THE DEPARTURE OF THE DUNCAN.
It has been already said that Lady Helena had a brave and generous
soul. What she had just done was an undeniable proof of it, and Lord
Glenarvan had good reason to trust in this noble woman, who was
capable of comprehending and following him. The idea of sailing to
the rescue of Captain Grant had already taken possession of him when
he saw his petition rejected at London; but he could not have thought
of separating from her. Yet, since she desired to go herself, all
hesitation was at an end. The servants of the castle had received her
proposal with cries of joy; the safety of their brother Scots was at
stake, and Lord Glenarvan joined heartily in the hurrahs that greeted
the lady of Luss.
The scheme once resolved upon, there was not an hour to lose. That
very day Lord Glenarvan sent to Captain Mangles orders to bring the
Duncan to Glasgow, and make every preparation for a voyage to the South
Seas, which might become one of circumnavigation. Moreover, in her
plans Lady Helena had not overestimated the qualities of the Duncan:
of first-class construction with regard to strength and swiftness, she
could without injury sustain a long voyage.
[Sidenote: FITTING FOR SEA.]
The Duncan was a steam yacht of one hundred and ten tons burden.
She had two masts,--a foremast with fore-sail, main-sail, foretop
and foretop-gallant sails; and a mainmast, carrying a main-sail and
fore-staff. Her rigging was, therefore, sufficient, and she could
profit by the wind like a simple clipper; but she relied especially
upon her mechanical power. Her engine was of an effective force of one
hundred and sixty horse power, and was constructed on a new plan. It
possessed apparatus for overheating, which gave its steam a very great
tension. It was a high-pressure engine, and produced motion by a double
screw. The Duncan under full steam could acquire a speed equal to any
vessel of that day. Indeed, during her trial trip in the Frith of
Clyde, she had made, according to the log, seventeen knots an hour. She
was, therefore, fully capable of circumnavigating the world; and her
captain had only to occupy himself with the internal arrangement.
His first care was to increase his store-room, and take in the
greatest possible quantity of coal, for it would be difficult to renew
their supplies on the voyage. The same precaution was taken with the
steward's room, and provisions for two years were stowed away. Money,
of course, was not wanting, and a pivot-gun was furnished, which was
fixed at the forecastle. You do not know what may happen, and it is
always best to have the means of defense in your reach.
Captain Mangles, we must say, understood his business. Although he
commanded only a pleasure yacht, he was ranked among the ablest of
the Glasgow captains. He was thirty years of age, with rather rough
features, indicating courage and kindness. When a child, the Glenarvan
family had taken him under their care, and made him an excellent
seaman. He had often given proofs of skill, energy, and coolness during
his long voyages, and when Lord Glenarvan offered him the command of
the Duncan, he accepted it with pride and pleasure, for he loved the
lord of Malcolm Castle as a brother, and until then had vainly sought
an opportunity to devote himself to his service.
The mate, Tom Austin, was an old sailor worthy of all confidence; and
the crew of the Duncan was composed of twenty-five men, including
the captain and mate. They all belonged to the county of Dumbarton,
were all tried seamen, sons of the tenants of the family, and formed
on shipboard a genuine clan of honest people, who of course were not
without the national bagpipe. Lord Glenarvan had, in them, a band of
faithful subjects, happy in their avocation, devoted, courageous, and
skillful in the use of arms, as well as in the management of a ship,
while they were ready to follow him on the most perilous expeditions.
When they learned where they were going, they could not restrain their
joyous emotion, and the echoes of the rocks of Dumbarton awoke to their
cries of enthusiasm.
Captain Mangles, while occupied in lading and provisioning his craft,
did not forget to prepare Lord and Lady Glenarvan's apartments for a
long voyage. He likewise provided cabins for Captain Grant's children,
for Lady Helena could not refuse Mary permission to accompany her on
the expedition.
As for young Robert, he would have hidden in the hold sooner than
not go; even if he had been compelled to serve as cabin-boy, like
Lord Nelson and Sir John Franklin, he would have embarked on board
the Duncan. To think of opposing such a little gentleman! It was
not attempted. They were even obliged to take him other than as
passenger, for as cabin-boy or sailor he _would serve_. The captain was
accordingly commissioned to teach him the duties of a seaman.
"Good!" said Robert; "and let him not spare a few blows of the rope's
end if I do not walk straight."
"Be easy, my boy," replied Glenarvan, without adding that the use of
the "cat-o'-nine-tails" was prohibited, and moreover quite needless, on
board the Duncan.
[Sidenote: GLASGOW GOSSIP.]
To complete the roll of the passengers, it will be sufficient to
describe Major MacNabb. The major was a man of fifty, of calm,
regular features, who did as he was bid; of an excellent and superior
character, modest, taciturn, peaceable, and mild; always agreeing
with anything or any one, disputing nothing, and neither contradicting
himself nor exaggerating. He would mount with measured step the
staircase to his bed-chamber, even were a cannon-ball behind him; and
probably to his dying day would never find an opportunity to fly into a
passion.
