officer of superior rank, living with the lieutenants and surgeon.
There was another officer, called the master, who also ranked with the
lieutenants. He had charge of the navigation of the ship.
When the ship was completely fitted out, a body of soldiers called
marines, under the command of a lieutenant, came on board. There was
also one cabin full of young gentlemen, called midshipmen, their ages
varying from thirteen up to five or six-and-twenty; with them, however,
were the captain's and purser's clerks, and master's assistants, and
assistant surgeons. They had two or three boys to attend on them. Ben
was very glad that he was not selected for the duty, as the young
gentlemen were frequently somewhat thoughtless in the way they treated
the boys.
Above all the rest was the captain, who was answerable to no one on
board; but he was bound by certain laws laid down for his guidance, and,
if he broke any of them, would have to explain the reason to the
Government at home, administered by the Board of Admiralty.
Ben soon understood that all these people could not live together in
harmony, nor the ship be properly managed, without prompt and exact
obedience to all laws and orders. The captain must obey the laws--the
articles of war, as they are called--and the rules and regulations of
the service, and all the officers and men the orders issued by those
above them.
One of the last things done was to bend the sails, that is, to stretch
them out on the yards; and the men were then exercised in furling them,
which means, rolling them up; in again loosing them; and in reefing,
that is, reducing their size by rolling up only a portion of each sail.
At length, the ship being ready for sea, she sailed out to Spithead. As
Ben, who was on the forecastle with Tom Martin, saw her gliding through
the water for the first time, like a stately swan, he felt very proud of
belonging to her, though he was nearly the youngest boy on board, and of
the least consequence. "So I am," he said to himself, recollecting
this; "but still, though I am but small, I can do as well as I am able
whatever I am set to do; that, at all events, will be doing right." Ben
thought rightly that no one is too young or too insignificant to do his
best in whatever he is set to do, never mind what that doing may be.
The powder was received on board, and until it was stowed carefully away
in the magazine, all lights were extinguished. If people were as
careful to avoid sin and its consequences as sailors are to avoid
blowing up their ship, how different would be the world from what it is!
Yet how far more sad are the consequences of sin!
A few more stores and provisions came off; so did the captain. Blue
Peter was hoisted [see note 1]; all visitors were ordered out of the
ship; despatches and letters for many distant places she was expected to
visit were received; the anchor was hove up to the merry sound of the
fife as the seamen tramped round and round the capstan, and, her canvas
being spread to the wind, she glided majestically onward, her voyage now
fairly commenced.
The wind was fair, and the frigate quickly ran down Channel, and took
her departure from the Lizard, one of the south-western points of
England. She had a wide extent of ocean before her to traverse, and
many weeks would pass before land would be again sighted. Still, the
master, with the aid of the compass, his sextant, and chronometer, was
able to steer his course with as much certainty as if land had been all
the time in sight.
Martin told Ben, jokingly, that the object of the sextant was to shoot
the stars and the sun; but Ben found that it was to measure the height
of the sun above the horizon, and the distance of certain stars from
each other. The chronometer, he learned, was a large watch made to keep
exact time, so that the time in London was known wherever the ship went.
Ben saw another instrument, a reel with a long line and a triangular
piece of board at the end of it. The line was divided into twelve or
more parts; the end with the board attached was thrown overboard, and,
as the line ran out, a seaman held up a little sand-glass shaped like an
hour-glass. By it the number of knots or divisions run out were easily
measured, and the number of miles the ship sailed over in one hour was
ascertained, and the distance made good each day calculated. Ben looked
at the compass with the greatest respect, and was much pleased when Mr
Martin, the boatswain, could take him and Tom aft to explain its use to
them, and to show them how the ship was steered. As they were not
officers, they could not go when they liked to that part of the ship,
only when they were sent to perform some piece of duty.
Ben seldom exchanged a word with Mr Charlton, who, however, never
failed when he passed to give him a kind glance of the eye, to show him
that he was not forgotten. This made him feel happy and contented.
