"Um!" ejaculated my father as he thoughtfully removed his double eye-
glass from his nose with one hand, and with the other passed a letter to
me across the breakfast-table--"Um! this letter will interest you, Dick.
It is from Captain Vernon."
My heart leapt with sudden excitement, and my hand trembled as I
stretched it out for the proffered epistle. The mention of Captain
Vernon's name, together with the announcement that the subject-matter of
the letter was of interest to me, prepared me in a great measure for the
intelligence it conveyed; which was to the effect that the writer,
having been appointed to the command of the sloop-of-war _Daphne_, now
found himself in a position to fulfil a promise of some standing to his
dear and honoured friend Dr Hawkesley (my father) by receiving his son
(myself) on board the sloop, with the rating of midshipman. The sloop,
the letter went on to say, was commissioned for service on the west
coast of Africa; and if I decided to join her no time should be lost in
procuring my outfit, as the _Daphne_ was under orders to sail on the --;
just four days from the date of the receipt of the letter.
"Well, Dick, what do you think of Captain Vernon's proposal?" inquired
my father somewhat sadly, as I concluded my perusal of the letter and
raised my eyes to his.
"Oh, father!" I exclaimed eagerly, "I _hope_ you will consent to let me
go. Perhaps I may never have another such an opportunity; and I am
_quite sure_ I shall never care to be anything but a sailor."
"Ah! yes--the old, old story," murmured my father, shaking his head
dubiously. "Thousands of lads have told their fathers exactly the same
thing, and have lived to bitterly regret their choice of a profession.
Look at my life. I have to run about in all weathers; to take my meals
when and how I can; there is not a single hour in the twenty-four that I
can call my own; it is a rare thing for me to get a night of undisturbed
rest; it is a hard, anxious, harassing life that I lead--you have often
said so yourself, and urged it as one of the reasons why you object to
follow in my footsteps. But I tell you, Dick, that my life--ay, or the
life even of the poorest country practitioner, for that matter--is one
of ease and luxury compared with that of a sailor. But I have said all
this to you over and over again, without convincing you; and I hardly
dare hope that I shall be more successful now; so, if you are really
quite resolved to go to sea, I will offer no further objections. It is
true that you will be going to an unhealthy climate; but God is just as
well able to preserve you there as He is here; and then, again, you have
a strong healthy constitution, which, fortified with such preservative
medicines as I can supply, will, I hope, enable you to withstand the
malaria and to return to us in safety. Now, what do you say--are you
still resolved to go?"
"Quite," I replied emphatically. "Now that you have given your consent
the last obstacle is removed, and I can follow with a light heart the
bent of my own inclinations."
"Very well, then," said my father, rising from the table and pushing
back his chair. "That question being settled, we had better call upon
Mr Shears forthwith and give the order for your uniform and outfit.
There is no time to lose; and since go you _will_, I would very much
rather you went with Vernon than with anyone else."
The above conversation took place, as already stated, in the breakfast-
room of my father's house. My father was at that time--as he continued
to be until the day of his death--the leading physician in Portsmouth;
and his house--a substantial four-storey building--stood near the top of
the High Street. The establishment of Mr Shears, "Army and Navy
Tailor, Clothier, and Outfitter," was situated near the bottom of the
same street. A walk, therefore, of some ten minutes' duration took us
to our destination; and at the end of a further half-hour's anxious
consultation I had been measured for my uniform--one suit of which was
faithfully promised for the next day--had chosen my sea-chest, and had
selected a complete outfit of such clothing as was to be obtained ready-
made. This important business concluded, my father departed upon his
daily round of visits, and I had the remainder of the day at my own
disposal.
My first act on emerging from the door of Mr Shears' establishment was
to hasten off to the dockyard at top speed to take another look at the
_Daphne_. I had often seen the craft before; had taken an interest in
her, indeed, I may say, from the moment that her keel was laid--she was
built in Portsmouth dockyard--and had watched her progress to completion
and her recent launch with an admiration which had steadily increased
until it grew into positive _love_. And now I was actually to have the
happiness, the _bliss_, of going to sea in her as an officer on her
first cruise. Ecstatic thought! I felt as though I was walking on air!
