The Thirteen Gun Salute

by Patrick O'Brian

  'What a satisfaction. And yet, do you know, Maturin, after all these hours of lying here I have come to the conclusion that there is something not displeasing in this solitude, perpetual travelling, perpetual confinement, remoteness from all society, cares, activity... If reasonable food were forthcoming, I am by no means sure that I should wish it ever to come to an end. There is a great deal to be said for suspended animation.' He paused, staring at the bulkhead, and then he said, 'I wonder if you know the author of the lines I have ventured to translate

  When the bells justle in the tower

  The hollow night amid

  Then on my tongue the taste is sour

  Of all I ever did.'

  From Fox's tone it was evident to Stephen that this was the preliminary to a confidence, a confidence prompted not by any high degree of friendship or esteem but by loneliness and a desire to talk. From the nature of the verse it was reasonably certain that the confidence would be of a somewhat scabrous nature, and Stephen did not wish to hear it. Restored to society, cares, activity and his usual environment, Fox would undoubtedly regret having made it; he would resent Stephen's knowledge of his intimate life, and that would make working together in Pulo Prabang far more difficult. Collaboration and indifference might agree; collaboration and resentment could scarcely do so. He said, 'I do not know the author. Can you remember the original?'

  'I am afraid not.'

  'It cannot be an ancient: the pagans, as far as my reading goes, were never much given to self-hatred or guilt about their sexual activities. That was reserved for Christians, with their particular sense of sin; and as "all I ever did" clearly refers to ill-doing, I must suppose it to be of a sexual nature, since a thief is not always stealing nor a murderer always murdering, whereas a man's sexual instincts are with him all the time, day and night. Yet it is curious to see how the self-hater often succeeds in retaining his self-esteem in relation to others, usually by means of a general denigration: he sees himself as a worthless creature, but his fellows as more worthless still.'

  As a check to unwanted confidences this was effective, but Stephen had added the last words in another spirit, following his own reflection, and the effect was too harsh by far. He saw with regret that he had wounded Fox, who, with an artificial smile, said, 'Oh, I quite agree,' and went on to a very proper speech of thanks for Dr Maturin's great kindness in looking after him and for his great skill in curing a most disagreeable complaint. He was sorry to have been such an importunate nuisance.

  'Where is the moral advantage now?' Stephen asked himself, walking along the half-deck to the companion-ladder. 'Heavy stupidity, incomprehension would have been much better.' He was just about to climb up it when a boy came hurtling down, took a great leap to avoid him, missed his footing and fell flat.

  'Are you quite well, Mr Reade?' he asked, picking him up.

  'Quite well, sir, thank you. I beg pardon for tumbling about, but the Captain sent me to tell you we have sighted Java Head. Java Head, sir! Ain't it prime?'

  Chapter 6

  It was quite true: within two days of being immersed in eastern ways, climate, food, languages, faces, expressions, and forms of civility Fox was a different man, a more agreeable one.

  While the Diane was refilling all her water-casks except for half a dozen in the ground-tier at Anjer, and taking in wood, stores, livestock, arrack and tobacco, together with river-water to wash the salt out of their harsh and rasping clothes at last, he took Jack and Stephen to Buitenzorg, the country residence, and presented them to the Governor, Stamford Raffles.

  Fox was proud of Raffles, and understandably so; he was a singularly accomplished and amiable man, and they both found their opinion of Fox change when they saw how the Governor valued him. Raffles at once invited them to stay, lamented the numerous dinner-party to which they were necessarily condemned that afternoon, but promised that they should sup in private and perhaps between the two meals Dr Maturin might like to see a little of his garden and his collections. 'For if I do not mistake, sir, you are the gentleman to whom we owe Testudo aubreii And, good Heavens now I come to reflect perhaps the Captain is that glorious reptile's godfather? What a delight to have two such famous names under our roof at the same times- Olivia, my dear. But before Mrs Raffles could be made aware of her happiness urgent official messages came in, requiring the Governor's attention before dinner, and the visitors were taken to their rooms.

