"Poor, short-lived things! what plans we lay!
Ah! why forsake our native home,
To distant climates speed away,
For self sticks close, where'er we roam.
"Care follows hard, and soon o'ertakes
The well-rigg'd ship; the warlike steed
Her destin'd quarry ne'er forsakes:
Nor the wind flees with half the speed."
COWPER.
Newton, who had made every preparation, as soon as he had taken leave of
his uncle, hastened to join his ship, which still remained at Gravesend,
waiting for the despatches to be closed by the twenty-four leaden heads
presiding at Leadenhall Street. The passengers, with the exception of two,
a Scotch Presbyterian divine and his wife, were still on shore, divided
amongst the inns of the town, unwilling until the last moment to quit
_terra firma_ for so many months of sky and water, daily receiving a visit
from the captain of the ship, who paid his respects to them all round,
imparting any little intelligence he might have received as to the probable
time of his departure.
When Newton arrived on board, he was received by the first mate, a rough,
good-humoured, and intelligent man, about forty years of age, to whom he
had already been introduced by the captain on his previous appearance with
the letter from the director.
"Well, Mr Forster, you're in very good time. As in all probability we shall
be shipmates for a voyage or two, I trust that we shall be good friends.
Now for your _traps_:" then, turning round, he addressed, in the
Hindostanee language, two or three Lascars (fine, olive-coloured men, with
black curling bushy hair), who immediately proceeded to hoist in the
luggage.
The first mate, with an "excuse me a moment," went forward to give some
directions to the English seamen, leaving Forster to look about him. What
he observed, we shall describe for the benefit of our readers.
The Indiaman was a twelve-hundred-ton ship, as large as one of the small
class seventy-four in the king's service, strongly built, with lofty
bulwarks, and pierced on the upper deck for eighteen guns, which were
mounted on the quarter-deck and forecastle. Abaft, a poop, higher than the
bulwarks, extended forward, between thirty and forty feet, under which was
the cuddy or dining-room, and state-cabins, appropriated to passengers. The
poop, upon which you ascended by ladders on each side, was crowded with
long ranges of coops, tenanted by every variety of domestic fowl, awaiting,
in happy unconsciousness, the day when they should be required to supply
the luxurious table provided by the captain. In some, turkeys stretched
forth their long necks, and tapped the decks as they picked up some ant who
crossed it, in his industry. In others, the crowing of cocks and calling of
the hens were incessant: or the geese, ranged up rank and file, waited but
the signal from one of the party to raise up a simultaneous clamour, which
as suddenly was remitted. Coop answered coop, in variety of discord, while
the poulterer walked round and round to supply the wants of so many
hundreds committed to his charge.
The booms before the main-mast were occupied by the large boats, which had
been hoisted in preparatory to the voyage. They also composed a portion of
the farmyard. The launch contained about fifty sheep, wedged together so
close that it was with difficulty they could find room to twist their jaws
round, as they chewed the cud. The stern-sheets of the barge and yawl were
filled with goats and two calves, who were the first-destined victims to
the butcher's knife; while the remainder of their space was occupied by hay
and other provender, pressed down by powerful machinery into the smallest
compass. The occasional ba-aing and bleating on the booms were answered by
the lowing of three milch-cows between the hatchways of the deck below;
where also were to be descried a few more coops, containing fowls and
rabbits. The manger forward had been dedicated to the pigs; but, as the
cables were not yet unbent or bucklers shipped, they at present were
confined by gratings between the main-deck guns, where they grunted at each
passer-by, as if to ask for food.
The boats hoisted up on the quarters, and the guys of the davits, to which
they were suspended, formed the kitchen-gardens, from which the passengers
were to be supplied, and were loaded with bags containing onions, potatoes,
turnips, carrots, beets, and cabbages, the latter, in their full round
proportions, hanging in a row upon the guys, like strings of heads, which
had been demanded in the wrath or the caprice of some despot of Mahomet's
creed.
Forster descended the ladder to the main-deck, which he found equally
encumbered with cabins for the passengers, trunks and bedding belonging to
them, and many other articles which had not yet found their way into the
hold, the hatches of which were open, and in which lanterns in every
direction partially dispelled the gloom, and offered to his view a confused
outline of bales and packages. Carpenters sawing deals, sailmakers roping
the foot of an old mainsail, servants passing to and fro with dishes,
Lascars jabbering in their own language, British seamen d-----g their eyes,
as usual, in plain English, gave an idea of confusion and want of method to
Newton Forster, which, in a short time, he acknowledged himself to have
been premature in having conceived. Where you have to provide for such a
number, to separate the luggage of so many parties, from the heavy chest to
the fragile bandbox, to take in cargo, and prepare for sea, all at the same
time, there must be apparently confusion. In a few days everything finds
its place; and, what is of more consequence, is itself to be found as soon
as it may be required.
