PRETTY JENNIE BELL
My friend had introduced me to the landlord's wife and the only two
boarders in the house. They had resumed a four-handed game of cards.
Something familiar about the landlady's face attracted my attention.
"Have I not seen you before?" I asked.
"Quite likely," she replied.
Then I remembered all about her. She had been a notorious woman of the
street in Liverpool. Many a time she had stopped me and my shipmates on
the Bute Road and asked us to treat her. Sailors are very liberal when
ashore, and very few girls are refused a drink. In England their
favourite tipple is "two pen'orth o' gin and a bit o' sugar, please."
The gin they drink, but the two little cubes of sugar are placed in
their pockets to be eaten when there is no prospect of a free drink.
The next morning my very sociable hostess had a friendly chat with me.
For old acquaintance' sake I must take her to the public-house next door
and buy the gin. That place was quite respectable, but, like all
public-houses in England, women would patronize it with as much freedom
as men. I was simply paralyzed by an introduction I got to a very pretty
young woman, by the proprietor's wife. "This is an old lover of mine,
and he has come back to board with me." I was too polite to deny it, but
it was an infernal lie, all the same.
I could not find a ship just then ready for Mobile. Having nothing to
do, I would frequently sit in the back-room of the public-house.
Everything was so cosy there! A bright fire in the grate made the room
quite cheerful. The proprietor and his wife were a fine-looking and
well-educated couple, always pleasant and sociable. Acquaintances were
continually dropping in for a visit, and a pleasant, merry time it was
for all. One of their friends was a young woman, about twenty years old,
with large brown eyes, always good-natured and pleasant. She was known
as Pretty Jennie Bell, and was, beyond all question, the belle of the
neighbourhood. She was married, but had left her husband on account of
his brutality. Nothing could be said against her character. It was then
Christmas-time. I was sitting in a chair watching the fire and thinking
of home. Every one in the room was laughing and looking at me. I raised
up my head, and saw a branch of mistletoe held over my head. Turning
around, I saw that "Pretty Jennie Bell" was the person who held it in
her hand. She started to run, but I very quickly caught her, and got the
kiss to which I was entitled. All the rest in the house must have a mug
of beer for the kiss that I had won. Such a happy time we had that
evening! Jennie and I had fallen in love with each other.
I had met an old shipmate in Cardiff, who was the first mate of an
American bark. He recommended me to the captain, and I obtained the
position of second mate. I felt quite proud then. It was arranged
between Jennie and me that I should make a voyage, and in the meantime
she would obtain a divorce; we would then get married and go to New
York. Our voyage was for Matanzas, Cuba, with a cargo of coal. A couple
of nights before we were to go, it was my turn to remain on the vessel.
The captain and mate were on shore. As I sat in the cabin reading a book
for pastime, I heard my name called. Jennie had come down to the dock
alone to see me. I went ashore, and asked her if she was not afraid to
come to such a dangerous place on a dark night. In an instant her arms
were around my neck. "George, don't leave me," was all she said. That
settled the business! I helped her on board the vessel, and took her
into the cabin. We sat there talking to each other until after midnight.
The mate then returned. I told him to get another second mate, as I had
changed my mind about going to sea. He laughed, and bade me good-bye.
Jennie and I were both very happy then. The future was not thought
about. In a couple of weeks it became very apparent that I must earn a
living for my pretty wife. The fact of having no trade and being
without influence to obtain suitable employment naturally made me
discouraged. The English navy was giving four pounds sterling as a
bounty for seamen. I shipped as an able seaman, on condition that I
should be put on a man-of-war belonging to Portsmouth Harbour. My
clothing and sea chest I sold. The proceeds and the bounty I gave to
Jennie. I was assigned to the line-of-battle ship St. Vincent, one
hundred and twenty guns. My term of service was for five years. Several
other men and myself were taken across the Bristol Channel, thence by
rail to Portsmouth. The St. Vincent was a very large ship, having five
decks, three tiers of broadside guns, and a crew of twelve hundred men.
I received some clothing and a hammock and found myself a full-fledged
English man-of-war's-man for the second time in my life.
My attention was called to the bulletin offering inducements for
volunteers to the Gunnery Schoolship Excellent. Men of good education,
first-class seamen and physically perfect, were eligible. A man named
McMinn and I made applications for the required examination. Both of us
were taken on board the Excellent and most thoroughly examined.