But my rapture received a pretty effectual damper when I reflected--as I
soon did--that my obstinate determination to go to sea must certainly
prove a deep disappointment, if not a source of constant and cruel
anxiety, to my father. Dear old dad! his most cherished wish, as I knew
full well, had long been that I, his only son, might qualify myself to
take over and carry on the exceedingly snug practice he had built up,
when the pressure of increasing years should render his retirement
desirable. But the idea was so utterly distasteful to me that I had
persistently turned a deaf ear to all his arguments, persuasions, ay,
and even his entreaties. Unfortunately, perhaps, for the fulfilment of
his desires, I was born and brought up at Portsmouth; and all my
earliest recollections of amusement are, in some way or other, connected
with salt water. Swimming and boating early became absolute passions
with me; I was never quite happy unless I happened to be either in or on
the water; _then_, indeed, all other pleasures were less than nothing to
me. As a natural consequence, I soon became the intimate companion of
every boatman in the harbour; I acquired, to a considerable extent,
their tastes and prejudices, and soon mastered all the nautical lore
which it was in their power to teach me. I could sail a boat before I
could read; and by the time that I had learned to write, was able to
hand, reef, and steer with the best of them. My conversation--except
when it was addressed to my father--was copiously interlarded with
nautical phrases; and by the time I had attained the age of fourteen--at
which period this history begins--I was not only acquainted with the
name, place, and use of every rope and spar in a ship, but I had also an
accurate knowledge of the various rigs, and a distinct opinion as to
what constituted a good model. The astute reader will have gathered
from this confession that I was, from my earliest childhood, left pretty
much my own master; and such was in fact the case. My mother died in
giving birth to my only sister Eva (two years my junior); a misfortune
which, in consequence of my father's absorption in the duties of his
practice, left me entirely to the care of the servants, by whom I was
shamefully neglected. But for this I should doubtless have been trained
to obedience and a respectful deference to my father's wishes. The
mischief, however, was done; I had acquired a love of the sea, and my
highest ambition was to become a naval officer. This fact my father at
length reluctantly recognised, and by persistent entreaty I finally
prevailed upon him to take the necessary steps to gratify my heart's
desire--with the result already known to the reader.
The sombre reflections induced by the thought of my father's
disappointment did not, I confess with shame, last long. They vanished
as a morning mist is dissipated before the rising sun, when I recalled
to mind that I was not only going to sea, but that I was actually going
to sail in the _Daphne_. This particular craft was my _beau-ideal_ of
what a ship ought to be; and in this opinion I was by no means alone--
all my cronies hailing from the Hard agreeing, without exception, that
she was far and away the handsomest and most perfect model they had ever
seen. My admiration of her was unbounded; and on the day of her
launch--upon which occasion I cheered myself hoarse--I felt, as I saw
her gliding swiftly and gracefully down the ways, that it would be a
priceless privilege to sail in her, even in the capacity of the meanest
ship-boy. And now I was to be a midshipman on board her! I hurried
onward with swift and impatient steps, and soon passed through the
dockyard gates--having long ago, by dint of persistent coaxing, gained
the _entree_ to the sacred precincts--when a walk of some four or five
hundred yards further took me to the berth alongside the wharf where she
was lying.
Well as I knew every curve and line of her beautiful hull, my glances
now dwelt upon her with tenfold loving interest. She was a ship-sloop
of 28 guns--long 18-pounders--with a flush deck fore and aft. She was
very long in proportion to her beam; low in the water, and her lines
were as fine as it had been possible to make them. She had a very
light, elegant-looking stern, adorned with a great deal of carved
scroll-work about the cabin windows; and her gracefully-curved cut-water
was surmounted by an exquisitely-carved full-length figure of Peneus'
lovely daughter, with both arms outstretched, as in the act of flight,
and with twigs and leaves of laurel just springing from her dainty
finger-tips. There was a great deal of brass-work about the deck
fittings, which gleamed and flashed brilliantly in the sun; and, the
paint being new and fresh, she looked altogether superlatively neat, in
spite of the fact that the operations of rigging and of shipping stores
were both going on simultaneously.