According to the regulations on board of East India ships, Forster messed
below with the junior mates, midshipmen, surgeon's assistant, &c.: the
first and second mates only having the privilege of constantly appearing at
the captain's table, while the others receive but an occasional invitation.
Forster soon became on intimate terms with his shipmates. As they will,
however, appear upon the stage when required to perform their parts, we
shall at present confine ourselves to a description of the captain and the
passengers.
Captain Drawlock was a man of about fifty years of age. Report said that in
his youth he had been wild; and some of his contemporary commanders in the
service were wont to plague him by narrating divers freaks of former days,
the recollection of which would create anything but a smile upon his face.
Whether report and the other captains were correct or not in their
assertions, Captain Drawlock was in appearance quite a different character
at the time we introduce him. He was of sedate aspect, seldom smiled, and
appeared to be wrapt up in the importance of the trust confided to him,
particularly with respect to the young women who were sent out under his
protection. He talked much of his responsibility, and divided the whole of
his time between his chronometers and his young ladies; in both of which a
trifling error was a source of irritation. Upon any deviation on the part
of either, the first were rated carefully, the latter were _rated soundly_;
considering the safety of the ship to be endangered on the one hand, and
the character of his ship to be equally at stake on the other.' It was
maliciously observed that the latter were by far the more erratic of the
two; and, still more maliciously, that the austere behaviour on the part of
Captain Drawlock was all pretence; that he was as susceptible as the
youngest officer in the ship; and that the women found it out long before
the voyage was completed.
It has been previously mentioned that all the passengers were on shore,
except two, a Presbyterian divine and his wife, the expenses attending
whose passage out were provided for by a subscription which had been put on
foot by some of the serious people of Glasgow, who prayed fervently, and
enlivened their devotions with most excellent punch. The worthy clergyman
(for worthy he was) thought of little else but his calling, and was a
sincere, enthusiastic man, who was not to be checked by any consideration
in what he considered to be his duty; but although he rebuked, he rebuked
mildly, and never lost his temper. Stern in his creed, which allowed no
loophole by which the offender might escape, still there was a kindness and
even a humility in his expostulation, which caused his zeal never to
offend, and often to create serious reflection. His wife was a tall,
handsome woman, who evidently had usurped an ascendency over her husband in
all points unconnected with his calling. She, too, was devout; but hers was
not the true religion, for it had not charity for its basis. She was clever
and severe; spoke seldom; but the few words which escaped from her lips
were sarcastic in their tendency.
The passengers who still remained on shore were numerous. There was an old
colonel, returning from a three years' furlough, the major part of which
had been spent at Cheltenham. He was an Adonis of sixty, with yellow cheeks
and white teeth; a man who had passed through life doing nothing; had risen
in his profession without having seen service, except on one occasion, and
of that circumstance he made the most. With a good constitution and happy
temperament, constantly in society, and constantly in requisition, he had
grown old without being aware of it, and considered himself as much an
object of interest with the other sex as he was formerly when a gay captain
of five-and-twenty, with good prospects. Amusing, and easily amused, he had
turned over the pages of the novel of life so uninterruptedly, that he had
nearly arrived at the last page without being conscious that the finis was
at hand.
Then there were two cadets from the college, full of themselves and their
own consequence, fitted out with plenty of money and plenty of advice, both
of which were destined to be thrown away. There was also a young writer,
who talked of his mother, Lady Elizabeth, and other high relations, who had
despatched him to India, that he might be provided for by a cholera morbus
or a lucrative post; a matter of perfect indifference to those who had sent
him from England. Then, let me see,--oh! there were two officers of a
regiment at St Helena, with tongues much longer than their purses; who, in
the forepart of the day, condescended to talk nonsense to the fairer of the
other sex, and, in the evening, to win a few pounds from the weaker of
their own.
But all these were nobodies in the eyes of Captain Drawlock; they were a
part of his cargo, for which he was not responsible. The important part of
his consignment were four unmarried women; three of them were young,
good-looking, and poor; the other ill-favoured, old, but rich.
We must give precedence to wealth and age. The lady last mentioned was a
Miss Tavistock, born and educated in the city, where her father had long
been at the head of the well-established firm of Tavistock, Bottlecock &
Co., Dyers, Calenderers, and Scourers. As we before observed, she was the
fortunate sole heiress to her father's accumulation, which might amount to
nearly thirty thousand pounds; but had been little gifted by nature. In
fact, she was what you may style most preposterously ugly; her figure was
large and masculine; her hair red; and her face very deeply indented with
the small-pox. As a man, she would have been considered the essence of
vulgarity; as a woman, she was the quintessence: so much so, that she had
arrived at the age of thirty-six without having, notwithstanding her
property, received any attentions which could be construed into an offer.
