On returning to the berth, I found poor Dicky blubbering, and looking
very melancholy.
"It was not the loss of my breakfast, for I don't care if I never have
another with him, but it was the indignity with which I was treated," he
exclaimed. At this most of our messmates laughed.
"Indignity, do you call it, Dicky, to be kicked by a lord? It's a high
honour," said old Grumpus, who had joined us just before we sailed, and
did duty as mate of the lower deck. "Look out, youngster, that you
don't get treated with greater indignity before long. I took the
skipper's measure the day I first set eyes on him. With all his mincing
manners and fine talk, depend upon it he'll prove a Tartar at bottom."
Besides Dicky, another youngster had come to sea for the first time, and
was related, it was supposed, to the captain. Alfred de Lisle was
somewhat older than Dicky Larcom, and a refined, nice fellow. I took a
great liking to him, though he had his faults. He was excessively
indignant when he heard how Dicky had been treated.
"It's a great shame. I wouldn't stand it," he exclaimed. "If he treats
me in the same way, I'll leave the ship and go home."
"Bravo, youngster," cried Grumpus, backing him up. "There'll be one
less in the service to be placed over my head one of these days, and so
I approve of your resolution; only just stick to it. When the captain
next orders you to do anything you don't like, just let it alone. Don't
say you won't, or you'll be guilty of mutiny."
De Lisle took what Grumpus said in downright earnest, though I didn't
fancy he would have done so, or I should have given him better counsel.
As the gale increased, the captain, as we heard, sent for the first
lieutenant, and said he should like to bear up for the Cove of Cork or
Plymouth Sound.
"There's just one objection to our doing that," observed old
Rough-and-Ready. "You see, my lord, they happen to be right away to
windward, and we can no more get there until the wind shifts, than we
can reach the moon. We'll heave the ship to, if your lordship pleases,
and she'll be so much nearer Portsmouth than if we run on as we're
doing."
"Oh, pray heave to; it is the best thing we can do under the
circumstances," answered his lordship.
The hands were accordingly turned up, and the ship brought to the wind
at the risk of carrying away some of our bulwarks and boats. We thus
rode, hove-to, for a couple of days, when, the gale moderating, we were
able to make sail, and steer for the Channel.
As soon as the weather was fine enough, old Rough-and-Ready, according
to promise, kept all hands exercising at the guns and shortening and
reefing sails for hours together. He was in no hurry to get into port
again, as he wanted before then to have a smart ship's company.
This evidently gave the captain great satisfaction, for he knew he would
gain the credit, and he was not above wishing that for himself, if it
could be obtained without too much trouble. He had come on deck with
his arms akimbo to give his orders, in a voice very different from that
in which he spoke when in his cabin or ashore, introducing as many
expletives and adjurations as the boatswain himself could have done. No
sooner had the sails been again loosed, and tacks and sheets hauled
down, than he sang out once more--
"Shorten sail. If you're not smart enough about it, I'll flog the last
man in off the yards."
The midshipmen had to furl the mizzen-topsail. We consequently flew
aloft with the rest. De Lisle, though active enough in general, didn't
at all like this, and chose to take his time about it. He was
consequently the last on deck. The captain had marked several of the
men for punishment, which they got the next morning, and took it as a
matter of course. The captain, however, said nothing to De Lisle, who
did not dream, therefore, that he would carry out his threats. He was
in the morning watch the next day, and had to turn out at eight bells to
assist in holy-stoning and washing down decks. This was always done
under the supervision of the first lieutenant, who appeared on such
occasions in an old sou'-wester, a jacket patched and darned, a
comforter round his throat, and a pair of blue trousers tucked up at the
knee, without shoes or stockings. The midshipmen had also to go about
with bare feet, as of course had the men. They, with buckets in hand,
were dashing the water over the decks to carry off the sand through the
scuppers, and then they had to dry the decks with huge swabs, which they
swung about, now bringing them down on one side, now on another, with
loud flops. When old Rough-and-Ready's eye was off them, all sorts of
larks would take place. One would heave a bucket of water over a
messmate, the other would return it with interest, and a battle royal
would ensue, till every one was soused through. Then one fellow would
bring his swab across the back of another, and a swab fight would
generally follow, till the first lieutenant would turn round and call
them to order.
