A strange adventure—in consequence of which I am extremely
happy—Crampley does me in offices with the Captain; but his malice is
defeated by the good-nature and friendship of the surgeon—we return to
Port Royal—our Captain gets the command of a larger ship, and is
succeeded by an old man—Brayl is provided for—we receive orders to sail
for England
When my patients were all in a fair way, my companion and commander,
whose name was Brayl, carried me up the country to the house of a rich
planter, with whom he was acquainted, where we were sumptuously
entertained, and in the evening set out on our return to the ship. When
we had walked about a mile by moonlight, we perceived a horseman behind
us, who coming up, wished us good even, and asked which way we went?
His voice, which was quite familiar to me, no sooner struck my ear,
than in spite of all my resolution and reflection, my hair bristled up,
and I was seized with a violent fit of trembling, which Brayl
misinterpreting, bade me be under no concern. I told him he was
mistaken in the cause of my disorder; and, addressing myself to the
person on horseback said, “I could have sworn by your voice, that you
were a dear friend of mine, if I had not been certain of his death.” To
this address, after some pause, he replied, “There are many voices as
well as faces that resemble one another; but, pray, what was your
friend’s name.” I satisfied him in that particular, and gave a short
detail of the melancholy fate of Thompson, not without many sighs and
some tears. A silence ensued, which lasted some minutes, and then the
conversation turned on different subjects, till we arrived at a house
on the road, where the horseman alighted, and begged with so much
earnestness that we would go in and drink a bowl of punch with him,
that we could not resist. But, if I was alarmed at his voice, what must
my amazement be, when I discovered by the light the very person of my
lamented friend! Perceiving my confusion, which was extreme, he clasped
me in his arms, and bedewed my face with tears. It was some time ere I
recovered the use of my reason, overpowered with this event, and longer
still before I could speak. So that all I was capable of was to return
his embraces, and to mingle the overflowings of my joy with his; whilst
honest Brayl, affected with the scene, wept as fast as either of us,
and signified his participation of our happiness by hugging us both,
and capering about the room like a madman. At length, I retrieved the
use of my tongue, and cried, “Is it possible! you can be my friend
Thompson? No certainly, alas! he was drowned; and I am now under the
deception of a dream!” He was at great pains to convince me of his
being the individual person whom I regretted, and bidding me sit down
and compose myself, promised to explain his sudden disappearance from
the Thunder, and to account for his being at present in the land of the
living. This task he acquitted himself of, after I had drunk a glass of
punch, and recollected my spirits, by informing us, that with a
determination to rid himself of a miserable existence, he had gone in
the night-time to the head, while the ship was on her way, from whence
he slipped down as softly as he could, by the bows into the sea, where,
after he was heartily ducked, he began to repent of his precipitation;
and, as he could swim very well, kept himself above water, in hopes of
being taken up by some of the ships astern; that, in this situation, he
hailed a large vessel, and begged to be taken in, but was answered that
she was a heavy sailer, and therefore they did not choose to lose time
by bringing to; however, they threw an old chest overboard for his
convenience, and told him, that some of the ships astern would
certainly save him; that no other vessel came within sight or cry of
him for the space of three hours, during which time he had the
mortification to find himself in the middle of the ocean alone, without
other support or resting-place, but what a few crazy boards afforded;
till at last he discerned a small sloop steering towards him, upon
which he set up his throat, and had the good fortune to be heard and
rescued from the dreary waste by their boat, which was hoisted out on
purpose.
“I was no sooner brought on board,” continued he, “than I fainted, and,
when I recovered my senses, found myself in bed, regaled with a most
noisome smell of onions and cheese, which made me think at first that I
was in my own hammock, alongside of honest Morgan, and that all which
had passed was no more than a dream. Upon inquiry, I understood that I
was on board of a schooner belonging to Rhode Island, bound for
Jamaica, with a cargo of geese, pigs, onions, and cheese, and that the
master’s name was Robertson, by birth a North Briton, whom I knew at
first sight to be an old school-fellow of mine. When I discovered
myself to him, he was transported with surprise and joy, and begged to
know the occasion of my misfortune, which I did not think fit to
disclose, because I knew his notions with regard to religion were very
severe and confined; therefore contented myself with telling him I fell
overboard by accident; but made no scruple of explaining the nature of
my disagreeable station, and of acquainting him with my determined
purpose never to return to the Thunder man-of-war. Although he was not
of my opinion in that particular, knowing that I must lose my clothes
and what pay was due to me, unless I went back to my duty; yet, when I
described the circumstances of the hellish life I led under the
tyrannic sway of Oakum and Mackshane; and, among other grievances,
hinted a dissatisfaction at the irreligious deportment of my shipmates,
and the want of the true presbyterian gospel doctrine; he changed his
sentiments, and conjured me with great vehemence and zeal to lay aside
all thought of rising in the navy; and, that he might show how much he
had my interest at heart, undertook to provide for me in some shape or
other, before he should leave Jamaica. This promise he performed to my
heart’s desire, by recommending me to a gentleman of fortune, with whom
I have lived ever since in quality of surgeon and overseer to his
plantations. He and his lady are now at Kingston, so that I am, for the
present, master of this house, to which, from my soul, I bid you
welcome, and hope you will favour me with your company during the
remaining part of the night.”
