Soon after the battle which has been described the fleet once more
returned to England. The admirals and many of the captains were
presented to Queen Anne, who complimented them on the actions in which
they had been engaged. Among the officers who received promotion was
John Deane, who was raised to the rank of captain. At length, as he was
now without a ship, he was able to set forward to pay his long-promised
visit to his home. In those days the post was very irregular on shore,
and sailors often went many years without receiving letters from home.
Such had been John Deane's case, and he still remained in ignorance of
all the events which had taken place among those he loved since his
departure. One thing had troubled him greatly; it was at not hearing of
the arrival of Elizabeth and her faithful guardian, Mistress Pearson.
He had gained a large amount of prize-money, which the agent at
Portsmouth, where he landed, promised to remit to him at Nottingham. He
took with him only a sum sufficient for his journey and to supply his
wants while he expected to remain on shore. He met with no adventure
during his journey. The number of loose characters who had infested the
roads in the early days of King William's reign, had been drawn away to
fight the battles of their country, either under Marlborough or at sea,
and few highwaymen were to be met with in any part of the country.
Deane would gladly have turned aside to go to Norwich; but it was
greatly out of his way, and he felt that it was his duty in the first
place to visit his own father and mother. He could scarcely restrain
his eagerness as he passed over the Trent bridge once more, and took his
way through the well-known streets which led to the market-place. It
was early in the day, but no one knew him in his richly-laced coat, his
countenance well bronzed by sun and wind, and his whiskers and beard of
no mean growth. At length he stopped before the door of the old house
and threw himself from his horse, calling to a boy passing at the moment
to hold it. Not till then did it occur to him how long he had been
absent, and what great changes might have taken place. His heart sank,
for he expected almost to see his mother hurrying to the door, with his
old father's fine countenance peering behind her; but the door remained
closed, and he had to knock more than once before it was opened. His
voice trembled as he inquired of the serving-damsel who opened the door
whether Mr and Mistress Deane were at home.
"Ay," was the answer, "they are in the parlour at the back of the
house."
He pushed past her and hurried on. The old gentleman and lady rose from
their seats as he threw open the door, at first not knowing him.
"To what cause do we owe the honour of this visit, sir?" said old Mr
Deane, taking Jack to be an intruder, or one of the officers quartered
in the town engaged in a frolic.
"He is our son--our son Jack!" exclaimed Mistress Deane, who, knowing
him at a second glance, threw her arms round his neck.
Old Mr Deane hurried forward, and grasping his hand, almost wrung it
off. Then his mother bestowed her kisses on his bronzed cheeks.
"Yes, it's Jack--I know him now!" exclaimed the old gentleman, drawing
back a pace, that he might look at him from head to foot. "Well, thou
art grown into a brave lad, Jack," he said, looking at him
affectionately.
And now Jack was seated between the two old people, who scarcely would
allow him to ask any questions, so eager were they to hear his
adventures. It was some time, therefore, before he could learn what had
become of the rest of the family.
"And how is sister Polly and her husband, Tom Dovedale? It seems an age
since the day they were spliced."
"They live six doors off, and are wonderfully flourishing, for from
morning to night they do little else than `laugh and grow fat,'" was the
answer.
"And Jasper, where is he?" was the next question.
"The father of two fine cherubs, and Alethea as beautiful and cheerful
as ever. He is a fortunate fellow, your brother Jasper. Cousin Nat now
lives with him, and has given him up all his business, so that Jasper is
the leading physician in the town, and, on my word, he bears his honours
bravely, and is in no way behind cousin Nat in the estimation of the
townspeople and neighbourhood. At first I feared that Jasper and
Alethea would not have got on very smoothly together. She, as you
remember, was a warm Jacobite, as was her poor father, but Jasper argued
the matter so well with her, that he soon brought her over, and she
became as loyal a subject of King William as any to be found within the
realm. Had it not been, indeed, for her marriage to Jasper, it would
have gone hard with her, for poor Harwood was so implicated in the plot
against King William, that his property would have been confiscated.
Cousin Nat and other friends, however, so earnestly petitioned the
Government, that it was preserved for the sake of his daughter, and
Jasper, after poor Harwood's death, became the Squire of Harwood
Grange."
