FREE TRADE.
When one has been wronged by the outer world, the sooner he gets back to
the bosom of his family, the likelier will he be to bear it well; and as
soon as the Champagne was finished, I made off. It was useless to be in
any hurry with old _Grip_, for he knew how undignified it is to pant,
though the formal cause thereof be portliness; so that by the time we
both got back to "Placid Bower," my mother had been at home more than an
hour, and had packed Uncle William off to bed.
"Oh, darling Tommy, so weak he is," she told me, as soon as we had heard
all about one another, and finished dinner; "I have only got to hold up
my finger, and he does it. And I know the day when it was--'Get away,
Sophy;' or 'Do you think I'd put up with such--something--rubbish?' or
'Pack up my traps, if you want to try that game.' And he seems to have
something on his mind, that he cannot quite bring himself to tell me, in
the few times when he is at all fit to do it. You must understand, that
he goes up and down pretty regular, according to the time of day,
whenever the weather keeps side with it. Let him have his breakfast, and
get up at his leisure, and have the barber in to shave him and the
doctor to tell him that his pulse is better, and then let him sit, and
see the sun come in, even through a shrubbery of chimney-pots, and tell
him that he shall have one pipe, supposing he manages to eat his dinner
well, and you should see how happy, and how smiling, he lies back. But,
as soon as the dusk comes on, and the daylight goes, and we can find no
star to show him, but only dull lamps in the narrowness of the streets,
then he seems to lose all hope altogether, and turn over on his back,
and put his hands together. And he says, 'Let me die, Sophy; I should
like to die, if I thought there was any hope of going up to heaven.' And
I say to him, 'William, don't think of such dreadful things; you are not
an old man yet, you know.' And then he looks at me, more pitiful than
you could endure, if you had known what a lively boy he was; and he
doesn't say another word, as if it was all useless, but sighs till you
can see his great ribs shake. Oh, Tommy, he brings me down so low
sometimes, that I feel only fit to see a clergyman."
"Mother, you don't look at all like yourself," I answered, for she had
always been so pleasant; "you never must give way to such melancholy
thoughts. Uncle Bill will soon be better, in this fine air here; and
we'll show him the sun through the trees, every morning, and the cock
that flies up into the weeping-ash to crow, and the lambs on the hill,
that have just been shorn, and play like a lot of white mice in the
distance. And then in the evening, if he feels down-hearted, we'll shut
out the darkness before it comes on, and light up the gas, and a dozen
best candles, and play a game of cards to amuse him, or tell stories. I
can tell stories now, like fun, of all the larks we had at Oxford; and
sailors are like children, so easy to amuse."
"Well, my dear," said mother, "we will do the best we can; and your
cheerful countenance is enough to scare the blues. But he is not long
for this world, I am sure of that--poor William! But I do feel so
thankful, that he will die among his friends."
"Nonsense!" I replied, for I had not seen him yet, as he had fallen into
light sleep after painful journey, "you have caught the infection of his
lowness, mother. 'However bad the case is, never pull long faces,' as
you used to sing to me, when I got caned."
But when I went to look at Uncle Bill, that night, as he lay fast asleep
upon his little narrow bed--for nothing would induce him to go into a
four-poster--I felt very much afraid that dear mother was too right. I
never should have guessed, that this could be my Uncle Bill, of whom I
had such playful memories, and to whose buoyant spirits, and frolicsome
nature, nothing had ever been known to come amiss. The great frame was
there, and the big tarry hands, and the brown wrists tattoed with a true
lover's knot, and a Union Jack, and blue anchors. And I still could
descry the short stubby nose, which used to give such a merry lift to
his mouth, and the scar on his cheek, that filled up when he laughed, as
to my recollection he was generally doing. For if ever there had been a
man who was fond of his joke, it was my Uncle William. But, alas! there
were very few more for him now.
In the morning, I carried his bit of breakfast up, as my mother had
arranged it on a little tea-tray; but he took a long time to make out
who I was, though my mother, of course, had said a great deal about me.
