The craft on board which Toby Bluff and I so unexpectedly found
ourselves was a lugger, as I discovered by perceiving her yards lying
fore and aft along the decks. It was evident that her sails had been
lowered when the squall came on, and so she had not been observed as the
frigate shot by in the darkness. Owing to this circumstance our lives
had in all probability been saved. Not that I thought about that at the
time; on the contrary, from the fierce looks of our captors, I fancied
that they were going to knock us on the head, and I wished that we were
safe back on our raft again. Toby seemed to feel much as I did.
"Oh, Muster Merry! be these here fellows going to eat us?" he asked in a
tone of alarm.
"I hope not, Toby," I answered. "If they take us, buttons and all, we
shall stick in their throats, that's one comfort. However, we will try
and put a good face on the matter, and, whatever happens, we won't be
cast down; only I hope they will not treat us as we have often treated
miller's-thumbs, and throw us into the water again."
While Toby and I were exchanging remarks, the Frenchmen were talking to
each other and occasionally asking us questions, I supposed; but as we
did not understand a word of each other's language, neither party was
much the wiser. I looked about me. The lugger's decks were crowded
with men, and she had several guns cast loose, ready for action. She
was, there could be no doubt, a privateer. I knew that the crews of
such vessels were often composed of the worst and most unscrupulous of
characters, and I expected nothing very pleasant at their hands. At
last the captain, who had been looking out forward at our ship, came up
to us.
"So, you one little officer of dat frigate dere," he observed.
"Yes," said I, rather proudly; "I have that honour."
"Sa--!" He gave forth a particularly unpleasant sound from his throat,
"You betes Anglish, you send my wessel to bottom last cruise, and sixty
of my braves-garcons wid her. I vow I send every Anglishman I catch to
look for them. S-a-a--."
He looked so vicious that I thought he would execute his threat
forthwith. I did my best, however, to put on a bold front.
"Whereabouts did this happen, Monsieur?" I asked quite coolly.
"Some twenty leagues to eastward dere," he answered, looking hard at me.
"And which way is the tide making," I inquired. I happened to have
heard the master observe just before I went aloft, that the tide had
only then made to the westward.
"It is vat you call ebb," said the French captain.
"Then you see, monsieur, that there is no use throwing us overboard just
now, because we should drift away to the westward, and your late vessel
and crew must be somewhere to the eastward," said I, as boldly as I
could, though I had no little difficulty in getting out the words.
"Ah! you von Jack-a-napes, you von poule--littel fighting coc, I see,"
he remarked in an altered tone. "Vell, you stay aboard; you sweep my
cabin; you like dat better dan drown."
"Certainly, monsieur, very much better," said I, considerably relieved;
"I shall be very happy to serve you in any way I can, consistent with my
honour, and perhaps you'll let this boy here help me?"
"Bah, no!" answered the captain, giving a contemptuous glance at poor
Toby. "He only fit to sweep out de fore hold."
I saw that it would not be wise to say anything more, so I held my
tongue.
The captain said a few words to the men, and while one led poor Toby
forward, another conducted me towards the companion-hatch. Toby turned
an imploring look at me, and struggled violently.
"Oh, Muster Merry! Muster Merry, they be a-going to cut our throats and
heave us overboard. I know they bees; but don't let them do it till I
comes to be with ee," he cried out. "Don't ee, now, Muster; don't ee."
Poor Toby, finding that he could not get loose, began kicking and
struggling, and shouting at the top of his voice. This seemed to afford
infinite amusement to the Frenchmen, who imitated him; but, in spite of
all his efforts, dragged him forward. I, in the meantime, was taken
aft, and had just reached the companion-hatch, down which the men were
going to thrust me, when the captain came running along the deck,
shouting out to his crew. My captors let go of me. In an instant, the
halliards, tacks, and sheets were manned; sail was rapidly made; and,
two or more reefs having been taken in, away we stood, close-hauled as
near to the north-west as the wind would allow. I soon learned the
reason of this proceeding. To my great joy, on looking eastward, I
discovered the frigate looming through the darkness, about half gun-shot
distance from us. Whether the lugger was seen by those on board or not
was a question. I rather suspected that Captain Collyer had stood back
to look for Toby and me, though it was almost as hopeless as looking for
a needle in a bundle of hay, I felt very sure that he would search for
us, and that he would rather lose the chance of capturing the schooner
than lose us; indeed, I hope that there are not many naval officers who
would not have done the same. I anxiously watched the Doris, to see
what she would do. The Frenchmen very naturally believed that she was
coming after them. While the men were flattening in the sheets, Toby
made his escape, and came up to me.
