On the evening of which I was speaking in my last chapter, Mr Johnson
was evidently in the vein for narrating his veracious history. I saw
this by the twinkle of his eye, by the peculiar curls round his mouth--
which poets speak of when describing Euphrosyne, or any charming young
lady of mortal mould, as "wreathed smiles," but which, in the
boatswain's case, could not possibly be so called--by the gusto with
which he smacked his lips, after each sip of grog, and the quiet
cachinnations in which he indulged, that there was no fear of his
breaking off for some time, unless compelled by his duties to do so. I
was right. After stretching out his legs, folding his arms, and bending
down his head, as if to meditate for a few minutes, he looked up with
his usual humorous expression, and taking a fresh sip of grog,
recommenced--
"Some of you young gentlemen have been in a gale of wind, and a pretty
stiff one too, but except the little blow we had the other day, you, Mr
Gogles, have no practical experience of what a real downright hurricane
is," he continued. "Why, I once was in a ship where, after we had
carried away our masts, we were obliged to run under a marlinespike
stuck up in the bows, but even that was too much for her, and we were
obliged to send the carpenter forward with a sledge-hammer to take a
reef in it by driving it further into the deck. It must blow hard,
you'll allow, when it becomes necessary to take a reef in a
marlinespike. In the same gale, the man at the helm had all his hair
blown clean off his head; the cook, as he looked out of his caboose, had
his teeth driven down his throat, and one of the boys, who was sent on
deck to see how the wind was (for we were obliged to batten down and get
below), had his eyelids blown so far back that it took all the ship's
company to haul them down again. You don't know what a gale of wind is
till you have seen it."
Some loud shouts of laughter were heard outside the berth, but Mr
Johnson, without heeding them, continued:
"But, by the bye, I was describing my voyage round the Horn in the Lady
Stiggins, and now I am coming to the melancholy part of my history. No
sooner had we recovered our topsail than the gale abated, and nothing of
moment occurred till we hauled up to the westward to round the Horn.
For some days we had light winds and fine weather, but those who have
doubled that Cape know well that it blows there pretty hard at times,
and we soon had to learn this to our cost. Soon after noonday it came
on to blow, and such a sea got up as I had never seen before. That was
a sea. Sometimes we were at the top of one wave, while my pet shark,
who had faithfully followed us, would be in the trough below, looking no
larger than a minnow in a millstream, and sometimes when we were at the
bottom we could see him looking lovingly down upon us, high above our
topgallant-mast-head. At last we were driven back right in upon the
coast of Patagonia, and had we not found a harbour in which to take
shelter, we should have lost the ship and our lives.
"The land of Patagonia is bleak and barren, and, as you all know, the
few scattered inhabitants make up for the scarcity of their numbers by
their personal stature, for they are, without exception, the tallest
people I have ever met. I felt quite a pigmy alongside them. They have
large rolling eyes, long shaggy hair, and thick snub noses: indeed, they
are as ugly a race as I ever set eyes on. Perhaps, for certain reasons,
I might have been prejudiced, but of that you shall judge.
"We anchored the brig in a snug cove, where she lay completely sheltered
from the tempest which raged without, and we were thus enabled to go
ashore to procure wood and water, of which we stood much in need. For
two days we saw no signs of inhabitants, and thus we incautiously
strolled about without arms in our hands to stretch our legs. I was
always of an inquisitive turn, fond of exploring strange countries; so
one day, having parted from my companions, I walked on into the
interior. I was thinking of turning back, for the day was far advanced,
when my attention was attracted by a column of smoke ascending from
among a grove of trees in a valley at no great distance from me, and
being curious to ascertain the cause of it, I proceeded in that
direction.
"On reaching a hill which overlooked the spot, I perceived several human
beings seated round a large fire in front of a rude hut, and busily
employed in cutting slices from an ox, which was roasting whole before
it, and which they transferred to their mouths, smacking their lips to
signify their high relish for the feast.
