It was past nine o'clock, and a cold, dreary night, with a drizzle of
rain, when at length I quitted the hospitable wardroom of the yacht and
wended my way back to my rather frowsy lodging in Nightingale Lane.
Arrived there, I forthwith proceeded to write a letter to my mother,
whose home was in the picturesque little village of Newton Ferrers, near
Plymouth, informing her of my good fortune in having secured so
satisfactory a berth, and explaining my inability to run down and see
her before my departure owing to the fact that we were to sail on the
following day. Then, having posted my letter, I got my few traps
together, bundled them all into my sea chest, and turned in to take my
last sleep on English soil for many a long day to come.
I was up and astir again by seven o'clock the next morning, my first
move being to go along to the yacht and interview Snip, the tailor, in
accordance with my arrangement of the previous evening. To my
amazement, I found that the man, with characteristic American "hustle",
had got my working suit of uniform far enough advanced for me to try it
on. The cut and fit proved to be everything: that could be desired, and
I was faithfully promised that the suit should be ready for me to don
upon joining the ship after signing articles.
In keeping with our pretensions to be a "swagger" ship and crew, the
wardroom mess took lunch, instead of dinner, at one o'clock, dining at
seven o'clock in the evening. This was the hour adopted by the saloon
party, who, I learned, were regularly reinforced by one or more members
of the wardroom contingent, by special invitation from Mrs Vansittart.
It was just two o'clock in the afternoon when the boatswain piped "All
hands unmoor ship"; and by half-past two we were through the dock gates
and heading down the river, impelled by our own engine.
Bearing out what Kennedy and the others had already told me as to Mrs
Vansittart being the actual as well as nominal captain of the yacht, at
the call of "All hands" the lady had appeared on deck. She was arrayed
in an exceedingly neat and workmanlike costume of navy-blue serge, the
jacket of which was fastened with gilt buttons bearing the insignia of
the New York Yacht Club, the cuffs being adorned with four rows of gold
braid, the top row showing the "executive curl", while her smartly
dressed chestnut hair was surmounted by a navy cap of the most approved
pattern, the peak edged with the usual trimming of a wreath of oak
leaves embroidered in gold thread, while the front of the cap bore the
New York Yacht Club badge.
True, she did not give her orders respecting the unmooring of the ship
directly to the crew, as this would probably have resulted in unduly
straining her voice, singularly sweet and pure in quality, of which, as
I subsequently discovered, she was very justly proud. She gave her
orders to Kennedy, who acted as her _aide_ and repeated them in
trumpet-like notes that could be distinctly heard all over the ship.
It was then, while we were hauling out of dock, that I got my first
glimpse of Miss Anthea, Master Julius, and the Reverend Henry James
Monroe, all of whom came on deck to witness the passage of the ship
through the dock gates and down the river. I was stationed in the
waist, and therefore only obtained at that moment a comparatively
distant glimpse of the saloon party on the poop, but even that sufficed
to confirm the testimony of the second engineer as to Miss Anthea's
physical charms. But I did not altogether like her expression, which
was a blank, save for a hint of hauteur mingled with dissatisfaction at
things in general.
Her brother was so exactly like her in features that the two might have
been twins, but he was a good three inches shorter than his sister, as
well as a trifle thinner in the face. He talked incessantly in a sharp,
high-pitched, and most unmusical voice, the unattractiveness of which
was further heightened by a pronounced nasal American accent. From such
scraps of his conversation as reached me from time to time I gathered
that his talk was almost wholly about himself, his doings, his opinions,
his likes and dislikes--chiefly the latter. I liked his expression even
less than that of his sister. It was a most objectionable mingling of
peevishness, insolence, and self-assurance; while his manner, even to
his mother, was domineering and dictatorial to a perfectly disgusting
degree. There was no doubt in my mind that he had been thoroughly
spoiled from the moment of his birth onward, and the process was still
going on, if I was anything of a judge of such matters.
As regards the Reverend Mr Monroe, all I need say about him at this
juncture was that he appeared to answer in every respect to the verbal
portrait that had been drawn of him in the wardroom during the preceding
evening.