People of all ages feel thus when they know that a kind friend is
looking after them. How much more, then, should Christians feel happy
and contented when they know that their Father in heaven, the kindest of
friends, and at the same time the most powerful, who never slumbers nor
sleeps, is ever watching over them to guard them from all evil; and that
if He allows what the world calls a misfortune to overtake them, it is
for their real good.
Ben soon learned all about a ship, for, having been from his childhood
on the water, things were not so strange to him as they are to a boy who
had come from some inland place with, as Tom said, the hay-seed in his
hair. He was as active and intelligent and daring as any of the boys in
the ship, not only of his own size, but of those much bigger and older.
Though also he had his duties in the gun-room to attend to, he learned
to go aloft, and to furl and reef sails, and to knot and splice, and to
perform many other tasks required of sailors. He made many friends,
too, among the best men and the petty officers, for he was always
obliging and ready to serve any one he could in a lawful way; but any
one who had asked Ben to do what he knew to be wrong would have found
him very far from obliging.
Day after day the frigate sailed on over a smooth ocean, it being
scarcely necessary to alter a sail, but the crew were not idle; the ship
had to be got into perfect order below, and there was much painting, and
cleaning, and scrubbing; then the men were exercised in reefing and
furling sails, and going through all the operations necessary to bring
the ship to an anchor. Though no gale threatened, topgallant masts and
their yards were sent down on deck, and everything was made snug, so
that they might quickly make the proper preparations when one should
come on. The men were also daily exercised at the guns. To each gun a
particular crew was attached, who cast it loose, went through all the
movements of loading and firing over and over again, and then once more
secured it. Sometimes powder was fired, and, whenever there was a calm,
an empty cask with a target on it was towed off some way from the ship,
and shot were fired at it.
On several occasions, in the middle of the night perhaps, that dreadful
sound of the fire-bell was heard, and then the men sprang into their
clothes--each man going to his proper station; the fire-buckets were
filled, the pumps manned, and all stood ready to obey the orders of
their officers to meet the danger. "Very well, my men; you were quickly
at your stations," cried the captain. "Pipe down." The men then
returned to their hammocks. Really there was no fire, but they were
summoned to their posts that, in case a fire should take place, they
might be cool and collected, and know exactly what to do. This was very
different from "calling wolf," because a sailor _must_ obey whatever
signal is made to him or order given by his superior, without stopping
to consider why it is issued. When the drum beats to quarters, he must
fly to his station, though he knows perfectly well that no enemy is
near.
One day Ben and Tom, with the gunner, the purser's steward, and the
sergeant of marines, were seated in the boatswain's cabin to enjoy what
he called a little social and religious conversation. All the party
were above the average in intelligence. This was shown by their having
risen from their original position. Various subjects had been
discussed.
"To my mind, as I have often said, a ship is just like a little world,"
observed Mr Martin, who had some clear notions on many matters. "Every
man in it has his duty to do, and if he doesn't do it, not only he, but
others, suffer. It is not his business to be saying, Why am I to do
this? Why am I to do that? It's the law in the articles of war, or the
rules and regulations of the service; that's enough. If you join the
service, you must obey those rules. It's your business, though, to
learn what they are. Now, that's just the same when a man becomes a
Christian. He mustn't do what he would like to do according to the
natural man; but he must learn Christ's laws, and try and obey them.
Just see how the men on board a man-of-war are practised and exercised
in all sorts of ways to make them good seamen. Here they are, from
morning till night, exercising at the guns, shortening sail, reefing
topsails, drilling with the small-arms, mustering at divisions, going to
quarters, and fifty other things; and though sometimes they don't like
the work, it's all for their good and the good of the service, and to
enable them to support the honour and glory of our country. Just in the
same way, I've often thought, God manages us human creatures. We are
sent into the world to fit us to become His subjects; we are exercised
and practised in all sorts of ways, and, though we often think the way
very hard, we may be sure that it is for our good, and, what is more, to
fit us to support His honour and glory."
"I never saw the matter in that light before," observed Mr Thomson, the
gunner. "I've often thought how there came to be so much pain and
sorrow in the world, and how so many things go wrong in it."
