_PEACE, YACHTING FOR PLEASURE, THE FAIRY BARQUE VISION ITS APPOINTMENTS
AND FURNITURE. VISITING PLACES OF OLD REMEMBRANCES. THE ISLE OF MAN AND
THE IRISH SEA. FANNY AND LOVELL LISTEN TO FORECASTLE YARNS THAT WILL
INTEREST THE READER, ABOUT THIS RENDEZVOUS FOR THE RENOWNED FREEBOOTERS
OF ENGLAND AND THE CONTINENT. AN EXCURSION PLANNED UPON THE LAND._
|Peace came with all its smiles and drove away the grim spirit of
war that had so long scowled upon the colonies of North America, now
acknowledged free and an independant nation. The bond was severed,
the child sprang at once to the estate of manhood and to all its
responsibilities and cares; but it was under the divine guardianship of
the spirit of peace and the especial guidance of Freedom herself; with
such patrons she was sure to prosper, and how she has prospered, let the
present state of the Union bear testimony. Let the twenty millions of
freemen who now people the land speak. From a tender plant as it were,
we have grown to a large and powerful oak whose branches are spread far
and near, and under whose shadowing protection millions may shelter.
We may say peace with all its smiles had come again; Fanny and her
husband were settled in domestic enjoyment, and thrice happy were they
in the love of each other, a love which had been proved in storms and
in calms, in peace and in strife. Habit, how strong a hold does it take
upon our very natures; how unseen yet sure is the progress it gradually
makes in binding us to its ways, and how certain is it of its final
success in bringing us, either for good or for evil, to its supreme and
indisputable will. Fanny, who had tasted the excitement of a life
at sea, who had dwelt upon its breast as a home for many months, had
imbibed, as the sailor seems always to do, an ardent love for it. This
feeling was reflected in the breast of her husband, for William Lovell
was in every sense of the word a sailor, and he too pined for the
excitement he had been accustomed to.
‘William,’ said Fanny one fine evening as they sat by their own hearth,
‘I think we might love each other just as well were we to be on the
element we have both proved so successful upon.’
‘I see no reason to the contrary, Fanny,’ said Lovell.
‘Then let us once more to sea, husband, if it be only to take a farewell
cruise upon the domain of old hoary Neptune.’
‘With all my heart.’
‘And when shall it be?’
‘At as early a day as you please.’
‘Oh, this will be very fine, no enemy to look out for now, but I have
got so well used to that, I don’t know that I should regret if there
was.’
‘How shall we go, Fanny?’
‘It must be in a craft of our own, for I would go just where it may seem
pleasant to us.’
‘True, we must obtain a yacht.’
‘Let it be a small one, such as can be worked by a few hands, William;
we’ll be our own masters.’
‘So it shall be.’
‘You know the kind of craft I love; I’d have her as tidy as a lady on
Sunday and as delicately sparred as any pleasure boat; trust to our
judgment for safety.’
‘I’ll get you one that shall be a very pet for its beauty.’
It was resolved upon thus, that they should again take a cruise upon the
sea; some six years had intervened since they had left their maritime
life, and long and often had they thought with a wish to return to it
again, of their life upon the ocean, but never had they spoken of the
matter before William Lovell set himself forthwith about the proper
arrangements to supply a beautiful pleasure yacht for the object, and
as he was in no way short or wanting in the means, this was easily
accomplished. A little fairy like cutter was provided, that sat like a
bird upon the water, and that made its way almost as swiftly through its
native element as the bird might in its own. There are few objects of
more beauty than a handsome vessel. One of about two hundred tons burden
can be made so as to combine all the grace and beauty of formation and
every needy comfort, without being too bulky or heavy for light and
gentle Zephyrs to fan along the sea, or so large as to look unwieldly
and cumbersome.
This was just the tonnage of Fanny’s yacht, and she called it ‘The
Vision,’ so fairy like and pretty was it in every point.--The rig
was somewhat picturesque, and combined in some respects the odd, yet
graceful and peculiar rig of the Mediterranean sea with the more
natural and reliable arrangements of our own waters. She showed at once
what her character was, a pleasure boat, and she was in every sense of
the word one to take pleasure in. She was a topsail schooner rig, with
certain additions of the peculiar character which we have mentioned.