"Oh, Muster Merry, who be these people? Where be they taking us to?
What be they going to do to us?" he asked in a subdued, frightened tone.
"Never mind," said I, "_look there_."
I pointed to the frigate, which, as far as I could judge, seeing her
through the darkness, had three reefs down in her topsails, and was
standing towards us, heeling over to the gale.
"Hurra!" shouted Toby, "All right now; she'll soon be sending this here
craft to the bottom. Hurra!"
"Very likely," said I. "But we, perhaps, shall have to go with her,
and, just now, the less noise we make the better, or the Frenchmen may
be sending us below." Toby was silent.
No sooner were the lugger's sails hoisted than she was perceived, and in
half a minute, to set the matter at rest, a shot from a thirty-nine
pounder came flying between the masts. Toby ducked his head. He saw,
however, that I did not move mine. I had had so many flying about my
ears the night we took the Chevrette that I had got quite accustomed to
them. Another shot came, and Toby's head did not move, as far as I
could see. I dare say he blinked his eyes a little; but, as it was
dark, I am not certain. It was a trial to our nerves, for the shot
whistled near our shoulders, and, though we could not help feeling proud
of our shipmates' gunnery practice, we would rather that they had not
aimed so well.
"I say, Toby, if, like the boatswain's acquaintance, you get my head on
your shoulders, be honest; don't go and pass yourself off for me," I
observed.
"Lor, Muster Merry, I wouldn't so for to go to forget myself," he
answered.
His tone, more than the words, made me burst into a fit of laughter.
"You garcon not laugh long," observed the captain, as he hurried aft to
take a look at the compass. "You merry now, you cry soon."
"I'll laugh while I can; it's my nature to be merry, captain," I
answered, determined to appear as brave as possible. "But I say,
captain, what does that big ship want you to do?"
"Ah you von little rogue," he answered, less angrily than I might have
expected; "you go below, or you get head knock off."
"Thank you," said I. "But I may have to go lower than I like if I do,
so I would rather stay on deck, and see what is going forward."
The captain merely answered "Bah," as if he had too much to think of
just then to trouble himself about us, and issued some orders to his
crew. Two long guns were immediately cast loose and pointed at the
frigate. "They can't hope to contend with her," I observed to Bluff.
But they did though, and began blazing away in right good earnest. They
fired high, for their object was to wing her. If they could have
knocked some of her spars away they would have had a better chance of
escaping.
The lugger was evidently a very fast craft, and held her own
wonderfully. This was soon perceived on board the frigate, which began
to fire more rapidly than before. Captain Collyer had not spared powder
and shot, and, since we left port, the men had been every day exercised
at the guns. The result was now apparent by the number of shot which
passed through the sails of the lugger, or struck her. Still the
Frenchmen seemed in no way inclined to yield. The captain stood aft,
issuing his orders with the greatest coolness. His officers were much
less collected, and kept running about with ropes in their hands,
frequently striking the men if they flinched from their guns. The
lugger, which was really a very powerful vessel, of some two hundred and
fifty tons, tore through the seas, which came in cataracts over her
bows, deluging her fore and aft.
I was glad that Toby and I were near the companion-hatch, that we might
hold on tight to it. The scene was stirring in the extreme; rather more
than was pleasant indeed. I did not like the state of things, and
Toby's teeth began to chatter in his head. It was very dark. The wind
roared through the rigging; the sails, extended to the utmost, would, I
thought, burst from the bolt-ropes, or carry the stout mast out of the
vessel. The lugger heeled over till the men at the guns were up to
their knees in water, and at last they could only fire as she rolled to
windward. It must be remembered that the frigate was to leeward.