"I was very hungry, and certainly felt an inclination for a piece of the
savoury morsels, the odour of which ascended to where I stood, but
prudence advised me to retire, for I could not tell what the disposition
of the savages might be. For what I knew to the contrary, they might
spit and roast me as their dessert.
"There appeared to be a family group. There were an old man and woman
whom I took to be the father and mother, three younger females, whom I
judged to be daughters, and two sons. All of them were dressed in
skins, and I was enabled to distinguish the females by their having
petticoats, and their hair braided in long plaits, which reached to the
ground. Their personal appearance was not prepossessing, and their
voices were so loud that I could hear every word they uttered, though of
course I could not understand their language. I was on the point of
retreating, when one of the young ladies, turning her head, perceived me
watching them, and, with a loud cry, rising from her seat, she ran
towards me. I had not before remarked the height of the savages, but as
they all stood up, I now perceived that she was full ten feet high, and
yet the shortest of the party. Although not afraid, for fear was a
stranger to my bosom, I yet did not relish the thoughts of having to
encounter such formidable-looking personages, and therefore set off
towards the shore as fast as my legs would carry me, but I soon found,
by the shouts astern, that the young giantess had made chase, and,
turning my head over my shoulder, I saw that she was coming up hand over
hand with me. I was on the top of the hill and she was at the bottom,
but that made little difference to her, for on she bounded, like a
kangaroo or a tiger, and I felt convinced that on flat ground I should
have no chance of escape; I therefore suddenly brought up, tacked about,
and faced her with my arms expanded, to make me look of more
considerable size. She was coming on full tilt. I did not think she
was so near, and the consequence was, as she was stooping down, I found
my arms round her neck, with my feet off the ground, while I clung to
her in a very affectionate embrace. She uttered some words which I
could not understand, and, covering my face with kisses, ran back with
me towards her companions, just as a young lady does a little child she
has run after, laughing with pleasure.
"Here I was fairly caught, but I argued from the behaviour of the young
lady that I was not likely to be very severely treated by the rest.
When she got back to her family with me in her arms, she introduced me
in form to them, and made me sit down by her side, while the rest
examined me minutely from head to foot. After they had gratified their
curiosity, and satisfied themselves that I was a human being, she,
observing my eyes turned towards the roasted ox, cut off a slice and
handed it to me. The animal was of prodigious size, and would beat a
London prize ox hollow. The meat was of delicious flavour, though
rather too fat for my taste, but in cold climates such is generally
preferred. I found, however, that that is not the usual food of these
people, but is considered a great delicacy, as they live for most part
of the year on whales and seals, which they catch with much ingenuity
with a rod and line. A whale, however, requires, they told me, great
skill and patience to kill, as it is apt to break the tackle. The
savages, with my slight assistance, having picked the bones of the ox
almost clean, washed down this repast with huge flagons full of a liquor
which smacked of a taste remarkably like the best schiedam. It was,
however, far more potent, as I found to my cost, for the effect was such
that I fell fast asleep. In fact, I was dead drunk; I don't say that I
didn't take a good swig of it, but still it must be strong stuff to
capsize me. How long I slept, or what happened during that time, I'm
sure I don't know: when I awoke the scene was completely changed. I
found myself at the mouth of a cavern, lying on the ground and wrapped
up in bears' skins, with wild rugged rocks rising on every side around
me. I tried to rise, but to my dismay I discovered that my limbs were
bound, and as I gazed on every side I saw not the sign of an outlet by
which I might make my escape. In my rage I bawled out lustily, when I
heard a step approaching, which might, by its sound, have been the foot
of a young elephant. It was, however, that of the young lady who had
made me prisoner. When she saw that I was awake she sat herself down by
my side, and taking my hand slobbered it over with kisses, and when I
rated her pretty roundly for what she'd done, she almost drowned me with
