CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
"It is not," says Blake, "the business of a seaman to mind state affairs, but to hinder foreigners from fooling us."
Dr Johnson's "LIFE OF BLAKE."
The frigate came to the wind close under our lee, and a boat from herwas alongside in a very few minutes. The officer who came to takepossession leaped up the side, and was on the deck in a moment. Ireceived him, told him in few words what the vessel was, introducing thecaptain and Green, both of whom I recommended to his particular noticeand attention for the kindness they had shown to me. I then requestedhe would walk down into the cabin, leaving a midshipman whom he broughtwith him in charge of the deck, and who, in the mean while, he directedto haul the mainsail up, and make the vessel snug. The prisoners weredesired to pack up their things, and be ready to quit in one hour.
When lights were brought into the cabin, the lieutenant and myselfinstantly recognised each other.
"Bless my soul, Frank," said he, "what brought you here?"
"That," said I, "is rather a longer story than could be convenientlytold before to-morrow; but may I ask what ship has taken the Yankee? Iconclude it is the _R---_; and what rank does friend Talbot hold inher?"
"The frigate," said he, "_is_ the _R---_, as you conjectured. We are onthe Cape station. I am first of her, and sent out here on promotion forthe affair of Basque roads."
"Hard, indeed," said I, "that you should have waited so long for whatyou so nobly earned; but come, we have much to do. Let us look to theprisoners, and if you will return on board, taking with you the captain,mate, and few of the hands, whom I will select as the most troublesomeand the most careless, I will do all I can to have the prize, ready formaking sail by daylight, when, if Captain T--- will give me leave, Iwill wait on him."
This was agreed to. The people whom I pointed out were put into theboat, four of whose crew came aboard the brig to assist me. We soonarranged everything, so as to be ready for whatever might be required.A boat returned with a fresh supply of hands, taking back about twentymore prisoners; and the midshipman who brought them delivered also acivil message from the captain, to say he was glad to have the prize insuch good hands, and would expect me to breakfast with him at eighto'clock; in the mean time, he desired that as soon as I was ready tomake sail, I should signify the same by showing two lights at the sameheight in the main rigging, and that we should then keep on a wind tothe northward under a plain sail.
This was completed by four a.m., when we made the signal, and kept onthe weather quarter of the frigate. I took a couple of hours' sleep,was called at six, dressed myself, and prepared to go on board athalf-past seven. I heard her drum and fife beat to quarters, thesweetest music, next to the heavenly voice of Emily, I had ever heard.The tears rolled down my cheeks with gratitude to God, for once moreplacing me under the protection of my beloved flag. The frigatehove-to; soon after the gig was lowered down and came to fetch me; aclean white cloak was spread in the stern-sheets; the men were dressedin white frocks and trousers, as clean as hands could make them, withneat straw hats and canvas shoes. I was seated in the boat withoutdelay, and my heart beat with rapture when the boatswain's mate at thegangway piped the side for me.
I was received by the captain and officers with all the kindness andaffection which we lavish on each other on such occasions. The captainasked me a thousand questions, and the lieutenants and midshipmen allcrowded round me to hear my answers. The ship's company were alsocurious to know our history, and I requested the captain would send thegig back for Thompson, who would assist me in gratifying the generalcuriosity. This was done, and the brave, honest fellow came on board.The first question he asked was, "Who fired the first shot at theprize?"
"It was Mr Spears, the first lieutenant of marines," said one of themen.
"Then Mr Spears must have my allowance of grog for the day," saidThompson; "for I said it last night, and I never go from my word."
"That I am ready to swear to," said Captain Peters, of the privateer: "Ihave known men of good resolutions, and you are one of them; and I haveknown men of bad resolutions, and he was one of them whom you sent lastnight to his long account and it was fortunate for you that you did; foras sure as you now stand here, that moan would have compassed yourdeath, either by dagger, by water, or by poison. I never knew or heardof the man who had struck or injured Peleg Oswald with impunity. He wasa Kentucky man, of the Ohio, where he had `squatted', as we say; but heshot two men with his rifle, because they had declined exchanging someland with him. He had gouged the eye out of the third, for sometrifling difference of opinion. These acts obliged him to quit thecountry; for not only were the officers of justice in pursuit of him,but the man who had lost one eye kept a sharp look-out with the other,and Peleg would certainly have had a rifle-ball in his ear if he had notfled eastward, and taken again to the sea, to which he was originallybrought up. I did not know all his history till long after he and Ibecame shipmates. He would have been tried for his life; but havingmade some prize-money, he contrived to buy off his prosecutors. Ishould have unshipped him next cruise, if it had pleased God I had gotsafe back."
