AN INTERVIEW IN THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN
"Our log-book indicates that we passed a steamer to the northward of us at
four bells in the mid-watch," said Captain Ringgold, when Dr. Ferrolan
finished his narrative. "She was headed about west by south; and very
likely it was the one which ran into the Travancore, for no other was
reported."
"She was a vessel of about four hundred tons," added the viscount. "I was
in the pilot-house at the time, though the weather was so thick that I
could hardly make her out as she slipped off from our starboard bow, and
went on her course."
"Didn't she hail you, and offer to stand by you?"
inquired the commander.
"I heard something like a shout coming from her, and in a moment she was
beyond hailing-distance. I supposed we were going to the bottom in a few
minutes, and had my hands full, so that I had no time to look out for her,
though I supposed she would come about and render assistance; but we did
not hear from her again."
"It is possible that she did so, and was unable to find you, for it was
very dark, and the sea was very rough," suggested the commander. "But her
conduct looks heathenish, and I will warrant that she was not an English
steamer; for the British tars never pass by their fellow-beings on the
ocean in distress without rendering assistance."
"It was a new experience to me," added his lordship, "and perhaps I
neglected something I ought to have done."
"I think not; for your first and supreme duty at that time was to look out
for the safety of your own vessel," replied Captain Ringgold.
"So far as that was concerned, I believe I did all I could do to repair the
mischief," continued the viscount. "The chief engineer reported to me that
the side of the yacht was stove in near the bow, and that the water was
pouring into the hull. He suggested that a double sailcloth be hauled under
the vessel. We had no sails, but we promptly made use of an awning, and we
succeeded in drawing it under the bottom, and covering the aperture."
"That was precisely the right thing to do," said the commander.
"Probably it enabled us to float a short time longer than we should
otherwise have done; but the yacht had taken in too much water before we
applied the remedy, for suddenly, on the top of a huge wave, she made a
heavy roll, capsized, and came up with her keel in the air. I am only
afraid that I did not do all that might have been done."
"I could have done no more if I had been there with all my ship's company,"
the commander declared; for the amateur captain of the Travancore was a
conscientious man, and desired to relieve his mind of all blame for his
conduct; and he had really done all that could be done, though the remedy
applied was a failure.
"My chief engineer was an experienced man, and I followed his counsels in
everything," added the viscount.
"His lordship did all that it was possible for any man to do in such a
case," interposed the chief engineer of the Travancore, who was seated on
the platform. "I can only thank God that we were all saved, and I am sure
that no one is to blame."
"I am told that our cabin waiter and four coolies were picked up by the
other steamer," said Lord Tremlyn, as he looked about him.
"That is true, sir," interposed Mr. Boulong, who stood on the deck by the
platform. "Sir Modava told me there were eleven persons on board of the
wreck. I saw that number saved myself."
The details of the wreck of the Travancore were fully explained, though
individuals continued to talk about it until lunch-time. At the mid-day
repast the commander gave up his plan of seating the party, and invited the
members of it to select their own places; and they all took those they had
occupied at breakfast. In the afternoon the rough sea had almost entirely
subsided under the influence of the north-east monsoon, and the motion of
the steamer was easy and pleasant.
The company assembled in the music-room after a walk on deck, and the
captain, with the three notable guests, joined them after they had finished
their cigars; for all of them smoked. The "Gospel Hymns" and other hymn and
tune books were distributed. It was the usual time for singing, and the
trio from the Travancore contributed largely to the volume of tone on the
occasion. The new third officer had been stationed in the watch with Mr.
Boulong, and Scott had the first part of the afternoon watch. The officers
and engineers not on duty, as well as the members of the party from the
wreck, gathered at the windows of the music-room, and the commander invited
them to take seats in the apartment, thus adding still more to the volume
of the harmony. The music was all sacred, and nothing purely secular was
permitted by the captain.
Dr. Ferrolan, who had a fine bass voice, was invited to sing "Rocked in the
Cradle of the Deep," at the suggestion of Lord Tremlyn. His lordship sang
"Oh that I had Wings!" and Mrs. Belgrave, who was the pianist of the
occasion, gave a solo, while Sir Modava sang the "Missionary Hymn," which
is still a favorite in England and America, translated into the Hindu
language. The party who could not understand him followed in the
hymn-books.
"I wonder who wrote that beautiful hymn," said Mrs. Blossom, when there was
a pause as the singer finished. "It says Heber in my book, but I don't know
who he was."
"Reginald Heber was an English clergyman and poet, born in 1783. He was a
student in an Oxford college; I forget which," replied Sir Modava.
"Brasenose," prompted the viscount.
"As a student in this college he wrote 'Palestine,' for which he obtained
the prize; and it still holds a place in the literature of England. He soon
obtained a living, and occupied a prominent position among the clergy of
his native island. In 1823 he was made Bishop of Calcutta.
"Three years later, in the midst of his zealous labors in the service of
his Master, he died at Trichinopoly of apoplexy, greatly lamented. Perhaps
'From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand,'
which you have sung this afternoon, is the widest-known of Bishop Heber's
hymns; but will you indulge me if I ask you to sing another of them, which
I find in the book I hold in my hand?--
'Brightest and best of the sons of the morning,
Dawn on our darkness, and lend us thine aid.'"