her tears. They came down in whole buckets full, like a heavy shower in
the tropics: it wasn't pleasant, I can assure you. What was the matter
with the woman I could not tell; in fact, I've found very little
difference in 'em from one end of the world to the other; they are
complete mystifications; when you wants 'em to love you they won't, and
when you don't want 'em they will. What I now wanted was to get my legs
and arms loose to be able to run away. After making a number of signs
to the lady, she comprehended my wishes, and to my great satisfaction
cast off the thongs of hide with which I found she had bound me to
prevent me escaping, should I awake during her absence. She then asked
me my name, when she let me understand that hers was Oilyblubbina,
which, I afterwards learned, means, in the Patagonian tongue, softener
of the soul. I heard her pronouncing my name over and over again to
herself, so I repeated hers, Oilyblubbina, Oilyblubbina, Oilyblubbina,
several times, which pleased her mightily. She then produced from a
basket a few rounds of beef and some loaves a yard long, of which she
pressed me to partake. I did so gratefully, for I was in want of my
breakfast. She next pulled out a bottle of schiedam, but I remembered
the effects of what I took the day before, and was cautious. Having
satisfied my hunger, I made signs to her that I was anxious to wish her
a very good morning, and to return to my ship, but not one of my hints
would she take. I shook her warmly by the hand, told her that I was
much obliged to her for her hospitality, and then walked away, but
wherever I went she dodged my steps and would not let me out of her
sight for a minute. I did my best in every way to escape, but it was no
go; in fact, young gentlemen, I found myself the slave of this monster
of fat and ugliness, for I am sorry to say that I cannot speak in more
flattering terms of the fair Oilyblubbina. Seeing that for the present
it was hopeless to attempt to escape, I pretended to be reconciled to my
lot, and offering my arm in the politest way possible, walked quietly by
her side, though, I confess, that I had to put my best foot foremost to
keep up with her. She was evidently pleased with my altered behaviour,
and smiled and ogled me most lovingly. How her eyes did roll!
"The effect, however, was very different to what she intended. I dare
say her heart was as tender as that of women of more moderate
dimensions, but I cannot say that I liked those ogles of hers. Well, on
we walked, talking a great deal all the time, though I don't pretend I
understood a word she uttered, nor do I suppose she did what I said.
She told me, however, a very long story, which by her actions I judged
intimated that she had lost some one, and that I was to supply his
place. All I know is that, after weeping a great deal, she finished by
taking me in her arms and covering me with kisses. I had before
suspected, from the absence of any of that bashful timidity found in a
young girl, that she was a widow, and such I learned from her father was
the case.
"We were now close to the hut where I had first seen the savages, and
there her father and two brothers appeared before us, while I found the
old mother and two sisters had been stowed away in the brushwood,
watching our proceedings. Instead of appearing angry, the father took
me by the hand, and warmly pressing it, placed it in that of his
daughter, and then he rubbed our noses together, which I found was a
sign of betrothal, and then all the family came and hugged me, one after
the other. In fact, I found that I was become one of the domestic
circle, and was to supply the place of a lost husband to the young
widow. It was by no means pleasant, let me tell you, that hugging and
kissing, for the oil and fat those people consume give them a very
unpleasant odour, and it was some time before I could get it out of my
nostrils. These considerations, with my anxiety to proceed on my
voyage, determined me not to yield tamely to my fate, for, as to having
to spend the rest of my days in the society of Oilyblubbina, that was
out of the question. I had, however, no reason to complain of my
treatment by them, for they would not allow me to do any work, but
brought me the best food, and did everything for me. Yet,
notwithstanding all her tenderness, the charms of the loving
Oilyblubbina could not move my flinty heart; but I was obliged to hide
my real sentiments, for I had no fancy, unarmed as I was, to fight the
father and two brothers, not to speak of having to contend against the
rage of the disappointed lady and her female relatives.
