AT SEA--A SURLY MATE--SOLON'S ASTONISHMENT AT SEEING THE OCEAN--THE BAY
OF BISCAY--MADEIRA--FUNCHAL--VISIT ON SHORE--STORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF
MADEIRA--TRIP TO THE PICO--TOMMY BIGG--ROUGHNESS OF CREW.
At length we were fairly on our voyage, far away out on the wide ocean
without the most distant glimpse of land. Nothing but dark, heaving,
white-crested waves around us. To me, as I looked over the bulwarks,
the scene was inexpressibly strange, and grand, and awe-producing. I
should have liked to have been for a short time perfectly alone, to have
enjoyed it to the full, not another human being near me, with only
Solon, my dumb companion, by my side. Far more I could have enjoyed it,
I thought, than among the noisy, quarrelling crowd of passengers who
formed the little coarsely composed world confined within those wooden
walls, as the expression runs. Still, I did not think that I could have
endured the solitude I wished for during any long period, but felt that
I should soon have been glad to return to the midst of my noisy
associates, Solon seemed as much surprised as I was when, looking out
first at one port, then through the other, he found that there was no
land to be seen. Several times he ran backwards and forwards, evidently
trying to settle in his mind the state of the case. At last he was
satisfied; then came up and licked my hand, as much as to say,--"I
understand it all now, master. We are embarked in the same boat; and
whatever befalls us, I intend to stick by you." Thanks to Mr Henley's
kindness, I had been allowed to arrange a berth for Solon just outside
his cabin, between two chests, and within sight of my hammock. I made a
mattress for him with some bits of old canvas stuffed with straw; for
although a dog will do well enough even without a rug on the quiet
ground, when a ship is pitching and rolling about he is very much the
better for something soft to protect his ribs, as well as to keep him
off the damp deck. He was also able in his snug corner to save himself
from slipping about. Mr Grimes, I suspect, never discovered where he
slept, for the place was so dark that when he passed through that part
of the ship he did not perceive him, and Solon, whose instinct told him
that an enemy with whom he could not compete was near, always kept
perfectly quiet and silent, with his bright eyes closed or hid away
under his paws. His movements were regulated entirely by mine. When I
went below, so did he, either to crouch at my feet at meals, or to go to
his berth when I turned into my hammock; and the instant I was summoned
by the hoarse voice of the boatswain, or of one of his mates, to keep my
watch, he was on his feet ready to accompany me on deck. He was only
unhappy when I had to go aloft, and then Sills and Broom told me that he
kept running under wherever I was, looking up into the rigging, and
watching me with intense earnestness--evidently showing that he was
ready to run to my assistance if he could possibly get to me, and they
declared that they saw him often examining the ratlines, and considering
whether he could manage to get up them. He soon became a great
favourite with most of my messmates, who appreciated his affection for
me; but he was certainly not one with the first mate or the captain. He
gave further evidence of his sagacity by managing, in the most active
manner, to keep out of their way whenever they came on deck. The moment
they appeared, although he might just before have been frolicking and
frisking about in the merriest style possible, he slunk away with his
tail between his legs, and hid himself forward, at some spot, if
possible, whence he could see the quarter-deck, and watch for their
retiring. Then he would run out from his hiding-place and look about on
every side to be sure that they really were not on deck, and would again
come bounding aft as joyous as before. I could not help fancying
sometimes that he must have understood the threat Mr Grimes uttered
against him the first day he came on board. At all events, he evidently
mistrusted the first mate's tone of voice, as he did the stern eye of
the captain.
I must not enter very minutely into what may be called the nautical
particulars of the voyage, interesting as they were to me. Our start
was not satisfactory. No sooner did some heavy weather come on than the
working of the ship opened the seams of her decks, and numerous other
crevices through which wet could find its way--the bull's-eye lights,
screw bolts, and skylights--the water poured down upon the unfortunate
passengers, as it did, indeed, into all the standing bed-places both of
officers and men, and soon made everybody in a most wretched condition.