Everything being satisfactory, we were transferred and made "seamen
gunners" and "submarine divers" in Her Majesty's service. The term of
service was altered to twenty-one years. Extra pay was allowed for the
grade of gunners. Two-pence--four cents--extra was allowed a day as
submarine diver and one shilling an hour while diving, and one penny a
day for each good-conduct stripe, three being the limit. A service
pension was to be granted for seventeen years' service, at eight pence a
day, that being additional to our regular pay. The Excellent was an old
frigate anchored close to the navy yard. She had no masts or rigging,
the crew having nothing more to do with the seamanship. We were divided
into four divisions, each division changing exercises daily. From nine
in the morning until three in the afternoon we were constantly drilling.
Breech- and muzzle-loading guns, broadside guns, howitzers and muskets
and rifles and pikes and cutlasses, all came in rotation, and target
practice daily with big guns and small arms. Then, by turns, we would
put on the submarine armour and practise at diving in thirty feet of
water. On Saturdays and Sundays we had a rest. Five days' drilling in a
week was sufficient. When a man-of-war was ready for sea an order would
be sent to the Excellent for the same number of seamen gunners as the
ship had guns. Then we would rank as Captains of the Guns and receive
pay as petty officers. For instance, a frigate of forty guns was ready
for sea; forty men from the Excellent would be sent on board. As soon as
the frigate returned from a cruise the forty men would be sent back to
continue their practice in gunnery. At three of the afternoon, every
day, three divisions were at liberty to go on shore and remain until
half-past seven the next morning.
I at once rented a nicely furnished room for light housekeeping for one
half crown a week. Then I sent for Jennie. On her arrival, everything
was made pleasant and comfortable. I would be at home three nights out
of every four. Saturdays I would be at liberty at eleven o'clock in the
morning until Monday morning. My wife would draw one half my pay every
month, one quarter pay was given to me in cash monthly, and the other
quarter I could draw in clothing and other necessaries. I needed all my
pay, and it required sharp practice to get it. I could get one pound of
tobacco monthly. That cost one shilling, government price. I sold it
immediately for two shillings. I drew flannel, and sold it at a profit.
I kept my account about square with the paymaster. As I drank no grog,
tea and sugar were given me in lieu of it. McMinn and I were very
friendly. He was a temperance man and gave me his allowance of tea and
sugar. At the end of each month I had quite a quantity due me. My
half-pay was allotted to Mrs. Jennie Thompson, Portsmouth. Then we were
in a quandary. It was necessary for a wife to show a marriage
certificate before she could get the money. Now that was a document
that Jennie did not possess. That little obstacle did not bother us very
long. We went to the Register's office and were married in orthodox
style. Jennie did not worry much over the fact of committing bigamy. She
got the certificate and half-pay, too. We lived together very happily. I
never knew her to be ill-natured or say a cross word. I always had a
cordial welcome, and a pleasant smile awaited me. What money I earned
was spent to advantage. I neither drank liquor nor used tobacco. My
nights were always passed at home with Jennie, and happy hours they
were, too!
One night, while my division was on duty aboard the ship, we had quite a
diversion from the ordinary routine. A big fire was seen on shore. All
boats were "called away" and our division landed at the navy yard, each
man carrying a ship's fire-bucket. A lieutenant had charge of the "fire
brigade" of about one hundred and fifty sailors. Nothing pleases a
sailor more than having something to do on land. Going to a fire was an
unusual treat. Steam fire-engines were not invented at that time. For a
New York city man that fire was a comical sight. On our arrival at the
scene, we found a regiment of soldiers drawn up in double line around
the burning buildings. Behind them were about all the prostitutes in the
city---and they were numerous in proportion to the population. The
soldiers opened ranks for us to pass inside the lines, the women
encouraging the sailors by singing out, "Go it, Excellents! Be lively,
my lads!" The troops had their muskets and, in their bright scarlet
uniforms, made a grand display. Only one old-fashioned fire-engine,
worked by hand, was to be seen. The old box was so leaky that the water
was spurting in all directions except the proper one. Our gallant
lieutenant, with his drawn sword pointed to the burning building, was
ordering us to put out the fire. The whole block was a row of small
two-story brick buildings. As one house would burn down, the next would
catch fire. The fire-buckets were of leather, with a rope thirty feet in
length attached to each one, for the purpose of hoisting water over the
ship's side and lowering it down the hatches in case of fire. On shore
the circumstances were different. The rope was a great impediment. But
something must be done to show what sailors could do at a fire.
A dam of mud was made in the street gutter, the leaks in the fire-engine
furnishing abundance of water. All hands were formed in line and each
man, dipping up a bucketful of water, would run to the burning
structure, the lieutenant with his sword would point out the particular
second-story window into which he wanted the contents of the bucket
thrown, and so it would go. That plan was a dismal failure. It would
require men about twenty feet in height for that style of fire-fighting.
