"I'll try and get a fiddle for the boy, and put it to the test," he said
good-naturedly.
In the evening I was aroused from a nap into which I had fallen, by the
sound of an Irish jig played on a violin, followed by shouts of
laughter, clapping of hands, shrieks, and merriment, while the noise of
feet from the courtyard below told me that Larry had been as good as his
word. I thanked the doctor, who came in while the revels were at their
height.
"I sent into the town and borrowed a fiddle, for I was sure that your
follower's music would do as much good to the men as the fresh air of
the hills. They and the black boys and girls are all toeing and heeling
it together. The niggers, I confess, beat them hollow in agility and
endurance."
I asked the doctor to wheel me to the window, that I might look out and
see the fun. He good-naturedly complied, and assisted me to sit up.
There were forty or fifty white men, and almost double the number of
blacks of both sexes,--the women dressed in gay-coloured petticoats,
with handkerchiefs round their heads; the men in white or striped
cotton--the light colour contrasting with their dark skins,--one and all
clapping their hands, snapping their fingers, and moving here and there
in figures it was difficult to follow, but all evidently enjoying
themselves immensely, judging by their grinning countenances and rolling
eyes.
After this Larry became an immense favourite with the soldiers, as he
found not a few of our countrymen among them. The officers of the
little garrison were very kind to me, and I was never in want of
society, as one or other was constantly by my bedside.
Notwithstanding this, as I got better I became more and more anxious to
receive news of the frigate, and began to wonder what had become of her.
Though I could not walk, I saw no reason why I should not return on
board. The doctor, however, was still of a different opinion; and I was
greatly disappointed when, on returning from the town one day, he told
me that she had come off the harbour, and that he had sent on board to
say that I was not yet fit to be moved, but would rejoin my ship by the
first opportunity after I was convalescent. I could only thank him for
his kindness, keeping my feelings to myself.
At length I was able to get out of bed, and walk with the assistance of
a crutch. Had the doctor and Larry not held me up, however, the first
time I made the attempt, I should have fallen down again. I felt just
as, I suppose, an infant does on his first trying to toddle. After this
I got rapidly better, and was soon able to join the officers in the
mess-room, and in a short time to throw away my crutches.
The first walk I proposed to take was into Savannah-le-Mer to inquire
about vessels proceeding to Port Royal. I was accompanied by Ensign
Duffy and Larry. With their help I got on better than I expected; and
though I didn't feel inclined to take a leap, I fancied that if put to
it I could run as well as ever.
We repaired to the house of Mr Ringer, who received us cordially, and
from him I learnt that a fine vessel, the _Princess Royal_, would sail
for Kingston the next day. He insisted on my remaining at his house,
promising to drive me back to the barracks in the evening, that I might
wish the kind doctor and my other friends there good-bye. We
accordingly returned as he proposed. It was a difficult matter to get
Larry away from his late companions, who seemed inclined to detain him
_vi et armis_, the men grasping his hands, and the black girls hanging
round him, many of them blubbering outright at the thoughts of parting
from the "lubly Irish boy dat play de fiddle,"--as for pronouncing his
name, that they found beyond their power.
The officers drank my health in overflowing bumpers, and had I not
remembered my uncle's advice, and prevented my own glass from being
filled, I should not have been in a fit state to present myself at Mr
Ringer's hospitable mansion. I remember thinking the night oppressively
hot, and was thankful that Mr Ringer was good enough to drive me from
the barracks into the town.
"I don't know what to make of the weather," said my host the next
morning, when we met at breakfast.
Not a breath of wind stirred the atmosphere, and it seemed as if all
nature was asleep; while the sky, instead of being of a cerulean blue,
was suffused, as the sun rose, with a fiery red tinge.