Neither the captain nor Mr Grimes seemed to care about the matter. Mr
Henley and I, therefore, accompanied the surgeon round the between-decks
to try and assist the suffering passengers. Never had I seen any set of
people more thoroughly wretched. The deck was in some places an inch or
more deep in water, the bedding was saturated, and the women's
petticoats and shoes and stockings were wet through and through, while
all sorts of articles were floating about amid a mass of dirt.
"We shall have fever break out among these poor people before long,"
observed Dr Cuff to the second mate. "I must represent the state of
the case to the captain, and advise him to put back to Plymouth."
"I am glad to hear you say so, as I have thought the same," said Mr
Henley. "The cargo, too, which I have to think about, will be damaged,
if not destroyed; and the ship, from being overloaded, steers so badly,
that it is a work to get her about, and if she was caught on a lee shore
with a heavy sea, so that we could not tack, but had to wear, the
chances are that we should run aground before we could do it. It would
require two or three miles to wear this ship with any sea on in her
present state."
This was unpleasant information. I had learned enough seamanship by
this time fully to comprehend what Mr Henley meant. Tacking and
wearing are both manoeuvres to get a ship's head round so as to have the
wind on the side opposite to what it was at first. In tacking, the helm
is put down, and the head comes up close to the wind, and then is forced
round by it till it strikes the sails on the opposite side. Wearing, on
the contrary, is performed by putting the helm up and keeping the ship's
head away from the wind, gradually squaring the yards till she is
directly before it. Then the helm is put down, and the yards are braced
up till she is once more brought as close to the wind as she will lie.
As she must be kept moving all this time, and as, in a gale, the ship
moves very rapidly, it may be conceived that a great extent of ground
must be run over before the whole manoeuvre can be completed. I thought
to myself, I hope that we shall not have to tack or wear ship on a lee
shore in a dark night,--for although a shipwreck is a very interesting
incident to read about, it is a thoroughly disagreeable one to suffer.
When Dr Cuff made his report, the captain was highly indignant. "He
would sooner see the ship go down, or all the people rot with fever,
than put back,--that was not his way," was the answer he was reported to
have made.
"Awful is the responsibility that man has taken on his shoulders!"
observed Dr Cuff to Mr Henley.
I have scarcely spoken of Waller, our third mate. He was a rough,
uneducated young man; not much, even, of a practical sailor; and Mr
Grimes soon made a complete, though not a willing tool of him. He was
like Caliban under Prospero,--he grumbled, but could not help himself.
After knocking about with heavy, contrary winds, somewhere in the
latitude of Cape Ushant, and running a great risk of being driven up
either the Irish Channel or on to the English coast, we at length shaped
a course across the Bay of Biscay. That bay, famed for turbulent seas,
did not lose its character with us. What a dark mass of troubled waters
were around us! how gloomy the sky overhead! I could not help fancying
that disasters were about to overtake us; and, indeed, the aspect of
affairs on board was sufficiently discouraging. I never, indeed, had
before felt so low-spirited. The second mate predicted shipwreck; the
doctor, pestilence and death. What else was to happen I could not tell.
Several sharp showers fell, then suddenly the sun burst forth from
behind some dark clouds with resplendent beauty, spreading over, with a
sheet of silver, a wide extent of the raging sea, along which flitted
the sombre shadows from masses of clouds, casting an occasional gloom,
but leaving the ocean once more to roll on in glorious brightness.
After all, I thought to myself, the evil anticipated may pass away like
the clouds; I was wrong to have desponded.
"You admire this, my lad," said Dr Cuff, in a kind way, as he came up
to take a short turn on deck after attending to his laborious duties
below. "The sea presents changeful scenes and extraordinary beauties,
of which those who live always on shore have little conception. You
will find yourself, I hope, amply repaid in the life you have chosen, by
the numberless objects of interest you will meet with in your voyages.