Though she sailed faster than the lugger, the latter was weathering on
her. My knowledge of seamanship scarcely enabled me to form a correct
judgment as to the Frenchman's chance of escape, but still I did not
fancy that anything could run away from the Doris,--our frigate,--which,
I was fully persuaded, was the perfection of naval architecture, and
everything a ship should be. The Frenchmen were all this time
wonderfully silent, except when a shot whistled past their ears or
struck the vessel, and then they gave way to volleys of oaths and
execrations, the meaning of which, however, I did not understand. They
appeared very resolute, and I thought fully expected to escape.
On we tore through the raging sea, and often so blinded were we with the
showers of spray which fell on board that the flashes of the guns alone
showed us the position of the frigate. I was saying that I was sure
Captain Collyer would do his best to pick Toby and me up, and now, when
I saw him chasing the lugger, it occurred to me that he must have either
guessed that we were on board her, or that he must have come to the
conclusion that we were lost.
"I wonder what they are saying about us?" I remarked, partly to Toby
and partly to myself. "Mr Johnson will be sorry for us, and so will
Grey, and so, I really believe, will old Perigal. I don't think
Spellman will, though. I rather suspect he'll be for constituting
himself my heir, and taking possession of my books and things. However,
I hope we may some day get on board again, and make him disgorge."
There did not seem much chance of that though. Every moment I expected,
should a shot not send her first to the bottom, to see the lugger run
her bows right under, as she tore on through the raging waters. The
frigate seemed to be gaining very little, if at all, on us. The
Frenchmen naturally calculated on the darkness increasing, and when once
out of her sight, on being able to alter their course, and get clear
away. I devoutly hoped that they would not. Hours, it seemed to me,
passed away; still the lugger and the frigate held their relative
positions, the latter firing occasionally, but the Frenchmen, after a
time, ceased doing so; indeed, in the heavy sea running, they could
scarcely work their guns. The wind increased, but there was no sign of
shortening sail; the sky sent down deluges of rain; it became darker
than ever. I had never, I thought, taken my eyes off the frigate,
except when the spray dashed over me, and compelled me to close them for
a moment. I was looking in the direction where I had last seen her.
"Bluff, do you see her?" I exclaimed suddenly, rubbing my eyes at the
same time with all my might, to bring back the object I had lost.
"No, Muster Merry. To my mind she isn't there," he answered positively.
The Frenchmen were of the same opinion, for I heard them chatting away
together, and laughing heartily. Still we continued on the same tack.
Indeed, to go about would have been a dangerous operation, and to wear
would have lost ground, and very likely have brought the lugger back in
sight of the frigate. No one had taken any notice of us for a long
time. The captain now came to the companion.
"Ah! you brave garcon, come here," he said, as he descended.
Giving Bluff a pull, as a sign to come after me, I followed him below.
A bright lamp swung from the deck above, and exhibited a well-furnished
if not a luxurious cabin, with a table in the centre, on which, secured
in the usual way, were bottles and glasses, and deep dishes containing
various sorts of viands.
"Come, you hungry; sit down," said the captain,--an order which I very
gladly obeyed, though it was far from easy to stick on my chair, or to
convey the food to my mouth.
"Pierre!" shouted the captain, and a man, who seemed to be his steward,
got up from a corner of the cabin where he had been asleep, and stood
ready to wait on us. The captain motioned him to give some bread and
sausage to Toby, who retired with it to the door, where he sat down to
eat it at his leisure.