The hour--about noon--at which it was arranged that I should go on board
was approaching. My host offered to accompany me down to the harbour,
but before we reached it we encountered a violent squall, which almost
took us off our legs, and sent Larry's hat flying up the street. He
made chase after it, and we stopped to let him overtake us, while a
number of other people, caught by the wind, passed us running off in the
same direction. At length his hat, driven into a doorway, was
recovered, and Larry came battling against the wind to rejoin us.
"You'll not put to sea to-day," said my friend; "nor for many a day to
come, if I mistake not; but we'll make our way to the harbour, and see
how things are going on there."
On reaching it we found the sea already lashed into a mass of seething
foam. The larger vessels strained at their anchors, some tossing and
tumbling about, others already overwhelmed by the waves. It was with
difficulty we could stand our ground.
"Unless the hurricane passes by, for hurricane it is, not one of those
vessels will escape destruction," said Mr Ringer. As he spoke, one of
them parted from her cables and drove towards the shore.
"We must beat a rapid retreat if we wish to save our lives," he
continued; "the tempest is down upon us!"
The wind, which had previously blown from the south-east, suddenly
shifted to the southward.
Grasping my arm, he hurried me off from the spot on which we were
standing. At the same time down came a deluge of rain--not in mere
drops, but in regular sheets of water. It wetted us to the skin in a
few moments. Larry, now seizing my other arm, dragged me forward. As
we looked back for a moment, we observed the sea rising in a mountain
billow, hissing and foaming, and approaching the shore. It was but the
first, however, of others still larger which were to follow. It broke
with a thundering roar,--the water rushed on, flowing by the spot we had
already reached; but even though we were nearly up to our knees, I
couldn't resist taking another glance behind. The whole ocean was
covered with wreck; and one of the larger vessels I had seen just
before, had disappeared beneath the surface.
As we hurried on, crash succeeded crash. First one house fell, then
another, and another, and from some bright flames burst forth, which
even the descending rain failed to quench. It was useless to attempt
saving the lives of our fellow-creatures, for the same destruction would
have overtaken us. Our great object was to reach the higher country in
the direction of the barracks. Had Larry and I been alone, we should in
all probability have lost our lives; but Mr Ringer, knowing the town,
led us quickly through it by the shortest route. As we dashed through
the streets, scarcely looking to the right hand or to the left, piercing
cries of agony and despair struck on our ears. The smaller and more
lightly built houses were levelled in a moment, and many even of the
larger were crumbling away.
"Don't you wish to go to your own house? if so, we must not stop you; we
will go with you," I said to Mr Ringer.
"We should only be crushed by the falling ruins if we made the attempt,"
he answered at the top of his voice, and even then I could scarcely hear
what he said. "I'll try and get to it from the rear when I have seen
you out of the town."
Not far off from where we then were was a fine house, that had hitherto
withstood the hurricane. Presently a blast struck us which, had we not
clung together, would have blown us down. At the same time, looking up,
I saw the house literally rocking. Down came one wall, and then
another, the roof fell in, and in one instant it was a heap of shapeless
ruins.
"I trust the inmates have escaped," cried Mr Ringer.
Just then loud shrieks and cries for help struck on our ears. They
came, it seemed, from beneath the ruins. We could not withstand the
appeal for assistance, and calculating as well as we could in what
direction the still standing walls would fall, we sprang forward, taking
a course to avoid them across the mass of ruins. An arch, which had
apparently formed the centre of a passage, was yet uninjured, though
blocked up. The cries seemed to us to come from thence. We should
find, we knew, great difficulty in removing the _debris_ which
encumbered it, and the walls might at any moment fall down and crush us.
Still Larry and I, having climbed to the top of the heap, began pulling
away the beams and planks and rubbish which stopped up the entrance.
Mr Ringer joined us, though evidently considering our occupation a very
dangerous one. However, we persevered, and at length had made an
opening sufficiently large to look in. We could see two ladies, an old
gentleman, and a mulatto servant.
"We have come to help you," I cried out. "If you'll climb up here
you'll be free, and there may yet be time, Mr Ringer thinks, to reach
the open country."
