Newton Forster

by Frederick Marryat

  Chapter XXXII

  "Thus the rich vessel moves in trim array, Like some fair virgin on her bridal day: Thus like a swan, she cleaves the watery plain, The pride and wonder of the AEgean main.

  "The natives, while the ship departs the land, Ashore, with admiration gazing stand; Majestically slow before the breeze, In silent pomp, she marches on the seas."

  FALCONER.

  Much to the satisfaction of Captain Drawlock, the chronometers and theladies were safe on board, and the _Bombay Castle_ proceeded to the Downs,where she was joined by the purser, charged with despatches of the augustdirectors. Once upon a time a director was a very great man, and the Indiaboard a very great board. There must have been a very great many plums inthe pudding, for in this world people do not take trouble for nothing; anduntil latter years, how eagerly, how perseveringly was this situationapplied for--what supplicating advertisements--what fawning and wheedlingpromises of attention to the interests of the proprietors--"your voices,good people!" But now nobody is so particularly anxious to be a director,because another board "bigger than he" has played the kittiwake, and forcedit to disgorge for the consumption of its superior,--I mean the Board ofControl: the reader has probably heard of it; the board which, not contentwith the European residents in India being deprived of their proudestbirthright, "the liberty of the press," would even prevent them from havingjustice awarded to them, by directing two tame elephants (thereby implyingtwo ---- ----) to be placed on each side of a wild one (thereby implying anhonest and conscientious man). Notwithstanding all which, for the present,the tongue, the ears, and the eyes are permitted to be made discreet useof, although I believe that the new charter is to have a clause introducedto the contrary.

  The prevalent disease of the time we live in is ophthalmia of intellect,affecting the higher classes. Monarchs, stone-blind, have tumbled headlongfrom their thrones, and princes have been conducted by their subjects outof their principalities. The aristocracy are purblind, and cannotdistinctly decipher the "signs of the times." The hierarchy cannot discoverwhy people would have religion at a reduced price: in fact, they are allblind, and will not perceive that an enormous mass, in the shape of publicopinion, hangs over their heads and threatens to annihilate them.Forgetting that kings, and princes, and lords, spiritual or temporal, haveall been raised to their various degrees of exaltation by public opinionalone, they talk of legitimacy, of vested rights, and Deuteronomy.--Well,if there is to be a general tumble, thank God, I can't fall far!

  We left the _Bombay Castle_ in the Downs, where she remained until joinedby several other India vessels. On the arrival of a large frigate, who hadorders to escort them as far as the Island of St Helena, they all weighed,and bore down the Channel before a strong S.E. gale. The first ten days ofa voyage there is seldom much communication between those belonging to theship and the passengers; the former are too much occupied in making thingsshipshape, and the latter with the miseries of sea-sickness. An adversegale in the Bay of Biscay, with which they had to contend, did not at allcontribute to the recovery of the digestive powers of the latter; and itwas not until a day or two before the arrival of the convoy at Madeira thatthe ribbon of a bonnet was to be seen fluttering in the breeze which sweptthe decks of the _Bombay Castle_.

  The first which rose up from the quarter-deck hatchway was one thatencircled the head of Mrs Ferguson, the wife of the Presbyterian divine,who crawled up the ladder, supported on one side by her husband, and on theother by the assiduous Captain Drawlock.

  "Very well done, ma'am, indeed!" said the captain, with an encouragingsmile, as the lady seized hold of the copper stanchions which surroundedthe sky-lights, to support herself, when she had gained the deck. "You're acapital sailor, and have by your conduct set an example to the otherladies, as I have no doubt your husband does to the gentlemen. Now allow meto offer you my arm."

  "Will you take mine also, my dear," said Mr Ferguson.

  "No, Mr Ferguson," replied the lady, tartly; "I think it is enough for youto take care of yourself. Recollect your Scripture proverb of 'the blindleading the blind.' I have no inclination to tumble into one of thosepits," added she, pointing to the hatchway.

  Captain Drawlock very civilly dragged the lady to the weather-side of thequarter-deck, where, after in vain attempting to walk, she sat down on oneof the carronade slides.

  "The fresh air will soon revive you, ma'am; you'll be much betterdirectly," observed the attentive captain. "I beg your pardon one moment,but there is another lady coming out of the cuddy."

  The cabins abaft the cuddy, or dining-room, were generally occupied by themore distinguished and wealthy passengers (a proportionate sum beingcharged extra for them). The good people of Glasgow, with a due regard toeconomy, had not run themselves into such unnecessary expenses for thepassage of Mr and Mrs Ferguson. Mr Revel, aware of the effect produced byan appearance of wealth, had taken one of them for his daughters. The otherhad been secured by Miss Tavistock, much to the gratification of thecaptain, who thus had his unmarried ladies and his chronometers bothimmediately under his own eye.