"Why, look ye here, Thomson, just for this cause, because men don't obey
God's laws," exclaimed Mr Martin. "Adam and Eve broke them first, and
their children have been breaking them ever since. Sin did it all.
What would become of us aboard here, if the ship, however well-built she
might be, was badly fitted out at first, and if we all were constantly
neglecting our duty and disobeying orders? Why, we should pretty soon
run her ashore, or founder, or blow her up, or, if we met an enemy, have
to haul down our flag."
The sergeant and purser's steward, who were both serious-minded men,
though not much enlightened, agreed heartily with Mr Martin; and Ben
learned many an important lesson from listening from time to time to
their conversation.
Their example had also a very good effect on the ship's company
generally; there was far less swearing and quarrelling and bad
conversation than in many ships; for even the best of men-of-war are
very far from what they should be. In course of time three or four of
the men met together regularly for prayer, reading the Scriptures, and
mutual instruction; and by degrees others joined them. As they were
very anxious to have a place where they could meet free from
interruption, Mr Martin allowed them the use of his storeroom, which,
though the spot was dark and close, they considered a great privilege.
He also occasionally united with them, and came oftener and oftener,
until he always was present unless prevented by his duty. Ben gladly
accompanied him, and he also took Tom with him; who, however, did not
appear to value the advantage, for he was generally found fast asleep in
a corner at the end of the meeting.
Altogether the Ajax was a happy ship. On one important point the
widow's prayers for her son were heard, and Ben was kept out of the
temptations and the influence of bad example to which poor sailor boys
are so often exposed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1. A blue flag so called; it gives notice that the ship is about
to sail.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
AMONG THE ICEBERGS.
Ben found the weather growing hotter and hotter as the ship approached
the line, which Mr Martin told him was not really a line, but only a
circle supposed to be drawn round the widest part of the globe, and
where the sun at noon appears directly overhead. Still no one was much
the worse for the heat; and gradually, as the ship sailed farther south,
the weather became cooler and cooler, till it was as cold as it is in
the winter in England; and Ben learned that the frigate was approaching
the southern pole. She was then to sail round--not the pole, but a vast
headland called Cape Horn; and on the other side, that is to say, to the
west of it, to enter the wide Pacific Ocean. Ben had shown so much
intelligence, and had made himself so generally useful, that Mr
Charlton had placed him in a watch, that he might learn to do his duty
by night as well as by day.
Scarcely had the ship's head been turned to the west than heavy weather
came on. The seas rolled in vast watery heights one after the other in
quick succession, so that no sooner had the frigate risen to the foaming
summit of one high wave, than she sank down into the other, surrounded
by dark, watery precipices, which looked as if they must break on board
and overwhelm her. Ben, as he stood on the deck of the big ship of
which he had become so proud, and watched the succession of the
mountainous seas on every side, felt how insignificant she was, how
helpless were all on board, unless trusting in the protection of God.
Now she would slowly climb up the top of a huge sea; there she would
remain, other seas following and seeming to chase the one on which she
rode; then down again she would glide into the valley, once more to rise
to the crest of another sea. If the spectacle was grand and awful in
the daytime, much more so was it at night, when the ship went rushing on
into darkness, no one knowing what she was to encounter ahead. The
danger was not only imaginary, but real, for she was already in the
latitude of icebergs, which, at that season of the year, float far away
north from their original positions.
The captain had charged all on deck to keep a very sharp look-out, and
Mr Charlton had said to Ben, "You have as bright a pair of eyes as
anybody on board. Keep them wide open, and if you see anything like a
glimmer of light through the darkness, and feel the cold greater than
before, sing out sharply, there will be an iceberg ahead."
Ben resolved to do as he was told, but he did not think it likely that a
little fellow like himself could be of much use. He would naturally
have been very much alarmed had he been by himself in such a position,
but he saw every one round him cool and collected, and he therefore felt
free from fear. The four hours of his watch had nearly expired. He had
been all the time peering into the darkness, thinking more than once
that he saw what he had been told to look out for. Mr Martin and three
or four of the best men in the ship were on the forecastle with him, all
likewise looking out. Suddenly he saw what appeared like a huge sheet
shaken before him by invisible hands, and a chill struck his cheek.