As we always seek most eagerly that which we find most difficult to obtain,
she was possessed with _une fureur de se marier_; and, as a last resource,
had resolved to go out to India, where she had been informed that "anything
white" was acceptable. This _passion_ for matrimony (for with her it had so
become, if not a disease) occupied her whole thoughts; but she attempted to
veil them by always pretending to be extremely sensitive and refined; to be
shocked at anything which had the slightest allusion to the "increase and
multiply;" and constantly lamented the extreme fragility of her
constitution; to which her athletic bony frame gave so determined a lie,
that her hearers were struck dumb with the barefaced assertion. Miss
Tavistock had kept up a correspondence with an old schoolmate, who had been
taken away early to join her friends in India, and had there married. As
her hopes of matrimony dwindled away, so did her affection for her old
friend appear, by her letters, to increase. At last, in answer to a letter,
in which she declared that she would like to come out, and (as she had long
made a resolution to continue single) adopt one of her friend's children,
and pass her days with them, she received an answer, stating how happy they
would be to receive her, and personally renew the old friendship, if indeed
she could be persuaded to venture upon so long and venturous a passage.
Whether this answer was sincere or not, Miss Tavistock took advantage of
the invitation; and writing to intimate her speedy arrival, took her
passage in the _Bombay Castle_.
The other three spinsters were sisters: Charlotte, Laura, and Isabel Revel,
daughters of the Honourable Mr Revel, a _roué_ of excellent family, who had
married for money, and had dissipated all his wife's fortune except the
marriage settlement of £600 per annum. Their mother was a selfish,
short-sighted, manoeuvring woman, whose great anxiety was to form
establishments for her daughters, or, in other terms, remove the expense of
their maintenance from her own to the shoulders of other people, very
indifferent whether the change might contribute to their happiness or not.
Mr Revel may be said to have long deserted his family; he lived nobody knew
where, and seldom called, unless it was to "raise the wind" upon his wife,
who by entreaties and threats was necessitated to purchase his absence by a
sacrifice of more than half her income. Of his daughters he took little
notice, when he _did_ make his appearance; and if so, it was generally in
terms more calculated to raise the blush of indignant modesty than to
stimulate the natural feelings of affection of a daughter towards a parent.
Their mother, whose income was not sufficient to meet the demands of a
worthless husband, in addition to the necessary expenses attendant on three
grown-up women, was unceasing in her attempts to get them off her hands:
but we will introduce a conversation which took place between her and a
sedate-looking, powdered old gentleman, who had long been considered as a
"friend of the family," as thereby more light will perhaps be thrown upon
her character.
"The fact is, my dear Mr Heaviside, that I hardly know what to do. Mr
Revel, who is very intimate with the theatre people, proposed that they
should try their fortune on the stage. He says (and indeed there is some
truth in it) that nowadays, the best plan for a man to make himself popular
is to be sent to Newgate; and the best chance that a girl has of a coronet,
is to become an actress. Well, I did not much like the idea; but at last I
consented. Isabel, my youngest, is, you know, very handsome in her person,
and sings remarkably well, and we arranged that she should go on first;
and, if she succeeded, that her sister Charlotte should follow her; but
Isabel is of a very obstinate disposition, and when we proposed it to her,
she peremptorily refused, and declared that she would go out as a
governess, or anything, rather than consent. I tried what coaxing would do,
and her father tried threatening; but all was in vain. This was about a
year ago, and she is now only seventeen; but she ever was a most decided, a
most obstinate character."
"Very undutiful, indeed, ma'am; she might have been a duchess before
this:--a very foolish girl, indeed, ma'am," observed the gentleman.
"Well, Mr Heaviside, we then thought that Charlotte, our eldest, had the
next best chance of success. Although not by any means so good-looking as
her sister; indeed, to tell you the truth, Mr Heaviside, which I would not
do to everybody, but I know that you can keep a secret, Charlotte is now
nearly thirty years old, and her sister, Laura, only one year younger."
"Is it possible, madam!" replied Mr Heaviside, looking at the lady with
well-feigned astonishment.
