OUR OLD CLERK--I FIND THAT HE HAS A HEART--LOOK OUT FOR A SHIP--THE
ORION--HER OFFICERS AND CREW--LAST DAY AT HOME--PART FROM MR. WARD--THE
PASSENGERS--SAIL DOWN THE THAMES--CHANGE OF CAPTAIN.
Old Mr Ward rose from his chair by the fire when, accompanied by Solon,
I went in; and he made me sit down beside him with a great deal of
courtesy and kindness, while the dog crouched down at my feet. The old
gentleman sighed very much, and blew his nose, and wiped his eyes, when
I told him of the plan I had resolved to follow. I ought to have said
that I had not had much communication with him, for he was of a somewhat
eccentric character; and although my father had frequently invited him,
he would never come down and dine with us, as it is the custom of many
head-clerks to do with their principals.
"Ah, Mr Ralph," he said, still sighing, "till our misfortunes came I
always looked forward to your joining us in Crooked Lane when you were
old enough; and now to have you go wandering about the world by
yourself--so young as you are, too--I cannot bear the thoughts of it."
I did my best to persuade him of the importance of my object; and I
argued that my youth was no disadvantage, and that I should enjoy the
sort of life I proposed leading.
"Well, if that is the case, Mr Ralph, I will see what I can do," he
exclaimed, getting up with more activity than I expected, and preparing
to put on his great-coat and hat, though, by-the-by, the day was warm
and genial.
I begged him, however, not to venture out if he was still ill. He
looked at me almost reproachfully.
"Ah, Mr Ralph, for your honoured father's son it is a slight thing
indeed that I am undertaking to do," he answered. "We will first go to
Lloyds' and ascertain what vessels are on the berth for those places,
and then I will go to the agents and see if I know any of the owners, or
captains, or other officers of the ships, and endeavour to make some
arrangement with them about you."
Mr Ward, though usually very silent, showed that he was a man of prompt
action, which is much better than being a talker.
"Leave your dog, Mr Ralph, till we come back," he observed as we were
about leaving the room; so patting Solon on the head, and making him lie
down on the rug, I saw that he clearly understood that he was to stay
where he was.
Mr Ward said very little during our walk to the Exchange. He went up
into Lloyds' room, leaving me waiting on the pavement at the foot of the
stairs. He was not long absent.
"Come along, Mr Ralph; it is possible we may be successful," was all he
said, as he hurried me off to Billiter Street, and Saint Helen's, and to
one or two other places in the neighbourhood, where some of the large
ship-brokers have their offices.
He made a great variety of inquiries at a considerable number of
offices, where he seemed always to be kindly received; but as he
invariably spoke in a low tone of voice, and was answered in the same, I
did not exactly comprehend the tenor of the information he obtained. I
only know that he exhibited a great deal of patience and perseverance in
going about from office to office, in waiting till some one was at
leisure to speak to him, and in asking questions. I made some remark to
that effect.
"Yes, Mr Ralph," he replied. "We have in the city to exercise patience
as well as perseverance. We have often to hurry along as fast as our
legs can carry us, for ten minutes, while perhaps we may at the end of
it be kept waiting for an hour before we can speak to the person we have
come to see; but you will understand that if we had not hurried along at
first, we might have had to wait two hours, or have missed the interview
altogether. Sailors are tried much in the same way, I fancy, as you
will learn when making a voyage. Sometimes they get a fair breeze, and
run before it for many days; and then they fall into a calm, and have to
float about doing nothing, or they are driven back by contrary winds,
and lose all the ground they have gained. Such is our voyage through
life, Mr Ralph; and it is better to know beforehand what we are likely
to meet with, and be prepared for it. That is the reason why I wish to
draw your attention to the subject, my dear young gentleman, and to urge
you to be prepared. Because the sun shines sometimes, and we have a
fair breeze, we must not suppose that the sun will always be shining, or
that we shall at all times enjoy a favourable wind."
These remarks were made by the kind old man as we sat waiting in one of
the offices to see the principal, to whom he was well known. One so
often reads in stories of roguish, or hard-hearted, or narrow-minded
head-clerks, that it is pleasant to be able to record from my own
experience an example of a very different character. I believe that
clerks are often made hard-hearted or selfish, if not rogues, by the
unsympathising or supercilious way in which they are treated by their
employers. The successful general will always be found to have taken an
interest in the welfare of the humblest private among his troops; and in
the same way I am certain that the successful merchant has always shown
that he can enter into the domestic affairs of his subordinates, and has
treated them with kindness and consideration. At last Mr Ward was
summoned into the private office of the broker. When he came out he
took me by the arm.