The hymn was sung to Mozart's music by about twenty voices, and the effect
was exceedingly agreeable. Sir Modava seemed to be in a rapture, as the
piece was his favorite, and came from one who was connected with his native
land.
He was a rather tall and slender man, and all the ladies declared that he
was very handsome; and his slightly dusky hue added to, rather than took
from, the beauty of his countenance. He wore a small mustache, but no other
beard. He was a nervous and highly sensitive person, and there was always a
smile on his face. He had already become a favorite among the gentlemen as
well as the ladies.
Another meeting was held in the evening, which was varied by some speaking
on the part of the gentlemen, including the guests, Uncle Moses, Dr.
Hawkes, and the commander. At the conclusion of the exercises, Sir Modava
begged the company to close by singing another of Bishop Heber's verses,
which he repeated from memory, though it was in one of the books:--
"God that madest earth and heaven,
Darkness and light;
Who the day for toil hast given,
For rest the night,--
May thine angel guards defend us,
Slumber sweet thy mercy send us,
This livelong night!"
With this musical prayer on their lips, the company retired. Most of them
went to their staterooms; for the guests were very tired, and the regular
inmates of the cabin had left their berths at an unusually early hour in
the morning. All of them, whether technically religious or not, had been
greatly impressed by the music and the speaking of the evening. Dr.
Ferrolan was a more inveterate smoker than his companions in misfortune,
and he went with the commander to the deck, and was invited to the
captain's cabin, where he was provided with cigars.
"As you have already learned, Doctor, I am greatly interested in the
educational feature of my ship," said Captain Ringgold, after they had
conversed a while. "I desire to make it as attractive as possible, and I
have studied to vary it all I could."
"You have turned your ship into a noble and useful institution," replied
the guest. "Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava have both spoken in the highest
terms of this feature. And these lectures are mainly for the benefit of Mr.
Belgrave, your owner?"
"The plan was introduced principally on his account; but it has grown into
an exercise for all the cabin party, and most of them are speakers as well
as listeners; for it makes all of them feel a greater interest in the
conferences," replied the commander. "To-morrow we are to begin upon India,
dwelling upon its geography, civilization, government, and history. Now, I
wish to ask you, Doctor, if there would be any impropriety in my asking the
members of your party berthed in the cabin to take part in these
exercises?"
"Not the slightest, Captain Ringgold."
"Probably you are all better informed in regard to the affairs of the
peninsula than any three other men I could find if I were to search for
them here and in England," added the commander.
"You are not far from right, sir, as far as my associates are concerned;
for officially or unofficially they have visited every part of India, and
studied up in detail everything relating to the people, the country, the
army, and the institutions, both native and British."
"As you have been with Lord Tremlyn in his travels, you must be very
familiar with the affairs of India, Doctor."
"Reasonably familiar; but not so well acquainted with them as my
companions," answered the physician. "Perhaps I do not violate any
confidence in saying that his lordship and his Hindu friend had a
conversation just before dinner to-day, in which they were discussing in
what manner they could best assist you in seeing India. As you suggest,
they are the two men who know more of India than any others I think of, not
excepting the governor-general and his subordinates."
"I came to this conclusion when I learned the nature of their mission."
"Sir Modava is personally acquainted with all the native princes; and he
and his lordship are regarded by them as second only to the viceroy, as he
is often unofficially designated. Every door in India, except those of a
few mosques and Parsee temples, open to them, and procure for them and
their friends all the privileges that can reasonably be expected. We
respect the religious exclusiveness of the sects, and do not ask them to
exempt our people from the operation of their rules and customs. The
British government rules India in the spirit of kindness and toleration,
and interferes with the religious, or even political, institutions only so
far as humanity and progressive civilization require. Both of them propose
to volunteer to attend you in your travels in the peninsula, if agreeable
to you."
"We should be delighted to have such conductors, and I shall gladly pay all
the expenses incurred," the commander declared, with an earnestness that
attested his sincerity.
"The expense is a matter of no consequence to the two gentlemen; for both
of them would be multimillionaires in America, though pounds don't count so
numerously as dollars. I am not at all sure they wouldn't gladly pay the
expenses of your party as well as their own; but I am not authorized to
speak on this point. I advise you not to mention expense to either of my
associates. But you can form no idea of the depths of gratitude in the
hearts of the three quartered in your cabin for the timely and skilful
service you rendered in saving us from certain death. I base my views on
what I have heard them say, and what I feel myself," said the doctor with
enthusiasm. "I am certain that any suggestion in regard to expense would
hurt the feelings of my friends and companions."
"I thank you, Dr. Ferrolan, for the frankness with which you have spoken,
and I shall assuredly profit by what you have said," added the commander.
"In what I said about expense I have been moved by what I should do myself
if I had the control of the matter, and were as able as Sir Modava and his
lordship to incur a heavy outlay; though I have a sufficient income to
support a bachelor, I am a poor man compared with them."
The interview closed, and the doctor retired at the end of his cigar. The
next morning Captain Ringgold obtained the ready assent of the two
gentlemen to take part in the conference appointed for half-past nine, and
later that of Dr. Ferrolan.