"And have you heard from Kate and Dainsforth, mother?" asked Jack. He
had another question which he was eager to ask, but he wished first to
inquire about his own family.
"Oh, yes! they're flourishing in their new plantation; and glowing are
the accounts which they send us of the country. It must be a wonderful
place, and although the free Government we now enjoy makes fewer people
wish to go over there, yet many are tempted, from time to time, from the
accounts they receive from their friends settled there."
Jack's next inquiry was about Mr Gournay at Norwich. He could only
learn that a foreign lady and gentleman were residing at his house, but
not a word about Elizabeth could they tell him. He concluded that they
alluded to Monsieur and Madame de Mertens, but they were not aware even
that they had a daughter, nor could they give him any account of the
arrival of their supposed daughter.
Jack's visit to Jasper and Alethea and to cousin Nat must be briefly
passed over.
Having spent a few days at Nottingham he became eager to visit Norwich.
He found Will Brinsmead, who, in spite of his age, continued his
journeys through the country, about to set off in that direction. Will
begged that he would give him the honour of his company, but Jack
laughingly assured him, that though he should have great delight in
talking over old days, his eagerness to reach Norwich would not allow
him to jog along behind the cattle. He, however, rode a few miles with
him, when just as the old man was beginning one of his lectures on the
"Pilgrim's Progress," Jack, shaking him warmly by the hand, pushed on
his steed in advance of the herd.
On making himself known to Mr Gournay, he was received in the kindest
way by him and his wife; but Jack's astonishment and disappointment was
very great when he found that they had not received the accounts he had
sent home of his discovery of Elizabeth, and of her proposed return with
Mistress Pearson, under charge of Captain Davis, to England. Monsieur
and Madame de Mertens were residing, he found, in a small house in
Norwich, and they also had not received either his letter or one from
Captain Davis. His heart sank within him. What was he now to do? The
more he had of late thought of Elizabeth, the more completely he found
that she had entwined herself round his heart, and he had anticipated
the delight of meeting her again and receiving her as his bride from the
hands of her parents. All these delightful visions had now vanished.
Monsieur and Madame de Mertens received him with every expression of
regard and affection.
"I can never forget the important service you rendered me in restoring
to me my husband," said Madame de Mertens, "and I feel sure that, had it
been in your power, you would have brought back to me my child. Even
now I have a hope that you may possibly restore her to me."
Jack spent some time with his friends, and finally came to the
resolution of returning to the West Indies, in order to make inquiries
about Elizabeth and Dame Pearson.
"I will first go to the Admiralty and ascertain where the `Venus'
frigate now is, and then I will communicate with Captain Davis," said
Deane. "Should he be unable to give me the information I desire, I will
immediately set off on my projected voyage."
Captain Deane had been invited to return to Mr Gournay's to supper. On
entering the house, the excellent quaker met him with a letter in his
hand.
"I have just received this," he said, "from your brother-in-law Giles
Dainsforth. He mentions a curious circumstance which occurred some time
ago, which may tend to solve the mystery concerning the fate of
Elizabeth de Mertens and her friend. He writes me word that information
had been received in the plantation of the wreck of a ship on an island
off the American coast, with several passengers, among whom were said to
be some ladies. A small boat which had left the island, had, after a
long voyage, the people undergoing great hardships, reached the
mainland. They had come in the hopes of obtaining relief for those left
behind. As soon as the information was received, a meeting of the
inhabitants of Philadelphia was held, and it was resolved to send out a
vessel for the rescue of the sufferers. Unfortunately, friend Giles
does not mention the name of the vessel or the passengers, except
casually he refers to the loss of a queen's ship."
This was indeed important information. It raised Captain Deane's hopes
of the possibility of discovering Elizabeth; at the same time he was
well aware that there were many probabilities of the wreck being that of
some other vessel.
"Friend Dainsforth is very anxious that we should send out a vessel with
a cargo of which he may dispose. It is a business in which I myself am
not willing to enter," observed Mr Gournay; "but thou mayest find
friends in Nottingham who will be more ready to engage in the
speculation, and being thyself a seaman of experience, thou mightest
take the command of it. It will be far better for thee than following
the occupation of fighting, in which thou hast been engaged."