Our host did not talk much. He put a few questions as to the number of
the Doris's guns, and their length and weight of metal, and whether she
was reputed a fast sailer; to all which questions I gave honest answers,
and he seemed satisfied. He rapidly devoured his food, and was
evidently in a hurry to be on deck again. This made me fancy that he
was not quite so certain of having escaped the frigate as I had at first
supposed. A glass of hot wine and water raised my spirits, for I had
been so long in my wet clothes, that, although the weather was warm, I
had become very chilly. Without asking his leave, I handed a glass to
Toby, who wanted it as much as I did. The captain said nothing, but
when he got up to go on deck, he told me that we might take off our
clothes, and turn into one of the berths to get warm. At first I was
going to do so, but I could not help fancying that some accident might
happen, and that I would rather be dressed, so I sat down with Toby on
the deck, holding on by the legs of the table.
The steward, having stowed away the things, went and lay down in his
corner, and soon, by his loud snores, showed that he was again fast
asleep. Toby quickly followed his example; and I had been dozing for
some time, though I thought that I was awake, when I was aroused by the
report of a gun overhead. The lamp had gone out, and left a strong
odour of oil in the close cabin. The grey light of dawn streamed down
the companion-hatch. Calling Toby, I jumped on deck. There, away to
leeward, was the frigate, within gun-shot distance, but this time the
lugger had begun the fight, and she had not yet fired. The wind had
lessened, and the sea had gone down considerably. The frigate was on
our lee-quarter, and I saw that, as soon as she opened her fire, our
chance would be a very small one.
The French captain, and his officers and men, had got two guns over the
quarter, having cut away some of the bulwarks, and were energetically
working them, with desperation stamped on their countenances. Toby and
I stood, as before, holding on to the companion-hatch, and this time--I
must confess it--my teeth, as well as his, chattered with the cold, and
damp, and agitation. No one took any notice of us. The Frenchmen were
again aiming high, in the hope of knocking away some of the frigate's
spars. They were brave fellows: I could not help admiring them. Shot
followed shot in rapid succession. I wondered that Captain Collyer's
patience was not exhausted.
"There! I know'd they'd do it," exclaimed Toby, suddenly. "And catch
it if they did!" he added.
As he spoke I saw a white splinter glance from the fore-topmast of the
frigate, while a rent appeared in the sail. The Frenchmen shouted as if
they had done a clever thing, but they had little to shout for; the next
instant a shower of round-shot came whistling through our sails, some
just above our heads; two struck the lugger's side, and one killed three
men dead on the decks. Though I knew how dangerous was our position I
was too eager to see what was taking place to go below. Still the
gallant French captain would not strike, but stood as energetically as
before, encouraging his men to work the guns. I wished that he would
give in though, for my own and Toby's sake, nor did I think that he had
a chance of escaping. There he stood full of life and energy, now
hauling on a gun-tackle, now looking along a gun. The next moment there
was a whistling and crash of shot, and I saw several mangled forms sent
flying along the deck. One was that of the brave captain. I ran to
assist him, but though there was a convulsive movement of the limbs, he
was perfectly dead. At the same moment down came the lugger's mainyard.
I saw that it was completely up with her at all events. Some of the
privateer's men continued at the guns, but the greater number tumbled
headlong down below, to avoid the frigate's next broadside. My eye
glancing up at that moment, I saw the French flag still flying.
Believing that the only way to avoid the catastrophe was to haul it
down, followed by Toby, I ran aft to do so. I was too late. The
Frenchmen fired, and another crushing broadside struck the lugger, and
made her reel with the shock. The companion-hatch was knocked to
pieces. We should have been killed had we remained at our former post.
The next instant there was a fearful cry--the men who had gone below
sprang up again with pale faces and cries of terror. The lugger rushed
on, made one fearful plunge, and I saw that she was sinking. I had kept
my eye on the wreck of the companion-hatch. Dragging Toby with me, I
sprang to it and clutched it tightly, and as the sea washed along the
deck, and the sinking vessel disappeared, we found ourselves clinging to
it and floating on the summit of a curling wave. As soon as I had
cleared my eyes from the water, I looked round for the frigate. She was
in the act of heaving-to in order to lower her boats. The sea around us
was sprinkled with struggling forms, but not half the lugger's crew were
to be seen. Numbers must have gone down in her. Shrieks and cries for
help reached our ears, but we could assist no one. Some were clinging
to spars and planks, and pieces of the shattered bulwarks; a few were
swimming, but the greater number were floundering about; and now I saw a
hand disappear--now two were thrown up to sink immediately beneath the
waves--now a shriek of agony reached our ears. It was very terrible.