Shortly after we had cleared the dock gates I got a message from Snip
requesting me to present myself in his workshop as early as possible to
try on my mess jacket and waistcoat; which, like the new rig I had
donned little more than an hour earlier, I found fitted me excellently.
I was promised that the entire suit should be ready for me in time for
mess that night (it appeared that everything was done in tip-top style
aboard the _Stella Maris)_.
About five o'clock, Marsh, the chief steward, presented himself with a
message from Mrs Vansittart, requesting the pleasure of my company at
dinner at seven o'clock, which invitation I of course accepted, as in
duty bound.
We were just abreast the eastern extremity of Canvey Island when the
second bugle call sounded for dinner. I was by that time dressed and
quite ready, and joined Kennedy, who had also been invited; and together
we repaired to the drawing-room, where Mrs Vansittart, gorgeously
attired and wearing many diamonds, very graciously received us and then
proceeded to introduce me in due form to the parson, her daughter, and
her son.
As regards the parson, I need only say that his manner was everything
that the most fastidious person could possibly desire. He was a
gentleman, in the highest sense of that often misused term; and although
his conversation subsequently, during dinner, evidenced that he was a
most erudite and finished scholar, there was nothing of the pedant about
him. Information exuded from him naturally and simply because he could
not help it; it seemed impossible to broach a topic upon which his
knowledge was not complete, and he was brilliant without the slightest
apparent effort.
As for Miss Anthea, she looked lovely in a perfectly simple white satin
dinner frock, her only jewellery being a thin gold necklet, from which
was suspended a very fine opal in a quaint and curious gold setting.
She acknowledged my introduction to her with the slightest possible
inclination of her head, and thereafter ignored my existence for the
rest of the evening. And her brother's greeting of me was equally
frigid.
Mrs Vansittart's graceful and kindly geniality, however, made ample
amends for the disdainful attitude of her children. She chatted in
animated fashion with Monroe, Kennedy, and me for some minutes, and then
Marsh, the chief steward, appeared with the announcement that dinner was
served. Thereupon she turned to me and said:
"Mr Leigh, you are the stranger of the party to-night; do me the favour
to take me down to dinner."
That dinner--as indeed were all those at which I was subsequently a
guest--was a banquet. The viands were the choicest of their several
kinds, and perfectly prepared; the wines were of rare vintages--at least
so Monroe asserted (I was no judge of wines, and contented myself with a
single glass of sherry taken with my soup); and the table appointments
were on a par with the food and the sumptuous character of the apartment
in which the meal was served. There were choice flowers in profusion
upon the table; a fire burned cosily in the handsome fireplace; and the
table was brilliantly illuminated by handsome, softly shaded electric
candelabra of massive silver.
The finishing touch to the enjoyment of the meal was given by Mrs
Vansittart's charming manner and sparkling conversation. For the moment
we were not her servants but her welcome guests, and she contrived to
make us feel this without the faintest suggestion of condescension. She
was both brilliant and witty, and in some subtle manner peculiar to
herself she not only put us perfectly at our ease, but also put us upon
our mettle, so that I at least found myself saying clever things of
which I had not before believed myself in the least capable.
It was all so very different from what I had hitherto been accustomed to
that I could scarcely persuade myself I was not dreaming some splendid
and unusually vivid dream; and I heartily congratulated myself upon the
lucky chance which had thrown me into the midst of such delightful
surroundings. The dinner, although smartly served, demanded
three-quarters of an hour for its consumption; and at its close our
hostess took wine with us all, nodded to her daughter, and, rising from
the table, retired to the drawing-room.