This was what he was to look for. He sang out lustily, "An iceberg
ahead--right ahead!"
"Starboard the helm!" sang out a voice from aft; and at those words the
sheets and traces were flattened aft, while every man on deck flew to
his post. In another instant the stout ship would have been a helpless
wreck, foundering under the base of a huge iceberg. There was no space
to spare. Foaming, roaring seas were seen dashing against its sides as
the toiling frigate ploughed her way past it, near enough, Mr Martin
said, to heave a biscuit on it. Some minutes passed before any one
breathed freely; the danger had been so great and terrible that it was
difficult to believe that it had passed away.
"You deserve well of us, Ben; and, depend on it, the captain and Mr
Charlton are not likely to overlook what you have done," said Mr
Martin. "Though I had my eyes wide open, I did not see the berg till
some seconds after you had sung out; and in a touch-and-go matter, a few
seconds makes all the difference whether a ship is saved or lost."
There was great danger as the ship sailed on, with the seas on her side,
of their breaking on board, and she was therefore once more kept away
before the wind. The watch was called, and Ben turned in. All those
now on deck kept their eyes very wide open, watching for another
iceberg, which it was likely they might meet with. Ben in his hammock
slept soundly; he had prayed, and commended himself and all with him to
his heavenly Father's protection. "If the ship should sink, I may awake
and find myself with Him; but why should I fear? He will, I know,
receive me graciously, and I shall meet my dear father and brothers with
Him." And with such thoughts the Christian sailor boy dropped asleep.
For several days the ship ran on, the captain hauling up gradually to
the north as the weather moderated. Her course was then somewhat
easterly, and after some time a report ran through the ship that land
might any hour be seen on the starboard bow; that is to say, on the
right side. It was said that, on such occasions, the person who first
discovered land often received the reward of a sovereign, or half a
sovereign; and when Ben heard this, he became very anxious to obtain it.
He had been the first to see the iceberg, why should he not be the
first to see land? He was afraid, however, that his chance was small,
as he had his duties in the gun-room to attend to, and he could seldom
get away long enough at a time to go to the masthead. Still he
determined to try. One thing struck him as very wonderful, that, after
sailing on so many weeks, and not having once seen land, the officer
should be able to tell the exact spot at which they should arrive, and
the time within a few hours.
The place for which the frigate was bound is called Valparaiso, in the
republic of Chili. She was, after leaving it, to go in search of the
admiral on the station, and then to proceed on her voyage across the
Pacific Ocean. Mr Martin told Ben and Tom that the Pacific is full of
groups of islands, some of them of considerable size, with lofty
mountains on them; others composed of coral, many of them measuring not
a mile from one end to the other, and raised but a few feet above the
surface of the ocean.
"Ah, among so many, what chance shall I have of finding Ned?" sighed
Ben.
"Why, as to chance, my boy, about as much chance as finding a needle in
a bundle of hay," answered Mr Martin. "But I thought, Ben, you knew
better than to talk of chance. If your brother is alive,--and you
shouldn't count too much upon that,--if it's God's will that you should
find him, you will; but, if not, though we should visit fifty islands,--
and I daresay we shall see more than that number,--you won't."
"I know, I know. I don't mean chance. Not a sparrow falls to the
ground but God sees it; but I mean that, among so many islands, it is
less likely that the frigate should visit the one where Ned may be."
"As I said before, if God means you to find your brother, even though
there were ten times as many islands as there are, and the ship was only
to visit twenty of them, or ten, or five of them, or only one for that
matter, you will find him. All you have to do is to trust in God that
He'll do what is best."
"Yes, I know that," said Ben. "Father always used to say, `Do right,
whatever comes of it.' God will take care that good will come out of it
in the end."
CHAPTER EIGHT.
DO RIGHT, WHATEVER COMES OF IT.