"Tommy? What Tommy? I remember lots of Tommies;" he said, with a
pleasant smile still on his face, although it was so gray and wasted;
"there was Tommy, the cook's mate on board the _Saucy Lass_, and Tommy
the cabin-boy, in the _Erysipelas_, and Tommy the cheating old nigger at
Rio, and Tommy that had the dodge for catching flying fish, and
Tommy----"
"No, sir, no; your own nephew Tommy. Tommy Upmore, that used to be a
little boy at the soap-works, when you came back from sea, and you
tossed him through the ceiling, and his head stuck fast. But you are not
to talk; you must only think about it."
He obeyed me, like a child, looking at me now and then, as if to refresh
his memory, while I held the tea-cup to his lips, and put some buttered
toast into his mouth, between whiles. And the great jaws, that used to
lift a kitchen-table, could scarcely crush the soft toast, without the
tea to help them.
"Mother will come in, and sit with you now," I said, when he had eaten
as much as he could manage; "and at eleven o'clock, you will have a bowl
of soup, and a glass of port wine; and after that, you go to sleep. We
are not going to bother you with any doctor, at least, until the
afternoon. And then perhaps Dr. Flebotham, a very clever man, who almost
saved my dear father's life, will look in, to have a little chat with
you."
"No, Tommy, no," he answered, looking at me steadily, as if his
breakfast had supported him; "'twould only be running up a bill for
nothing, and your mother has paid a deal too much for me already. But
she shall have it all back again, my boy, and a pretty penny on the top
of it, if you can keep a secret. I can call you to mind, pretty clearly
now; though not a bit like what you used to be, except for the swab on
the top of your head. Can you keep a secret, Tommy boy?"
"Sir," I replied, with my eyes upon his, and my countenance full of
decision; "it is the very thing that I have always been most famous for,
of all the many things that I can do."
In spite of this very strong assurance, he seemed to be doubtful, as if
I had said too much.
"How can you be famous for it," he asked, perhaps with some reason,
"unless you are accustomed to brag about them? But 'tis Hobson's choice
with me, Tommy, between you and your mother. And the youngest lad is
safer than the very oldest woman. Get your dear mother to go upon an
errand,--the longer the better,--when I am at my best, about noon of the
day; and then get me a pipe, to improve my breath; and you shall know
what there is, so far as I can fetch my wind to tell it. I remember all
about you, my lad, now."
I put my fingers to my lips, to convince him what an enemy I was to
excess of conversation; and I saw that he was pleased, and it helped to
satisfy him, that there could be no mistake in trusting me. And the way
in which I managed to get my mother off the premises, was enough to
establish my repute in this way. For I told her what was true, that
after all the many years Mrs. Windsor, and she, had been such hearty and
warm friends, never falling out--except once for three years, upon the
question whether when you sew a button on a shirt, the thread should be
wound round the stitches that go through it, before fastening off, or
whether (as my mother said) that does more harm than good--after all
this staunch and uninterrupted love, it would seem a very heartless
thing on her side, if she failed to set off, at the first hour allowed
by good breeding for call (which in Maiden Lane was always eleven
o'clock, except upon a washing-day), and congratulate her cordially, and
find out everything about the engagement of Polly to Bill Chumps.
My dear mother was quite as eager to do this, as I to persuade her of
the duty of it; supposing only that Uncle Bill could get on without her,
for two hours and a half. Two hours and a half meant five, I knew; for
two hours at least would be spent in cabs; inasmuch as my mother never
got into a cab, without making the driver go all the way, according to
her own directions. This being to him an increase of income, he was glad
to navigate accordingly, and enjoyed a geographical lecture at the end
of the journey, which was worth another shilling to him. For my dear
mother felt a great truth, which has never been properly felt by our
School-boards, so that the foundation of their scheme is rotten; viz.,
that people must be paid for learning; which is perhaps the saddest
trial of the human life.
Uncle Bill should have been depressed, and frightened, by this first
parting from his kindly watchful nurse; but he took quite a different
view of the matter, and resolved to have all the pipes that he could
get, and a glass of hot grog, with the window open.
"Surely it is bad for you, sir," I said.
But he answered, "My son, what do you know about it? I am making my
accounts up for a better world; and what good-will can I hope for, if I
cast them up all dry?"