Peters was giving this little history of his departed mate, thecaptain's breakfast was announced, and the two American captains wereinvited to partake of it. As we went down the ladder under thehalf-deck, Peters and Green could not help casting an eye of admirationat the clean and clear deck, the style of the guns, and perfect union ofthe useful and ornamental, so inimitably blended as they are sometimesfound in our ships of war. There was nothing in the captain's repastbeyond cleanliness, plenty, hearty welcome, and cheerfulness.
The conversation turned on the nature, quality and number of men in theprivateer. "They are all seamen," said Peters, "except the ten blackfellows."
"Some of them, I suspect, are English," said I.
"It is not for me to peach," said the wary American. "It is difficultalways to know whether a man who has been much in both countries is anative of Boston in Lincolnshire, or Boston in Massachusetts; andperhaps they don't always know themselves. We never ask questions whena seaman ships for us."
"You have an abundance of our seamen both in your marine and merchantservice," said our captain.
"Yes," said Green; "and we are never likely to want them, while youimpress for us."
"_We_ impress for you?" said Captain T---; "how do you prove that?"
"Your impressment," said the American, "fills our ships. Your seamenwill not stand it; and for every two men you take by force, rely on it,we get one of them as a volunteer."
Peters dissented violently from this proposition, and appeared angrywith Green for making the assertion.
"I see no reason to doubt it," said Green; "I know how our fightingships, as well as our traders, are manned. I will take my oath thatmore than two-thirds have run from the British navy, because they wereimpressed. You yourself have said so in my hearing, Peters--look atyour crew."
Peters could stand conviction no longer; he burst into the most violentrage with Green; said that what ought never to have been owned to aBritish officer, he had let out; that it was true that America lookedupon our system of impressment as the sheet-anchor of her navy; but hewas sorry the important secret should ever have escaped from anAmerican.
"For my part," resumed Green, "I feel so deeply indebted to this gallantyoung Englishman for his kindness to me, that I am for ever the friendof himself and his country, and have sworn never to carry arms againstGreat Britain, unless to repel an invasion of my own country."
Breakfast ended, we all went on deck; the ship and her prize were lyingto; the hands were turned up; all the boats hoisted out, the prisonersand their luggage taken out of the prize, and, as the crew of theprivateer came on board, they were all drawn up on the quarter-deck, andmany of them known and proved to be Englishmen. When taxed andreproached for their infamous conduct, they said it was owing to themthat the privateer had been taken, for that they had left the lowerstudding-
sail purposely hanging over the night-head, and towing in thewater, by which the way of the vessel had been impeded.
Captain Peters, who heard this confession, was astonished; and thecaptain of the frigate observed to him, that such conduct was exactlythat which might be expected from any traitor to his country. Then,turning to the prisoners, he said, "The infamy of your first crime couldscarcely have been increased; but your treachery to the new government,under which you had placed yourselves, renders you unworthy of the nameof men; nor have you even the miserable merit you claim of havingcontributed to the capture, since we never lost sight of the chase fromthe first moment we saw her, and from the instant she hauled her wind,we knew she was ours."
The men hung down their heads, and when dismissed to go below, none ofthe crew of the frigate would receive them into their messes; but thereal Americans were kindly treated.
We shaped our course for Simon's Bay, where we arrived in one week afterthe capture.
The admiral on the station refused to try the prisoners by acourt-martial; he said it was rather a state question, and should sendthem all to England, where the lords of the Admiralty might dispose ofthem as they thought proper.
The _True-blooded Yankee_ was libelled in the Vice-Admiralty-Court atCape Town, condemned as a lawful prize, and purchased into the service;and, being a very fine vessel of her class, the admiral was pleased tosay, that as I had been so singularly unfortunate, he would give me thecommand of her as a lieutenant, and send me to England with somedespatches, which had been waiting an opportunity.
