ride the remaining thirty miles, in order to be there by eleven o'clock,
which was the hour the ship was to be launched. On the other side of
Andover I overtook a gentleman, of the name of NEALE, who, as well as
myself, was also going to Portsmouth, to see the Royal Family. I had known
him a little when a boy at school at Andover, and having soon learned each
others intentions, we agreed to go in company together. We intended to
have breakfasted at Winchester, but we were too early, all the windows and
doors of the inns were shut, and we passed on till we came to Whiteflood,
a small inn by the road side, where we got good corn for our horses, and
an excellent breakfast for ourselves.
We arrived at Gosport about nine o'clock, and having put up our horses we
crossed to Portsmouth about ten. The gates of the dockyard were closed,
and we were told that we were too late to be launched in the man of war,
that the king, queen, and three or four of the princesses were at the
governor's house, and the ship would be launched at eleven precisely. I
had more anxiety about being launched _in_ a ship of war, never having
seen any thing of the sort before, than I had about any thing; therefore I
felt greatly mortified at being too late, and I began to try the
experiment of bribing the gatekeeper, who had positive orders not to let
any one pass after that hour. My friend Neale, seeing it in vain to remain
there, took another course, and said he would get a boat to see the
launch, if he could not get into it; but as I had set my heart upon being
in the ship when it was launched, I remained at the door. As soon as I was
alone with the door-keeper, I renewed my application, and finding that he
began to relax, I plied him close, and he soon put me in the way how to
_cheat the devil_. He asked if I did not know any one who lived in the
dock yard, and I instantly made up my mind to say yes, and urged him to
repeat some of their names. This he did, and I was luckily saved the
disgrace of telling a lie, for the second person he named was an old
school-fellow of mine; and I never in my life claimed acquaintance with
any old friend with so much alacrity and pleasure. A half crown now opened
the gates, and in I went, a fine sunburnt country youth, and made my way
to my friend's house as fast as possible. Another check! he was from home!
I then hastened to the part where the majestic Prince stood upon her few
remaining stocks, ready at a moment's notice for the signal of being
launched into the watery element. But no entrance was to be obtained! all
communication was cut off from the dock to the vessel, except by one step
ladder, strongly guarded, waiting for the arrival of the principal
commissioner, who had gone to conduct the royal family to the sort of
balcony that was erected to enable them to see the whole of the launch
with ease and safety. I now placed myself as near as possible to the foot
of this ladder, anxiously waiting the arrival of the commissioner. At
length the old gentleman arrived, dressed in an admiral's uniform. The
pressure of the crowd _was immense_; but, although it was the first crowd
I had ever had to encounter, I made a dash and forced my way through,
close up to the foot of the ladder and, as the old officer ascended, I
sprang through the sentinels and up the steps, and held him fast by the
skirt of his coat. The sentinels seized me and pulled me back, with great
violence. _I held fast_, and down came the commissioner and myself
together to the bottom of the ladder. The old boy stared, and the
sentinels swore, but I _still held fast_. They endeavoured to release him,
and struck me some hard blows. With one desperate effort, however I sprang
by the commissioner, and was up the ladder like a cat. I was seized at the
top to be handed back again, and as I was about to make a determined
resistance, the commissioner came up and kindly released me, and after a
gentle reprimand for placing him in such danger, I was permitted to remain
on board and to be launched in the _Prince of Wales_; having got on board
more than an hour after all other communication had been cut off from her:
and I obtained this gratification in the presence of thousands, who hailed
the success of my daring perseverence by giving me _three cheers_. This
was the first act of my life that gained me the cheers of a large
multitude, and I was not a little proud of the compliment. I believe there
were upwards of a thousand persons on board, and I was struck with
astonishment at the stupendous magnitude of a ship of war of the first
rate. On the larboard side of this magnificent specimen of the wooden
walls of old England, sat the venerable monarch George the Third with his
Queen and their fine family of Princesses in all their pride and beauty,
two or three of them at that time being remarkably fine young women. I
believe they were accompanied by one of the princes, and on the side of
the king stood the victorious hero of the day, Lord Howe, commonly called
by the sailors, _Black Dick_. In a few minutes, unknown and unobserved by
me, the signal was given, and she glided almost imperceptibly from the
stocks into the middle of the harbour, thus riding most majestically
dignified in the midst of applauding and admiring myriads who hailed her
progress with enthusiastic cheers; the king, the queen, and the princesses
all waving their handkerchiefs. Such was the beauty of this launch, and
such was the skill with which it was accomplished that the only sensation
which I felt was, that the other ships, that were along side of us,
appeared to move gently from us. A boat now came alongside of her, being
hailed by a party, of which the late John Weeks, who then kept the Bush at
Bristol, was one, and he began to descend[9] when a thought struck me,
that as I was the last person, except the commissioner of the Dock-yard,
who came on board, so I should like to be the _first_ out of her; and the
thought was no sooner conceived than I put it in execution.
