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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 I ■:.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, 
 
 Dorset Street, Fleet Street.
 
 THE 
 
 A R E T II U S A. 
 
 A NAVAL STORY. 
 
 BY CAPT. CHAMIER, R. N. 
 AUTHOR OF "BEN BRACE," " LIFE OF A SAILOR," &c. 
 
 " She is a vessel tight and brave, 
 As ever slemmed the dashing wave, 
 Her men are staunch to their fav'rite launch, — 
 Huzza ! for the Arethusa." 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET 
 
 1837.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A spoiled Child. 
 
 " Come hither, Walter," said Sir Hector 
 Murray, " and hsten to the advice of your 
 father. Few years are left me before, accord- 
 ing to the course of nature, I shall be swept 
 from the living ; and now that the infirmities 
 of age begin to press upon me, I feel that I 
 ought not to reckon upon a much longer con- 
 tinuance here. Listen to me then, and be at- 
 tentive ! it is the duty of youth to regard the 
 monitions of age, and those who scoff at grey 
 hairs may find an early and a disgraceful end. 
 Alas ! that the seeds of depra^nty should have 
 already developed themselves in a boy — a mere 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
 1307308
 
 2 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 cliild — an inexperienced youth of fourteen ! I 
 question whether it woidd be possible to pro- 
 duce a worse instance than is seen in you of a 
 mis-spent youth. Many parents," continued 
 Sir Hector, " would rebuke you angrily ; I 
 shall endeavour by kindness to command your 
 alFection. I would have you led by your love, 
 not driven by your fear of me : he who is 
 dreaded is seldom esteemed, and no father would 
 like to hear the forced grief of his son as he lay 
 on his death-bed." 
 
 Sir Hector paused to observe the effect that 
 his remarks had produced on his sou. Walter 
 maintained a sullen silence, and did not even 
 look at his father : his attention seemed rather 
 to be engrossed by the various articles of the 
 dessert, than in listening to his father''s serious 
 advice. 
 
 Sir Hector eyed his son, not in bitterness, 
 not in wrath, but in pity : it was evident 
 that his earnest remonstrance had failed to 
 produce any effect on the moody boy. The 
 baronet had ever maintained towards his son 
 an affectionate demeanour : from him had never
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 3 
 
 fallen one word of disgust ; — his mildness, his 
 evenness of temper, — his love of his only son, 
 the inheritor of his large fortunes, — had been 
 the astonishment of his friends. The father 
 ejed his boy, and a deep, deep sigh escaped him. 
 Walter looked up suddenly ; he met his father's 
 glance, and hung dowTi his guilty head. 
 
 " Walter," began the father, " you are 
 now past fourteen years of age, and although 
 you have long since been able to disthiguish 
 between right and wrong, you have not the 
 power, the strength of mind, to choose the one 
 and to reject the other. I have heard from 
 your master, who has just expelled you from 
 his pubhc establishment, that, in spite of all 
 his care and all his attention, you disregarded 
 his advice, you spurned his authority, you ex- 
 cited his pupils to rebellion ; that in your play- 
 hours, even those amusements which of them- 
 selves are sufficiently exciting to the schoolboy 
 were flat and insipid to you without the stimulus 
 of gambling ; that from your greedy disposition 
 for money, and your -uish to overreach your 
 associates, you had not only risked your own 
 
 B 2
 
 4 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 money, but had endeavoured to win theirs 
 in a manner not strictly honourable. Walter, 
 this was not the worst of the complaints urged 
 against you ; there were others which, con- 
 sidering your youth, I can scarcely credit. 
 You were expelled, not for ignorance, not for 
 idleness, not for swindling, not for breaking 
 through all restraint, — but — Heaven ! that my 
 old eyes should ever have read the word from 
 the pen of that excellent man — for theft ! As 
 long as you live, — ay, you may well start, 
 Walter, — as long as you live, that stain, that 
 blot will never be erased from the book of your 
 life. Into whatever society you go, some babbling 
 boy will remember the deed and the punish- 
 ment, and you must learn to bear with meekness 
 the whispered reproach that Walter Murray 
 
 was expelled from H for theft."" 
 
 " He will not live," replied Walter with a 
 slow, steady voice, " to repeat it, father." 
 
 " I fear," replied his father, " that darker 
 deeds will follow in due time ; but I must not look 
 too o-loomily upon the future. I acknowledge 
 that no little part of this blame most justly falls
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 5 
 
 Upon myself. Your mother, just before she 
 was snatclied from me iu the pride and beauty 
 of life, warned me of your disposition. My love 
 for you disposed me to view as boyish tricks 
 what have since ripened into crimes ; and the 
 first fixlse step on the inclined ])lane of vice has 
 been followed with such impetus, that you hav(! 
 nearly slid into irretrievable ruin before you 
 were aware of the gulph into which the smooth, 
 deceitful descent has nrffed vou. — Walter ?" 
 
 " Well," replied the boy, starting ; " did 
 you speak, sir ?" 
 
 " Did I speak !" repeated the old man, his 
 eyes lighting up into a half-passion ; then in- 
 stantly relapsing into their wonted calmness, 
 he continued, — " I spoke of your faults and 
 your folhes. You were listless when your poor 
 old father was by kindness endeavouring to pal- 
 liate them, or half to bear the reproach him- 
 self. The folly of the law has made you my 
 heir, — the estates settled on your mother's 
 marriage devolve upon her child, and I have 
 no power to alienate them, or I should be 
 half inclined to try what might be effected
 
 6 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 by placing the fortune into hands that would 
 only relinquish it when you altered your 
 behaviour." 
 
 " Thank you, father," said the boy, " for 
 the kind disposition you show to make me 
 wise by making me a beggar. Have you any 
 more to say ? for I have promised to meet one 
 or two of my friends to-night." 
 
 " Yes, Walter, I have much to say, and 
 to-night you certainly do not meet those 
 friends. To-night we must resolve what pro- 
 fession you are to follow — how your educa- 
 tion is to be conducted ; for I will have no 
 idler in my house, whose whole existence 
 is to be a burthen to himself and all those 
 around him. The fortune I have earned was 
 not acquired without much toil, much thought, 
 much trouble : to that very toil and trouble 
 I owe the happiness I now experience in all 
 but the conduct of my son. The day was too 
 short for my occupation ; the flying hours never 
 lagged upon my hands ; constant employment 
 was but a pleasing prelude to my evening's 
 domestic comfort ; and in my office and in my
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 7 
 
 room I learned that true happiness is not to 
 be found, but to be made." 
 
 " I find just the contrary," said tlie saucy 
 boy ,•" " for in this room I have no happiness, 
 and out of it I sometimes do find pleasure. To 
 be sure, I have had some delight here to-night, 
 for I fancy you cannot send me back to school 
 again." 
 
 " If your mother had not been as virtuou;* 
 as she was fair," said his father, " I should much 
 doubt your being my son ; for there does not 
 seem to run one kindred drop of blood in our 
 
 veins." 
 
 What 's bred in the bone, father, you know, 
 and the youngster sat back and laughed. 
 
 " Silfence, sir !" said the old man ; " rour re- 
 mark is a sufficient rebuke without a conti- 
 nuance of it ; for had I acted with the firm- 
 ness — the duty of a parent, the son would 
 never have dared to make such a remark, at 
 such a time, or under such circumstances. Had 
 I exacted the respect due to me when you 
 were younger, I should not have been insulted 
 in my old age."
 
 8 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 " I certainly do believe," replied Walter, 
 without the slightest hesitation, "that all my 
 faults and follies are owing to your neglect 
 of me. But what is the use of talking any 
 more about it ? — what is done cannot be un- 
 done. AVhat do I care for the reverend gen- 
 tleman's pen or for his expidsion ! I shall be a 
 soldier — I shall go into the cavalry; for I 'm 
 not inclined to use my own legs more than 
 is requisite, and I''m very fond of riding; 
 besides which, I shall have plenty of money ; 
 and therefore am not the lad to be placed 
 on a high stool to dangle my legs, or to ink 
 a desk : so that is settled, father ; and now I 
 may go, I suppose ?" 
 
 " Stay, sir," replied the old man, — " stay ; 
 and since you have taught me my duty, I 
 shall not hesitate to enforce it. Stay, sir, I 
 repeat ; and let me fi3id that I have been 
 mistaken, and that you are ready to follow 
 my advice. True it is that your mother's 
 kindness to her only child, whose wayward dis- 
 position was never checked, but each wish gra-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 9 
 
 tifieJ almost before it was expressed, has led 
 to this unfortunate end : but there is still a hope 
 that you may be reclaimed, — that religion, affec- 
 tion, duty, may all be appealed to with effect, 
 Walter, your conduct to me is more like that 
 of an insolent, discharged servant, than of a 
 son to his only parent ! Your conduct is 
 more like that of a hardened offender, than of 
 a youth of fourteen who has received in his 
 mind the germ of religion, although the flower 
 was destroyed in its bud ! I need not say how 
 disreputable has been your conduct. Con- 
 science must warn you that your beliaviour 
 cannot go unpunished, and 1 know that you 
 bear about you the reproach which the last 
 remaining spark of honour will still show to 
 your debased mind. Come, my son, let me 
 wean you by kindness from the sad path 
 into which you have entered. For my sake, 
 Walter — for the honour of our name, for 
 your own reputation, cease this idleness of 
 behaviour ; devote your time to study, occupy 
 your hours iu some useful pursuit : that which 
 
 B
 
 10 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 has passed shall then be forgotten ; and when 
 you make the promise of amendment, you shall 
 receive my pardon and my blessing." 
 
 The father paused, and fixed his eyes upon 
 his son. The warm, affectionate tone in which 
 he had couched the last remark had no visible 
 effect upon this misguided youth, who seemed to 
 consider the whole rebuke as very unseason- 
 able after dinner, and who was most anxious 
 it should come to a conclusion, and that 
 he should be released from his parent's pre- 
 sence. In this he was mistaken : his father, as 
 if awakened from a dream, had found, when 
 nearly too late, the extent of his son's follies, 
 and he resolved at once to use every effort 
 to retrieve the boy's character and his own 
 honour. 
 
 Walter answered sullenly, that his father 
 was never satisfied ; that he was the head of his 
 class ; that whenever the reverend gentleman 
 had written, he had never been punished for his 
 lessons ; and that no boy his junior in age was 
 his senior at school. " What more do you 
 want .?" he continued. " I am sent to school to
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 1 1 
 
 learn : if I am so tauglit that I retain my 
 place, upon what ground can you censure 
 me ?" 
 
 " Upon the ground of dishonesty — dishonour. 
 Walter," replied the father, " you are quick — 
 you are clever : but you are idle ; and ' Idleness,' 
 as you may have written " 
 
 " ' Is the root of all evil,' " continued Walter. 
 " Who taught me to be idle .'* — my mother. When 
 I was anxious to sit down and read, who told 
 me not to mope all day over a book, but to go 
 out and take exercise as other boys did? — my 
 mother. Who used to complain of my pale face 
 and sunken eye ^ — my mother. Well, I left oft' 
 study and took to exercise ; and now I am told 
 that my idleness has occasioned my dishonour ! 
 As I said before, there is no satisfpng some 
 people." 
 
 The father during this speech had risen from 
 his chair, and walked quickly up and down the 
 room in evident agitation ; and when his son had 
 concluded this tirade of abuse against his mother, 
 the old man stood before him. " Answer me, 
 Walter," he began : " When your poor dear
 
 12 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 mother lay upou her bed of death, — when, as 
 the last beams of the setting sun rested upon 
 your face, she took from her bosom a locket and 
 hung it round your neck, — did she not say, 
 ' Walter, Walter, I fear I have been too blind 
 a mother ; but as you hope that m.y soul may 
 rest in peace and quietness above, I implore you, 
 every morning, when you have lifted your voice 
 to Heaven, to look at this last gift, and steadily 
 to determine that throughout the day no error 
 shall be committed which shall blanch the cheek 
 with shame, or force the blood which shall arise 
 as a witness on your face to give evidence against 
 you.' You remember that even at the last 
 moment of her life, when I knelt beside the 
 bed and moistened her cold hands with the 
 burning tears which started from my eyes, — ay, 
 after she had blessed me, — she blessed you and 
 l)ade you remember her last words. If now you 
 have one spark of honour left in you, draw that 
 locket from your breast, and say that one word, 
 ' remember ;' then shall I have hopes that this 
 current of lost affection may be turned into its 
 proper channel, and the fountain which has
 
 THE ari:thusa. 18 
 
 been miidded by your t'uults may yet fall in 
 clear drops upon the earth. I ask you — I com- 
 mand you, Walter, to take that locket in which 
 is the miniature of your mother, painted after 
 the hand of death had approached her, and as 
 you look at those sunken eyes, promise me to 
 amend." 
 
 A deep flush covered the face of Walter — a 
 blush of shame and of regret. His father saw it 
 and cherished it as a good omen — as a proof 
 that he had at last touched the chord which 
 would bring harmony and contentment to all — 
 a proof, he thought, that every sentiment of 
 honour had not been blasted by the withering 
 breath of idleness. He stood before him, and 
 as he watched the blush becoming more and 
 more faint, he said, as he fondly took his 
 hand, " Comfort me, dear Walter, by this one 
 act of obedience, from which I argue the great- 
 est good ?" 
 
 The boy remained silent and made no sign of 
 compliance. 
 
 " Come, Walter, it is the only request I have 
 made — and which I now only make as conducive
 
 14 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 to your own happiness. I know you always 
 wear it about you." 
 
 " I have not got it now about me," said the 
 boy, feehng for it : — " I know I have not got 
 it on." 
 
 " I thought you promised your mother, Wal- 
 ter, as you knelt by her side, never to part 
 w^ith it, and that you would always wear it ? 
 Tell me," said the father, as a sudden thought 
 seemed almost to check his speech, " what have 
 you done Avith it, and where is it ? Walter, 
 do not tell me a falsehood, lest you make me 
 hate as well as despise you. What have you 
 done with it ?" 
 
 " Sold it," answered Walter. 
 
 " Sold it !" ejaculated his father with emo- 
 tion :" speak, Walter, can that be possible ?" 
 
 " Yes : one of the boys, a friend of mine, 
 persuaded me to sell it, and I did sell it." 
 
 " Gracious God !" exclaimed the father, " do 
 I hear rightly ? or has some sudden visitation of 
 Providence fallen on me — some affliction un- 
 paralleled overtaken me ? Leave me, Walter, 
 — leave me, that I may not curse you — that I
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 15 
 
 may not by .a hasty word render myself unhappy 
 as you have made me to my last hour." 
 
 Walter availed himself of the order, and, 
 rii*ing from his chair, walked hastily to the 
 door ; and before his father could summon 
 back his natural affection to recall his child, 
 he heard the street-door close violently, and 
 was aware that the last sjjark of duty had 
 been quenched in his son. 
 
 He threw himself on his chair, and thus 
 allowed his thoughts to wander back to hap- 
 pier days, endeavouring to trace what errors 
 he had committed that a gracious Providence 
 should have cursed him with a disobedient 
 child. " Let me see," he began : " from the 
 time I left school, I was assiduous in my 
 duties ; I toiled for those who employed and 
 who paid me — I never wasted an hour on 
 myself which belonged to them — I gained 
 their confidence, I was rewarded by being 
 admitted into partnership with them. The 
 wealth of other countries soon enriched me ; 
 I became a wealthy man. I did not niggard- 
 ly hoard it ; there is not a public charity
 
 16 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 ill the metropolis to which I do not subscribe. 
 I never injured the weak, or denied the poor; 
 and as far as erring nature can control itself, 
 I have controlled myself. I passed the chair 
 as mayor of the metropolis ; I was made a 
 baronet by my sovereign. — This is the flatter- 
 ing side of the picture : let 's see the reverse. 
 Have I returned sufficiently grateful thanks 
 for all the blessings I have received ? — have 
 I not at times been swollen with a purse-proud 
 conviction of my wealth ? — have I not envied 
 others? — have I not forgotten my God in the 
 remembrance of myself ? Yet can I place 
 my hand to my heart and declare that my 
 principal sins must be those of omission, not 
 of commission. My prayers have not been 
 heard : for daily, nightly, have I prayed that 
 my son might grow up in wisdom and in 
 honour ; that the finger of shame might never 
 be pointed at him ; that he might not squan- 
 der his wealth ; that he might remember the 
 last moments of his mother. Perhaps," con- 
 tinued the old man as he mused, — " perhaps 
 my greatest error in life was my marriage :
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 17 
 
 I was too old — I was fifty and more, and tlieu 
 I could not expect to see my son fairly launch- 
 ed in life. To whom can I now leave him r* 
 (for I feel this last blow has indeed done more 
 to ruin my mind and my health than ten years 
 of increasing age) — to an uncle who despises 
 him — to a guardian he hates. My estates, 
 the hard-won earnings of my youth and man- 
 hood, — my worldly treasures, amassed with such 
 toil, — will fill the pockets of the gamester, 
 render the rogue prosperous, and the villain 
 affluent ! — Ay, that was an error when my child 
 was made independent of the parents ! for tat- 
 tling boobies are sure to teach a boy that he 
 is independent, and that, come what may, he 
 cannot be injured in his prospects. What can 
 I do now ? Alas ! what charms has this once 
 peaceful home to me ! I dread to look upon 
 the only human being who should regard me 
 as his best friend, his protector, his parent. 
 How my head throbs, how awfully cold I feel ! 
 Surely, surely, this last act of my sou has 
 stricken me with an arrow as poisoned as that 
 of death. It must not be — I must rouse myself
 
 IS THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 to my duty ! Henceforth kindness is useless — 
 I must be determined and resolute !"" 
 
 He rose from Iiis chair and rang the bell. It 
 was answered by an old faithful servant, who 
 had contributed his share in spoiling Walter, 
 and who now stood before the master he had 
 served for thirty years. 
 
 " Where is my son, Benjamin ?"" said old 
 Murray, as if he listened for the echo ; " where 
 is my son ?"" 
 
 " I do not know, Sir Hector," replied Ben- 
 jamin ; " but I heard the door close about half 
 an hour since. — But perhaps he is in the draw- 
 ing-room. Shall I see, Sir Hector ?"" 
 
 " Do. If he is there, tell him I desire to 
 speak to him."' 
 
 " Something in the wind," thought old Ben- 
 jamin as he closed the door. "Never heard 
 master desire any man to do anything : another 
 scrape, I '11 be bound. How pale the old gen- 
 tleman looked !" 
 
 " He is not there, nor in the house," said 
 the servant as he returned ; and then observ- 
 ing Sir Hector wiping a tear from his eyes.
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 19 
 
 lie approached witli the freedom of a faith- 
 ful, long-tried servant, and said, 
 
 " I don't think you are well this evening, 
 Sir H'ector. Shall I send for the doctor ?" 
 
 " What makes you think so ?" asked Sir 
 Hector, endeavouring to force a smile upon his 
 countenance. 
 
 " You look so pale, sir, and you do not 
 speak as you did. Lord defend us," continued 
 Benjamin starting, " if master has not fallen 
 down dead in his chair !" He flew to the bell 
 and rang a peal which convinced the footman 
 something was wrong ; for, in Sir Hector''s 
 summons for his servants, his hand never be- 
 trayed that eager haste, that sharp command, 
 which may even be conveyed by a bell-pull. 
 
 The doctor was sent for, the house was 
 alarmed, and perhaps Sir Hector might have 
 died, verifying the old saying — "Too many 
 cooks," &c. had not the old housekee])er de- 
 clared it was only a faint, and soon restored 
 animation. When, however, the doctor arrived, 
 he found his patient in a strange, unusual state : 
 there was no reason for the excitement under
 
 20 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 which he laboured, and which gradually increas- 
 ed ; nor could the medical gentleman glean from 
 Sir Hector one word of the cause of this sud- 
 den indisposition. The requisite medicines were 
 prescribed ; soothing draughts were administer- 
 ed ; the lancet gleamed over his arm ; and by 
 midnight, Sir Hector, watched by Benjamin, the 
 most faithful and honest of attendants, was in 
 a quiet slumber, his features pale but placid, 
 his mind and his body apparently at rest. 
 
 In the mean time, Walter had no sooner quit- 
 ted his father's house, than he forgot the last 
 words of his parent, or only remembered them 
 with scorn, as if a curse was a matter of any 
 consequence : indeed, he rather wished the idea 
 would occur a little oftener, so that he might 
 be dismissed from the long, prosing lecture which 
 old heads think proper to inflict upon lads of 
 right spirit, who only do what young men ought 
 to do. As he walked to Drury-Lane Theatre, 
 where he had appointed to meet one or two 
 of his companions, he turned over in his mind 
 his future prospects. " My ftither," he began, 
 " can't last long : and poor, good old soul, it
 
 THE AllETHUSA. 21 
 
 will be a happy release for him ; he is not fit 
 for this worUl. Wealth is of no use to him, 
 except to patch up an old cottage on the 
 estate for some lazy, lurking scoundrels, who 
 have persuaded him they are honest, and that 
 circumstances have reduced them. By Heavens ! 
 wait only until I 'm of age, and I 11 clear them 
 out, root and branch, every mother's son of 
 them. 1 11 have no lazy vermin to fatten on 
 the estate, and it must come to mo. Then 
 there 's that old sanctified-looking hypocrite, 
 Benjamin : thirty years has he been gleaning 
 the rich fields of harvest, in both town and 
 country. Out he goes, stock and fluke, as 
 that young midshipman used to say. 'Faith, 
 nihaveno old chronicler of my theft! — That's 
 an awkward word ; but it 's not so bad as it 
 sounds. I did not steal, I only borrowed the 
 money without the owner's consent — and cer- 
 tainlv with not much idea of repaying it : but 
 who does pay ? — only your stupid fellows, who 
 talk about the pleasure of being out of debt 
 merely because their credit 's so bad that they 
 cannot sfet into it. Now, if it only would
 
 22 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 please my fatlier to have a sharp fit of the gout, 
 I could get through a fortnighfs fun without 
 interruption. But frolics cost money, and with 
 that I do not like to part, excepting when I 
 have borrowed it as I did at school ; and then 
 perhaps the sooner the evidence of the fact is 
 smothered, the better. Ifs not the act, but 
 the discovery of it, which engenders shame. — 
 Hulloa ! here already ! I must have walked 
 fost. But I remember hearing my old father 
 say, that people in love or in thought always 
 keep their heads down and go along at a 
 quick pace." 
 
 " Half-price yet .?" said Walter as he neared 
 the man in the box-office. 
 
 " Yes, sir," said he. 
 
 " Can't you let me in at the gallery price ? 
 for the play must be nearly over, and I have 
 only two shillings about me." 
 
 " No, sir," replied the man, " quite impossi- 
 ble ; for I should have to pay it myself, as the 
 check-taker above would have the tally against 
 
 me." 
 
 " It 's very hard," replied Walter : " here am
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 23 
 
 I, a boy from school, only twelve years old, and 
 I shall have to walk back again." 
 
 " Very hard Indeed, sir," said the man ; 
 " bujt much harder upon me if I was obliged 
 to pay for your pleasure." 
 
 " Oh !" said Walter, finding he could not 
 succeed by his falsehood, " I have the money : 
 how odd I should have forgotten that I put it 
 in my pocket !" 
 
 He paid, received the leaden check, and was 
 not so quick in his departure but that he heard 
 the box-office man say, " Well, he is young 
 enough surely to have lied like a tooth- 
 drawer." 
 
 This made no impression upon Walter — he 
 was quite accustomed to such expressions applied 
 to himself; and fortunately enough, one would 
 suppose, for the nursing of that talent the very 
 development of which the money-taker had ob- 
 served, the farce just begun was " The Liar," to 
 which Walter lent a very attentive ear, and 
 certainly profited by the example, although 
 he scouted the moral. His companions, two 
 young lads about sixteen or seventeen, had
 
 24 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 joined lilm, and seemed to cheer him on by 
 hazarding an nnfounded remark, that Young 
 Wilding beat him hollow, and that it would re- 
 quire years for Walter to surpass his model. 
 
 " I think," said Gordon, the elder of the 
 two, " Murray might give Jeremy Diddler a 
 lesson in the art of filching." 
 
 " Yes," said Hammerton, who was a mid- 
 shipman ; " every finger in his hand is a fish- 
 hook, and it will be a sharp craft that will turn 
 to windward of him." 
 
 These remarks, and about a dozen others, 
 were unnoticed by Walter, who watched the play 
 with the greatest attention, and who smiled 
 with satisfaction whenever the actor of ' Young 
 Wilding' came out successful from any of his 
 monstrous untruths ; but when at the close the 
 liar was likely to be unmasked, he turned round 
 to Gordon and said, " Dreadfully dull this ! 
 let's be offi" 
 
 " Ah !" said Gordon, " I suppose you have 
 profited all you can, and now for the practice !" 
 
 " Let 's top our booms," said Hammerton, 
 " and steer away for an oyster-house."
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 25 
 
 " No, no," said Murray ; " let 's take a turn 
 in the saloon."" This was agreed to, and they 
 forthwith repaired to that rendezvous of vice, 
 which, in the time of which wc wTite, had no 
 equal in England. All that could display a 
 contempt of decency, was here congregated and 
 exhibited. The young midshipman, who had 
 been three years afloat, and who had asso- 
 ciated with these specimens of frail mortality 
 at Portsmouth or Plymouth, and who had seen 
 them by hundreds as they were mustered into 
 the ship to which he belonged, looked care- 
 lessly on the scene. Gordon was afraid to 
 be thought less manly than his inferior in age, 
 but superior in worldly knowledge ; Hammer- 
 ton re-echoed his sayings ; whilst Walter, 
 inspired as it were by the low wit and ri- 
 baldry of the cockpit, treasured each remark 
 in his mind, and wondered how people could 
 remain on shore when such a field for improve- 
 ment was open for them afloat. Fortunately, 
 however, an uncle of Gordon came into the 
 saloon : the young man instantly declared that 
 he must depart ; and Walter and Hammerton 
 
 VOL. I. C
 
 26 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 being indisposed to part company with him, the 
 three adjourned to an oyster-room, and there 
 passed a jovial hour or two. 
 
 It is alarming how, with increased rapidity, 
 the novice in guilt falls from the insecure pin- 
 nacle of virtue to the lowest depths of crime ! 
 Few, if any, fly from top to bottom without 
 touching the steps ; but some, and many there 
 are, who take long strides, and hardly rest 
 for a moment on any one of the difterent 
 gradations. Walter from one false step at 
 school, (a falsehood, backed up by circum- 
 stances all equally false,) made his first de- 
 scent. His lie was believed ; he saw he 
 might escape detection ; he descended to 
 mearmess, selfishness, and finally to theft. 
 His only chance of restoration to any character 
 was in the navy, for there the smallest preva- 
 rication, the slightest meanness is instantly dis- 
 covered and punished ; the active scenes of hfe, 
 the daily perils, the constant emplo}-ment, the 
 ever- watchful eye over the youngster's conduct, 
 may reclaim the most vicious. In Hammer- 
 ton, for instance, all that was noble and generous
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 27 
 
 could be traced ; in Walter there was nothing 
 but selfishness and deceit ; whilst in Gordon 
 might jbe seen the eagerness of youth to catch at 
 anything, however trivial, wliich emanated from 
 the straightforward seaman, and even to relin- 
 quish his classical dictionary for the more ques- 
 tionable vocabulary of the cockpit. The straight- 
 forward manner of a youngster who has been 
 in a well-disciplined ship, saving always that 
 the language is not the most polished, would be 
 aped by half the boys of the public schools who 
 were his superiors in every accomplishment as 
 well as in age. 
 
 Before leaving the theatre, Walter fixed upon 
 the oyster-room they were to visit. It was 
 agreed to, and he was seen moody for a moment ; 
 he then resumed his gaiety. It was a drizzUng 
 rainy night ; the young companions called a 
 hackney-coach, and it was remarked by Ham- 
 merton how excessively civil Murray had 
 grown, for he insisted upon handing his friends 
 in. Their astonishment, however, soon gave 
 way to a cheer of disgust, when, on the coach 
 stopping, Walter, who was nearest the door 
 
 2
 
 28 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 which was opened, jumped out, exclaiming, 
 " The last out pays for the coach !" and he 
 rushed into the house, leaving Hammerton to 
 pay. He was a generous lad, and merely re- 
 marked when they were seated, that Murray 
 had taken advantage of a start of wind and 
 made a stretch to windward of him.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 29 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 How to obtain a Parent's Blessing and a Parent's Cash. — 
 A Midshipman's Jir St Departure from Home. 
 
 It is needless to comment upon the neglect of 
 Sir Hector in regard to his son. From the 
 single fact that a boy of his age should have 
 been allowed to visit the theatres unprotected, 
 it will be easily conceived by the reader how 
 completely Walter had assumed a right to be 
 his own master, and how scornfully he rejected 
 any advice. The assumed gravity of the pa- 
 rent was now useless ; and it would have re- 
 quired more firmness of character, more energy 
 of mind than Sir Hector possessed, to repossess 
 himself of his lost authority. 
 
 The hopeful youths mentioned in the last
 
 30 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 chapter, after having enjoyed some few dozens of 
 that Hving nutriment which the bravery of men 
 has converted into food without first sentencing 
 it to death, — and thereby in this instance con- 
 futing the definition of man, that he cooks his 
 victuals, — and having imbibed long and deep 
 potations of that bitter, muddy mixture called 
 porter, and finished by some more congenial 
 beverage in the shape of grog, they separated 
 for their respective homes. 
 
 Walter attempted to shirk his portion of the 
 payment by proposing the alternative of heads 
 or tails, — the money being under his hand and 
 artfully kept on the exact balance so that it 
 might be turned against his adversary whichever 
 he happened to call. Foiled in this, for both 
 his friends seemed to know his propensities, he 
 walked home although it rained, and called to 
 his remembrance all the lively anecdotes of 
 Hammerton, who had not only read the title- 
 page of life, but had turned over some of its 
 most interesting pages. In his idea, the sea 
 offered the best profession for a boy of des- 
 perate character ; for with all Walter's faults.
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 31 
 
 he was no coward : he was a contradiction to 
 the- received notion that guilty people are al- 
 ways timid, as the Swedes are a living lie 
 upon the wisdom of the world, who, ever since 
 the first tippler was known, have declared that 
 all drunkards are dishonest ; the inhabitants of 
 Dalecarlia being proverbially the greatest ha- 
 bitual drunkards and the most honest race 
 in Europe. Walter's idea of a hussar dress 
 gave way in his opinion before the white patch 
 of a midshipman's collar, and the long swag- 
 gering sword lost in comparison with the neat 
 dirk. 
 
 On his arrival at home, Benjamin opened the 
 door ; a very unusual circumstance, for Benja- 
 min was no night-watcher, — his toil ceased 
 when Sir Hector retired to rest, and the ba- 
 ronet was a great lover of early hours and 
 beauty sleep. 
 
 " What keeps you out of bed, Benjamin .^" 
 said Walter : " is it the praiseworthy employ- 
 ment of watching my return and of tatthng to 
 my father ?"" 
 
 The old servant looked with an eye of as-
 
 32 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 tonisliment at the question, and answered, that 
 he was not accustomed to such mean acts, but 
 that he was up in consequence of the severe ill- 
 ness of Sir Hector, who, he said, — and this he 
 added with that peculiar voice which real fear 
 causes, — " will, I apprehend, never recover." 
 
 " Nonsense !" said Walter ; but it was ex- 
 pressed as if the news was much too good to 
 be true. 
 
 " No nonsense, sir, I assure you," replied 
 the servant : " when you left him, he was 
 seized with a giddiness, and fainted." 
 
 " Was he drunk ?" asked the unfeeling boy. 
 
 " Not so much," replied Benjamin, " as you 
 appear to be, I think, Master Walter, you had 
 better go as quietly to bed as possible. Master 
 has fallen asleep, and the doctors have desired 
 him to be kept quiet. As your room is over 
 his, perhaps you will pull your boots off here, 
 and I will get you your slippers ?" 
 
 " I shall do no such thing, — give me a light :" 
 and upstairs walked the hopeful boy, purposely 
 making a noise, in order, as he said, that his 
 father might know when he returned without
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 33 
 
 asking his spy ; and there, forgetful of tliose 
 duties his mother liad inculcated, he threw him- 
 self upon his bed, unmindful of the thanks he 
 owed his Creator for the life of the day past, 
 and which he had so unprofitably — so disgrace- 
 fully spent. 
 
 The morning dawned ; Sir Hector was better 
 and desired to see his son. He was slow in at- 
 tendance, and then appeared like a boy who 
 knew he deserved a rebuke, and expected it. He 
 found his father better than he even beheved, 
 and was agreeably surprised to find that so far 
 from a rebuke, his kind-hearted parent extended 
 his hand, and seemed rather by his manner to 
 ask forgiveness than to censure a fault. 
 
 " Come close to me, my boy," said Sir 
 Hector, " for I am not strong enough for any 
 great exertion : a night's sickness does more 
 to weaken this old frame than a month's in- 
 disposition does to yours. I am very anxious 
 about 3-0U, Walter. I should like, since now 
 
 your character But I will not say a word 
 
 about that ; I shall forgive you the instant yon 
 amend, and which for vour own comfort and 
 
 c 5
 
 34 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 respectability will, I know, be shortly done. 
 Remember, Walter, you inherit my title — my 
 fortune — my name. I would not have that dis- 
 graced by the son which has been respected in 
 the father. I must place you in more stirring 
 scenes, and this war, I think, offers a prospect 
 of employment. You are too young for the 
 army, to which last night you seemed to give 
 the preference. It requires long study and 
 much steadiness,"" continued Sir Hector, a slight 
 smile passing his lips, " to make either a clergy- 
 man or a lawyer ; and your disposition does not 
 much fit you for the former, and the latter re- 
 quires too much mental labour. Now the sea, 
 I think, — although Heaven knows I shall part 
 with you with much sorrow ! — would suit you 
 better than any other ; and if you are so in- 
 clined, I think I could ?et you into a comfort- 
 able ship with an old friend of mine, who will be 
 as considerate as the service permits, and who 
 will be kind and attentive to you. I have 
 selected a man of mild, gentlemanly manners, 
 to whom I will write by to-night's post : his 
 ship is at Portsmouth, and before a week
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 35 
 
 you may be afloat. It is no small trial fcr a 
 father to part with his only son when he has 
 the means of making him comfortable ami re- 
 spectable without a profession ; but I never liked 
 idle men, — they are always pests, and mostly 
 vicious. Think of it, Walter, and give me your 
 answer."*' 
 
 " I am ever willing," replied the artful boy, 
 " to follow your advice : I admit I have done 
 wrong, and I am willing to retrieve my charac- 
 ter." 
 