Mr Ringer joining us, the two gentlemen recognised each other.
"What, Martin! Glad to see you safe," said the former. "Come, get out
of that place as fast as possible."
Encouraged by us, the youngest of the ladies first made the attempt, and
succeeded in getting high enough to reach our hands. The old lady
followed, though unless Mr Martin and the mulatto girl had shoved
behind, we should have found it impossible to have got her through. Mr
Martin and the girl followed.
As may be supposed, we didn't stop longer on the ruins than was
necessary, but scrambling over them, again reached the open street.
Scarcely were we there before down came the remaining wall, with a crash
which broke in the arch. It would certainly have destroyed Mr Martin
and his family had they been there. The event showed us clearly the
importance of getting out of the town. It seemed scarcely possible that
any one passing through the narrow streets could escape being killed.
Even in the broader ones the danger of being crushed was fearful. Mr
Ringer assisted Mrs Martin, I offered my aid to the young lady, and
Larry took charge of the old gentleman, who required helping as much as
his wife and daughter. I had forgotten all about my lameness. We of
course were somewhat delayed in our progress. Now we had to scramble
over fallen walls--now we narrowly escaped being killed by masses of
masonry and timber falling around us.
At length the open was reached, and we made our way to some higher
ground overlooking the bay. We had reason to be thankful that we were
out of the town. Providentially we reached a small stone building,
which afforded us some shelter from the driving rain and furious wind,
against which it was impossible to stand alone. The bay, as we looked
down upon it, presented a fearful scene. The whole shore was strewn
with masses of wreck. Not a small craft had escaped, and the largest,
with all anchors down, were tossing about, and seemed every moment
likely to be engulfed. The town itself was a heap of ruins, scarcely a
house was standing, and none had escaped injury. In some places flames
were raging, which would have set fire to other houses had it not been
for the mass of water descending on them, while even amid the uproar of
the elements we could hear the shrieks and cries of the inhabitants who
still survived. Presently another immense wave rolled into sight, out
of the dense mist which now shrouded the ocean. On it came with a
tremendous roar. The first vessel it reached was in a moment buried
beneath it. We thought the others would share the same fate, but the
cables parted, and they were borne on the summit of the wave high up
above the beach. On, on it came. Mr Ringer shouted out to us to
escape; and he had reason to do so, for it seemed as if the wave would
overwhelm the spot where we stood. Though the water swept up a portion
of the height, the wave broke before it reached it, leaving the
_Princess Royal_ high and dry on the shore, while it receded, roaring
and hissing, carrying off everything in its course. The crew of the
stranded ship had good cause to be thankful for their escape. On again
looking towards the town, we saw that the sea had swept away many of the
houses in the lower part, while the water rushed through the streets,
extinguishing some of the fires, and must have overwhelmed all caught in
its embrace. Mr Ringer proposed that we should make our way to the
barracks, but the ladies were unwilling to encounter the storm, and
begged to remain where they were. Evening was now approaching, but the
hurricane gave no signs of abating. In whatever direction we looked we
could see its dire effects. Not a shrub, not a cane, remained standing.
Every tree had been blown down. It seemed as if a vast scythe had
passed over the land. The uproar continued as loud as before.
"This is a mighty curious country," shouted Larry to me. "It beats a
faction fight in Tipperary hollow. I was after thinking it was the most
peaceable disposed part of the world, seeing how quiet it has been since
we came out here. Hullo! what's that?"
There was a loud rumbling sound. The earth shook beneath our feet.
"It's an earthquake," cried Mr Ringer. "Heaven forbid that it should
increase."
The ladies clung to Mr Martin with looks of terror. Again there came
that fearful shaking of the earth; many of the remaining buildings
toppled over. Flashes of lightning, brighter than I had ever before
beheld, darted from the sky and lighted up the sea. Even the night
scarcely added to the horrors of those moments, as far as we were
concerned, though it must have done so to the miserable people still
within the precincts of the town. At one time the water seemed to
recede altogether out of the bay, but presently, as if gathered up in a
heap, it once more rolled over the land.
