WE ARE SENT IN, ON BOARD THE REVENGE, AND TREATED WITH GREAT CRUELTY--
ARE AFTERWARDS RECAPTURED BY THE HERO PRIVATEER, AND RETALIATE ON THE
FRENCH--I AM TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AT PORT ROYAL, WHERE I MEET THE
FRENCH LADY--HER SAVAGE EXULTATION AT MY CONDITION--SHE IS PUNISHED BY
ONE OF MY COMRADES.
On coming to my senses, I found myself stripped naked and suffering
acute pain. I found that my right arm was broken, my shoulder severely
injured by my fall; and, as I had received three severe cutlass-wounds
during the action, I had lost so much blood that I had not strength to
rise or do anything for myself. There I lay, groaning and naked, upon
the ballast of the vessel, at times ruminating upon the events of the
action, upon the death of our gallant commander, upon the loss of our
vessel, of so many of our comrades, and of our liberty. After some
time, the surgeon, by order of the French commander, came down to dress
my wounds. He treated me with the greatest barbarity. As he twisted
about my broken limb I could not help crying at the anguish which he
caused me. He compelled me to silence by blows and maledictions,
wishing I had broken my rascally neck rather than he should have been
put to the trouble of coming down to dress me. However, dress me he
did, out of fear of his captain, who, he knew well, would send round to
see if he had executed his orders, and then he left me, with a kick in
the ribs by way of remembrance. Shortly afterwards the vessels
separated. Fourteen of us, who were the most severely hurt, were left
in the Revenge, which was manned by an officer and twenty Frenchmen,
with orders to take her into Port-au-Paix. The rest of our men were put
on board of the French privateer, who sailed away in search of a more
profitable adventure.
About an hour after they had made sail on the vessel, the officer who
had charge of her, looking down the hatchway, and perceiving my naked
and forlorn condition, threw me a pair of trousers, which had been
rejected by the French seamen as not worth having; and a check shirt, in
an equally ragged condition, I picked up in the hold; this, with a piece
of old rope to tie round my neck as a sling for my broken arm, was my
whole wardrobe. In the evening I gained the deck, that I might be
refreshed by the breeze, which cooled my feverish body and somewhat
restored me.
We remained in this condition for several days, tortured with pain, but
more tortured, perhaps, by the insolence and bragging of the Frenchmen,
who set no bounds to their triumph and self-applause. Among those who
had charge of the prize were two, one of whom had my watch and the other
my ring; the first would hold it to me grinning and asking if Monsieur
would like to know what o'clock it was; and the other would display the
ring, and tell me that his sweetheart would value it when she knew it
was taken from a conquered Englishman. This was their practice every
day, and I was compelled to receive their gibes without venturing a
retort.
On the eleventh day after our capture, when close to Port-au-Paix, and
expecting we should be at anchor before nightfall, we perceived a great
hurry and confusion on deck; they were evidently making all the sail
that they could upon the vessel; and then, hearing them fire off their
stern-chasers, we knew for certain that they were pursued. Overjoyed at
the prospect of being released, we gave three cheers. The French from
the deck threatened to fire down upon us, but we knew that they dared
not, for the Revenge was so crippled in the fight that they could not
put sail upon her so as to escape, and their force on board was too
small to enable them to resist if overtaken--we therefore continued our
exulting clamours. At last we heard guns fired and the shot whizzing
over the vessel--a shot or two struck our bull, and soon afterwards, a
broadside being poured into us, the Frenchmen struck their colours, and
we had the satisfaction of seeing all these Gasconaders driven down into
the hold to take our places. It was now their turn to be dejected and
downcast, and for us to be merry; and now also the tables had to be
turned, and we took the liberty of regaining possession of our clothes
and other property which they carried on their backs and in their
pockets. I must say we showed them no mercy.
"What o'clock is it, Monsieur?" said I to the fellow who had my watch.
"At your service, Sir," he replied, humbly taking out my watch, and
presenting it to me.