"Three not over agreeable days had thus passed, and I was beginning to
fear lest my shipmates, giving me up for lost, might have sailed away
without me, though I knew that they valued me too much to desert me till
all hopes were gone. That day the family dinner was composed of a large
mess of whales' flesh and blubber, boiled in a cauldron, and washed down
as usual with huge beakers of schiedam; but I watched my opportunity,
and each time the cup was passed to me I emptied it by my side
unperceived by the rest. I all the time made them suppose that I was
drinking more than usual, and appearing to be perfectly drunk, pretended
to fall off into a sound sleep. When it grew dark the young lady, as
was her custom, carried me into the cavern, and bound my hands and feet
to prevent my running away, but as she was fastening the thongs I
contrived to slip my hands out of them. While I thus lay I looked out
carefully through my half-opened eyelids, and observed all the family
retiring to their different roosting-places. It was an anxious time;
one after the other they dropped asleep, and then, to my great
satisfaction, commenced a chorus of snoring which sounded more like the
roaring of a hundred bulls than anything I had ever before heard. The
moon was fortunately high in the heavens, and there was light enough for
me to see my way, which I had been careful to note well. Crawling
therefore out of my skins, I put a block of wood where my head had been
and rolled them up again to make it appear that I was still there, and
then cautiously crept away in the direction of the cove where I had left
my ship. As soon as I was out of hearing I set off and ran as fast as
my legs would carry me, up hill and down dale, through woods and across
moors, without stopping to look behind me, for I knew that when a man is
running away from an angry lady he must put his best foot foremost.
"I had just reached the top of the hill, whence, to my great joy, I
beheld my ship floating calmly in the bay below me, when I heard a loud
cry in the rear. I looked round--it was the loving Oilyblubbina. She
came on at a furious pace, tearing up the young trees as she passed, in
her eagerness to catch me. I dashed down the hill--I flew rather than
ran--I rushed through rivulets, I jumped down precipices, nothing
stopped me--I made light of a leap of a hundred feet. I have run very
fast at times, but I never ran so fast before or since; she, however,
was gaining on me; in a few minutes more she would be up with me. It
was very awful. A high cliff was before me; without hesitation I threw
myself over it; death was preferable to slavery--and such slavery. I
reached the shore in safety, but, horror of horrors! she came after me,
and alighted unhurt on the shore. The ship was at some distance, but I
plunged into the sea to swim on board. I now thought myself safe, for I
had no idea that she could swim, but she could, and after me she came,
blowing like a grampus. It takes my breath away even now to think of
it. I struck out boldly, the water bubbled and hissed as I threw it
aside. I told you I was a good swimmer, but so was she. On she came,
and every instant I expected to feel my foot in her grasp. If a man can
have any reason for being afraid, I surely then had one. We had swam a
mile, and the brig was some way off. I hallooed to my shipmates, but
they did not hear me. Louder and louder grew the blowing of the lady as
she spluttered the salt water from her mouth she was within a few yards
of me, and in another minute I should have been captured, when a dark
object passed close to me--it was my pet shark. There was a loud scream
and a gurgling noise. A dreadful thought occurred to me--it was too
true! I was safe, but the loving Oilyblubbina had been swallowed by the
monster. She must have been a tough morsel, for after his performance
he lay some time on his back utterly unable to move. A revolution had
taken place in my feelings I did not wish her death, I only wanted to
run away from her, and I mourned her untimely fate. I, however,
considered that my lamentations could not restore her to her afflicted
family, so, as soon as the shark had recovered, I placed myself on his
back, and made him convey me alongside my ship. It was time for me to
be off, for as I was throwing my legs across him I saw by the light of
the moon the whole family rushing down the hill to plunge into the sea
after me, and I doubt if he could have swallowed any more of them.
"Thus I was delivered from one of the greatest dangers it has ever been
my lot to encounter. When I got on board, my shipmates welcomed me
warmly, and sincerely congratulated me on my escape. The gale had
abated, and as old Blowhard had been only waiting for my return to put
to sea, we instantly made sail and stood out of the harbour with our
faithful shark in company. I dare say to this day the Patagonian chief
fully believes that we carried off his daughter; so, in a certain sense,
we did, but not exactly in the way he supposes. Poor man, it was better
that he should not. It was very dreadful."