 Sir Hector grasped his son's hand : " God 
 bless you ! boy ; the acknowledgment of an 
 error is the first step towards sincere repentance ; 
 and from the admission you have just made, I 
 argue that your day of dishonour is past : hence- 
 forth I shall see a son who Avill add honour to 
 my name ; and I trust that the profession into 
 which he is about to enter will know nothing 
 of the past, and have reason to be proud of the 
 conduct of Sir Hector Murray''s boy. Enough 
 of this for the present. You were late last 
 night, Walter ; where did you go ?" 
 
 " To the theatre, mv dear father : I hardly
 
 36 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 knew where I was going when I left the 
 house, but decided upon the play to cheer me 
 up." 
 
 " Did you meet any one you knew ?" asked 
 Sir Hector. 
 
 " Yes, father ; I met Hammerton, a midship- 
 man, and Gordon, an old schoolfellow of mine." 
 
 "Hammerton?" said Sir Hector, musing ; " is 
 he a Somersetshire man ? for an elderly gentle- 
 man of that name who has seen better days 
 resides on my estate in that county. I think 
 I remember that when he became suddenly 
 impoverished, one of his sons was sent to sea, 
 on board the Tribune, Captain Barker. In 
 that ship I intend to place you : Barker is 
 an old friend of mine, and I shall write to 
 him this evening. Before you leave me, Wal- 
 ter, in order that I may get a little repose, 
 let me again tell yon how you comfort me 
 by your promise to amend. I shall earnestly 
 pray to God to strengthen the laudable reso- 
 lution. Good-b'ye for the present." 
 
 Sir Hector had no occasion to say good-b'ye 
 twice. Out came Walter, saying, "A precious
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 37 
 
 good business this ! — got my o\vn way once in 
 my life without opposition, and a blessing to 
 boot. If I thought blessings accompanied by 
 some money were so easily obtained, I should 
 be . more liberal of my promises. By the bye, 
 it 's not a bad time to reap a little harvest." 
 As he said this, he reopened the door and 
 asked his father, who had fallen back on his 
 pillow much exhausted, if he could give him a 
 little pecuniary assistance. 
 
 " There is my purse, Walter," said the kind 
 old man : " you have made me so happy, that 
 I cannot be niggardly in regard to anything 
 which contributes to your comfort. Take what 
 you want." 
 
 Walter was very quiet in his lightening of 
 the purse ; he merely took two or three guineas, 
 he hardly knew which : but twice after he had 
 opened the purse and replaced it, he weighed it 
 in his hand, and squinted round at his father. He 
 again left the room ; and before the father was 
 asleep, the son, like all idlers in cities, was 
 hunting for pleasure, with a whole day before 
 him, and without the smallest notion as to how
 
 38 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 he could kill the long hours between ten o'clock 
 in the morning and six o'clock in the evening. 
 Home was the most hateful of all places to him — 
 he never could feel comfortable near his father, 
 although it has been seen that no parent was 
 ever more indulgent than Sir Hector ; yet the 
 miniature of his mother was not entirely for- 
 gotten, and he felt every now and then, that 
 if he could repurchase it at a moderate price, 
 he would part with the money to obtain it. 
 Now indeed, as he was about to try the most 
 dangerous of all professions excepting that of 
 a powder manufacturer, some few boyish super- 
 stitious crossed his mind, and he began to 
 sum up all he had read about parents' bless- 
 ings and parents' curses. The excitement of 
 the town — the thoughts of the uniform — the 
 belief that he would shortly be his own mas- 
 ter, (an error he had time afterwards suffici- 
 ently to acknowledge,) changed a little the 
 general evil current of his thoughts, and on his 
 return he was gratified beyond measure to hear 
 that the letter to Captain Barker had been 
 written and sent.
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 39 
 
 The recovery of Sir Hector was owing to 
 the. pleasure he received from the hope im- 
 planted in him that his sou was not entirely 
 lost, that the seeds of virtue were not en- 
 tirely choked by vice, or that his heart was 
 not the barren rock from which nothing good 
 could emanate. The fond belief that Wal- 
 ter might retrieve himself, and the advice 
 of all his friends to seud him to sea to be 
 tamed and taught, gave him a gleam of satis- 
 faction through the dark mist of obscurity aud 
 gloom. The answer arrived on the third day : 
 the Tribune would be ready in a week, but a 
 fit-out could be obtained in a day. Walter be- 
 came more anxious as his friendship increased 
 for Hammerton, who gave such a spirited ac- 
 count of battles and prizes, that now it would 
 have been impossible to restrain his curiosity 
 from being gratified. Hammerton had been 
 ordered to return immediately, and Walter 
 thought this a good opportunity of forward- 
 ing his own views ; he therefore took him to 
 Grosvenor-square, introduced him to his father, 
 and it was soon settled and arranged that they
 
 40 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 were to start together (Sir Hector not being 
 sufficiently recovered to accompany them) in Sir 
 Hector's travelling carriage — for he was parti- 
 cularly anxious that his son should be knoAvn 
 as the offsj)ring of a man of fortune, and not a 
 needy adventurer in the wooden walls of old 
 England. 
 
 The morning for their departure came, how 
 eagerly hoped by Walter, how bitterly re- 
 gretted by his father ! The last advice — the 
 last lecture was nearly as follows : 
 
 " Walter," he began, "it is a duty a parent 
 owes his child to give him as far as he is able 
 the wisdom of his experience ; but well I know 
 this is a commodity often offered as a gift, but 
 strangely enough never accepted, but always 
 purchased. It is the only thing I know which 
 people young or old will buy ; and they generally 
 pay a very exorbitant price for the article, use- 
 less to all but themselves. From the time you 
 embark, you will find yourself one of many, 
 and yet so cautiously watched that you might 
 fancy yourself the only object on board. Lay 
 aside all pride of fortune, otherwise your equals
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 41 
 
 will despise you, your inferiors will envy you. 
 Envy, Walter, is another word for unquench- 
 able hatred : a man who envies you, will 
 gladly 'see you ruined, and will not be over- 
 nice as to the mode. There is nothing in 
 which poor weak human nature more exults 
 than in trampling on the person it once envied ; 
 there is no news more gratifying than the ruin 
 of such a man. Therefore, conduct yourself in 
 such a manner, that whilst you do not debase 
 yourself to the level of those below you, you 
 do not exalt yourself so much above them as 
 to excite their jealousy. Be generous to all 
 to whom you have the power of being gene- 
 rous. Avoid all low coarse expressions : any one 
 may be vulgar, — the difficulty is to excel in 
 suavity of manners ; in this your profession have 
 not as yet produced a model which we prefer 
 to ourselves. On no account be quarrelsome : 
 you are young, and if defeated in your first 
 battle with a boy of your own size, but who 
 from exercise had become stronger, you might 
 become fearful of your strength, lose confi- 
 dence, and become timid. Be foremost in any
 
 42 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 danger ; but remember, if you have wronged 
 a man, it shows more courage to apologise 
 than to fight. Every one has a certain propor- 
 tion of brute courage : but that which is the 
 result of cool determination is bravery ; that 
 which is done under the sudden impulse of re- 
 venge, or when heated by wine or madness, 
 is not courage, but temerity. I remember once 
 in early life seeing a Spanish bull-fight. It was 
 impossible not to admire the cool dexterity and 
 courage of the picadores ; but on a sudden, 
 when the animal was infuriated from the fire- 
 works which were struck into it, a half-drunken 
 mule-driver rushed into the arena, imitated the 
 brute in putting his head down and ran unarmed 
 towards the bull. His head went exactly between 
 the horns : he was thrown of course, and would 
 have been trampled on but for the interposi- 
 tion of one of the matadores, who coolly walk- 
 ed up and killed the animal. In this anecdote, 
 Walter, you can distinguish between courage 
 and temerity. 
 
 " Never be guilty of falsehood — the slightest 
 deviation from truth is to be censured. I speak
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 43 
 
 not of embellishing an anecdote, in invention to 
 convey a moral, in wit to excite gaiety : I speak 
 of the careful abstraction of a part in order to 
 disguise the whole, or the making addition to a 
 circumstance to give it more weight than it de- 
 serves. Falsehood which is wilful has no name 
 sufficiently strong in the English language to ex- 
 press its shame ; it is the refuge of the coward, 
 the resource of the mean and the pitiful. I 
 know as you grow up you will be exposed to 
 temptations, to which we poor weak mortals are 
 subject : against these the constant restraint of 
 religion is your best defence. Remember, AVal- 
 ter, the dificrence of prayer related by an old 
 author. A soldier before a battle made the 
 following appeal to Heaven : ' O God, if 
 there be a God, have mercy upon my soul, if 
 I have a soul."' When this was related to the 
 Bishop of Rochester, that prelate remarked, 
 that so far from its being excusable on the 
 score of its brevity, it was every way objection- 
 able, and better for the soldier would it have 
 been to say : ' O God, if in the day of peace 
 I have forgotten thee, forsake me not in the
 
 44 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 hour of peril.*' The groundwork of religion I 
 trust is still within you ; a year or two will con- 
 vince you of your faults and your follies, and 
 the reaction will, I hope, be the stronger. But, 
 mistake me not : I would not have you fall into 
 the opposite extreme. ' Be not righteous over- 
 much,'' and never let your pride overstep com- 
 mon sense. Some people tell you that they 
 feel they are of the number of the elect, and 
 that those who are not exactly of their creed 
 cannot be saved. They thus condemn seven 
 hundred and ninety-nine millions, nine hundred 
 and ninety-nine thousand who dare to dispute 
 the orthodoxy of one thousand fanatics. When 
 you have performed an action which your con- 
 science tells you is a good one — when you 
 have neither transgressed the laws of God nor 
 those of your country, (and for the latter the 
 punishment is summary,) I tell you not to 
 believe that you cannot be saved unless on 
 any peculiar tenet of faith ; for if you do, 
 you are as unjust to yourself as the one 
 thousand blockheads who have felt their elec- 
 tion sure, and thus become prouder than the
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 45 
 
 prouil, and more ambitious than the fallen 
 angels. 
 
 ' " The good things of this hfc have been given 
 you with a generous hand ; you are not sub- 
 ject to the misfortunes which press heavily 
 on some who labour for existence. You are 
 neither deformed in person nor deficient in in- 
 tellect ; you are neither stunted of stature nor 
 short of strength. Be not, therefore, ungrateful 
 for the kindness you have received ; but rather 
 strive by the cheerful discharge of your duty 
 here, to merit a reward hereafter. 
 
 " The time now grows short, Walter, before 
 we part, and perhaps for ever. The distin- 
 guished bravery of the man under whose com- 
 mand I have placed you will lead you into 
 dangers and difiiculties, and no man can say 
 that you are certain to return. On the other 
 hand, old age and perhaps some regret at 
 what lately happened have sapped my health ; 
 but, by the blessing of God, to whom I con- 
 fidently hold up my hands in earnest hope 
 that my prayer may be granted , we shall meet 
 again.
 
 46 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 " Now, Walter, before we part, I have a 
 present to make you ; and let me implore you 
 on no account to part with it. The attention 
 you now pay to me warrants the belief that the 
 words have not been uttered in vain. I have 
 mentioned all on the score of advice excepting 
 the avoidance of drunkenness. It is so un- 
 gentlemanly, so filthy, to degrade the man 
 to the level of the beast, that I need not 
 recommend you to avoid a moment's exhilara- 
 tion, which is most amply paid for in the 
 sickness, the lassitude of the morrow. I have 
 at a considerable expense, but which I do not 
 grudge, recovered your mother's locket for you ; 
 how I traced, what I paid for it, I need not 
 say. H ere it is, Walter ; and as I place it 
 round your neck, I implore Heaven to protect 
 you, and that whenever through the levity of 
 youth you should be inclined to swerve from 
 the proper course, this locket may attract your 
 attention. 
 
 " I am certain, after all that has happened, 
 that you will feel for me as I feel for you, 
 with all the attachment which ought to sub-
 
 THE AllETHUSA. 47 
 
 sist between parent and child. You will 
 write frequently — indeed, whenever an oppor- 
 tunity occurs, — and do not plead as an ex- 
 cuse the having nothing to say : every act of 
 your life will interest me — every friend you 
 make will be acceptable to me ; and nothing 
 will give me greater satisfaction than the 
 assm-ance of your captain that you have dili- 
 gently performed your duty. To my dili- 
 gence in early life you owe your future pro- 
 spects ; and those who come after you should 
 have the same excitement to imitate a good 
 example. 
 
 " And now, Walter, as I hear your friend's 
 knock, and as the carriage is ready, I shall 
 wish you good-b^ye. Benjamin will accom- 
 pany you ; I have given him the money which 
 is requisite ; your own purse is well filled ; 
 and here is a letter to Captain Barker, beg- 
 ging him to endorse any bill he may think 
 you require. God bless you, my boy, and may 
 Heaven restore you to me !"
 
 48 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 An Oldster and a Youngster. — Tempting sketch of life 
 afloat. — A Senior in command. — A Post-captain's Autho- 
 rity. 
 
 Walter hurried from the Hbrary, inward- 
 ly rejoicing that his father's admonitions had 
 terminated. The lecture was over, the purse 
 was stored, the letters of credit were pocket- 
 ed, and Hammerton was waiting for him. It 
 required no persuasion on his part to quicken 
 the pace of Walter : he jumped into the car- 
 riage — threw himself back with the ease of one 
 accustomed to such luxuries, and very unlike a 
 thriving apothecary, who sits in the middle of 
 his vehicle in order that he may be seen by 
 every one who passes. 
 
 Benjamin was in the rumble, the carriage
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 49 
 
 drove ofF, and never once did Walter look to- 
 wards the home of his infancy, although his 
 poor ^ick old father had crawled from his 
 sofa to catch the last glance of his son''8 eye, 
 or watch the carriage which contained him : 
 his heart sank as he saw that no last look 
 was bestowed either uj^on him or his house, 
 and he inwardly ejaculated as he retraced 
 his steps to tlie sofa, and swallowed one of 
 those delectable draughts to be taken everv 
 four hours : " Show me the man who has 
 no local attachment, and I avIU show you a 
 selfish, heartless creature." 
 
 Hammerton, who, in consequence of the 
 marriage, of one of his sisters, had obtained 
 leave of absence and had been somewhat sud- 
 denly recalled to join his ship, was a straight- 
 forward, open-hearted fellow. The fun and 
 frolic of a midshipman"'s berth were to him 
 the greatest joys of life — he was up to any- 
 thing, alive to every enjoyment, steady in 
 the performance of his duty, friendly to those 
 in distress, ever willing to assist the less for- 
 tunate than himself. He sat by the side of 
 
 VOL. I. I)
 
 .')0 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 his contrast ; — a contrast indeed ! for Walter 
 was penurious, tyrannical by nature, proud — 
 piu'se-proud, haughty. But he had three 
 times the talent of Hammerton, and could, 
 when his surliness was softened, be a very 
 agreeable, lively, witty companion. He had all 
 the boyish levity of fourteen, as he felt that 
 at last he was a man, his own master, free 
 from a school, an emancipated slave. No 
 sooner was he clear of Grosvenor-square than 
 he rubbed his hands and exclaimed, " Now I 
 begin life."" 
 
 " — Which has been the death of many a 
 man," replied Hammerton ; and then he con- 
 tinued : " Pray, Murray, is that your trunk 
 in front, with all those brass nails jammed 
 in like the ornamental part of a nobleman's 
 coffin ?" 
 
 " Yes," replied the new-fledged midshipman. 
 
 " I don't think you 11 know it again," con- 
 tinued Hammerton, " after it has been shaken 
 in the hold, or tumbled in the wings : the car- 
 penter's yeoman will soon have those to deco-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 51 
 
 * 
 
 rate his store-room. Why, you must liavc 
 clothes enough to fit out the mess !" 
 
 "I have no more," replied Murray, " than 
 any other gentleman ought to have."'"' 
 
 " If all the gentlemen, as you are pleased to 
 call midshipmen, had as many traps as you 
 have got, the ship would never he large enough 
 to hold them. Midshipmen are called young 
 gentlemen, but at present the system is not 
 altogether quite so elegant as might be found 
 in Grosvenor-square. — By-the-bye, Murray, — 
 excuse my freedom — we sailors are rough 
 knots, easily untied, and leaving the naked 
 rope visible, — do you know, I think you are a 
 confounded fool !" 
 
 " That 's pleasant," replied Walter ; " but 
 perhaps you will explain ?" 
 
 " Certainly," continued Hammerton. " If 
 you saw a man who was walking through a 
 sheltered shrubbery, where he was amused, 
 happy, contented, dry, and comfortable, would 
 not you think him a precious donkey to leave 
 the shrubbery and its sheltered walks to come 
 
 D 2
 
 52 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 f 
 
 out upon an open terrace where the wind and 
 
 the rain came pouring down — where he was ex- 
 posed to cold and every devilment under the 
 clouds, when he could have continued his quiet 
 walk in warmth and comfort ?" 
 
 " Certainly," said Walter. 
 
 " Well, then, you are exactly in that position. 
 You have had at your command every luxury 
 in life, and yet you give them all up to follow 
 the worst profession ever dreamt of for any- 
 thing better than a Malay or a chimneysweep. 
 Instead of comfort, be prepared for every dis- 
 comfort ; instead of rich dishes at seven ©"'clock, 
 make friends with your stomach to digest salted 
 horse at noon ; instead of a comfortable bed to 
 snore in for ten hours with your head supported 
 by down pillows, with curtains to draw round 
 your face lest a breath of cold air should dis- 
 turb your slumbers, what think you of walking 
 up and down some miserable planks for four 
 hours ; — the harder it rains and blows, the more 
 requisite is it that you should be in it ; — and 
 when tired — ay, even to hinder sleep, for over-
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. :j3 
 
 fatigue is as fatal to slumber as inaction, — to 
 turn into a wet hauimock to swing about like 
 a monkey in a fair, — to go to bed hungry 
 and to rise hungry, — to be obedient to every 
 call, — to be uncertain of the smallest moment 
 of time as your own, — to go when you are 
 bidden, and to come when you are commanded, 
 — to eat and drink out of the coarsest mate- 
 rials, — to have bread swarming with insects, 
 and water dirtier and more stiidving than would 
 disgrace a ditch in Devonshire ? These are 
 but the fewest of all the miseries to which you 
 will find a midshipman"'s life is heir." 
 
 " But," said Walter with much animation, 
 " the midshipman is free ; he is not the slave of 
 a taskmaster, he is not under the eye of a mis- 
 doubting parent, he is not watched in his out- 
 goings or in-comings." 
 
 " No," replied Hammerton, chuckling at the 
 joke ; " but he is watched, as you will find, ra- 
 ther too regularly to be pleasant. The captain 
 watches him ; the first lieutenant gives him a 
 watch ; and the ofiicer of the watch takes care
 
 54 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 that he keeps his watch, or else it 's watch and 
 watch for him. You'll understand more of 
 this before you are a week older; but now 
 I 'm thinking how differently people feel under 
 different circumstances. I dare say you like 
 this easy affair in which we are boxed up 
 until we get to our journey's end ; but I would 
 a hundred to one sooner be in a stage-coach — 
 for in that there 's always some fun and frolic. 
 I remember once when travelling in this kind 
 of vehicle, we received among us the most 
 disagreeable old woman that ever shipped a 
 potticoat, — and that is saying a great deal for 
 her talent of tonnenting. I was a passenger 
 with another mid, whose acquaintance you will 
 make before to-morrow evening. We tried to 
 please this old lady ; but she kicked out one 
 leg here, elbowed another there ; would have 
 her window uj), although it was July ; and 
 whilst Smith and myself were reeking at every 
 pore, this old she-devil — for devils run in both 
 sexes — would keep fidgeting about; and althougli 
 I knew that in the Black Hole at Calcutta it had 
 been represented to those unfortunate sufferers
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 55 
 
 that their chance of keeping themselves cool was 
 to keep quiet, and I recommended the same 
 precaution to the old lady, hinting that heat 
 was a very desirable thing during the winter 
 at the North Pole, but that in July in Eng- 
 land a cool breeze and a cool body were luxu- 
 ries of which we debarred ourselves by our in- 
 cessant motion, it was of no use, — the old lady 
 would continue her art of tormenting, playing 
 with her fat poodle-dog, nursing it one mo- 
 ment, and sending it adrift between our legs 
 the next. We were both too much of sailors 
 to ill-treat a dumb animal ; and although we 
 lifted it carefully off our feet, yet we never 
 hm't the poor thing, excepting that it never was 
 allowed' to be still for a second. Smith ])ru- 
 posed putting his elbow through the glass, and 
 there establishing a current of air and of abuse ; 
 but I whispered to him, — (I knew the road 
 well, for I had been on it only the day before,) 
 — to begin making all possible grimaces when 1 
 should give him the signal, and leave the rest 
 to me, taking care to bark like a dog and 
 exhibit other canine accomplishments. We
 
 56 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 then introduced the subject of hydrophobia ; 
 and certainly the liorror of this malady was 
 much, if possible, enhanced, each of us telling 
 some wonderful stories of what we had our- 
 selves seen in foreign parts. ' Ah f said 
 Smith, who saw the game I was playing, ' I 
 never have felt easy since I was bitten by that 
 cursed curly cur at Lisbon ; and every now 
 and then I fancy myself with a shaggy skin, and 
 twist round to look for my tail. I ""m sure I 
 shall go mad before long ; for it was about this 
 time three years that it happened, and every 
 July since I have never passed a dog's-meat 
 barrow without whiffing a little, and clapping 
 my nose nearer than the seller admired.'' 
 
 " ' Good Heavens !' remarked the old woman, 
 ' I hope you won't go mad in the coach, sir ? 
 Here — Muff, Muflf V and she nursed her bloated 
 beast like a baby ; ' and don't, sir, — pray don't 
 bite my dog V 
 
 " ' I won't, ma''am,"' said Smith with the most 
 coaxing countenance in the world, ' not if I can 
 help it ; but I like the smell of it a little. No, 
 no, ma''am, if I bite anybody, it shan't be the dog:
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 57 
 
 I sui)posc under such circumstances I shall feel 
 too much interest in my species, and revenge 
 myself upon their tyi'auts/ 
 
 " ' Lord, sir !' said the old woman, who kept 
 watching Smith, who every now and then made 
 a wry face and gut up a gentle snarl, ' J 
 never ill-used the poor creatures in my life, 
 — did I, Muft'? Do tell the gentleman, who 
 perhaps understands you — do tell him how kind 
 I have been !' 
 
 " Muff snarled, and Smith repeated it as well 
 as a signalman in a rcpeating-ship. We were 
 now fast nearing a small stream. The bridge 
 over which we ought to have passed was broken 
 and under repair ; and as the water was not 
 deep, the coaches passed through it a little to 
 the left of the bridge. I kept my eyes about 
 me, and when we came close to the place I 
 gave Smith the signal : he began to howl and 
 bark, to the infinite horror of the old woman ; 
 he seized the dog, and pretended to bite its 
 tail, and then looked with an eye of anger at 
 the woman. 
 
 " ' My God ! coachman !' she began, letting 
 
 D 5
 
 58 THE AllETHUSA. 
 
 down the window ; ' murder ! — stop — a mad- 
 man ! — I "m oaten — my dog's tail is off I' and 
 here she was stopped, ibr Smith clapped his 
 left hand out as he seized her with his ri<>lit and 
 opened the door : splash Avent the horses into 
 the stream — the noise made him worse — the 
 old lady made a struggle to escape, Smith 
 having- fixed his teeth upon her dress ; -nhen 
 out she bounced, dog and all — smack she went 
 into tlio middle ot^ the stream, and lav kickino- 
 about like a harpooned porpoise. There A\as 
 of com-se a halt ; but A\e refused to have the 
 washerwoman inside, which to be sure she did 
 not insist upon, and she was taken on the roof 
 to dry ; Smith every moment clapping his hand 
 out of the window, pinching her heel and bark- 
 ino- like a dog. Believe mv varn, if von can. 
 That 's one way of getting a cool coach with 
 lots of room in it : now what the devil can 
 V e do in this grand concern, but tell varus and 
 get sleepy .'*"''' 
 
 "Walter smiled, and although much amused 
 with llannnerton's manner of relatiuo- the anec- 
 dote, thought that in all probabilitv ho should
 
 THE AllETlIUSA. 59 
 
 find himself rather overmatched than otherwise 
 in mis(jhief, if all the midshipmen were as fro- 
 licsome as Hammerton and Smith. He re- 
 sponded however to the last question, remark- 
 ing that "Gentlemen travelled in their own 
 carriages," — for upon this point he had imbibed 
 all the parvenu pride of his father, — and that 
 " every person should maintain by outward ap- 
 pearance his rank and his station in life." 
 
 Hammerton looked at him, and, with a sneer 
 that he could not control, remarked, " We shall 
 soon take the starch out of you, my hero, I dare 
 say you want your carriage and horses shipped, 
 and will pay a morning visit to the captain 
 according to your station in life ! If yon do. 
 Master Murray, it will be on a gun-carriage. 
 But as to your station, the first lieutenant will 
 consider your lofty birth and give you an ex- 
 alted one. 1 have no doubt you will be able 
 to look down with the most sovereign contempt 
 on all below you ; and if you should fail a little 
 from some trifling misconduct, to which I hear 
 you have a little propensity, we will trice you 
 up again : but take care you don't fall in love
 
 60 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 with the guiiner''s daughter and marry her, 
 or you will have a scratch from her cat, who 
 has nine tails." 
 
 Walter never condescended to answer Ham- 
 merton, hut bit his lip in silent disdain, nursing 
 his wrath, and inwardly wishing that such a 
 ^'nlgar fellow had never been placed so near 
 himself. Hammerton, on the contrary, con- 
 sidered himself as an oldster, and consequently 
 as having the youngster under his care, to be 
 delivered like a mail-coach parcel to the person 
 to whom he was directed. He had already 
 become commanding officer, and it was evident 
 that he felt his authority, from the manner in 
 which he spoke ; for he said to Walter with 
 an expression of sorrow, " Poor fellow ! why 
 you are like a young bear — all your sorrows are 
 to come, and to-morrow you will be as much 
 out of your element as a mosquito in a squall 
 of wind." 
 
 This rather roused the wrath of Walter, who 
 replied in a measured tone of voice, " Pray, 
 sir, do you take me for a baby ?" 
 
 "No, *^V," replied Hammerton; "but I
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 61 
 
 tcike you for a cursed impertinent brat, and 
 advise you to keep a civil tongue in your head, 
 or " 
 
 " Oi- what ?" said Walter, bristling up like a 
 boar in a breeze. 
 
 " Or I '11 make you ! There — don't answer — 
 hold your tongue, without you waut your ears 
 a little longer than nature has made them." 
 
 *' By Heavens !" said Walter, " I '11 stand 
 this no longer ! — IJenjamin, open the door and 
 let Mr. Hammerton out, and desire the posti- 
 lions to turn back again." 
 
 " Go on," said Hammerton out of the win- 
 dow, " and drive to the George. The Peacock," 
 said he as he resumed his place, " is envied for 
 its gaudy plumage ; but the strength of the 
 eagle is a better safeguard than feathers. 
 Your father put you under my care, and I 
 do not relinquish my office until I introduce 
 you to Captain Barker. You may then go 
 back, or elsewhere, if you like, for me ; but 
 I have got my sailing instructions, and I shall 
 obey them to the letter." 
 
 " Do you pretend to say," said the petulant
 
 62 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 boy, " that I can't do as I like in my father's 
 carriage ? I will go back, and the devil shall 
 never force me to live in the same ship with 
 you." 
 
 " Your father put me In command of his 
 son and his carriage : I 'm commanding officer 
 here, and will be obeyed. And as for your 
 not going on board, why your name is on the 
 books of the Tribune — go you must : there 's 
 a word for pride to swallow — you must go. 
 But don't fancy you will be detained against 
 your will : one volunteer is worth two pressed 
 men, and we have not come to pressing mid- 
 shipmen as yet." 
 
 Murray sat back biting his lips and inwardly 
 vowizig vengeance against Hammerton : he even 
 turned over in his mind the best mode of an- 
 noying his parents in the event of Sir Hector's 
 death, for Hammerton's relations were tenants 
 of his father ; and in the worst passion of 
 Murray's mind, he vowed he would extirpate 
 such weeds, root and branch. Weeds they were 
 in his eyes — loathsome weeds, which sprang up
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 63 
 
 and poisoned all around. What right, indeed, 
 had such parish paupers to send their sons to 
 serve in the navy ; and by what right did these 
 upstarts domineer over their betters ? Walter 
 was ignorant that in the noble — the honourable 
 profession in which he had entered, the daring 
 courage, the ready zeal, the active mind, the 
 quick in resources, the fearless in danger — weeds, 
 or not weeds — soon became the highest flowers ; 
 and had he at that moment taken the trouble 
 to think, his own good sense would have told 
 him, that if all the world were on one dav 
 born, and all equal, long before noon it would 
 be settled which half were to make the beds 
 of the other half. The lazy, the passionate, the 
 idle, the 'thoughtless, the timid, the weak, the 
 sickly, must give place to the active, the tem- 
 perate, the studious, the thoughtful, the brave, 
 the strong, the healthy ; and the more wealth 
 a man inherits, the more activity of mind 
 it requires to regulate it. He who is indo- 
 lent must become subservient ; he who is blind- 
 ly generous must become involved ; and he
 
 d4 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 who trusts to another to do that which he 
 ought to do himself, can have no cause of com- 
 plaint if the undertaking fails. 
 
 Walter was not indolent ; but his pride, his 
 overbearing pride, scarcely allowed him to think, 
 lest he should be thought to work. The last re- 
 mark of Hammerton stung him to the quick, 
 must ! — there ""s a word for pride to swallow ; — 
 it nearly choked him ; and when his throat re- 
 laxed its efforts to keep down his rage, he said 
 with a slow voice and a most malignant sneer 
 as he turned his eyes towards his companion, 
 " Set a beggar on horseback, and he 11 ride to 
 the devil." 
 
 Hammerton looked at him in anger ; but 
 his generous heart soon made allowance for 
 the petulance of youth, and he merely replied : 
 " When you have done mourning over the loss of 
 your parent, and eaten the cake and jam which 
 your old servant has crammed into the corner 
 of that gingerbread trunk, then such remarks 
 might meet their deserts. But come, Murray, 
 no more of this ; you are endeavouring to make 
 an enemy of the man 'niio can be — nay, and
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. Oo 
 
 ill spite of yourself, will be — your friend. You 
 must drop your pride ; you must remember you 
 are going amongst young men liberal by pro- 
 fession, aiid although as poor as Job, as proud as 
 Lucifer. Take heed of the stubborn disposi- 
 tion of your nature. The donkey gets terrific 
 blows on its crupper, and as it lifts its sluggard 
 legs to resent the injury, merely kicks the 
 air. The noble horse goes on without whip 
 or spur — distances all animals of less active 
 motion ; but the sulky horse which refuses to 
 go, although the same animal, — nay, perhaps of 
 the same breed, — is beaten, and spurred, and 
 driven in spite of itself; and, thus goaded 
 on with bleeding sides, is not a bad picture 
 of the yoirth who can do anything, but, from 
 stubborn pride, will do nothing, until force, 
 actual force, compels him. 
 
 " We are now drawing towards Portsmouth ; 
 in a quarter of an hour you will stand before 
 your captain. Remember, he is more absolute 
 than his king ; for he can make it whatever 
 time of the day he likes, and we must set our 
 watches to his will and caprice. Do as others
 
 66 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 have done before you, — swim with the tide, 
 which it is useless to oppose. When you 
 speak, answer 'Yes, sir,"" and 'No, sir;'' for if 
 you were a quaker, you would find that with- 
 out you added the ' sir,' their creed, ' Let your 
 communication be yea, yea — nay, nay, would get 
 you a mast-heading. If you come the quaker 
 over the captain or any of the lieutenants, you 
 will have time to correct your answer as you 
 sit for four hours at the masthead, blowing 
 your fingers like a Norway bear, and thinking 
 of Grosvenor-square, which you are leaving 
 behind." 
 
 In justice to Hammerton, it must be re- 
 marked, that Sir Hector had urged him 
 to disgust his son as much as possible with 
 the service in which he had embarked ; and 
 as all men are rather partial to exaggerat- 
 ing either their wealth or their woes to 
 strangers, Hammerton took especial care to 
 finish the picture in his best style. His man- 
 ner would have damped the courage of many 
 a youngster ; but Murray was not a lad to be 
 frightened at a shadow — the very difficulties to
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 67 
 
 be overcome gave him a relish for the undertak- 
 ing ; for he was just that kind of Uid who would 
 not have married the Venus de' jSIedicis with 
 ten thousand a year, if there was no opposi- 
 tion to the match, but would have eloped with 
 a poor parson's ugly daughter, if the parent 
 merely exercised his right in the shape of a 
 negative. 
 
 " Very well, Hammerton," said he ; " I take 
 all but the hint about my ears as it was meant, 
 kindly. I shall do my best to be civil and dis- 
 creet ; and as I have nothinuf to fear from a 
 captain, I may approach him without any ap- 
 prehension. I wish I had stopped to dine at 
 that last stage ; I think eating a capital founda- 
 tion for courage, — and everybody fights better 
 when well fed. Can"'t we stop now ?'' 
 
 " It is too late," replied his companion, " for 
 we are close to the lines, and that gateway 
 ahead is the entrance into Portsmouth." 
 
 At this moment the postilions looked at each 
 other — smack went the whip, the wheels turn- 
 ed round faster, and they entered the to^Ti in 
 proper style. Every one, from the sentry to
 
 68 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 the sweep — every soul, from the pensive marine 
 to the jolly tar — every Jew, tailor, draper — 
 apothecaries^ with all their household goddesses, 
 ran to the door to see the dashing equipage ; 
 and never hefore did two midshipmen make 
 a greater sensation in Portsmouth. Hammer- 
 ton had his quick eye at work ; but Murray 
 looked hack. The bell at The George rang for 
 the waiters, the postilions having given the sig- 
 nal ; and before the carriage drove up, twenty 
 or thirty people had assembled to see the un- 
 lading of the valuable cargo. 
 
