
"Well, we all told Jack that he was safe this time, but Jack seemed to
think otherwise. He shook his head; and now you'll learn who was right.
"When the boys were all mustered next morning, towing a line, and
holding out their paws, the first lieutenant turns round, and says,
`Jervis, you were fishing last night, against my orders.' `Yes, sir,'
said Jervis, `and I catched a first lieutenant;' for Jack had a goad
deal of fun in him. `Yes, sir, and queer fishes they are sometimes,'
replies Old Duty; `but you forget that you have also catched two dozen.
You have your duty to do, and I've mine.'
"Well, as you may suppose, there were many of us looking abaft, just to
see what would take place, and were not a little astonished at the idea
of his rewarding Jack with two dozen for saving his life; however, of
course, we were mum. Jack was tied up; and the first lieutenant
whispered a word into the ear of his master-at-arms, who again whispered
to Williams, the boatswain's mate; and the effect of that whisper was,
that the cat was laid on so lightly that Jack hardly felt it; so
lightly, indeed, that the first lieutenant walked away aft, that he
might not appear to be a party in the consarn, and Jack was cast off
without having half a tear in either eye when Old Duty went up to him.
"`You fished last night against orders, and therefore you have received
your punishment. You saved my life last night, and therefore it is my
duty to reward you. I could not let you off this punishment, as it
would be making the King pay you for me, instead of my paying you
myself. I'm not a rich man, but here's ten guineas for your purse, and
here's my gold watch. Spend the first usefully, and keep the other; and
observe, Jack Jervis, if ever you are again caught fishing in harbour,
you will as surely get two dozen for your pains. _You've your duty to
do, and I've got mine_.'"
"Well, messmate, that's a queer story altogether, and queerer fellows in
it. I wouldn't have minded sailing with that Old Duty. Suppose we
drink his health."
"With all my heart; for you're right, old chap: when we knows what we
are to expect, we're always ready to meet it; but some officers I've
sailed with shift about like a dog-vane, and there's no knowing how to
meet them. I recollect--But I say, Jack, suppose you turn in--your eyes
are winking and blinking like an owl's in the sunshine. You're tired,
boy, so go to bed. We sha'n't tell any more yarns to-night."
I was very tired indeed, and could not keep my eyes open any longer; so
I went upstairs, and was asleep almost as soon as I laid my head upon
the pillow.