This man possessed, in a high degree, not only the common courage of
the battle-field (that physical bravery due only to nervous strength),
but, better still, moral courage, that is to say, firmness of soul. If
he had a fault, it was that of being absolutely Scotch from head to
foot, a pure-blooded Caledonian, an infatuated observer of the ancient
customs of his country. Through his relationship to the Glenarvans he
lived at Malcolm Castle; and as major and military man it was very
natural that he should be found on board the Duncan.
Such, then, were the passengers of this yacht, summoned by unforeseen
circumstances to accomplish one of the most surprising voyages of
modern times. Since her arrival at the wharf at Glasgow, she had
monopolized the public attention. A considerable number came every day
to visit her. They were interested in her alone, and spoke only of her,
to the great umbrage of the other captains of the port, among others
Captain Burton, commanding the Scotia, a magnificent steamer, moored
beside the Duncan, and bound for Calcutta. The Scotia, from her size,
had a right to consider the Duncan as a mere fly-boat. Nevertheless,
all the attraction centred in Lord Glenarvan's yacht, and increased
from day to day.
The time of departure approached. Captain Mangles had shown himself
skillful and expeditious. A month after her trial trip in the Frith of
Clyde, the Duncan, laden, provisioned, and equipped, was ready to put
to sea. The 25th of August was appointed for the time of departure,
which would enable the yacht to reach the southern latitudes by the
beginning of spring. Lord Glenarvan, when his plan was matured, did
not neglect to make investigations into the hardships and perils of the
voyage; yet he did not hesitate on this account, but prepared to leave
Malcolm Castle.
On the 24th of August, Lord and Lady Glenarvan, Major MacNabb, Mary and
Robert Grant, Mr. Olbinett, the steward of the yacht, and his wife, who
was in the service of Lady Glenarvan, left the castle, after taking an
affectionate farewell of their family servants. Several hours afterward
they found themselves on board. Many of the population of Glasgow
welcomed with sympathetic admiration the young and courageous lady who
renounced the pleasures of a life of luxury, and sailed to the rescue
of the shipwrecked sailors.
The apartments of Lord Glenarvan and his wife occupied the entire stern
of the vessel. They consisted of two bed-chambers, a parlor, and two
dressing-rooms, adjoining which was an open square inclosed by six
cabins, five of which were occupied by Mary and Robert Grant, Mr. and
Mrs. Olbinett, and Major MacNabb. As for the cabins of the captain and
the mate, they were situated in the forecastle, and opened on the deck.
The crew were lodged between-decks very comfortably, for the yacht of
course carried nothing but her coal, provisions, and armament.
The Duncan was to start on the night of the 24th, as the tide fell at
three o'clock in the morning. But first those who were present were
witness to a touching scene. At eight in the evening Lord Glenarvan and
his companions, the entire crew, from the firemen to the captain, all
who were to take part in this voyage of sacrifice, left the yacht, and
betook themselves to Saint Mungo, the ancient cathedral of Glasgow.
This antique church, an uninjured relic in the midst of the ruins
caused by the Reformation, and so marvelously described by Walter
Scott, received beneath its massive arches the owners and sailors of
the Duncan.
[Sidenote: PRAYER, AND PROGRESS.]
A numerous throng accompanied them. There in the spacious aisle,
filled with tombs of the great and good, the Rev. Mr. Morton implored
the blessing of Heaven, and commended the expedition to the care of
Providence. For a moment the voice of Mary Grant arose in the old
church. The young girl was praying for her benefactors, and shedding
before God the sweet tears of gratitude. The assembly retired under the
influence of a deep emotion.
At eleven, every one was on board. The captain and the crew occupied
themselves with the final preparations. At midnight the fires were
kindled, and soon clouds of black smoke mingled with the vapors of the
night; the sails of the Duncan had been carefully reefed in a canvas
sheathing, which served to protect them from injury. The wind blew from
the southeast, and did not favor the progress of the vessel; but at two
o'clock the ship began to heave under the action of her boilers. The
manometer indicated a pressure of four atmospheres, and the overheated
steam whistled through the escape-valves. The sea was tranquil, and
soon daylight enabled them to distinguish the passes of the Clyde
between the buoys and beacons, whose lights were gradually extinguished
as the morning dawned.
Captain Mangles informed Lord Glenarvan, who at once came on deck. Very
soon the ebb-tide was felt. The Duncan gave a few shrill whistles,
slackened her cables, and separated from the surrounding vessels. Her
screw was set in motion, which propelled her into the channel of the
river. The captain had taken no pilot. He was perfectly acquainted with
the navigation of the Clyde, and no one could have commanded better. At
a sign from him the yacht started. With his right hand he controlled
the engine, and with his left the tiller, with silent but unerring
skill.
[Illustration: The Rev. Mr. Morton implored the blessing of Heaven, and
commended the expedition to the care of Providence.]
[Sidenote: A CHANGE OF SCENE.]
Soon the last workshops on the shore gave place to villas, built here
and there upon the hills, and the sounds of the city died away in the
distance. An hour afterwards, the Duncan passed the rocks of Dumbarton;
two hours later she was in the Frith of Clyde; and at six o'clock in
the morning she doubled Cantyre Point, emerged from the North Channel,
and gained the open sea.
[Illustration]