 It happened that three or four captains 
 had agreed to dine together that evening, and 
 who, between the numerous enterings of the 
 waiters, who brought first a salt-cellar, then a 
 spoon, then the bread-basket, — noodling out the 
 time in order to keep hope alive in the himgry 
 sons of the sea, — had huddled together by the 
 window, wasting life by watching how others 
 idled it away, when the noise of the approach- 
 ing carriage, with the ring at the gate-bell, gave 
 a little turn to their conversation. 
 
 " ' Faith,"" began one, " this must be the First
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 69 
 
 Lord of the Admiralty, or the Secretary for 
 Foreign Aflairs. What a row these great 
 fellows kick up ! I think, Barker, we had 
 better remind the waiters that we are waiting, 
 or the big-wigs will take the Tribune's share 
 of the dinner. I wish we could get the soup 
 up before the cook sj)lices it." 
 
 " I '11 ring directly I see who comes out of 
 this gingerbread affair," replied Barker : " I 
 should be more inclined to think it contains 
 some lucky son of an Indian Director, whose 
 careful mamma had sent him down comfortably, 
 in order that he might not feel annoyance until 
 he takes a head-sea, which will turn his head." 
 
 " And his stomach !" said another : " what 
 a lucky thing it is to have one's father born 
 before one, and to be sent out to have money 
 put into one's pockets in spite of oneself ! He 
 is young enough at any rate," continued the 
 same speaker ; — " why, he has a midshipman's 
 uniform ! Oh ! it must be some youngster 
 come to join his ship ; and here appears the 
 unhappy father about to part with his fond son. 
 Look how the old servant bobs his arm out f
 
 70 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Why, d — n it, if it is not another youngster ! 
 Well, now then for the venerable parent ! — 
 Hulloa ! what 's this ? Why, they have shut the 
 door, and there goes the carriage to the stable. 
 If those two youngsters belonged to my ship, 
 I think I would teach them not to make such 
 a noise in the streets. Who the devil can they 
 be ?" 
 
 " Do you sleep here to-night, sir .P" said 
 the waiter. 
 
 " Yes," said Murray. 
 
 *' Chambermaid, show this gentleman his 
 room. Porter, take that trunk up into No. 4. 
 Do you take dinner, sir ?" 
 
 " Yes," said Murray surlily, for he could 
 not understand why a gentleman could not 
 arrive in his carriage without being so over- 
 pestered by civility. 
 
 " A private room, sir ; or the coffee-room, sir ?" 
 
 "A private room, sir!" rejjlied Murray, his 
 upper lip turning in arrogant disdain. " Do you 
 think I am going to dine at an ordinary ?" 
 
 " No ordinary fellow that," said a waiter 
 in an under-tone ; "I never saw so young a
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 71 
 
 lad will) such a look. I wonder what his 
 uame is. Oh ! here it is large enough on the 
 trunk — 'Walter Murray.' Now, I should like 
 to know yxho Mr. Walter Murray may be, that 
 he drives about in a carriage and four horses, 
 and not more than fifteen years old. The other 
 chap has nothing to do with the carriage, that 's 
 certain, for he 's in the coffee-room, anjl peck- 
 ing away at the cold round-o'-beef like a mid- 
 shipman from a long cruise.*" 
 
 The captains had now got to work, — the 
 soup had not been spliced, and all were in 
 high good-humour, when the master of the inn 
 brought in the first course, 
 
 " Who came in that carriage, landlord," 
 said one of the true blues, " which came rat- 
 tling on as if it would pound the stones into 
 powder ?" 
 
 " Two young gentlemen, sir," replied Boni- 
 face. 
 
 " Young gentlemen !" said the captain, — 
 " young gentlemen with four horses ! Why, 
 who are they ?''"' 
 
 " One is a Mr. Walter Murray, who, I un-
 
 72 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 derstand, is going to join one of the ships at 
 Spithead, sir." 
 
 " Tell him," said Captain Barker, " to come 
 here to me directly. Has he dined .?" 
 
 " No, sir ; hut he has ordered dinner in the 
 next room." 
 
 " Well done !" said the first speaker ; " a 
 midshipman, or a hoy of the second class, in 
 a private room ! — and turtle soup, I suppose ?" 
 
 " He desired his servant to order dinner," 
 quoth the landlord ; " and certainly," he added 
 with a smile, " it is rather an expensive one.'' 
 
 " Tell him to come here," said Captain Bar- 
 ker ; " he belongs to my ship, — and," he con- 
 tinued as the landlord withdrew, " is a neat nut 
 for the devil to crack !" 
 
 " I must confess," said the first speaker, 
 " that I have some curiosity to see this young- 
 ster who comes down to join his ship in such 
 stvle. Who is he ?" 
 
 " A son of Sir Hector Murray — a man of 
 great wealth and of sterling worth : he has 
 given me a line by the post, mentioning his 
 son's pride and folly, and I '11 begin with him
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 73 
 
 as I intend to go on : he is a kind of j-ontli 
 who must be brought up witli a round turn, 
 OP he '11 get such headway that he ll be wreck- 
 ed before he can heave about." 
 
 " Mr. Murray says, sir, he '11 come after he 
 has dined." 
 
 " Oh !" ejaculated Barker, " much obliged 
 to him for his civility. Have the kindness 
 to tell the youngster who came down with him 
 — a Mr. Hammortou — to come to me." 
 
 " He is in the coffee-room, sir, — I will send 
 to him directly." 
 
 Hammerton seemed to enter almost as soon 
 as the landlord had shut the door. He was 
 hard at work at the beef and pickles when 
 the messenger arrived, and he dropped his knife 
 and fork and ran up stairs, knowing ftdl well 
 that his captain would ask him to dinner, and 
 that, if he delayed to appear, he would be 
 bundled on board in the first boat. As he 
 entered the room, he bowed respectfully to the 
 captains. 
 
 " Come here, Hammerton, and sit down. — 
 Waiter, get a plate and knife and fork, and bring 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 the soup here again." Hammerton did as he 
 was desired. " Now,"" continued Barker, " tell 
 me what kind of a lad was your companion in 
 Sir Hector's carriage, and how it is you have 
 separated from him." 
 
 Hammerton spoke like the straightforward 
 gentleman he was, not too boldly, not too 
 timidly, but with a modest deference, such 
 as inferiors in rank should bear towards those 
 above them. " He is, sir, a very curious 
 young lad : he is older at fifteen than many 
 at twenty : he is a bold, daring youngster ; 
 but he has never been accustomed to be con- 
 trolled. I left him because I could not afford 
 to pay my share of a dinner such as he or- 
 dered : he did not invite me to partake of it, 
 and I was too proud to hint my poverty." 
 
 " Well said, Hammerton," remarked the 
 first speaker, whilst Barker patted him on 
 the shoulder and looked at him with the 
 pride a man feels when those who have been 
 under his orders are praised by others. " Has 
 he begun dinner yet .''"
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 75 
 
 " No, sir,'" replied Haminerton, " I should 
 ihink not ; for I heard one of the waiters say 
 that his servant had ordered enough for a 
 mayor and corporation." 
 
 '• Then while they are bringing up the soup 
 for you, go and bring him here." 
 
 Away went Hammerton, and without any 
 preface opened the door and began, — " The 
 captain wants you, Murray : come along as 
 quick as you can," 
 
 " I have sent once to him," replied Murray, 
 " that I shoukl come after dinner." 
 
 At this Hammerton burst out laughing and 
 said, " You '11 know better before half an hour 
 is over yojir head than to send such a message 
 to the captain : but come, he has sent me for 
 you — don't stand gaping there like a stuck 
 pig : come along, I say." 
 
 " You may say what you like," said Murray, 
 " but I don't care any more for the captain than 
 I do for that sweeper in the street, and go I 
 shall not until I have had my dinner." 
 
 " Don't make an ass of yourself," continued 
 
 E 2
 
 76 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Hammerton, getting a little on towards an 
 angry expression ; " but come along, or I must 
 take you by force." 
 
 " By force V said the petidant boy ; " I 
 should like to see you use force -'" 
 
 " Oh," said Hammerton, " you will not be 
 long in being gratified :" and forthwith he seized 
 his victim by the cuff of the coat with the left 
 hand, and taking hold of a certain part of his 
 unmentionables, he forced Murray's head for- 
 ward with one hand, whilst he kept back his 
 stern with the other, and thus navigated him, 
 in spite of all kicks and starts, through the 
 passage. Meeting a Avaiter who was near 
 the captain"'s door, he desired him to open it, 
 and in walked Mr, Murray in spite of himself. 
 He seemed rather startled at finding himself in 
 the presence of five captains, all in uniform, and 
 all men not very likely to be frightened by a 
 youngster. 
 
 " Come here, sir," said Barker in a quarter- 
 deck voice, which, in spite of the independent 
 air and bearing of Murray, who had dra^^Ti him- 
 self up for impertinence directly Hammerton
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 77 
 
 relinquished his grasp and allowed him to be 
 perpendicular, went through him, and he felt, 
 to use a common expression, cowed. " Come 
 here, sir," repeated his captain : " did you hear 
 me speak to you ? Pray, sir, why did you not 
 come when I sent foi- you, without obliging 
 ]Mr. Haramerton to execute his orders in the 
 manner he has done — and done properly P" 
 
 " I thought " began Murray. 
 
 " Thought, sir !" interrupted his captain ; 
 " who gave you leave to think, sir ? A midship- 
 man think ! — d — n it, we are come to a pretty 
 pass now ! I ordered you, sir, to come to me ; and 
 take care you never disobey my orders. And 
 now, sir, that you have received the reprimand 
 you have deserved, sit down and dine here."" 
 
 ^lurray, astonished at this welcome of his 
 captain, crept like a frightened dog to the 
 chair which was placed by the side of his 
 commander, and began the operation of eating 
 without much appetite. This being remarked 
 by another captain, one who afterwards en- 
 joyed the title of a most magnificent tyrant, 
 led to the following observation from him :
 
 78 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 " It 's well for you, youngster, that you dou't 
 belong to my ship ; for, by all that 's sacred, if 
 you did, you should be flogged this evening 
 and starved to-morrow. This comes of sending 
 midshipmen down in carriages ; whereas if they 
 were packed up like fish in baskets and bun- 
 dled into carts or waggons, they would get a 
 kind of hint as to what they might expect 
 afterwards.'" 
 
 Murray's pride gave way to this uncalled- 
 for remark, and he burst out into a flood of 
 tears. His captain, v\ath that consideration and 
 kindness for which he was throughout life so 
 respected, immediately endeavoured to reassure 
 Murray ; but the great step had been taken, 
 his pride had given way, and all attempts to 
 place him at his ease were ineffectual. At 
 that moment he would have given worlds to 
 retire and retrace his steps, and, since his feel- 
 ings were hurt, he resolved to rely on his cun- 
 ninsf. In a moment his resolution was taken : 
 he dissembled his real sentiments under a 
 smile ; he ate without tasting, and drank with- 
 out thinking.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 79 
 
 " Pretty well that, youngster," said one, — 
 "five glasses of wine in as many minutes ! I 
 dare say your old father, although he sent you 
 down here like a nabob, did not give you more 
 than a glass of port when you came down 
 with the children to dessert." 
 
 Murray never answered ; but the . sneer 
 which curled his lip could not be mistaken. 
 
 " Hammerton," said Captain Barker, " it 
 is now getting high time to go on board, and 
 1 don't like my youngsters to sleep on shore 
 at Portsmouth : so, do you hear, take Murray 
 with you on board, and make him as snug 
 and as comfortable as you can. Tell the first 
 lieutenant to send the gig for me at eight 
 o'clock to-morrow morning, — we shall sail about 
 noon. And here — stop — the blue peter must be 
 hoisted at eight. And tell Mr. Garnet to turn 
 all the women out of the ship, and to unmoor 
 at daylight. Take my gig, and see this young- 
 ster's traps safe : he '11 be as much adrift as 
 a wreck in a tideway. Good night." 
 
 Murray, glad to escape, bolted out of the 
 door ; but he was recalled in the instant by
 
 80 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 liis captain. " Mr. Murray, when gentlemen 
 leave a room where they have been invited 
 to dine, it is customary to wish their com- 
 panions good night, or to bow to them : it is 
 a maik of respect which I beg you will now 
 manifest, and of which I trust I shall never 
 again have occasion to remind you." 
 
 " I wish you a very good night, sir," said 
 the captain who had made the remark relative 
 to the wine, at the same time bowing his head 
 and continuing, "It's pretty lucky for you, 
 you unlicked cub, that you do not belong to 
 my ship !" Murray heard it all, bowed, and 
 retired. 
 
 No sooner was he clear of his tormentors 
 than he ran into his own room : the cloth was 
 laid, the wax-lights flaring : he rang the bell 
 and sent for Benjamin. Hammerton told him 
 to get his traps ready, jumped down to the 
 coxswain and ordered him to bring up some 
 of the gig's crew to take his own and Murray's 
 trunk on board, inwardly cursing the sulky 
 cur who had thus deprived him of his cruise 
 on shore ; for Hammerton, smart as he was,
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 81 
 
 hud no iuteiitioii of going ou board before the 
 following morning. 
 
 " Benjamin," said Murray as the old servant 
 came into the room, " we must go back to 
 town directly. Be as quick as possible — get 
 horses — never mind packing up, but be round 
 in a moment. Not all the devils alive should 
 get me on board a ship — 1 have had quite 
 enough already ; and my father will be pleased 
 to see me return. Run, good Benjamin." 
 
 Benjamin was no runner — he was no foot- 
 man ; he stood a second in thought, and then 
 said, " Master Walter, your father will be so 
 pleased !" 
 
 " There — there — no long speeches ; run like 
 a lamplighter — round with the carriage — pay 
 the bill, — look sharp ! Why, you move like a 
 snail, — there — quick! quick !" and he shoved 
 the old servant out of the room. " I don't 
 think," he mused to himself, " that there is 
 necessity to leave anything behind me, 1 "11 
 get my ornamented coffin, as Hammerton called 
 it, packed ; I had better work myself than lose 
 the contents." And away he went to pack 
 
 e5
 
 82 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 up ; whilst Hammerton, who had given the 
 requisite orders, had started off to the Fountain, 
 to see if any of the mids of the Tribune were 
 on shore, and wished a passage on board without 
 paying the heavy fare which some of those eager 
 boatmen demand who ply either from Common 
 Hard or the Point, Mm-ray, for once, was ac- 
 tive both in mind and body ; he was turning in 
 his brain how fortunate it was that he should 
 escaj)e paying for his dinner, which honour 
 he intended for his new captain. He shoved 
 in his linen, which Benjamin had placed ready 
 for next morning, inwardly cursing the offi- 
 cious fellow who thus rendered his escape 
 subject to delay ; and then came across him 
 the certainty that if the carriage was brought 
 round, his captain would hear the noise and 
 detection follow. He knew he was clear of 
 Hammerton ; so, jumping down stairs, he de- 
 sired that the carriage might not be brought 
 round, and himself urged the postilions to 
 their exertions. 
 
 In the mean time one or two seamen belong- 
 ing to the gig had arrived at the George ; and
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 83 
 
 having inquired for the tmnk belonging tu the 
 new young gentleman, were shown into his 
 room, handled the future ornaments for the 
 carpenter's store-room, and trudged merrily 
 along to the boat, the coxswain remaining to 
 show Murray the way to the Fountain, where 
 Hammerton awaited his arrival. 
 
 Things were in this train, the trunk on one 
 tack and the owner on the other, when the 
 bell of the captain"'s room rang. When the 
 servant entered, he was asked if the yomig 
 gentlemen had gone on board. The waiter an- 
 swered, that one had left the hotel and sent 
 some of the gig's crew up ; but that the other 
 was waiting for his carriage, to which he had 
 ordered four horses. 
 
 " This," said the tyrant captain, " is some 
 trick of your other youngster. Barker : he has 
 persuaded this young colt that he must drive 
 to your gig in his carriage, and some fun 
 will come out of this."" 
 
 " Yes," said Barker, " likely enough ; but 
 I think it rather unfair on his father, who will 
 have to pay for the frolic ; and although I
 
 84 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 like frolics as much as any one, yet I think 
 they might break in the youngster at a more 
 reasonable expense. I must put a stop to this. 
 — Tell the landlord to come here." 
 
 Up came Boniface, who had been arguing 
 a point on which there was much difference ; 
 the landlord desiring to be paid for the dinner 
 ordered, though not consumed ; the others — for 
 Benjamin and Murray both agreed in saving the 
 money — holding that people never paid for things 
 of which they had not partaken. Whilst this 
 was in dispute, the waiter came and told his 
 master he was wanted. Without, therefore, 
 coming to a conclusion, the landlord desired his 
 auditors to await his return, and attended the 
 summons of the captains, whom he knew to be 
 impatient gentlemen, and men who liked to see 
 all orders promptly obeyed. If Murray's love 
 of money had not been uppermost for the 
 moment, he would have had a clear start : 
 the moments he lost in disputing with the 
 waiter proved fatal to his scheme. 
 
 Barker asked about the horses ; and, to his 
 astonishment, he learnt that the young gentle-
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 85 
 
 uimi was about to return to town. He desired 
 the carriage might not be allowed to leave, and 
 that the young wanderer should be sent to him. 
 Down came Bonifoce just in time to meet the 
 waiter : " All right, sir," said the latter ; " here 's 
 the money : gentleman 's gone, horses paid, 
 and all settled." Barker had followed the 
 landlord, and hearing this, ran without his 
 hat, at once steering for the gate, Boniface 
 puffing and blowing behind him like a broken- 
 winded horse.
 
 86 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Mid'sjii'st night afloat. 
 
 There was scarcely time for the captain to 
 recover his breath, before the clatter of the car- 
 riage was heard, and the landlord stood ready 
 to prevent the progress of the postilions. 
 " Stop, Thomas !" he bawled out directly they 
 were within hail ; but Murray,fearful of some 
 recovery of his person, called out, " Don't 
 stop for anything or anybody, and 1 11 pay 
 you handsomely." But Thomas knew the 
 voice and the portly fig-ure of his master, and 
 pulled up in obedience to the order. Out 
 popped Murray's head ; and the first thing 
 he saw was his captain. In one moment 
 he was handed out ; the captain took charge
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 87 
 
 of the truant midshipman, and without say- 
 ing a word to the servant, or taking the 
 least notice of the capers of the postiHons, he 
 walked off with the youngster, got his hat at 
 the inn, and, calling his coxswain, saw Murray 
 into the gig, desired the crew to shove off, 
 and merely said, " Tiller, tell Mr. Garnet to 
 see that young gentleman made comfortable. " 
 At this moment, Hammertou came running 
 down to Sally-Port : seeing the captain, he 
 turned short round, ran down to the Point, 
 popped into a boat, and away he went on 
 board. The gig's crew took it easily, talk- 
 ing as they pulled ; to them time was indif- 
 ferent. A light flaw of wind coming off", they 
 shipped the mast, hoisted the sail, and then 
 lolled on the thwarts. Murray was in a 
 sea of wonder : they took no more notice of 
 liim than they would of a dog ; the only ob- 
 ject they had in view, was to spin out the 
 time until all duty was done on board and the 
 hammocks piped down. 
 
 Old Benjamin having paid for the four
 
 88 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 horses, went in that dignified manner the first 
 stage, and then lazily continued his route, ar- 
 riving in London the next morning. Ham- 
 merton concluded something was wrong and 
 was anxious to repair it ; his chance was to 
 overtake the gig ; and the two boatmen pull- 
 ed heartily on the promise of extra pay, and 
 a glass of that villanous stuff which, whilst 
 it exhilarates, poisons the blood. They soon 
 got sight of the white lug-sail, and it was not 
 long before the coxswain heard, " Gig ahoy !" 
 In a moment every man was upright in his 
 place ; the oars were out in a second, the sail 
 lowered, the mast unshipped, and the boat's 
 head pulled round. Hammerton jumped on 
 board; and, taking no notice of Murray, 
 sat down, seized hold of the yoke-lines, and 
 said, " Give way, my lads." Even Murray, 
 who was brooding over his capture, was sensi- 
 ble of a great difference : the increased labour 
 of the men, the silence which was observed, 
 the steady manner in which they plied the oars, 
 was sufficient to show him the respect which 
 was paid to his companion, and which had been
 
 TIIK ARETHUSA. 89 
 
 neglected towards him. " Boat ahoy !" was 
 now heard. " No, no,'' was answered. — "Are 
 you coming here .''"" " Yes." 
 
 The 'men now pulled harder, the bow-oar 
 was laid in, and Murray was alongside the 
 Tribune. Hammerton sprang up the side, say- 
 ing, "Hand up that youngster, Tiller," as if 
 he had been a pig or a box ; but Murray, active 
 by nature, caught hold of the side-ropes, and, 
 much to the astonishment of Tiller, who was 
 ready to assist him, was on deck much 
 quicker than almost any other youngster who 
 thus made his first step on board a man-of-war. 
 Hammerton, who knew that when the captain 
 came on board he should in all probability get a 
 lecture fo'r allowing Murray to give him the 
 slip and for losing sight of his convoy, began 
 to tame his refractory messmate before he could 
 recover his astonishment at the first sight of 
 a frigate. 
 
 " Take your hat off when you come on his 
 Majesty's quarter-deck," he began ; and suit- 
 ing his action to the word, he knocked it off; 
 and then the natural ofoodness of his heart
 
 90 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 returning, he told one of the side-boys to pick 
 it up, and said in a mild manner, " I only 
 did that, IMurray, to remind you that for the 
 futm'e you must never come on the quarter- 
 deck without that mark of respect. You will 
 remember my way of giving the hint until 
 you get so used to do it, that when you come 
 on deck in the middle of the night, yom* finger 
 will go up to your hat as mechanically as a 
 watch goes. But I must be off to the first lieu- 
 tenant. Here, Weazel," continued he, calling 
 another youngster, who was supposed to be keep- 
 ing watch, which means dozing over the gang- 
 way, "look after Mr. Murray until I come 
 back, and take care he does not fall down 
 the hatchway." 
 
 Weazel was one of those sly young gentle- 
 men who sleep with one eye open, and, like 
 all youngsters of that day, was fond of tor- 
 menting a Johnny Newcome. The very idea 
 of having something to do was pleasant to 
 him ; for there is no greater difficulty than 
 keeping one's eyes open when there is no duty 
 to perform. Weazel made a kind of bob of
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 91 
 
 the head, which was not noticed by Murray ; 
 tor WeazeFs dress, a round dirty jacket, a large 
 pair of Fkishing trousers, and a glazed hat, 
 were not very likely to strike Murray \\ith 
 admiration. 
 
 " Come to join the ship ?" said Weazel. 
 " I am," replied IMurray. 
 " Are your traps on board ?" 
 Murray answered, that " He had no traps 
 which he knew oV 
 
 " No traps !" re-echoed Weazel : " what ! are 
 you one of the wash-and-wear boys — is all 
 your kit in a worsted stocking ? or are you 
 like the marine who had only two shirts and 
 made six of them ?" 
 
 " I dare' say," replied INlurray, " that I have 
 shirts enough, — but should have no objection 
 to know the secret how to make two into six." 
 " You are a precious greenhorn, I see," 
 continued Weazel. " Why, this way to be 
 sure : — If you have two shirts, you have one 
 on and one off, one dirty and one clean, one 
 wet and one dry, — and there are six of them. 
 Did you bring your bed with you ?"
 
 92 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Mifrray looked at liim with surprise, and 
 said, " I suppose I have money enough to pay 
 for my bed and my room also." 
 
 " That 's true enough," replied Weazel ; 
 " but you must know where to buy them. 
 Here, quartermaster, take this gentleman to 
 the gunner's yeoman," (and he conveyed his 
 meaning to the old sailor by a sly look,) " and 
 ask him if he has a bed to spare, and show 
 this gentleman into a decent room with white 
 curtains and a mahogany washhand-stand." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," said the quartermaster : 
 " This way, sir, if you please ;" and he was 
 directing Murray forward when Hammerton 
 came on deck and called him. 
 
 " Where are you bound to, Murray ?" asked 
 Hammerton. 
 
 " I was going with this gentleman," said 
 Murray with great simplicity, " in order to 
 see my room and my bed." 
 
 "What ! Weazel," said Hammerton, " getting 
 him into a line before he has been five minutes 
 on board !" and he burst out laughing at the 
 answer of Murray, who evidently considered
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. ya 
 
 a ship as a floating iiin, where acfommo- 
 dations might be had by paying for the 
 same. 
 
 " Follow me, Murray," said Hammerton ; 
 and forthwith he led the way down the com- 
 panion, saying to Weazel, " Let him rest to- 
 night, and to-morrow we will give him such 
 a run that we will break the neck of his pride 
 and make a jolly fellow of him." 
 
 " Hulloa !" said Weazel, who was quite a 
 youngster ; " what, pass the oflficer of the 
 watch without saluting him ! I tell you \vhat 
 it is, young gentleman," continued the little 
 scamp, " if you are guilty of such disrespectful 
 behaviour, I shall perch you at the masthead 
 to look for the wind. Go down, sir, — follow 
 that gentleman, sir, and take care to behave 
 better in future." 
 
 Even the old quartermaster could not help 
 laughing, and Hammerton's titter was plainly 
 heard below, Weazel had drauai himself up 
 as straight as a boarding -pike, and imitated 
 one of the lieutenants in repeating the very 
 words which had been applied to himself not
 
 94 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 a fortnight before. Hammerton led the deject- 
 ed Murray to the steerage : his visions of Uberty 
 had flown — Hammertou's words in the carriage 
 had ah-eady been verified, and instead of one 
 tyrant he saw himself surrounded by dozens. 
 
 " Here 's a youngster come to join the ship/' 
 said Hammerton as he entered the starboard 
 berth of the Tribune : " the first lieutenant 
 has told me he is to mess with us, and the 
 captain says we are to make him comfort- 
 able." 
 
 All eyes, even those which had been directed 
 to a cribbage-board where two of the elder 
 midshipmen were playing, were raised towards 
 him : one midshipman, who was busy in playing 
 over some wretched air on a still more wretch- 
 ed flute, just lifted his glance from the old 
 thumbed music before him ; and three or four 
 who were playing blind hookey gave a squint 
 and continued the game. A miserable candle, 
 something between a dip and a rushlight, bare- 
 ly sufficed to show him who had left all luxury 
 behind the nature of his dreary abode, and 
 Murray almost wished himself again on deck
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 9o 
 
 with Weazol to go in search of the dimity- 
 curtained bed-room. 
 
 ." Sit down, Murray, and we "11 have some 
 supper." 
 
 " Avaust there, boy," said the caterer ; 
 "supper's done; and it's against the rules 
 of the mess for those who have been on leave 
 to have any when they return. But stop, as 
 Mr. ]\Iurray 's a stranger, we '11 break through 
 the rule." 
 
 In a few minutes there was placed on the 
 table a japanned basket, rather the worse for 
 wear, in which was some biscuit ; and close by 
 its side was a piece of cheese which looked as 
 if all the rats in the ship had been pecking 
 at it : a black jack of swipes completed the 
 display, and the fastidious Mr. Murray was told 
 to fall to with what appetite he had. Ham- 
 merton gave directions as to a hammock, and 
 then it was ascertained that the good man to 
 whom Sir Hector had entrusted the outfit had 
 omitted the bed. A mattress and some purser's 
 blankets were spread upon the deck, and this 
 deliohtful retreat from care was voted ready
 
 96 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 for its tenant. In the mean time Murray's 
 minrl was undergoing a rapid change: he saw 
 his position ; he knew it was useless to swim 
 against the stream, and swallowing his pride, 
 although he could not screw up his courage to 
 swallow the swipes, he assumed a look of more 
 contentment ; and when Hammerton returned, 
 he entered into some conversation, giving an ac- 
 count of his attempted escape, with the unex- 
 pected interposition of the captain. This was 
 not altogether very pleasant to Hammerton, for 
 he knew that Murray had been placed under 
 his care, and that it was needless to conjure up 
 excuses when no excuse in the least degree 
 satisfactory could be made : like a wise young 
 man, he was convinced it was of no use to 
 annoy himself about the past, and as he 
 could not dive into futurity, he made a com- 
 promise with his memory not to bother him, 
 and ]if' began to ask all the news since he 
 had left — mentioned the orders he had brought 
 on board — and thus the time crept on until the 
 master-at-arms popped his unwelcome head in
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 97 
 
 the berth, saylni;, " Nine oVlock, gentlemen ; 
 please to put the light out." 
 
 The lanteni was borrowed, and Murray was 
 conducted to his bed. He looked at it with 
 no small surprise : it was impossible tor him to 
 disguise his disgust, and it was not until then 
 that the pride of the haughty boy gave way. 
 He who could have brooked anything rather 
 than show himself conquered, was now com- 
 pletely subdued ; and as he hiy down, without 
 undressing, on the bed, more than one tear 
 started from his eyes. Hammerton saAv this, 
 promised to make him more comfortable the 
 next niofht, advised him to turn in reLrularlv. 
 and finding that his presence only made the 
 matter worse, wished him good night, and, like 
 a mule-driver in South America, rolled himself 
 up in his scanty bed, and was soon in a sound 
 sleep. 
 
 Mr. WeazeFs love of mischief now began to 
 show itself. " It would be capital fun just to 
 cut down the Johnny Newcome by the feet," 
 said this urchin ; "■ that would not hurt him, and 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 in all probability would do him much good ; as 
 he would get accustomed to tricing up his own 
 hammock, and thus receive one salutary lesson 
 before the ship sailed." 
 
 The officer of the watch, the ship being 
 moored and all boats hoisted up, considered 
 himself entitled to a nap ; so, looking round 
 to see that all was right and quiet, he desired 
 the mate of the watch to call him at six bells, 
 at which time the tide changed, to keep a good 
 look-out and not allow any shore-boats to come 
 near the ship, after which directions he went 
 below. When he was supposed to be asleep, 
 the mate called Weazel, who had been stretch- 
 ed out on the signal-lockers, one eye shut and 
 the other stargazing, and repeating the words 
 of the lieutenant, he also went below out of 
 the cold, rolled himself up in a cloak, and 
 closed his eyes in forgetfulness. Weazel, who 
 did not care about sleep but j^referred fun, 
 now called the quartermaster ; the same orders 
 were given to him, with directions that if he 
 (Weazel) should not come up before five bells, 
 to take care and give him a hail ; upon which
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 99 
 
 lie went below, leaving the rough old sailor to 
 look out for the ship, which he did by goiug 
 ta the signal-lockers and bringing himself to an 
 anchor on them. 
 
 As the bell struck four, the "All's welP 
 went round the ship, the sentries walked the 
 gangways, and the old quartermaster, who had 
 been in Howe's action, began running up the log 
 of his memory, every now and then humming 
 a bit of a stave which grew less and less in 
 sound and in length, until it subsided into some- 
 thing very like a snore ; and thus his Majesty's 
 ship the Tribune floated on the waters at Spit- 
 head with only four or five marines awake, all 
 the rest, with the exception of Weazel, being 
 snug enough below, fast asleep and likely so 
 to remain. 
 
 Weazel now got down to the steerage ; 
 the sentry was leaning against the after-bulk- 
 head so nearly asleep as not to heed him ; and 
 whilst the young scamp was groping his way 
 to find out his victim's berth, he fell over 
 something on the deck and tumbled alongside 
 of Murray. The proud boy had just dozed 
 
 F 2
 
 100 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 off, and had fallen into incoherent dreams. The 
 tawdry servants of Grosvenor-square were stand- 
 ing ready to receive their young master ; the 
 w^arm hall was a welcome from the cold with- 
 out ; the rich repast tempted even the half- 
 cloyed appetite of the spoilt boy ; the spacious 
 bed- room, the clean furniture, the comforts of 
 life — all won him to repose. Anon came the 
 rumbling of carriages — Hammerton's figure 
 — the captain's sudden appearance — a faint 
 glimpse of the features of Boniface and his 
 waiters ; and then the wit, even in sleep, which 
 prompted the thought — " Curse your chattering 
 waiters ! no waiters are worth a straw but tide- 
 waiters and dumb-waiters : had this rascal been 
 dumb, I should have been back again." The 
 tyrant captain's words and proposed works 
 came across his recollection with a cold shiver ; 
 he had mentioned flogging — pride turned away 
 at the word ; — he was on the waters, the boat 
 lazily pursuing its way : then came the shud- 
 der as the bread-basket and blackjack darkly 
 j)ictured themselves in the foreground ; and as 
 the ideas got more confused, the black jack
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 101 
 
 mixed itself up with the captain's face. At the 
 moment when the bread-basket seemed to dance 
 a- well-bred caper with Hammerton, Weazel's 
 toes came in contact with the pillow, and he 
 rolled over the fallen boy, himself falling with 
 his nose against Murray's thick shoes, the one 
 rousing up at the sudden intrusion, the latter 
 letting out a few words more frequently in the 
 mouths of midshipmen than in the pages offered 
 to the public. When the first volley of excla- 
 mations had escaped Weazel, he thought of his 
 fallen dignity, and assumed the officer, forget- 
 ting that he had been left on deck to look after 
 the ship. " Hulloa ! sentry, bring your light 
 here. Who is this fellow lying about the decks 
 with his clothes on ? — send for the master-at- 
 arms. Who the devil are you ? — rouse up. 
 Why, you are as hard to weigh as the best 
 bower, and rigged in dock too like a Liverpool 
 ship !" 
 
 Poor Murray, unused to such ungentle intru- 
 sions, remained flat, for he still thought himself 
 in a bed ; then, having the intention of getting 
 out, he found he had only to get up. He rub-
 
 102 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 bed his eyes, astounded at finding a lantern 
 poked into his face, and was so much sur- 
 prised at seeing a soldier close alongside of 
 him, that he could only say, " Where am I ?'"' 
 