I needed not a second invitation; but Mr. Brayl, who was a diligent and
excellent officer, could not be persuaded to sleep out of the ship;
however, he supped with us, and, after having drank a cheerful glass,
set out for the vessel, which was not above three miles from the place,
escorted by a couple of stout negroes, whom Mr. Thompson ordered to
conduct him. Never were two friends more happy in the conversation of
each other than we, for the time it lasted. I related to him the
particulars of our attempt upon Carthagena, of which he had heard but
an imperfect account; and he gratified me with a narration of every
little incident of his life since we parted. He assured me, it was with
the utmost difficulty he could resist his inclination of coming down to
Port Royal, to see Morgan and me, of whom he had heard no tidings since
the day of our separation: but that he was restrained by the fear of
being detained as a deserter. He told me that, when he heard my voice
in the dark, he was almost as much surprised as I was at seeing him
afterwards: and, in the confidence of friendship, disclosed a passion
he entertained for the only daughter of the gentleman with whom he
lived, who, by his description, was a very amiable young lady, and did
not disdain his addresses; that he was very much favoured by her
parents; and did not despair of obtaining their consent to the match,
which would at once render him independent of the world. I
congratulated him on his good fortune, which he protested should never
make him forget his friends; and, towards morning, we betook ourselves
to rest.
Next day he accompanied me to the ship, where Mr. Brayl entertained him
at dinner, and we having spent the afternoon together, he took his
leave of us in the evening, after he had forced upon me ten pistoles,
as a small token of his affection. In short, while he stayed here, we
saw one another every day, and generally ate at the same table, which
was plentifully supplied by him with all kinds of poultry, butcher’s
meat, oranges, limes, lemons, pine-apples, Madeira wine, and excellent
rum; so that this small interval of ten days was by far the most
agreeable period of my life.
At length the Lizard arrived; and my patients being all fit for duty,
they and I were ordered on board of her, where I understood from Mr.
Tomlins that there was a shyness between the lieutenant and him on my
account; the rancorous villain having taken the opportunity of my
absence to fill the captain’s ears with a thousand scandalous stories
to my prejudice; among other things affirming, that I had been once
transported for theft, and that when I was in the Thunder man-of-war, I
had been whipped for the same crime. The surgeon, on the other hand,
having heard my whole story from my own mouth, defended me strenuously,
and in the course of that good-natured office recounted all the
instances of Crampley’s malice against me while I remained on board of
that ship; which declaration, while it satisfied the captain of my
innocence, made the lieutenant as much my defender’s enemy as mine. The
infernal behaviour of Crampley, with regard to me, added such fuel to
his former resentment, that, at certain times, I was quite beside
myself with the desire of revenge, and was even tempted to pistol him
on the quarter-deck, though an infamous death must inevitably have been
my reward. But the surgeon, who was my confidant, argued against such a
desperate action so effectually, that I stifled the flame which
consumed me for the present, and resolved to wait for a more convenient
opportunity. In the meantime, that Mr. Tomlins might be the more
convinced of the wrongs I suffered by this fellow’s slander, I begged
he would go and visit Mr. Thompson, whose wonderful escape I had made
him acquainted with, and inquire of him into the particulars of my
conduct, while he was my fellow-mate.
This request the surgeon complied with, more through curiosity to see a
person whose fate had been so extraordinary, than to confirm his good
opinion of me, which he assured me was already firmly established. He
therefore set out for the dwelling-place of my friend, with a letter of
introduction from me; and being received with all the civility and
kindness I expected, returned to the ship, not only satisfied with my
character beyond the power of doubt or insinuation, but also charmed
with the affability and conversation of Thompson, who loaded him and me
with presents of fresh stock, liquors, and fruit. As he would not
venture to come and see us on board, lest Cramplay should know and
detain him; when the time of our departure approached, I obtained leave
to go and bid him farewell. After we had vowed an everlasting
friendship, he pressed upon me a purse, with four doubloons, which I
refused as long as I could without giving umbrage; and, having
cordially embraced each other, I returned on board, where I found a
small box, with a letter directed for me, to the care of Mr. Tomlins.
Knowing the superscription to be of Thompson’s handwriting, I opened it
with some surprise, and learned that this generous friend, not content
with loading me with the presents already mentioned, had sent, for my
use and acceptance, half a dozen fine shirts, and as many linen
waistcoats and caps, with twelve pair of new thread stockings. Being
thus provided with money and all necessaries for the comfort of life, I
began to look upon myself as a gentleman of some consequence, and felt
my pride dilate a pace.
Next day we sailed for Port Royal, where we arrived safely with our
prizes; and, as there was nothing to do on board, I went ashore, and
having purchased a laced waistcoat, with some other clothes, at a sale,
made a swaggering figure for some days among the taverns, where I
ventured to play a little at hazard, and came off with fifty pistoles
in my pocket. Meanwhile our captain was promoted to a ship of twenty
guns, and the command of the Lizard given to a man turned of fourscore,
who had been lieutenant since the reign of King William, and,
notwithstanding his long service, would have probably died in that
station, had he not applied some prize-money he had lately received, to
make interest with his superiors. My friend Brayl was also made an
officer about the same time, after he had served in quality of a
midshipman and mate for five and twenty years. Soon after these
alterations, the admiral pitched upon our ship to carry home dispatches
for the ministry; and we set sail for England, having first scrubbed
her bottom, and taken in provision and water for the occasion.