Jonathan was silent; he took a long pull at his tumbler, and gave a deep
sigh, which sounded not unlike a peal of thunder along the decks.
Gogles' eyes had been growing larger and larger, and rounder and
rounder, and his mouth had been gaping more and more.
"What a dreadful thing!" he exclaimed, drawing his breath. "I wonder
you could bring yourself to sit on the shark's back after what he'd
done."
Mr Johnson did not answer; he only sighed. He was meditating on the
tragic fate of his loving Oilyblubbina.
We again began to be afraid that, overcome by the recollections which he
had been conjuring up, he might not continue his narrative.
"That was, indeed, a dreadful way to lose your intended wife," observed
Grey, wishing to rouse him up.
Mr Johnson's eyes twinkled.
"It was--it was," he answered emphatically. "Poor Oilyblubbina! I
would rather have found a pleasanter for her sake, but it was sure.
There was little chance of her coming to life again. Dreadful! I
believe you, it was dreadful. I was not sorry when we lost sight of the
high land of Patagonia, so full of painful recollections to me. For two
or three days the weather was fine, but our ill-luck had not deserted
us, for another gale sprang up and drove us back again very nearly into
the very harbour near which the family of Oilyblubbina resided. I never
felt so uncomfortable in my life lest I should fall into their hands,
and they might insist on my marrying another daughter. To do her
justice, my poor lost Oilyblubbina was by far the best looking of the
female members of the family. However, we managed to keep the sea, and
at length recovered our lost ground. Once well round the Cape, we
steered north, putting into several ports, but nothing extraordinary
happened. Our pet shark followed us and always kept watch round the
ship. I invariably used to ride him about the harbours, just as if he
had been a sea-horse, and astonished the Dons not a little, I calculate.
In fact I had some thoughts of having a high saddle made to fit his
back, so as to keep my feet out of the water. In calms he was very
useful in towing the ship in and out of harbour. By the bye, I omitted
to tell you of an occurrence which took place while we were on the
eastern coast. One night when I had charge of the deck, feeling that
there was no use keeping the men out of their hammocks, as they had been
hard worked lately, and I could do as much any day as half the ship's
company, I told them to turn in. You've all heard, of course, of the
Pampeiros of South America. They are heavy squalls which come off the
Pampas of that extraordinary country. For an hour or more I stood at
the helm, admiring the stars and thinking of the number of strange
things which had happened to me, when on a sudden, without the slightest
warning, I found my teeth almost blown down my throat, and, before I
could sing out to shorten sail, over the vessel went on her beam ends
with such force that even the sea didn't stop her; but while I hung on
to the wheel for dear life, down went her masts perpendicularly, and up
she came on the other side, and to my infinite satisfaction righted
herself with a jerk, which sent everything into its place again. So
rapid was the movement that nothing was washed away, nor were any of the
people awakened. Indeed, they would not believe what had happened even
when I told them, till they found a turn in the clews of their hammocks,
for which they could not otherwise account. Many of my old shipmates in
the Lady Stiggins are still alive, and will vouch for the truth of my
statement."
"Are you certain, bos'un, that you did not take the turns yourself while
the people were on deck and then get them all to go to sleep that you
might make them believe your story?" asked some one outside in a feigned
voice.
"Wouldn't it be easier, stupid, to invent the story from beginning to
end, if I wanted to impose on any one?" asked Mr Johnson, with
pretended indignation. "However, as I have more than once observed, I
have an especial objection to be interrupted by cavillers and doubters;
so I'll thank you, Mr Dubersome, to keep your notions bottled up in the
empty skull which holds all the wits you've got. Ho! ho! ho! I
generally contrive to give as much as I get. But I must, I see, proceed
with my veracious narrative.