It is a grievous pity that lads are so often sent to sea with so small
an amount of education that they cannot appreciate the advantages they
enjoy, or make use of the opportunities which are presented to them of
acquiring information. A sailor--an officer, I mean--unless he is
content not to be superior to a waggoner who drives his team up and down
between London and his native town, should have a fuller and more varied
style of education than men of any other profession. He should know the
history of every country he visits, the character of its people, and
their institutions and language, its natural productions and natural
history,--indeed, no knowledge will come amiss to him."
As may be seen, I was more fortunate in my associates than I might have
expected. I had often read of waves running mountains high in books of
poetry and other works, and I fully expected to see them as high, as the
mast-heads. I was surprised, therefore, to find our big ship tumbled
about so much by those over which we sailed, and which seldom rose very
much higher than the bulwarks. I told Mr Henley what I had expected to
see. He laughed very much, and said that it was fortunate they did not
run to the height I had supposed. He then told me that those we were
watching were generally not rising more than twenty feet, though,
occasionally, some attained an elevation of from twenty-two to
twenty-four feet. He calculated the height of the wave by first
estimating the height of our eyes above the water, and then the height
of the crest which intercepted the horizon.
A fortnight after leaving London the gale passed away, and the next
morning we sighted a high land to the south, which was announced to be
the island of Madeira. Latterly, we had made a good run of it. The
captain was for giving it a wide berth, but Dr Cuff made such strong
representations as to the condition of the passengers, that, with a very
bad grace, he stood towards it. Brightly the sun shone forth, and, with
a light breeze, we soon found ourselves enjoying a summer climate.
I was much struck with the extraordinary beauty of Funchal and the
surrounding country, as we brought up in the roads, which are on the
south side of the island. Before us, piled one upon another, were
numberless precipitous hills, separated by ravines, with houses,
churches, and public buildings perched on every accessible point, and
climbing up, as it were, from the sea-beach to a considerable height
above the water. On our left, on the summit of some rocks, were two
forts of somewhat ancient appearance, the guardians of the town, while
on the west was another fort of no very terrific aspect. But perhaps
the chief attraction of the landscape, next to the picturesque outline,
was its exquisitely varied tinting and colouring, and the ever-changeful
shadows which were cast over it by the passing clouds. White and bright
are the houses in the town, with their red tiles; and green and shining
are the quintas in the suburbs, with orange groves and coffee
plantations, extending far and wide up the hills to the height of 1500
feet or more. One of the most conspicuous objects, standing high above
the town, is the Church of Nossa Senhora do Monte--the Lady of the
Mount--a well-known landmark to heretics as well as Catholics. The
latter, however, offer up their vows while they look towards it as they
start on their voyage, and pay their tribute to it, if they have escaped
the perils to which they may have been exposed, on their return.
Dr Cuff, who had been there frequently before, told me that some of
the native residents had assured him that Nossa Senhora worked all sorts
of miracles. On one occasion a famine threatened the island. A
pilgrimage was accordingly made to the mount with great ceremony, to
entreat the beneficent lady to supply them with food. The very next
morning a vessel laden with corn arrived from Portugal. There could be
no doubt that the saint had had a hand in the matter. So said the
priests of the Church; and on examining her clothes, they were found to
be perfectly wet with salt water. The sailors, too--so it was said--
confirmed this statement by asserting that, while their vessel lay
becalmed, a white figure had risen suddenly out of the ocean, and towed
them into the roads. Of course, the truth of the miracle being thus
satisfactorily established, the Church gained immensely by it; and no
one thought of asking the sailors whether they really had seen the
figure towing them into harbour or not.
"The way any new miracle is managed is this," continued the doctor: "The
priests boldly assert that the saint has done some wonderful thing or
other, and then they tell another story, without any foundation in
truth, as a proof of the first. The credulous people go about and say
there can be no doubt as to such a miracle having been worked, because
so and so happened, whereas so and so never did happen. That reminds me
of the old story of the wicked baker having been seen by the crews of
several merchantmen anchored off Stromboli, in the Mediterranean, being
driven down the crater by a number of black imps. The proof adduced is,
that an action was brought by the widow of the old baker, who had died
at the time specified, against some of the maligners of her husband's
character. The case was tried before Lord Eldon, or some other learned
judge, who decided against the widow, in consequence of the exact
agreement of the logs of all the vessels as to the incident narrated.