  The dinner was indeed a very grand affair, the guests seated with exact regard to precedence, for the Javanese and Malays, of whom there were several present, were even more particular about rank than the Europeans The Sultan of Suakarta was on the Governor's right, then came two major-generals, then Jack, the senior naval officer present, and a long way farther down Stephen sat between the captain of a recently-arrived East Indiaman and a civil servant. Fox was at the other end, on Mrs Raffles' right. Stephen's neighbours had been talking eagerly as they came in, and now, as they sat down, the civil servant on Stephen's right said to him, 'I was just telling my cousin here that he must not worry about the news from London. These things are always exaggerated by distance, do you not agree, sir?'

  'Certainly truth is hard to come by, near or far,' said Stephen. 'But what is the gentleman not to worry about? Is it said that London is burnt again, or the plague broken out? And surely he would have noticed these things before leaving - he would have brought the news himself.'

  'Why, sir,' said the sailor, 'the people here are all talking about the great losses on the Stock Exchange, the Funds falling to pieces and banks breaking right, left and centre, particularly country banks. It is all since I left Blackwall.'

  'It may seem curious to you, Doctor,' said the civil servant, 'that we should have had the news before the Indiaman's arrival; but such is the case, for the Company sometimes has overland messengers travelling down at a great pace across the Arabian desert and Persia. The latest word is not three months old. But as it always happens, the latest word is much deformed by rumour. Rumour loves to make its hearers' flesh creep, and as soon as the Stock Exchange sinks a little rumour swears the bottom of the market has fallen out; yet it takes an even greater delight in breaking banks. In my time I have seen all the great houses brought down, Coutts, Drummonds, Hoares, the whole shooting match. Believe me, Humphrey, there is nothing in it; and I speak as the Governor's financial adviser.'

  When they were drinking coffee in the long, cool, shadowy drawing-room, Jack came over and said in an undertone, 'By God, Stephen, how I hope you did not take my advice about money. I have just heard two damned unpleasant things: the first is about the City, and about a run on the banks. It seems that many have stopped payment, and that many country houses are broke: Smith's was particularly named. The second is that the French have already reached Pulo Prabang; they are there first, in spite of all our efforts.'

  Before Stephen could reply his left-hand neighbour at dinner came to say good-bye, and on seeing Jack he claimed acquaintance; he had been aboard one of the Indiamen in whose company Captain Aubrey, commanding the Surprise even then, had engaged a French line-of-battle ship and a corvette and had obliged them to withdraw. By the time he had finished fighting the battle over again the room was almost empty, and the Governor claimed Dr Maturin. 'It is rare,' he said, 'to have anyone who will look at my collections as anything but a raree-show.'

  'Banks would enjoy this beyond anything,' said Stephen, stopping before an astonishing group of orchids growing from trees, crevices, baskets or the ground itself. 'He is very much more of a botanist than I. He showed me some of your drawings of the vanilla...

  'There is the very plant. A friend sent me a root from Mexico, and I hope to naturalize it. The insignificant green thing in a hanging raft.' Raffles broke off a piece of seed-pod and gave it to Stephen, who bowed, smelt to it, and continued '.... with the utmost appreciation, and yet with a certain regret. He saw so little when he was here in the Endeavour.'

  'I am afraid he must have been in a sad way;
but even if he had been able to get about, he would have had to go very far to acquire anything like a true notion of the flora. There was nothing worth calling a botanical garden in those days. The Dutch looked upon the island with a commercial rather than a philosophical eye.'

  'Certainly few Dutch naturalists come to mind. Apart from van Buren, of course, for the fauna.'

  'To be sure, and he is a constellation in himself. I am so sorry he is no longer here; we were great friends. But you will no doubt meet him in Pulo Prabang, where, as I understand it, you mean to accompany Edward Fox.'

  'I shall look forward to it. But am I mistaken in supposing that he withdrew from Java because of the British conquest of the island?'

  'Quite mistaken, I am happy to say. We are excellent friends. He dislikes Bonaparte as much as we do, like so many of the Dutch officials who are now working with us. His removal was settled upon well before our arrival, primarily for the sake of Mrs. van Buren, who is a Malay lady from those parts, but also for the sake of the orang-utang and some of the smaller gibbons, which are to be met with there and not here, to say nothing of the gallinae or nectarineas. I have never been to Pulo Prabang, alas, but I understand it possesses all the advantages of Borneo without the drawback of head-hunters.'