Having satisfied for the time being my curiosity with regard to the hull
of my future home, I next cast a glance aloft at her spars. She was
rigged only as far as her topmast-heads, her topgallant-masts being then
on deck in process of preparation for sending aloft. When I had last
seen her she was under the masting-shears getting her lower-masts
stepped; and it then struck me that they were fitting her with rather
heavy spars. But now, as I looked aloft, I was fairly startled at the
length and girth of her masts and yards. To my eye--by no means an
unaccustomed one--her spars seemed taunt enough for a ship of nearly
double her size; and the rigging was heavy in the same proportion. I
stood there on the wharf watching with the keenest interest the scene of
bustle and animation on board until the bell rang the hour of noon, and
all hands knocked off work and went to dinner; by which time the three
topgallant-masts were aloft with the rigging all ready for setting up
when the men turned-to again. The addition of these spars to the length
of her already lofty masts gave the _Daphne_, in my opinion, more than
ever the appearance of being over-sparred; an opinion in which, as it
soon appeared, I was not alone.
Most of the men left the dockyard and went home (as I suppose) to their
dinner; but half a dozen or so of riggers, instead of following the
example of the others, routed out from some obscure spot certain small
bundles tied up in coloured handkerchiefs, and, bringing these on shore,
seated themselves upon some of the boxes and casks with which the wharf
was lumbered, and, opening the bundles, produced therefrom their
dinners, which they proceeded to discuss with quite an enviable
appetite.
For a few minutes the meal proceeded in dead silence; but presently one
of them, glancing aloft at the _Daphne's_ spars, remarked in a tone of
voice which reached me distinctly--I was standing within a few feet of
the party:
"Well, Tom, bo'; what d'ye think of the hooker _now_?"
The man addressed shook his head disapprovingly. "The more I looks at
her the less I likes her," was his reply.
"I'm precious glad _I_ ain't goin' to sea in her," observed another.
"Same here," said the first speaker. "Why, look at the _Siren_ over
there! She's a 38-gun frigate, and her mainmast is only two feet longer
than the _Daphne's_--as I happen to know, for I had a hand in the
buildin' of both the spars. The sloop's over-masted, that's what _she_
is."
I turned away and bent my steps homeward. The short snatch of
conversation which I had just heard, confirming as it did my own
convictions, had a curiously depressing effect upon me, which was
increased when, a few minutes afterwards, I caught a glimpse of the
distant buoy which marked the position of the sunken _Royal George_.
For the moment my enthusiasm was all gone; a foreboding of disaster took
possession of me, and but for very shame I felt more than half-inclined
to tell my father I had altered my mind, and would rather not go to sea.
I had occasion afterwards to devoutly wish I had acted on this impulse.
When, however, I was awakened next morning by the sun shining
brilliantly in at my bed-room window, my apprehensions had vanished, my
enthusiasm was again at fever-heat, and I panted for the moment--not to
be very long deferred--when I should don my uniform and strut forth to
sport my glories before an admiring world.
Punctual almost to a moment--for once at least in his life--Mr Shears
sent home the uniform whilst we were sitting down to luncheon; and the
moment that I decently could I hastened away to try it on.
The breeches were certainly rather wrinkly above the knees, and the
jacket was somewhat uncomfortably tight across the chest when buttoned
over; it also pinched me a good deal under the arm-pits, whilst the
sleeves exhibited a trifle too much--some six inches or so--of my
wristbands and shirt-sleeves; and when I looked at myself in the glass I
found that there was a well-defined ridge of loose cloth running across
the back from shoulder to shoulder. With these trifling exceptions,
however, I thought the suit fitted me fairly well, and I hastened down-
stairs to exhibit myself to my sister Eva. To my intense surprise and
indignation she no sooner saw me than she burst into an uncontrollable
fit of laughter, and was heartless enough to declare that I looked "a
perfect fright." Thoroughly disgusted with such unsisterly conduct I
mustered all my dignity, and without condescending to ask for an
explanation walked in contemptuous silence out of the room and the
house.
A regimental band was to play that afternoon on Southsea Common, and
thither I accordingly decided to direct my steps. There were a good
many people about the streets, and I had not gone very far before I made
the discovery that everybody was in high good-humour about something or
other. The people I met wore, almost without exception, genial smiling
countenances, and many a peal of hearty laughter rang out from hilarious
groups who had already passed me. I felt anxious to know what it was
that thus set all Portsmouth laughing, and glanced round to see if I
could discover an acquaintance of whom I might inquire; but, as usual in
such cases, was unsuccessful. When I reached the Common I found, as I
expected I should, a large and fashionably dressed crowd, with a good
sprinkling of naval and military uniforms, listening to the strains of
the band. Here, for the first five minutes or so, I failed to notice
anything unusual in the behaviour of the people; but the humorous item
of news must have reached them almost simultaneously with my own arrival
upon the scene, for very soon I detected on the faces of those who
passed me the same amused smile which I had before encountered in the
streets. I stood well back out of the thick of the crowd; both because
I could hear the music better, and also to afford any friend of mine who
might chance to be present an opportunity to see me in my imposing new
uniform.