When the ladies disappeared, Monroe, Kennedy, and young Vansittart
resumed their seats, somewhat to my surprise; and a moment later Marsh
brought forward cigars, cigarettes, and a jar of choice tobacco. I had
been picked for the first mate's watch, and it was our eight hours out
that night, consequently by rights I ought to have been on deck at that
moment; therefore, as soon as Mrs Vansittart and her daughter vanished,
I turned to Kennedy and said:
"If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'll run away and change, and go on
deck. I am in your watch, you know, Mr Kennedy, and ought to be on
duty now--"
"Bring yourself to an anchor, me bhoy," interrupted Kennedy, pointing to
the chair alongside him. "Do ye shmoke? No? Quite right; shmoking is
very bad for growing lads," with a glance at Master Julius, who was
coolly lighting a cigarette. "If ye don't shmoke ye can at least sit
and listen to Mr Monroe's and my illuminatin' conversation until it's
time for us to join the ladies. Mrs Vansittart--God bless her kind
heart!--allows us just half an hour for an afther-dinner shmoke; then
she expects us to join her in the drawing-room until ten o'clock, and to
contribute, each in our separate ways, toward the entertainment of the
rest. Do ye sing by anny chance?"
I modestly replied that I did, a little, and that in a very amateurish
way I also played the fiddle. I may as well frankly confess that in my
inmost heart I rather prided myself upon my musical accomplishments,
music being a perfect passion with me. I had often been complimented
upon the quality of my baritone voice and my manner of using it, while
some who might be supposed to be competent judges had told me that I
ought to have devoted my energies to becoming a professional violinist.
But I was careful not to say anything of this.
"Good! That's capital!" exclaimed Monroe. "Mrs Vansittart will be
pleased to hear that, I know; for she is devoted to music, is herself a
brilliant musician, and will warmly welcome anyone who can contribute in
the slightest degree to the pleasure of our evenings. You have the
trick of telling a story well, too, Leigh; our hostess thoroughly
enjoyed the humour of that yarn of yours. You should cultivate the art
of story-telling; there are very few people who are able to tell a story
really well."
"Guess that's all nonsense, Mr Monroe," remarked Master Julius. "It's
the easiest thing in the world to talk. Anybody can do it."
"Well--yes, I suppose anybody can," returned Monroe. "But," he
continued, meaningly, "it is not everybody who can talk sense, Julius.
Moreover, the art of conversation consists in knowing when to talk--and
when to be silent."
Master Julius, however, did not agree with this. He argued the point
with Monroe so volubly and persistently that anything like general
conversation became impossible, and he kept it up until Kennedy, with a
glance at the clock on the mantelpiece, deposited his cigar stub in an
ash tray and announced that the half-hour was up, and that it was time
to adjourn to the drawing-room.
"Ah, here you are!" exclaimed Mrs Vansittart, who was seated at the
open piano as we filed into the drawing-room, Master Julius well in
advance. The boy marched straight across the room, without taking the
slightest notice of his mother, and seated himself beside his sister,
who occupied a settee in the far corner, and was apparently so deeply
absorbed in a book that she was unaware of our entrance.
"Now, then," continued our hostess, "it has gone one bell, and we have
not very much time to spare. Which of you gentlemen will favour us with
a song?"
"I suggest, madam, that you should call upon Mr Leigh," said Monroe.
"In response to a leading question put to him by our friend Kennedy, the
young man has pleaded guilty to a limited ability as a singer, and he
has also admitted that there are times when he scrapes upon a fiddle.
Knowing Britishers as I do, it is my experience that when one of them
goes so far as to say he can play or sing at all, he--or she--can
usually do it pretty well; I am therefore not without hope that in Leigh
we shall find we have a valuable addition to our stock of musical
talent."
"You don't say!" ejaculated Mrs Vansittart vivaciously. "Well, I am
glad; for I believe I have heard every one of your songs at least half a
dozen times, Mr Monroe; and Mr Kennedy's too, to say nothing about the
doctor and the purser. Do you sing and play by ear, or from music, Mr
Leigh?"
I explained that I did both, but preferred to have the music before me;
and in answer to a further question I admitted the existence of certain
books and sheets of music among my other belongings. Thereupon I was
ordered off to my cabin, with instructions to fetch them and my fiddle
forthwith. When I returned, Kennedy was trolling forth the song
"Kathleen Mavourneen" in a deep, rich bass voice that made the spacious
apartment ring again, while Mrs Vansittart accompanied him on the
piano. But for all the attention that the youngsters gave to the song
they might as well have been deaf!