  The personage who had thus called away the attention of the captain wasIsabel Revel, whom, although she has already been mentioned, it will benecessary to describe more particularly to the reader.

  Isabel Revel was now eighteen years old, endowed with a mind so superior,that had not her talents been checked by a natural reserve, she might havestepped from the crowd, and have been hailed as a genius. She had beenbrought up by a foolish mother, and had in her earlier years been checkedby her two insipid sisters, who assumed over her an authority which theirage alone could warrant. Seldom, if ever, permitted to appear when therewas company, that she might not "spoil the market" of the eldest, she hadin her solitude applied much to reading, and thus had her mind been highlycultivated.

  The conduct of her father entitled him to no respect; the heartlessness ofher mother to no esteem; the tyranny of her sisters to no affection; yetdid she strive to render all. Until the age of sixteen she had been theCinderella of the family, during which period of seclusion she had learnedto think and to act for herself.

  Her figure was a little above the middle size, light and elegant; herfeatures beautiful, with an expression of seriousness, arising probablyfrom speaking little and reflecting much. Yet she possessed a mind ardentand enthusiastic, which often bore her away in animated discourse, untilthe eye of admiration fixed upon her would suddenly close her lips, for hermodesty and her genius were at perpetual variance.

  It is well known to most of my readers that woman is a problem; but it maynot be as well known that nowadays she is a _mathematical problem_. Yet soit is. As in the latter you have certain known quantities given by whichyou are to find a quantity unknown, so in a lady you have the hand, thefoot, the mouth, &c., apparent; and 'tis only by calculation, now thatmodern dresses are made so full, that you can arrive at a just estimate ofher approach to total perfection. All good arithmeticians, as theyscrutinised the outward and the visible of Isabel Revel, were perfectlyassured as to her quotient. But if I talked for hours, I could say no morethan that she was one of those ideal images created in the dream of youthand poetry, fairly embodied in flesh and blood. As her father had justlysurmised, could she have been persuaded to have tried her fortune on thestage, she had personal attractions, depth of feeling, and vivacity of mindto have rendered her one of the very first in a profession, to excel inwhich there is, perhaps, more correct judgment and versatility of talentrequired than in any other, and would have had a fair prospect of obtainingthat coronet which has occasionally been the reward of those fair dames who"stoop to conquer."

  Mr Revel, who had been made acquainted with the customs on board of EastIndia ships, had been introduced to Mrs Ferguson, and had requested her totake upon herself the office of _chaperon_ to his daughters, during thepassage: a nominal charge indeed, yet considered to be etiquette. MrsFerguson, pleased with the gentlemanlike demeanour and personal appearanceof Mr Revel, and per
haps at the same time not sorry to have an authority tofind fault, had most graciously acquiesced; and the three Miss Revels wereconsidered to be under her protection.

  As I said before, Miss Isabel Revel made her appearance not unattended, forshe was escorted by Doctor Plausible, the surgeon of the ship. And now Imust again digress while I introduce that gentleman. I never shall get thatpoor girl from the cuddy-door.

  Doctor Plausible had been summoned to prescribe for Miss Laura Revel, whosuffered extremely from the motion of the vessel, and the remedies whichshe had applied to relieve her uneasiness. Miss Laura Revel had been toldby somebody, previous to her embarkation, that the most effectual remedyfor sea-sickness was gingerbread. In pursuance of the advice received, shehad provided herself with ten or twelve squares of this commodity, aboutone foot by eighteen inches, which squares she had commenced upon as soonas she came on board, and had never ceased to swallow, notwithstandingvarious interruptions. The more did her stomach reject it the more did sheforce it down, until, what with deglutition, _et vice versa_, she had beenreduced to a state of extreme weakness, attended with fever.

  How many panaceas have been offered without success for twoevils--sea-sickness and hydrophobia! and between these two there appears tobe a link, for sea-sickness as surely ends in hydrophobia, as hydrophobiadoes in death. The sovereign remedy prescribed, when I first went to sea,was a piece of fat pork, tied to a string, to be swallowed, and then pulledup again; the dose to be repeated until effective. I should not havementioned this well-known remedy, as it has long been superseded by othernostrums, were it not that this maritime prescription has been the originof two modern improvements in the medical catalogue--one is thestomach-pump, evidently borrowed from this simple engine; the other is thevery successful prescription now in vogue, to those who are weak in thedigestive organs, to eat fat bacon for breakfast, which I have no doubt wassuggested to Doctor Vance, from what he had been eye-witness to on board ofa man-of-war.