"Come along, Mr Ralph," he said; "we will look in at my lodgings, and
then hie off to the docks."
He hurried along the streets at a great rate without speaking. Not that
he was really, I found, in a great hurry, but it was his habit to get
over the ground as fast as possible when he could, so that he might not
be inconvenienced by delays from impediments when they might occur. A
very nice luncheon was spread out on the table, over which Solon was
keeping a dutiful ward and watch. This, I knew, could not be according
to the old gentleman's custom; but he had ordered the meal, I suspected,
that I might not have the expense of paying for my own luncheon, and
that he might not run the risk of hurting my feelings by paying for it
himself at a chop-house.
"Perhaps you would like to take your dog with you, Mr Ralph," said the
old man, when the meal was over, looking down kindly on Solon, who
wagged his tail on being thus noticed. He had come in for his share of
the bones of the mutton-chops we had had for luncheon.
"Yes, indeed, I should, thank you," I answered. "I never wish to be
parted from Solon. Do you know, Mr Ward. I always fancy he knows that
he has especially to look after me, and to keep me out of harm."
Mr Ward smiled. "He looks very intelligent, and I have no doubt will
do his best for you on all occasions," said he. "But, my dear young
gentleman, I must not lose the opportunity of urging you ever to look to
One, our great and merciful Maker, for protection and support. But
then, you cannot look to him for protection unless you show your love to
him by obeying him, and trying to please him in all things. Do that,
pray to him always, and then boldly and fearlessly go through life. You
will be equipped with a better tempered armour, a larger shield, a
stronger helmet than any steel-clad knight of old. Next trust to
yourself, to your own energies, courage, and perseverance. Don't fancy
that other people are to do things for you. Others, however good their
intentions, may fail you. Just be true to yourself, and don't fear.
The lad who is always fancying that his friends are going to do
something for him (as the foolish phrase goes), is very sure to be left
behind in the race. You will be surprised, I daresay, how a London
counting-house clerk came to get these ideas into his head. Look--there
are my masters." He pointed to some shelves well filled with books, not
remarkable for the elegance or uniformity of their binding. "I have
read every one of these--not once, but over and over again. When I have
wanted a new friend to dine with me, I have stopped at a book-stall, and
have managed to pick him up at the cost of sixpence or a shilling;
sometimes I have expended several shillings on him, but I have seldom
paid so much for any work as some of the city gentlemen pay for one dish
of fish to feed three or four friends who have given them very little
entertainment in return, whereas my new friend has afforded me interest
for days and weeks afterwards. But I must not go on babbling in this
way. Call your good dog. Come along, Mr Ralph."
Off we set, Solon keeping very close to my heels, as if he were afraid
of losing me in the crowd, and whenever I put down my hand I felt him
licking my fingers to show that he was near me. Mr Ward was again
taciturn as before. He felt that, as a city man, he was among people
who knew him, and lest he should be overheard he was habitually silent.
He now appeared to me quite a different person to what I had fancied him
to be. I had thought him what the world calls a very worthy, faithful,
but rather stupid old man. I found him to be kind, thoughtful, and
intelligent, and I felt very sure that my dear brother and sisters would
find him the same, and that he would, in some way or other, prove a
valuable friend to them.
The London, as well as the East and West India and several other docks,
are well worthy of a visit. There are immense warehouses both under and
above ground, those below being called vaults, by-the-by; and there are
broad quays with huge basins, or I might describe them as vast tanks,
which are full of fine ships, each of many hundred tons. The names of
the ships were painted in large letters on black boards and hung up on
the rigging, so that we had no necessity to make inquiries for the ship
Mr Ward wished to find.
"We had not much to do with vessels," he observed. "We took freight,
and shipped our cargoes, and received them in return without any
communication with the master or his officers, so that I do not know
many sea-going people. However, I have, fortunately, a cousin, who is
second mate of a ship--the _Orion_--just sailing for the Cape of Good
Hope and the Mauritius. My friends, Minnories, the brokers, have given
me a letter to the master, and if we can arrange matters with him, you
will, I hope, from what I hear, find him a pleasant man to sail with.