When the song was finished, Mrs Vansittart beckoned me to her, and,
taking my music from me, glanced through it. Among it were two volumes
of _Standard English Songs_, a book of songs by Schubert, a book of
sacred melodies consisting chiefly of solos and duets from the
oratorios, another containing a selection of songs from various operas,
and, in sheet, a few ballads and a quantity of music specially composed
for the violin. As she glanced through my budget, our hostess volubly
expressed her delight, and was pleased to compliment me very highly upon
the taste which had dictated my choice. Then, opening one of the books
of English songs and placing it before her on the piano, she invited me
to sing "Twickenham Ferry". The song happened to be rather a favourite
of mine, and when I noticed the exquisite perfection with which she
played the few bars of the introduction I just let myself go, and was
rewarded for my pains by receiving what sounded like very genuine and
hearty applause when the song came to an end.
Then Monroe, who was gifted with a really beautiful tenor voice, sang
with much taste and feeling an old plantation song; after which Mrs
Vansittart sang in Italian. Then, by way of a change, we had Gounod's
"Ave Maria", Mrs Vansittart playing the accompaniment on the piano
while I played the air on my fiddle and Monroe joined in with an
obligato on the organ. So, in a very delightful way, to me at least,
the evening was passed until four bells chimed out, when we closed the
concert by rendering "Hail, Columbia!" with all the vocal and
instrumental strength at our command.
As Kennedy and I took our leave, Mrs Vansittart very graciously thanked
us both for giving her the pleasure of our company, and expressed the
hope that we should spend together many equally enjoyable evenings; but
Miss Vansittart scarcely deigned to acknowledge, by the curtest nod of
her head, our farewell bows. As for the boy, he was, or pretended to
be, fast asleep.
Taking my beloved fiddle with me, I hurried away to my cabin, placed the
instrument safely in my bunk, shifted hurriedly into my working clothes,
and went on deck, where I was presently joined by Kennedy. The pilot
was in charge on the poop, and Mrs Vansittart, wrapped in a voluminous
cloak, was also up there, taking a look round and a brief promenade
before turning in; so the first mate and I fell into step and walked
fore and aft in the waist, between the break of the poop and the fore
rigging.
It was a lovely night, very clear and brilliantly starlit. There was no
moon, the satellite, then well advanced in her fourth quarter, not
rising until toward morning; and it was very cold, a light breeze from
the north-east having sprung up about the end of the second dog-watch.
We were by that time well down toward the mouth of the Thames estuary,
the Tongue lightship being about a point and a half before our port
beam, while Margate lights were broad on our starboard bow, the ship
heading a trifle to the south of east as she edged in toward the land
preparatory to hauling round the North Foreland.
There was a small easterly swell running, just enough to impart motion
to the ship and let us know that we were afloat, and we were slipping
along at a fine rate upon the last of the ebb tide, and as smoothly and
as free from vibration as though we had been under sail.
We rounded the North Foreland just before midnight; and when at eight
bells Mr Briscoe came on deck to relieve Mr Kennedy I heard the latter
instruct him to get the ship under canvas, and, as soon as she was under
command, stop the engine and have the propeller feathered. Then I went
below, very tired, to snatch four hours' sleep before turning out to
keep the morning watch.
I tumbled into my bunk and instantly fell asleep, only to be awakened
the next moment, as it seemed to me, by a quartermaster, who informed
me, as he switched on the light, that it wanted ten minutes to eight
bells. Accordingly I hopped out of bed, washed and dressed, and was in
the act of ascending the poop ladder when eight bells struck.
I found the ship under all plain sail, heading south-west, with the
lights of Dover just abaft the starboard beam, some five miles distant;
and was informed by Mr Briscoe that the pilot had left us about half an
hour earlier, and that we were now "on our own". There was a fine fresh
breeze blowing from the north-east, and we were sweeping along in fine
style, with squared yards and the mainsail brailed up. After a good
look at the sky the first mate gave it as his opinion that the wind was
going to haul round more from the eastward, accordingly as soon as the
watches had been changed he gave the order to set fore, main, and mizen
royal, topgallant, and topmast studding sails on both sides, and lower
studding sails for'ard. Now came the advantage of our strong crew; for
although we were working with the port watch only, we had the whole of
those studding sails set in less than half an hour; whereas, had we been
manned after the rate of an ordinary merchantman of our tonnage, the job
would have kept us busy during the entire watch. As soon as we were
through with this work Mr Kennedy instructed me to ship and set the
patent log, which I did, taking the exact time when it started, and
noting what it registered fifteen minutes later. The result was that we
found we were doing just twelve knots, with the wind dead aft and our
head sails practically becalmed by our after canvas.