 " Where are you ?" replied Weazel : " why, 
 where you have no business to be ! Don't you 
 know the orders that no person is to lie about 
 the decks, and no one to turn in all standing 
 like a trooper's horse ? — Oh," continued the 
 young scamp, who pretended just to discover the 
 mistake, " it ""s you, is it, Mr. Murray ? Ham- 
 merton ought to have mentioned this. But go 
 to bed ; I hope you may not be disturbed 
 again : but you must take your clothes off; 
 why, to-morrow you '11 look like a walking 
 blanket ! Sentry, lend Mr. Murray a hand to 
 unrig himself, and take care how you lift his 
 stays — good night !" and away went this urchin 
 on deck again, full of mischief as an egg is of 
 meat. He knew from his own practice that 
 the quartermaster would take a calk, and being 
 balked in his cruise below, he was resolved to 
 make it up upon some one. Very gingerly 
 he stepped on deck. Not a sound was to
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 103 
 
 be heard : the sentries thouj,'lit it better to 
 be posts than to walk their posts, so they 
 were on each side lolhng over the gang-ways. 
 The quartermaster's nose announced his situa- 
 tion, and forthwith Weazel stepped towards 
 liim. The okl fellow seemed to know that he 
 had no right to sleep, and talked a little in 
 his dreams, as if to prove that he was not 
 quite in slumber, and thus he betrayed his 
 thoughts, and perhaps what he remembered 
 with most pride :— " 29th May 1794," he be- 
 gan, then came a slight snore — " starboard tack 
 — double-reefed topsails" — snore again — "led 
 through the French line — touching up the 
 Montague, and think I hear the admiral now 
 giving orders to set the top-gallant sails — signal 
 up for close action" — snore — " slapped at it — 
 saw PoUyJones handing the powder, gallant crea- 
 ture ! — fire away, lads" — snore. At this mo- 
 ment, when the old fellow was in the middle of 
 the action, Mr. Weazel lifted up the quartermas- 
 ter's legs, gave him a haul, and down slipped the 
 warrior from the signal-lockers, making sundry 
 most uncomfortable noises with his head against
 
 104 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 the brim, and landing on his stem on the 
 quarter-deck. " Run aboard of us, by the 
 piper !" said he ; and up he jumped Uke a lamp- 
 lighter. 
 
 " Fast asleep, eh !" began Weazel : " a very 
 pretty fellow you are to be trusted !" 
 
 The old fellow rubbed his head, got his hat 
 on again, and coolly answered, " Why, Mr. 
 Weazel, if you had been on deck, I should 
 not have shut my eyes in order to rub up that 
 battle." 
 
 In the mean time the sentries were all walk- 
 ing about again, and his Majesty's ship had a 
 watch. 
 
 " Hold your tongue, if you please," conti- 
 nued Weazel, " and don't speak until you are 
 spoken to. Get me a small fish-hook some- 
 where : trot, and look sharp." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said the old fellow, who took 
 the joke in good part, although he was none 
 the better for the stern-board he had made — 
 or, as Weazel said, " for having gone down 
 by the stern so fast." And jumping below 
 to his berth, he soon returned with a macka-
 
 TtlE ARETHUSA. 105 
 
 rel-hook which he happened to liave in his 
 hag. 
 
 ' " Here 's one, Mr. Weazel," said he on his 
 return, "that will hold any fish you'll catcli 
 to-night." 
 
 " Ay," said Weazel, " that 's a good one : run 
 and get a long, stout ropeyarn." This was 
 soon managed ; and the gentleman, who had 
 studied the art of tormenting thoroughly, fast- 
 ened the yarn to the hook, and saying, " Now 
 see if you can't forget Lord Howe for once 
 and keep your eyes open," down went the 
 youngster to carry on his fun. 
 
 He had now got the bearinofs and distance of 
 his victim, and went to work quite sure of suc- 
 cess ; whilst Hammerton, who had roused up in 
 consequence of the noise occasioned by Weazel's 
 fall over Murray, had waited until the mischiev- 
 ous elf had returned on deck, and knowing that 
 he Avould pursue his frolic, told Murray to 
 change beds with him ; and with much care 
 and kindness he put the youngster into his 
 hammock, tucked him up, and not minding 
 the want of sheets himself, for he was used 
 
 F 5
 
 106 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 to all rough work, he lay down on the deck, 
 and imitated the precaution of Mr. Weazel, — 
 which was to keep one eye open, twisting up 
 his handkerchief, and keeping all ready for 
 action. Weazel was soon at work, and Ham- 
 merton saw him fasten the hook to the blanket. 
 Weazel then retired the length of the rope- 
 yarn, and in a minute afterwards away went 
 the blanket, and away went Weazel ; he was 
 up the hatchway, on the main-deck blanket 
 and all in a second. 
 
 " Well done, Master Weazel I" said Ham- 
 merton ; " but I '11 pay you off in your own 
 coin !" So he leisurely walked to WeazeFs ham- 
 mock, and taking therefrom a blanket, rolled 
 himself up in another, leaving WeazePs all loose 
 for another haul. Weazel was soon down 
 again and up again, having made another 
 successful cruise and stowed both blankets 
 away in the stern-boat. Hammerton took ano- 
 ther from the same place ; and five bells hav- 
 ing struck, the mate of the watch was roused 
 and all offensive operations stopped. At six 
 bells, with the change of the tide, came two
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 107 
 
 very unwished-for companions, — tlic officer of 
 the watch and a heavy fall of rain. The wind 
 came off the land, veering about ; and the of- 
 ficer of the watch, the mate, and Weazel, all 
 took shelter under the heavy canopy of heaven. 
 When the lieutenant was on deck, all eyes 
 were open ; he asked the mate what weather 
 they had had since four bells, and the mate 
 responded as if he had been watching in 
 reality. 
 
 The breeze and the rain freshened towards 
 midnidit ; and when Weazel was relieved and 
 went below, there were too many eyes open 
 for any more of his frolics. A minute was 
 ample time for him to get into his hammock ; 
 and a sixtieth part of that time was sufficient to 
 convince him that his blankets were on a cruise. 
 Out he turned, and directed his operations 
 towards his supposed victim. Hammerton was 
 on the look-out for this ; and when Mr. Weazel 
 began to uncover him, he started up and ad- 
 ministered such a flagellation as kept him \\ arm 
 for some time, and when Weazel was nearly 
 asleep — for it was doubtful if he ever was so
 
 108 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 much off his guard as to shut both eyes at 
 once, — he was welcomed by the arrival of the 
 two soaking blankets, thrown over him, and 
 mingling their dewy drops with the before dry 
 bedding. 
 
 This httle anecdote is related principally as 
 it was the means of bringing Murray forward 
 in a prominent manner next morning.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 109 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A Pugilistic encounter. — The Tribune under weigh. 
 
 The morning of the 16th of September was 
 ushered in by a sweet squall from the south- 
 west ; the rain fell in torrents, and his Majesty's 
 ship Tribune presented about as miserable a 
 picture of happiness as the imagination of a 
 man beaten down by blue devils and under 
 the infernal torments of a headache could 
 fancy. The thick haze of the morning, the 
 dirt which in newly- fitted-out ships is excessive 
 — the wet, the dreary dulness of that morning 
 struck a chill upon Walter. Glad to escape 
 from his WTetchedness below, for the gratings 
 had been placed on the hatchways to prevent 
 the wet from reaching the lower deck, and 
 two hundred and fiftv men had, until five
 
 110 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 o'clock in the morning, if not totally exhausted, 
 rendered the air below very unlike the cool 
 breeze which blows pure over a snowy moun- 
 tain — he tumbled out of his swinging bed upon 
 a wet swab which the prudent solicitude of Mr. 
 Weazel had provided in case any accident 
 might occur to his victim during his first night's 
 uncomfortable slumber on board. It was placed 
 as a convenient mat, and, fortunately, was used 
 before his feet were covered with stockings. 
 To this succeeded the horrors of a first toilette 
 in the steerage of a frigate, and the mortifi- 
 cation of a wilful boy who suddenly finds that 
 by his own folly he has relinquished the com- 
 forts for the miseries of life. It is in vain 
 to paint this picture ; no one can express how 
 severely the mind may be wounded, and what 
 an effort it requires to conceal the sufferings. 
 Walter was no boy to cry amongst boys — his 
 pride forbad it. He had felt abashed in the 
 presence of his captain, and he could have 
 cheerfully stood the rebuke which occasioned 
 it had he been prepared : taken unawares, 
 he was unable to resist the first impulse of
 
 THE ARETHUSA. Ill 
 
 Nature, and she was victorious. Now he was 
 on his guard; and when Weazel, in kindly 
 offering to place his basin in a better position, 
 capsized it over the half-clad son of Sir Hector, 
 the midshipman of one night showed himself 
 capable of revenging an insult by striking his 
 tormentor a most undeniable blow on the nose. 
 The basin was dropped in a moment, Weazel 
 was stripped for a fight, and the first round had 
 been fought before Hammerton had time to 
 interpose. 
 
 " Murray," Hammerton began, " this must 
 not be ; it 's against all regulations." 
 
 " He struck me," said Weazel, " and I will 
 have satisfaction." 
 
 "Certainly, certainly," said half a dozen 
 youngsters, who were always ready for some 
 fun. " A ring ! fair play 's a jewel ! Mr. 
 Long Togs is not going to come Captain Grand 
 over Weazel ; and if Hammerton interferes, 
 we will soon get an oldster on our side to see 
 fair play. At him, Weazel !" 
 
 Weazel went at him directly ; and Murray, 
 who was by no means averse to the fight, more
 
 112 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 especially when he learnt all his antagonisfs 
 projected annoyance against him, received him 
 warmly : he stood head up boldly, and returned 
 more than blow for blow. The yoimgsters gene- 
 rally sided with their old messmate ; but, hke 
 gallant little fellows, they cheered on Walter, and 
 kept calling out, " Bravo, Greenhorn !'' " Now, 
 Long Togs !■" " Hurrah, young Hector !" And 
 whatever might be the probable result, either 
 for or against their inclination, it was a re- 
 gular stand-up fight — fair play and no favour- 
 Walter was soon discovered to be not only the 
 most scientific, but the strongest ; and Weazel, 
 after a visible change had come over his fea- 
 tures, hauled down his colours and surrender- 
 ed. Murray immediately stepped forward and 
 offered him his hand, which Weazel accepted, 
 saying, " I did my best ; but, confound your 
 school exercises ! you have more knowledge." 
 At once all angry feeling passed away ; it was 
 decided that Murray was the best man; and 
 although Weazel looked forward for another 
 more prosperous result, he in reahty became 
 
 1
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 113 
 
 the friend of his antagonist, and lent him all 
 the assistance in his power. 
 
 The very circumstance of a youngster not 
 fourteen hours on board the ship having fought 
 his first battle, and having bravely stood for- 
 ward against one who, to use a familiar ex- 
 pression, fought like a cock on his oAvn dung- 
 hill, served to exalt the victor much in the 
 eyes of his new messmates, and a more kindly 
 feeling was instantly showm towards him. Those 
 who knew AVeazel as their better man at once 
 seemed to acknowledge Murray as a superior ; 
 whilst those who were beyond liis reach were 
 not backward in their praises. Walter soon 
 found that to begin well is a great point ; and 
 he shrewdly enough considered that it was easy 
 to maintain a position carried against an in- 
 ferior force, and that the best way to calm 
 the anger of an opponent was by a generous 
 behaviour after the victory. 
 
 He dressed, and went on deck. 
 
 " Hulloa !" said the fii'st lieutenant, who was 
 as busy as fii'st lieutenants like to be, " who
 
 114 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 have we here with a swelled face and black 
 eve, out of uniform, and strutting about like 
 a peacock ? Who the devil are you, sir ?" 
 
 " I am Mr. Walter Murray, sir." 
 
 " Walter Murray, sir ?" reiterated the first 
 lieutenant ; " and how came you on deck in that 
 dress ? Come here, sir : pray what is the 
 matter with your face ? — you seem as if you 
 had been fighting." 
 
 " It was last night," replied Murray : "a 
 boy attacked me in the street, and I pxmished 
 him." 
 
 " 'Faith, youngster," replied Mr. Garnet, " he 
 seems to have punished you ! Where was Mr. 
 Hammerton when this happened .''" 
 
 " He was not with me, sir : it was before 
 he met us in the boat, when he came off in 
 the other boat." 
 
 " Why, what nonsense is this !" said the first 
 lieutenant. " Quartermaster, tell Mr. Ham- 
 merton I want him." 
 
 Murray now found that, from a generous wish 
 to save Mr. Weazel, he had involved his friend 
 and told his first falsehood. And he was right :
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 115 
 
 Hanimerton got a serious rebuke for having lost 
 sight of his charge, and having thus allowed 
 him to be attacked and perhaps plundered by 
 any dirty vagabond of a boy, or a more likely 
 prowler in the shape of a female pirate. In 
 saving himself by telling the truth, he impli- 
 cated Murray ; the whole affair came out, and 
 Mr. Garnet read Murray a lecture which ac- 
 corded well with the advice of Sir Hector. 
 Whilst he gave him credit for a proper spirit, 
 he rebuked him for the uugentlemauly ren- 
 contre ; and whilst he remarked upon the gene- 
 rosity of feeling wliich prompted him to save 
 his beaten antagonist, he deprecated the false- 
 hood by which it was done ; and gave Walter 
 clearly to understand that the next lie, wliite 
 or black, in which he detected him, should 
 be followed by a punishment as disgraceful as 
 it should be severe. 
 
 " Take him below, Mr. Hanimerton," he 
 continued ; " put him in his uniform : mind, he 
 is in your watch — to be stationed in the mizen- 
 top — one of the captain's aides-de-camp at quar- 
 ters — in the third division — and to have charge
 
 ^^^ THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 of the jolly-boat. Look after him, Hammerton, 
 and tell him in a kind manner that I shall teach 
 him to ride on the cross-trees if ever his tongue 
 gets the better of his heart.— Pass the mes- 
 senger below—turn the hands up—unmoor ship. 
 Carpenters! ship the bars! There — get out 
 of the way, youngster !" 
 
 In a minute JNIr. Walter Murray found him- 
 self stationed and quartered ; the orders given 
 for the first step towards removing him from his 
 native country ; himself already despised, his 
 talent at lying made evident, in a scrape with 
 his captain for having attempted to run away 
 without even facing the danger which he fancied 
 awaited him ; in awful subjection to those in 
 authority above him— in a hornet^s nest with 
 his equals, and as yet unheeded by his in- 
 feriors. 
 
 He was soon in harness, and again on deck. 
 Walter's mind was naturally active, and had it 
 not prompted him to use his curiosity, the close 
 smell below would have driven him on deck. 
 Here he found himself always in the way, as 
 intruders generally are,~called youngster by
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 117 
 
 the first lieutenant, and shoved about right and 
 left by all who approached him. "Pride will 
 have a fall," as the copy says ; and Murray, 
 like a sensible lad, allowed his pride to fall 
 without hurting himself. He seemed to shake 
 off all remembrance of home ; and when the 
 men stepped out, as they leant their weights 
 against the capstan-bars, to the tune of a fife 
 and drum, his heart beat lighter — his mind 
 felt easier. 
 
 No sooner was one anchor weighed, than 
 the messenger was shifted, and the ship hove 
 short upon the other cable ; and at this mo- 
 ment, when the bars were unshipped, the gig 
 returned on board M-ithout the captain. A note 
 was handed to the first lieutenant, who imme- 
 diately called out, " Get a gun ready forward ; — 
 quartermaster, convoy signal at the mast-head." 
 The gun was reported ready, and was fired as 
 the stop of the signal was broken. Walter 
 watched the harmless smoke as it curled over 
 the ship, and kept his eye fixed upon a ring 
 which retained its form although blown far 
 away to leeward, and which was occasioned
 
 118 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 by some grease having been placed round the 
 muzzle of the gun. Weazel, who was stationed 
 abaft, saw what Murray's eye was directed to, 
 and approaching him, said, " That is curious, 
 Murray." 
 
 " It is," replied Murray, " and I was puz- 
 zling my head to think how that ring is form- 
 ed of one part of the smoke, when the rest is 
 unattached and is blown away." 
 
 " God bless you !" said Weazel, " nothing so 
 easy to explain. That ring is where the shot 
 went through ; and if you want to see how it 
 is made, you have only to look into the gun 
 when they fire it off. The shot comes out 
 so quick, that it jams all the smoke together, 
 through which it passes and blows away the 
 rest. You have heard of the wind of a shot : 
 I 've known it upset a jolly-boat at a quarter 
 of a mile ; and last year, when we fired a 
 salute as the port-admiral passed the ship, the 
 old boy's wig was blown off, and the little hair 
 he had left on his head was turned black with 
 the smoke." 
 
 " It must be very dangerous," replied Murray,
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 119 
 
 still watching the ring, "to fire a shot amidst 
 such crowds of shipping. I wonder no one is 
 hurt." 
 
 " Wonder indeed !" replied Weazel ; " you'll 
 see by-and-bye how nicely our gunner can fire 
 a gun. What a family of daughters that man 
 has, to be sure ! If you want to see them, only 
 go and ask him for an introduction. Tell him 
 ' the first lieutenant desires him to fire another 
 gun, that you may see the shot come out.' Here, 
 quartermaster, just introduce Mr. Murray to 
 the gunner : he wishes to see his daughters." 
 
 "Shall I show him the one in the cabin 
 which you married the last cruise, Mr. Weazel ?" 
 said the knowing old sailor." 
 
 " Yes," said Weazel with indifference ; " and 
 I make no doubt Mr. Murray will soon be 
 as well acquainted with her as I am, and cut 
 me out in that quarter." 
 
 The design of the miscliievous Mr. Weazel 
 was, however, again frustrated, in consequence 
 of the appearance of Hammerton, who came 
 abaft in order to take Murray below, the 
 first lieutenant having given the order to pipe
 
 120 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 to breakfast. In the mean time the captains 
 from the different merchant ships came on 
 board for convoy instructions, and reported 
 their vessels ready for sea, receiving in reply 
 an order to unmoor ; for which purpose a general 
 signal was afterwards given by the fore-topsail of 
 the Tribune being loosed and another gun fired. 
 Active preparations were now going forward : 
 the women were all turned out of the ship ; 
 the shore-boats desired to shove off, although 
 many lingered round the frigate ; there was a 
 constant intercourse with the other ships ; and 
 about eleven o'clock the young gentlemen were 
 summoned to attend on deck, as the captain 
 was coming on board. 
 
 It has often been remarked, and with great 
 truth, that there is no respect more conspicuous 
 than that which is shown to a captain when 
 he is received on board his own ship ; neither 
 can any stranger witness a scene more likely 
 to impress him with the absolute power of 
 the little monarch afloat, than in the very proper 
 manifestation of respect so readily offered. It 
 was not lost upon Murray : it filled his mind
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 121 
 
 with ail .'iinl)ition to liave C4iml devotion paid 
 to himself — the hope of youth, which manhood 
 so seldom realises, broke upon him, and all the 
 Weazels in the world, with all the miseries 
 of the midshipmen of the time to which we 
 refer, could not at that moment have weaned 
 him from the Navy. 
 
 " Where is I\Ir. Murray ?" said the captain, 
 as soon as he had returned the salute of his 
 officers, and had spoken some words concerning 
 the outward appearance of the ship to the 
 first lieutenant. " Hoity toity !" said the ca[)- 
 tain, " what is this I see ! Pray, sir, with 
 whom have you been fighting .'''" 
 
 " With Mr. AVeazel," replied Murray. 
 
 " Where is that little scamp Weazel ?" 
 
 Mr. Weazel, who had heard the captain 
 ask for Murray, and \A'ho knew well enough 
 the probable consequence of having fought him 
 below, instantly ran over to another midship- 
 man, who was ordered to go on board one of 
 the convoy to give some instructions, and said, 
 " Thompson, the first lieutenant desires you 
 will attend below to the stowing" awav of the 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 ]22 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 boatswain's stores just come on board, and I am 
 to go round the convoy." Whereupon Thomp- 
 son dived below, glad enough to escape a driz- 
 zling rain, and Weazel got out of the ship 
 in order to let the captain''s rage subside a little 
 before he faced him. 
 
 " Mr. Weazel, sir," replied the midshipman 
 of the watch, "is just gone in the jolly-boat on 
 duty." 
 
 " That is a little scamp, that Weazel !" con- 
 tinued the captain ; " but I '11 make an of- 
 ficer and a gentleman of him yet. Mr. Mur- 
 ray, I am excessively displeased with you, 
 because I had hoped that from your situation 
 in life you would have been above such low 
 conduct. A gentleman indeed who drives up 
 to the George with four horses to his carriage, 
 twelve hours afterwards to be fighting like a 
 common chimney-sweep ! For shame, sir, for 
 shame ! Where ""s Mr. Hammerton ?" 
 
 " Here, sir," replied Hammerton. 
 
 " How came you, sir, last night to disobey 
 my orders ? Did I not tell you to take care of 
 this youngster, — not to lose sight of him, to
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 123 
 
 take him on board, and to deliver certain mes- 
 sages to the first lieutenant ?" 
 
 *^ Yes,, sir," replied Hammerton, " you 
 certainly did ; and I only left Mr. Murray 
 whilst he prepared his unpacked trunks to go 
 on board; and thinking some of the midship- 
 men might want a passage, I went to the Foun- 
 tain." 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you, Mr. Ham- 
 merton," interrupted the captain, " to make my 
 gig the midshipmen's passage-boat : I hope this 
 will not happen again. Take this youngster 
 under your charge. You know his failings ; 
 mind ! I look to you for their correction. If 
 I find him at any of his school-tricks here, 
 he shall not escape the proper punishment, nor 
 you my severest reproof. Why did you allow 
 this battle to take place ?" 
 
 " Mr. Murray struck Mr. Weazel, the blow- 
 was returned, and the mischief was done before 
 I could interfere." 
 
 " And pray who had the best of it ?" con- 
 tinued the captain. 
 
 " Mr. Murray, sir," replied Hammerton. 
 
 g2
 
 ]24 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 " Let me hear no more of it. — Mr. Rackum, 
 turn the hands up ! — up anchor !" 
 
 Mr. Rackum, the boatswam, wound his call, 
 and the tramp of the men followed the com- 
 mand. Immediately the bars were shipped, the 
 cable brought to the messenger, the order to 
 heave round given ; then the fife again struck 
 up, and in five minutes the Tribune was lying 
 at a short stay peak, and the signal was up for 
 the convoy to weigh. During this time Mr. 
 ^Veazel had got on board, and crept to his 
 station abaft the mizen-mast, where he kept 
 dodging the captain so as to keep out of sight. 
 " Loose sails !" was no sooner given as an order, 
 before Weazel made a run at the mizen-rigging, 
 and got safely housed in the top before the 
 captaiu had seen him. 
 
 " Ready forward !" said the first lieutenant ; 
 " ready on the main-topsail-yard ! ready abaft !" 
 
 " All ready !"" squeaked Weazel. 
 
 The captain looked aloft, directly he heard 
 the voice " Let fall sheet home !" The topsails 
 were shortly at the masthead ; the yards braced 
 for canting the ship to port ; the bars again
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 125 
 
 shipped ; the anclior aweigh catted, fished ; and 
 liis ^Jajesty's ship Tribune, under her three 
 topsails and jib, stood out towards St. Helen's, 
 her ensign and pendant blowing proudly out. 
 When clear of Spithead, the Tribune hovc-to. 
 liy this time every rope was in its place, flem- 
 ished down — excepting the clue garnets, wliich 
 were kept ready for running ; the watch called, 
 and onlv one boat alongside — that boat was 
 retained by the captain, in order to send some 
 letter by the nighfs post. 
 
 " ^Ir. Murray," he said as he descended the 
 companion, " have you written to your father ?"' 
 
 " No, sir," replied Murray. 
 
 " No, sir !" repeated the captain : " is it 
 possible that you have already forgotten his 
 injunctions .'' Come into my cabin, sir, and write 
 to him directly.*" 
 
 Murray went down ; and when the paper and 
 ink were placed before him, he kept biting the 
 end of the pen, not knowing how to begin. 
 
 " Have you done .'*" said the captain as he 
 took his eye off his own letter, yet continuing 
 to write.
 
 126 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 " I don"'t know, sir, what to say." 
 "You are not such a fool as that, Mr. Mur- 
 ray," repHed the captain. " Tell him you 
 have joined your ship — that your captain has 
 overlooked your first fault — that the ship is 
 under weigh for Halifax ; and give him some 
 general idea of your feelings since you have 
 been on board. Why, you have enough to 
 say to fill a ship*'s muster-book. Come, look 
 sharp — I shall not keep the boat for you ; and 
 mind, sir, I expect you to be ready when I 
 am." 
 
 The idea once given, Murray's own talent 
 supplied the rest, and he gave vent to his feel- 
 ings in the following letter, almost the first he 
 had ever written to his father, beyond the half- 
 yearly announcement of when the holidays were 
 to commence — a kind of up-and-down pleasur- 
 able toil, in which more paper is wasted and 
 more pens nibbed than in one day's hard work 
 in any ofiice in London. 
 
 " My dear Father, — I suppose Benjamin, 
 if he did not forget it on the road, told you
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 127 
 
 tliat I got safe to Portsmouth, and very nearly 
 got safe back again : the fact is, if that old 
 blockhead had moved his stumps properly, I 
 should now have been in Grosvenor-square, 
 wishing to be where I now am. The captain 
 has desired me to write to you ; so I do it, 
 although I have nothing to say, excepting that 
 I have already been in two rows — fought one 
 battle and got a dark eye, — but I beat my ad- 
 versary. I can't help telling you that I think 
 you have behaved very badly to me, and you 
 must have \vintten all about the business to the 
 captain ; for this morning, when he put me under 
 the care of that yellow-faced fellow Hammerton, 
 he said, ' If I find him at any of his school-tricks 
 here, he shall not escape the proper punish- 
 ment."' I think it very ill-natured of you, who 
 told me how much you had my interest at 
 heart, to have written this to the captain ; and 
 certainly, if you continue to write like this, 
 I know I shall never get over it, I hope you 
 are better, and that you will not forget me : 
 you had better direct your letters to Halifax — 
 that is the place the captain's are to be sent
 
 128 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 to. As to him, I think he is the worst-looking 
 man I ever saw : he speaks always as if he 
 were going to swallow one up ; and when he 
 comes on board we are all obliged to go upstairs 
 in the wet and take our hats off whilst he 
 comes up the side. He found fault with me, 
 Mr. Weazel, the boy I fought with, and Ham- 
 inerton, and then turned his hands up with the 
 boatswain : I don't like him at all. He is now 
 sitting opposite to me, every two minutes look- 
 ing up to see that 1 am writing, and he watches 
 me as if I was going to rob him. The boat 
 is waiting for this, and the captain has done 
 his letter, therefore I cannot tell you any more 
 news, because he won't let me : he savs the 
 boat shan't wait for any midshipman's scrawls. 
 If all your friends are like him and Hammer- 
 ton, I don't want to extend my acquaintance. 
 I am determined to do all I can to get sent 
 back again ; although I should like to be able 
 to find fault with everybody, and have every- 
 body take their hats off when they speak to 
 me. Your dutiful son, 
 
 Walter Murray."
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 129 
 
 " Have you finislied your letter ?" said the 
 captain. 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Walter as he folded it up. 
 
 " What have you told your father .''" con- 
 tinued the captain. 
 
 " Just what you told me, sir ; — that I was 
 on board, and that we were going to Nova 
 Scotia, and that he had better direct his letters 
 to Halifax." 
 
 " What did you say about me, sir .''"'' 
 
 Murray looked like a criminal as he an- 
 swered, " Nothing very particular, sir." 
 
 " Let me see the letter." Murray hesitated. 
 " Why, I don't want to read your rubbish, you 
 young suspicious monkey ! I want to add one 
 word to your old father, and tell him what / 
 think of ycu ; which, from what has happen- 
 ed, will not be the most flattering portrait 
 that I hope I shall be able to make of you ; 
 and if I fail, I can hand you over to Captain 
 C, that gentleman you had the pleasure of 
 meeting at dinner : if he cannot tame you, by 
 tlie powers ! you must be worse than an hyena." 
 
 G 5
 
 130 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 The captain took the letter, turned it back, 
 and added, 
 
 " Your son is a boy of high spirit, which 
 he has ah'eady proved ; he will do well enough 
 after the sea-sickness has moderated his bile. 
 I will take every care of him, and rest assur- 
 ed he shall write to you often. I have no 
 doubt, from Hammerton's account, that he will 
 like the life you have chosen for him : there 
 are always a few rough steps at first, but 
 when we get upon the level, the service is 
 smooth enough. We are now under sail. I 
 trust to hear better accounts of your health, 
 and to return after a prosperous trip about the 
 latter end of January." 
 
 The letter was folded, sealed, and sent ; 
 Captain Barker read his additions to Murray, 
 saying, " I have written just what I think of 
 you. Now, sir, take yourself off ! Ask Mr. 
 Hammerton about your station, and mind you 
 are always to be found in it. And here — 
 stop a minute — I have heard you are rather 
 addicted to telling lies. Now, as sure as I 
 catch you out in one — ay, of the most trivial
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 131 
 
 kind, — I will have you married before your 
 father's consent can arrive; and you may ask 
 Mr. Weazel to introduce you to one of the 
 gunner"'s daughters." 
 
 " He ottered," replied Murray with the most 
 innocent foce in the world, " to do it this morn- 
 ing, and sent one of the men to the gunner, sir, 
 to tell liim that I should be happy to make her 
 acquaintance." 
 
 The captain could not resist smiling, and 
 repHed, "His introduction will not signify so 
 much as mine. You will dine with me to-day. 
 Mind, I have forgiven your first fault : beware 
 of the second. Be oif !" 
 
 ^
 
 132 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Departure of the Fleet. — The first Dinner at the Captain's 
 
 table. 
 
 " Well," thought Murray as he got clear of 
 the cabin-door, " this is a strange kind of hfe 
 I have embarked in ! I hardly dare open my 
 mouth for fear of saying something wrong, and 
 I always appear to be in somebody's way. — 
 There, — thank you, sir, — I am very much 
 obliged to you for that !" said he, as a sailor 
 banged a wet swab across his stockings : the 
 fact is that Robert Dunlap was swabbing 
 the larboard side of the waist with his back 
 to the cabin-door, and as he lashed the swab 
 from side to side of him, he stepped backwards, 
 of course not seeing those behind him, who 
 ought to have kept clear of him. 
 
 " Begs your pardon, szV," said the sailor as
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 133 
 
 lie touched lils hair with his right hand ; " I 
 (hd not see you, «<>." 
 
 Somehow tliis Httle event was consolatory to 
 Murray'; there was evidently great respect in 
 the manner with which the man addressed him ; 
 and it* his pride had boon mortified before, it 
 received some soothing from the words of the 
 sailor. Shortly afterwards Murray went on deck. 
 The last boat had left, the main-topsail was 
 filled, and the ship, about two points oft* the 
 wind, was standing out from the land. The con- 
 voy were crowding all sail, and the Tribune re- 
 sembled the schoolmistress of a country village, 
 who sees ail her little ones walking before she 
 herself moves. Murray was standing abaft the 
 lee-side by the taftVail, \Aatching the town of 
 Portsmouth, which every moment grew less 
 and less to the eye. Before him was one large 
 world of water, into which he was rushing 
 apparently blindfolded ; whilst behind him grew 
 less and less in the distance all he knew of 
 life — of home — of happiness. Yet Walter shed 
 no tear : nor did he, boy as he was, look 
 forward with any fear as to the result ; he
 
 134 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 felt assured from what he had seen below that 
 he would always have fair play shown him, — 
 that Hammerton, whom he hated most cordially, 
 would not allow him to be ill-treated by those 
 stronger than himself, and for those who were 
 his equal in size and strength he was a match. 
 Still, however, he kept his eye upon the lessen- 
 ing shore, lost in a kind of pleasant meditation 
 which even the trifling motion of the ship had 
 not disturbed, until at last objects grew less 
 distinct and were forming themselves into one 
 long loom of land, — the town — the ships — the 
 shore, alike undistinguishable to the naked eye ; 
 and Murray had no telescope to bring objects 
 closer. 
 
 " Don't you dine with the captain to-day ?"" 
 said Weazel as he tapped Murray on the shoul- 
 der. 
 
 " Yes," said Murray, starting from his re- 
 verie. " Why ?" 
 
 " I only wanted to know if I could be of 
 any use to you : I mean, if you haven't got 
 your proper dress, I might be able to assist 
 you."
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 135 
 
 " I have got everything, I beUeve," said 
 Murray : " I suppose I have only to walk in 
 as I am." 
 
 " — lAnd then you will walk out agam im- 
 mediately. Why, you must go in full uni- 
 form ! A dinner on board a ship is a kind of 
 state aftair : in merchant ships they call it the 
 state cabin ; and in a frigate the captain is a 
 king, and always has proper respect shown 
 him. I suppose you have got your knee- 
 breeches and buckles ?" 
 
 Murray looked at his own legs, and smiled 
 as he said, " Why, Weazel, I fancy it would 
 be no common tailor to make knee-breeches 
 fit me !" 
 
 " Why, to be sure," said Weazel, " it would 
 
 puzzle a shore-going snip; but we have one 
 
 who will do it for you quickly enough. Let 's 
 
 see, — there 's four bells striking now." 
 
 " I only hear one bell," replied Murray. 
 
 " It is striking four times, and that means 
 
 two o'clock. At six bells the captain dines ; 
 
 vou will hear the drum beat : you must be 
 
 dressed in knee-breeches, silk stockings, buckles.
 
 136 THE ARETIIUSA. 
 
 a long coat, your cocked hat and sword, 
 your hair ]>owdered and dressed, and with 
 j-uffles to your sleeves. Have you got all those 
 things ?" 
 
 " Not one but the cocked hat and sword ; — 
 I may have a pair of silk stockings : but as 
 to the rest, I have seen them, to be sure, when 
 my father went to the Lord Mayor's feast ; but 
 for one of my age to have such things, it never 
 entered my head." 
 
 " Well, Murray, it's no use thinking about 
 it ; you must remedy the omission by using a 
 little despatch. Let me see, — there 's Strop the 
 ship's barber, he of course has hair-powder ; 
 if not, you can buy some — Scales always has 
 plenty of that. Then your confounded long 
 trousers, we had better look after that first ; 
 I'll send one of the mizen-top-men Avith you, 
 for I can't leave the deck — it is my watch : 
 do you go below, get out your best panta- 
 loons and give them to the lad ; I '11 tell him 
 to take them to the tailor, and get you fitted 
 out at once." 
 
 " Why," said Murray, " can't you lend me
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 137 
 
 a pair without altering mine ? yours would tit 
 me — you are just about the size." 
 
 " Very true," replied Weazel ; " I have a 
 pair, — I will send them to you : but now, look 
 sharp. Here, you Maxwell, show this gentle- 
 man to Mr. Rackunfs cabin ; and tell the 
 ship's barber he wants his hair curled and 
 jjowdered. Look sharp — down you go, Mur- 
 ray : attend to him, Maxwell, do you hear ?"" 
 