The real state of the case is, that no trial took place, and that the
whole story is a complete fiction; yet I have heard people argue on the
subject with the greatest warmth, and bring forward the trial as a proof
that such an occurrence had taken place."
However, I must not repeat the numberless yarns I heard, or I shall not
have space for my own adventures. As soon as we had anchored, the
health-boat came off to us. She was a large, gaily-painted boat, manned
by a mahogany-coloured crew with red caps and sashes, and white shirts,
all jabbering away in very unpleasant-sounding Portuguese. As no one
had actually died on board, the passengers were allowed to go on shore;
but the captain warned them that, should a southerly wind spring up, he
would have instantly to put to sea, and that, should any of them not
have returned on board, they would lose their passages. Very few,
therefore, took advantage of the privilege. Meantime all the
passengers' bedding and clothes were got up on deck, and their berths
were well fumigated and dried with hanging stoves, and the whole space
they occupied thoroughly cleansed.
The great difficulty was to get the ship into better trim by heaving
overboard some of the ballast. Mr Henley exerted himself greatly to
get this done by shifting a little of the cargo at a time, so as to get
down to the ballast; but after all, very little could be done to remedy
the evil.
I was very anxious to get on shore, both for my own sake to see the
place, and also to give Solon the means of stretching his legs. I was
delighted, therefore, when Dr Cuff told me that he had obtained leave
for me to accompany him. We went in a shore boat. Dr Cuff advised me
always to make use of the boats belonging to a place, as more suited for
the purpose. He said that he had seen so many accidents occur in
consequence of officers despising this caution, and insisting on landing
without necessity in their own boats. An unexpected roller has come in
and turned them over and over, drowning all hands, while the odd-looking
and despised native boat has landed her passengers in perfect safety.
Away bounded Solon the moment he saw me fairly landed, scampering along
the sand, throwing it up and barking, and then hurrying back to me and
licking my hand, and leaping up over and over again, and then, in the
exuberance of his joy, away he went once more to repeat the same
manoeuvres.
Funchal struck me as a clean, well-paved town, built entirely of brick,
and free from mud and dust; indeed, from the steepness of the streets
and the constant supply of running water, it would be a disgrace if it
were not clean. I fancy that the English residents have contributed
much to effect this object. The streets are narrow, and thus shade is
obtained, a great object in a hot climate. The largest houses are
occupied by the merchants, whose stores of wine and other goods are on
the ground floor, they living in the upper rooms. The dress of the
peasants we met in the town on landing I thought very picturesque. The
cap, worn both by men and women, is like an inverted funnel, made of
blue cloth lined with red, and covers only the crown of the head. The
men have as little clothing as is consistent with decency,--a pair of
full linen drawers reaching to the knees, with a loose linen shirt, and
sometimes a jacket thrown over the shoulder, completes the costume of
most of them, stockings and shoes not being thought of. Some, however,
we saw with trousers and long yellow boots, turned over at the tops.
They were evidently the dandies of the population. The women appeared
in coloured petticoats, with a well-fitting bodice and a red cape. Some
wore handkerchiefs instead of the funnel cap, and others mantillas and
black hoods, by which the whole face and figure can be concealed. In
consequence of the steepness and hardness of the roads, wheeled vehicles
cannot be used, and a sort of sledge, a cart on runners, is employed
instead. In the town people who cannot walk are carried about in
palanquins, slung on a long pole, and borne on the shoulders of two men.
The passenger can sit upright in them; but as they are very heavy,
people travelling to any distance into the country use hammocks, or as
the natives call them _redes_, made of fine network, and also slung on a
single pole and borne by two men. With cushions arranged in them I can
fancy no more luxurious conveyance for an invalid, though for my part,
as I think exertion gives zest to travelling, I should prefer being
bumped on the back of a mule, or employing my own legs. As Dr Cuff was
anxious to return on board to look after his charges, we had not seen
much of the town.