Although there were two or three persons going down the ladder on the side
of the ship before me, yet I made a spring and jumped fourteen or fifteen
feet, and reached the boat first, at the imminent risk of swamping her. I
did not get any cheers for this, but many a reprimand for my temerity.
But, as my poor father used at that time to say, that it was a word and a
blow with me; I was very quick in forming a plan, and when I had once made
up my mind, it was generally executed with the rapidity of lightening. I
returned, and dined at the Fountain Inn with the party from Bath and
Bristol, and in the evening I called again upon my old school fellow,
whose father held some situation and lived in the dock yard, but I do not
now recollect his name. He was at home, and was very happy to see me, and
having introduced me to his father, mothers and sisters, together with
some friends who were on a visit, I drank tea with them; and being offered
it, I most willingly accepted part of his bed, a valuable acquisition to
me, as a bed was not to be had, either in, or within ten miles of
Portsmouth, for love or money.
Before I rose in the morning, my young friend informed me that, in the
course of the forenoon, I should have an opportunity of seeing the royal
family, as they were going to inspect the dock-yard, and on that account
the gates were kept closed, that they might not be annoyed by the crowd,
which would otherwise have impeded their progress. He said that he must
not appear, but he thought I might, as a stranger, take an opportunity of
getting very near them, without creating any particular notice.
I took the hint, and thanked him most cordially for the information; and
when the royal party came round, I joined them without any ceremony. They
were attended by very few persons, among whom were Lord Howe and the
_commissioner_ to whom I had caused such a fall the day before: the latter
eyed me immediately, and shook his head, but in such a good humoured way
that it encouraged me to remain rather than otherwise. I therefore now
joined the party, at a respectful distance. At the entrance of the cable
room lay a piece of a very large cable, about six feet long, to which Lord
Howe called the attention of the royal family, by stating that it was part
of the cable of the _French admiral's ship_, and that it had been shot off
at that length by two balls from the English fleet, which were supposed to
have struck it at the same moment at six feet distance. Lord Howe also
said that there was a twelve pounder ball stuck into it also, but as it
lay on the ground, and they could not see it, he ordered one of the
attendants to heave it upon its end. It was however, too heavy, and the
man could not accomplish it, but let it fall back again. The commissioner
was calling some one to assist, when I sprung forward, and having seized
it, I heaved it upright in an instant; for which the gallant admiral as
well as the commissioner thanked me, and I held it nearly a quarter of an
hour, while the king and all the family examined it, as it was esteemed a
great curiosity, and a striking proof of the heat and severity of the
engagement. The king very politely now thanked me, and the queen
particularly so, and expressed a desire that some one should help me to
sink it down again, fearing that it was too heavy for me; but I was
anxious to shew my strength, as well as my gallantry, and I sunk it into
its place on the ground again, with great ease. The princesses deigned a
smile, which I esteemed a very high reward. After this I went round the
whole dock yard with the party, and offered my assistance whenever it was
wanted, which was accepted with the greatest politeness; the princesses
entering at times freely into conversation with me.