  When they had finished the birds of paradise aviary, which was no small undertaking, and when Stephen had expressed his unqualified support for Raffles' projected zoological society and garden in London, Raffles said, 'It can hardly be necessary for a man of your reputation, but if you should care for a letter of introduction to van Buren, nothing could be easier.'

  'That would be very kind. Yet on reflection perhaps I ought to present myself at his door. If it were known that I had been introduced by the Governor of Java, my character as a wholly unofficial naturalist travelling with his friend Aubrey might suffer. On the other hand - I may assume that you know the conditions of my attachment to Mr Fox's mission?'

  'Yes, sir.'

  'On the other hand, then, I should be most grateful if you would recommend me to a considerable merchant here, capable of dealing with bills of exchange, who has dealings with a colleague in Pulo Prabang.'

  'You would not object to a Chinese?' asked Raffles, having considered for a moment. 'They carry out almost all the banking business, bill discounting and so on in these regions.'

  'Never in life. It was a Parsee or a Chinese I had in mind:I have always heard excellent accounts of their probity.'

  'The better sort can put John Company to shame. Here in Batavia we have Shao Yen, who has interests out as far as the Moluccas and up to Penang. He is under some obligation to me. I will find out whether he has a correspondent in Pulo Prabang.'

  'I may have occasion to disburse considerable sums, and it might be more convenient to draw them locally than to carry them about. But my chief reason is that I wish to appear in Pulo Prabang as a man of substance from the outset, not as a mere moneyed adventurer. If I go to Shao Yen with your recommendation he will treat me with respect; this respect will be conveyed to his correspondent; and an intelligent banker or merchant is often capable of giving valuable information. Yet obviously he is not going to do so for a stranger unless that stranger is uncommonly well vouched for; and although I can display quantities of gold and letters of credit, they would not serve as well as a word from you.'

  'You flatter me; but I cannot pretend you are mistaken. I shall ask him to call tomorrow morning. What else can I do to be of assistance?'

  'Could your people give me a list of the members of the French mission?'

  'I am afraid not, apart from Duplessis and the infamous couple, whose names you know already. Their frigate only arrived a few days ago. It has already been removed from Prabang harbour, because the sailors made such a nuisance of themselves ashore. But Duplessis will not have audience of the Sultan until after the change of the moon. He is hunting with his cousin of Kawang, in the hope of a two-horned rhinoceros.'

  'So much the better. Would it perhaps be possible to have a very brief sketch of the Sultan and his chief advisers?'

  'Certainly. As for the Sultan, of course, Fox knows everything about him - his Javanese ancestors, his wives, mothers-in-law, concubines, minions - but the office may turn up something new about his council. How those dear gibbons hoot and howl, upon my word. Did you hear the bell?'

  'I believe I did.'

  'Then perhaps we should go in. My wife thought of beginning with a dish that might amuse you, bird's-nest soup; and she maintains that soup must be ate hot. But before we go, see if you can make out the big gibbon to the left of the casuarina tree, even though the light is so poor. He is a siamang. Ho, Frederick!' The gibbon answered with a melodious hoo-hoohoo, and the Governor hurried in.

  'Pray, Captain Aubrey, tell us about your voyage,' he said, his soup-spoon poised half way.

  'Well, sir,' said Jack, 'it was as uneventful as a voyage could well be until we were off an island in the Tristan group, and then it was on the point of becoming very, very much more eventful than we wished. There was a prodigious swell setting from the west, and as we lay there off Inaccessible, for that is the island's name, the breeze died away to a clock-calm: we were rolling so as to spew our oakum, and although we had sent up preventer-stays and swifted the shrouds - but I am afraid, sir, I use too many sea-terms.'

  'Not at all, not at all. I believe, Captain, that I was at sea well before you.'

  'Indeed, sir? Forgive me: I had no idea.'

  'Yes. I was born aboard my father's ship, a West-Indiaman, off Jamaica, ha, ha.'

  The rest of the evening was passed with voyages, passages to India and beyond, some extraordinarily fast, some extraordinarily slow, and with an account of Jack's friend Duval carrying the news of the battle of the Nile to Bombay by way of the desert and the Euphrates.