Just before embarking we went into the counting-house of a merchant, to
whom the doctor happened to speak about me. While I was waiting outside
a gentleman came forward and invited me into an inner office, and told
me that he knew my father, and begged that I would remain with him till
the ship sailed. I could only say that I should like it very much, if
the captain would allow me.
"Oh, we will settle all that," he answered promptly. "We are the agents
of the owners here; he will not refuse us."
Still, I said that I must go back with the doctor, for I had determined
not in the slightest degree to disobey orders, notwithstanding any
excuse I might have to offer, and the captain had directed me to return
with the doctor.
My new friend thereupon gave me a letter containing his request, and
walked with us down to the beach. On the way, however, we met the
captain, and I was much amused with the deferential, almost servile,
manner in which he addressed the wealthy merchant, so different to the
rough blustering way in which he treated all on board.
As William Henley observed when I told him of it, "That man is very
different on blue water and on shore."
When Solon saw the captain he grew as sedate as a judge, and shrunk back
behind my heels, scarcely venturing to lift his eyes from the ground.
The captain instantly granted the merchant's request, with many polite
expressions, warning me to keep an eye on the weather, and to return
instantly at the slightest sign of a change of wind.
My adventures in Madeira were not very exciting; I shall, therefore, be
brief. Mr Marshall, my new friend, told me, however, much about the
place during our walk to his quinta, where I went to dine with him.
Madeira is situated between the thirty-second and thirty-third parallels
of north latitude. Its extreme length is about 33 miles, and its
greatest breadth 14, and it contains about 115,000 inhabitants. It was
well known to the ancients, and re-discovered by the Portuguese captain,
Zarco, sent out by the great Don Henry. Zarco was appointed governor of
the southern and western portion of the island, and Captain Vaz of the
northern and eastern. It afterwards, with the mother-country, fell
under the dominion of Spain, who ruled it, as she has invariably done
her foreign settlements, with cruelty and oppression; but at length, in
1640, under Don Joao IV, it was restored to Portugal, and the island
recovered its prosperity. For a short time in 1801 and 1807, the
English held it to protect it from the French. Mr Marshall told me an
interesting story about its early discovery. An Englishman, Robert
Machin, in the reign of Edward III, fell in love with a lady, Anna
D'Abret, whose father would not consent to his marriage with her. He at
length, however, succeeded in running off with her, and embarked in a
vessel, intending to proceed to France. He was, however, driven by a
storm to the southward, and the first land he saw was that of Madeira.
He having landed with the lady Anna and some of the ship's company, the
vessel was driven out to sea. Those who remained on shore underwent
great suffering, in consequence of which the lady died. Heartbroken
Machin, refusing all food, died also, desiring to be buried in the same
grave with her whose untimely end he had caused. The survivors escaping
in a boat, landed on the coast of Barbary, where they were made
prisoners by the Moors. Having related their adventures to a
fellow-prisoner, the information at length reached the ears of Goncalves
Zarco, who certainly brought the first news of the discovery of the
island to Europe. The tale, however, is doubted; but there is an air of
probability about it, which makes me fancy that it has its foundation in
truth, and I can no more speak of Madeira without thinking of the
unfortunate, high-born, and lovely Anna D'Abret, and the bold plebeian,
Robert Machin, than I can of the Mauritius, and forget Paul and
Virginia, or of Juan Fernandez, without believing that Robinson Crusoe
lived on it.
There was something particularly cool and pleasant in the appearance of
Mr Marshall's house. The rooms were large, the floors covered with
matting instead of carpets, and the furniture consisted chiefly of
cane-bottom sofas and chairs, while in front were shady verandahs with
banana trees, their long fan-like leaves waving before them, and
contributing, by their continual movement, to keep the air cool and
fresh.