At length the commissioner took me aside, and asked me how I came into the
dock yard. I stated the fact to him as it was, and he then said he had his
Majesty's command to ask my name. I told him my name, what was my
occupation, and whence I came; and the king hearing that I was the son of
a large Wiltshire farmer, asked me many questions relating to the crops,
&c. &c. all of which I answered very much to his satisfaction, and when
they departed, he politely took leave of me. The reader may easily
conceive that I was not a little proud of the opportunity I had of being
so near, and of having such means of conversing with, the royal party.
I forgot to notice, that the _Prince of Wales_, the ship which was
launched the day before, had been got back again into Dock, the same
afternoon, and was this day exhibited to his majesty _completely
copper-bottomed_, which operation had been performed in _twenty-four
hours_ by the workmen in the yard; an instance of speed and of the power
of well-directed and incessant labour, which never was before, and
probably never has since, been equalled in the annals of ship-building. I
went on board some of the captured French ships of war, that had been
cleared up from the carnage of the battle for the inspection of the royal
visitors; but, notwithstanding the care which had been taken to put them
in a state fit to be viewed, the visible proofs of the horrible slaughter
met the eye in every direction, and the recollection of the sight, even at
this distance of time, makes the heart sicken.
Although I was at this time in the zenith of my loyalty, I could not avoid
enquiring of myself whether all this blood and carnage, all this waste of
valuable life, was absolutely necessary? Whether no means could have been
devised to settle the point in dispute, without resorting to arms, and
sacrificing the best blood of both countries? On the one hand, the too
common feeling was, that it was absolutely necessary, and almost all those
who were the loudest in their lamentations, and who appeared most to
deplore the dreadful loss of so many gallant men, were at the same time
the greatest advocates of the war, and boldly justified it upon the score
of dire necessity; adding, that it was better a few should suffer in war,
than that the whole country should be overrun by an invading army, which
they would have us to believe was composed of such monsters as would never
rest satisfied, unless they murdered us all, young and old, male and
female. The republicans of France were described as wild beasts of the
most ferocious kind, whose only delight was in blood, and who never spared
either _age_ or _sex_. But yet it often occurred to me, should but the
opinion, the representations of my worthy friend and tutor be correct,
that not the French republicans, but those who supported the war, the
English ministers, were the bloody minded monsters; that they, as he
asserted, were the cause of the war, in order to restore the old tyranny
that had desolated France, and had for so many centuries enslaved a brave,
an intelligent, and a truly gallant people? These reflections would
frequently come across my mind; but we were told they were threatening to
invade us, and the threat of an invasion always roused the spirit of every
British heart, and made it glow with the desire to repel them.
I had now seen nearly all the sights, and as I had been absent from home
four days, I began to bend my thoughts that way; but the reflection that I
had left my father, not only without his leave, but also against his
consent, now began to render every thing that others appeared to enjoy
very irksome to me. I, however, mustered courage, took my horse, and
reached home in the afternoon of the fifth day. At the door I met my
father, who received me in the most hostile manner. He lavished his
imprecations upon my head, and as he burst out of the room, he, in a
paroxysm of passion, ordered me to quit his house, and see his face no
more. Springing by me in a menacing manner, he repeated his denunciations,
declaring that I should not remain under his roof. He then went to the
stable, took his horse, which I had just brought home, mounted it, and
rode away towards his Farms.
Young and foolish as I was, I felt that I had given him cause of just
complaint, although I thought his conduct displayed an unnecessary and
unbecoming rigour, in refusing me such an indulgence in the first
instance? My eldest sister implored me to endeavour to conciliate my
father, and informed me how uneasy he had been since my first departure,
and what a wretched house they had had at home. But his determined aspect
at leaving me, the threats which he held out, and the peremptory tone in
which he ordered me to depart from his house, appeared to me to admit of
no alternative; and therefore, with a desperate determination I hastened
up stairs, and packed up a small portmanteau, and, in less than half an
hour, in spite of the entreaties of my sister, I was mounted upon my own
horse, and took a final leave, as I expected, of that home where I had
passed so many delightful happy days.