It was whilst I was standing thus in the most easy and nonchalant
attitude I could assume that a horrible discovery forced itself upon me.
I happened to be regarding with a certain amount of languid interest a
couple of promenaders, consisting of a very lovely girl and a somewhat
foppish ensign, when I suddenly caught the eye of the latter fixed upon
me. He raised his eye-glass to his eye, and, in the coolest manner in
the world, deliberately surveyed me through it, when, in an instant, a
broad smile of amusement--the smile which I by this time knew so well--
overspread his otherwise inanimate features. I glanced hurriedly behind
me to see if I could discover the cause of his risibility, and, failing
to do so, turned round again, just in time to see him, with his eye-
glass still bearing straight in my direction, bend his head and speak a
few words to his fair companion. Thereupon she, too, glanced in my
direction, looked steadfastly at me for a moment, and then burst into an
uncontrollable fit of laughter which she vainly strove to stifle in her
pocket-handkerchief. For a second or two I was utterly lost in
astonishment at this unaccountable behaviour, and then all the hideous
truth thrust itself upon me. They were laughing at _me_. Having at
length fully realised this I turned haughtily away and at once left the
ground.
I hurried homeward in a most unenviable state of mind, with the
conviction every moment forcing itself more obtrusively upon me, that
for some inconceivable reason I was the laughing-stock of everybody I
met, when, just as I turned once more into the High Street I observed
two midshipmen approaching on my own side of the way, and some half a
dozen yards or so behind them a certain Miss Smith, a parlour boarder in
the ladies' seminary opposite my father's house--a damsel not more than
six or seven years my senior, with whom I was slightly acquainted, and
for whom I had long cherished a secret but ardent passion.
With that sensitiveness which is so promptly evoked by even the bare
suspicion of ridicule I furtively watched the two "young gentlemen" as
they approached; but they had been talking and laughing loudly when I
first caught sight of them, and although I saw that they were aware of
my presence I failed to detect the sudden change of manner which I had
dreaded to observe. Whether they were speaking of me or not I could
not, of course, feel certain; but I rather fancied from the glances they
cast in my direction that they were.
As they drew nearer I observed that the eyes of one of them were
intently and inquiringly gazing into mine, and they continued so to do
until the pair had fairly passed me. Being by this time in a decidedly
aggressive frame of mind I returned this pertinacious gaze with a
haughty and contemptuous stare, which, however, I must confess, did not
appear to very greatly intimidate the individual at whom it was
levelled, for, unless I was greatly mistaken, there was a twitching
about the corners of his mouth which suggested a strong, indeed an
almost uncontrollable disposition to laughter, whilst his eyes fairly
beamed with merriment.
As they passed me this individual half halted for an instant, passed on
again a step or two, and then turning abruptly to the right-about,
dashed after me and seized me by the hand, which he shook effusively,
exclaiming as he did so:
"It _is_--I'm _sure_ it is! My _dear_ Lord Henry, how are you? This is
indeed an unexpected pleasure!"
At this moment Miss Smith passed, giving me as she did so a little start
of recognition, followed by a bow and a beaming smile, which I returned
in my most fascinating manner.
I was once more happy. This little incident, trifling though it was in
itself, sufficed to banish in an instant the unpleasant reflections
which a moment before had been rankling in my breast, for had not my
fair divinity seen me in the uniform of the gallant defenders of our
country? And had she not also heard and seen me mistaken for a lord?
If this had no power to soften and subdue that proud heart and bring it
in sweet humility to my feet, then--well I should like to know what
would, that's all.
I allowed my fair enslaver to pass out of ear-shot, and then said to the
midshipman who had so unexpectedly addressed me:
"Excuse me, sir, but I think you are mistaking me for someone else."
