A SEA-FIGHT.
Finding that the last news from Lord Nelson was that he was sailing to
join the fleet blockading Toulon, Sir Sidney Smith remained but a couple
of days at the Pireus, and then continued his voyage to Constantinople.
They had had no intercourse with any of the natives, and Edgar's
services had consequently not been called into requisition.
In the afternoon Condor came up to Edgar, who was talking with some of
the other midshipmen, and said:
"Now, Mr. Blagrove, if you really meant what you said, I think this is a
good opportunity to settle our affair. Your valuable services are not
likely to be required for a few days, and if you don't wish to back out
you had better come with me below."
"With pleasure," Edgar said quietly. "I have had some difficulty in
waiting, and have several times been on the verge of stopping your
pleasant habit of bullying youngsters."
"Well, you need not say any more," Condor said savagely; "let us see
what you can do."
Wilkinson and two or three others who were off duty went down at once
with Edgar, and as the news spread among the others, every midshipman
who could possibly get away unnoticed, stole off also, and joined them
on the lower deck. Half a dozen lanterns were lighted and hung up from
the beams. A few of the sailors, seeing so many midshipmen going down
there, guessed that there was a fight coming off, and descending the
hatchway forward, stole noiselessly aft to watch it.
Wilkinson had said nothing to the others of what he had heard in the
cabin. The general belief was that although Edgar, no doubt, would make
a plucky fight of it, he had no chance whatever with an opponent nearly
three years his senior, two or three stone heavier, and with a
reputation for being able to use his fists well.
The opponents stripped to the waist and faced each other. Wilkinson
acted as Edgar's second; none of the older ones would act for Condor,
but a lad of fifteen, who dared not refuse his request, did so.
The combat is best described in the language in which one of the tars
who witnessed it related it to his comrades.
"I never seed such a thing in all my born days," he said. "It did not
look a fair thing, for it was like a man against a boy. Condor is about
three inches taller than the young 'un, and much more strongly built.
The young 'un stripped well, and looked a wonderfully wiry young chap;
there was a determined look about his face, and I guessed that he was
game to the backbone; but his chance did not seem worth speaking of.
Well, they stood up. The young one moved about quick on his pins for a
moment, and then, it was so quick that you could scarce see how it was
done, he gave a sort of bound, and hit out with his right, and the next
moment Condor was on his back.
"I never saw such a clean, knock-down blow in all my life. The mids,
they all cheered, and it was plain enough to see which way their
'pinions went. Condor was not down a moment; up he jumped again, looking
as savage as a bull, but somewhat dazed. He meant mischief this time,
and went with a rush at the young 'un; but lor, the latter just jumped
out of his way, and hit him such a smack in the eye that it staggered
him altogether. But he did not lose his legs this time, and made another
rush. It was the same thing over and over again. The young 'un did just
what he liked with him, and after five minutes he knocked him silly, his
eyes were beginning to close, he was just bleeding like a pig at the
nose; but it was a cut on the mouth that finished him, and knocked him
out of time altogether, and the young 'un had never been as much as
touched once.
"You should have heard how the middies cheered. As to the young 'un, he
seemed to take it as a matter of course, and said, 'There is nothing in
it. Condor fought pluckily enough, but he knows next to nothing of
boxing, while, though I say it myself, I am a first-rate boxer. I ought
to be, having been taught by the best masters in London for a couple of
years.'
[Illustration: EDGAR HITS OUT
_Page 184_]
"They had to chuck some water on Condor's face to get him round, for the
force with which he struck the deck stunned him. When he was helped to
his feet, the young 'un went up to him and held out his hand. 'I hope
there will be no more ill-feeling between us, Condor,' he said. 'You
have made a bad mistake, and have had to pay for it. Only I say this,
that as long as I am on board there shall be no more bullying in the
cockpit. We are all gentlemen, I hope. As long as we are on duty, of
course, we obey the orders of our superiors, and, as our senior officer,
we should all obey you; but when off duty we are equals. And if anyone
attempts to bully anyone else, he has got me to reckon with.