"Thank you," said I, taking the watch, and saluting him with a kick in
the stomach, which made him double up and turn round from me, upon which
I gave him another kick in the rear to straighten him again. "That
ring, Monsieur, that your sweetheart will prize."
"Here it is," replied the fellow, abjectly.
"Thank you, Sir," I replied, saluting him with the double kick which I
had given to the former. "Tell your sweetheart I sent her those," cried
I, "that is, when you get back to her."
"Hark ye, brother," cries one of our men, "I'll trouble you for that
jacket which you borrowed of me the other day, and in return here are a
pair of iron garters (holding out the shackles), which you must wear for
my sake--I think they will fit you well."
"Mounseer," cries another, "that wig of mine don't suit your complexion,
I'll trouble you for it. It's a pity such a face as yours should be
disfigured in those curls. And while you are about it, I'll thank you
to strip altogether, as I think your clothes will fit me, and are much
too gay for a prisoner."
"I was left naked through your kindness the other day," said I to
another, who was well and smartly dressed, "I'll thank you to strip to
your skin, or you shall have no skin left." And I commenced with my
knife cutting his ears as if I would skin them.
It was a lucky hit of mine, for in his sash I found about twenty
doubloons. He would have saved them, and held them tight, but after my
knife had entered his side about half an inch he surrendered the prize.
After we had plundered and stripped them of everything, we set to to
kick them, and we did it for half an hour so effectually that they were
all left groaning in a heap on the ballast, and we then found our way on
deck.
The privateer which had recaptured us proved to be the Hero, of New
Providence; the Frenchmen were taken out, and some of her own men put in
to take us to Port Royal; we, being wounded, and not willing to join
her, remained on board. On our arrival at Port Royal, we obtained
permission to go to the King's Hospital to be cured. As I went
up-stairs to the ward allotted to me, I met the French lady whose
husband had been killed, and who was still nursing her son at the
hospital, his wounds not having been yet cured. Notwithstanding my
altered appearance, she knew me again immediately, and seeing me pale
and emaciated, with my arm in a sling, she dropped down on her knees,
and thanked God for returning upon our heads a portion of the miseries
we had brought upon her. She was delighted when she heard how many of
us had been slain in the murderous conflict, and even rejoiced at the
death of poor Captain Weatherall, which, considering how very kind and
considerate he had been to her, I thought to be very unchristian.
It so happened that I was not only in the same ward, but in the cradle
next to her son; and the excitement I had been under when we were
recaptured, and my exertion in kicking the Frenchmen, had done me no
good. A fever was the consequence, and I suffered dreadfully, and she
would look at me, exulting in my agony, and mocking my groans; till at
last the surgeon told her it was by extreme favour that her son had been
admitted into the hospital instead of being sent to prison, and that if
she did not behave herself in a proper manner he would order her to be
denied admittance altogether; and that if she dared to torment suffering
men in that way, on the first complaint on my part, her son should go to
the gaol and finish his cure there. This brought her to her senses, and
she begged pardon, and promised to offend no more; but she did not keep
her word for more than a day or two, but laughed out loud when the
surgeon was dressing my arm, for a piece of bone had to be taken out,
and I shrieked with anguish. This exasperated one of my messmates so
much that, not choosing to strike her, and knowing how to wound her
still worse, he drove his fist into the head of her son as he lay in his
cradle, and by so doing reopened the wound that had been nearly healed.
"There's pain for you to laugh at, you French devil," he cried.
And sure enough it cost the poor young man his life.
The surgeon was very angry with the man, but told the French lady, as
she kneeled sobbing by the side of her son, that she had brought it upon
herself and him by her own folly and cruelty. I know not whether she
felt so, or whether she dreaded a repetition, but this is certain, she
tormented me no more. On the contrary, I think she suffered very
severely, as she perceived that I rapidly mended and that her poor son
got on but slowly. At last my hurts were all healed, and I left the
hospital, hoping never to see her more.