"We at last left the coast to visit some of the islands in the South
Pacific. The first place we touched at was the island of Pomparee. It
was then governed by a king and queen, who had an only daughter, the
Princess Chickchick. The ship wanted some repairs, and as we hove her
down here, I had plenty of time to become acquainted with the people.
Everything in that island was made of coral. In the first place it was
coral itself, then the reefs which surrounded it were coral, and the
rocks were coral, and the sand was composed of bits of coral. The
palace of the king was built of coral, and so were the houses of the
people, only his was red, which is scarce, and theirs of plebeian white.
It had a very pretty effect, I can assure you. The chairs and tables
would, I doubt not, have been made of coral, only they did not use them;
in fact, their notion of furnishing a house is very different to ours.
A few mats, and baskets, and pipkins are all they require. Their
garments are somewhat scanty too, but the weather is all the year round
so warm that it would be absurd for them to dress up as we do. The
king's dress on grand occasions was a crown of gay-coloured feathers,
and a sort of Scotch kilt of the same material, with a cloak over his
shoulder. The queen also wore a petticoat, and so did little
Chickchick, but not a rap else, nor did they seem to think it was
necessary. The king's name was Rumfiz, and her majesty was called
Pillow. They were an amiable couple, and remarkably fond of each other.
When I observed that everything in the island was made of coral, I did
not mean to say that there were no trees, for there were a great many
very beautiful ones, bread-fruit trees, and cocoa-nuts, and palms, and
many others. I made the acquaintance of his august majesty after I had
been on the island a few days. I was one evening walking by myself some
little way inland, when I found myself almost in front of the king's
palace. He had been snoozing after eating his dinner to get an appetite
for supper, when he was awoke by hearing his courtiers cry out that a
white man was come among them. He jumped up, rubbed his eyes, and
addressed me in the following harangue:--
"You Englishman, why you come now?--Come by-by, eat supper plenty."
"By this I understood that his majesty was inviting me to supper, which
was the fact. I accordingly lighted my pipe, and sat down under a tree
to smoke, while the king got into his hammock again and went to sleep.
Presently a number of courtiers came and spread mats in the shade near
where I was sitting, and others brought baskets filled with bread-fruit,
and cocoa-nuts, and grapes; and the King Rumfiz got up, and came and sat
down with Queen Pillow and the Princess Chickchick, and several other
lords and ladies. They all looked as if they were waiting for
something, and presently they set up a loud shout as a number of slaves
appeared with large baskets on their heads, dripping with water. I
watched what was to be done, when I saw the king lean back, and a slave
pull out a live fish from the basket, which he clapped into his
majesty's mouth. The fish wriggled his tail about a little, and the
king rolled his eyes with delight till it slipped down his throat, and
then he rubbed the region to which it had descended, as if it had
afforded him the highest satisfaction.
"The queen's turn came next, and I thought she would have been choked
with the size of the fish, which went wriggling all alive down her
throat. The courtiers were next allowed to enjoy the same luxury, while
little Chickchick and the ladies-in-waiting amused themselves by letting
handfuls of prawns playfully skip down their throats. After a little
time the king made signs that he was ready for another fish, which in
like manner was let down his throat, and in this way he consumed two or
three dozen live fish (I like to be under the mark), and the queen and
courtiers nearly the same number each. In that country it is the royal
prerogative of the king to eat more than any of his subjects. They were
all much surprised to find that I could not eat the live fish, for as
they thought me a superior being to any of themselves, they fancied that
I could do more than they could. I did try to swallow a few prawns, but
they stuck in my throat, and made me terribly husky for all the rest of
the evening. I, however, soon learned to eat live fish as well as the
best of them, and before I left the island I could swallow one as large
as a tolerable-sized salmon; but then, of course, they had no spikes on
their backs. I once saw the king swallow a conger;--I don't think I
could have managed one myself, but you never know what you can do till
you try.