The Vision was stored with every luxury that the wealth of Lovell could,
procure, and every accommodation prepared for her who was to be its
Mistress. Couches and cushions, with rich and graceful hangings, were as
profusely arranged, and as in good taste as in her parlors at home.
The larder was well cared for, and such shipped, including that honest
fellow Terrence Moony, as were chosen in person by Fanny for their
orderly habits and experience. Thus equipped, the Vision sailed out of
Lynn harbor one fine day for parts unknown.
The ocean is the place for excitement--there is no monotony there, but
change enough; the moment you trust yourself upon its breast you become
an adventurer, and your experience will commence. You have the storm to
contend with, and happy are you if you master it in room of becoming its
victim. You have tides and currents to watch, winds to trim your sails
to, and not unfrequently some daring rover to repel. All these are
vicissitudes of the ocean, and how deeply attached will the mariner
become to the fickle element, even as Fanny and her husband.
The mild, tropical seas of the West Indies were visited, the Moro Castle
once more looked upon, the old anchorage without the harbor once more
assumed, and the very prison within whose walls Lovell had been confined
was visited, each drawing forth fresh interest and an increased desire
for exploration.
After revictualing their fairy craft, the Vision was steered boldly
across the great ocean to the North East, nor furled sail until she
dropped anchor at Gibralter. From thence she entered that great inland
sea the Mediterranean. They visited its ports and ancient spots of
renown and interest, roamed together in that classic land of generous
nature, soft, sunny Italy and thus together whiled away many a month of
pleasant occupation.
Not a little admiration was elicited by the appearance of the American
pleasure yacht in those distant seas. Compared to the large cumbersome
vessels that navigated the waters about her, she looked but a mean
cockle shell, a bird. She spread a large extent of canvass, which,
projecting over her low and graceful hull, hid it mostly from sight when
she was under way.
Like a diamond in a broach, the Isle of Man is set in the very midst of
the Irish Sea midway between the bold shores of England, Scotland, and
Ireland. It is a gem of an Island, and even in the days of which we
write, it boasted of one or two as fine castles and ancient estates, as
the oldest part of England itself. It was at this time, not dependant
on any of the surrounding powers but appeared to be neutral ground where
each and all might meet in amnesty; nor was it until a comparatively
late date that it came completely within the power and possession of
the crown of England, to which it now belongs. It was a romantic spot
in those days, being the resort of the most daring smugglers and
freebooters of the times. The inducements for smuggling from this well
known spot were great, and gave employment to a few hardy and daring
spirits, whose large profits in their perilous trade, more than
compensated them for the continued risk they encountered in their
nightly voyages from the Island to the banks of the Solway, where the
contrabandists generally landed their goods.
Here too, peace and time have worked almost a miracle. At this day, the
spot once the rendezvous for freebooters, has become a place of no
small commercial importance, forming a military and naval depot for
the crowded ranks and numerous flats of the British army and navy.
Its productive soil and highly cultivated lands, its neat cottages and
admirable roads, are a picture of modern improvement. From the highest
point of this Island of the Irish sea, in clear weather the visitor has
a view of the three united Kingdoms of Great Britain. The Vision had run
down the coast, and desiring to see this far-famed spot, she was steered
to its western side, and now lay at anchor in one of its quiet bays.
It was a clear moonlight night--Lovell sat inhaling the flavor of his
segar upon the deck; near to him sat Fanny engaged in contemplating the
beautiful scenery about them, lit up as it was by the silver smiles of
the moon. The Vision gently rose and fell on the swells of the Irish sea
as it rode at anchor.
Suddenly the voices of the crew, some eight fine, active fellows, were
heard aft speaking together. Lovell heard them propose to one of their
number to spin a yarn, which he acceded to.
‘Wife,’ said he to Fanny, ‘let us draw forward and hear the yarn, it
will while away the hour.’
‘With all my heart, William.’
The two brought their deck stools further forward, and seating
themselves listened to the following yarn. It was told by an old weather
beaten mariner who had evidently seen much of salt water, and who
possessed no small degree of intellect.
‘Come, Sky Scraper,’ said one, ‘go ahead, all clear’ The crew called him
thus, from his being much taller in height than his companions, a man of
about six feet.
‘Ay, ay, messmates,’ said he first replenishing his quid.
Sky Scraper after a few preliminary haws and hems, at length commenced.