The next morning Mr Marshall went on board, and ascertained that the
ship would not sail that day, unless compelled to do so by a shift of
wind, which was not likely to occur. He accordingly invited me to take
a ride with him and two other gentlemen to the Pico Grande, above the
Curral das Freiras, whence a superb view over a large portion of the
island is obtained. We were mounted on small horses active as goats.
Each horse was attended by a _burroquero_, literally a donkey driver.
They were fine athletic fellows, armed with a _rabo_, a cow's tail at
the end of a stick, to flick off the venomous flies which worry both
animals and riders. They carried also cloaks and umbrellas, to shield
their masters from cold and mist. We rode out of the town between walls
covered in profusion with heliotropes, roses, geraniums, fuchsias, and
other sweet-smelling flowers, often having trellises of vines completely
closing over our heads for many yards together, while here and there
were _mirantes_, or summer-houses, literally _Gaze-out-of-places_, very
properly so called, for they were filled with ladies, and often
gentlemen, who seemed to have nothing else to do than to watch the
passers-by all day. The road for some way was not bad, being paved with
stones set edgeways and tolerably even. Solon followed us with great
gravity, looking up at the mongrel curs which ran along the tops of the
quinta walls, barking and yelping in tones sufficiently loud to crack
the drums of our ears. Never before had I seen views so varied and
beautiful of mountains, and round hills, and precipitous cliffs, and
rugged peaks, green plantations, vineyards, orangeries, white buildings,
deep valleys and gouges, and the blue sea beyond, all forming the
setting to the picture. The first place we stopped at was the little
church of the Estreito, the padre of which, habited in a gay robe,
invited us to take a view of the surrounding scenery from the top of his
tower. When three thousand feet above the sea, we found ourselves
surrounded by a grove of Spanish chestnuts, at the habitation of the
late consul, Mr Veitch, a lovely spot, the house in the Italian style.
It is called the Jardin. In the grounds the chief varieties of tea
cultivated in China are grown, as well as many other rare and curious
plants. Mounting higher and higher, we reached at last the Curral das
Freiras. Girls surrounded us begging, and men and boys offering us
sticks to ascend to the Pico.
"Stay," said Mr Marshall, after we got off our steeds, and leading us
over the green sward, we stood at the edge of a precipice nearly 5000
feet above the blue ocean.
It was difficult at first to distinguish the numberless objects which
appeared before us, far, far away below our feet. Gradually, however,
sky and sea as it were separated, woods and fields, and hills and
valleys, and convents and churches, and quintas and cottages, came out,
and colours divided themselves, and the wonderful landscape, in all its
beautiful variety, appeared before us. Still every object was
diminished so much, that even the Church of Libramento, which is itself
situated 2000 feet above the sea, appeared but a small speck at the
bottom of a huge basin. After enjoying the scene for some time we were
summoned to proceed, and higher still we went, round and round by
winding paths, superb views bursting on our sight each instant, for an
hour or more, till we reached the foot of the _Pico Grande_, higher than
which our four-footed beasts could not go. However, one of my
companions and I, with a guide, climbed to the very top of the Pico, and
such a view as that of mountain, valley, and blue laughing ocean, I had
never before beheld. On one side was the _Pico Huivo_, the embattled
_Torrinhas_, the rugged _Sidrao_ and _Arnero_; and on the other, the
long unbroken ridge of Paul with the Terra d'Agoa, clothed in an
evergreen mantle of forest far below it. Our burroqueros had brought on
their shoulders some baskets of provisions, off which we made a capital
luncheon. I could not help wishing all the time that Herbert and Henry
Raymond could have been with me--they would have so enjoyed the scenery;
for though Solon seemed to think it all very good fun, he evidently
would have said that the luncheon was the best part of the expedition.