The companion-hatch to which Toby and I clung had been so knocked about
that it scarcely held together, and I expected every moment that it
would go to pieces, and that we should be separated. I earnestly wished
for the boats to come to us, and it appeared to me that the frigate was
far longer than usual in heaving-to and lowering them. At last, as we
rose to the top of a wave, I saw three boats pulling towards us. The
men were giving way with all their might as British seamen always will
when lives are to be saved, even those of enemies. Several Frenchmen
had been picked up, when I saw a boat making towards us. Mr Johnson
was steering, and Spellman was the midshipman in her. We were not
recognised when we were hauled into the boat, and might not have been
had I not said--
"What, Spellman, don't you know me?"
"You, Merry," he exclaimed, looking at me with an astonished gaze.
"What business have you here? Why we left you drowning--up Channel
somewhere--hours ago."
"Thank you, but we have taken a cruise since then," said I.
"And rather a perilous one, young gentleman," exclaimed the boatswain,
now recognising me. "You had the shot rattling pretty thick about you,
and I'm heartily glad to see you safe, that I am." And he nearly wrung
my hand off as he shook it. "I never saw guns better aimed than ours
were, except once, and that was when I was attacking a Spanish
line-of-battle ship in a jolly boat. I'll tell you all about it some
day, but well just pick up some of these drowning Frenchmen first. Give
way, my lads."
The other two boats rescued several of the lugger's crew; we got hold of
six or seven more who were floating on spars or planks; one of them was
the second officer of the privateer; but out of a hundred and forty men
who were on her decks when she went down, not more than thirty were
rescued. Toby and I met with a very pleasant reception when we got on
board, and as soon as I had got on some dry clothes and had had a glass
of grog to restore my circulation, Captain Collyer sent for me into the
cabin to hear an account of our adventures. He seemed highly interested
when I told him of the gallantry of the French captain, and expressed
his regret at his death. A brave man always appreciates the bravery of
his opponent. When I got back to the berth I had to tell the story all
over again, and Toby, I have no doubt, was similarly employed among his
messmates.
"It is very evident, Merry, that you are reserved for a more exalted
fate," was the only comment Spellman made, when I ceased.
"Thank you, Miss Susan," I answered; "I owe you one."
"It is a great pity that the lugger went down, though," observed old
Perigal; "I should have had a chance of taking a run home in her as
prize-master, and seeing my wife. Besides, she might have given us a
pinch of prize-money."
The regret generally expressed was rather for the loss of the few pounds
the lugger might have given them, than for that of the men who formed
the crew.
"What! I did not know that you were married," I observed to Perigal
when he said he was married.
"But I am, though; and to a young and charming wife who deserves a
better husband," he answered in an abrupt way. "If it wasn't for her I
shouldn't be now knocking about the ocean as I have been all my life;
and yet, if it was not for her I should have very little to keep me on
shore. It's the prize-money, the booty, keeps me afloat. I am an
arrant buccaneer at heart."
"I should not have supposed you that," said I. It was now evening, and
old Perigal had his glass of grog before him. On these occasions he was
always somewhat communicative.
"I've been married six years or more," he continued in a half whisper.
"My wife is the daughter of an old shipmate who was killed in action by
my side. His last words were, `Take care of my orphan child--my Mary.'