"After supper the maids of honour and the courtiers got up to have a
dance, and I toed-it and heeled-it with the princess to her heart's
content. Didn't I come the double-shuffle in fine style! No man could
ever beat me in dancing, and when I got a princess for my partner it was
the time to show off. The king was delighted, and asked me at once to
come and put up at his palace, and to bring a few bottles of rum, and
some pipes and baccy with me. This I did as soon as the duties of the
ship would allow me. Well, I soon became great friends with the king
and queen, and I used to go up to the palace every day and sit and smoke
a pipe with his majesty in a cosy way, and frequently the queen would
come and take a whiff out of my pipe, till she learnt to smoke too, and
I then taught her to chaw baccy. She was very fond of a quid, let me
tell ye, and we became as friendly as two mice. All the time little
Chickchick used to sit up in a corner by herself, making a mat or a
straw hat, or some such sort of thing, looking up at me with her
beautiful eyes, and listening to all I was saying, though, for the
matter of that, she could not understand much of my lingo. At last I
caught the dear little thing at it, and I thought she would like to
learn to smoke also, so I taught her, and I was not long in finding out
that she had fallen desperately in love with me. Of course, I could not
do less than return the compliment, and told her so, which pleased her
mightily. In fact, the king and queen and I, with the princess, had a
pleasant life of it, with nothing to do and plenty to eat and drink.
"`Now,' said the king one day to me, as we were sitting over our pipes
and grog, `you won't go away in big ship--you no go--you stay marry
Chickchick--be my son--moch better. Enemy come, you fight; friend come,
you talk.'
"By this I concluded he wanted me to become his prime minister--a sort
of first-lieutenant kings have to do all the work for them.
"`I'll think the matter over, your majesty,' I answered, `and if I can
manage it, I'll stay.'
"This answer seemed to please him mightily, and little Chickchick came
up laughing and singing to me soon afterwards, and told me she was so
glad of that; she should like to be my wife above all things. It was a
little bit of unsophisticated nature which pleased me amazingly. I then
arranged with the captain to remain there while he went cruising among
the other islands, and he was then to come back and take me to the South
Polar Sea, where we were bound on a whaling cruise. The ship sailed
away, and so did my pet shark, who I afterwards heard pined and grew
thin, and wouldn't even take his food when he found I was not on board.
It was a mark of affection which touched me sensibly.
"I thus became, by my own intrinsic merits, a prime minister and
son-in-law to a king. I had not an unpleasant life of it altogether;
the princess was very fond of me, and the people were easily governed.
The secret was to let them do exactly what they liked. I used, also, to
make them huge promises, which, though I never kept, served to amuse
them for the time, and I always had the knack of wriggling out of a
scrape, which is the secret of all government. The first thing I did
was to tell them that I would advise the king to abolish all taxes which
were made on bread-fruit, and when by this means I became very popular
as a liberal minister, I published an edict, ordaining that every man
should send twice as many cocoa-nuts to the imperial treasury as before.
The people had enjoyed a long peace, and had become unwarlike, so when
they cried out that it was useless trouble making spears and bows and
arrows and building war canoes, I let them have their own way, which
made me still more popular. I took the precaution, however, of keeping
my own musket ready in my house in case of accidents, as it was the only
fire-arm in the kingdom. There were numerous islands in the
neighbourhood, and on some of them King Rumfiz had in his youth
inflicted a signal chastisement, which they had never forgotten nor
forgiven.
"They had, in the meantime, knocked over two or three of their own
kings, and had established what they called a republic. From what I
could make out, one half of the people were trying to become governors,
and the other half trying not to be governed. They had for some time
past been eating each other up, but having got tired of that fun, and
wanting a change of diet, they thought it would be pleasanter to attack
some other people. I discovered that they had already a large
expedition on foot, and numerous canoes--ready to transport them, though
it was pretended that these forces were to attack another island to the
eastward of them. A spy, however, brought me the intelligence of what
they were about, so I endeavoured to make preparations to give them a
warm reception; but the people would not hear of it, and said it was a
great deal too much trouble to make bows and arrows, and build canoes to
guard against a danger which might never arrive.
