The Little Lady grew apace, and flourished under the careful nursing of
my mother and the Misses Schank. They gave her the name of Emily, in
compliment to an elder sister whom I have not before mentioned--a great
invalid, who never left her room. I had, indeed, not seen her, for she
was so nervous that it was feared I might agitate her. The Little Lady
was, however, once taken in to her, and she was so pleased that she
insisted on seeing her every day. She was, I afterwards learned, not
only an invalid, but occasionally affected in her mind, from some great
grief which had occurred to her in her youth.
Time rolled on. I was somewhat spoiled, I think, by the kind ladies,
who treated me completely as if I had been in their own position in
life, and took great pains to teach me all I was then capable of
learning.
At length my father came back to Whithyford. He could not remain long,
for he had been appointed to another ship. He told my mother that he
had been so unhappy without her that he had got leave to take her and me
with him, as I was now big enough to go to sea. My mother was too
sensible a woman not to know that she must some day of necessity part
from the Little Lady, and though it was like wrenching her very
heartstrings, she, without hesitation, agreed to accompany her husband
and take me with her. Our kind friends were, I know, very sorry to part
with us. The old lady folded her arms round me, and kissed me on both
cheeks, and on my forehead, and blessed me, and told me she hoped I
should be as brave and good a man as her son, and also as my father.
The frigate was fitting out at Portsmouth for the Mediterranean station.
She was the "Grecian," of thirty-eight guns, commanded by Captain Harry
Oliver, who, three years before, had been a Master's mate in the
"Boreas". He having since then served two years as Lieutenant, and one
as Commander, had just been posted to her. Some men in Mr Schank's
position would have declined serving as First-Lieutenant under an
officer who had before served under him, but Mr Schank had no pride of
the sort, and when Captain Oliver applied for him he readily consented
to accept the offer.
There was every probability of our having a happy ship. I have
mentioned a young midshipman--Leonard Bramston--he was our junior
Lieutenant, having lately got his promotion; but the person above all
others I was delighted to see was Mrs King, whose husband had joined
the frigate. Bill King proposed also himself applying for a warrant as
gunner. However, for the present, he had come to sea with his old
rating as quarter-master. While the ship was fitting out, my mother and
Mrs King lived on shore. One Sunday we went to the Marine Barracks,
where we heard that Sergeant Killock and Tom Sawyer were stationed.
They were greatly pleased to see me. The Sergeant tried to persuade my
mother to let me remain on shore and turn into a drummer boy, at which I
was very indignant, holding a blue-jacket to be a being of far superior
grade, and a blue-jacket I hoped shortly to become. I was rather small
just then, but not smaller than some of the midshipmen who had joined
our frigate for the first time. Mere mites of boys were frequently then
sent to sea, who looked more fit to wear pinafores, and be attended by
nurses, as far as size was concerned; and yet, though now and then they
got into mischief and did not do very wise things, yet occasionally they
performed very gallant actions, such as men twice their age might have
been proud of, requiring judgment and discretion as well as courage. At
length we went out to Spithead and took our powder on board. Blue Peter
was flying, the remainder of the stores for the officers came on board,
the ship was cleared, the band struck up, the seamen tramped round with
the capstan bars to a merry tune, the topsails were sheeted home, and
with a blue sky above us and bright water below, we stood down the
Solent towards the Needle passage. It was a gay and beautiful sight. I
had been so long on shore that I had almost forgotten all about a ship.
The men looked so smart and active, for Mr Schank had taken care to get
a picked crew, which some officers in those days could get and some
could not; the Captain and Lieutenants and midshipmen in their new
uniforms looked so spruce, and the marines so trim and well set up, that
I could not help rejoicing that I was once more afloat, though I did not
forget my kind friends at Whithyford, nor the dear Little Lady. We
passed out at the Needle passage, with Hurst Castle on one side and the
tall pointed white rocks off the west end of the island on the other,
not ill-called Needles, sighting Weymouth, where the good old King
George the Third was accustomed to reside. Bless his memory, say I,
for, though he might have had his faults, he was a right-honest
true-hearted man--brave as the bravest of his subjects, and firm too;
though those who opposed him called his firmness obstinacy. However, I
am talking of things of which I knew at that period of my career nothing
at all.