"'There is no reason why we should not have a pleasant time when we are
below, and I will do my best to see that we do have it. You are the
senior of the mess, and as such have to keep order; but beyond that you
have no right to interfere. Now let us shake hands and say no more about
it.'
"Condor shook hands without saying a word, and then slipped away. I have
seen many a fight since I first took to the sea, but never such a fight
as this before. It were just a massacre of the innercents, and I don't
think a fellow was ever more thoroughly sucked in than Master Condor
when he undertook the job."
Condor had to go on the sick-list half an hour after the fight was over.
His eyes were almost closed, his face was enormously swollen, and he had
lost three teeth--the effect of the blow that had brought the conflict
to a close.
"Did you know how it was going to be, Wilkinson?" one of the other
seniors said as they went up on the deck again.
"I guessed pretty well, from what Blagrove was telling Sir Sidney when
he dined with him, that Condor would meet his match, but I did not think
that it was going to be a hollow thing like that."
"What do you mean, sir, by skulking below?" the second lieutenant
angrily asked one of the midshipmen of his watch as he returned on deck.
"I just slipped below for a few minutes, sir," the lad said.
"Well, you had better be careful, or you will find yourself at the
mast-head," the lieutenant said sharply.
"I fancy there has been a fight," the first lieutenant said as Mr.
Knight passed him, grumbling to himself. "I noticed just now that there
were only two midshipmen on deck. Do you see, they are coming up the
hatchway, one by one, looking as innocent as a cat that has been at the
cream-jug. They seem to be pretty nearly all here now, but I don't see
any signs in any of their faces that they have been in trouble.
"Well, well, midshipmen are only boys, and boys will quarrel. I expect
we both had our share of it before we got our epaulettes."
The other laughed. "I suppose so," he said; "and after all it does them
no harm, and it is much better, if two boys do quarrel, that they should
fight it out and have done with it, instead of always wrangling."
"I thought it might have been Blagrove," the first lieutenant said. "A
new hand generally has a fight before he has been on board a fortnight.
After that he finds his level. However, it is not him, for there he is,
looking as cool as a cucumber. It must have been some sort of meeting to
discuss some fancied grievance. I daresay we shall hear something about
it sooner or later."
Half an hour afterwards the doctor came on deck. There was a smile on
his face as he went up to the first lieutenant.
"One of your officers is on the sick list, Mr. Canes."
"What is the matter with him?"
"I should say that it would come under the head of contusions."
The lieutenant laughed.
"Bad contusions?"
"Rather more serious than is usual in these cases. Face greatly swelled,
eyes closed, very great enlargement of the nose, lips puffed and badly
cut, three front teeth missing."
"By Jove, that is severe punishment! Who is it?"
"Master's mate Condor."
"Why, who has he been fighting with?"
The doctor laughed. "I could hardly believe it when I heard. I waylaid
young Jocelyn, who was executing a war-dance of delight, and questioned
him. It is your last acquisition, Blagrove."
"Impossible, Doctor! There is the lad himself, without the slightest
sign of having been engaged in a fight. I have been looking at them all
rather closely, for they nearly all disappeared about half an hour ago,
and one knows what that generally means. Mr. Knight was very angry about
it, so when they came back again I glanced at them; and as none of them
were marked in any way, or showed any signs of their having been engaged
in a bout of fisticuffs, I came to the conclusion that there had been no
fight. And you mean to say that Blagrove punished Condor in that fashion
without receiving a mark himself? Condor is a powerful fellow, and must
be nearly three years older than the lad. It seems well-nigh
impossible!"
"I was astonished myself, but, if you remember, he told us the other
evening at the captain's table that he had earned the good-will of
those Arabs by rescuing the sheik's son from an attack by two European
ruffians. He certainly told it in a very modest tone; but that a lad
could thrash two men armed with knives seemed to me to border on
romancing. Young Jocelyn said that the fight did not last more than five
minutes, and that Blagrove did not receive a scratch. His delight was
excessive, and I fancy Condor is rather a bully. You see there is nobody
else in the mess anywhere near his weight and age, and he took advantage
of it accordingly. The boy said that after it was over and they shook
hands, Blagrove told Condor that there should be no bullying in the mess
in future.