"Yes, indeed," replied the lady, who had forgotten that in telling her
daughters' secrets, she had let out her own. "But I was married so young,
so very young, that I am almost ashamed to think of it. Well Mr Heaviside,
as I was saying, although not so good-looking as her sister, Mr Revel, who
is a good judge in these matters, declared that by the theatre lights
Charlotte would be reckoned a very fine woman. We proposed it to her, and,
after a little pouting, she consented. The only difficulty was whether she
should attempt tragedy or comedy. Her features were considered rather too
sharp for comedy, and her figure not quite tall enough for tragedy. She
herself preferred tragedy, which decided the point; and Mr Revel, who knows
all the actors, persuaded Mr Y---- (you know who I mean, the great tragic
actor) to come here, and give his opinion of her recitation. Mr Y---- was
excessively polite; declared that she was a young lady of great talent, but
that a slight lisp, which she has, unfitted her most decidedly for tragedy.
Of course, it was abandoned for comedy, which she studied some time, and
when we considered her competent, Mr Revel had interest enough to induce
the great Mr M---- to come and give his opinion. Charlotte performed her
part, as I thought, remarkably well, and when she had finished she left the
room, that Mr M---- might not be checked by her presence from giving me his
unbiased opinion."
"Which was favourable, ma'am, I presume; for, if not fitted for the one,
she naturally must have been fit for the other."
"So I thought," replied the lady, to this polite _non sequitur_ of the
gentleman. "But Mr M---- is a very odd man, and if I must say it, not very
polite. What do you think, Mr Heaviside, as soon as she left the room he
rose from his chair, and, twisting up the corner of his mouth, as he looked
me in the face, he said, 'Madam, it is my opinion that your daughter's
comedy, whenever she makes her appearance on the boards, will, to use a
Yankee expression, _be most particularly damned_! I wish you a very good
morning.'"
"Very rude, indeed, madam; most excessively unpolite of Mr M----. I should
not have thought it possible."
"Well, Mr Heaviside, as for Laura, poor thing! you are aware that she is
not quite so clever as she might be; she never had any memory: when a
child, she never could recollect the evening hymn if she missed it two
nights running; so that acting was out of the question with her. So that
all my hopes of their forming a splendid establishment by that channel have
vanished. Now, my dear Mr Heaviside, what would you propose?"
"Why, really, ma'am, it is so difficult to advise in these times; but, if
anxious to dispose of your daughters, why not send them out to India?"
"We have thought of it several times; for Mr Revel has an uncle there
unmarried, and they say very rich. He is a colonel in the Bombay marine, I
believe."
"More probably in the Bengal army, ma'am."
"Well, I believe you are right; but I know it's in the Company's service.
But the old gentleman hates my husband, and will not have anything to say
to him. I did write a very civil letter to him, in which I just hinted how
glad one or two of my daughters would be to take care of his house, but he
never condescended to give me an answer. I am told that he is a very
unpleasant man."
"A difficult thing to advise, ma'am, very difficult indeed! but I can tell
you a circumstance which occurred about five years ago, when a similar
application to a relative in India was made by a friend of mine. It was no
more attended to than yours has been. Nevertheless, as it was supposed that
the answer had miscarried, the young lady was sent out to her relative with
a decent equipment, and a letter of introduction. Her relation was very
much surprised: but what could he do? he could not permit the young lady to
remain without a roof over her head, so he received her, and as he did not
like to say how he had been treated, he held his tongue. The young lady, in
the course of three months, made a very good match; and is, to my
knowledge, constantly sending home India shawls and other handsome presents
to her mother."
"Indeed, Mr Heaviside, then do you advise--"
"It is difficult, extremely difficult to advise upon so nice a point. I
only state the fact, my dear madam: I should think the colonel must feel
the want of female society; but, God bless me! it's nearly two o'clock.
Good morning, my dear Mrs Revel--good morning."
"Good morning, my dear Mr Heaviside; it's very kind of you to call in this
sociable way and chat an hour or two. Good morning."
The result of the above conversation was a consultation between Mr Revel
and his wife upon their first meeting. Mr Revel was delighted with the
plan, not so much caring at the disposal of his daughters as he was pleased
with the idea of annoying his uncle, from whom he, at one time, had great
expectations; but, as it was necessary to be circumspect, especially with
Isabel, Mr Revel took the opportunity of a subsequent visit to state that
he had received a letter from his uncle in India, wishing one of his
daughters to go out and live with him. In a few months he read another
letter (composed by himself, and copied in another hand), earnestly
desiring that they might all come out to him, as it would be much to their
advantage. The reluctance of the two eldest was removed by pointing out the
magnificent establishments they might secure: the consent of Isabel by a
statement of difficulty and debt on the part of her parents, which would
end in beggary if not relieved from the burden of their support.
By insuring her life, a sum of money sufficient for their outfit and
passage was raised on Mrs Revel's marriage settlement; and the three Miss
Revels were thus shipped off by their affectionate parents, as a "venture,"
in the _Bombay Castle._