  But here I am digressing again from Doctor Plausible to Doctor Vance.Reader, I never lose the opportunity of drawing a moral; and what animportant one is here! Observe how difficult it is to regain the right pathwhen once you have quitted it. Let my error be a warning to you in yourjourney through life, and my digressions preserve you from diverging fromthe beaten track, which, as the Americans would say, leads _clean slick_ onto happiness and peace.

  Doctor Plausible was a personable man, apparently about five-and-thirtyyears old; he wore a little powder in his hair, black silk stockings, andknee-breeches. In this I consider Doctor Plausible was right; the abovelook much more scientific than Wellington trousers; and much depends uponthe exterior. He was quite a ladies' man; talked to them about theirextreme sensibility, their peculiar fineness of organic structure, theirdelicacy of nerves; and soothed his patients more by flattery than byphysic. Having discovered that Miss Laura was not inclined to give up hergingerbread, he immediately acknowledged its virtues, but recommended thatit should be cut into extremely small dice, and allowed, as it were, tomelt away upon the tongue; stating, that her digestive organs were sorefined and delicate, that they would not permit themselves to be loadedwith any large particles, even of farinaceous compound. Isabel Revel, whohad been informed that Mrs Ferguson was on deck, expressed a wish to escapefrom the confined atmosphere of the cabin; and Dr Plausible, as soon as hehad prescribed for Miss Laura, offered Miss Isabel his services; which, forwant of a better, perhaps, were accepted.

  The ship at this time had a great deal of motion. The gale was spent; butthe sea created by the violence of the wind had not yet subsided, and thewaves continued still to rise and fall again, like the panting breasts ofmen who have just desisted from fierce contention. Captain Drawlockhastened over to receive his charge from the hands of the medicalattendant; and paying Isabel some compliments on her appearance, washanding her over to the weather-side, where Mrs Ferguson was seated, when asea of larger dimensions than usual careened the ship to what the sailorsterm a "heavy lurch." The decks were wet and slippery. Captain Drawlocklost his footing, and was thrown to leeward. Isabel would most certainlyhave kept him company; and indeed was already under weigh for thelee-scuppers, had not it been that Newton Forster, who stood near, caughther round the waist, and prevented her from falling.

  It certainly was a great presumption to take a young lady round the waistprevious to any introduction; but, at sea, we are not very particular; andif we do perceive that a lady is in danger of a severe fall, we do notstand upon etiquette. What is more remarkable, we generally find that theladies excuse our unpolished manners, either upon the score of our goodintentions, or because there is nothing so very impertinent in them, afterall. Certain it is, that Isabel, as soon as she had recovered from heralarm, thanked Newton Forster, with a sweet smile, for his timely aid, asshe again took the arm of Captain Drawlock, who escorted her to theweather-side of the quarter-deck.

  "I have brought you one of your _protegees_, Mrs Ferguson," said CaptainDrawlock. "How do you feel, Miss Revel?"

  "Like most young ladies, sir, a little giddy," replied Isabel. "I hope youwere not hurt, Captain Drawlock; I'm afraid that you fell by paying moreattention to me than to yourself."

  "My duty, Miss Revel. Allow me to add, my pleasure," replied the captain,bowing.

  "That's very politely said, Captain Drawlock," replied Isabel.

  "Almost too polite, I think," observed Mrs Ferguson (who was out of humourat not being the first object of attention), "considering that CaptainDrawlock is a married man, with seven children." The captain looked glum,and Miss Revel observing it, turned the conversation by inquiring--"Who wasthat gentleman who saved me from falling?"

  "Mr Newton Forster, one of the mates of the vessel. Would you like to walk,Miss Revel, or remain where you are?"

  "Thank you, I will stay with Mrs Ferguson."

  The gentlemen passengers had as yet but occasionally appeared on deck. Mengenerally suffer more from the distressing sickness than women. As soon,however, as the news had been communicated below that the ladies were ondeck, some of the gentlemen immediately repaired to their trunks to makethemselves presentable, and then hastened on deck. The first on deck wasthe old colonel, who tottered up the hatchway, and by dint of seizing ropeafter rope, at last succeeded in advancing his lines to within hearingrange of Mrs Ferguson, to whom he had been formally introduced. Hecommenced by lamenting his unfortunate sufferings, which had prevented himfrom paying those attentions, ever to him a source of enjoyment andgratification; but he was a martyr--quite a martyr; never felt anysensation which could be compared to it, except when he was struck in thebreast with a spent ball, in the battle of ----; that their appearance hadmade him feel revived already; that as the world would be a dark prisonwithout the sun, so would a ship be without the society of ladies;commenced a description of Calcutta, and then--made a hasty retreat to thelee-gangway.