"I asked what the affair was about. Jocelyn did not know, but said that
he heard that something had happened when Blagrove first came on board,
and that they all knew that there was going to be a fight, but he thinks
that it was put off until they left the Pireus for some reason or
other."
"That young fellow must be a marvellously good boxer to be able to
punish a fellow so superior in age and weight without showing a mark
himself. The lesson is certainly likely to do Condor good. I have heard
from Mr. Bonnor, who was in the same ship with him on his last
commission, that the fellow had a bad name as a bully, but that, unlike
most fellows of that sort, he had pluck, and could fight, which makes
Blagrove's victory all the more surprising. However, of course we shall
take no notice of it. I have merely your official report that Mr. Condor
is on the sick-list suffering from severe contusions. I suppose it will
be some days before he can show up?"
"I should say that it will be a week before he is fit to come on deck.
As to the loss of his teeth, it will be a serious disfigurement until he
gets home again and can be fitted with some fresh ones. Well, at any
rate this will give Blagrove a good standing among the others. It is
always awkward for a lad who joins a good bit later than usual."
It was not only among the midshipmen that the defeat of Condor
established Edgar as the most popular member of the mess. During the
voyage out, Condor had already rendered himself obnoxious to the men by
the roughness of his tone when speaking to them, and by his domineering
manner whenever the officer of the watch was engaged elsewhere, and the
report of the manner in which he had been punished excited great delight
among them, and rendered Edgar a most popular personage. They had
noticed his behaviour the first time that he had gone aloft, and had
agreed that the new middy was a good sort and no greenhorn.
"He will make a first-rate officer," one old tar said. "You mark my
words if he don't. New hand as he is, you will see that he will show up
well on the first opportunity."
The fight, too, raised rather than lowered Condor in their opinion. The
men who had seen it all agreed that, although he had not a shadow of
chance from the first, he had fought with unflinching pluck, and
struggled on most gamely until knocked out of time. Consequently, when
he returned to duty he was treated with the same respect as before, and
with none of the covert grins that he had expected to notice among them.
The young fellow was not a fool, and while in the sickbay had thought
matters over a good deal. It was of course mortifying to have been
thrashed by an antagonist he despised, but he was conscious that he had
brought the punishment upon himself. Hitherto he had not, since he first
joined the service, met with his match among those of his own age and
standing, and had come to think himself an exceptional sort of fellow;
but the discovery that he was but a child in the hands of a really good
boxer, while it humiliated him, was extremely useful. A lesson of this
kind is sure to have an effect, good or bad. Among some it sours the
temper, produces an active hatred of the person who gave it, and renders
a lad savage and morose. On the other hand, among more generous natures
it has an opposite effect. Thinking matters over, a lad will feel that
he has been going in the wrong direction, that he has been puffed up
with an exaggerated idea of his own powers, and he will determine to get
into a better groove, and to break himself of his faults.
Condor belonged to the latter class. As he lay in bed he saw clearly
that he had made a great mistake, that his successes had been won simply
because those he licked were less skilled or strong than himself, and
that, in point of fact, instead of being, as he believed, a good boxer,
he knew next to nothing about it.
Edgar had, after the first day, gone in regularly to have a chat with
him. He had been somewhat doubtful as to how his advances would be
received, but had determined to do his best to become friends with
Condor, whom he felt, rather remorsefully, he had punished terribly
severely.
"I hope, Condor," he said the first time he entered, "that you will
believe that I have come in because I am really sorry that you have been
hurt so much, and not from any idea of triumphing over you. It was only
natural that I should have got the best of it. I knew beforehand that I
was sure to do so. I learned boxing for over two years from some of the
best light-weight fighters in London. I worked very hard, and at the end
of that time, except that I was of course their inferior in strength, I
could hold my own very fairly with them. That was more than a year ago,
and since then I have gained a lot in height, in length of reach, and
in strength, so you really need not feel mortified that you were so
easily beaten, because I consider that if you had been twice as strong
as you are, and four or five years older, it would have come to the same
thing. A man who can box only in what you may call a rough-and-ready way
has practically no chance whatever with a really scientific pugilist,
which I may say I am. I hope you bear me no malice, and that we shall be
friends in future."