As I embraced my afflicted sister, who had fainted upon seeing my
determination, and who was now relieved by a flood of tears, I could not
refrain from calling aloud upon the angelic spirit of my dear departed
mother, who had she been alive this dreadful calamity had never befallen
me or our family. I tore myself from my sister, who was in an agony of
grief, and who now upon her knees implored me to think of my father, and
how miserable my leaving home again, under such distressing circumstances,
would make him; she used all the arguments which her reason could suggest,
to persuade me that it was my duty to bear with his temper, and to submit
to his will, however arbitrary. But, as I was now of age, and as I had
laboured incessantly in my father's business for nearly five years, and
had scarcely ever left it for a day, I was mortified at his unnecessary
severity, in denying me the privilege of a day or two upon such an
occasion; and, besides, as my father's temper was very much altered since
the death of my mother, and my home was become not at all comfortable of
late, I was unfortunately not in the humour to brook such harsh treatment;
nor indeed, did I know how it was possible for me to remain after his
determined behaviour at quitting me. I therefore, most unwisely and most
imprudently, started off as I thought to seek my fortune; determined, at
all events, if I could not live in my father's house, that I would leave
the kingdom.
I rode to Bath, a distance of thirty miles, in about three hours, whence,
having baited my horse, I rode forward to Bristol, where I arrived and put
up at the _White Lion_, in Broad-street, about eight o'clock; having
ridden from Portsmouth to Bristol, a distance of ninety five miles, in
about thirteen hours. I was not known to any one at the inn, nor to any
one in Bristol except a Mr. Gresley, of whom my father rented Littlecot
Farm. I found him out immediately, and he received me with great kindness,
expressing himself most happy to see me, as he had repeatedly given me
invitations to come and visit him. I carefully concealed the rupture with
my father, and, very luckily for me, I was in very good hands, as my
friend, although an easy voluptuary, was nevertheless an amiable and a
good-hearted man, and took care to check instead of encouraging me in any
soft of debauchery, which a youth of my age was so likely to fall into in
such a profligate city.
I began the very next day to look out for some situation amongst the
captains of vessels outward bound, and I was soon introduced to a very
worthy man, a friend of Mr. Gresley's, who, in the course of ten days, was
about to sail to Africa in the command of a vessel upon the slave trade. I
soon imparted to him my wish to go abroad in some active situation; but I
bound him to secrecy, even with my friend Gresley. He professed to be very
much pleased with me, but endeavoured, by every means in his power, to
prevail upon me to abandon my design; and he pointed out to me, in very
glowing colours, all the miseries and all the perils which were incident
to a sea-faring life, and did every thing that he possibly could, to
persuade me to return to my father's house. At length I told him that I
was irrevocably determined to look out for a situation, and to close with
the first captain who would give me a birth, and the longer the voyage the
better I should be pleased with it; for I was resolved upon leaving
England, as I could not bear the thoughts of remaining in this country,
and an alien from the house of my father. At last, after he had
ascertained that I was immutably resolved to go to sea, he at once made me
an offer of taking me out as his _clerk and cabin friend_. I jumped at the
offer, but told him that I had but little money, and was, perhaps, ill
prepared for such a voyage. He then made one more trial to prevail upon me
to return, but with as little success as before. Finding that it was in
vain to reason any further, he then said that be would equip me the next
morning, at his own expense, with all the necessary clothing, &c. &c. for
the voyage; and he added, that if he were successful, of which he had no
doubt, he would pay me something handsome for my services, which he
anticipated would be very valuable to him.