This was an arrangement far more advantageous to me than I could haveexpected; but what rendered it still more agreeable was, that my friendTalbot, who was the first to shake me by the hand on board the prize,begged a passage home with me, he having, by the last packet, receivedhis commander's commission. The admiral, at my request, also gaveCaptains Peters and Green permission to go home with me. Mungo, theblack man, and Thompson, the quarter-master, with the midshipman who hadbeen with me in the boat, were also of the party. My crew was none ofthe very best, as might be supposed; but I was not in a state to makedifficulties; and, with half a dozen of the new negroes taken out of thetrader, I made up such a ship's company as I thought would enable me torun to Spithead.
We laid in a good stock of provisions at the Cape. The Americans beggedto be allowed to pay their part; but this I positively refused,declaring myself too happy in having them as my guests. I purchased allCaptain Peters' wine and stock, giving him the full value for it. Mungowas appointed steward, for I had taken a great fancy to him; and myfriend Talbot having brought all his things on board, and the admiralhaving given my final orders, I sailed from Simon's Bay to England.
There is usually but little of incident in a run home of this sort. Iwas not directed to stop at St. Helena, and had no inclination to loiteron my way. I carried sail night and day to the very utmost. Talbot andmyself became inseparable friends, and our cabin mess was one of perfectharmony, avoided all national reflections, and abstained as much aspossible from politics. I made a confidant of Talbot in my love affairwith Emily. Of poor Eugenia, I had long before told him a great deal.
One day at dinner we happened to talk of swimming. "I think," saidTalbot, "that my friend Frank is as good a hand at that as any of us.Do you remember when you swam away from the frigate at Spithead, to paya visit to your friend, Mrs Melpomene, at Point?"
"I do," said I, "and also how generously you showered the musket-ballsabout my ears for the same."
"Your escape from either drowning or shooting on that occasion, amongmany others," said the commander, "makes me augur something more seriousof your future destiny."
"That may be," said I; "but I dispute the legality of your act, intrying to kill me before you knew who I was, or what I was about. Imight have been mad, for what you knew; or I might have belonged to someother ship; but in any event, had you killed me, and had my body beenfound, a coroner's inquest would have gone very hard with you, and ajury still worse."
"I should have laughed at them," said Talbot.
"You might have found it no laughing matter," said I.
"How!" replied Talbot; "what are sentinels placed for, and loaded withhall?"
"To defend the ship," said I; "to give warning of approaching danger; toprevent men going out of the ship without leave; but never to take awaythe life of a man, unless in defence of their own, or when the safety ofthe king's ship demands it."
"I deny your conclusions," said Talbot; "the articles of war denouncedeath to all deserters."
"True," said I, "they do, and also to many other crimes; but thosecrimes must first of all be proved before a court-martial. Now youcannot prove that I was deserting, and if you could, you had not thepower to inflict death on me unless I was going towards the enemy. Iown I was disobeying your orders, but even that would not have subjectedme to more than a slight punishment, while your arbitrary act would havedeprived the king, as I flatter myself, of a loyal and not uselesssubject; and if my body had not been found, no good could have accruedto the service from the severity of example. On the contrary; manywould have supposed I had escaped, and been encouraged to make the sameattempt."
"I am very sorry now," said Talbot, "that I did not lower a boat to sendafter you; however, it has been a comfort to me since to reflect thatthe marines missed you."
This ended the subject: we walked the deck a little, talked ofsweethearts, shaped the course for the night to make Fayal, which wewere not far from, and then retired to our beds.
Falling into a sound sleep, it was natural that the conversation of theevening should have dwelt on my mind, and a strange mixture ofdisjointed thoughts, a compound of reason, and insanity, haunted me tillthe morning. Trinidad and Emily, the Nine-pin Rock, and the mysteriousEugenia, with her supposed son, the sinking wreck, and the brokenschooner, all appeared separately or together--
"When nature rests; Oft, in her absence, mimic fancy wakes--"
I thought I saw Emily standing on the pinnacle of the Nine-pin Rock,just as Lord Nelson is represented on the monument in Dublin, orBonaparte in that of the Place Vendome; but with a grace as far superiorto either as the Nine-pin Rock is in majesty and natural grandeur tothose works of human art.