Hour after hour went by, till about midnight, almost as suddenly as it
had commenced, the hurricane passed away from us on its devastating
course; and in a short time, excepting the roar of the surf upon the
shore, scarcely a sound was heard. On this we set out for the barracks,
hoping that they had withstood the tempest. Although they had suffered
considerably, the larger portion had escaped.
Mr Martin and his wife and daughter warmly expressed their gratitude to
us for having rescued them from their perilous position, saying that
they must have perished had we not come to their assistance.
"I wish that I had a home to which to invite you, said Mr Martin, with
a melancholy smile; but I trust that my house may ere long be rebuilt,
and that I may have the means of showing my gratitude better than I can
now."
"I shall be very happy to stay with you if I have the chance," I
answered; "but I suspect it will be a long time before I again get
leave."
The officers, as might have been expected, received us in the kindest
way possible. Duffy was delighted to see us. He fancied I might have
gone on board, and sailed before the hurricane came on.
Next morning the commanding officer marched the whole of the men down,
to render such assistance as they could to the survivors among the
suffering inhabitants. I have never since witnessed a more fearful
scene of destruction than the town presented. Numbers were lying about
in the streets, where they had been crushed to death by the falling
masses, many among them being the principal people in the place. In all
directions the survivors were rushing about in quest of relatives or
friends; while the larger number of the dead lay concealed beneath the
ruins.
The appearance of the _Princess Royal_ was extraordinary. We had seen
her cast on shore and left on her beam-ends. At present she was
perfectly upright, the ground beneath her keel, during the earthquake,
having given way: and there she lay, securely embedded, without the
possibility of ever being set afloat again, about a quarter of a mile
from the beach. Two other vessels had been driven higher on shore, but
lay on their beam-ends. It was at once proposed to utilise the vessel,
by making her the home of the houseless inhabitants; and forthwith the
women and children, and men unable to labour, were collected on board
her. As I surveyed the effects of the hurricane, I naturally felt very
anxious about my ship, fearing that she might have been at sea, and been
lost. I afterwards learned that it was only the eastern wing of the
hurricane that had swept by the western end of Jamaica, but that its
influence in a less degree had been felt over the whole island. As soon
as the news reached Kingston, vessels were despatched with provisions,
and such relief as could be afforded, for the sufferers. As I was
anxious to get back, I took my passage with Larry on board the _Rose_
schooner. The captain promised to land us at Port Royal in a couple of
days; "always providing that we are not snapped up by the enemy, or that
another hurricane doesn't come on," he observed.
As we sailed out of the harbour, I could see at one glance, more clearly
than before, the destruction worked by the hurricane and earthquake.
The whole town appeared to be reduced to heaps of ruins, with here and
there a few shattered walls standing up in their midst. The skipper of
the _Rose_ could give me no information about the _Liffy_, There were a
considerable number of men-of-war in the harbour, and he had not taken
especial note of any of them.
"If she was at sea during the hurricane, it is a hundred to one that she
escaped," he observed.
We made all sail, and kept in shore as much as we could, lest the
enemy's privateers might spy us out, and carry us off to Saint Domingo,
or elsewhere. We, however, escaped all dangers; and, to my great joy,
on entering Port Royal I made out the _Liffy_ among the other men-of-war
at anchor. The _Rose's_ boat took me alongside. Mr Saunders was on
deck, so I went up to him.
"Come aboard, sir," I said, touching my hat.
"What, my lad! is it you?" he exclaimed. "I'm glad to see you. There
was a report that you had perished during the hurricane at Savannah.
How is your leg? Able to return to your duty, I hope?"
"As able and willing as ever, sir," I answered.
"That's all right; there'll be work for us all, ere long."