"I hope so too, Blagrove. I feel that I deserve what I have got, and it
will be a lesson that I shall not forget. You have taken me down a great
many pegs in my own estimation, and I shall try and make a fresh start
when I am about again."
"I am very glad to hear it," Edgar said warmly. "I am sure it must be
very much more pleasant to be liked by everyone than to be disliked; and
one is just as easy as the other."
"I don't know that I ever thought of it before," Condor said, "but I
suppose it must be. I will try the experiment when I get up. I shall
feel very small among the others."
"I don't see why you should. You did all that you could, and no one
could have done better who had not been taught as I have, and I am sure
that no one will think the least degree the worse of you because you had
no chance with me. Why, I thrashed a couple of ruffians in Alexandria,
armed with knives, in a quarter of the time that it took me to beat
you."
"At any rate I shall know better in future," Condor said, with a poor
attempt to smile with his swollen lips. "I have learned not to judge
from appearances. Who would have thought that a fellow brought up in
Egypt would have been able to fight like a professional pugilist. You
said that you had been a couple of years at school in England, but that
didn't go for much. We have all been at school in England, and yet not
many of us know much of boxing. How was it that you came to learn?"
"Well, you see that there is a very rough population in
Alexandria--Greek, Maltese, and Italian, in fact the scum of the
Mediterranean--and my father, who is a very sensible man, thought that
the knowledge of how to use my fists well might be of much greater value
to me than anything else I could learn in England, so he asked my uncle,
with whom I lived when I was at school, to get me the best masters in
boxing that he could find. I got to be very fond of it, and worked very
hard. I had three lessons a week all the time I was at school, and the
last year changed my master three times, and so got all their favourite
hits. Of course I used to get knocked about, for some boxers can't help
hitting hard, and to the end I used to get punished pretty heavily,
because though I might hit them as often as they hit me, they were able
to hit much harder than I was, but I fancy now that they would find it
pretty hard work to knock me out of time. My father used to say that
being really a good boxer kept a man or a boy out of trouble. A man who
knows that he can fight well can afford to be good-tempered and put up
with things that another man wouldn't, and if he is driven to use his
fists gets off without being knocked about; and besides, as soon as it
is known that he can fight, others don't care about quarrelling with
him. I know that it was so with me. I had a fight or two at first, but I
very quickly improved, and after that I never had a quarrel for the rest
of the nearly three years I was at school."
"One thing is certain, Blagrove, you are not likely to have another
quarrel as long as you remain on board the _Tigre_. You will come and
see me again, won't you?"
"Certainly I will. I can see that it hurts you to talk now, but you
will soon get over that, and then we can have some good chats."
During the voyage up to the Dardanelles, the _Tigre_ encountered
changeable weather; the sails had often to be shifted. When he was on
watch, Edgar always went aloft with his friend Wilkinson and took his
place beside him, listened to the orders that he gave, and watched him
at work. In a few days he was able to act independently and to do his
duty regularly, and to aid in tying down a reef when a sudden squall
came on.
They caught sight of many islands as they passed through the Aegean.
Edgar was disappointed with the Dardanelles, but delighted with his
first view of Constantinople. It was on the day that they cast anchor
that Condor for the first time put in an appearance at mess. His face
had resumed its normal appearance, save that there were greenish-yellow
patches under the eyes. Wilkinson, who was by a week or two the senior
midshipman, and had occupied the president's chair with reluctance, at
once left it. They had not expected him until the next day, or he would
not have taken it. Edgar had that morning particularly asked the others
as a personal favour to give Condor a hearty welcome on his return.