De Lisle on this morning had not made his appearance. At length
Rough-and-Ready, recollecting him, sent below. He came up dressed in
full uniform.
"What are you after?" exclaimed the first lieutenant staring at him.
"Turn to at once, and attend to your duty."
"I don't consider it my duty, sir, to engage in such dirty work as
washing down decks; I should spoil my dress if I did," answered De
Lisle.
"What I order you is your duty; and if I tell you to put your hands in
the tar-bucket and black down the rigging, you'll have to do it," said
the first lieutenant, for once in a way growing angry.
"I'll go and change my clothes, then, sir," said De Lisle.
He was so long about this that when he came on deck the operations were
concluded, and the men were flemishing down the ropes. Rough-and-Ready
said nothing at the time, and De Lisle attended to his duty as usual.
Before noon, however, the captain sent for several of us youngsters into
the cabin. Though I had been so long at sea I was still considered a
youngster. The master-at-arms was standing with a small cat in his
hand, a weapon of punishment capable of inflicting a considerable amount
of pain, but not of so formidable a character as the large cat used on
delinquents among the crew. By the captain's side stood his clerk, with
a printed document in his hand.
"Read the Articles of War," said the captain, "and do you youngsters
listen."
When he came to the part referring to obedience to the orders of
superior officers, he looked at De Lisle, and exclaimed in a thundering
voice--
"Do you hear that, youngster? Prepare to receive the punishment you
merit for disobedience to orders."
On the port side was a gun which Lord Robert had chosen to have painted
green, carriage and all, to make it harmonise with the furniture.
"Strip," he said.
De Lisle, trembling, seemed disinclined to obey; but the master-at-arms
seized him, and quickly had his jacket off, and his back exposed. He
then, in spite of the boy's struggles, secured him to the gun.
"Give him half-a-dozen lashes," said the captain.
The cat descended till the blood came.
"I'll tell my father and mother," sang out poor De Lisle in his agony.
"Two more for that," cried the captain.
"Oh! could my brothers and sisters see my disgrace!" cried out poor De
Lisle, scarcely knowing what he said.
"Two more for that," shouted Lord Robert.
Again the cat descended. He thus got ten instead of six lashes. He did
not again speak. Overcome by his feelings rather than by the pain, he
had fainted. The captain sent for the doctor, who soon brought him to,
when he was led off to the surgery to have his wounds attended to.
"That's a lesson for you all, young gentlemen," said Lord Robert in a
subdued tone, differing greatly from that which he had lately used.
"I'm determined to maintain discipline aboard my ship; and you'll
understand that though I wish to treat you all with consideration, I
will certainly punish any disobedience to orders."
We looked at each other, and then at the captain, and, supposing that we
were not required to stay longer, I led the way out of the cabin,
followed by the rest, my feelings boiling over with indignation, for I
had never before seen a midshipman flogged. Still I could not but
acknowledge that De Lisle merited punishment, and he confessed as much
to me afterwards, though he did not expect to receive it in that
fashion. He harboured no ill-will towards the captain in consequence,
and became far smarter than he had ever been before in attending to his
duties. The lesson was not thrown away on any of us, and we took good
care not to run the risk of incurring the captain's displeasure.
Notwithstanding the captain's effeminate looks and manners, he managed
to gain the respect of the men, who liked to have a lord to rule over
them, though they knew well enough that it was old Rough-and-Ready who
had got the ship into such prime order; and for him they would have gone
through fire and water, though they might not have wished to have him in
supreme command. The captain having abundance of stores on board, our
cruise continued for a longer period than we had expected, and we in the
midshipmen's berth had run short of all our luxuries, and were condemned
to exist on salt junk and hard biscuits. This gave old Grumpus,
Nettleship, and other oldsters the opportunity of grumbling, which made
them, as Tom said, perfectly happy. We enjoyed, however, an occasional
blow-out, when we breakfasted or dined with the captain. We were
beginning to wish, however, that another war would break out, or that we
might return into port and have a spree on shore.