As soon as he had made himself quite comfortable, with an ounce of best
bird's-eye, and three clean pipes, and the appearance of more rum not
far off, he said, "Tommy, lock the door, and put the key beneath the
baccy-box, and let me know if your dear mother happens to turn back, for
women are very liable to do that sort of thing. Very well; now come and
sit close by me. I can't spin a long yarn, for want of wind, nor yet a
very plain one; but you must help it out.
"About three years ago, after knocking about in a lot of little craft,
in the Indian seas, sometimes up, and sometimes down, according to the
fortunes of seafaring men, I was skipper of a schooner in the sponge and
coral trade, or the Beachymess, or anything that might turn up, from a
terrapin to a tarpaulin, as we say. We were trading with the natives,
between whiles, every man on his own hook, with his own ventures, while
we waited for the super-cargo's orders, according as he landed to get
freight. And not being full, he took us to the--well, never mind, what
islands, but a very savage part, where the people are idolaters, and
cannibals. Here there was a settlement of white men, hailing from every
land under the sun almost, where it doesn't turn them black, and make
niggers of them. As lazy a lot as could be found pretty well, but they
kept themselves with fire-arms against the natives, and collected goods
for shipment, in a fort they had set up.
"We had orders from the factor, who was also part-owner of the craft,
whose name was the _Saucy Lass_, to leave him at the fort, for a couple
of days, while we made the opposite coast, about three leagues off; to
traffic for ourselves, if we could, and to lay in provisions, and our
stock of water. For the water at the fort, though very good while fresh,
would not keep three days in cask, when out at sea. He showed us where
beautiful water could be got, and plenty of cassavas, yams, and such
like, and fruit none of us knew the names of. But he warned us to be on
our guard, and stand off at night, and keep the brass guns loaded, for
the natives of that island were much worse than this; and these were bad
enough, in all conscience. There was no reef between the two islands,
but one enormous reef round both of them, with water as clear as plate
glass inside, and a light air, and sands that shone like snow.
"We found the pretty stream of good water, as he told us, and began to
take in our supply with the boats, for we carried more hands than is
usual aboard a schooner of three hundred tons, several having shipped
without much wages, on the chance of doing something for themselves; and
there was not a Lascar among them, but mostly British, and two or three
Germans. So that we were not afraid of half a thousand savages, without
treachery, or surprise, or some other dirty trick.
"But the part where we landed showed no sign, at first, of having any
living creatures upon it bigger than wild pigs, and goats, and an animal
something like a hare, that was very good eating; and the quantity of
fruit upon the trees was such, that most of us found ourselves doubled
up with colic. But I served out a good supply of cordials for that; and
afterwards, the fine appearance of the place, and the softness of the
air, and the colour of the ground (which was almost as good as a meadow
to us) seemed to make us sleepy, and inclined to lie about.
"And it would not be true of me to tell you, Tommy, that I was the
breadth of a rope's end better than the hands put under me. I never was
very strong for discipline, from knowing that I should not like to have
it done to me, and being more used to come under it than over it,
according to the want of luck and money. But we happened to have a very
good Scotch mate, whose name was Rob McAlister.
"'Captain,' he says to me, when I was lying easy, on a bank of some
stuff that was as soft as feathers, and wishing I had somebody to fill
my pipe, and light it; 'Captain, it mis-gi'es me much, but we be
o'erfeckless.'
"'You go to Jericho, Rob,' I answered; 'or fill my pipe first; and
strike me a light, and then go to the top of that rock, and look out.'
"Before I had finished my pipe, he came back, and told me that the woods
were so thick inland, that they might hold a thousand people, without
showing one. But he felt almost sure that he had heard a screech, not of
a bird or wild beast, but a man; and this made me pay some attention,
because I knew that his hearing was wonderfully sharp; for he had saved
us once, by hearing breakers through a full gale of wind at night, when
no other man could perceive the sound.
"'Call the hands together, and draw down to the boats,' was the order I
gave; 'I shall be down there myself, by the time you have got them
ready.' But whether I fell off to sleep, or what, is more than I can
tell; only one thing is certain, the men were at the boats, before I
was near them, and before I had begun to think at all about it. Then
they sent a lad to fetch me, whose name was Tommy, understrapper to the
cook; but before he could find me, a terrible scream made me sit up, and
look round. Upon the slope behind me, were a lot of darkies running, and
in front of them a white man, flying for his life, who had clearly
caught sight of our boats, just when his case seemed altogether
hopeless.