 Away went the unconscious Murray down 
 the after-companion ; whilst Maxwell, who had 
 received his lesson from Weazel when in the 
 mizen-top, jumped down the main-hatchway 
 and lodged Murray in Rackum's cabin ; tlie 
 boatswain being on deck, and not very likely 
 to leave it until they piped to supjjcr. When 
 Murray was shut in, away went Maxwell for 
 Strop ; but Weazel, always active when any 
 of his own fun was in the wind, had already 
 told the barber what he was to do, and the 
 man, like all seamen who enjoy the frolic of 
 having a greenhorn 171 a line, jumped down in 
 the steerage, and appeared with an old comb, 
 a pair of gaping scissors, and two pieces of
 
 138 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 rusty ramrods lashed together to represent 
 curhng-tongs. Murray tokl him to dress his 
 hair in the manner the other midshipmen wore 
 theirs when they dined with the captain. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said Strop. " Have you your 
 powder-box and a pufF, sir ?" 
 
 " No," said Murray, not willing to appear 
 ignorant of customs : " my foolish servant forgot 
 to send them. I sujipose you have some in 
 your shop for sale ?" 
 
 " Plenty, for the matter of that, sir, of puffs ; 
 but you must buy the powder at another place." 
 
 " Oh yes," interrupted Murray, " at Mr. 
 Scales's ; Mr. Weazel told me he sold powder : 
 can you show me the way ?" 
 
 " Certainly, sir," said Jack Strop, who ma- 
 naged to keep his countenance and act his part 
 uncommonly well : " this way if you please, sir, 
 — do^Ti this ladder, sir ; you will find him in 
 his shop." And forthwith Mr. Murray descend- 
 ed the after-ladder into the cockpit ; and there 
 he saw Mr. Scales sitting apjjarently at his shop 
 with a book in which he was writing, and to 
 all intents and purposes apparently a shop-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 139 
 
 keeper ; his store presenting, to the astonish- 
 ment of Murray, candles, sugar, raisins, and 
 divers other useful articles and comtstibles. 
 
 # 
 
 " HaA'e you any hair-powder for sale ?" said 
 Murray. 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied Scales (he had been 
 tutored by Weazel) : " how much do you 
 want ?" 
 
 " Only a small quantity," replied Murray, 
 " to dress my hair to-day." 
 
 " I always keep it in small parcels ; here 
 is a paper quite sufficient, sir, and by your 
 leave I will enter your name on my books — 
 we can settle the account another time." 
 
 Murray took the flour, thanked Mr. Scales for 
 his obliging attention, and returned to Rack- 
 um'*s cabin. Here he found Weazel, who had 
 brought in a pair of knee-breeches, and had 
 affixed two large sailor's silver buckles into the 
 shoes. 
 
 " Get your silk stockings, Murray," said 
 Weazel, " and get your loAver rigging up 
 before you decorate your mast-head. That 's 
 your sort — what a leg for a boot ! it 's lucky
 
 140 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 green is not in fashion, or the pigs might mis- 
 take them for cabbage-stalks ! Now then, 
 Strop, set to work : why, your curUng-tongs 
 are cold ! — five bells is gone this quarter of an 
 hour, and the roll has beat for the servants. 
 Well done, Murray, clap your legs well 
 through the breeches : now then for the shoes ! 
 Why, you look like an admiral ! — are you 
 any relation to Lord Howe ? That 's well done. 
 Strop ; you have made his head for all the world 
 like an overgrown cauliflower ; — that will do : 
 Mr. Murray will call at your shop and pay you 
 to-morrow ; you live in Tier-street, No. 20, 
 I believe ; — we won't forget. Now then for your 
 waistcoat ; — that 's beautiful ! Your coat ?" 
 
 " I have got no coat — I have only got a 
 coatee.'''' 
 
 " Well, on with that. There now — pull your 
 ruffles down. Here 's your sword : why, it 's 
 long enough to toast cheese at the galley-fire with- 
 out burning your fingers. And as a tojjper over 
 all, here ""s your three-cornered scraper : you 
 must carry that under your arm. — Let 's see,'' 
 continued Weazel, talking to allow the time to
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 141 
 
 creep on : — " Mind how you behave at dinner I 
 I know you are a man of high family ; but 
 it 's not every man who dines with kings. You 
 must never answer the captain — only bow, and 
 whatever he offers vou must take. — How do 
 you feel in your full dress ?" 
 
 " Why, I feel very much like a fool," said 
 Murray ; " and all I want to make myself 
 more ridiculous is a large nosegay, and then 
 I should be as much like one of the gilded don- 
 keys which dance round a jack-in-the-green on 
 May-day as needs be." 
 
 " I forgot the nosegay, Murray, or we might 
 have got one from the captain"'s garden in the 
 mizen-top. — There 's The Roast Beef! Now 
 run into the cabin, and never mind the men 
 looking at you ; — go right in, for sometimes the 
 midshipmen turn out to see how a new-comer 
 looks in full uniform. Now then, skim up the 
 after-hatchway, and mind what I told you." 
 
 Murrav, who had witnessed the great respect 
 paid by the first lieutenant, of whom he stood 
 in considerable awe, to the captain, and had 
 seen with his own eyes how all bowed to the
 
 14)2 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 king afloat, had never allowed it to enter his 
 mind that a boy like himself could be too ab- 
 surdly dressed ; and few can imagine who have 
 not themselves seen, how very ridiculous any 
 one looks in knee-breeches and buckles, and with 
 a short coat. He bustled up the after-hatch- 
 way, and never heeded the shout of laughter 
 by which he was assailed. The sentinel open- 
 ed the door with a wonderful grin upon his 
 countenance, and Mr. Murray stood in the 
 fore-cabin, the captain being in the after one 
 waiting for his guests. Hammerton was like- 
 wise invited, and was at that time inquiring 
 for Murray, when Weazel said in the most 
 innocent manner, " I believe he is gone up — 
 I think I saw him go up the after-hatchway 
 just now." 
 
 " Did you tell him," said Hammerton, " to 
 wait for the first lieutenant ?" 
 
 " No," said Weazel ; " I think he is too 
 great a nob to wait for any one ; but I suppose 
 he will smooth down, like the rest of us. 
 It's quite astonishing," said the young mid, 
 " how being elevated high above the quarter-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 143 
 
 deck makes a man wish for a more lowly 
 situation. There goes the first lieutenant/' 
 
 Hammerton followed his senior officer, taking 
 it for granted that Murray had gone before, 
 and arrived at the fore-cabin just as the 
 captain opened his door, and beheld the un- 
 fortunate victim of WeazePs malice, his first 
 lieutenant, and Hammerton, all at the same 
 moment. He immediately, although he could 
 not entirely command his countenance — turned 
 his eye towards Hammerton in order to ask 
 how this could be, and he privy to it. Ham- 
 merton, seeing his protege dressed in so ludi- 
 crous a style, could not restrain his laughter or 
 conceal his mortification : he merely said, " I 
 assure you, sir, I know nothing whatever of 
 this foolish business."" The first lieutenant gave 
 a look of reproach at the three servants, who 
 very soon saw it was possible to laugh the 
 wrong side of a face ; and the captain, with 
 that kindness which marked him through 
 life, taking no notice whatever of Hammer- 
 ton's remark, said, " Sit here, Mr. Murray,'"" 
 placing him on his right hand.
 
 144 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Murray knew something- was wrong ; for he 
 was quick enough to perceive the almost sup- 
 pressed titter, and to remark that Hammerton 
 and the first lieutenant neither had powder- 
 ed heads nor knee-breeches. The captain's 
 manner soon overcame his first shyness, and 
 Murray began to feel more at ease ; although, 
 whenever he caught the eye of any present, 
 he saw the broad grin which was over the 
 countenance. By degrees the captain wormed 
 out of Murray the author of the trick, and 
 the manner in which it had been carried on : 
 nor could they exactly blame Weazel, for the 
 joke was well conceived and happily executed ; 
 the manner in which it had been conducted — 
 the privacy of the boatswain's cabin so as to 
 keep others out of the secret, was a happy 
 thought ; but the simultaneous roar, which even 
 the captain's presence could not control, and 
 in which he joined, when Murray said that the 
 hairdresser lived at No. 20, Tier-street, and 
 that Mr. Scales had provided him with the hair- 
 powder, opened Murray's eyes to the tricks 
 which had been played him.
 
 THE ARETHUSA 145 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Night at Sea. — A Squall. — A Schooner upset, and the 
 consequences. 
 
 The captain was really not sorry for the 
 trick played upon his young midshipman : he 
 knew his character well, and foresaw that 
 the laugh this would occasion, would humble 
 the pride of the boy, and perhaps ultimately 
 do him more real service than Murray himself 
 was aware of. Hammerton knew that the 
 play was only begun, and that Mr. Weazel 
 would certainly be kind enough to have a full 
 attendance of midshipmen and men to welcome 
 the young courtier when he came out of the 
 cabin, that minute being pretty well known. 
 But here he was overreached by the captain, 
 who, when the first lieutenant retired, took 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Murray into his after-cabin, told him the trick 
 which had been played upon him, and recom- 
 mended him to take no notice whatever of 
 it, but to run below and change his dress, 
 when the hands were turned up — " reef top- 
 sails ;" and thus frustrated Mr. WeazeFs kind 
 intentions. The first lieutenant reported all 
 present and sober at quarters ; the order was 
 given for the signal to be hoisted for the convoy 
 to close round the commodore, and to take 
 one reef in the topsails. 
 
 " And now," said the captain as he heard 
 the men rush up the ladders when the boat- 
 swain turned the hands up, " do you run 
 below, and be quick : beat that flour out of 
 your head, put on the clothes you wore this 
 morning, and join in the laugh against yourself." 
 
 Down dived Mr. Murray ; but he soon found 
 that Weazel never slept over fun. The cap- 
 tain's kindness was almost frustrated by the boy ; 
 he was resolved to have a good laugh even if it 
 finished in a good thrashing, and he took care 
 to stow away Murray's dress. This, however.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 147 
 
 was soon remedied ; and as Weazel was desired 
 to remain at the mizen-topmast-head to count 
 the -convoy, although they were close alongside 
 the frigate, he had not the satisfaction of seeing 
 the consummation of his plan ; and one hour 
 before he was called down from iiis elevation, 
 Murray was rigged according to orders, and 
 was busy in making himself a sailor. 
 
 The night was nearly calm ; the frigate, 
 under easy sail, crept silently through the water 
 at the rate of a knot and a half, and the convoy 
 as silently followed the commodore. No sea 
 ran to sicken Murray with his new profession — 
 the stars were forth, and the moon shone beau- 
 tifully on the smooth water. In such mo- 
 ments there are thoughts which steal over us 
 and win us from ourselves ; and those A^ho 
 have braved longest the perils of a sailor's 
 life, feel most exquisitely the glory of the calm 
 night, when the stars are reflected in the vast 
 deep, and when the sea takes " the moods, and 
 wears the colours of her mistress — the skv." 
 He who first perils his existence on this mighty 
 
 H 2
 
 148 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 and immense mass of waters, — for, as Campbell 
 
 says, 
 
 " The eagle's vision cannot take it in ; 
 The lightning's wing, too weak to sweep its space, 
 Sinks half-way o'er it like a wearied bird ; — " 
 
 experiences a solemn feeling of awe, of wonder 
 — nay, often-times of fear. And yet, lost in 
 the very magnificence of this image of eternity 
 — this throne of the Invisible, man feels him- 
 self a prouder being, in the knowledge that 
 the science of his fellow-creatures has taught 
 him to explore its wondrous depths, — to steer 
 uninjured by rocks or islands through its 
 pathless desert, and to draw a higher and a 
 better notion of the glory and divinity of his 
 Maker by the never-ending wonders which are 
 presented to him. The poor in pocket and 
 in mind, condemned from youth to age to toil, 
 perhaps in the darkness of a mine, excavating 
 the ore, and returning when oppressed with 
 fatigue to the shed which serves him for shelter ; 
 the mechanic, who from daylight to dark con- 
 tinues his labour in one city ; the husbandman, 
 who ploughs the field and sows the seed, who
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 149 
 
 reaps the harvest and who stacks the hay, — 
 can never have that exalted notion of man, and 
 of man's works, as he whose whole life is one 
 scene of continued change ; who is associated to- 
 day with the dark, sulky negro of the Gold Coast, 
 — with the gay Frenchman to-morrow ; who sees 
 the pigmy race of Mexico or the giants of 
 Pataofonia, — much less can he form a just esti- 
 mate of the power of the Divinity. The won- 
 ders of creation are to be seen in the ocea)), 
 and in the stupendous mountains of the Andes, 
 or the still prouder Himalayas. It is in sights 
 like these that man is convinced of his own 
 insignificance, and yet of his own power : it 
 is when standing on the Andes, and seeing a 
 city like a speck, that he feels his vast inferi- 
 ority. But he becomes conscious of the great- 
 ness of his intellect when he measures the 
 heights above him with mathematical exactness, 
 or looks for the moment — the well-calculated 
 moment, when a comet shall return and be 
 visible. Oh ! the delight — the calm delight of 
 pondering on such sublimity, supported by the 
 still ocean ! when the mind, in harmony with
 
 350 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 the scene, calmly surveys the greatness of the 
 Avorks of God. 
 
 The Tribune was a thirty-six gun frigate, — 
 a small, compact, trim vessel. Her commander 
 was a man of sterling worth and tried experi- 
 ence ; and he was on the present occasion in- 
 trusted with the protection of a valuable con- 
 voy, bound, some to Quebec, and others to 
 Newfoundland. Her orders were comprised in 
 a few words, — " to see the convoy safe to its 
 destination, and to await further orders from 
 the admiral in Halifax." 
 
 There is no service so much detested by 
 active officers in command of frigates, as 
 that of counting every night and morning a 
 certain number of merchant vessels in which 
 they have no personal interest. The vigi- 
 lance required is excessive : the drudgery of 
 eternal signals to the slower sailers — the con- 
 stant reproof to the inattentive masters, who, 
 directly darkness allows an opportunity, edge 
 away to make a run, not liking to be detained 
 by their heavier companions, and anxious to 
 avail themselves of the first of the market to
 
 THE ARETHUSA. lol 
 
 which they are consigned — are everlasting. The 
 forecastle gun is always in requisition, and the 
 flags for the convoy to make more sail might 
 always be kept bent and ready for hoisting. 
 In war — and convoy frigates are useless ex- 
 cept during a war — that which is the constant 
 wish and thought of all must be relinquished. 
 No suspicious sail must entice the frigate from 
 her convoy : the sneaking schooner, edging p^'r- 
 haps toward the vessel fixrthest from the com- 
 modoi-e, may be chased, but not pursued ; she 
 may be scared away — not followed : and even 
 the rich Batavia-man — the ship nearly sinking 
 with wealth, must pass without obstruction, if 
 in seeking her detention the convoy are likely 
 to be run out of sight. Talk of patience ! place 
 a keen cruiser of a captain in a fast frigate with 
 a slow convoy, and if he keeps his temper more 
 than twenty-four hours, he will die of the effort 
 the minute afterwards. 
 
 Murray from day to day grew in seaman- 
 ship ; he liked it wonderfully. It is true his 
 never-sleeping annoyer had played him an- 
 other trick by sending him to Mr. Scales to
 
 152 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 buy a quadrant. Mr. Scales had none in his 
 shop, hut recommended him to Ropeyarn, the 
 boatswain''s yeoman, who was unfortunately 
 out of the article, but believed that the 
 gentleman could be supplied by Mr. Chips, 
 who kept a large carpenter's store and shop 
 near the fore-hold. Again, however, was he 
 to be disappointed : Mr. Chips had sold his last 
 to Mr. Weazel, but knew that Mr. Hand- 
 spike next door retained one. This, how- 
 ever, could not be sold without the consent of 
 the captain of the fore-top, Daniel Munroe, 
 Avho was to be found in his house, of which 
 his rank was the name, or in the garden which 
 surrounded the huge agave america which grew 
 from its centre. To mount the fore-rig- 
 ging was no easy undertaking, but Murray 
 persevered ; and as he nearly reached the 
 abode of the gentleman to whom he was des- 
 patched, he found himself lashed to the rigging, 
 only to be released by paying a certain sum, 
 which was to entitle him to free ingress and 
 egress to and from the above-named garden, 
 and give him the right of plucking and eating
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 153 
 
 any fruit he might find therein. The first step 
 made aloft soon prompted Murray, under the 
 encouragement of Hammerton, to use his be^;t 
 endeavours to reach the mast-head. The diHi- 
 culty once overcome, was succeeded by the 
 pleasurable sensation of surmounting a difficulty 
 and of getting forward in the service; — nay, in 
 spite of all the tricks of the youngsters, the 
 hardship of the life, the discomforts to which 
 the spoilt boy was subjected, he grew fond- 
 er and fonder of the service, and before the 
 first breeze and sea-sickness were over, ln' 
 had laughed at the prejudices of his youth, 
 and was always to be seen where the greatest 
 danger was to be encountered. 
 
 Boys of this stamp, however much addicted 
 to pecuniary meanness, always do Avell on board 
 a ship : they soon get the rough husk rubbed 
 off, and by associating with lads of spirit and 
 enterprise, partake a little of their companions' 
 feelings, and soon become well disposed towards 
 each other, and often establish friendships which 
 last through life. There was one person, how- 
 ever, who, kind and obliging as he was, Murray 
 
 H 5
 
 154 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 hated : this was Hammerton. The feehng was 
 engendered when he struck him, and became 
 rooted in his mind ^^'hen he heard himself placed 
 under his control ; — nay, the very patronising 
 manner which Murray imagined to be prac- 
 tised by Hammerton when he interfered to 
 stop a quarrel, or to thrust himself into it in 
 order to keep Murray out of it, was worm- 
 wood to the proud boy, who considered this 
 officious iutermeddler as a man supported by 
 his father, and whose family might be reduced 
 to beggary at the whim or caprice of Sir 
 Hector. 
 
 Murray controlled his feelings ; but the 
 hatred increased — the blow was never to be 
 forgotten ; and although others of the oldsters 
 pulled his ears or slapped his face, the injury 
 was forgotten when the pain was over: but 
 towards Hammerton he had quite a different 
 feeling. Time, instead of obliterating, only 
 strengthened his hatred ; — kindness, instead of 
 soothing this unfortunate disgust, only rendered 
 it more lasting, and rooted it more deeply. 
 Hammerton perceived it through the disguise
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 155 
 
 by which Murray attempted to conceal it ; and 
 not feeling any animosity against Murray, ami 
 being well aware that Sir Hector was his best 
 friend, — for from him alone had he any hopes 
 of advancement, whilst his father, mother, and 
 sisters subsisted upon the bounty of the baro- 
 net, — he would not allow himself to be deterred 
 in his endeavours to teach Murray his duty, 
 or slacken his kindness even when that kind- 
 ness was refused. Murray was in Hammer- 
 ton's watch. If it rained, Hammerton would 
 ask the lieutenant to allow Murray to go below ; 
 but the latter, with determined spite, would ra- 
 ther stand on the lee gangway, and catch every 
 drop which fell from the mainsail, than go 
 below. If the officer of the watch was soli- 
 cited, and gave him a hint to be off, he was 
 in his hammock a minute afterwards. Such 
 was his dislike to Hammerton, that he would 
 sacrifice personal comfort even when the favour 
 granted was one wliich was commonly accord- 
 ed to every youngster in the ship, rather than 
 accept it from him who was in reality his truest 
 friend. Such are the contradictions of human
 
 156 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 nature, that in many cases we would rather re- 
 ceive the poisoned cup from an enemy than the 
 most delicious nectar from our friend : it is a 
 blindness of heart from which we may well 
 earnestly desire to he delivered. 
 
 The Tribune had now been about a fort- 
 night at sea, when the morning- of the 2nd of 
 November dawned upon her. During these fif- 
 teen days the convoy had nearly reached the 
 Western Islands. Murray had overcome all 
 disposition to sea sickness, and was as much 
 of a sailor as his short apprenticeship would 
 allow. The clouds which at daylight began 
 to rise suddenly from the north-west soon 
 banked up heavily to leeward. At this time 
 the wind was in the south-east quarter, and 
 the convoy were going nearly before the wind ; 
 the frigate, under her topsails and foresail, 
 making and shortening sail occasionally to keep 
 close to her convoy. About seven oV-lock the 
 officer of the watch apprised Captain Barker 
 that the wind showed every disposition to shift 
 — that the scud aloft was going at a very con- 
 siderable rate towards the south-east, and that
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 157 
 
 a lieavy squall was browing aiioail. The signal 
 was instantly made for the convoy to shorten 
 sail. The foresail of the Tribune was haul- 
 ed up and a reef taken in the topsails. Every 
 preparation was made for the coming squall, 
 and finally the ship was brought to the wind 
 and hove-to. Several of the stcrnmost ships — 
 for in spite of the vigilance and attention of 
 the different officers of the watches, the convoy 
 was much separated and many ships far astern 
 — disregarded the signal, and still kept their 
 studding sails set in order to close the commo- 
 dore. Some who must have seen the approach- 
 ing breeze waited until it should arrive before 
 they set seriously to work to reef their top- 
 sails ; thus giving their crews about eight 
 times the labour they otherwise would have 
 had, and ultimately paying severely for their 
 want of attention and discretion. About 
 nine it fell a dead calm. In the south- 
 east the sky was clear and cloudless ; whilst 
 in the opposite direction, dark, heavy purple 
 masses rolled over each other, more unna- 
 tural in apj)earance owing to a lighter cloud
 
 158 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 covering the curling fluid as if with a veil. 
 Shooting from this dark heap of clouds, some 
 few were sejiarated, and rose to a higher 
 region of the air, in which they were dissi- 
 pated and blown out like mares' tails, passing 
 rapidly over the convoy : whilst on the water, 
 and about a mile from the ships, the sea ap- 
 peared as if covered with a thick white haze, 
 before which seemed a dark line of black. 
 As this was evidently no common squall, the 
 hands were turned up, the topsails lowered 
 and made as secure as possible, the yards were 
 squared, the jib hauled down, and the fore- 
 topmast staysail set, — the Tribune lying at 
 this time with her starboard broadside to the 
 approaching storm. Murray had never seen 
 a sight like this ; and much as he had read in 
 books of fiction, of waves rolling mountains 
 high — of storms, of dangers, of perils encoun- 
 tered by seamen, yet he was by no means 
 prepared for the silent approach of the enemy. 
 There was evidently much apprehension on 
 the countenances of several of the old seamen, 
 and the first lieutenant was overheard to sav
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 159 
 
 that he was apprehensive the convoy were too 
 close together, tearing that if a thick liaze 
 came on with the squall many ships would run 
 on board of each other. It was in vain now 
 to attempt to remedy this oversight : it was 
 a calm with the squall coming gradually up as 
 if to bm'st upon them ; and from the manner 
 in which the dark cloud had blown over them 
 — the immense rapidity with which it swept 
 aloft, it was most evident that it would be u 
 serious storm. 
 
 About half-past nine it burst upon the ships, 
 and no pen can describe — no words give the 
 most faint outline of the tremendous force 
 with which it assailed the convoy. The Tri- 
 bune, although so well prepared, suffered much : 
 her main-topsail was shaken to ribands, the 
 fore-topmast staysail disappeared in a moment, 
 and the fore-top-gallant mast was carried away ; 
 the ship heeled over to port and lay like a 
 wreck upon the waters. Her loss, however, 
 was trifling, compared to that suffered by those 
 around her. 
 
 There was in the convoy a smart-looking
 
 160 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 schooner, — a vessel always in her station, and 
 one frequently sent astern to whip up the idle 
 and the inattentive. This schooner was the 
 Jane. Before the squall burst, her commander 
 tried all in his power to creep a little ahead 
 of the frigate in order to avoid falling on board 
 of her : indeed, so close was she, that she had 
 been hailed to that effect by Captain Barker. 
 When the first effect, which was momentary, 
 had passed off, the schooner was seen close 
 to the Tribune on her beam-ends and sinking. 
 A cry louder than the wind reached the fri- 
 gate, and the echo of " The schooner is upset !"" 
 was repeated fore and aft the frigate. In- 
 stantly some daring hands leapt into the small 
 cutter on the larboard quarter. Hammerton 
 was seen casting off the after stopper ; whilst, 
 in the bow of the boat, Weazel, who was quite 
 a boy, was observed using his utmost efforts 
 to cast off the foremost stopper. Four or five 
 men had got into the cutter, some casting off 
 the gripes, others getting the stretchers clear 
 to fend her off from the ship's side ; and at 
 this busy moment it was in vain that the
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 161 
 
 master, a good seaman, declared that it 
 was inevitable ruin to lower the boat — that 
 she would be blown away to leeward and be 
 of no service whatever : his voice was lost 
 amidst tlie whisthng hiss of the ^A'iud, as it 
 surged through the rigging. At this instant 
 Murray had got upon the hammocks and 
 scrambled outside the mizen rigging, intending 
 to reach the boat, unequal as he was to cope 
 with such danger ; for a fortnight's apprentice- 
 ship in light breezes will not enable a seaman to 
 dare every peril in a gale. He still persevered ; 
 but at the moment when he reached over to 
 touch the gunwale of the boat in order to 
 throw himself into her, where he would have 
 been useless, the gripes were cut oft', and owing 
 to the laying over of the frigate the boat 
 immediately swung away from the chains, 
 and Murray dropped overboard between the 
 space. 
 
 On occasions like these there are hundreds to 
 give assistance, and all ready to bear witness of 
 exertions either successfully or fruitlessly made. 
 The deep-sea lead-line, which had been kept
 
 162 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 on the reel, was hanging in its beckets under 
 the cleat of the larboard main-brace. The end 
 was thrown into the cutter by Mr. Clubb, the 
 master, before Murray fell overboard, and 
 it was in Hammerton's hand when he saw 
 the accident. The stopper was off; but owing 
 to some confusion in the coil of the boat's fall, 
 they would not lower her ; or perhaps the man 
 at the foremost fall had perceived that Weazel 
 was not so quick, not being so strong as his 
 messmate ; and whilst another hand stronger 
 than the youngster's took his place, Weazel was 
 bundled very unceremoniously on board again. 
 He had beckoned, for it was useless calling, to 
 the man at the after fall to hold on. There was 
 not a minute's time — nay, nor half a minute's 
 in the performance of a duty which it takes 
 much time to describe. Hammerton, finding 
 his order to " lower away" was unheeded, if 
 not unheard, grasped the lead-line firmly, and 
 was overboard in a second. ISIurray could 
 swim a little ; but the ship was drifting to 
 leeward fast, and he was under the larboard 
 counter, when Hammerton caught hold of him,
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 163 
 
 and passing the rope under his arms, made it 
 fast. Strange as it may seem, Murray actually 
 tried to disengage himself from the rope ; and 
 even in that struggle, when his life was far 
 from secure, he actually shook off the hold of 
 Hammerton, and saw the hrave fellow, who 
 had risked his own life to save his, drift round 
 the stern, without once stretching out his hand 
 to proffer assistance. Murray was saved : a 
 bowline knot was passed down by the lead-line, 
 which fell over his shoulders, and he was haul- 
 ed on board ; but such was his hatred of Ham- 
 merton, that he never even inquired if he was 
 saved, or spoke one word of encouragement to 
 others who, more ready and willing than himself, 
 would have thrown a grating or an oar to save 
 their favourite. The boat was now in the water ; 
 but all efforts were ineffectual to keep her 
 head to wind : the spray blown from the 
 ocean covered her as a tropical rain, and it 
 was hard to say, if by the means attempt- 
 ed to rescue the men belonging to the Jane, 
 the Tribune had not wilfully sacrificed her 
 own. Hammerton was now far away on the
 
 164 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 weather quarter, evidently getting much ex- 
 hausted ; for the spray was so heavy, that if 
 he had attempted to swim head to wind, he 
 must have been drowned. The boat's crew, 
 regardless of the distance, which now became 
 great, still plied their oars and bent their backs 
 to save Hammerton ; the schooner being in 
 the same direction, but a little to windward 
 of him. She of course did not drift so fast 
 to leeward as the frigate ; and the last time 
 either boat or Hammerton were seen, the one 
 was pulling in a right line to save the other. 
 Murray had watched the exertion with intense 
 interest, nor did he turn away from the last 
 gaze of the man he hated until the increased 
 distance and the thickness of spray hid him 
 from his sight. 
 
 The different ships of the convoy were much 
 injured : more than four fell foul of each other ; 
 but the squall came on so fast, that one dis- 
 masted, and another with a signal of distress fly- 
 ing, w^ere the only two which were observed on 
 board the Tribune. Vain and useless were it 
 to attempt to depict the scene. In vain was
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 165 
 
 the shriek for assistance uttered, the uplift- 
 ed hand of terror as a signal ; — in vain did 
 those who still clung to the wreck of the Jane 
 scream to those who risked their lives to save 
 them, — in vain was the eager supplication to 
 Heaven — the hasty repetition of the too-long 
 neglected prayer ! And, oh ! the hitter mo- 
 ment of memory, when even Hope withdrew 
 her last light, and the Jane and her crew were 
 immersed helow the water ! There sunk the 
 father, the husband, the friend, the brave sea- 
 man — the beloved of many ! and no imagin- 
 ary tablet can be upraised amidst the rolling 
 waves to point the grave of that gallant crew ! 
 When the sun dawned on that morning, and 
 wliilst the crew were engaged in the usual 
 avocations of the seaman''s life, little did they, 
 in the full vigour of health, imagine that 
 before the noonday sun should shine to guide 
 the vessel on the pathless deep, that vessel 
 should be a wreck ! her sails scattered, her 
 hull sunk, themselves drowned ! — cut off in 
 a moment when danger was unthought of and 
 preparation deemed useless.
 
 166 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 The crew of the cutter saw the schooner 
 disappear. Hammerton, for the minute, had 
 been rescued from the dano-er which assailed 
 him ; but his situation in the boat was appa- 
 rently a mere prolongation of very imcertain 
 existence, — for when he recovered himself from 
 the giddy effect of unusual exertion, no ship 
 could be discovered as a welcome home to the 
 wearied crew — not a speck on the now con- 
 tracted horizon could point a way for escape. 
 Although the gallant fellows still plied their 
 oars and kept the boat's head towards the part 
 where they imagined their frigate to be, yet 
 gradually they grew weary of the ineffectual 
 labour, boated their oars, and looked at each 
 other with despairing countenances. 
 
 On board the Tribune all was exertion to re- 
 cover the boat. The fury of the first squall 
 being past, it was now possible to carry a little 
 sail ; but, owing to the fog which had thickened 
 with the squall, all was uncertainty as to what 
 was best to be done. To wear and make sail 
 might be to cross the boat, pulling in an oppo-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 167 
 
 site direction, besides the fear of running on 
 board some of the convoy. It was useless to 
 continue firing- guns : the wind was so high tliat 
 the noise of the explosion scarcely reached the 
 tafFrail, and it was evident that one hundred 
 yards astern the sound could never reach. In 
 the mean time, the sea had begun to run, 
 and the danger grew more imminent. After 
 a consultation with the first lieutenant and 
 the master, it was resolved to keep the frigate 
 as near her present position as possible, and 
 if in half an hour's time no appearance of the 
 boat became visible, to wear under a close- 
 reefed main-topsail and foresail, and endeavour 
 to preserve not an improbable distance from 
 the scene of the calamity. This was no 
 time for inactivity ; the sails were reefed, and 
 not an order was sfiven without being fol- 
 lowed by the continued disheartening question 
 of " Can you see the boat .?" Men were sta- 
 tioned in every part of the ship; but those 
 aloft could not see so far as those on deck. 
 The captain strained his eyes; glasses were
 
 1C8 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 used, and as quickly laid aside. The guns 
 were still fired however ; the whole crew were 
 on the alert. There was but one person below 
 — it was Murray.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 169 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Sir Hector Murray s visit to old Hammerton. — A iitclancliolj/ 
 
 Tale. 
 
 Near one of the prettiest towns in England, 
 Taunton in Somersetshire, there uas — for Time 
 has not spared it — a neat white cottage. It 
 stood near the high road, almost opposite to 
 a splendid lodge which was the entrance to 
 the estate of Sir Hector Murray. On one 
 side was all the economical neatness of good 
 taste reduced to circumscribed limits; on the 
 other, all the display of riches. The small, 
 neatly-gravelled pathway to the cottage was 
 but the ghost of the broad road which led to 
 the mansion of Sir Hector : still, however, the 
 nicely-trained plants which grew in great luxu- 
 riance on the fertile ground gave rather an 
 elegant appearance to the smaller abode, and 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 comfort was evidently to be found where riches 
 could not command it. The leaves were now 
 falling before the last of the autumnal gales ; 
 the blossoms had long since forsaken the plants ; 
 the azalia, which brightened in summer and 
 spread its thick yellow blossoms, was now a 
 leafless shrub ; the gaudy peony, whose thick, 
 deep flower had beautified the little gardens 
 cut with scrupulous exactness from a small grass 
 plat dignified as a lawn, was divested of its 
 summer grandeur; the lively lilac, the golden 
 showery laburnum, and all those millions of 
 Nature's fairest ornaments, were fast assuming 
 the cold deadness of winter; and even Somer- 
 setshire wore a certain periodical dulness which 
 three months previously had been unknown. 
 
 It is strange, that at the season of the year 
 when Nature puts on her richest dress as if to 
 entice the intelligent and the curious to ex- 
 amine her, many human beings seem to shun 
 the beauties which a bountiful Providence has 
 spread over the land, and congregate in cities, 
 to revel in crowded assemblies ; but when, as 
 if to warn man that he should seek the com-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 171 
 
 panionship of his o\vn fellow-mortals, the earth 
 is covered with snow, or when the wintry 
 showers descend in such torrents that exercise 
 is debarred, — then, instead of seeking the 
 wann cheerfulness of society, and enjoying the 
 luxury which is concentrated in large com- 
 munities, as if in contradiction to the law of 
 Nature, the towns are deserted, and the coun- 
 try swarms with the tide of human beings. 
 
 This is neither the first nor the hundredth 
 time that a similar remark has been made ; 
 and on this subject, without derogating much 
 from the stubborn opposition which charac- 
 terises the English people, they might borrow 
 a little wisdom from their long-hated neigh- 
 bours the French. With us legislators pant in 
 oppressive heat, instead of deliberating coolly 
 on the measm-e before them ; and the best eftbrt 
 of eloquence falls dully upon the ear when op- 
 pressive heat relaxes the body and unstrings 
 the mind. 
 