The first mate's prophecy concerning the easting of the wind proved a
true one, for when we hauled up a couple of points after rounding
Dungeness it followed us, keeping dead astern. At four bells (six
o'clock) we mustered holystones and scrubbing-brushes, attached the hose
to the fire hydrant, and industriously washed, scrubbed, and holystoned
the decks and cleaned paintwork for an hour, after which the planks were
thoroughly squeegeed and dried. Then all hands went to work to polish
brasswork until eight bells, by which time the ship looked as spick and
span as if she had been kept under a glass case, just removed.
When eight bells struck, Beachy Head bore North-North-West by compass,
distant fourteen miles. Prompt at the stroke of the bell, Mrs
Vansittart came up on deck, dressed in her blue serge seagoing rig, and
bade us a cheery good morning. After receiving Kennedy's report and
verifying the bearing and distance of the headland, she gave orders for
the course to be altered to west-half-south for the run down channel.
It was at this time a clear and brilliant morning, the sky a hard blue,
streaked here and there with mare's tails, the sun, pallid and without
warmth, hanging low over the French coast well on our port quarter. The
breeze was blowing fresh and very keen, although, running before it as
we were, we did not feel anything like the full strength of it. Of this
we could only get a correct idea by observing the run of the short,
bottle-green channel surges breaking in foam all round us, and the way
in which a few brigs and schooners, the former under single-reefed
topsails, beating up channel, lay down to it and flung the spray over
their weather catheads. There were a good many craft going our way too,
both steam and sail, the latter, like ourselves, making the utmost of
the good fair wind by showing to it every rag that they could spread.
But we overhauled and passed them, one after the other, with the utmost
ease; and when, a little later, the breeze freshened, we began to give
some of the steamers the go-by as well.
By noon we had brought Selsea Bill square abeam, some sixteen miles
distant; and at two o'clock in the afternoon, when I went on deck after
luncheon, Saint Catharine's was a point abaft the beam, distant eight
miles. At nine o'clock that night we were abreast of the Start, when,
Mrs Vansittart having determined our distance from the Point by a
couple of bearings taken an hour apart, ordered the studding sails to be
taken in and the royals and mizen topgallant sail to be furled. We then
"took our departure", and, hauling our wind on the port tack, shaped a
course for Ushant, which was sighted and passed at three bells in the
following morning watch, our next port of call being, as I now learned,
Lisbon.
During the day occupied by our run down channel all hands had an easy
time of it, there being nothing much for them to do except keep the ship
clean and take an occasional pull at a halyard or brace. I therefore
had ample time to take stock of the crew and improve my acquaintance
with my shipmates generally.
As regards the crew, I had an idea that in a quiet way they were
watching me and seeking to "reckon me up". I was a "Britisher", the
only one in the ship; and my experience of Americans, which up to that
time had been but slight, led me to the belief that the people, taken as
a whole, held the Britisher in but light esteem. I therefore decided
that, so far at least as the crew of the _Stella Maris_ was concerned,
the reputation of my countrymen was to some extent in my hands, and I
determined to let slip no opportunity to vindicate it. I was the more
strengthened in this resolution by hearing the boy Julius remark to his
sister, in tones which I felt were fully intended to reach my ear, that
"he had no use for Britishers, and took no stock in them, for they were
never of much account."
I do not know whether my brother officers shared the lad's view, or
whether they, as I half-suspected the men of doing, were quietly waiting
to see of what stuff I was made; but, in either case, they never, with
the solitary exception of Briscoe, the second mate, permitted such an
attitude to appear. On the contrary, they were genial, cordial, and
friendly in a very marked degree, so that within the first twenty-four
hours of our being at sea I felt thoroughly at home with all of them.