"Oh, no, I'm not," he retorted. "I know you well enough--though I must
say you are greatly altered for the better since I saw you last a year
ago. You're Lord Henry de Vere Montmorenci. Ah, you sly dog! you
thought to play a trick upon your old friend Fitz-Jones, did you? But
what brings you down here, Montmorenci? Have you come down to join?"
This was a most remarkable, and at the same time gratifying occurrence,
for I could not keep feeling elated at being thus mistaken for a noble,
and greeted with such enthusiasm by a most agreeable and intelligent
brother officer, and--evidently--a scion of some noble house to boot.
For a single instant an almost invincible temptation seized me to
personate the character with which I was accredited, but it was as
promptly overcome; my respect for the truth (temporarily) conquered my
vanity, and I answered:
"I assure you, my dear sir, you are mistaken. I am _not_ Lord Henry de
Vere Montmorenci, but plain Richard Hawkesley, just nominated to the
_Daphne_."
"Well, if you persist in saying so, I suppose I must believe you,"
answered Fitz-Jones. "But, really, the resemblance is most
extraordinary--truly remarkable indeed. There is the same lofty
intellectual forehead, the same proud eagle-glance, the same haughty
carriage; the same--now, tell me, Tomnoddy, upon your honour as an
officer and a gentleman, did you ever in your life before see such an
extraordinary resemblance?"
"I never did; it is really most remarkable," answered the other
midshipman in a strangely quivering voice which, but for his solemn
countenance, I should have considered decidedly indicative of suppressed
laughter.
"It really is most singular, positively _marvellous_," resumed Fitz-
Jones. Then he added hurriedly:
"By the way, do you know my friend Tomnoddy? No! Then allow me to
introduce him. Lord Tomnoddy--Mr Richard Hawkesley, just nominated to
the _Daphne_. And I suppose I ought also to introduce myself. I am
Lord Montague Fitz-Jones. You have, of course, heard of the Fitz-Jones
family--the Fitz-J-o-h-n-e-s's, you know?"
I certainly had not; nor had I, up to that moment, any idea that Lord
Tomnoddy was other than a mythical personage; but I did not choose to
parade my ignorance in such matters, so I replied by a polite bow.
There was silence between us for a moment; and then Fitz-Jones--or Fitz-
Johnes, rather--raised his hand to his forehead with a thoughtful air
and murmured:
"Hawkesley! Hawkesley! I'm _positive_ I've heard that name before.
Now, where was it? Um--ah--eh? Yes; I have it. You're the handsome
heartless fellow who played such havoc with my cousin Lady Mary's
affections at the state ball last year. Now, don't deny it; I'm
positive I'm right. Do you know," he continued, glaring at me in a most
ferocious manner--"do you know that for the last six months I've been
looking for you in order that I might shoot you?"
Somehow I did not feel very greatly alarmed at this belligerent speech,
and vanity having by this time conquered my natural truthfulness, I
determined to sustain my unexpected reputation as a lady-killer at all
hazards. I therefore drew myself up, and, assuming my sternest look,
replied that I should be happy to give him the desired opportunity
whenever he might choose.
Fitz-Johnes' ferocious glare continued for a moment or two; then his
brow cleared, and, extending his hand, he grasped mine, shook the member
violently, and exclaimed:
"That was spoken like a gentleman and a brave man! Give me your hand,
Hawkesley. I respect you, sir; I esteem you; and I forgive you all. If
there is one thing which touches me more than another, one thing which I
_admire_ more than another, it is to see a man show a bold front in the
face of deadly peril. Ah! _now_ I can understand Lady Mary's
infatuation. Poor girl! I pity her. And I suppose that pretty girl
who passed just now is another victim to your fascinating powers. Ah,
well! it's not to be wondered at, I'm sure. Tomnoddy, do you remember,
by the by--?"
But Lord Tomnoddy was now standing with his back turned toward us, and
his face buried in his pocket-handkerchief. His head was bowed, his
shoulders were heaving convulsively, and certain inarticulate sounds
which escaped him showed that he was struggling to suppress some violent
emotion.
Lord Fitz-Johnes regarded his companion fixedly for a moment, then
linked his arm in mine, drew me aside, and whispered hastily:
"Don't take any notice of him; he'll be all right again in a minute.