We do not give his precise language, which was so interspersed with
nautical illustrations and language, that should we do so, the reader
would be unable to understand it.’
‘Well, messmates, you see our laying here just now, with the moon
looking out upon us, and this cove and the land hereaway, and the number
of bells we count just now--all these have brought to my memory the days
when I used to sail from this very anchorage night after night for the
Solway, in as staunch a vessel as ever walked the sea. A real snorter
was the saucy little Dolphin, I can tell you, messmates.
‘Well d’ye see--it might have been just such a night as this, and so it
was, and we lay just here where the land tackle of the Vision now holds,
at just about this hour somewhere about the year 1772. It was a three
masted lugger, the Dolphin, and she was one of the sweetest things that
ever floated, always saving the Vision,’ said the old tar, tipping his
tarpaulin in honor of the little craft in which he sailed. ‘She was
about a hundred and fifty tons burthen, and sat low and deep in the
water. She was painted black, and about her waist ran a single streak
of white, broken in both sides by a couple of ports. Our captain was a
noble fellow and I remember how he looked as he walked the quarter
deck that night. He was rather below the common size, messmates, yet he
looked the captain all over. He wore a broad belt about his waist, in
which he always wore a couple of boarding pistols, and a short cut and
thrust sword.
‘“Unmoor ship,” said the captain through his trumpet.
‘Fifty as fine fellows as ever handled a marlinspike, sprang to execute
the order while the boatswain’s whistle rang out on the still night air,
and the captain walked the quarter deck.
‘“We are brought to, sir,” says the first Luff to the captain.
‘“Heave round, sir. Heave and pull,” said the captain, for everything
aboard was done regular man of war fashion.
‘The anchor was raised and stored, the wide wings that a lugger always
carries were spread one by one, and the sweet little craft bending
gracefully, like a coquette mincing before her lover, took her course
under a cloud of canvass for the Solway.
‘I was quarter gunner, and my place was pretty near the quarter deck,
and I heard the captain say, just after we round-ded the mouth of the
cove hereaway, to his second officer:
‘“Mr. Merrick,” that was the Luff’s name.
‘“Mr. Merrick,” said the captain, “I think we are likely to have trouble
on this night’s trip. I understand from my agents that intelligence has
been lodged relative to the character of our swift-footed craft, and I
fear there has been treachery on board the Dolphin.”
‘“I hardly believe that, captain,” said the Luff, “though the men have
had liberty enough on shore.” And so we had, to be sure, having most of
us been up to Carlisle and Keswick.
‘“They know the rules of the ship, Mr. Merrick,” said the captain, “and
how treachery will be rewarded. Let the crew sleep with one eye open,
sir, we may have work for them to do.”
‘The watch was set on deck, and I was among them; the rest turned in,
all standing ready for immediate service. Our cargo was contraband, and
a valuable one, and the captain’s object was to land it safely during
the night, and return again from the main land to the island before
morning.
‘Well, messmates, you see the lugger held on her course ‘till rounding
the Northern point of the Island, when the captain, who had not yet left
the deck, discovered off the star board bow a vessel whose indistinct
outlines could hardly be made out in the distance, being half shut in by
the night fog; but we soon made her out to be a small sloop of war under
easy sail. The course of the Dolphin was changed one or two points more
northerly in order to keep the sail at such a distance, if possible,
that she might not discover us. This was easy enough, for do ye see, the
lugger was a mighty little thing compared with the sloop, and then too,
there was’nt much of a watch kept on her deck, I reckon. Our captain
said it was earlier than they expected us, and so we got off safely,
keeping everything snug and still.
‘“Mr. Merrick,” said the Capt., after he had got fairly away, and it was
not necessary to keep quiet any longer, “Mr. Merrick, pipe all hands to
quarters. I have a few words to say to them.”
‘It was’nt much use to pipe the crew up, seeing they were almost all on
deck at the time. For as soon as they knew there was a strange sail in
sight they tumbled up to get a look at her, thinking perhaps we might
have a brush with them: Well, we were piped to quarters, and all was as
still as death--each little crew was at its gun, and at last the captain
spoke up.
‘“My lads,” said he, that’s the way he always used to speak to us, “My
lads, most of you saw that strange sail we passed within the hour. Do
you know that nothing save treachery could have placed her there, in the
direct track of the Dolphin’s night course? speak up some of you.”