"I think you will find him a much more pleasant fellow than he was
before," he said. "At any rate he has been punished heavily, and I think
that you ought to welcome him heartily."
Wilkinson and two or three of the older midshipmen had gone in several
times to see Condor, and had been pleased at the friendly way in which
he had spoken of Blagrove. There had, however, been little talk between
them, for Condor had not seemed disposed for conversation. Condor walked
to his accustomed seat at the head of the table.
"I hope things will go on better than they have done," he said gruffly.
"All I can say is, it sha'n't be my fault if they don't;" and without
more words he proceeded to cut up the salt meat placed in front of him.
For a short time the conversation was constrained, and it was evident
that those who spoke were talking for the sake of talking; but this soon
wore off, and by the end of the meal even the youngest mids were talking
and laughing with a feeling that somehow a change had come over the
place. A quarter of an hour after the meal had ended, a boat was
lowered.
"Mr. Wilkinson, you will take charge," the first officer said. "Mr.
Blagrove, you will accompany the captain on shore."
A few minutes later they reached the landing-place. A number of men at
once crowded round to proffer their services, and the captain said:
"Choose one of them for a guide, Mr. Blagrove. Ask him to take us to our
embassy."
Edgar at once chose a quiet-looking Turk, and, to the latter's surprise,
addressed him in his own language. The others fell back disappointed,
and the guide soon conducted them to the embassy.
"I shall not want you here, Blagrove. I shall be engaged for at least a
couple of hours. You can either stroll about and have a look round or go
back to the boat as you please. It is now two o'clock; call again here
for me at four."
Cairo had prepared Edgar for Constantinople, and indeed he thought the
former city more picturesque in the variety of costume than the latter.
The views from the hill of Pera, whether looking up the Golden Horn,
across it at Stamboul, over to Scutari and the shores of the Sea of
Marmora, or up the Bosphorus, were beautiful beyond anything that he
had ever seen, and leaving the exploration of the city for another day,
he sat down under the shade of some cypress trees close to a Turkish
cemetery and entered into a conversation with the guardian of the tombs,
who pointed out the various mosques and places of interest to him. At
the end of two hours he repaired to the embassy. Presently a dragoman
came down and asked him if his name was Blagrove, and on his replying in
the affirmative, said that Sir Sidney Smith had ordered him to say that
he could return in the boat to the ship, for that he would dine ashore,
and the boat was to be at the wharf at ten o'clock.
Sir Sidney Smith remained two months at Constantinople. His duty, in
conjunction with his brother, Mr. Seymour Smith, was to engage the
Sultan in an active alliance with England, and to concert, as a naval
officer, the best plan to be pursued to render that alliance effective.
The former portion of the commission had already been carried almost to
a successful termination by his brother, and the treaty was signed on
the first week of January, 1799. The details of the latter were arrived
at in the course of several meetings between Sir Sidney Smith and the
Turkish pasha and admiral. To these latter meetings Edgar always
accompanied his chief as interpreter, Sir Sidney preferring his services
to those of the dragoman of the embassy, as he was better able to
understand and explain the naval points discussed.
The Porte, indeed, was able to do but little towards aiding in the naval
operations. Two bomb ships and seventeen gun-boats were all the vessels
that they were able to produce, but it was some time before they would
agree to place these entirely under Sir Sidney Smith's command. Ahmed
Pasha, or, as he was generally called, Djezzar Pasha--Djezzar meaning
the butcher, from the cruel and brutal nature of the man--the Governor
of Syria, was in Constantinople at the time, and was present at these
meetings. He was aware that Napoleon was marching against him; and
although usually he paid but little attention to the Porte, or
recognized any orders received from it, he had now hurried there to
represent the situation and ask for assistance.