 It was about noon, as we have said, towards 
 the close of autumn, that an old gentleman, 
 dressed in deep mourning, and with a coun-
 
 172 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 tenance manifesting woe and heaviness of heart, 
 stood leaning over the cottage-gate, looking 
 at a travelling-carriage which was approach- 
 ing, and which stopped while the great gates 
 of Sir Hector's estate opened to receive their 
 master. Sir Hector, who saw old Mr. Ham- 
 merton, made him a bow of recognition, which 
 was answered with much form by the old 
 gentleman. As he lifted his hat, the long grey 
 hairs, thin enough to be moved by any breeze, 
 fell upon his shoulders ; and a finer specimen 
 of beneficence and benevolence never brightened 
 the human countenance more than in the fea- 
 tures of Mr. Hammerton. 
 
 Struck by the unusual figure before him. 
 Sir Hector desired his servant to open the 
 carriage-door ; and descending with a proper 
 slow and stately step, he bade his servants 
 take the carriage home whilst he crossed the 
 road ; and extending his hand with much cor- 
 diality, he began, " It is many years, Mr. 
 Hammerton, since I have had the pleasure of 
 seeing you : I trust your health continues un- 
 impaired, and that your wife and family are 
 well."
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 173 
 
 Sir Hector paused for a reply, and was much 
 disconcerted when he saw the old gentleman 
 turn away and commence beating with his 
 stick against the door. Almost immediately 
 a beautiful little girl about ten years of age 
 came running towards Mr. Hammerton ; and 
 after looking with an inquisitive glance, she 
 turned to Sir Hector and said, " Papa, sir, 
 is quite deaf: / can make him understand if 
 you mention to me what you desire." 
 
 Sir Hector repeated his former question ; the 
 child by her fingers and signs made the old 
 gentleman understand, and he answered — tor 
 he was not dumb — that he believed it was now 
 twenty years since he had seen Sir Hector, — he 
 therefore apologised for not having recognised 
 him at first, but now gladly seized the oppor- 
 tunity of expressing his sincere thanks for the 
 many kind and liberal proofs of friendsliip he 
 had given him. Here he was interrupted by 
 the baronet, who took the old man's hand and 
 pressed it warmly in his own. The little girl 
 stood interpreter to the following conversation : 
 " I have," said Sir Hector, " renewed our
 
 174 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 acquaintance, Mr. Hammerton, in order, if pos- 
 sible, to convince you that, notwithstanding the 
 little bickerings and acrimonious feeling which 
 separated us, and which I am willing to be- 
 lieve originated in myself, the good wishes of 
 my heart were ever warm towards you. Your 
 son is on board the same ship as my son ; and 
 I have placed Walter under the direction of 
 your Frederic, thus bringing them together, in 
 the hope that a permanent friendship may exist ; 
 and further that, should I be suddenly cut off, 
 this cottage and these grounds may be your 
 undisturbed possession ; for I hear you have 
 grown to this spot, and regard it with more 
 than common affection." 
 
 " When I was in distress, Sir Hector," an- 
 swered the old man, " you stepped forward : 
 when greedy creditors would neither allow me 
 time to repair the mischief, nor even give me a 
 place in which to lay my head, you came for- 
 ward and lent me this : when my wife," — and 
 here the old man became much affected, — 
 " who now is an angel in heaven, — brought me 
 this dear little child into the world, your liber-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 175 
 
 ality supplied her with medical advice, and the 
 dainties which affluence only can afford. From 
 -the first moment of my entering this abode — 
 now sacred to me, since it is but a month since 
 she who had contributed to my happiness, and 
 bore \vithout a murmur the increased infirmities 
 and troubles of life, was taken from me, — you, 
 although you concealed the donation, have re- 
 gularly remitted me one hundred pounds a year. 
 I was a stranger to you — had no tie, no relation- 
 ship, no claim upon you ; I was relieved by you, 
 when even my own family turned their backs 
 upon me. Can you be surprised then that I 
 should desire to end my days in this abode ? 
 I would be a beggar for that favour ; and when 
 I am gone, Frederic must be a father and pro- 
 tector to tills dear little child ; and may the 
 God of mercy shield her from the sufferings 
 her parents have experienced !" 
 
 " Fear not for her, my old friend, nor for 
 your son : if I live, he shall be advanced in the 
 service and placed beyond the chance of want ; 
 he who is now a guide to my son shall not 
 find me unmindful of his services, and I will
 
 176 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 this evening add a codicil to my will, leaving 
 in it an earnest request to my son that you and 
 your family shall never bo disturbed In this 
 dwelling. You know they both have sailed — 
 their destination is to Halifax." 
 
 " I know It," replied Mr. Hammerton, " for 
 Frederic has written twice since he sailed. I 
 suppose your son has not omitted to avail him- 
 self of the same opportunities ?" 
 
 " I have not heard," replied Sir Hector, 
 " since the day they sailed ;" and here the 
 mortification of Sir Hector was visible. 
 
 " I dare say," interrupted Mr. Hammerton, 
 " that the poor fellow was sea-sick ; but of 
 this you may rest assured, that he was going 
 on well in his profession : my son particularly 
 mentions that he was active and intellio-ent, 
 and very careful to all that he desired. 
 Besides, sir, when a youngster first enters the 
 service, he generally has so much to do in his 
 own ideas that some excuse will readily be 
 made for him." 
 
 " How old are you, my pretty little girl ?" 
 asked Sir Hector, willing to change a conver-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 177 
 
 sation which did not exalt his son in his esti- 
 mation. 
 
 " I am just ten, sir," rephed the Httle dark- 
 eyed beauty. 
 
 " Just ten ?" replied the baronet : " does that 
 mean you are past ten, or nearly ten .''" 
 
 " I shall be ten on the 2nd of November,'' 
 lisped Amelia. 
 
 " I shall not forget your birth-day, I dare 
 say," said the baronet as he took a book 
 from his pocket and made a memorandum : 
 '' we shall be better friends and neighbours, 
 I trust, for the future. And now, Mr. Ham- 
 merton, you must walk over with little Amelia 
 and dine with me. I am a poor lone trunk 
 now; the prop wliich might have supported 
 me has left me, and I find that wealth and 
 large estates do not necessarily give either com- 
 fort or happiness : for, although I confess it is 
 selfish to say so, I would relinquish nearly all 
 to have my son near me to the end of my life. 
 It is true I walk through large halls and splen- 
 did rooms ; but the voice of my child is want- 
 ing ; and you, Mr. Hammerton, have twice the 
 
 I 5
 
 nS THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 satisfaction in life, by having by your side one 
 who must love and respect you, and whose 
 little winning- and affectionate look would chase 
 away any gloom. But I must get out of this 
 moody manner, and I doubt not your kindness 
 will bestow a few moments on a man who has 
 long respected you." 
 
 " I should be ungrateful, Sir Hector, if I 
 did not acknowledge at all times your kindness 
 to me." 
 
 " Then let me beg of you to acknowledge 
 it by your silence upon that subject. Come, my 
 little interpreter ; — why, your fingers and your 
 eyes would make any man understand a speech 
 in parliament. Take my arm, Mr. Ham- 
 merton : I think I am strongest upon my legs, 
 although the gout every now and then does 
 all the mischief in its power, and whilst it 
 makes them tliicker makes them weaker. 
 How long has your son been at sea, Mr. 
 Hammerton ?" 
 
 " Five years," replied the old gentleman ; 
 " and during that time I have only seen him 
 once. He has seen some service : he was in
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 179 
 
 Howe"'s action, and escaped untouched. I put 
 him with Barker, because that kind man, whom 
 I knew under different circumstances, did not 
 forget • a former kindness and was anxious to 
 requite it." 
 
 " If, Mr. Hammerton, the subject is not too 
 painful to you, let me ask you how you became 
 deaf ? for when I knew you before, you heard 
 as well as any man, and yom* age is not suffi- 
 cient, without some sickness or some great 
 nervous excitement, to have caused this in- 
 firmity," 
 
 " It is a melancholy tale, but it is soon told, 
 Sir Hector. I had another son ; — you may 
 remember him, for he was alive when I last 
 saw you. His name was Charles, and he was 
 my eldest boy. During the period of my afflu- 
 ence, I had not withheld the benefits of educa- 
 tion from him, and I saw the seeds of a refined 
 mind gradually developing themselves in him. 
 He was studious ; I intended him for the church, 
 in which I had some little interest ; and looked 
 forward with some hope that one day my son 
 would become a distinguished minister of peace.
 
 180 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 I often pictured to myself the pleasure I should 
 experience in hearing the congregation as they 
 crowded through the porch of the church ex- 
 press their admiration of the discourse, and 
 from the poorer classes hear my son called as 
 good as he was wise. His early habits of 
 charity — his ceaseless regard for the poor — 
 his solicitude for the sick — his mildness — his 
 benevolence — all qualified him for the sacred pro- 
 fession he himself had chosen, and which should 
 never be ventured on by the thoughtless lover of 
 pleasure. I own to you, Sir Hector, I have a 
 sovereign contempt for your sporting parson, — 
 a man who crams his horse at a fence to keep 
 pace Tvith yelping dogs which run the faster 
 the nearer they are to a death : nor can I 
 think it consistent with, the character of a 
 minister of Christianity — one who should spare, 
 not slay — to occupy his mornings in shooting. 
 When the winter with all its rigour cramps the 
 aged and the infirm, it is little consistent with 
 the character of a minister of God to gallop 
 over fields and waste his time in pursuing a 
 poor and hunted creature ; rather should he
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 181 
 
 then be striving to warm the hearts of his 
 parishioners." 
 
 " Surely," said Sir Hector, " you would not 
 debar the clergyman from all recreation ?" 
 
 " Assuredly not. There is recreation for the 
 * mind in the solacing of others. I would not' 
 have him a weed to choke the exertions of 
 the flowers around him, or by too much aus- 
 terity rebuke the innocent gaieties of others. 
 Those who think it a sin to smile on the 
 Sabbath, I hold to be fiinatics. Could we 
 find one amongst all the fanatical preachers 
 who would lie down for years upon a bed 
 of spikes for the love of God ? I have al- 
 ways remarked that your over-pious person 
 has generally been the greatest sinner ; and 
 as a racket-ball rebounds the farthest the 
 harder it is propelled, so the reaction is the 
 greater in proportion to the extent of crime. 
 No man has a greater regard for the proper 
 performance of religious duties than I have — 
 no one a more thorough contempt for those 
 who arrogate to themselves a superiority from 
 the nonsensical belief in an inward light, or
 
 182 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 who proudly, impiously, — nay, blasphemously, 
 sit in judgment upon others, and denounce 
 them as the children of Satan — the infants of 
 the devil." 
 
 " I confess myself much of your opinion, 
 Mr. Hammerton," remarked Sir Hector ; " and 
 I think the parents who allow their children 
 to enter the church, knowing that from their 
 manner of life they are unfit to uphold its 
 sacred character, are more to blame than the 
 eager young man who is anxious to hear his 
 own voice in public and to read his own pro- 
 duction to his attentive congregation. — But 
 you have been led from your subject in your 
 zeal for the church." 
 
 " True, Sir Hector, — apparently so ; but, in 
 reality, it was done on purpose to save myself 
 the repetition of anguish. You have a right 
 to know all, however, which concerns myself; 
 and as I am now somewhat prepared for the 
 task, you must bear the infliction of its re- 
 cital. 
 
 " My son was about eighteen, as handsome 
 as ever a mother could wish ; and, as if pre-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 183 
 
 paring himself for the honourable profession 
 he had chosen, he had relinquished all the 
 sportsman's pursuits, and would for hours walk 
 in tire fields studying. Frequently, such was 
 the enthusiasm of his mind, when darkness 
 stopped his studies, he would find himself far 
 from home. The poor all knew him, and 
 knew his circumstances. At that time I had 
 very little to give him ; but the little I could 
 spare he gave to others more in want of it 
 than himself. The blessings of the poor fol- 
 lowed his steps, and his security was in the 
 affections of all around him. 
 
 " It was in December 1780 that we heard 
 of a family, about ten miles' distant, which 
 had been swept away, with the exception 
 of the widow, by that fearful disease the 
 smallpox. My children all had it when young, 
 excepting Charles ; and although many of the 
 gentlemen in the neighbourhood sent money, 
 as I know you did. Sir Hector, yet few would 
 ventm'e within the poisoned walls of the wretch- 
 ed and lonely widow. Charles, when he heard 
 of it, instantly prepared for his long walk ; and,
 
 184 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 although his mother and myself warned him 
 of the danger he ran, yet he was resolved to 
 see the poor woman, and to return home to 
 get whatever she most required. He promised 
 us not to go into the house, and he kept his 
 word. The old woman received the small pit- 
 tance we were able to collect for her, and with 
 outstretched hands to Heaven she prayed that 
 he who thus relieved the miserable, might never 
 want the protecting arm of God in any adver- 
 sity ! Vain prayer unheeded ! Who dares to 
 direct the will of the Omnipotent ? His ways 
 are inscrutable ! Who can avert the evil when 
 the hour is arrived ? My boy's goodness led to 
 his death. That evening he returned home in 
 high spirits at having gained his point. Finding 
 the poor woman in much distress, he had taken 
 a circuitous route to regain his home ; had 
 called on several gentlemen, and by his warmth 
 and eloquence, — for in England the ears of the 
 affluent are seldom closed against the tale of 
 misery, — ^he had obtained from one some wine, 
 from another some medicine, from a third 
 money. Tired and jaded as he was, he could
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 185 
 
 not restrain the generous feelings which ani- 
 mated him. He proposed — it was then eight 
 o'clockT-to rest a Uttle, and to retm-n that 
 night. Against this I interposed my authority ; 
 for the snow fell fast, and drifted so as to 
 conceal the path, and it was not a time for a 
 solitary boy to venture on a walk of ten miles. 
 But the next morning, although the severity of 
 winter was at its height, he started at the 
 first dawn of day, delivered the comforts he 
 had gathered, promised a visit on the following 
 day, and returned home. The third day the 
 rain fell so fast that I kept him from liis 
 wishes. That very restraint, the offspring of 
 parental affection, blighted all my hopes. By 
 three in the afternoon the storm subsided : 
 Charles was instantly on the alert. From 
 that moment to this all is conjecture. He 
 reached the poor woman''s cottage, — that we 
 have ascertained, and that he proceeded on 
 his return home. We hardly expected him 
 before ten o'clock, and all the little comforts 
 we could command were in preparation for our 
 son. Well I remember the shoes which were
 
 186 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 placed before the fire, and the change of linen ; 
 all that a mother's care could suggest to render 
 her son happy — all that could show an anxious 
 parent's love of her child was then displayed. 
 The swift hand of time ! — for time never lingers 
 when anxiety commences — when an object is 
 expected and yet comes not to the moment. 
 Eleven o'clock, and no sound of the wicket- 
 latch had preceded the footstep of my son. I 
 told his mother to go to bed ; but that order 
 was useless. We sat in silence, only interrupt- 
 ed by remarking how quickly the hour flew. 
 Midnight came on : the murmuring breeze had 
 swelled into a gusty, riotous noise; the little 
 rain, which before feebly reached our shutters, 
 now came with quick force upon our dwelling ; 
 and as the morning wind, the herald of misfor- 
 tune, died for a moment in order to resume a 
 greater strength, we heard the voices of men 
 — we heard our wicket opened — we ran to 
 open the door, which common prudence had 
 left barred and bolted. Oh ! gracious Heaven ! 
 I received my dead son, my murdered boy into 
 my house ! The knife of the assassin had
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 1S7 
 
 nearly severed liis licad ! liis eyes seemed start- 
 ed from their sockets ! whilst his firm hands 
 were closed beyond our strength to open them. 
 I stood like a statue ; I scarcely could credit 
 the awful truth before me. I never spoke ; 
 but with eyes fixed and riveted on my Charles, 
 I heeded not those around me. They tell me 
 my wife's scream might have been heard above 
 the storm : she was as close to me as you are. 
 I never heard it — I never caught one soimd of 
 it ; but, lifting my eyes on those who had 
 brought him to me, I saw their lips move, I 
 saw the eager description of the dreadful crime ; 
 but from that hour to tliis I have never heard 
 a human voice. I pray that at the great day, 
 when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, 
 I may stand before my Maker with the same 
 hope of redemption as my son — for I have a 
 belief that he will be numbered amongst the 
 blessed." 
 
 The poor old man, overcome by the effort 
 he had made, fell back upon a sofa, for they 
 had reached the room long before the painful 
 recital began ; — the little child leaned over
 
 ]88 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 and kissed him, and then sat upon a cushion 
 near him, holding his hand ; whilst Sir Hector 
 felt for him as a man and consoled him as 
 a Christian. After a pause of some moments. 
 Sir Hector remarked that from one expression 
 which escaped Mr. Hammerton, there was a 
 slight allusion to the cause of this murder. 
 
 " By signs, and by having the sad account 
 written," replied Mr. Hammerton, " I only 
 gleaned that three labourers passing the road 
 observed a body lying by the side of the ditch. 
 As the weather was bitterly cold and rainy, 
 they imagined it must either have been a man 
 intoxicated, who had fallen down and slept 
 in spite of the elements, or that sickness had 
 overtaken the traveller. On lifting it, their 
 horror may be better imagined than described, 
 when they saw that it was a murdered man. 
 They took it instantly to a house not far dis- 
 tant, and my son was recognised by a poor old 
 man he had often relieved. No trace, no 
 tidings of those who did this savage deed have 
 ever been discovered : years have passed away,
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 189 
 
 the crime has gone unrevengecl, and perhaps 
 the murderers prosper. But it was so ordain- 
 ed ; ai^d it is not for us to arraign the decrees 
 of Providence, rather let us bow witli all submis- 
 sion to his will." 
 
 " Surely, Mr. Hammerton, you do not be- 
 lieve that it was destiny, — that it was ordained 
 above that this murder should be committed 
 on earth ?" 
 
 " You put the question strongly, Sir Hector, 
 and I am embarrassed how. to answer. The 
 belief that it was predestined is my only solace. 
 If I discredited that, I should consider myself 
 the direct cause of my son's death." 
 
 " There are few men, Mr. Hammerton, who 
 argue this great question with coolness and with 
 reason. Men embrace the creed readily which 
 jdelds the most comfort. It is evident that if 
 we are not left to our o\^ti guidance here, we 
 cannot be responsible hereafter. The belief in 
 predestination shakes to the dust the free agency 
 of man, and renders him nothing more than a 
 mere puppet at a show, the strings being worked
 
 190 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 by other hands. To what use shall we turn 
 conscience ? It ceases to be an inward mo- 
 nitor, to forewarn us of the commission of a 
 crime, and must be considered only as a part 
 of memory which most vividly retains the 
 picture. — Is it not more consistent with reason 
 to argue that certain men who existed by 
 plunder, and who nightly prowled about for 
 prey, met your son : they saw by his dress 
 and manner that he was a gentleman ; they 
 imagined that money was always to be found 
 upon such a person ; they demanded it ; he re- 
 sisted : they, to be rid of a man who held the 
 thread of their lives in his power, rushed upon 
 him, and finding him powerful and likely to es- 
 cape, murdered him ? Is it not, I say, more con- 
 sistent with reason to argue thus, than to consi- 
 der that it was predestined before the formation 
 of the world, — for you must go so far back as 
 that, — that those men should be at a certain 
 public-house at such a time, and leave it to 
 a minute ; that the old widow should be ill, 
 and that your son should leave home exactly 
 at three o'clock to relieve her ? And all — what
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 191 
 
 for ? — why, that a munlcr should be com- 
 mitted." 
 
 - " I own, Sir Hector, it does look like des- 
 peration of thought ; but the belief that it was 
 so ordained gives me great — nay, my only 
 comfort ; for I cease to weep when I think that 
 I could not avert it — I cease to mourn when 
 I ought to rejoice : it is this thought which 
 comes as a consolation in my affliction, and 
 strengthens me now to bear up against my ac- 
 cumulated misfortune in the loss of my wife. 
 How could you, Sir Hector, bear to have a 
 child fair and lovely like that little angel — 
 to see others catch the quick remarks she 
 made, to see the jo}^ul smile play over the 
 countenances of strangers as her childish wit 
 suggested the ready reply, and yet never to 
 hear her — never to have heard one word she 
 uttered ? If you, like me, should stand in 
 the church deaf — stone deaf — and mm-mm- your 
 prayers in silence ; if you coidd feel what it 
 is to see the preacher exhorting his Christian 
 brethren to repentance ; or whilst you saw 
 others with eager ears catching every sound.
 
 192 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 and bearing witness of the tmtli by the flushed 
 cheek, the quivering Hp, and not unfrequently 
 the tearful eye ; — then woukl you feel as I 
 feel, a gi-eat — an only consolation in believing 
 that my present affliction was an evil ordained 
 which I could neither fly from nor avert/"' 
 
 " I believe," continued Sir Hector, " that 
 great misfortunes are likely to lead to the ex- 
 traordinary belief we have just arg-ued. Yours 
 are great, and you bear them like a man : as 
 far as human power can alleviate them, I will 
 alleviate yours. We must consider this question 
 again, under other circumstances. I own, at this 
 time, when new-fangled opinions on the awful 
 subject are bandied at every table, — and when, 
 I grieve to say, many learned men employ 
 their time and their talents to undermine the 
 belief of their neighbours, and to take from 
 them their greatest consolation by shaking their 
 faith, — that I feel much inclined to be, as far as 
 my poor abilities will permit, a more than silent 
 upholder of our church. Our neighbours the 
 French have given us sad examples what 
 brutes men become when they have shaken
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 193 
 
 off the restraint of religion ; and I, as a father, 
 would strive to inculcate that doctrine from 
 which I have received so mucli comfort. My 
 son, Ml". Hammerton, is not exactly a Charles 
 or a Frederic Hammerton.'^ 
 
 " I would to heaven, Sir Hector, he were like 
 one or the other. In my children I have been 
 blessed : Charles was all a father could wish, 
 Frederic is the stay and prop of my house, and 
 that dear little affectionate Amelia my conso- 
 lation — my hope ! Although Providence has 
 afflicted me in some respects, the balance is still 
 in my favour. But who would have riches for 
 a disobedient boy to inherit ? or what affluence 
 could compensate for the dreadful calamity of 
 seeing one's own blood turning against one ? 
 Thus, Sir Hector, do I borrow consolation from 
 the ills of others, and verify an old saying, that 
 'there is something in the misfortunes of our 
 best friends which alleviates our own."" Your 
 boy, like mine, will do Avell. Perhaps from 
 over-indulgence — for an only child, Sir Hector 
 is always a little spoilt — he may be a little 
 refractory ; but the benefit of example and dis- 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 cipline will soon restore him to rectitude of con- 
 duct : he must be brave to be a Murray — and 
 to be a Murray he must be good." 
 
 " I hope," said Sir Hector with a smile, 
 " you were predestined to be a prophet : but 
 that boy has given me much uneasiness, and 
 the fact of your having received two letters 
 while I have not received one since they sailed, 
 does not contribute to make me feel more sa- 
 tisfied with his conduct. Come, Mr. Hammer- 
 ton, dinner waits."
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 195 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 I'fie Boat at Sea. — A Ship in sight. — Mutiny and dis- 
 appointment. 
 
 It has been said that frien(l.'5hii)S contracted 
 early, or those formed late in life, are gene- 
 rally of a more lasting nature than friendship 
 formed in the intermediate time. Sir Hector, 
 now without liis boy, experienced much plea- 
 sure in the society and conversation of Mr. 
 Hammerton. Every morning some httle com- 
 forts of life were sent to the cottage ; and the 
 quiet, gentlemanly manner in which these com- 
 forts were conveyed, rendered Mr. Hammerton 
 less averse to accepting them, and softened his 
 pride, if one so humbled could be proud. 
 
 The 2nd of November, the day on which 
 the Tribune experienced that heavy gale, and
 
 196 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 on wliicli Hammerton was so miserably sepa- 
 rated from his ship, was a day of great rejoi- 
 cing at the cottage. AmeHa received a hand- 
 some present from Sir Hector in the shape of 
 a workbox ; and it was whilst with childish 
 eagerness she removed the reels for cottons 
 that she discovered a small piece of paper, on 
 which was written a check for one hundred 
 pounds. Mr. Hammerton was at once aware 
 of the delicate manner in which Sir Hector 
 had conveyed this timely present, and the 
 tears started from his eyes as he pressed his 
 benefactor's hand. But Sir Hector had not 
 stopped here : he had written a letter, dating 
 it on Amelia's birthday, to Frederic, directed 
 to Halifax, in which he had inclosed fifty 
 pounds, with a desire that if Mr. Frederic 
 Hammerton should at any time require pecu- 
 niary assistance, he would draw for the amount 
 upon Sir Hector Murray. In this letter he 
 desired his affectionate remembrance to his 
 son, mentioning that he had heard of him 
 twice from Mr, Hammerton, but that he had 
 not received a line from himself.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. J 97 
 
 Sir Hector now resolved to remain in Somer- 
 setshire for five or six months ; and scarcely a 
 day passed without Mr. Hammerton being aii 
 inmate for some liom-s at the hall. Thus time 
 glided on agreeably to both the old gentlemen 
 until the middle of December. 
 
 We must now return to Frederic Hammer- 
 ton and his few companions in their frail boat. 
 When he had sufficiently recovered from the 
 stupor occasioned by his great exertions in 
 maintaining himself above water, Hammerton 
 became much alarmed for the situation of those 
 who had thus generously risked their lives to 
 save his own. He was the only officer in the 
 boat ; for Weazel, who was ever ready for any 
 dangerous enterprise, as well as for any prac- 
 tical joke, had been called out of the boat 
 before she was lowered ; — in fact, he rather de- 
 layed than expedited the movement, for his 
 strength was unequal to the casting off the 
 stopper ; but his generous disposition had been 
 shown, and was not overlooked by either his 
 officers or messmates. 
 
 No sooner had Hammerton surveyed the
 
 198 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 danger by which he was surrounded, than he 
 took the command with as much coohiess as 
 if he had been sailing up Portsmouth harbour. 
 He was sensible that he was rescued from one 
 peril only to face a greater. 
 
 The different ships of the convoy, finding 
 they had made but bad work of shortening sail, 
 bore up before the squall, and were soon far, 
 far distant from the boat. The frigate wore 
 at the appointed time, and crossed the boat out 
 of sight ; and when, towards evening, as the sun 
 was going down, the haze cleared off and the 
 wind abated, not a speck was to be seen in 
 any direction. The cutter of the Tribune with 
 six men and Hammerton, all hungry, faint, 
 exhausted, with two breakers of water, but no 
 provisions of any kind, was alone on the wide 
 waters. 
 
 The setting sun, which blazed in all its glory 
 before it sank below the western horizon, was 
 the first object which recalled to Hammerton"'s 
 mind that the boat was standing to the south- 
 ward — or rather, that her head was in that 
 direction ; for Hammerton had considered it the
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 1.99 
 
 best plan to keep only one oar at work to lee- 
 ward, in order to keep the cutter's bow to the 
 sea, and with this view had made the other 
 men take spell and spell about ; his object, like 
 that of the captain, being to remain as near his 
 first situation as possible. To look for the fri- 
 gate was hopeless ; and as the wind had so far 
 moderated as to allow him to carry sail, he put 
 her head towards the north-east, stepped the 
 mast, and set the close-reefed sail. 
 
 Here at once is an instance of the prudence 
 of first lieutenants in well-disciplined ships : 
 the oars, mast, and sails of the boat had been 
 lashed amidships in her. Fortunately that 
 which is often done — the removing the masts 
 and sails out of the quarter-boats in order to 
 lighten the weight upon the davits, — was no 
 plan on board the Tribune. Captain Barker 
 always kept every boat ready for service, and 
 the two breakers of water now in her proved 
 how necessary such precautions were : many 
 lives have been sacrificed in the navy from cover- 
 ing the boats on the quarter, and many are im- 
 prudent enough to remove the masts and sails.
 
 200 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 This was a trying situation to one so young 
 as Hammerton ; and it was when the sun^s 
 upper rim was but for a moment visible be- 
 fore it sank below the horizon, that Hammer- 
 ton''s busy memory recalled to him that this 
 unfortunate day was the birthday of his only 
 sister Amelia. Little did Sir Hector think and 
 Mr. Plammerton know when they drank Fre- 
 deric''s health after dinner, and when his father 
 added, " May God bless and prosper him !" 
 how necessary were their prayers. Little did 
 they think he was then sitting half-drowned 
 in a lonely boat with six other gallant fellows, 
 their only hope of salvation being their safe 
 arrival at one of the Western Islands. 
 
 In the cutter there was an awful silence : 
 the near approach of darkness, although the 
 weather moderated gradually, brought with it 
 much apprehension to the minds of all ; but 
 as yet discipline maintained its place, and none 
 spoke aloud of either dangers or difficulties. 
 Hammerton, whose thoughts took a homeward 
 range, looked into futurity with a dreadful fear. 
 In the event of his death he beheld his sister an
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 201 
 
 unprotected orphan ; his father he knew coukl 
 not last long ; his mother he believed alive, but 
 upon the verge of the grave — for in comforting 
 her husband she had ruined her own health : 
 and thus did an hour fly in thoughts of home — 
 of former happiness, and of trembling apprehen- 
 sion for the future. He was awakened from 
 this dream of reality by one of the seamen 
 asking " what he intended to do ?" 
 
 " To reach the Western Islands," replied 
 Hammerton, " We have only about two hun- 
 dred and fifty miles to go, and I think they 
 ouirht to bear about north-north-east of ns. 
 We look up nearly our course, for there is the 
 north star; the weather is moderating, and 
 with another reef out of the sail and keeping 
 her full we may force the boat along five or six 
 miles an hour. But we have another hope 
 almost greater than our success in reaching 
 either Corvo or Flores, — which is the possi- 
 bility of meeting some of our convoy : they 
 will push for the Western Islands to repair 
 damages, and some which were dismasted may 
 yet supply us with a home. One thing, my 
 
 K 5
 
 202 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 lads, we must all join in — that is, a resolution 
 not to waste the water in the breakers. We 
 are all in the same perilous condition — any 
 chance may save us ; but we must not oppose 
 ourselves to the possibility of chance rendering 
 that assistance : each man must now be a 
 sentinel over us all. With the water and our 
 shoes, or what chance may throw in our way 
 — sea-weed — a turtle perhaps, — we may manage 
 to hold up well and strongly for three or four 
 days : in that time, if no gale of wind comes 
 to mar our hopes, we may be safe and snug 
 on shore. At any rate, it is no use looking on 
 the worse side of the picture. We are, it is 
 true, in a sad situation, and nothing but for- 
 bearance, prudence, and courage can extricate 
 us ; — I thank Heaven, although I am the inno- 
 cent cause of this calamity, that it was in endea- 
 vouring to save others I became that cause ; you 
 in endeavouring to save me have now need of the 
 assistance of others : but as long as I live, my 
 brave fellows, I trust you will neither want an 
 example nor a guide. From me you must learn 
 to bear without a murmur the privation of
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 203 
 
 food, and from me you must learn to hold 
 up against difficulties and dangers. I speak 
 to men — men who have already volunteered to 
 sacrifice their lives for the crew of a strange 
 vessel, not one of whom was kno\\Ti to any 
 of you ; and I now call upon you to keej) 
 steady and resolute of purpose, in order that 
 each may assist the other — that each may con- 
 tribute to keep up the spirits of the rest." 
 
 " I wish," said an old fellow who was sitting 
 on the after-thwart, " that we had the purser's 
 steward and some grog here to keep our spirits 
 in the natural way." 
 
 " We'll do all that's right, iMr.Hammerton," 
 said a second ; " but I should like a drop of 
 water just now." 
 
 " Well, my lad," replied Hammerton, " you 
 can have it. I think it would be better now 
 to begin as we are to go on, — to serve out 
 the small quantity we must allow each other, 
 to arrange the watches, and to make the best 
 of this bad business. So now, Jones, hand 
 up that breaker, and let us start the bung." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said the gallant fellow as
 
 204 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 he reached his hand towards the object ; and 
 then he looked up with a face that showed the 
 sincerity of his words while he said, " It 's half, 
 if not quite empty." 
 
 A thrill of horror ran through Hammerton : 
 here at once half his hope was destroyed. 
 The crew seemed instinctively to catch the 
 rising fear, and a movement was made towards 
 the other, when Hammerton said with great 
 coolness, " Never mind ; the other is full, and 
 we shall be safe long before that is finished." 
 But no imagination can picture his feeling of 
 horror lest the same words of distress should 
 arise when the other breaker was lifted. 
 
 '^ It 's full," said the sailor who lifted it. 
 
 " Thank God ! thank God !" said Hammer- 
 ton as he raised his hands to heaven. " How 
 grateful, my lads, ought we to be that the 
 man whose duty it was to have secured this 
 breaker has done it more effectually than the 
 idle fellow from whose carelessness we might 
 have lost our lives. Is there nothing in the 
 first breaker ?" 
 " Why, it rattles a bit, sir," replied M 'Donald,
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 205 
 
 a hardy, fearless Scotchman, wlio had learned 
 in his younger days to think a handful of oat- 
 meal a luxurious feast ; " and I think it must 
 have a quart or two in it." 
 
 " Then let us begin with that first : hand 
 it here." 
 
 A small pannikin, which had been used to 
 bale the boat, was likewise handed aft ; and 
 Hammerton, with steady exactness, measured 
 the allowance to each. When this was done, 
 he poured out for himself, taking about half 
 what he had given to the others. 
 
 *' No, no, sir," said M'Donald ; " fair play 's 
 a jewel. Molly, let go my hair and 1 11 fight 
 till I die ! We won't have a drop more than 
 you, and you must take your allowance. You 
 served it out to us, and now I will stand mate 
 of the tub and give you your portion." 
 
 Hammerton, who had controlled his desire, 
 could not resist this generous display of feeling 
 in his comrades ; and the last drop in the 
 breaker hardly gave him his full and fair al- 
 lowance. " And now, my lads," said he, " I 
 think from the feeling you have just manifest-
 
 206 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 ed, that we shall all face this danger like men. 
 We must not, however, leave ourselves blindly 
 to chance. We are in the hands of Him who 
 made us ; but we must exert all our powers 
 to retain the life He has been pleased to be- 
 stow. This, in our case, will be best effected 
 by regularity. We will divide ourselves into 
 three watches. M'Donald and Jones, you are 
 in the first watch ; Wilson and Barrow, you 
 are in the second ; and Henderson and William- 
 son, you are in the third. I am in all your 
 watches, to be on the alert continually^ And 
 now we must pipe the hammocks down : but, 
 before we go to sleep, let me implore you, my 
 lads, to kneel down with me, offer up thanks 
 for our delivery until now, and earnestly pray 
 that God's mercy may still be extended to- 
 wards us." 
 