"Land! land!" shouted little Ben, from the foretop-masthead; for he had
been out of his hammock and aloft before break of day, that he might
have the best opportunity of seeing land if it was to be seen. "Yes,
yes, that must be the land; those are tops of mountains covered with
snow, just what Mr Martin told me might be seen before sunrise. Land!
land! away on the starboard bow!" he shouted more loudly.
The officer of the watch heard him, and was soon, with his telescope
slung over his shoulder, ascending the rigging. Ben pointed out the
direction in which he saw the snow-capped peaks.
"You have a sharp pair of eyes, boy Hadden," observed the officer, who
was looking through his glass; "those are the Andes or Cordilleras, sure
enough, though seventy miles off at least--it may be many more than
that."
Ben thought that he must indeed have a sharp pair of eyes, if he could
see an object seventy miles off; yet he found that the officer was
correct. All the men aloft now saw the mountains, and very soon they
could be perceived by those on deck. Shortly after the sun rose,
however, thin and light mists ascended, and veiled them from view.
Still the ship sailed on with a fair breeze, hour after hour, and no
land appeared. Ben began to fancy that he must have been mistaken. He
was somewhat surprised, therefore, when he was sent for into the
captain's cabin.
"I find that you were the first to see land this morning, boy Hadden,"
said the captain in a kind tone. "There is no great merit in that, but
after a long passage it might be of much consequence, and I wish to
reward you. You, however, rendered me a far greater service when you
discovered the iceberg rounding Cape Horn. I shall not forget that. In
the meantime I present you with a sovereign, to show you that I approve
of your conduct on that and other occasions."
Ben, thanking the captain, left the cabin, highly pleased at the praise
he had received, and very glad also to get the sovereign; not that he
might spend it on himself, but that he might send it home to his mother;
and he had some notion that he could do so by some means or other, but
how, he could not tell. He would consult Mr Martin.
"Oh, it was to get that gold sovereign which made you so eager about
going aloft of late," observed Tom, who was somewhat jealous of his
companion.
"Yes. I wanted it to send to my mother," answered Ben quietly.
"But she can't want it. I never send my mother anything, nor does
father, that I know of," exclaimed Tom. "Much better, Ben, to spend it
like a man ashore. We could have rare fun with it, depend on that."
"My mother is a widow, and that is one reason why she should want the
money, though yours doesn't," said Ben. "Then, though I came to sea in
the hope of finding Ned, I also came that I might get money to take care
of mother in her old age; so I think it right to send her the first
sovereign I have got, and I hope that it will be followed by many more."
"You are always talking about doing right in this thing and that; but
how do you know what is right?" exclaimed Tom, vexed at the idea that he
should not benefit, as he thought he ought to do, by the gift his
messmate had received.
"How can you ask that?" said Ben. "Haven't we got the Bible to show us
in the first place, and if we can't make up our minds clearly on the
matter from it, which, I allow, is possible, then cannot we pray to be
guided aright? and does not God promise that He will hear our prayers,
and send the Holy Spirit to guide us?"
"Yes, I know all that," answered Tom, turning away. In truth, Tom ought
to have known it as well as Ben, for his father had frequently told him
the same; but, though he had heard, the words had passed from one ear
out at the other: he had not taken them in.
Early in the day the master had stated the hour at which the coast-line
of South America would be seen; for the mountains Ben had discovered are
several miles inland, and are many thousand feet high--indeed, the range
of the Andes is one of the highest in the world. It now appeared at the
hour the master said it would, standing up rocky and broken, from the
very margin of the ocean. As the frigate drew nearer, the land looked
very dry and barren, and utterly unworthy of the name it bears.
"If you were to see it in winter, just after the rains are over, you
would speak very differently of it," observed Mr Martin, who had been
there before. "Never judge of things, and, above all, of countries, at
first sight. At the right time this country looks as green and fresh
and beautiful a country as you need ever wish to see."
In the afternoon the frigate anchored in the bay of Valparaiso, which is
lined by lofty hills, underneath one of which, and climbing up the
sides, the town is built.