Frank Mildmay; Or, the Naval Officer

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

  They turned into a long and wide street, into which not a single living figure appeared to break the perspective. Solitude is never so overpowering as when it exists among the works of man. In old woods, or on the tops of mountains, it is graceful and benignant, for it is a home; but where thick dwellings are, it wears a ghost-like aspect. INESILLA.

  We were ordered to look-out for the American squadron that had done somuch mischief to our trade; and directed our course, for this purpose,to the coast of Africa. We had been out about ten days, when a vesselwas seen from the mast-head. We were at that time within about onehundred and eighty leagues of the Cape de Verd Islands. We set all sailin chase, and soon made her out to be a large frigate, who seemed tohave no objection to the meeting, but evidently tried her rate ofsailing with us occasionally: her behaviour left us no doubt that shewas an American frigate, and we cleared for action.

  The captain, I believe, had never been in a sea-fight, or if he had, hehad entirely forgotten all he had learned; for which reason, in order torefresh his memory, he laid upon the capstan-head the famous epitome ofJohn Hamilton Moore, now obsolete, but held at that time to be one ofthe most luminous authors who had ever treated on maritime affairs,John, who certainly gives a great deal of advice on every subject, has,amongst other valuable directions, told us how to bring a ship intoaction according to the best and most approved methods, and how to takeyour enemy afterwards if you can. But the said John must have thoughtred-hot shot could be heated by a process somewhat similar to that bywhich he heated his own nose, or he must entirely have forgotten "themanners and customs in such cases used at sea," for he recommends, as aprelude or first course to the entertainment, a good dose of red-hotshot, served up the moment the guests are assembled; but does not tellus where the said dishes are to be cooked. No doubt whatever that abroadside composed of such ingredients, would be a great desideratum infavour of a victory, especially if the enemy should happen to have noneof his own to give in return.

  So thought his lordship, who, walking up to the first lieutenant,said:--

  "Mr Thingamy, don't you think red-hot what-do-ye-call-ums should begiven in the first broadside to that thingamybob?"

  "Red-hot shot, do you mean, my lord?"

  "Yes," said his lordship; "don't you think they would settle his hash?"

  "Where the devil are we to get them, my lord?" said the firstlieutenant, who was not the same that wanted to fight me for saying hewas as clever a fellow as the captain: that man had been unshipped bythe machinations of Toady.

  "Very true," said his lordship.

  We now approached the stranger very fast, when to our greatmortification she proved to be an English frigate; made the privatesignal; it was answered; showed her number, we showed ours, and hercaptain being junior officer came on board, to pay his respects and showhis order. He was three weeks from England, brought news of a peacewith France, and, among other treats, a navy list, which, next to bottleof London porter, is the greatest luxury to a sea officer in a foreignclimate.

  Greedily did we all run over this interesting little book, and among thenames of the new-made commanders, I was overjoyed to find my own: thelast on the list, to be sure, but that I cared not for. I received thecongratulations of my mess-mates. We parted company with the stranger,and steered for the island of St. Jago, our captain intending tocomplete his water in Port Praya Bay, previous to a long cruise afterthe American squadron.

  We found here a slave-vessel in charge of a naval officer, bound toEngland; and I thought this a good opportunity to quit, not being overanxious to serve as a lieutenant when I knew I was a commander. I wasalso particularly anxious to return to England for many reasons, thehand of my dear Emily standing at the head of them. I thereforerequested the captain's permission to quit the ship; and as he wished togive an acting order to one of his own followers, he consented. I tookmy leave of all my mess-mates, and of my captain, who, though anunfeeling coxcomb, and no sailor, certainly had some good points abouthim: in fact, his lordship was a gentleman; and had his ship fallen inwith an enemy, she would have been well fought, as he had good officers,was sufficiently aware of his own incapability, would take advice, andas a man of undaunted bravery was not to be surpassed in the service.

  On the third day after our arrival the frigate sailed. I went on boardthe slaver, which had no slaves on board except four to assist inworking the vessel; she was in a filthy state, and there was no inn onshore, and of course no remedy. Port Praya is the only good anchoragein the island; the old town of St. Jago was deserted, in consequence oftheir being only an open roadstead before it, very unsafe for vessels tolie it. The town of Port Praya is a miserable assemblage of mud huts;the governor's house, and one more, are better built, but they are notso comfortable as a cottage in England. There were not ten Portugueseon the island, and above ten thousand blacks, all originally slaves; andyet everything was peaceable, although fresh arrivals of slaves cameevery day.

  It was easy to distinguish the different races; the Yatoffes are tallmen, not very stoutly built; most of them are soldiers. I have seen tenof them standing together, the lowest not less than six feet two orthree inches. The Foulahs, from the Ashantee country are another race;they are powerful and muscular, ill-featured, badly disposed, andtreacherous. The Mandingoes are a smaller race than the others, butthey are well disposed and tractable.