  Shao Yen was a tall thin man in a plain grey robe, more like an austere monk than a merchant; but he grasped the situation at once. They spoke in English, he having had much to do with the East India Company's people in Canton in his youth and having lived in Macao during the two recent English occupations as well as in Penang. Raffles left them together after a few general remarks of a friendly nature and when the proper civilities were over Stephen said, 'When I go to Pulo Prabang it may be necessary for me to purchase the good-will of certain influential men. For this purpose I have a fair amount of gold. It appears to me that the best way of proceeding would be to deposit it with you and, subject of course to the usual commissions and charges, to carry a letter of credit to your correspondent in Pub Prabang and to draw on him.'

  Shao Yen replied, 'Certainly. But when you say a fair amount have you any approximate sum in mind?'

  'It is made up of different currencies: it would weigh about three hundredweight.'

  'Then may I observe that if either or both of my correspondents - for I have two - were to scrape the island bare they could not produce a tenth part of the amount you speak of. It is a very poor island. But in my opinion that tenth part, tactfully presented, would buy all the good-will that is to be had.'

  'In this case there is likely to be some competition.'

  'Yes,' said Shao Yen. He looked down for a few moments and then said, 'It might answer very well if I were to give you a letter of credit for what I believe my correspondent can produce and then notes of hand for various sums: my paper is good from Penang to Macao.'

  'That would answer admirably: thank you. And may I beg you to impress upon your correspondent that I should wish any large transaction to be entirely confidential? Ordinary money-changing may as well be public as not, but I should be sorry if it were thought I could be squeezed for thousands.'

  Shao Yen bowed, smiled, and said, 'I have two correspondents, both from Shantung and both discreet; but Lin Liang has the smaller house; he is less conspicuous, and perhaps I should direct your letter of credit to him.'

  Having drunk tea with Shao Yen and eaten little cakes from a multitude of trays, Stephen looked for Jack Aubrey, but
found to his disappointment that he had already set off for Anjer to bring the Diane up to Batavia, so that not a moment should be lost.

  'Poor soul,' Stephen reflected. 'It will take his mind off this foolish rumour.' For his own part he was satisfied by the financial expert's words, and he spent the first part of the day with Raffles' Javanese peacock, far finer than the Indian bird, a friendly binturong, the gardens, where he was joined by Mrs Raffles in an apron and leather gloves, and the enormous hortus siccus - such a pleasant forenoon.

  Dinner was less agreeable, however. Before it Fox introduced him to three high officials who were to join the mission, almost caricatures of their kind, tall, red, thick, arrogant, with booming voices and an inexhaustible store of platitudes. Their conversation was dull almost past believing, and afterwards Fox said, 'I am sorry to have inflicted this upon you, but they are necessary properties on the present stage. We have to produce a show at least equal to what the French can offer - it appears that they have three gentlemen apart from the two traitors, who are not regularly accredited, and the servants - and these people the Governor has lent me are used to missions of this kind: they can stand there in their gold-laced uniforms for hours without suffering; they can give the appearance of listening to speeches; they never have to steal away to the privy; and at banquets they are capable of eating anything from human flesh downwards. But I admit that their company is a trial.'

  'Vous I'avez voulu, George Dandin.'

  'Yes. And I can bear it for the voyage and the time of the negotiations. I could and would bear a great deal more to succeed in this undertaking. Apart from anything else,' he added with a slight laugh, 'the Governor tells me that if I bring back a treaty and if he has the writing of the dispatch it might mean a knighthood, even a baronetcy.' For a moment Stephen did not know whether Fox was speaking seriously, but when after a reflective pause he went on to say, 'It would so please my mother,' the doubt was resolved.

  The Diane came into Batavia with a leading wind and a making tide that afternoon, and Jack sent an official message to the effect that he hoped to sail at eleven the next morning. It was Seymour who brought the message, together with a private note to Stephen begging him to urge all those concerned to exact promptitude, to give an example himself, and to suggest that the Governor might like to visit the ship. 'And I was to say, sir, he was very sorry you were not aboard as we sailed past Thwart-the-Way island, because we were surrounded by those swallows that make bird's-nest soup.'