Emily, I thought, was clad in complete mourning, but looking radiant inhealth and loveliness, although with a melancholy countenance. The dearimage of my mistress seemed to say, "I shall never come down from thispinnacle without your assistance."
"Then," thinks I, "you will never come down at all."
Then I thought Eugenia was queen of Trinidad, and that it was she whohad placed Emily out of my reach on the rock; and I was entreating herto let Emily come down, when Thompson tapped at my cabin door and toldme that it was daylight, and that they could see the island of Fayal inthe north-east, distant about seven leagues.
I dressed myself and went on deck, saw the land, and a strange sailsteering to the westward. The confounded dream still running in myhead--like Adam, "I liked it not," and yet I thought myself a fool fornot dismissing such idle stuff; still it would not go away. TheAmericans came on deck soon after; and, seeing the ship steering to thewestward, asked if I meant to speak her. I replied in the affirmative.We had then as much sail as we could carry; and, as she had no wish toavoid us, but kept on her course, we were soon alongside of her. Sheproved to be a cartel bound to New York with American prisoners.
In case of meeting with any vessel bound to the United States, theadmiral had given me permission to send my prisoners home withoutcarrying them to England. I had not mentioned this either to Peters orGreen, for fear of producing disappointment; but when I found I coulddispose of them so comfortably, I acquainted them with my intention.Their joy and gratitude were beyond all description; they thanked me athousand times, as they did my friend Talbot, for our kindness to them.
"Lieutenant," said Peters, "I am not much accustomed to the company ofyou Englishmen; and if I have always thought you a set
of tyrants andbullies it ain't my fault. I believed what I was told; but now I haveseen for myself, and I find the devil is never so black as he ispainted." I bowed to the Yankee compliment. "Howsoever," he continued,"I should like to have a sprinkling of shot between us on fair terms.Do you bring this here brig to our waters; I hope to get another justlike her, and as I know you are a damned good fellow, and would as soonhave a dust as sit down to dinner, I should like to try to get thecommand of the _True-blooded Yankee_ again."
"If you man your next brig as you manned the last, with all your besthands Englishmen," said I, "I fear I should find it no easy matter todefend myself."
"That's as it may be," said the captain; "no man fights better than hewith a halter round his neck: and remember what neighbour Green hassaid--for he has `let the cat out of the bag'--we should have noEnglishmen in our service if they had not been pressed into yours."
I could make no return to this salute, because, like the gunner atLandguard fort, I had no powder; and, in fact, I felt the rebuke.
Green stood by, but never opened his lips until the captain hadfinished; then, holding out his hand to me, with his eyes full of tears,and his voice almost choked, "Farewell, my excellent friend," said he,"I shall never forget you; you found me a villain, and by the blessingof God, you have made me an honest man. Never, never shall I forget theday when, at the risk of your own life, you came to save one so unworthyof your protection; but God bless you! and if ever the fortune of warwould send you a prisoner to my country, here is my address--what ismine is yours, and so you shall find."
The man who had mutinied in the boat, and afterwards entered on boardthe privateer, who was sent home with me to take his trial, held out hishand to Captain Green as he passed him, to wish him good-bye, but heturned away, saying, "A traitor to his country is a traitor to his God.I forgive you for the injury you intended to do me, and the more so as Ifeel I brought it on myself; but I cannot degrade myself by offering youthe hand of friendship."
So saying, he followed Captain Peters into the boat. I accompanied themto the cartel, where, having satisfied myself that they had everycomfort, I left them. Green was so overcome that he could not speak,and poor Mungo could only say, "Good-bye, massa leptenant--me tinkee youberry good man."
I returned to my own vessel, and made sail for England: once more wegreeted the white cliffs of Albion, so dear to every true English bosom.No one but he who has been an exile from its beloved shores canappreciate the thrill of joy on such an occasion. We ran through theNeedles, and I anchored at Spithead, after an absence of fourteenmonths. I waited on the admiral, showed him my orders, and reported theprisoners, whom he desired me to discharge into the flag-ship. "Andnow," said he, "after your extraordinary escape, I will give you leaveto run up to town and see your family, to whom you are no doubt anobject of great interest."
Here a short digression is necessary.
Frank Mildmay; Or, the Naval Officer Page 21