It's only a little revulsion of feeling which has overcome him. He's
frightfully tender-hearted--far too much so for a sailor; he can't bear
the sight of blood; and he knew that if I called you out I should choose
him for my second; and--you twig, eh!"
I thought I did, but was not quite sure, so I bowed again, which seemed
quite as satisfactory as words to Fitz-Johnes, for he said, with his arm
still linked in mine:
"That's all right. Now let's go and cement our friend ship over a
bottle of wine at the `Blue Posts,' what do you say?"
I intimated that the proposal was quite agreeable to me; and we
accordingly wheeled about and directed our steps to the inn in question,
which, in my time, was _the_ place of resort, _par excellence_, of all
midshipmen.
Lord Tomnoddy now removed his handkerchief from his eyes; and, sure
enough, he _had_ been weeping, for I detected him in the very act of
drying his tears. He must have possessed a truly wonderful command over
his features, though, for I could not detect the faintest trace of that
deep feeling which had overpowered him so shortly before; on the
contrary, he laughed uproariously at a very feeble joke which I just
then ventured to let off; and thereafter, until I parted with them both
an hour later, was the merriest of the party.
We arrived in due course at the "Blue Posts," and, walking into a
private parlour, rang for the waiter. On the appearance of that
individual, Fitz-Johnes, with a truly lordly air, ordered in three
bottles of port; sagely remarking that he made a point of never drinking
less than a bottle himself; and as his friend Hawkesley was _known_ to
have laid down the same rule, the third bottle was a necessity unless
Lord Tomnoddy was to go without. Lord Tomnoddy faintly protested
against the ordering of so much wine; but Fitz-Johnes was firm in his
determination, insisting that he should regard it as nothing short of a
deliberate insult on Tomnoddy's part if that individual declined his
hospitality.
After a considerable delay the wine and glasses made their appearance,
the waiter setting them down, and then pausing respectfully by the
table.
"Thank you; that will do. You need not wait," said Fitz-Johnes.
"The money, if you please, sir," explained the waiter.
"Oh, ah! yes, to be sure. The money." And Fitz-Johnes plunged his hand
into his breeches pocket and withdrew therefrom the sum of twopence
halfpenny, together with half a dozen buttons (assorted); a penknife
minus its blades; the bowl of a clay tobacco pipe broken short off;
three pieces of pipe-stem evidently originally belonging to the latter;
and a small ball of sewing twine.
Carefully arranging the copper coins on the edge of the table he
returned the remaining articles to their original place of deposit, and
then plunged his hand into his other pocket, from which he produced--
nothing.
"How much is it?" he inquired, glancing at the waiter.
"Fifteen shillings, if you please, sir," was the reply.
"Lend me a sovereign, there's a good fellow; I've left my purse in my
other pocket," he exclaimed to Lord Tomnoddy.
"I would with pleasure, old fellow, if I had it. But, unfortunately, I
haven't a farthing about me."
Thereupon the waiter proceeded deliberately to gather up the glasses
again, and was about to take them and the wine away, when I interposed
with a proposal to pay.
"No," said Fitz-Johnes fiercely; "I won't hear of it; I'll perish at the
stake first. But if you really don't mind _lending_ me a sovereign
until to-morrow--"
I said I should be most happy; and forthwith produced the coin, which
Fitz-Johnes, having received it, flung disdainfully down upon the table
with the exclamation:
"There, caitiff, is the lucre. Now, avaunt! begone! Thy bones are
marrowless; and you have not a particle of speculation about you."
The waiter, quite unmoved, took up the sovereign, laid down the change--
which Fitz-Johnes promptly pocketed--and retired from the room, leaving
us to discuss our wine in peace; which we did, I taking three glasses,
and my companions disposing of the remainder.
Fitz-Johnes now became very communicative on the subject of his cousin
Lady Mary; and finally the recollection came to him suddenly that she
had sent him her miniature only a day or two before. This he proposed
to show me, in order that I might pronounce an opinion as to the
correctness of the likeness; but on instituting a search for it, he
discovered--much to my relief, I must confess--that he had left it, with
his purse, in the pocket of his other jacket.
The wine at length finished, we parted company at the door of the "Blue
Posts;" I shaping a course homeward, and my new friends heading in the
direction of the Hard, their uproarious laughter reaching my ear for
some time after they had passed out of sight.