‘“It does look mighty suspicious, your honor,” said I, “but shiver my
timbers, if I believe we have got anybody shipped aboard this ere craft
but loves the saucy Dolphin and your honor too well to play them a
scurvy trick.”
‘“There has been treachery,” said he, “is there one of my crew that can
tell its penalty?”
‘“Death at the yard arm,” said the crew, shrinking before the eye of the
captain, for he used to look a man right through.
‘“It is my duty,” said the captain, “to watch your interests and my
own, with a jealous eye. I never deceive you, my men; the traitor shall
receive his punishment though I pursue him to the foot of the throne.
Enough--now to your duty.” ‘We soon reached the shores of the Solway,
and a few hours were enough to land our cargo with such ready and
willing hands as we had to do it with, and the whole freight was soon on
its way inland, far out of the reach of those land sharks, the Revenue
officers.
‘But the greatest danger was yet to come, messmates, for do you see,
though the cargo was landed, the lugger must, somehow, gain the shelter
of the little cove where we now lay. The moon did seem to shine out
twice as strong as ever, as if just to bother us; because, do ye see, if
it hadn’t been so very light, the night mist that always hangs about the
sea and shores here, would have hid us from the enemy. But hardly had
the lugger got under weigh, before the cruiser was again discovered,
lying nearly mid-way between the English and Irish coast, in the very
course that the Dolphin must steer. The captain of our lugger was calm
and collected as a parson, and the men, seeing this, were all quite
courageous, too, and didn’t care a fig for the King’s ship. We were now
fast nearing each other, when suddenly a hail came across the sea:--
‘“What vessel is that?”
‘Our captain knew that all the time he could gain was worth so much gold
to us, for he had got to run the gauntlet of the cruiser’s broad side,
and thereby all he gained before she commenced to fire, was so many
lives saved, very likely, on board the lugger. So to gain time he
mumbled back a reply to the hail that could not be understood, but, to
all appearance, in in good faith. Well, you see, this was no go, only to
save time, as I said, so the sloop hailed again.
‘“What answer do you make?”
‘We were going through the water at a ten-knot rate, and had already got
nearly abreast of the cruiser, who, having tacked, now stood on the same
course as ourselves.
‘“What vessel is that?” said the commander of the sloop--“answer, or I
shall fire into you?”
‘No answer was made to this hail, and a gun from the cruiser which
sent a shot through the mainsail of our lugger, showed that she was in
earnest. In answer to this, our captain aimed our heavy gun amidship
with his own hands, and the ball shot away the fore topmast of the York,
so the cruiser was named. A fierce broadside from the cruiser was
the reply to the shot, and sad havoc did it make among the light and
beautiful spars and rigging of the Dolphin. Our armament was made up of
only four small pieces and a heavy gun amidship, revolving on a pivot,
and this was of heavier metal than any gun on board of the York. Our
captain managed this gun and aimed it himself, and he soon brought down
the foremast of the York by his shot, confounding the crew of the enemy,
and bothering them about their guns. The York carried sixteen guns with
a complement of about an hundred men. She was now unable for some time
to return our fire, because the foremast had tumbled in board with most
of its hamper along the larboard battery where we lay, and the way we
peppered them in the mean time wasn’t slow.
‘We were both so cut up in our rigging as to make but little headway,
and we were now rising and falling on the swells of the sea, close
aboard of each other. Several of our heavy shots had struck the York
about the water line, and large numbers of her crew were engaged pumping
her out, for she leaked out very fast. About this time our captain
discovered one of our foremast hands on board the enemy, and the secret
was all out in a minute; the truth came to us all at once, the treachery
was accounted for, and there stood the traitor. The grapnel irons were
thrown, and our boarders piped away. A few words from the captain
told the story to us all, and heading us himself, we all rushed up the
cruiser’s side.
‘“Secure that traitor, and back to the lugger every one of you,” said
the captain, while he fought a path towards where the man stood. It
takes some time to tell this, messmates, but it was all done mighty
quick, I can tell you, in less time than it takes me to spin this part
of the yarn.
‘Well, you see, we were soon back again on our own deck, because the
cruiser was too strong for us to take, and if we had got her, it would
have done us no good, for we could not have managed her in our business.