"Our men had seen him, and were pushing out a little; while others waved
their guns, and shouted to him, to put on his last bit of speed, and
they would save him. From the place where they stood, they could see the
great multitude of his pursuers, which I could not do; and this made me
wrong them, in thinking them cowards, for not coming up the hill, to
help. Meanwhile he was coming down the hill, with his breath too short
to be used, and his heart pumped out, and his naked legs covered with
blood, and his face as white as birch-bark, and as resolute as iron.
Three of his pursuers were in front of the rest, and not more than
thirty yards behind him, and each bore a javelin, which he would not
throw yet, for fear of missing aim in the rush of it. None of them had
seen me, where I sat and watched them, through the bush that sheltered
me.
"I saw that they must pass, within a few yards of my lair, so I crawled
behind a tree which was feathered with some creepers, and there stood
upright, with my double-barrelled shot-gun, which I luckily had brought
for the chance of game. Then I gave a little whistle, and the flying man
descried me, and turned in that direction. 'Don't stop,' I whispered;
and he saw what I meant, and continued down the hill, as if he had not
seen me. Then as his three pursuers rushed past the tree, I let out with
my fist at the left ear of the nearest one, and sent him sprawling; then
I shot the two others as dead as a door-nail, before they could turn to
lance me. Big limber fellows they were both; one of them fell forward on
his head, and turned a somersault, down the steep ridge he was so
hastily descending.
"'On, for your life!' I cried, 'you are too blown to fight. Tell the
mate to come with half a dozen men to meet me.' He doubted for a moment
about leaving me, but seeing me loading again in all haste, and the rest
of his pursuers standing still in great amazement, on he went, and I
could hear him panting down the hill. Then as soon as I had loaded, I
made after him with speed; seeing which, the other savages set up a
fearful whoop, and came rushing down the hill, perhaps three hundred
altogether. Two javelins hissed over my head; and then I turned, and
dropping on my knee, sent two heavy loads of duck-shot, right into the
faces of the foremost. This dropped three or four of them, and the rest
stopped again, as if they had never seen a thing like this before; and
the roar of the gun among the rocks was not a trifle. Without stopping
to load again, on I hastened, and met Bob, and six sturdy fellows, eager
for a shot.
"'Not yet,' I cried, 'not until we are aboard; and then let us give them
a general salute.'
"All saw the force of this, and as soon as we had lifted the poor
runaway into my boat, we pushed off, when somebody exclaimed--'Why,
wherever is poor Tommy?' It was this boy's scream which had so luckily
aroused me; and then in his terror he had tumbled on a rock, and lay
there stunned, until the present moment. Tommy was a favourite with
every one, and it was impossible to leave him to be killed; so the mate,
and two others, volunteered to go and fetch him; although it was no
small danger, because the savages had rallied, and were coming on again.
But we sat ready, with our guns presented, and mis-liking perhaps the
look of them the villains hesitated. So our three men brought poor Tommy
to the water's edge, and we gave them a good cheer, which they heartily
deserved. We saw little Tommy hoisted on the back of Bob McAlister, for
his legs had quite failed him; and just as we were stretching out our
arms, to ease him in, the savages let fly at us a volley of their
javelins.
"'Give it them!' I cried, and every gun rang out with a fine blaze of
fire, for the evening was set in. Away scampered every baccy-coloured
skin that could; for at least half a score of them could move no more.
But alas, they had done for our poor little Tommy! A javelin had passed
through his loin, and pinned him to the brave mate's shoulder, so that
he was dead in about five minutes. Our men were so enraged, that they
longed to land again, and go after the savages; but I would not allow
it, with night coming on, and two of our number wounded. So we made for
the _Saucy Lass_, and got on board, tired with our day's work, and very
sad about poor little Tommy. Now, my lad, I am not come to the chief
part yet; but I can't tell any more, for coughing now. Find something
for your mother to be off about, to-morrow; and perhaps if you behave
yourself, you shall hear the rest of it."