If I had a preference for any above the others it was for Monroe, the
boy's tutor, and Harper, the medico of the ship, both of whom were
extremely broad-minded men, in addition to being exceptionally well
informed and polished in manner. As for our skipper, the more I saw of
her the better I liked her. I soon discovered that nothing escaped her
notice; she was as smart a seaman as Kennedy himself; she was an expert
navigator; the heavens and their portents were an open book to her; she
issued her orders with the utmost confidence and decision, and never
hesitated to find fault if things did not please her; and yet with it
all she was most gracious and friendly in her manner to us all, from the
highest to the lowest.
As for Miss Anthea, I am bound to admit that, with the exception of
Monroe and the doctor, she treated us all alike with the utmost
impartiality, merely acknowledging our salutes with a careless, scarcely
perceptible inclination of the head, and otherwise completely ignoring
our existence. Her amusements, while on deck, consisted of reading,
playing bull, shuffle-board, or deck quoits with her brother,
promenading the poop with her mother, and occasionally condescending to
exchange a few remarks with the parson or the doctor. But she was a
musician of rare ability, and possessed a soprano singing voice of
exquisite richness and purity, as I had frequent opportunity of judging
by hearing her playing and singing in the drawing-room below while I was
on duty on the poop.
That Mrs Vansittart was an ardent sportswoman was evident from the very
outset by the way in which she sailed the yacht. She "carried on"
consistently, day and night, as though we were sailing in a race, and no
sooner were we past Ushant, and the breeze showed signs of freshening,
than she ordered preventer backstays rigged fore and aft, and hung on to
her canvas until our lee rail was awash and the lee main-deck flooded to
such an extent from the topgallant forecastle to the poop that its
passage became an impossibility except by swimming.
We swept across the Bay like smoke driven by a strong breeze,
overhauling and passing everything that was going our way, excepting a
big Cape liner; and we actually held our own with her for some hours,
until the breeze eased up sufficiently to allow the steamer to draw
gradually away from us. We must have presented a most beautiful picture
to the people aboard that boat as we swept along for a time neck and
neck with her, our snow-white cotton canvas gleaming in the brilliant
sunlight or flecked with sweeping blue shadows as the yacht rushed
through and over the foaming surges with the water all aboil about her
and every perfectly cut sail, to her three royals, accurately set and
drawing like a team of cart horses.
The fresh easterly breeze which had swept us down channel in such
splendid style lasted long enough to carry us to the mouth of the Tagus
shortly after nine o'clock in the morning of our fifth day out from
London; and by noon of that day we were riding at anchor off the city of
Lisbon. Here we remained two days, our next destination being the
island of Madeira.
From Madeira we went on to Teneriffe, and from Teneriffe to Gibraltar;
after which we gradually worked our way up the Mediterranean, calling in
at a number of interesting places on the way. We were at Ajaccio on
Christmas Day; and it was characteristic of our skipper that she so
arranged matters as to spend the day aboard with us, giving the crew a
rare good time and inviting the whole of her officers to dine with her
in the evening.
We left Ajaccio on the evening of New Year's Day, and, passing through
the Straits of Bonifacio, headed for the Bay of Naples, where we arrived
at nine o'clock on the morning of the third of January. From Naples we
proceeded to Messina; thence to Malta, Athens, Constantinople, and
Jaffa, where we were all afforded an opportunity to make the trip to
Jerusalem; and from Jaffa we proceeded to Port Said, where, after
remaining at anchor some four or five hours, we ran through the Canal
during the night, with an enormous searchlight suspended from our
bowsprit end to light us on our way. We anchored at Suez the next day,
and Mrs Vansittart then announced that we should remain there at least
a week, during which the men would be granted daily leave, while the
officers were to make their own arrangements, subject to the approval of
Kennedy, who was left in charge. I thus had an opportunity not only to
visit Cairo, but also to take a run out to the Pyramids and the Sphinx.
As a matter of fact we remained at Suez nearly a fortnight, awaiting our
skipper's return, when we hove up our anchor and proceeded down the Gulf
of Suez into the Red Sea, duly noting Mount Sinai on our port hand as we
passed it.