  This island of slaves is kept in subjection by slaves only who areenrolled as soldiers, miserably equipped; a cap and a jacket were allthey owed to art; nature provided the rest of their uniform. Thegovernor's orderly alone sported a pair of trousers, and these were onpermanent duty, being transferred from one to the other as their turnfor that service came on.

  I paid my respects to the governor, who, although a Portuguese, chose tofollow the fashion of the island, and was as black as most of hissubjects. After a few French compliments, I took my leave. I wascurious to see the old town of St. Jago which had been abandoned; andafter a hot walk of two hours over uncultivated ground covered with finegoats, which are the staple of the island, I reached the desolate spot.

  It was melancholy to behold; it seemed as if the human race wereextinct. The town was built on a wide ravine, running down to the sea;the houses were of stone, and handsome; the streets regular and paved,which proves that it had formerly been a place of some importance; butit is surprising that a spot so barren as this island generally is,should ever have had any mercantile prosperity. Whatever it did enjoy,I should conceive must have been anterior to the Portuguese havingsailed round the Cape of Good Hope: and the solidity and even eleganceof construction among the buildings justifies the supposition.

  The walls were massive and remained entire; the churches were numerous,but the roofs of them and the dwelling-houses had mostly fallen in.Trees had grown to a considerable height in the midst of the streets,piercing through the pavements and raising the stones on each side; andthe convent gardens were a mere wilderness. The cocoa-nut had thrustits head through many a roof, and its long stems through the tops of thehouses; the banana luxuriated out of the windows. The only inhabitantsof a town capable of containing ten thousand inhabitants, were a fewfriars, who resided in a miserable ruin which had once been a beautifulconvent. They were the first negro friars I had ever seen; their cowlswere as black as their faces, and their hair grey and woolly. Iconcluded they had adopted this mode of life as being the laziest; but Icould not discover by what means they could gain a livelihood, for therewere none to give them anything in charity.

  The appearance of these poor men added infinitely to the necromanticcharacter of the whole melancholy scene. There was a beauty, aloveliness, in these venerable ruins, which delighted me. There was asolemn silence in the town; but there was a small, still voice, thatsaid to me,--"London may one day be the same--and Paris; and you andyour children's children will all have lived, and had their loves andadventures; but who will the wretched man be that shall
sit on thesummit of Primrose Hill, and look down upon the desolation of the mightycity, as you, from this little eminence, behold the once flourishingtown of St. Jago?"

  The goats were browsing on the side of the hill, and the little kidsfrisking by their dams. "These," thought I, "perhaps are the only foodand nourishment of these poor friars." I walked to Port Praya, andreturned to my floating prison, the slave-ship. The officer who wasconducting her home, as a prize, was not a pleasant man; I did not likehim, and nothing passed between us but common civility. He was an oldmaster's mate, who had probably served his time thrice over; but havingno merit of his own, and no friends to cause that defect to beoverlooked, he had never obtained promotion: he therefore naturallylooked on a young commander with envy. He had only given me a passagehome from motives which he could not resist; first, because he wasforced to obey the orders of my late captain; and, secondly, because mypurse would supply the cabin with the necessary stock of refreshments,in the shape of fruit, poultry, and vegetables, which are to be procuredat Port Praya; he was, therefore, under the necessity of enduring mycompany.

  The vessel, I found, was not to sail on the following day, as heintended. I therefore took my gun at daybreak, and wandered with aguide, up the valleys, in search of the _pintados_, or Guinea fowl withwhich the island abounds; but they were so shy that I could never get ashot at them; and I returned over the hills, which my guide assured mewas the shortest way. Tired with my walk, I was not sorry to arrive ata sheltered valley, where the palmetto and the plantain offer a friendlyshade from the burning sun. The guide, with wonderful agility, mountedthe cocoa-nut-tree, and threw down half a dozen nuts. They were green,and their milk I thought the most refreshing and delicious draught I hadever taken.

  The vesper bells at Port Praya were now summoning the poor black friarsto their devotion; and a stir and bustle appeared among the little blackboys and girls, of whose presence I was till then ignorant. They ranfrom the coverts, and assembled near the front of the only cottagevisible to my eye. A tall elderly negro man came out, and took his seaton a mound of turf, a few feet from the cottage; he was followed by alad, about twenty years of age, who bore in his hand a formidablecow-skin. For the information of my readers, I must observe that acow-skin is a large whip, made like a riding whip out of the hide of thehippopotamus, or sea-cow, and is proverbial for the severity ofpunishment it is capable of inflicting. After the executioner, came,with slow and measured steps, the poor little culprits, five boys andthree girls, who, with most rueful faces, ranged themselves rank andfile, before the old man.

  I soon perceived that the hands were turned up for punishment; but thenature of the offence I had yet to learn; nor did I know whether anyorder had been given to strip. With the boys this would have beensupererogatory, as they were quite naked. The female children had oncotton chemises, which they slowly and reluctantly rolled up, until theyhad gathered them close under their armpits.