  The young writer next made his appearance, followed by the two boys, whowere going out as cadets; the first, with a new pair of grey kid gloves,the others in their uniforms. The writer descanted long upon his ownmiseries, without any inquiry or condolement for the sufferings of theladies. The cadets said nothing; but stared so much at Isabel Revel, thatshe dropped her veil.

  The ladies had been about a quarter of an hour on deck, when the sun, whichhad not shown itself for two days, gleamed through the clouds. Newton, whowas officer of the watch, and had been accustomed, when with Mr Berecroft,to work a chronometer, interrupted the captain, who was leaning on thecarronade, talking to Mrs Ferguson.

  "The sun is out, and the horizon pretty clear, sir: you may have sights forthe chronometers."

  "Yes, indeed," said the captain, looking up; "be quick, and fetch mysextant. You'll excuse me, ladies, but the chronometers must be attendedto."

  "In preference to us, Captain Drawlock?--Fie, for shame!" replied MrsFerguson.

  "Why, not exactly," replied the captain, "not exactly; but the fact is,that the sun may go in again."

&nb
sp; "And we can stay out, I presume?" replied Isabel, laughing. "I think, MrsFerguson, we ought to go in too."

  "But, my dear young lady, if the sun goes in, I shall not get a _sight!_"

  "And if we go in, you will not get a sight either," replied Mrs Ferguson.

  "Between the two, sir," observed Newton, handing Captain Drawlock hissextant, "you stand a chance of losing both. There's no time to spare; I'mall ready."

  Captain Drawlock walked to the break of the gangways, so far concealed fromthe ladies that they could not perceive that he was looking through hissextant, the use of which they did not comprehend, having never seen onebefore. Newton stood at the capstern, with his eyes fixed on the watch.

  "Captain Drawlock," said Mrs Ferguson, calling to him, "allow me toobserve--"

  "_Stop_," cried Captain Drawlock, in a loud voice. Newton, to whom this wasaddressed, noted the time.

  "Good heavens! what can be the matter;" said Mrs Ferguson, withastonishment, to those near her; "how excessively rude of CaptainDrawlock;--what can it be?" continued she, addressing the colonel, who hadrejoined them.

  "Really, madam, I cannot tell; but it is my duty to inquire," replied thecolonel, who, going up to Captain Drawlock, commenced--"Have the ladiesalready so fallen in your estimation--"

  "Forty degrees!" cried Captain Drawlock, who was intent upon his sextant."Excuse me, sir, just now."

  "When will you be at leisure, sir?" resumed the colonel, haughtily.

  "Twenty-six minutes," continued the captain, reading off his sextant.

  "A little sooner, I should hope, sir," retorted the colonel.

  "Forty-five seconds."

  "This is really quite insufferable! Miss Revel, we had better go in."

  "Stop!" again cried Captain Drawlock, in a loud voice.

  "Stop!" repeated Mrs Ferguson, angrily; "surely we are not slaves."

  Newton, who heard what was passing, could not repress his laughter.

  "Indeed, I am sure there must be some mistake, Mrs Ferguson," observedIsabel. "Wait a little."

  "Forty-six minutes, thirty seconds," again read off the captain. "Capitalsights both! but the sun is behind that dark cloud, and we shall have nomore of his presence."

  "Nor of ours, I assure you, sir," said Mrs Ferguson, rising, as CaptainDrawlock walked from the gangway to the capstern.

  "Why, my dear madam, what is the matter?"

  "We have not been accustomed to such peremptory language, sir. It may bethe custom on board ship to holla 'stop' to ladies when they address you,or express a wish to leave the deck."

  "My dearest madam, I do assure you, upon my honour, that you are under amistake. I ordered Mr Forster to stop, not you."

  "Mr Forster!" replied the lady; "why, he was standing still the wholetime!"

  It was not until the whole system of taking sights for chronometers hadbeen satisfactorily explained, that the lady recovered her good-humour.While the captain was thus employed with Mrs Ferguson, Newton, although itwas not necessary, explained the mystery to Miss Revel, who, with MrsFerguson, soon after quitted the deck.

  The sights taken proved the ship to be to the eastward of her reckoning.The other ships in company had made the same discovery, and the course wasaltered one quarter of a point. In two days they dropped their anchor inFunchal Roads.

  But I must for a little while recross the Bay of Biscay, and, with myreader, look into the chambers of Mr John Forster.