We got back much faster than we went up, for our horses were far less
inclined to stop to allow us to admire the views. Somehow or other, one
is always influenced, even in that respect, by the animal one bestrides:
Madeira may be said to consist of a mass of mountains, the highest
points of which rise in a central ridge. Cliffs varying in height from
100 to 2000 feet form the coast boundary of the island. On the north
they are the highest and most abrupt, while on the south they are lower
and more accessible. The central mountains branch down to the sea in
ridges parted by deep ravines, in some places full of dark forests,
adding to their gloomy grandeur. The towns are generally situated in
the more open parts of these ravines. From the tops of the mountains
the sea can be discovered on all sides; but this adds to the grandeur of
the prospect, as a person cannot but experience a feeling of awe when he
considers that he is thus perched aloft, as it were, on a mere point in
the centre of the vast Atlantic. I have only described one of the many
very interesting excursions which may be made in Madeira. I should
think it must be a delightful place in which to spend a winter, and I
wonder more people do not go there. My friend described the Portuguese
inhabitants as the most polite and good-natured of all the people with
whom he ever had any intercourse; and as provisions are plentiful and
cheap, and the voyage can be performed in a week, I am surprised it is
not more frequented.
I thought it prudent to go on board that night, and fortunately I did
so, for at daybreak the next morning the captain ordered a gun to be
fired, the anchor to be hove up, and sail to be made. There was but
little wind, so a boat-load of passengers who had slept on shore had
just time half-dressed to reach the ship before she stood out of the
bay. Of course it was provoking to have to lose so much of a fair
breeze, but the ship was, I found, very far from being in a proper
condition to put to sea. We were to prove the proverb true, that "too
much haste is bad speed."
The condition of the passengers was somewhat improved, but still there
had not been time thoroughly to clean and dry their berths, or to wash
their clothes, while the decks were in want of caulking, and very little
of the superabundant ballast had been removed. Mr Henley had been
working very hard with those under him, but Mr Grimes declared that he
did not consider that the matter was of any consequence, and would do
nothing. Three or four days more spent in making the required
alterations would have prevented much after-suffering. It was some
hours before we sunk the lofty eminences of Madeira below the horizon.
I have hitherto said very little about my shipmates. The men were
mostly a rough set, now brought together for the first time, and without
that confidence which long acquaintance gives either in their officers
or in each other. Without being unduly familiar, I was on good terms
with most of them. I had done my very utmost to gain a knowledge of
everything about the ship, and had thus kept the respect which I at
first had gained, before they found out that I was really a greenhorn.
I now knew so much that I did not fear having to ask them questions, and
I thus quickly became versed in all the mysteries of knotting and
splicing, and numberless other details of a seaman's work. I found,
however, that many of the older sailors had a very rough and imperfect
way of doing those ordinary things, and that some of the younger ones,
who had been brought up under a better system, did them in a superior
style, and far more expeditiously.
My most willing instructor was an oldish man, John Spratt by name;
Johnny Spratt he was generally called. He was very short and very fat.
It was a wonder how he could get aloft as rapidly as he did; but no man
stepped more lightly along the decks. He also said the reason of that
was that his heart was so light. In spite of the rubs he received, he
was the merriest, and apparently the happiest fellow on board; nothing
put him out. He was very independent in his manner, and had gained the
ill-will of the captain and first mate, as well as of the boatswain and
some of the men. "Though I get more kicks than halfpence, what are the
odds?" he was wont to say. "My fat shields my bones, and I've got quite
used to such compliments." In some ships Johnny would have been valued
and made much of, from his sterling qualities--on board the _Orion_ he
was despised and ill-treated. He and Solon took a great liking to each
other, and I knew that if he was on deck my dog would be watched by him
and protected.
I could not manage to make companions of my messmates Sills and Broom.
Their education was very limited, and the few ideas they possessed were
frequently erroneous. Sills was not ill-natured, though weak, and
easily led by anybody who would take the trouble to lead him. Broom I
found at times surly and quarrelsome, and inclined always to grumble.
However, as I had been a good many years at school, and had often met
similar characters, though my school-fellows were more refined, I knew
pretty well how to deal with him.