The morning came without my having closed my eyes, I having been entirely
occupied the whole of the night with the thoughts of my undertaking, to
which I looked forward with the greatest enthusiasm, regardless of the
atrocious occupation upon which I was about to enter. In fact, it did not
once occur to me, that the slave trade was any worse than any other trade,
so little had I thought upon it, and so little did I know of the nature of
it at that time. Thousands being engaged in it, who were protected by the
laws, it never came into my head that I was about to commit any moral
crime. Indeed, I was driven to such a state of desperation by the quarrel
which I had had with my father, and was so indignant at what I thought his
cruel treatment, that I was a fit subject for any enterprise, even had it
been ten times more desperate than that in which I was about to engage;
and, having once made up my mind to the thing, I thought of nothing else
till my trunk of clothes was ready and on board. That being effected, I
went down with the captain, and took possession of my cabin and birth in
the vessel, which lay off King's-road, and, as she was ready to sail with
the first fair wind, I should have staid on board had not the captain
insisted upon my taking leave of Mr. Gresley, and sending my horse back to
my father. Although I considered the horse as my own, and had been offered
thirty guineas for him, yet such was the liberality and proper feeling of
the captain, that he absolutely refused to take me unless I returned the
horse, and I consequently, in his presence, hired a man to take him off
the next morning.
I was to see Mr. Gresley by appointment at the White Lion at nine o'clock
that evening, and was to go down with the captain, at eight the next day,
to the vessel, which was to weigh anchor at ten, and drop down the Bristol
Channel with the tide. The wind being fair, we expected to be off
Ilfracombe the same night. Every thing was arranged; I had written home,
and taken leave of my father and my sister, lamenting the cause, but
rejoicing in the prospect, of my voyage; I had drank tea with the captain,
and was anxiously waiting the arrival of our mutual friend Gresley to
break the affair to him, and at the same time to take leave of him, when
the waiter announced a gentleman enquiring for Mr. Hunt. I rose to
receive, as I supposed, my friend Gresley, and was prepared to give him a
brief explanation of my intentions, when, lo! who should walk in but an
intimate friend of my father's, who had just arrived in his own carriage
from Bath, in search of the fugitive. He immediately produced a letter
from my father, not only inviting my return home, not only promising
forgiveness to me, but actually intreating _my_ forgiveness for his
harshness towards me, and imploring me to hasten home, and relieve him
from the terrible state of misery to which my absence had reduced him. The
language of his letter was such as would have melted the heart of a much
more hardened offender than I was--but, I had made an engagement with the
captain, and I told my father's friend that I was sorry that he was come
too late, but that no consideration whatever should make me run from the
engagement which I had contracted with him, at my own particular request.
It is true that I felt an irresistible impulse to embrace my beloved
father again; that to be restored to his good opinion was a treasure to
me, far surpassing all and every prospect that my sanguine hopes had
painted in the most vivid colours upon my enthusiastic imagination, and
that I felt for a moment a struggle between _honour and duty_; yet, I am
almost ashamed to relate it, but the truth must be told, that I instantly
declared that as I had gone so far, no power on earth should deter me from
fulfilling my engagement with Captain ----. This worthy, warm-hearted, and
disinterested fellow, however, instantly protested, that under such
circumstances, with such a prospect of my being restored to my family and
friends, nothing in the world should induce him to take me with him.
At this moment, my friend Gresley arrived, and heard, from the captain and
my father's friend, my obstinate resolve with the greatest astonishment.
He assured me that, unless I instantly gave up all thoughts of going, he
would get a warrant from his friend, the mayor, to detain me by force.
This was, however, unnecessary; for, after the captain's generous and
manly avowal, I yielded without farther delay to the earnest entreaties of
all present, and I believe that the worthy captain felt as much real
delight and happiness at the result as anyone of the party. My father's
friend offered to pay the captain for any expence that he had been put to
on my account, but the latter positively refused to take a farthing,
adding, that he should sell what he had provided for me for two hundred
per cent. profit, and that he would rather lose two hundred per cent. than
forego the pleasure he felt at the idea of a reconciliation, between his
young friend and his father.