  The old man then ordered the eldest boy to begin his Pater Noster; andsimultaneously the whipper-in elevated his cow-skin by way ofencouragement. The poor boy watched it, out of the corner of his eye,and then began, "Pattery Nobstur, qui, qui, qui--" (here he received amost severe lash from the cow-skin bearer)--"is in silly," roared theboy, as if the continuation had been expelled from his mouth by theapplication of external force in an opposite direction--"sancty fisheternom tum, adveny regnum tum, fi notun tas, ta ti, tu, terror," roared thepoor fellow, as he saw the lash descending on his defenceless back.

  "Terror, indeed," thought I.

  "Pannum Nossum quotditty hamminum da nobs holyday, e missy nobs, debittynossa si cut nos demitti missibus debetenibas nossimus e, ne, noshem-duckam in, in, in, temptationemum, sed lilibery nos a ma-ma--" Herea heavy lash brought the very Oh! that was "caret" to complete thesentence.

  My readers are not to suppose that the rest of the class acquittedthemselves with as much ability as their leader, who, compared to them,was perfectly erudite; the others received a lash for every word, ornearly so the boys were first disposed of, in order, I suppose that theymight have the full benefit of the applicant's muscles; while the poorgirls had the additional pleasure of witnessing the castigation untiltheir turn came; and that they were aware of what awaited them wasevident, from the previous arrangement and disposition of dress, at thecommencement of the entertainment. The girls accordingly came up oneafter another to say their Ave Maria, as more consonant to their sex;but I could scarcely contain my rage when the rascally cow-skin wasapplied to them, or my laughter when, smarting under its lash, theyexclaimed, "Benedicta Mulieribus," applying their little hands withimmoderate pressure to the afflicted part.

  I could have found in my heart to have wrested the whip out of the handsof the young negro, and applied it with all my might to him, and his oldvillain of a master, and father of these poor children, as I soon foundhe was. My patience was _almost_ gone when the second girl received alash for her "Plena Gratia." She screamed, and danced, and lifted upher poor legs in agony, rubbing herself on her "_west_" side, as thePhiladelphia ladies call it, with as much assiduity as if it had beenone of those cases in which friction is prescribed by the faculty.

  But the climax was yet to come. A grand stage effect was to be producedbefore the falling of the curtain. The youngest girl was so defectivein her lesson that not one word could be extracted from her, even by thecow-skin; nothing but piercing shrieks, enough to make my heart bleed,could the poor victim utter. Irritated by the child's want of capacityto repeat by rote what she could not understand, the old man darted fromhis seat, and struck her senseless to the ground.

  I could bear no more. My first impulse was to wrest the cow-skin fromthe negro's hand, and revenge the poor bleeding child as she laymotionless on the ground, but a moment's reflection convinced me thatsuch a step would only have brought down a double weight of punishmenton the victims when I was gone; so, catching up my hat, I turned awaywith disgust, and walked slowly towards the town and bay of Port Praya,reflecting as I went along what pleasant ideas the poor creatures mustentertain of religion, when the name of God and of the cow-skin wereinvariably associated in their minds. I began to parody one of Watts'shymns--

  "Lord! how delightful 'tis to see A whole assembly worship thee."

  The indignation I felt against this barbarous and ignorant negro was notunmingled with some painful recollections of my own younger days, when,in a Christian and Protestant country, the Bible and Prayer-book hadbeen made objects of terror to my mind; tasks greater than my capacitycould compass, and floggings in proportion, were not calculated toforward the cause of religious instruction in the mind of an obstinateboy.

  Reaching the water-side, I duly embarked on board of my slaver; and thenext day sailed for England. We had a favourable passage until wereached the chops of the Channel, when a gale of wind from thenorth-east caught us, and drove us down so far to the southward that theprize-master found himself under the necessity of putting into Bordeauxto refit, and to replenish his water.

  I was not sorry for this, as I was tired of the company of this officer,who was both illiterate and ill-natured, neither a sailor nor agentleman. Like many others in the service, who are most loud in theircomplaints for the want of promotion, I considered that even in hispresent rank he was what we called a _king's hard bargain--that_ is, notworth his salt; and promoting men of his stamp would only have beenpicking the pocket of the country. As soon, therefore, as we hadanchored in the Gironde, off the city of Bordeaux, and had been visitedby the proper authorities, I quitted the vessel and her captain, andwent on shore.

  Taking up my abode at the Hotel d'Angleterre, my first care was to ordera good dinner; and having despatched that, and a bottle of Vin de Beaune(which, by-the-by, I strongly recommend to all travellers, if they canget it, for I am no bad judge), I asked my _valet de place_ how I was todispose of myself for the remainder of the evening.

  "_Mais, monsieur_," said he, "_il faut aller au spectacle_."

&n
bsp; "_Allons_," said I; and in a few minutes I was seated in the stage-boxof the handsomest theatre in the world.

  What strange events--what unexpected meetings and sudden separations aresailors liable to--what sudden transitions from grief to joy, from joyto grief--from want to affluence, from affluence to want! All this thehistory of my life, for the last six months, will fully illustrate.