Besides making and shortening sail, we were constantly exercised at the
guns, as well as the small arms. Our chief employment was firing at a
cask with a flag at the top of it, in doing which we expended as much
powder and shot as would have enabled us to fight a couple of pitched
battles; but it made the men expert gunners, and would have enabled
them, as old Rough-and-Ready observed, to take an enemy's frigate in
half the time they would otherwise have done.
At length we sighted the coast of Ireland, and, with a westerly breeze,
stood up Channel under all sail. We expected to put into Plymouth, and
Nettleship invited Tom and me to come and pay his mother and sister a
visit, but, to our disappointment, we found the ship passing the
Eddystone, and heard that we were to go on to Portsmouth, where the
captain had his reasons for wishing to remain, namely, that he might be
so much the nearer to London. On a fine bright morning we stood in
through the Needles, and steered for Spithead, where the fleet was lying
at anchor. We carried on in fine style as we stood up the Solent,
between the Isle of Wight and the mainland, exciting the admiration of
all beholders on shore.
"Now, my lads, let's show the admiral how smartly we can shorten sail
and bring the ship to an anchor," said the captain, who appeared in full
fig on deck.
We were all on the alert, and the moment "Away aloft!" reached our ears
we flew up the rigging. The boatswain's pipe sounded shrill, the
topsails came down smartly with a loud whirr. The ship was rounded to,
the men lay out on the yards and briskly handed the canvas, and the
anchor was let go, a short distance from the flag-ship. Directly
afterwards a signal was made for Lord Robert to go aboard her. I had
the honour of accompanying him. The boats were newly painted, the men
wearing white trousers and shirts, the oars without a speck; and in good
style we dashed alongside.
The admiral received Lord Robert on the quarter-deck, and desired to
compliment him on the splendid way in which he had brought his ship to
an anchor. Lord Robert bowed, and, with a self-satisfied smile, replied
he was glad to find that his efforts to bring his crew into a state of
good discipline met with approval, and his only regret was that, it
being peace time, he was unable to bring in a prize in tow, which, as he
pleasantly observed, he should otherwise without doubt have done.
I thought that he might possibly refer to the assistance he had received
from old Rough-and-Ready, but not a word escaped his lips to allow the
admiral to suppose that all was not due to his own admirable system. He
then hinted that the ship had been in some heavy weather, and that it
might be necessary to go into harbour, to have her damages made good.
The admiral made no objection, and we accordingly, the next morning, got
under weigh, and stood in to Portsmouth harbour, where we brought up
some distance from the dockyard. We found two or three other frigates
lying there, and several sloops-of-war and corvettes and brigs.
We had not been there long before our captain received invitations from
the residents in the neighbourhood, who had known him as a lieutenant
and commander, and were accustomed to make much of him. He was
acquainted with most of the captains of the other ships, and they were
constantly dining on shore in each other's company. They had all been
invited to dinner at the house of a baronet some miles out of
Portsmouth, and their boats were ordered to be in waiting for them at
about half-an-hour after midnight. All the commanders and most of the
post-captains were young men, full of life and spirits, two or three of
them noted for their harum-scarum qualities.
I had been sent to bring off Lord Robert, and a midshipman was in each
of the other boats belonging to the different ships. We waited and
waited for our respective captains, sitting in the stern-sheets wrapped
in our thick cloaks, afraid to go ashore lest our men should take the
opportunity of slipping off into one of the public-houses on the Common
Hard, standing temptingly open.
At last we heard the voices of a party of revellers coming along, and I
recognised among them that of my captain, who seemed to be in an
especially jovial mood.
In those days there stood on the Hard a sentry-box, furnished with a
seat inside, on which the sentry was accustomed to sit down to rest his
legs between his turns.