I promised him I would as long as I had life and a shilling in my
pocket. I expected to see a little girl with a big bow at her waist,
and a doll in her arms--as he'd described her. He'd been five years
from home or more, poor fellow. Instead of that, I found a handsome
young woman, tall and graceful. What could I do? I was struck all of a
heap, as the saying is; and I discovered at last, that though I was but
a mate in the service, and an old fellow to boot compared to her, she
liked me; so we married. I'd saved some little prize-money, and I
thought myself rich; but it went wonderfully quick, and a rogue of a
fellow who borrowed some wouldn't even pay me; and if it hadn't been for
the sake of Mary I wouldn't have said anything to him, but let the coin
burn a hole in his pockets. I went to law, and the upshot was that I
lost all I had remaining. Now came the tug of war. Was I to go to sea
again and leave Mary? I couldn't bear the thought of it. Anything
would be better than that. I would enter into some business. A bright
idea struck me. Three or four hundred pounds would enable me to carry
it out. Mary and I agreed that I should have no difficulty in getting
that, I had so many friends. I would pay them a good interest. I
tried. You should have seen how they buttoned up their pockets and
pursed up their lips; how many similar applications they had, how many
decayed relations wanted their assistance! They didn't say, however,
that they had assisted them. I had no business to complain; I had made
a mistake, and I felt ashamed of myself. At first, though my heart
swelled, I was very angry; but I got over that feeling, and I resolved
to trust to myself alone. It was not till then that I recovered my
self-respect. I say, Merry; if you fancy that you have many friends,
don't you ever attempt to borrow money from them, or you'll find that
you are woefully mistaken. Mary and I talked the matter over, and she
settled to keep a school, and I to come to sea again.
"It was a sore trial, youngster, and you may fancy that a rich galleon
wouldn't be an unacceptable prize, to save the poor girl from the
drudgery she has to go through. It wasn't the way her poor father
expected me to treat her, but I have done my best; what can a man do
more?"
The old mate was going to help himself to another glass, but he put the
bottle away from him with resolution. I had observed that he often took
more than anybody else in the mess; but after that, whenever I saw him
doing so, I had only to mention his wife, and he instantly stopped.
From this account he had given of himself I liked him much better than
ever.
I one day asked Mr Bryan, who knew his wife, about her, and he told me
that she was a very superior young lady, and that he could not
overpraise her.
Of all my shipmates, Grey seemed most pleased at having me back again,
and he assured me that had he been able to swim he would have jumped
after me, and I believe that he would have done so. I promised on the
first opportunity to teach him to swim. People are surprised that so
many sailors cannot swim, but the truth is, that when once they get to
sea, they often have fewer opportunities of learning than have people
living on shore. In southern climates some captains, when it is calm,
allow the men to go overboard; but in northern latitudes they cannot do
this, and many captains do not trouble themselves about the matter. My
advice therefore is, that all boys should team to swim before they come
to sea, and to swim in their clothes.
Next to Grey, I believe Mr Johnson was most satisfied that I was not
drowned.
"I had written an account of what had happened to your disconsolate
parents, and had taken an opportunity of praising you as you deserved;
but as you are alive, I'll put it by, it will serve for another
occasion," he observed.
I thanked him, and begged him to give me the letter, which, after some
persuasion, he did. I enclosed it to my sisters, assuring them that it
was written under an erroneous impression that I was no longer a denizen
of this world, and begged, them not to be at all alarmed, as I was well
and merry as ever:
"Sir,--Your son and I, though he was only a midshipman,--I am
boatswain of this ship--were, I may say, friends and companions; and
therefore I take up my pen to tell you the sad news, that he and boy
Bluff went overboard together this evening, and were lost, though we
didn't fail to look for them. It may be a consolation to you to know
that they always did their duty, which wasn't much, nor very well
done, nor of any use to anybody, but that was no fault of theirs,
seeing that they didn't know better. Then you'll not fail to remember
that there's no longer any chance of your son being hung, which has
been the fate of many a pretty man, either by mistake or because he
deserved it, and that must be a comfort to you. I've nothing more to
say at present.
"From your obedient servant,
"Jonathan Johnson,
"Boatswain of His British Majesty's frigate Doris."
I had hopes that the letter would afford infinite satisfaction to my
home circle.
We ran back to Plymouth with our prisoners, and then receiving sealed
orders, sailed for the westward. On the captain opening his orders we
found that we were bound for the North American and West India Station.