The agents of the insurance company asked us to tear down a building
about six houses to the leeward of the fire. By that means the fire
could be checked from spreading. The fun then began in earnest. A stick
of timber was used as a battering-ram for the outside; inside the
building the sailors were like a swarm of bees. One enterprising man
was boosted up into the attic; he did not remain there long, however,
for, making a misstep, he went through the second-story ceiling, his
body and a quantity of plastering landing on his shipmates below. That
building was a complete wreck in a very short time. While the wrecking
was in progress, some of the sailors had got on the roof of a building
next to the fire. Then the hose was pulled up, and during that process
the sailors close by got a good ducking occasionally. Somehow, the
sailors could not control the nozzle properly---at least they said so.
In a short time the fire was put out, and there were four buildings not
damaged between the ruins and the wreck. How that insurance agent did
growl and rave!
All hands picked up their buckets and were marched to the navy yard, and
on our way a saloon-keeper was called out of bed and the lieutenant
treated each man to a pint of beer. About daylight we were on board the
ship again. The sailor who so gallantly held the nozzle and squelched
the fire was in luck. The insurance company made him a present of ten
shillings, and also wrote a letter to the captain of the Excellent,
praising the conduct of the aforesaid sailor. As he had ruined a fine
pair of trousers which cost him twenty shillings to replace, his reward
was considered quite small. The men in the house-wrecking business were
inclined to be envious; they were not even thanked for their hard work.
By hard study and strict attention to duty, I soon became a good gunner.
The cutlass exercise I was very fond of. Every evening, when I remained
on board, I would get some good man to use the single sticks with me for
amusement, and, consequently, I became quite a good swordsman. In April
we received news in regard to the Rebellion in the United States. Jennie
and I had a long conversation on the subject, and both concluded that it
would be much better for me to be in the United States navy, where
promotion was possible. The pay was also much better. Besides, I was not
an Englishman, and it was my duty to fight for my country. It was
arranged that Jennie should go home to her parents, and remain there
until I could send for her from New York. I was to desert from the
Excellent.
Now, deserting from that vessel was a serious affair, as neither labour
nor expense was spared in capturing a deserter. The penalty was not less
than one year in prison. It was very seldom that a gunner ran away, and
nearly every one who did so was caught. I got a canvas bag, such as
sailors use, instead of a chest. Taking it home, I filled it with any
old dresses or rags that Jennie could get. I brought two No. 3
grape-shot from the ship, and put them in with the other trash. My
object was to have my baggage to take with me. I told McMinn of my
intentions. He had his discharge from the English merchant service,
which he gave to me, as it might be very useful. My sailor clothes I
sold, except the suit I had on. Jennie told our landlady that she was
going home on a visit. Everything being ready, we bade each other an
affectionate good-bye, and she went away. The next day I got a pass from
the captain for permission to travel for twenty-four hours unmolested.
I got my man-of-war's suit changed, and, taking my baggage, and getting
on the cars, I was in London in a few hours.
Securing my bag, I at once went to the Sailors' Home on the East India
Road, registering my name as John McMinn, also showing the discharge
from the merchant service. I stated that I had been home several months
on a visit. The Home was a very large building built by the Government
for the protection of sailors from the numerous boarding-house sharks.
The charges were just enough to cover all expenses, and each man had a
small room to himself, besides the use of the library and the
bathing-room. There was also a large sitting-room, and a shipping office
was on the lower floor. Men could be shipped there or paid off; in fact,
everything was done to protect sailors from being defrauded. Early the
next morning I went to London dock. In a short time I found an English
brig ready for sea. Showing my discharge to the captain, he told me that
I was just the kind of man he wanted, and gave me an order to be
shipped. I went to the Home and signed the Articles for a voyage to St.
Kitts, West Indies.
An advance note for two pounds ten was given me, and the next day, at
ten o'clock, the brig was to sail, that being the time of high tide, and
the dock gates open. That also was the time that I would be proclaimed a
deserter from Her Majesty's service, it now being twenty-four hours
after my pass had expired. I had no intention of going to St. Kitts, and
about nine o'clock I settled my bill, and, picking up my bag, was going
out of the door, when I met one of the owners of the brig.
"Ah, my lad, I came to ship another man in your place. We thought you
had backed out."
"Oh, no!" I replied. "I am just on my way to the docks."
"Then hurry, lad, you have no time to lose."
Well, that brig went to sea with my name on the Articles. That was what
I wanted. But I was not one of the crew. I went to a shipping office,
threw my bag into a corner, and told them that I wanted to ship on a
vessel. I was sent to an American ship to see the mate, and from him I
got an order to be shipped. The voyage was around Cape Horn to Callao,
Peru, from there to Australia, and thence to the United States. That
trip would be around the world and would take a year to complete.