Bonaparte lost no time after hearing that Djezzar had sent forward a
force to occupy the fort of El-A'rich in the desert, between Syria and
Egypt, and on the 8th of February set out with 12,428 men for the
conquest of Syria. Djezzar, who had returned to his pachalik, having
early news of the movement, despatched a force, consisting principally
of cavalry, to support the garrison of El-A'rich, and they were joined
there by Ibrahim Bey with a force of Mamelukes. The march of the French
was painful, and they suffered greatly from thirst. However, they
defeated the Turk and Mameluke cavalry with heavy loss, and El-A'rich at
once surrendered. The garrison were allowed to depart on undertaking not
to serve again, and four days later the army entered Palestine, and
believed that their fatigues and sufferings were at an end.
Two days later, however, a cold rain set in, and the troops, who had
been suffering greatly from heat, felt the change painfully. On the 3rd
of March they arrived in front of Jaffa. A Turk was sent in to summon
the garrison to surrender. The commandant simply ordered his head to be
struck off and sent no reply. The fire of the field artillery in a few
hours effected breaches at several points. The French, in spite of
opposition, burst into the town, which was given up to sack, and a large
number of the inhabitants, as well as the soldiers, were massacred.
Between 3000 and 4000 prisoners were taken, among these doubtless were
some of those who had been allowed to march away from El-A'rich. The
difficulties in the way of provisioning the army were great. Many were
ill from the effects of the change of climate, and the position was
becoming serious.
To feed 3000 or 4000 prisoners added greatly to the difficulties, and
Napoleon took a step which has been a foul blot on his reputation. They
were marched into a vast square formed of French troops; as soon as all
had entered the fatal square the troops opened fire upon them, and the
whole were massacred. The terrible slaughter occupied a considerable
time; and when their cartridge-boxes were emptied, the French soldiers
had to complete the massacre with their bayonets. Of the whole of these
victims one only, a mere youth, asked for mercy; the rest met their fate
with heroic calmness and resolution. Napoleon's excuse for this hideous
massacre was that the soldiers had broken the engagement they took at El
A'rich, but this applied to only a very small proportion of the
garrison, and the massacre was wholly indefensible, for if unable to
feed his prisoners, they should have been allowed to depart unarmed to
seek subsistence for themselves.
The effects of this horrible massacre recoiled upon those who
perpetrated it. The great number of dead bodies speedily tainted the
air, and the maladies from which the troops suffered became vastly more
serious, and the plague broke out among them and carried off a
considerable number. Kleber's division made a reconnaissance towards
Jerusalem, but the people of Nablous and the mountaineers assailed them
with so terrible a fire, as they endeavoured to make their way up the
narrow valleys, that they were forced to retire and join the main body
of the army. When the French marched from Jaffa there were still many of
their men stricken with the plague in hospital. Napoleon has been
accused of having had these poisoned.
The statement has been repeated over and over again, and has been as
often vehemently denied, among others by Bonaparte himself. It still
remains, and always will remain, doubtful. There can be no doubt that
the transport of plague-stricken men would have been a source of danger
to the whole army; and as very few of those once attacked by the plague
ever recovered, but few would have benefited by the operation, while the
condition of the great majority would have been rendered still more
hopeless and painful by the journey. Upon the other hand, had they been
left behind they would assuredly have been massacred by the inhabitants,
who had suffered so terribly at the hands of the French. Rather than be
so left, the unfortunate men would assuredly have vastly preferred some
painless form of death at the hands of their friends. The probabilities
are that all the sick, whose final recovery was considered by the
surgeons as within the limits of probability, were taken on, and that
those whose cases were absolutely hopeless were not allowed to fall
alive into the hands of their foes.
Napoleon's position was an extremely difficult one. He had shown much
solicitude for the wounded. When the whole army were panic-stricken at
the outbreak, he had himself visited the hospitals, been present at
operations, talked encouragingly to the sick, and had done all in his
power to relieve their condition. But he could keep the army no longer
in the tainted air of Jaffa. He could not take men at the point of death
away with him to communicate the malady to those who had so far escaped,
nor could he leave them to be murdered in their beds by the infuriated
population. It is uncertain really what course was taken; but it must
be assumed that Napoleon, who was always anxious to win the affection
and regard of his troops, would, putting all other matters aside, not
have perpetrated any act that would have been condemned by the soldiers
of his army.