I had grown by this time into a stout, hardy-looking lad, tall and
proportionably broad, so that I looked much older than I was, and thus I
was already rated as a boy on board the ship, though I was the youngest
on board, and likely to remain so for a considerable time. When people
saw my mother, who looked remarkably young, and pretty as ever, they
could scarcely believe that I was her son. Few people retain their
health and good looks as she did. Running across the Bay of Biscay we
sighted Cape Finisterre, rounding which we stood in for the coast, in
hopes of picking up some of the Spanish Guarda Costas or any of the
enemy's merchantmen. However, when standing in for Finisterre Bay the
wind dropped and we lay perfectly becalmed, rolling gently to the swell
which nearly at all times sets in on that coast.
Evening was approaching. Our young Captain walked the deck with
impatient strides. Though so gentle and quiet in his manners there was
a spirit in him that ever desired activity. Several times his glass was
turned towards the distant shore. He then summoned the master and
examined the chart. We had fallen in, the day before, with a Portuguese
Rasca, from the master of which a good deal of information had been
obtained, and as an honest man and a patriot it was supposed that it
could be relied on. Captain Oliver and Mr Schank were in consultation
for some time. We guessed there was something to be done. Now, I
thought to myself, I should like to see some fun. They are planning
something, that is certain. I wonder what it can be. In a short time
the cutter and barge were ordered away, it being understood that Mr
Schank would take the command of the former and would be accompanied by
Lieutenant Spry of the Marines, while the Third-Lieutenant, Mr
Bramston, took charge of the barge. Including marines and blue-jackets
the party mustered rather more than forty in all. They waited till dusk
to leave the ship. This just suited my plan of operation. As the arms,
provisions, and other articles were being lowered into the boat, I
managed to slip down and to stow myself away in the barge forward under
a sail. I required but little space for hiding away. Just at dusk the
two boats shoved off, and away we went towards the shore; I heard the
men say that the object of the expedition was to cut out several luggers
lying in a small harbour with a town at the further end of it. We had a
long pull, for we were at such, a distance from the coast that the
frigate could not have been seen from it. At all events the inhabitants
of the town would not have suspected that any boats would come from a
vessel whose topgallant sails could only just have been visible. At
length, after pulling for some hours, the lights on shore were seen, and
in a short time the boats came off the mouth of the harbour; but then it
was found that the luggers were some little way up it, and that a strong
fort guarded the town and entrance. Mr Schank and the Lieutenant of
Marines agreed that the first thing to be done was to take the fort. We
could not land close to it on account of the rocks, and therefore had to
pull some distance to the south before the party could get on shore.
When they all left the boats I had no fancy to remain behind, and
therefore scrambled out after the rest, although one of the boat-keepers
attempted to stop me by catching hold of my leg. I escaped him,
however, and ran on among the men.
"Hillo, little chap! Where did you come from?" exclaimed several of
them as they first discovered me.
I replied that I wanted to go and help them fight the enemy. I was
passed to Mr Schank. "Why, Ben," he said, "what business have you to
be here? What can you do?"
"Please, sir, I can carry your flask if you will let me, or if anybody
is hit I can stay by them and help them."
"I have a great mind to send you back, Master Ben."
I entreated that I might be allowed to go on. Perhaps he thought there
might be as much risk for me if I remained in the boat as there would be
should I accompany them. He therefore, greatly to my delight, allowed
me to go on with the party. On we pushed. Mr Schank, it appeared, had
been on shore before at the place and knew the position of the fort. We
had a heavy tramp, however, especially for him with his wooden leg,
which sank into the soft sand every step he took, and he sometimes had
to rest his arm on a man's shoulder to help him get along, but his
courage and determination were at all times equal to any emergency. On
we went till we could see the dim outline of the fort across the sand;
it was a great thing to approach without being discovered, for, although
we had determined to get in at all hazard, if we could take the
Spaniards by surprise, the work would be far more easy. There was no
cover, but we could only hope that the enemy would not be on the
look-out for us, or that if they were, their eyes would be turned
towards the harbour, the entrance-gate being on the land side. I own,
at last, I felt my legs aching with walking over the soft sand. I began
to wish that I had remained on board. The men must have suspected how
it was with me, and at last one of them took me up and carried me on his
shoulders, and then another and another, for even my additional weight
was likely to tire the stoutest had they carried me long. At last the
fort rose before us. Mr Schank in a low whisper ordered the men to
move forward crouching down to the ground, to step softly, and not to
utter a word. On we went, so close together, that had anybody watched
us, we might have looked like some huge animal moving on, or the shadow
of a cloud passing over the ground. Our leaders hurried on. The
drawbridge was down. The marines were ordered to level their bayonets
and the blue-jackets their pikes, and charge on. It was the work of an
instant. The Spaniards were totally unprepared for our coming at that
moment, although, as it turned out, they had been informed of our being
in the neighbourhood, and a gun was found pointed for the purpose of
sweeping the passage should the fort be attacked. Before, however, it
could be fired, the gunners had taken to flight. In a few seconds we
were in possession of the fort.