"There were several fellows among them, some of whom, I verily believe,
had been bribed by the enemy, who persuaded them that it was much wiser
to make mats and hats and cloths to sell to the merchantmen than to
think of fighting.
"Such was the condition of the country, when one morning, as I was
walking on the sea-shore meditating on the affairs of state, I observed
a large fleet of canoes pulling towards the island; I ran back to the
palace to tell the king, and sent messengers in every direction to warn
the people. All was now hurry, and confusion, and dismay. The first
thing they did was to tumble the peace counsellors into the sea with
lumps of coral round their necks, and they then set to work to string
their bows and to point their arrows and their spears. All the generals
had plans of their own; some proposed letting the enemy land, while they
defended the king's palace; some to meet him half-way, others to
capitulate, while I collected as many men as I could and marched them
down to the beach. I had my musket and ammunition concealed in a bush
for a last effort, should the day be against us. The king came out in
his best dress, and harangued his army to the following effect:--
"`We much fine fellows--much brave--much good; de enemy great
blackguard--much coward--much bad--much beast; shoot arrow, kill
plenty.'
"On this the army cheered and waved their spears and bows. We reached
the beach but just in time to receive the enemy, who were mightily
disappointed, expecting to land without any trouble, and to make a fine
feast of our carcases. On seeing us they set up a terrific shout, in
the hopes of frightening us away, but it was no go, and then they began
to pepper us with their arrows, which came as thick as hail about our
ears. Under cover of this shower they pulled into the beach. Our
warriors were brave, but they were long unaccustomed to fighting, and
many were killed and driven back by the enemy. I trembled for my
father-in-law's throne, when I considered that the time had arrived to
bring my musket into play. The first fire astonished them not a little,
but when they found that this patent thunder-maker (as they called it)
knocked over two or three fellows every time it spoke, they thought it
was high time to turn tail and be off. As soon as the enemy began to
retreat, the mob came forward in crowds to attack them, shrieking and
swearing, and abusing them like pickpockets, though they had, while
there was any danger, kept carefully out of the way. I continued firing
on the retreating foe as long as they continued in sight, for my gun
could carry farther than any other in existence. It was made under my
own directions, and was a very extraordinary weapon. If it had not been
for that gun, I believe King Rumfiz would have lost his kingdom. He was
very grateful to me, as, to do them justice, were all his subjects; and
I found that I was unanimously elected as the heir to the throne. My
honours did not make me proud, for I felt that I deserved them, and I
became, for some time, more popular than ever. A neighbouring island,
however, which had been for centuries attached to the dominions of King
Rumfiz, gave me much trouble, for though many of the inhabitants were
descended from his own people, they insisted on making themselves
independent (as they called it), and having a king of their own. They
were great cannibals, and used to eat each other up without ceremony,
and as for hissing, hooting, and swearing, few people could match them.
The name of the island was Blarney Botherum. When I first visited them,
I thought, from their own account, that they were a nation of heroes
kept in chains by King Rumfiz for his own especial pleasure and
amusement, and that if I could make them free they would set a bright
example to the rest of the world of intelligence, civilisation, and all
the virtues which adorn human nature. I soon, however, discovered that
the people of Blarney Botherum were the greatest humbugs under the sun.
They had got a set of people among them whom they called medicine men,
who told them that there was a big medicine man in a distant part of the
world, whom they were to obey instead of King Rumfiz, and that, provided
they told him the truth, and gave them cocoa-nuts and breadfruits, they
might tell as many lies as they liked to the king, and might rob and
cheat him as much as they pleased. Whenever, therefore, the little
medicine men wanted cocoa-nuts and bread-fruits, they used to tell the
people the big one required food, and their whole occupation was to
throw dust in the eyes of King Rumfiz (as the Turks say), so that he
might not find out their knavery."