The plan thus suggested by Mr Gournay was much in accordance with
Jack's taste. He, however, made up his mind in the first instance to go
to London, that he might make inquiries as to the fate of the "Venus."
If she had left the West Indies, and had not since been heard of, or if
it was supposed that she had been cast away, he would then have very
little doubt of her being the ship of which Giles Dainsforth spoke; but
if, on the contrary, she had returned to England, or been sent to some
other station, he would then only suppose that the wreck alluded to in
the letter must be that of another ship, and thus proceeding to
Pennsylvania would in no way forward the great object he had in view.
Mr Gournay having fully agreed with him in the wisdom of his plans,
after he had bidden farewell to Monsieur and Madame de Mertens, he set
off on his visit to London.
Jack felt very differently from what he did before on his first visit to
the metropolis in company with Long Sam. He was now a captain in the
navy, with an honourable name, and money in his pocket. On going to the
Admiralty, however, he could gain no satisfactory information regarding
the "Venus" or Captain Davis. One of the clerks told him that he
believed she was still in the West Indies. Another that she had been
captured by the enemy. A third, of whom in his despair he made further
inquiries, told him that she had been sunk; and another, that she was on
her passage home. He had just left the office, and was taking his way
disconsolately along the street, when he met an old shipmate.
"My dear fellow," he exclaimed, "you did not employ a golden key, I
suspect, to unlock the mystery! Just go back with a doubloon in your
band, and cross the palm of Master Dick Greedifist, and you will soon
find that he knows more about the matter than you supposed."
Jack, though indignant that such a proceeding should be necessary, did
as he was advised.
"Oh, certainly, Captain Deane!" answered Dick. "It was about the
`Venus' you were inquiring. Oh, ah, let me see! she was ordered home in
1702, and immediately afterwards the order was countermanded and she
remained on the station for some time longer. Since then, she was sent
to visit the plantations on the mainland of North America; and, in
consequence of her not having been heard of for some time, it is feared
that she must have met with some disaster. As soon as she had executed
her mission she was to return home; and I know that some months ago she
was expected."
This was all the information Jack required. He did not tell Master
Greedifist the opinion he had formed of him, but, hastening out of the
office, took his way to his inn. Jack as has been seen was a man of
action. He took care of the minutes, well knowing that the hours would
take care of themselves. As soon as he had sufficiently fortified the
inner man, he again mounted his horse, and leaving all the wonders of
London unvisited, spurred back northward towards Nottingham.
At the inn where he rested the first night of his journey, he wrote an
account of the information he had gained to his friends at Norwich,
saying that he proposed carrying out the plan suggested by Giles
Dainsforth, and that as soon as he could make the arrangements he hoped
to sail in a galley for Pennsylvania. On reaching home he found that
Dainsforth had expressed the same opinion to his friends at Nottingham.
He had, therefore, little difficulty in inducing them to join in a
speculation for the purchase of a galley, to be freighted with goods
suitable for the plantations, he himself having the command of her.
Having made all the preliminary arrangements, he was about to start for
London, when he received information from Mr Gournay that a galley
admirably suited for his object was about to be launched at Lynn Regis.
Scarcely had the letter been read, when Jack was on horseback, and
spurring forward to that town. He was not disappointed in the
appearance of the vessel. She was stoutly built, and roomy, capable of
carrying a large cargo. As she reached the water she was named the
"Nottingham Galley." John Deane, whose manners were such as to gain the
confidence of his fellow-men, soon found a hardy crew to man her. By
the time she was ready for sea, he had obtained a considerable share of
his prize-money. His brother Jasper, his cousin Nat, and his father,
with several other influential persons at Nottingham, took shares in the
speculation. It would be impossible to follow Deane in his various
journeys backwards and forwards to Norwich, Lynn, and Nottingham, while
the galley was getting ready for sea. At length, having received a part
of her cargo on board, sent from Norwich and Nottingham, and other
places to the west, he made sail for the Thames, where he was to receive
the remainder.