At all events, I know that my cousin, William Henley, is a very fine
young fellow, and will prove a good friend to you. If I am not too
presumptuous, Mr Ralph, I might say, also, a worthy companion, though
his birth was not much less humble than was mine."
"My father would not have allowed such a consideration to weigh with us
in the choice of our companions, I assure you, Mr Ward," I answered,
promptly; for well did I remember hearing him remark, that he would far
rather his sons chose their friends from among right-principled, steady,
industrious lads, than from among the most wealthy or high-born in the
land.
"That was like him, Mr Ralph--that was like him," said the old man,
warmly. "Now, here we are at the _Orion_. She is a fine-looking ship
for her size--some four or five hundred tons, I should guess. Ah, there
is William Henley himself!"
As he spoke, a dark man with a large black beard and whiskers looked
over the bulwarks, and seeing Mr Ward, came along the plank which
connected the ship with the quay towards us. He shook hands warmly with
Mr Ward, who took him aside, while I stood patting Solon's head and
admiring the appearance of the ship--the neat way in which she was
rigged and painted, and the massive masts and yards to which the white
sails had just been bent. I seldom had had an opportunity of examining
so large a ship ready for sea so near, and I thought her, as she truly
was, a very handsome production of human art.
"And so you wish to go to sea with us," said the mate, when he and Mr
Ward rejoined me. I liked his tone of voice, and I saw that he was a
much younger man than his dark appearance at first led me to suppose.
"Yes, indeed I do," I answered; "I always have wished to go to sea, and
now I have a stronger motive than ever. Perhaps Mr Ward has told you."
"Yes; I know all about it--very right," said Mr Henley. "And you want
to secure a berth for your four-footed companion there. He's a fine
fellow. I'll try and arrange that for you. Captain Seaford is a very
reasonable man, and you will like him, I know. We shall go out of dock
to-morrow, or the next day at furthest. You may join us at Gravesend,
if you like, but I would advise you to come on board here. It will save
you expense and trouble, and you will find much to interest you in
seeing the ship go out of dock."
All this seemed very easily and agreeably arranged. Mr Henley was, I
found, a connection of Captain Seaford's, and much trusted by him, so
that he did not speak without authority in what he said. He then took
us round the ship. She had her cargo on board, but she was taking in
stores and provisions, and appeared to be in a state of great confusion.
She was, I found, to carry a certain number of first and second class
emigrants to the Cape. Mr Ward insisted on accompanying me to London
Bridge, declaring that the walking about in the service of my father's
son did him more good than all the doctor's physic he could take. On
our way there he told me that the first mate of the _Orion_, Mr Paul
Grimes, was a very different sort of person to William Henley, and that
he was certainly a bad-tempered and not a well-disposed man, at all
events.
"Never mind, though," said my old friend. "Keep on doing your duty. Do
not retort. Return good for evil, and so you will in the end `heap
coals of fire on his head.' There are few men's hearts which cannot be
softened in that way."
Mr Ward kindly shook my hand when I parted from him, and begged that I
would come to him early the next day with my chest before going on board
the _Orion_.
I saw the tears trickling down my dear mother's cheeks as I gave her an
account of what had occurred during the day.
"Surely He does not desert the fatherless and widows who cry unto him;
and he employs his emissaries often in the shape of human beings to do
his work," she exclaimed, as she put her head upon my shoulder while I
stood by her side.
The next morning I was up by daybreak finishing all my preparations. I
will not describe the parting at last. It was very grievous for us all
to bear. I knew too well how much my poor mother felt it, for she could
not help allowing the idea to enter that perhaps Alfred might be lost to
her for ever, and that I, too, subject to the numberless vicissitudes of
a sea-life, might never return. Herbert was to go with me to see the
_Orion_, and Henry Raymond got leave to accompany us. We all four--that
is to say, Solon, Herbert, Henry, and I--started away after an early
breakfast, and in spite of the sad events which had occurred--such is
the buoyancy of young spirits--a very merry party we soon became.
Perhaps our spirits were rather forced at times. Mr Ward was not
expecting so large a party, but he was not displeased at seeing us.