One day, as Mr Johnson seemed in an especially good humour, I got Grey
to come, and we begged hard that he would go on with his history.
"Ah yes, my true and veracious narrative," he answered. "Ho! ho! ho!"
His ogre-like laugh sounded along the deck, and served as a gong to
summon an audience around him, though only a favoured few ventured into
his cabin.
"I was telling you about my maternal parent, the estimable Mrs Johnson.
I was alluding to times before she assumed that appellation, or became
my parent. I brought up my history to the period when she became
first-lieutenant of the gallant Thunder bomb. She did not remain in
that craft long, for the captain, officers, and crew, were turned over
to a dashing, slashing, thirty-six gun frigate, the Firegobbler. It is
extraordinary what a number of actions that frigate fought, and what
other wonders she performed all owing to my mother, I believe you. At
last, one day, not far off from the chops of the Channel, a large ship,
under Spanish colours, was sighted. The Firegobbler gave chase, and a
running fight ensued, during which a shot killed the captain, and of
course my mother, who took command, followed up the enemy.
"Before the day was over, another Spanish line-of-battle ship hove in
sight, and when the two closed each other, they hove-to, and waited for
the Firegobbler, which wasn't long in getting into action. Then, I
believe you, she did give them a hammering, in such right good earnest,
that, before the sun set, they cried _peccavi_, and struck their flags.
As I told you, the other day, she brought them both in triumph into
Plymouth. Now, by all the rules of the service, she ought to have been
promoted, you'll allow; but, by some means or other, the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty found out that she was a woman,--perhaps
some jealous fellow peached on her,--and, think of their ingratitude,
not only wouldn't they give her a commander's rank, but they superseded
her, and would by no manner of means allow her to remain in the ship.
To my mind, those big-wigs up in London have no consciences. What
encouragement is there for a spirited young woman to go and fight her
country's battles? None! that's a fact! Miss Nailor had to go on
shore. But she couldn't bear a quiet life; so, slipping on seamen's
clothes again, she shipped aboard another frigate, but, of course, she
had to go before the mast. That made little difference to her; she
loved the sea for itself, and didn't care where she was. For some time
she got on very well; but she didn't always remember that she was no
longer a first-lieutenant--which was natural, poor thing! Well, one
day, when off the coast of America, she quarrelled with the man who was
first-lieutenant, and meeting him on shore, she put a pistol into his
hand, and told him he must fight her. He was a spirited fellow, and
said that he never refused that sort of invitation, and as it was in the
chief street of a large city, they had plenty of seconds. Well, they
fought, and she had the misfortune to shoot him through the heart. Most
men would have died immediately, but he lived long enough to forgive her
for what she'd done, and to say what a fine fellow he thought her. Of
course, as it's against the articles of war to shoot a first-lieutenant,
she couldn't go aboard the frigate again; and when a file of marines
came to seize her, the people of the place carried her off, and wouldn't
give her up, and so the jollies had to return without her. Two parties
were formed in the place. One said she ought to be given up, and the
other, that she oughtn't, and shouldn't, and that they wouldn't. It was
one of the secret causes of the American revolution.
"Among those who sided with her was a Captain Johnson, a very fine man,
master of a very fine ship, and as he happened to want a mate, he asked
my mother if she would take the berth, not dreaming all the time that
she was a woman. They had a good deal of talk about the matter, and as
she had taken a fancy to him, she told him all her history. I have said
that my father was a fine man. He was the tallest and smartest man I
ever saw, and had the loudest voice, too, I believe you, or he wouldn't
have won the heart of my mother. She wasn't a woman to knock under to
an ordinary, everyday sort of man. He was so tall, that the barber had
to stand on the table to shave him, and as he walked along the streets,
he could hand sugar-plums to the children in the upper windows; and his
voice was so loud, that he once made a stone-deaf woman jump off her
chair, right up to the ceiling, with fright, when he raised it above the
ordinary pitch to speak to her; and he was so strong, that he made
nothing of lifting an ale cask to his lips, and drinking out of the
bung-hole. He was the man to command a ship's company! When he found
any two of them quarrelling, he would lift one up in each hand, with
outstretched arms, and he would then knock their two heads together, and
go on bumping harder and harder till they promised to be friends.