Our men were pretty well knocked up with their long pull and march over
the sand, and the country might soon be raised, and overwhelming forces
sent against us. The order was, therefore, given to spike the guns,
which was very speedily done. The fort was found to contain eight brass
guns, twenty-four and twelve-pounders, with a considerable garrison.
Part of them, as we entered, laid down their arms to save their lives,
while the remainder scrambled over the walls, and made their escape to
the town. Our boats had, meantime, made their way into the harbour,
which, now that we had possession of the fort, they could do without
molestation. As soon as all the damage had been done to the fort which
time would allow, we once more embarked in the boats, and made a dash at
the luggers, which yielded without striking a blow. Directly we had
taken them, however, and had begun to move down the harbour, a battery
on the opposite side, which we had not yet seen, opened its fire, and
continued sending shot after us, which could not however have been very
well aimed, for neither the boat nor the prizes were once struck. It is
possible that the powder was bad, and the shot fell short. As we
approached the mouth of the harbour we saw that the whole neighbourhood
was roused. Beacon fires were blazing, guns firing, and musketry
rattling away in all directions. As we were getting through the
passage, a pretty sharp fire of musketry was opened on us, but though
the shot fell thickly, no one was struck, though the boats and vessels
were so frequently. It was my first battle, and a very bloodless one,
for I do not believe a Spaniard or Englishman was hurt. Our six prizes
were very acceptable, for they were laden with wine, which was
pronounced very good of its sort. It was broad daylight by the time we
got near the mouth of the harbour, and the land-breeze blowing enabled
us to carry out our prizes without difficulty, and with them under
convoy we sailed for Lisbon, where a good market could be found for
their cargoes.
When I got on board, instead of being received as a hero crowned with
victory, my father seized hold of me, and looked me sternly in the face.
"Ben," said he, "have you thought of the misery and anxiety you have
been causing your mother? She has been in a fearful taking about you
ever since you went away. How could she tell that you had not slipped
overboard? I could not say that you had not, myself; but I have heard
of boys doing just as you have done, and so I guessed pretty well the
state of the case. But I tell you, boy, I never saw her suffer so much.
I almost thought it would be the death of her."
"Oh! Flog me, father! Flog me!" I cried out; for I could not bear the
thoughts of having made my mother unhappy. "Tell Dick Patch to lay it
on thick. The harder he hits the better. I did not think, father, what
I was doing; indeed, I did not."
"No, Ben, I will not have you flogged," he answered, "your mother's
sufferings have been punishment enough for you. I believe you did it
without thought, indeed, I know you did; and just do you go and have a
talk with her, and see how pale and ill she looks; and I hope that will
be enough to make you never go and do a thing again which will cause her
anxiety and grief. The time will come when you will have to run all
sorts of risks and dangers, but it is a very different thing to run your
head into danger from fool-hardiness, and to go into danger because it
is your duty." These remarks of my father made a deep impression on me.
I hurried below, and there I saw my poor mother looking more ill and
distressed than I had ever seen her:--her eyes red from weeping, and her
cheeks pale and sickly; and then when she told me how much she had
suffered, I burst into tears, and promised never to play her such a
trick again.
We took several other prizes on our way to the South; indeed, Captain
Oliver showed, that, young as he was, few officers were likely to prove
more active or energetic in their duties. He was well off and did not
seem to care for the prize-money. He thought of duty above everything
else. It was his duty to injure the trade of the enemy as much as
possible, and he did so to the very best of his power.