The Dolphin was worth two of her for our purpose. So as soon as we
got on the lugger’s deck, while the enemy were still confounded at our
boarding, our captain backed his topsails, while the York’s remained
full, and the breeze freshening just then, the two crafts separated. As
we fell astern of the enemy, we gave him one raking shot with our big
gun loaded with grape and small shot, which sent more than one poor
fellow to his last home, and scattered the splinters like snow flakes.
‘We steered straight for this cove here on the west side, cut up sadly
in hull and rigging by our brush with the King’s cruiser, while she
made the nearest land on the English side, and run on shore in a sinking
condition, so fast did she leak from our shot.
‘Well, it was not long before we were back again, laying at our
anchorage, and soon the boatswain’s whistle summoned us, just at
nightfall the next day, most unwelcomely.
‘“All hands to witness punishment, ahoy.”
‘The man who had betrayed us, had confessed his guilt, the payment
of his treachery was found on his person. The crew were all at their
stations, all save six seamen chosen by lot, who stood apart from their
companions; these were to be the executioners of their messmate. The
ship was as still as death; the wounded below had hushed their groans,
and the tick of the captain’s watch might be heard at any part of the
quarter deck. The miserable man who was now to suffer, stood upon a gun,
his arms confined behind him, and a rope around his neck. The rope was
rove through a block at the end of the fore yard arm, and reaching down
to the deck again, the other end was placed in the hands of the six men
chosen by lot.
‘Our captain looked at the arrangements, and after a few moments, we all
the time expecting the word to swing him off, he said:--
‘“My men, next to mutiny I know of no blacker or more accursed crime
than treachery. That man has betrayed us--may Heaven forgive him, as I
do now. He was seduced from his duty in an evil hour, while under the
effects of liquor; he is now penitent, and you will see how bravely he
will die--you have had related to you all the peculiarities of the case,
which, I think, has many extenuating points; you are his jurors--shall
he die? Shall we send your old messmate into eternity? Speak, my men!”
‘“No, no!” said the crew, with one voice; “if the captain forgives him,
that’s enough. Let him be spared.”
‘“Blow me,” thought I, “if I don’t think a man who would betray such a
commander and such a ship, must find punishment enough in overhauling
the log of his own conscience, without our sending him to soundings
after this fashion.”
‘The man was forgiven, and, damme, messmates, if he didn’t feel it,
too,’ said Skyscraper, with no little degree of feeling.
‘Well, you see, the captain knew very well that this last fight with a
King’s cruiser must put a stop to our game, so we run down to the French
coast, and the pretty little Dolphin was sold to the Mounsers for a
pretty round sum, which was equally divided among us all. Well, now you
see, I happen to know something about our captain after that, though I
never sailed with him again. He loved the sea, and so went to London
and engaged as captain in the West India trade, and in a few years he
settled in America.
‘Well, you see, messmates, he was a Scotchman by birth, and didn’t owe
any great love to England, so, on the breaking out of the long war that
is but lately fairly ended, he offered his services to the Continental
Congress, whose cause he espoused. He was soon appointed captain of
a noble vessel, the first in the American navy. With this vessel, and
others with which he was entrusted as commander, he gained some most
brilliant naval victories. And let me tell you, messmates, through his
whole service he had one faithful follower who would never quit him, and
whose protecting arm twice saved his life in the memorable battle of the
Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis, the former of which our old captain
commanded. Now, messmates, that man was the pardoned criminal of the
Dolphin Lugger.
‘Of the captain--Congress passed a vote of thanks to him for his
services, and conferred upon him the highest rank in his profession,
within its gift, and his name will long be remembered by the nation in
its future prosperity.
‘Why, Sky Scraper, who the deuce was this captain?’ asked one.
‘Aye, what’s his name?’ put in several at the same time.
‘I’ll tell you, messmates,’ said the old tar, reverently uncovering his
head as he mentioned the name; ‘it was Admiral JOHN PAUL JONES!’
Fanny and her husband had heard this chapter in the life of the great
naval hero with no small emotion. There was a point involved in it which
nearly touched their own feelings, and the circumstances relative to the
pardoned Englishman on board her own brig the Constance, were brought
strongly to her mind.
A drive upon the island was arranged for the coming day. Lovell and his
wife having promised themselves this pleasure for several days previous.