"No two people could have been better matched than my parents, and they
had a sincere respect for each other. They were above anything like a
namby-pamby, soft sighing, do-sweetest, kiss-me style of love. My
father made his offer from the deck of his ship, as she was standing out
of harbour, and my mother answered him from the shore through a
speaking-trumpet. The truth was, that when the owners heard that she
was a woman, they didn't approve of her going as mate; they thought that
it would invalidate the insurance.
"The wind fell outside, so he dropped anchor and pulled on shore, and
was married, and, of course, off she went to sea with him. A very
useful wife, too, she made, for though she didn't wear the breeches, she
could take command of the ship better than any one else on board. Thus
it was that I came to be born at sea. There was a terrific gale
blowing, and the ship was running under bare poles during the time that
important event in the world's history occurred.
"`The wind it whistled, the porpoise roll'd,
The dolphins rear'd their backs of gold;
And never was heard such an outcry wild
As welcomed to life the ocean-child.'
"I believe you, my hearties, that was a gale! I don't believe the sea
ever ran so high before, or has ever run so high since. We were fully
half an hour going up the side of one sea, and nearly a quarter sliding
down into the trough on the other--so I have been told: I cannot say
that I remember the circumstance, though I do recollect things which
happened a long time ago.
"I was a precocious child, let me tell you. I had as fine a set of
teeth as ever cracked biscuit by the time I was six months old, and
lived upon lobscouse and porter. I was weaned by that time, and I
wasn't two years old when I could go aloft like a monkey. It wouldn't
have done for me to have been like any every-day sort of baby."
I was almost inclined to believe Mr Johnson's assertions, for, as I
looked at the huge red-nosed man before me, I could scarcely persuade
myself that he had ever been a baby in long clothes.
"Speaking of monkeys," continued Mr Johnson, winking his eye, "I once
had a desperate fight with one, when I wasn't much more than three years
old. I was sitting on the main-truck, with my legs dangling down, as
was my custom when I wanted a good allowance of fresh air. We had a
monkey aboard--a mischievous chap,--and when he saw me, he swarmed up
the mast, and, putting up his paw, snatched a biscuit out of my
jacket-pocket. I gave him a slap on the head, and in return he bit my
leg, and tried to pull me down. To be even with him, I jumped on his
shoulders, and down we slipped together, till we reached the topmast
cross-trees. There I got a rope, and, lashing him to the heel of the
topgallant-mast, sang out to the hands in the top that they might see
what I had done. You may be sure that they were very much astonished.
"I was a great favourite among the crew, and ran no slight chance of
being spoilt. I could dance a hornpipe with any man on board; and as
for singing a rollicking sea-song, there were few who could match me. I
soon learned to hand reef, steer, and heave the lead, as well as any man
on board. My mother was proud of me, and so was my father; and they had
reason to be, and that's the truth.
"At last it struck them that they ought to give me some education, to
fit me to become an officer and a gentleman. I, however, was not fond
of books, but I learned to read chiefly from the signboards over the
shop fronts along the quays at the different ports to which we traded.
Not that I required much instruction, for I picked up knowledge faster
than most people could serve it out to me.
"I was one morning sent on shore to school, but the master thinking fit
to cane me, I tucked him up under my arm, and walked off with him on
board the ship, where I stowed him under hatches, and kept him there
till he promised to treat me in future with more respect. After this
little occurrence we were very good friends; but when the ship went to
sea, he begged that I might on no account be left behind. That was but
natural, for I hadn't got into shore ways exactly."
The cry, from the deck, of "All hands make sail!" interrupted Mr
Johnson's veracious narrative.
"A chase in sight," he exclaimed; "and a prize she'll prove, though we
have to fight for her!"