 The six men then, with the exception of the 
 steersman, joined Hammerton, who knelt in the 
 stern-sheets, in a short but heartfelt prayer for 
 deliverance. 
 
 As Hammerton ceased, a simultaneous Amen 
 responded from all ; and " they rose," as
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 207 
 
 M'Donald said, ••' better men, with better 
 courage."" 
 
 The cutter was a lugger-rigged boat, with 
 a fore' and mizen sail. Both were now set 
 without any reefs ; and those who were ap- 
 pointed to keep the first watch came aft into 
 the stern-sheets ; the other four went forward, 
 or in midships of the boat ; and Hammerton 
 lay down with his head on the breaker of 
 water. Young as he was, he knew that when 
 hunger or thirst assailed, reflection never in- 
 terposed her authority to check the desire. He 
 had read of shipwrecks, and of the crews on 
 raftS; even during the first night, having seized 
 the provisions, and in one moment rendered 
 starvation a certainty : but in these acts of in- 
 subordination, the miscliief had generally arisen 
 from bad characters, who were onlv to be con- 
 trolled by the fear of punishment ; and as that 
 restraint had been withdrawn, the wild dis- 
 position had broken adrift to the prejudice of 
 all. 
 
 Amongst the six men there was but one 
 who bore a suspicious character — and tliis
 
 208 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 was Jones. Hammerton had placed him under 
 the eye of M 'Donald, one of the finest spe- 
 cimens of a British sailor — a man known for 
 his rigid adherence to truth — a petty officer, a 
 good seaman, a brave and a generous man ; and 
 when Hammerton placed Jones in his watch, 
 he conveyed by a glance of his eye what his 
 tongue would have said had he been on board 
 the Tribune. It may be supposed that Jones 
 could not be a very bad man, as he risked his 
 life for others ; but history affords many in- 
 stances of the most doubtful characters not un- 
 frequently proffering generous assistance. 
 
 It was not without a suspicion that Jones 
 might attempt to purloin a draught of water 
 that Hammerton made the breaker his pillow. 
 The calm tranquillity of a good conscience 
 assisted him to sleep ; and in a situation which 
 would have kept most people awake, did five 
 out of the seven find refreshing repose. Ham- 
 merton was frequently on the alert during the 
 night, iu order to see that the boafs head was 
 kept as much towards the north star as possi- 
 ble ; and when the approaching daylight hid
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 209 
 
 tlmt guide from their eyes, lie steered the boat 
 himself, making a due allowance from the rising 
 of the sun. 
 
 At daylight each anxious eye was some- 
 what saddened from the conviction that not a 
 vessel was in sight, — no fog-bank even gave 
 a hope, a momentary hope, that land was in 
 view; — and many of them would willingly 
 have been deceived; — but on this occasion, the 
 eager eye, which scanned with expressive care 
 every second of the degrees by which they 
 were encircled, turned sickened by the useless 
 effort, and the tongue bore witness to the fact 
 as it repeated, " Nothing in sight I nothing in 
 sight !" The wind, however, continued fair, 
 and the little cutter slipped along. This was 
 some consolation ; although now the appeal of 
 human nature in the shape of hunger came 
 rather strongly, as if determined to draw its 
 proper attention. 
 
 For two days their condition remained much 
 the same, saving that the wind shifted to the 
 north ; and Hammerton saw the first approach 
 of insubordination on the evening of the third
 
 210 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 day in Jones's careless levity, and in his many 
 expressions, approaching even to taunting Ham- 
 merton with having been the occasion of their 
 misery. M 'Donald sat quietly on the after- 
 thwart, making as much out of a shoe as would 
 suffice for breakfast ; and the even-tempered 
 Scotchman, as he returned it to his foot, after 
 he had taken his allowance of water, said, 
 " Aweel — aweel, I'm just thinking ifs no 
 very great hardship, after all, to have soles for 
 breakfast : and an idle mon might rather like 
 the business of being obliged to do nothing, 
 just as well as holystoning the lower deck dur- 
 ing his watch below," 
 
 Jones, however, soon began to show a worse 
 spirit : he could neither control his hunger nor 
 his tongue, and he vented his abuse against all 
 the creation at a breath, finishing by making an 
 attempt to tear the leather-hat from Wilson's 
 head. Wilson defended that which was not only 
 a defence for his head, but his all for his sto- 
 mach, and a serious affray took place. Ham- 
 merton immediately rushed at Jones, who now 
 boldly disobeyed his orders, refused to acknow-
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 211 
 
 ledge his control, and in the fury of his passion 
 struck him more than once ; the others took 
 their officer's part, and the business finished 
 by Jones being rendered incapable of more mis- 
 chief, from the exhaustion his exertions had 
 occasioned. 
 
 This was, however, a sad harbinger of that 
 which was to follow. The line of discipline 
 had been cut through, the officer had sunk 
 to the level of his men, an open defiance had 
 been manifested, and it was evident that each 
 person was too much occupied with himself to 
 pay any attention to Hammerton^s directions. 
 The many long hours of daylight, — long, for 
 no occupation but that of thought could in- 
 terfere to divert hunger, — wore slowly away. 
 Jones refused to take his turn to steer : he 
 lay forward with his face in his hands, cursing 
 and swearing, and calling loudly to the others 
 to seize the breaker and have a good hearty 
 draught at once. It was evident that he had not 
 a very inattentive audience — Barrow and Wil- 
 liamson seemed much inclined to join him ; and 
 although the evil was postponed, yet the thought
 
 212 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 had been engendered. Towards noon the wind 
 died away, and the idle and useless sail flapped 
 against the mast as the boat rolled from side 
 to side. 
 
 Hammerton, who knew that every minute 
 was precious, suggested the necessity of using 
 the oars; and one or two, such as M'Donald 
 and Wilson, immediately took their places. But 
 when they found that Jones, Barrow, and Wil- 
 liamson refused to lend a hand, they remained 
 inactive ; and quite unavailing was the example 
 set by Hammerton, who seized an oar, and 
 worked away until fatigue and annoyance over- 
 came him. He addressed his men again ; but 
 it was useless, — they were clamorous for water, 
 and they resolved to have it. In this they were 
 opposed by M'Donald, Wilson, and Hammer- 
 ton, who in vain kept saying, "Fools that 
 you are ! you only hasten what you wish to 
 prolong. Should you gratify your desire now, 
 how are you to wet your parched lips five 
 hours hence ? Is it not better to bear a little 
 suffering, than wilfully to increase it ? The
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 213 
 
 more you drink, the more you will require ; 
 whilst, on the contrary, the less you accustom 
 yourselves to, the less will be requisite to sustain 
 life. And now, — while the calm prevents the 
 approach of any vessel — now is the time to 
 endeavour by the oars to alter our position, 
 that, should any vessel be neai-, we may ap- 
 proach her."'"' 
 
 " All very fine,"" said Jones : " but I 'd 
 rather die outright than feel what I do." 
 
 " If you 'd just keep yoursel quiet, "' said 
 M 'Donald, " you 'd nae have the fever upon 
 you as you have now." 
 
 " Keep the devil quiet I" returned Jones. 
 "I tell you I'm tliirsty, and I would rather 
 jump overboard five hours hence than live until 
 to-morrow evening and be saved as I feel now." 
 
 " Oh," said Barrow, " no gammon, M'Do- 
 nald : it ""s now every man for himself, and God 
 for us all ; and I say, let 's have a good drink, 
 and never mind to-morrow," 
 
 At this instant Hammerton saw, or fancied 
 he saw a vessel : it turned all thoughts imme-
 
 214 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 diately to the mutual safety, and with one 
 accord they agreed to take to the oars if an 
 extra allowance was served out ; but without 
 this, three of the crew positively refused to 
 work. This was a moment of intense anxiety. 
 The quick sight of JVI'Donald had confirmed 
 Hammerton's report ; whilst Jones, desperate 
 from fever almost to madness, and blinded from 
 eagerness, immediately caught hold of the 
 halyards of the yard and in a moment was at 
 the mast-head. The boat had rolled heavily 
 before from the swell ; and as miseries and 
 misfortunes always assail those in distress, so 
 were they now true to their usual current : 
 the boat surged over on the larboard side ; the 
 halyards had been belayed on that side and 
 made the only security to the mast, — it snap- 
 ]>ed just above the thwart, and mast, sail, 
 and Jones fell overboard. It would have been 
 well for the rest had this man met his fate : 
 but although he was the cause of all the confu- 
 sion which had prevailed, for he alone had com- 
 menced insubordination, and the chance of es-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 215 
 
 cape also might be sacrificed if he was saved, 
 yet such is the inherent generosity of British 
 seamen, that each stretched out liis hand to 
 his assistance ; and as M'Donald said, " Here, 
 Jones, just seize this, my mon," he continued 
 dryly enough, " I 'm just thinking that we 
 might spare his company, for all the good 
 he 11 do us." 
 
 The wreck being saved, the sail was rolled 
 up, and even Jones, having seen the vessel, 
 thouirht it was as well to take an oar ; but 
 not one of the three would pull a stroke until 
 some water had been given them, and Ham- 
 merton, knowing that every minute became 
 more and more precious, persuaded M'Donald 
 to yield to the desire of the three men and 
 give them an extra allowance. The small quan- 
 tity only gave an additional desire without 
 quenching the thirst, and Hammerton discover- 
 ed his error when it was too late ; for the 
 three discontented men, after pulling about 
 twenty strokes, laid their oars athwart, resting 
 their arms upon them, and in sullen determi-
 
 216 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 nation expressed their resolution not to pull 
 another stroke until they had more water. 
 The haze which the calm occasioned was going 
 off as the sun declined, and the stranger was 
 plainly visible : it appeared as if they had 
 already neared her considerably, and Ham- 
 merton was not without hope that, could he 
 near her a little more, she might distinguish 
 the mizen of the boat, which still remained 
 hoisted. It was this apparent closing with the 
 stranger that made the refractory more clamor- 
 ous, and the reasoning of the disaffected reached 
 all but M 'Donald. 
 
 " We shall be saved in an hour,'' they said, 
 " and therefore, why suffer what we do suffer, 
 when at the end of that time we shall not 
 need it .'* Give us the water now and we will 
 work like men ; but we are not horses, to 
 work first and be fed afterwards.*" 
 
 Time now was not like the tortoise — every 
 moment was of value : the slightest breeze 
 might fill the sail of yonder ship — the setting 
 sun and coming darkness might shut her from 
 the sight of those already fatigued with watch-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 217 
 
 ing her ; and who was to inspire the wearied 
 and the hungry with courage wlien the object 
 which Was to reheve both should be invisible ? 
 Whilst the finger could point, the eye bear 
 witness, and the tongue assert, " There she is," 
 there was hope. 
 
 " My men," said Hammerton, " why throw 
 a chance away ? It is true there is the vessel, 
 and we have neared her ; but we are not yet 
 on board. A breeze may spring up : our mast 
 is gone — rendered useless. How then are we 
 to keep sight of her but by the oars ? Con- 
 sider the valuable time we are losing : for if 
 before sunset she does not see us, the even- 
 ing's breeze may take her from us ; and then 
 what are we to do without water, without 
 provisions, without mast or sail, our strength 
 exhausted — our hope gone ? Take example by 
 me and M 'Donald, my lads ; work as we work : 
 every struggle brings us nearer our salvation 
 — every moment lost renders our chance more 
 desperate." 
 
 It was quite useless : the three men refused 
 to pull a stroke, and the fourth and fifth men 
 
 VOL. 1. L
 
 21 S THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 now followed their example, leaving M 'Donald 
 and Hammerton, the only two who still plied 
 the oar and kept the boat Rearing the stranger. 
 At last M 'Donald said — 
 
 " I'm thinking, Mr. Hammerton, there is 
 hut one thing to do, and that nae so pleasant 
 to you and me, who are not such down-hearted 
 curs as those vagabonds without courage for- 
 ward. I '11 just propose to you one thing 
 which will make them work, — and that 's the 
 only thing that will, since we Ve no boatswain's 
 mate among us. Give them the breaker and 
 let them drink their fill, then start the rest 
 overboard. It 's a desperate measure, sir ; but 
 we have to deal with desperate men, and every 
 minute now is worth an hour hence." 
 
 " Good God !"" said Hammerton, still pulling 
 away ; " what do you propose, M 'Donald ? 
 Suppose we do not reach her, what is to be- 
 come of us ?" 
 
 " Die like men, Mr. Hammerton," replied 
 the cool Scotchman ; " and if we don't do it, 
 we shall die like a pack of cowards, as those 
 fellows are there. I'm thinking I've half a
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 219 
 
 mind to see if one of the stretchers might not 
 get a little life into them." 
 
 " I 'd just advise you, you Scotch rascal/' 
 said Jones, " to put a little life into us that 
 way, and we '11 put a little death into you." 
 
 " That 's the mon, Mr. Hiunmerton," re- 
 plied M'Donald, " whose life we saved half an 
 hour ago ! You sec, there \s nae use in piping 
 to people who canna dance." 
 
 " It is one and all," said Hammerton, lay- 
 ing in his oar : " and now then for the 
 water." 
 
 At this intimation all hands made a rush 
 aft ; two of the oars went overboard and 
 drifted astern, none making an eftbrt to save 
 them; and Hammerton and M'Donald not 
 seeing them, the others took care not to say 
 a word about that which might keep them 
 lingering even a moment. With greedy lips 
 each applied his mouth to the pannikin, which 
 was filled and refilled until everyone was satis- 
 fied. Hammerton as he took his last drauirht 
 shook the breaker, which did not contain more 
 than half a gallon, and proposed to save it. 
 
 L ':i
 
 220 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 " Nay, nay," said M'Donald, " that is of 
 nae use even for twa of us. Look here, you 
 Jones, — there 's the ship : do you see her ?" 
 Jones nodded. " And here," said he as he 
 started the rest overboard, — ••' here is no more 
 water — not a drop, and now the oars and 
 your own labour is your only chance." 
 
 This desperate act recalled every man to 
 his senses : they took their seats, and bitter 
 were their curses as the boat's head was turned 
 from the shiji in order to recover the oars. 
 Some time was lost in agreeing to do so ; but 
 Hammerton was resolute, and as even hunger 
 was satiated for the moment by the large 
 quantity of water swallowed, the last spark 
 of subordination gave its twinkling light be- 
 fore it was extinguished for ever. The crew 
 now became sensible that their only chance 
 was hard work and no flinching. The stranger 
 must have been about eight or nine miles distant, 
 and Hammerton, as he cheered them on, said, 
 — " Tv^o hours at the faithest, and we shall 
 be safe. Give way, my lads ; don't keep 
 looking behind you ! And then think how
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 221 
 
 much dearer life will be when by our exer- 
 tions WQ shall have saved it. Stretch out, my 
 l^ds !" 
 
 The men pulled, and pulled their strongest ; 
 M 'Donald was the only one who responded 
 " Pull away, boys !" the rest used their utmost 
 streno-th and in silence did their work. In 
 about half an hour they had neared the vessel 
 considerably, and in an hour, had the vessel 
 been as eager to discover vessels as merchant 
 ships generally were during the war time, the 
 boafs mizen might have been seen ; but the 
 captain was more intent upon trimming his 
 sails to a light breeze springing up from the 
 westward. With dismay Hammerton saw the 
 studdings set to catch the wind, and imagination 
 pictm*ed the ship increasing her distance. Now 
 came the fact, that the time lost in disputing 
 about the water had been the most precious 
 in their lives ; now was the truth confirmed, 
 that had they stuck to their oars when they 
 first used them, they would have been nearly, 
 if not quite, alongside of that ship which, 
 beginning to feel the influence of the breeze,
 
 222 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 was no longer lying becalmed upon the waters, 
 but, with her head in the same direction as 
 the boat, was evidently, from the steady course 
 she maintained, under the influence of the 
 helm. 
 
 Every man saw this, and every man felt 
 that now or never was the moment. The 
 moment had passed : in vain did the man 
 steering the boat stand up and wave his hand- 
 kerchief; in vain he bawled his loudest — 
 his voice never reached one hundredth part 
 of the distance ; in vain the more and more 
 wearied men used their efforts to near her. 
 The palpable truth admitted of no doubt : the 
 vessel was increasing her distance, the boat 
 was unseen, the sun was about to set, and 
 further exertion was unavailing. One by one 
 the oars were laid in ; the breeze had not as 
 yet reached the boat ; and although a cat's-paw 
 or two appeared broad on the bow, and perhaps 
 aloft, there was a breeze, yet they who heeded 
 it most never felt it. 
 
 " It 's nae use, I 'm a-thinking, Mr. Ham- 
 merton, to pull onesel to death after this man-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 223 
 
 ner/" said M'Donald : " we had better see if 
 we can get the foresail up, and they might 
 see that." 
 
 This last chance, desperate as it was, was 
 tried : the broken part of the mast was placed 
 on the step, and two of the crew kept it up- 
 right, whilst others lashed it to the thwart and 
 hoisted the wet sail. Then might have been 
 seen the last effort of human beings, whose 
 reason was half estranged by despair, endea- 
 vouring by every act to catch attention. One 
 placed his jacket on an oar, and held it above 
 the sail ; another had fastened his handkerchief 
 to the boat-hook, and was waving it to and 
 fro ; a third, who coidd not relinquish hope 
 entirely, still pulled an oar, whilst he who 
 had steered relinquished the tiller ; and stand- 
 ing up, supporting himself by the mizen-mast, 
 still hailed the more distant ship, as the tears 
 of disappointment ran down his cheeks. Jones 
 had applied the breaker to his mouth, and had 
 perhaps succeeded in squeezing one drop from 
 the bung-hole, when Williamson snatched it 
 from him and in vain attempted to be equal-
 
 224 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 \y successful : enraged at the disaijpolntment, 
 lie threw the hreaker overboard, and fell ex- 
 hausted on the stern-sheets. 
 
 In the mean time the light breeze had reach- 
 ed the boat, — a mere prolongation of agony ; 
 the end of the halyards was passed round the 
 mast, and secured it pretty firmly to its thwart ; 
 M 'Donald and Hammerton tied up a hasty 
 reef; and the boat thus placed under canvass, 
 made some progress to the southward, in which 
 direction the ship was still plainly visible, and 
 even then hope would not be entirely defeat- 
 ed. Few were the words spoken : Hammer- 
 ton steered, keeping his eyes fixed upon the 
 ship ; but shortly the sun, in one unclouded 
 blaze of light, touched the horizon, sunk, and 
 was invisible. 
 
 It were useless to picture the last efforts 
 of the nearly-exhausted crew. Again the 
 oars were tried ; again was the cheering voice 
 heard ; again the falsehood which hope had 
 pictured as a truth, that they neared the ship 
 fast, was declared ; again even the little jest 
 was heard ; again the " Give way, boys !" re-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 225 
 
 sounded, until the fast-coming clouds of night 
 gathered over the clear sky above them ; and 
 aa the obscurity increased, the darkness of 
 despair became more intense; but when the 
 vessel was ultimately lost sight of, more than 
 one groan reached the ears of all. All was 
 over — every effort was now unavailing : no star 
 would direct them in their pursuit, no compass 
 point the right bearings ; the resolute and ro- 
 bust sank fiitigued and overcome ; the oars were 
 once more boated ; and had not Hammerton 
 still remained faithful to the tiller, not another 
 man would have given himself the trouble even 
 to steer the boat. 
 
 It was at this dreadful crisis that the 
 thirst, satiated for the moment, had now been 
 recalled by the exertions which had been made ; 
 but all knew that no remedy remained. After 
 venting their curses upon Jones, who had been 
 the cause of their sufferings, some extend- 
 ing them to Hammerton, who, had he acted 
 at first as he acted ultimately, would have 
 saved them, the voices, even in cursings and 
 blasphemings, grew more and more indistinct, 
 
 L 5
 
 226 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 until nature was entirely overcome, and all 
 but two sank into a kind of stupor, remain- 
 ing for some time insensible to the peril which 
 surrounded them. Two, however, mastered even 
 exhaustion ; and in the stern-sheets of the boat 
 Hammerton and M'Donald knelt down, and 
 again implored the divine support during the 
 miseries which impended.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 227 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Despair, murder, and punishmoit . — Hope to the lust. — A 
 Sail appears. — Rescue. 
 
 Not long did the pleasure of forgetfulness re- 
 main — not long could those lulled in the stupor 
 which over-exhaustion had occasioned continue 
 in comparative blessedness. The last hour of 
 life will not come for the miserable and the 
 afflicted, however eagerly it may be desired ; 
 and although the strongest are sometimes laid 
 low by the most trivial event, yet the spark is 
 not always quenched without the fierce strug- 
 gle which hope to the last moment never fails to 
 inspire. It is well that it is so ; else the faint 
 of heart would, when the bright colours became 
 a little dim, sink into dejection. But strange — 
 passing strange it is, that those who are nearest
 
 228 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 to dcatli cling with the greatest tenacity to hope ! 
 In atrophy, does not the poor emaciated, ex- 
 hausted skeleton propose schemes the fulfilment 
 of which would require the longest life ; and 
 when the winter is at hand, and death at the 
 door, plan parties of amusement for the com- 
 ing spring, when Nature shall revive, and 
 Fashion give new laws ? 
 
 The light breeze which had sprung up during 
 the latter part of the day freshened sufficiently 
 to blow the mast over the side, the lashing 
 having been insufficient to maintain it erect, 
 more particularly as the broken part only rested 
 on the step. Hammerton and M'Donald re- 
 tained sufficient energy to save both, and the 
 wet sail was hauled carefully into the boat, and 
 the mast placed in security. It was now evi- 
 dent that starvation was near at hand, and 
 that within the small space of a few hours one 
 must die for the rest. M'Donald remarked, 
 
 " I 'm just thinking, Mr. Hammerton, that 
 we are in a doleful situation, — we 're without 
 water, and without a morsel to eat ; and it 's 
 nae use being frightened to death, and still
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 229 
 
 less use putting one of us above the rest. Mis- 
 fortunes humble us alike, and now we are all 
 equal. It 's nae use calling a mon an officer 
 when he has nae authority : and the captain 
 hinisel would not get much attended to by 
 yon Jones there, who ""s already as mad as a 
 real Bedlamite, and has been drinking the salt 
 water for the last quarter of an hour. You 
 and I, Mr. Hammerton, have more streno-th 
 left in us than all the rest put together ; and 
 I 'ra thinking that if any stranger hove in 
 sight now, we should have to save the others. 
 There 's poor Henderson, a ciiild who has 
 seen better days than these, — for none of us 
 has ever seen worse, — he has been singing away 
 as if he were under the forecastle bulwark in 
 a gale of wind. 
 
 " And as for that child of the devil,*' con- 
 tinued M'Douald, " that Wilson, he has been 
 amusing himsel wi"* getting the pannikin and 
 pouring it over Henderson's face to wet his 
 whistle. I 'm thinking, ^Jr. Hammerton, that 
 they are all mad together : for there 's Barrow 
 swearing he's captain of the frigate, and ordering
 
 230 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Williamson to be flogged. I Ve laid my head 
 down whilst you slept, and I have heard it all. 
 Now, Mr. Hammertou, you and I, by the bless- 
 ing of God, are not mad yet ; and I ""m just a 
 thinking that nothing shows a man's mind more 
 than his preservation of himsel and his body. 
 We must stick together and protect one an- 
 other ; we must keep close."" 
 
 " God of all mercies !" said Hammerton in 
 a feeble voice, for the last business of the mast 
 and sail had almost rendered him speechless 
 from exhaustion, "save and protect us in this 
 awful moment." 
 
 " Amen, amen !" repeated M'Donald. " I 
 say amen, sir ; but I ""m thinking that it 's the 
 first law of nature to save yoursel. And of 
 what use is a mon to himsel when he is not 
 himsel ? It 's nae doubt very bad to commit a 
 murder ; but I 'm thinking, Mr. Hammerton, 
 that it 's nae sin to kill one to save five." 
 
 " For Heaven's sake, M'Donald," said Ham- 
 merton, " do not think of it ! Better to die as 
 we are, than to die with blood upon our hands." 
 
 " It 's very right what you say, nae doubt,"
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 231 
 
 said M'Douakl ; " and as long as this piece 
 of biscuit lasts, which I have kept pretty much 
 to mysel, I 'm thinking-, since we got into this 
 scrape, and which, with the half of my shoes, 
 has kept me more alive than the rest, I may 
 think so too ; but if we get mad, there will be 
 murder enough, and perhaps all will perish 
 then." 
 
 " Oh," said Hammerton as he lifted liis 
 hands, " that I could die this instant ! And 
 yet, my little sister, I would live for you ! — who 
 will protect you when I am gone — who will 
 be a father to the fatherless ?" 
 
 " Now, Mr. Hammerton, you are talking 
 just for all the world like a madman and like a 
 wise man. It 's bad enough for the best of 
 us all to die when we are summoned ; but for 
 any man to wish to die who is not absolutely 
 mad, is a cowardice which I ""m thinking was 
 never born in that fine heart of yours. I 've 
 a cliild too in Aberdeen awa, and I must try to 
 live to feed her." 
 
 M 'Donald, who with his usual foresight and 
 prudence had still kept a small piece of biscuit,
 
 232 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 because circumstances requiring it might occur 
 either aloft or in a boat, was, as might be 
 seen, the man best calculated to survive a des- 
 perate event like this. His coolness of tem- 
 per, his general methodical manner of setting 
 to work about anything, had all calculated him 
 to sustain hunger or thirst better than his more 
 irascible neighbours. Now, however, that he 
 saw starvation inevitable, his mind became busy 
 with horrid thoughts. At this instant Jones, 
 infuriated to madness, cursing, swearing, and 
 blaspheming, rushed with an open knife upon 
 Henderson, who was singing a sailor's song, but 
 not with a seaman's voice ; and as he reached 
 the part 
 
 " There 's a sweet little cherub sits perched up aloft 
 To look out for the life of poor Jack," 
 
 Jones caught the Avords, and rushing with 
 maniacal fury upon his comrade, exclaimed, 
 " I 'm the cherub, my lad !" and plunged the 
 greedy blade into his heart. 
 
 M 'Donald saw the deed, and his goodness of 
 heart overcame every other feeling ; he stagger- 
 ed forward, — for Henderson lay on the second
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 233 
 
 thwart from forward, — and wresting the knife 
 from Jones's hand, whilst he in vain attemjit- 
 ed to clutch it more closely, threw it overboard 
 and instantly seized upon Jones. The confu- 
 sion and scuffle awoke the others, \\ho, re- 
 covered a little from their sleepless drowsiness, 
 joined in the uproar with their maniac com- 
 panion. By the united force of M'Donald, 
 Williamson, and Barrow, Jones was removed 
 from the exhausted Henderson. The stream 
 of life flowed fast away from the murdered 
 man, and soon reduced him to so weak a state, 
 that he died without an effort to save himself; 
 and, with a calmness and composure only known 
 in deaths Kke these, surrendered up his spirit 
 without a groan or a sigh. 
 
 Jones, with the violence of a maniac, now 
 seized upon JSl'Donald : but the wary Scotch- 
 man, in order to shake off the murderous nip of 
 the madman, vibrated the boat from side to side, 
 until, watching an opportunity when she surged 
 over on the starboard side, he shook Jones from 
 his hold. The murderer fell overboard and was 
 drowned.
 
 284 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Far different was it now from that day when 
 he fell with the mast ! — no friendly hand was 
 now stretched out to proifer assistance — no 
 eager voice cheered him to exertion — no rope, 
 no oar, no boat-hook was thrown or held to- 
 wards him — not a man but Hammerton heed- 
 ed the feeble cries of the poor wretch, and he 
 sank within a foot of the boat unable to as- 
 sist himself, and without exciting either the 
 pity or the compassion of his shipmates. 
 
 " I would I were you !" said Hammerton to 
 himself as he watched the extended circles 
 caused by Jones's fall. " Far better to be as 
 you are now, than to linger a few hours more ; 
 to see reason blighted in others — to hear mur- 
 der defended — perhaps to live upon the unna- 
 tural food forbidden by God, and only counte- 
 nanced by the savage, — and to feel the gradual 
 approaches of idiotcy pushing reason from her 
 throne. O God !" he added, " in the coming 
 catastrophe may I glorify Thee to the last 
 moment, blessed with the reason with which 
 I am endowed, and surrender my soul to Thee 
 as patiently as my poor comrade !"
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 235 
 
 It is certain that man is capable of receiving 
 the greatest consohition from prayer — nay, that 
 from the hill of disturbed nature wliich cahns 
 his mind he may even control for a time the 
 very hunger which has dictated the appeal ; and 
 it was whilst Hammcrton received this kind of 
 momentary peace, — for it is but an effort 
 of the mind in the belief of the efficacy of the 
 appeal as hunger must still do its ravage, thirst 
 must dry up the mouth, swell the tongue, in- 
 flame the throat, and fever and fury do their 
 worst, — that M 'Donald staggered towards him 
 and sank dowTi at his feet. 
 
 " I could uae help it, Mr. Hammerton,''' he 
 said : " the Lord forgive me for the act ! I 
 saw him murder Henderson ; and although I 
 was half inclined to do some dreadful act, yet 
 somehow when I saw the deed I could nae 
 keep my hands from the ruffian's throat. He 's 
 dead, poor fellow, and I 'm thinking, Mr. Ham- 
 mcrton, after all, that he's better off than the 
 rest of us. I 'm very hungry, sir — very thirsty ; 
 and before daylight, which seems as if it never 
 would arrive, we may be starved !""
 
 236 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 " Wait, wait, M'Donakl," replied Hammer- 
 ton ; " there may still be some consolation in 
 store for us, and mayhap we may yet be res- 
 cued from this dreadful situation by some ves- 
 sel. I can survive another day on this leather, 
 and if we could but manage to bathe we might 
 alleviate our thirst ; but though the water is 
 very near, yet we are too weak to try the ex- 
 periment : if we got overboard, we never should 
 have strength left to get in board again. Wait 
 and until daylight, M 'Donald." 
 
 " I'm just thinking, Mr. Hammerton," re- 
 plied M 'Donald, " that I 'm getting mad very 
 fast mysel.*" 
 
 There came over Hammerton a dizzy gid- 
 diness — nay, the perspiration started upon him 
 in large drops ; he lay down, and became sen- 
 sible of his situation by the intervals of reason 
 between his wandering thoughts. Whenever a 
 trifling reaction brought him to himself, a vision 
 of home, his aged parents, his darling sister 
 Amelia, floated before him ; and when he could 
 command his reason, he always had recourse to 
 prayer for them more than for himself.
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 237 
 
 At length the long-wished-for clay dawned. 
 M'Donald, a little relieved by an hour's slum- 
 ber, was ' the first ^^'ho caught a glimpse of 
 returning light : he did not speak, but resting 
 his chin upon his hands, A\hieh were placed 
 upon the larboard gunwale of the boat, he 
 watched the increasing light, which gradually 
 appeared more palpable, until the sun itself, 
 rising as it were from the bosom of the ocean, 
 shone unclouded upon the miserable men, and 
 showed their eyes the dreadful scene. The 
 crew, now reduced to four, were disposed of 
 in different parts of the boat ; three were in 
 a stupor, the fourth watching, and Hammer- 
 ton praying* ; the daylight showed the latter 
 the situation of himself and his companions. 
 A light breeze still blew, the mizen was still 
 set, and the boat's head would occasionally fly 
 up towards the wind, and then fall off, drifting 
 away to leeward. 
 
 The first thing which Ilammerton perceived 
 was some of the Florida weed close to him. 
 He reached out his languid hand and caught 
 it. Aware that it would onlv make his thirst
 
 2-38 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 the more intense, and yet unable to resist this 
 glutinous sustenance, he carefully squeezed as 
 much of the water as possible from it, and was 
 busily engaged doing so, when Barrow saw the 
 prize. A ray of reason returning, he watched 
 the languid hand of Hammerton feebly re- 
 taining the weed. He was on the after- 
 thwart ; and as all restraint had long since 
 been removed, hunger levelling all superiority, 
 he sprang towards his officer and seized it. 
 Hammerton held on ; and M'Donald turning 
 round and seeing the scuffle, was not behind- 
 hand in securing his share. As they tore the 
 welcome food from their officer, they crammed 
 it eagerly into their mouths : the more they 
 ate, the more they required. In this dilemma 
 Hammerton managed to save for himself a thick 
 piece of the stalk, by allowing both to get a good 
 hold of some of the small branches and then 
 slipping them off. His assailants now turned 
 upon and attacked each other, leaving him free 
 to secure a small piece in his pocket wliilst he 
 hastily swallowed the rest. This welcome as- 
 sistance, and the still greater benefit derived
 
 THE AllETHUSA. 239 
 
 that evening from the fall of a small shower, 
 restored M'Donakl and Ilannuerton a little : 
 but Barroav before noon went raving mad, and 
 he and his two comrades were iu no condition 
 to avail themselves of the blessing bestowed 
 upon them. 
 
 It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
 the forenoon having passed away without the 
 smallest hope of relief from the appearance of 
 any strange sail, that Hammerton perceived a 
 growing wildness in M'Donakrs mannner. "He 
 was thinking,"" he said, " that he should like 
 to go mad, for then all his sufferings would be 
 over." Hammerton endeavoui-ed to use his own 
 former reasonino- against himself. 
 
 Another and another day passed : the breeze 
 still continued. Whether the three men for- 
 ward were dead or not, he was in isfnorance. 
 M 'Donald had lain down to die. Hammerton 
 had stretched himself along the seat of the 
 stern-sheet ; and the boat floated and drifted 
 as the wind blew or the current ran. No mo- 
 tion was visible in any of the crew, save iu 
 Hammerton, w^io occasionally varied his pos-
 
 240 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 ture : all of thought — all of memory was ex- 
 tinct. A boat of more wretched spectres never 
 floated on the high seas. No words were ex- 
 changed : indeed two only could speak. Ten 
 days of hunger and thirst had worn out even the 
 strongest ; and Hammerton, when he saw his 
 stanchest adherent M 'Donald lay himself down 
 leisurely to die, felt the last chord of his own 
 existence snap asunder. 
 