There was a great deal of bullying and tyranny going on on board from
the very first. The captain and mates, except Mr Henley, bullied the
men, and the men bullied the boys, and the boys bullied each other, and
teased the dumb animals, the pigs, and the goats, and the fowls, and a
monkey--the weakest, or the best natured, as usual, going to the wall.
The worst treated was a little fellow--Tommy Bigg by name. His size was
strongly in contrast to his cognomen--for his age he was one of the
smallest fellows I ever saw. He was nearly fifteen years old, I fancy--
he might even have been more, but he was a simple-minded, quiet-mannered
lad, and from the expression of his countenance, independent of his
size, he looked much younger. He had no friends, having been sent on
board the ship from the workhouse when she was first fitted out. He had
belonged to her ever since, having remained to assist the ship keeper in
sweeping her out, and looking after her when he had to leave her. He
had never, I believe, set foot on shore since the first moment he had
been sent on board. He was as cheap to keep as a dog, and was as
vigilant and more useful, and he got dog's fare, and received dogs
thanks--more kicks than halfpence. He had no parents and no friends.
His father, he told me, was a sailor; and as he had gone away some years
ago, and never come back, it was supposed that he had been lost at sea.
He had a fond recollection of his father as the only being who had ever
cared for him, and he remembered how he used to carry him in his arms,
and jump with him, and bring him all sorts of curious things to play
with, and how he kissed him and wept when he had to go away again to
sea. Tommy had been left in charge of a poor woman, who treated him
very kindly, but she died, and no news coming of his father, he had been
sent to the workhouse of the parish to which one of the owners of the
_Orion_ belonged. Through him Tommy was sent on board to fight his way
onward in the world. Under Captain Seaford his life had been happy
enough--now it was very much the contrary; and poor Tommy, when kicked
and cuffed without mercy, often in his misery threatened that he would
jump overboard and drown himself, and that his ghost would ever after
haunt the ship. I heard him one day make the threat, and at once spoke
to him on the subject, showing him that it was wicked even to threaten
to do so, although he might not intend to commit the act; but much more
horrible would it be actually to destroy his life, because he would have
to appear in the presence of an offended God without having the
possibility of repenting and seeking for forgiveness for one of the
greatest crimes a man can commit--murder--self-murder being of equal
magnitude with it. Tommy listened very attentively; a new light seemed
to beam upon him--he had evidently not considered the subject in that
way, and in very thoughtlessness might have thrown himself overboard. I
had early in the voyage observed the poor lad, and taken an interest in
him from his seeming youth and helplessness; and I resolved, as far as I
had the power, to stand his friend, and to protect him from the cruelty
of his messmates--with what result was to be seen. When on deck, if I
observed a seaman about to bestow the end of a rope or a kick on him, I
sharply hailed either one or the other, and gave some order, which for
the time prevented the punishment, but I fear Tommy seldom failed to
receive it when my back was turned.
There are numberless objects to be observed at sea, if people do but
know how to appreciate them. Dr Cuff pointed out many to me; and one
of the passengers, a clergyman, when he found that I took a deep
interest in such matters, showed me many others. Just before entering
the trade-wind region we observed several whales sporting round the
ship. Directly afterwards we found ourselves in a shoal of medusas or
jellyfish. The least diameter the scientific men on board assigned to
the shoal was from thirty to forty miles; and, supposing that there was
only one jelly-fish in every ten square feet of surface, there must have
been 225,000,000 of them, without calculating those below the surface.
They moved by sucking in the water at one end of the lobe, and expelling
it at the other. When I watched them I said they put me in mind of a
white silk parasol opening and shutting. Dr Cuff had a powerful
microscope, through which he examined one of the stomachs of the
medusae. It was found to be full of diatoms, which are flinty-shelled
microscopic animals of every variety of shape, such as stars, crosses,
semicircles, and spirals--yet soft as are the jelly-fish, they can
consume them. This one medusa had in its stomach no less than seven
hundred thousand diatoms, so that it would be rather difficult to
compute how many the whole shoal consumed for their dinner--they in
their turn having to be eaten by the huge whales.