 How long they remained in this forlorn situ- 
 ation, not one of the number knew ; but when 
 the breeze died into a light flow of wind, and 
 before utter exhaustion had prostrated all, a 
 vessel which had passed about five miles from 
 them had been seen by two ; but the rest 
 were not even to be roused by the words that 
 a stranger was near them. A slight effort to 
 attract attention was fruitlessly attempted, and 
 when the sun went down the last hope disap- 
 peared with it. 
 
 Tt happened that the Jonathan of New York, 
 in her return to her port, crossed the track of 
 this devoted boat. The wind being light, and 
 the merchant-ship hardly steering through the
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 241 
 
 water, she might have been seen to alter her 
 course. A lug-sail had been observed by one 
 of the seamen who had crawled aloft to repair 
 the foot of the fore-top-gallant sail ; the glass 
 confirmed her as a boat apparently untenanted ; 
 the ship neared the unusual stranger, and objects 
 became more visible — still not a soul was seen. 
 The sea was smooth, the boat rode upon the 
 ^^•ater without rolling ; and in that manner she 
 was approached by the Jonathan, until the ship 
 was steered alongside of her. The horrid stench 
 was enough to frighten the American fi-om his 
 first intention of appropriating his prize to his 
 own use. And when he ran alongside and, 
 securing the boat, saw the five people motion- 
 less, the captain had determined to sink her, 
 in order to avoid any fever which contagion 
 might spread in his vessel. The mate's obser- 
 vation that one might be alive, induced the cap- 
 tain to risk a closer observation before he pro- 
 ceeded to put his intention in execution ; 
 and then it was, as the boat touched the side 
 of the ship, that Hammerton lifted one hand, 
 and murmured out loud enough for intense 
 
 VOL. I. 31
 
 242 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 attention to overhear, " My God ! my God ! 
 we are saved I" It required nothing more 
 than the indication of life to prompt the most 
 generous efforts of the American. Hammer- 
 ton was brought on deck by means of a 
 rope fastened round him : the buttons on his 
 waistcoat, for his jacket had been lost, con- 
 firmed the captain in the knowledge of his 
 rank, and he was instantly taken to the cabin, 
 stripped, and laid in a cot. M'Donald was 
 alive, — a hammock was ready for him : the 
 rest were dead, not one showing the smallest 
 symptom of animation. The horror of the 
 scene appalled the bravest mind. The men 
 were afraid to touch them ; the loathsome smell 
 still clung to the boat ; and to shorten as much 
 as to alleviate the symptoms of growing discon- 
 tent in those who were ordered to assist, — for 
 when the men who retained symptoms of life 
 had been removed, even the boldest of the 
 crew shrunk from the scene which by turning 
 over the bodies of the dead was made visible 
 to them — the order was given to scuttle her. 
 The boat which had been true to them whilst
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 243 
 
 living-, became their coffin when dead. The oar.i 
 and sails were handed out ; and when scuttled, 
 she was cast adrift from the ship. She sank 
 gradually as the water rushed in and filled 
 her. In her sank the remains of Barrow, 
 Williamson, and Wilson : they died without 
 knowing that death was near; and the element 
 which they had chosen for the theatre of their 
 services rolled over them and swallowed them 
 in its fathomless abyss. The crew of the 
 Jonathan watched the last inch of the gunwale 
 as it gradually sank below the surface, and 
 the waters of oblivion and eternity covered the 
 dead. 
 
 M S
 
 244- THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Tribune ashore at Halifax. — Awful night. 
 
 On board the Tribune of course the greatest 
 anxiety prevailed as to the fate of Hammer- 
 ton and his comrades. From the time the 
 haze cleared off, a most vigilant look-out was 
 kept for the boat ; as the wind subsided, guns 
 were again fired, men were placed aloft \^ith 
 glasses, and not an ofiicer in the ship went 
 below until darkness came on, and it was be- 
 yond question that no boat was in sight. 
 
 To leeward were two of the convoy ; one 
 dismasted, and the other in all the confusion 
 of a merchant-ship whose sails had been split 
 by the squall. They were a considerable dis- 
 tance off; and one of them showing a whiff as 
 a signal to speak the commodore, it was sur-
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 245 
 
 miseil that Ilammerton with the boat might 
 have reached the vessel. The Tribune, there- 
 fore, bore up, edging away to the south-east. 
 This, as the boat had stood to the northward 
 directly the north star was visible, made the 
 distance so great between them, that the dawn 
 of next day only confirmed the apprehension 
 of the last evenin<jr. Still, however, there was 
 hope. When the boat was last seen, she 
 was near some of the ships ; and although 
 the vessel which had shown the whilf in ortler 
 to get some assistance had not seen her, yet 
 others might have picked her up : and thus 
 those who really liked Hammerton, and who 
 knew the value of men ever ready to risk 
 their own lives for others, kept up their spirits 
 under the delusion that they should meet again 
 at Halifax. Captain Barker being unable to 
 persuade the captains of the two merchant-ships 
 to continue their course, — one having sprung a 
 leak, and the other being a complete wreck, — he 
 lent every assistance to the former ; and having 
 rigged jury-masts for the latter, they stood 
 away to the northward, made the island of
 
 246 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 St. Mary's, and then parted company from the 
 frigate, which ship continued her course to her 
 destination without one of her convoy. 
 
 On the 16th of November the harbour of 
 Halifax was discovered ; the wind being from 
 the east-south-east, blowing fresh, and the ship 
 nearing the land fast. Murray, whom Cap- 
 tain Barker had noticed from his exertions to 
 be of service in the boat, and from his conduct 
 since on every occasion, was ordered to get 
 ready to go ashore in the gig. Released from 
 the surveillance of Hammerton, he had joined 
 Weazel in all his frolics ; and the messmates 
 of both, regarding them as youngsters likely to 
 rise to high honour in their profession, as they 
 had so gallantly come forward on the before-men- 
 tioned occurrence, overlooked most of their prac- 
 tical jokes or laughed at the frolics of the boys. 
 
 The harbour's mouth being visible, and the 
 dangers of the navigation known. Captain Barke 
 desired the signal for a pilot to be hoisted, and 
 the ship to be hove to. The master, Mr. 
 Clubb, a man of known worth, and yet not 
 worth much, seeing that if the pilot came 
 
 r
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 247 
 
 on board, the money allowed for that service 
 would pass into other hands, remarked to Cap- 
 tain Barker, when he gave the above order, 
 that he had before beaten a forty-four gun frigate 
 into the harbour ; that every rock and shoal 
 was as well linown to him as the dead-eyes in 
 the main-chains ; that as the captain was anx- 
 ious to anchor without delay, he would take 
 charge of the ship, and as the wind was ftiir 
 there could be no danger. 
 
 To such a statement what captain could ad- 
 vance an objection ? The signal was coun- 
 termanded. " Never mind the gun — forward,'' 
 was heard ; the sails were filled ; and the 
 conmiander of the frigate, in the ftill assur- 
 ance of the perfect security of his ship, having 
 ordered leadsmen into the chains, went below 
 to his cabin in order to collect his papers, 
 prepare his report, sign his log, and finish his 
 letters. In the mean time the Tribune ap- 
 proached the Thrum-cap ; and Mr. Clubb, hav- 
 ing consulted a negro who had formerly be- 
 longed to Halifax, but whose character was 
 sufficiently bad to have subjected him several
 
 248 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 times to punishment, felt convinced the ship 
 was standing in free from all danger. To his 
 question to this effect, he might have remarked 
 the malignant, sinister look of the black, as he 
 replied, " Him steer good com'se, sar, — no ab 
 fear, ISIassa Clubb — him shoal out there ; and 
 reallv for true, the man wid um lead no more 
 use than rum to catch Jamaica-fly.'" 
 
 Mr. Clubb in reality knew nothing at all 
 about the pilotage ; and in those days the ad- 
 miralty charts were not on the splendid scale 
 of the present time. Not overflowing' with the 
 golden current, he thought that, under the direc- 
 tions of the negro, and with the assistance of 
 Mr. Galvin, one of the master's mates, a man 
 conversant with the difficulties and dangers, 
 the harbour might be entered in safety 
 without the pilot-money going to a stranger. 
 In all cases like the present, a certain timidity 
 may be observed in any man undertaking what 
 he knows he cannot perform ; and to such a 
 nervous degree of excitement had Mr. Clubb 
 arrived, that he took fisherman's turns, called 
 out to know the soundings, looked over the side,
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 249 
 
 and exhibited feelings very contrary to the cahii 
 disdain of danofcr arisinjr from accurate local 
 knowledge. 
 
 About noon the ship had approached so close 
 to the Thrum-cap, that ^Tr. Clubb could no 
 longer command his fears : he sent down in- 
 stantly for Mr. Galvin, who followed the mes- 
 senger on deck at the moment that the man 
 in the chains called out, with the long, care- 
 less notes by which the soundings are invari- 
 ably accompanied, " By the mark five !""' The 
 negro, who considered himself the pilot, and who 
 was quite pleased with the confidence reposed 
 in him, remarked, " Berry good leadsman ; — 
 teddy boy at de helm :" but Mr. Galvin's look 
 of horror when, on jumping upon one of the 
 carronade slides, he beheld the situation of the 
 ship, convinced Mr. Clubb of the danger she 
 was in ; and as he seized the wheel with the 
 intention of wearing off shore, the ship struck 
 with tremendous force and remained fixed upon 
 the rocks. 
 
 Mr. Weazel, who was below, instantly called 
 otit to ^Murray. " Bv Heavens, Murray, the 
 
 M 5
 
 250 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 ship 's fallen overboard, and you '11 have to walk 
 on shore on the iron ballast !" Murray had 
 no time to heed the fun. The confusion occa- 
 sioned by this event baffles all description. 
 The men had been sent below to clean them- 
 selves for going into harbour, the ship being 
 considered by the first lieutenant as perfectly 
 safe under the master's charge, with a leading 
 wind and all marks plainly visible. The noise 
 of the crew as they rushed upon deck, and the 
 horror apparent in all, bewildered Murray, 
 who found himself quietly seated on the deck. 
 Weazel availed himself of the confusion to run 
 against his enemy unawares, saying, " Out of 
 the way, Johnny Newcome I don't you know 
 the ship's on shore, and every man ought to 
 be on deck ?" Murray was not slow to follow 
 his tormentor ; and if the squall mentioned in 
 the preceding chapters had blanched the cheek 
 of some of the oldest seamen, this calamity 
 produced a greater extremity of fear, for the 
 men ran to and fro without any order or re- 
 gularity ; and it required the cool command of 
 the captain more than once when he called,
 
 TIIL ARETHUSA. 25J 
 
 "Every man to his station — shorten sail!" 
 before order could be restored. The order re- 
 peated soon enforced obedience ; but few can 
 tell how hard it is to maintain discipline when 
 fear predominates. 
 
 As the sea rolled on heedless of the danger 
 it created, the Tribune felt every shock the 
 more severely : the mainmast as she struck 
 amidships slackened the stay, and as she re- 
 covered herself, flew back to its original posi- 
 tion with such force as to render it dangerous 
 to be near : the masts and yards shook — nay, 
 rattled, and it was useless to attempt to send 
 men aloft to furl the sails, for they would 
 inevitably have been shaken from their holds 
 and have lost their lives. The signal of dis- 
 tress was hoisted — and that signal is not made 
 on board a man-of-war until the danger is im- 
 minent. It was answered instantly by the 
 ships in the harbour, whilst at the military 
 stations they conveyed the intelligence in land. 
 Then was to be seen all the generous ardour 
 with which men court danger to save their 
 countrymen : boats from the dockyard under
 
 252 THE ARETHUSA, 
 
 the boatswain of that establishment, and even 
 some of the boats at the military stations, iin- 
 awed by the high sea and increasing wind, 
 succeeded, after enormous labour and unremit- 
 ting struggles, in reaching the ship ; but others, 
 equally zealous in the cause, in vain toiled and 
 toiled — the sea drove them back into the har- 
 bour ; and although many more volunteered 
 and again and again tried to render service by 
 being in readiness to land the crew, all labour 
 was ineffectual, and they were as often forced 
 back, until the increasing wind rendered the 
 attempt abortive. 
 
 In the mean time Murray was learning a 
 great lesson in his profession. It is in danger 
 that British seamen are most conspicuous : 
 the boldest soldiers have been seized with a 
 panic and have fled — the English sailors have 
 frequently at a sudden disaster lost all courage 
 for the moment ; but both rally, and as they 
 look with more calmness at the accumulating 
 danger, so they brave it more steadfastly and 
 oppose it more manfully. Murray soon exhi- 
 bited symptoms of his daring character, and
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 253 
 
 he even distanced Weazel, who was, hke him- 
 self, a novice in shipwrecks. Murray quitted 
 the captain's side only to convey an order 
 — he knew in that alone he could be useful, — 
 the order delivered, he was back again ; and 
 young as he was, it was observed that when 
 the ship struck the hardest, he betrayed no 
 symptoms of fear, but kept his eyes steadily 
 on his captain as if to anticipate his commands. 
 In the mean time the perilous situation of 
 the ship became obvious : the gale was fast 
 increasing ; the night — a long night of No- 
 vember was closing in upon them ; already had 
 the haze of the evening dimmed the welcome 
 shore, and the thick mist of the gale gradually 
 spread around. The crew, assisted by those 
 from the shore, were busy in lightening the 
 ship : the guns were thrown overboard ; every 
 shot that could be reached was thrown clear of 
 the ship ; the sails were backed so as to assist 
 in clearincf the shoal should she float ; the 
 stores were given to the sea, — everything which 
 could assist in the object, with the exception 
 of cutting away the masts or the boats, was
 
 2.54 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 tlirown overboard, and exhausted nature almost 
 sank under the continued exertions. 
 
 It was now dark — the night had closed in : 
 the rolling sea with its white heads came 
 rushing on higher and higher : above no moon 
 shone to cheer them, or exhibited the lamp of 
 night to point out a place of refuge should she 
 float ; but the heavy clouds seemed to fly over the 
 devoted ship, while as the sea increased she was 
 lifted the higher to fall the more heavily. Ay, 
 and well each seaman knew that the hard sides 
 which had rolled over many a sea must shortly 
 yield to the harder rock on which they struck, 
 and that the worst danger now was her float- 
 ino- clear of the shoal. No bell marked the 
 hour — no watch was called to relieve the tired — 
 no hammocks were hung to welcome the sleepy ; 
 nor could all the exertions of the crew avail 
 against the storm : the ropes were flying about 
 unbelayed, — the whole scene on board was inde- 
 scribable confusion, and no pen — no, not of those 
 who have witnessed such scenes the most fre- 
 quently, can draw any adequate picture of the 
 dismay, the apprehension — the almost abandon-
 
 THK ARETHUSA. 255 
 
 inent of hope on board the frigate. The long 
 night had but begun, and who was to survive 
 to see the sun rise ? The gale came howling 
 through the rigging, whilst the sea as it dashed 
 against the ship surged by her with a deafening 
 roar or broke right over her. 
 
 It was at half-past eight that Daniel Mun- 
 roe, a fore-top-man, who was then in the star- 
 board mainchains, called out that the ship was 
 afloat: a sea which had threatened destruc- 
 tion swept her oft' the rock, tearing the rud- 
 der from the stern-post. The well was in- 
 stantly sounded, and the cry of " Seven feet 
 water in the hold !" told the dismayed and 
 wearied crew that all escape was impossible. 
 Still, however, they did not throw a chance 
 away : the chain-pumps were instantly rigged, 
 and little Murray might be seen endeavour- 
 ing to turn the heavy winch. His voice as he 
 cheered the men seemed to recall them to them- 
 selves ; and that boy by his example kept them 
 to their work. They could not despair when a 
 boy so young seemed ignorant of the danger ; 
 and as the carpenter reported that the pumps
 
 ^56 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 gained upon the leak their efforts were redoubled. 
 Hope gleamed for a moment ; it was possible 
 that the anchor might hold — that the carpen- 
 ter's report might be true, and that the ship 
 might be kept above water until the long-wish- 
 ed-for dawn should appear. The lights which 
 blazed upon the hills only convinced the crew 
 that those on shore knew their danger ; and as 
 they stood high above the beach, they were no 
 guides to lead them to the best place on which 
 to run the ship. How many an eye was turn- 
 ed to those beacons — how many a heart 
 panted to be there — and how often did the 
 weary seamen look toAvards them ! 
 
 The best bower was let go — that was an 
 anxious moment ; the cable flew through the 
 hawse-hole, setting fire to the bits, and running 
 out to the clinch, snapped. Vain was every 
 effort to stopper the cable or to choke the 
 hawse-hole : the sea was running too high for 
 any cable to have checked her, and hope, 
 justly painted as an anchor, had parted. The 
 jib and fore-topmast staysail were now set : the 
 former sail was split, but the latter answered
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 257 
 
 the intention of keeping the ship off the wind ; 
 and in this might be traced the wavering dis- 
 position which chmg to the hope of yet saving 
 the ship, and still running lier nearer the shore, 
 on which she must inevitably be wrecked. 
 
 The sonth-east gale still increased, and the 
 shore bore north-west : no sail hke a topsail 
 could have been carried ; and even if the reef- 
 ed courses and close-reefed topsails could have 
 been carried, the ship was too far to leeward 
 to weather the points which embayed her ; and 
 now that heavy deadening sound which follows 
 the roaring waves as they split upon the shore 
 might be heard. The leak evidently gained 
 upon the pumps — the approaching shipuTeck 
 was more manifest, when again the last effort 
 of seamanship was tried. Soundings in thir- 
 teen fathoms had been called, when the small 
 bower was lot go, the fore-topmast staysail 
 hauled down, the mizeumast and all the top- 
 masts were cut away, and for a minute even 
 the least sanguine hoped. It was but for a 
 minute : the ship, which had rode to her anchor, 
 gave a tremendous pitch — the cable snapped
 
 258 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 like a rotten stick, and the Tribune fell broad- 
 side to the wind. The catastrophe was now at 
 hand ; the roar of the sea as it ebbed from the 
 shore became more and more distinct ; the surf 
 -^(for at that time, as if to mock the prayers 
 of the weary crew, the moon shone to point out 
 the horrid death which awaited them) — became 
 visible, towering up the black steep rocks, ob- 
 scuring them in its mist and then whitening 
 the waters as they fell below. All order was 
 gone. The crew crowded towards the gangway, 
 from which the horrid view was most percep- 
 tible : some, knowing that death was close, re- 
 solved to gratify their appetites by breaking 
 into the spirit-room, for that as yet remained 
 untouched ; some hastily reviewed their lives, 
 and seemed to live again in scenes far, far 
 away ; whilst others knelt down and prayed. 
 A few had been below and dressed themselves 
 in their best clothes. But Captain Barker still 
 remained on deck watching the near approach 
 to the shore. Beside him, holding on by the cap- 
 stan in order to steady himself, stood Murray . 
 he appeared the only one unmoved by the
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 259 
 
 danger ; he had wound himself up to face any- 
 thing ; and when Barker took his hand and 
 pitied him and his father, the resolute lad re- 
 plied, " We have yet a good struggle for life : 
 I can swim, and I shall do my best."" 
 
 It was about ten o'clock. The ship rolled 
 over the waves, but there was an unsteadiness 
 in the roll : each time as she recovered herself 
 she seemed to stagger like a drunken man ; 
 she did not rise quickly to the sea, and she 
 fell with a more sullen lurch. The pumps 
 were now deserted : the continued report that 
 the water gained upon them had been made 
 through Murray to the captain ; and knowing 
 that seamen may be disheartened, he kept the 
 secret to himself. But the warning came from 
 those who went below to have one long draught 
 before they died : the after-hold was afloat, 
 the cockpit was impassable, and they returned 
 on deck shouting, " The ship is sinking ! the 
 ship is sinking !" Then indeed rose the cry 
 of a loud farewell ; then some ran up the 
 rigging, others jumped in the quarter-boats to 
 cut them away, whilst others held on an oar
 
 260 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 or a spare spar. The oi-der to cut away the 
 lashings of the booms was quickly obeyed, for 
 each saw a chance of safety from some floating 
 spar ; but whilst almost all were engaged in the 
 work of self-preservation, Murray thought not 
 of himself, but of others. In the ship were a 
 few women and one or two children : they had 
 come aft to the stump of the mizen-mast. The 
 horror of the night, had the ship been whole, 
 was sufficient to scare the weaker sex ; but 
 now that they comprehended the extent of the 
 danger, kneeling down with clasped hands round 
 their children, they vainly lifted up their prayers 
 in all the Incoherency of madness. But not for 
 themselves did these women implore assistance : 
 it was for their helpless children — for their daring 
 husbands. This scene attracted Murray's atten- 
 tion ; and, even at that moment, he endeavoured 
 to comfort them. He persuaded them to run 
 forward, as there they might cling to the rig- 
 ging he actually caught one of the children 
 from the mother, tore it from her arras, and 
 with it reached the forecastle. The mother 
 followed, screaming for her lost child, and
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 261 
 
 mingling curses upon Murray with the cry for 
 mercy from above. 
 
 Captain Barker knew, and so did his offi- 
 cers, that every chance was over, and that 
 the ship would never float to reach the shore. 
 He hurriedly took leave of all near him ; whilst 
 the women, believing that a captain can save, 
 rushed towards him and knelt doun, seizing 
 him by the legs. It was at this distressing 
 moment that the ship gave two heavy lurches, 
 shook as if overpowered, and sank. A loud 
 shriek arose that seemed the parting farewell of 
 the brave crew ; and two hundred and forty 
 men, besides the gallant few who had reach- 
 ed the ship in boats, and the women, were in 
 a moment plunged in the angry element. 
 
 Murray Avas at the instant when the ship 
 foundered in conversation with Mr. Galvin, 
 who was still urging the men below to try 
 the pumps : both were washed clear from 
 the ship, M'hich as she sank soon touched 
 the ground, for she had shoaled her A^'ater to 
 about ten fathoms, leaving her upper works 
 under the water, whilst her main rigging half-
 
 262 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 way up was above the surface. Each struck 
 out to regain the ship and reached the rigging, 
 although Mr. Galvin had managed to evade 
 the grasp of three of the drowning crew, who 
 had endeavoured to clutch liim in their dying 
 efforts. Murray got into the maintop, support- 
 ing himself against the arm-chest, which had 
 been secured to the mast. 
 
 About one hundred men still kept above 
 water, holding on by the shrouds ; the rest had 
 perished — the sea had washed them far away, 
 and their bodies rolled upon shore, breathless, 
 dead. The foretop had been reached by 
 ten men, who endeavoured to secure them- 
 selves there in the hope of surviving the night. 
 No assistance was possible — no boat could have 
 lived in that raging surf; the south-east gale 
 was at its highest, and the iron-bound coast, 
 as seamen call that part which presents nothing 
 but abrupt hills or cliffs rising perpendicularly 
 from the high-water mark, threatened that, 
 should one more fortunate than the rest reach 
 the shore, it could be only to be there dashed in 
 pieces. Thus, deprived of all chance of succour,
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 263 
 
 did these hundred men, worn out witli fatigue 
 and cokl, make jjreparations to pass the night. 
 For an' hour the numbers scarcely diminislied ; 
 but now, as the sea dashed over them, their 
 grasp became more and more feeble. Then 
 was the horror of the night at its highest ; 
 for sudden death, when the corpse is removed 
 from sight, shocks not imagination like the 
 gradual ebb of life, as wave after wave dimi- 
 nishes the strength, enfeebles the mind, and 
 deadens the little remaining energy. Then was 
 heard, as the wind appeared to lull under the 
 approach of a roaring sea, the feeble cry for 
 help ; and when it passed rolling higher and 
 higher, and boiling in its savage fury, one or 
 two who called aloud for mercy were swept 
 from the wreck.
 
 26 i THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Perilous situation of Murray. — Bravery of a Boy. — 
 Cowardice of Landsmen. 
 
 The storm continued with unabated fury — 
 midnight was advancing. At first one by one 
 of the men were swept away : towards morning 
 the number had been reduced to about fifty. 
 Despair soon rendered others desperate — more 
 than one slackened his hold and dropped into 
 the sure death beneath. In vain those higher 
 up the rigging called out to their comrades be- 
 low them to hold on ; — few l<now the resistless 
 power of the sea as it sweeps towards a 
 shore — the utter uselessness of prolonged op- 
 position ; — but above all other voices those of 
 Galvin and Murray were heard, still exhort- 
 ing the men to pass their bodies between the
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 265 
 
 ratlines, keeping their legs on the other side, 
 and to hold on, " like grim death." 
 
 Towards two o'clock almost the \\hole had 
 disappeared ; — some calling upon their more for- 
 tunate shipmates to bear home their last fare- 
 well and remembrances : others, with a levity ill- 
 befitting the scene, died cursing everything, up- 
 braiding those in the top for not changing places 
 with them, promising to return to the post of 
 danger when their strength was recruited ; and 
 whilst they thus taunted them with the coward 
 disposition which kei)t them aloof from the 
 greater danger, the mainmast fell and every one 
 had a struggle. 
 
 Before this happened, Murray, being aware 
 that in the event of an accident his clothes 
 would much impede him, had stripped oft* his 
 jacket and trousers, and although thrown off" 
 the maintop, he endeavoured to regain it ; for, 
 as if destined to be a haven of security to 
 some, the top rested on the mainyard, that 
 being held to the wreck by a portion of the 
 rigging. Galvin reached it in safety ; but 
 Murray was yet struggling for life. His feeble 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 ^()6 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 efforts would never have availed ao-alnst the 
 sea which Avas now fast approaching, had not 
 Galvin reached out his hand to his aid; and 
 catching firm hold of his hair, placed Murray 
 in comparative security. 
 
 Still many hours were left to face death in 
 its worst approach. How long — how very 
 long — will the strength of man last, though 
 wearied, when life, wretched life is the ob- 
 ject of preservation ! and after, perhaps, hav- 
 ing surmounted the dangers — having avoided 
 that which has been called " of all dreadful 
 things the most dreadful" — how frequently 
 does he linger on in poverty and wretched- 
 ness, toiling and labouring only that he may 
 live, although life be a burthen to himself! 
 
 In this scene of desolation, when the angry 
 waves burst against the shores, shivered like 
 mighty artillery into minutest drops, uniting 
 again as they fell and sweeping in their recoil 
 the poor strugglers, who imagined themselves 
 in safety from their grasp, how Itfud was the 
 call to Him who had been until then forgotten ! 
 — Then would the insatiate wave sweep by and
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 2G7 
 
 over them ; and as they recovered their breath 
 with frequent gaspings, they would see one of 
 their number gone — the gap left where a human 
 being had lived not a moment before, and an- 
 other wave rolling on appearing to them higher 
 than the last, or perhaps ready to burst upon 
 them. 
 
 So passed the night — a night of horrors never 
 to be effaced from the memory of Murray ; and 
 he — for justice bids us state it — was the boy 
 (man he could not be called) who evinced the 
 most generous courage of them all. 
 
 It was soon evident that the fore was a much 
 more secure haven than the main top : the 
 latter, resting on the mainyard, was more liable 
 to be swept to atoms than the one which was 
 only passed over by the surf, and which re- 
 mained stationary as long as the foremast 
 would stand; whereas the maintop occasionally 
 shifted, and from that insecure abode already 
 two had been washed away. Murray, who was 
 wise enough, if not sailor enough, to know 
 that a few seas more — or only one if it burst 
 upon them, would sweep them all to destruc- 
 
 N 2
 
 26S 
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 tioii, proposed to Galviu tlie dangerous ex- 
 pedient of reaching the foretop. Galvin was 
 quite aware of the insecure position which they 
 held ; but he feared being swept away to lee- 
 ward even from the hold of the rope by which 
 he proposed to pass, and which was ascertained 
 to be fast to some part of the rigging forward : 
 he would not allow Murray to make the ex- 
 periment alone, and he was fearful himself to 
 be the first to try it. 
 
 "We never shall get there safe," said the 
 brave fellow ; " and as I have saved you once, 
 I'm not inclined to lose you now. It is to 
 be done ; but you are too weak, and I cannot 
 spare one hand if I have to haul myself along 
 the rope." 
 
 "Then Til go first," said Murray; "my 
 life is of no more value than yours : I cannot 
 make myself stronger, and by delay I shall 
 become weaker. Give me the rope ; I '11 wait 
 until this sea has passed, and then I '11 start 
 directly." 
 
 " I would rather," replied Galvin, " take my 
 chance where I am. The top has held on, and
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 269 
 
 may still ; and I 'm not sure but by clianging 
 we may be worse." 
 
 " That may be," said Murray ; " but I think 
 otherwise : you will do as you like." 
 
 The sea swept along as before — another and 
 another had gone ; and almost before it had 
 passed, Murray swung himself upon the rope 
 and contrived to reach the foretop in safety. 
 Here, however, was no place of security : in 
 the top three men were dead. They had clam- 
 bered up the fore-rigging, as their shipmates 
 had been swept away, until, from the crowds 
 which had clung to the ratlines, ten only re- 
 mained. These three, exhausted and half- 
 drowned, lay down and died at the moment 
 they were apparently safe ; and Murray, when 
 he reached the top and threw himself down, fell 
 upon the lifeless bodies. Here, however, was a 
 repose. The seas, as they towered along, swept, 
 it is true, occasionally as high as the top ; but, 
 generally speaking, they passed below it, the surf 
 or spray alone flying into it. A short time re- 
 stored Murray ; — he was not a lad to be killed 
 easily — liis mind would have supported him
 
 270 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 where almost any other's would have failed ; 
 — and he began instantly to see who were his 
 new comrades. They were only four in all, — 
 Dunlap, Munroe, Weazel, and another. The 
 two first-named seamen considered themselves 
 safe as long as the foremast stood — the last 
 lay panting and almost dead; and after some 
 conversation as to the probability of assistance 
 at daylight, a feeble voice was heard in lubber's 
 hole, and Weazel was recognised. Assuming 
 the command, Murray desired Munroe and 
 Dunlap to assist him in throwing the dead 
 bodies overboard ; and this was done without 
 a murmur. He then got Weazel into the top 
 and lashed him securely to the larboard side : 
 he took the same precaution with the exhaust- 
 ed seamen, and sat down to wait for day. 
 
 Far along the eastern horizon already had 
 streaks of light heralded the approach of the 
 sun ; the thick masses of clouds, as they rose 
 from the horizon to discharge themselves in 
 heavy showers or to feed the wind, began to 
 assume a lighter hue ; the shore became more 
 distinct ; and the eye of hope could discern some
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 271 
 
 few on the cliffs watching the wreck, and wait- 
 ing as if to tender assistance. 
 
 Murray told his shipmates to fasten a pocket- 
 handkerchief, or any article of dress which could 
 be distinguished, to the broken part of the 
 toprail ; for he well knew that nothing would 
 tend more to stimulate those on shore to render 
 assistance than the proof that some were yet 
 alive. It was useless to stand up and attempt 
 to wave it, as Munroe did, for that was wasting 
 strength ; and sanguine indeed must that man 
 have been who expected assistance, when he cast 
 his eyes towards the shore and witnessed the 
 tremendous roll of the surf. 
 
 Daylight came : Galviu was in the maintop 
 — every man was gone but himself and four 
 others, and he seemed ftiiut and exhausted. 
 One by one they had dropped off — human 
 nature could not support itself longer ; the 
 hands, so firmly fixed upon the shrouds, at 
 last opened, and the body fell ; — there, rolling 
 over and over, it was dashed against the shore 
 without a sign of life, a mangled and breathless 
 corse.
 
 272 THE ARETHUSA 
 
 With the sun came a trifling decrease of the 
 gale ; the wind souievvhat abated its force ; but- 
 the sea rolled on, the surf looked more horrible 
 than darkness, and Murray found it advisable 
 to quench a little of that hope which evidently 
 was nurtured by the seamen. As for Weazel, 
 he was insensible : he lay stretched out, and 
 Murray's kind attention to him, by rubbing 
 his heart and his feet, alone appeared to keep 
 in the little portion of life which seemed to 
 flutter before it expired. 
 
 Long did the time appear between daylight 
 and eight o*'clock, and yet it was only half an 
 hour. The conspicuous signal was answered 
 from the shore, and hundreds were seen waving 
 their hats, as if to animate the sufferers to a 
 longer exertion ; but no boat came — there was 
 apparently no haven from which a boat could 
 come, — all seemed an iron-bound coast, now 
 whitened by the surf and spray. 
 
 " It is impossible," said Murray to Dunlap, 
 who kept his eyes fixed upon one part of the 
 coast, " that any boat could live in such a sea 
 as this. We had better keep quiet ; we shall
 
 THE ARETHUSA, 273 
 
 have need enougli of all our patience and energy 
 before we walk upon that cliff." 
 
 "I'd give a trifle just now," said Munroe, 
 "for a, piece of salt junk and a glass of grog; 
 and I think I could hold out four-and-twenty 
 hours longer." 
 
 " The gale is breaking to windward," said 
 Dunlap ; " and I think, if I were there, I wouUl 
 try if I could not get out of Herring Cove, 
 which lies round that point. But it 's not any 
 of those men who arc walking up and down 
 like a marine before the cabin-door who 'U get 
 into a boat to save us : we had better do as Mr. 
 Murray says, for we may have to swim for it." 
 
 "There ffoes another," said Munroe; and 
 each eye was directed to the maintop. An- 
 other had been swept away : in vain the poor 
 wretch held out his eager hands — no one could 
 assist him, although for some short time he 
 wrestled strongly against his fate. They saw 
 him gradually grow more and more faint and 
 faint, until at length a sea lifted him on its 
 surue, and dashed him aQ-ainst the rocks. Those 
 on shore saw and watched him approaching to 
 
 N 5
 
 274 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 the verge of the beethng cHif ; but assistance 
 was vain, and curiosity was soon satisfied. 
 
 It was now near eleven o'clock, when Dunlap 
 called out the glad tidings that a boat was 
 endeavouring to round the point. " I see her ! 
 I see her !" was spoken by all. 
 
 " Here, Weazel, my boy," said Murray, — 
 "here's a boat coming off: cheer up! cheer 
 up !" 
 
 " Leave me ! leave me V said the poor fellow ; 
 " let me die or sleep !" 
 
 " Neither one nor the other," said Murray, 
 " if I can help it ; we must all be awake now, 
 for now comes the trial. She ""11 never reach us 
 in this sea, I fear ; and what a skiff it looks !" 
 
 " There 's only one man in her," said Dunlap ; 
 " and how he is to get her through this sea I 
 don"'t know ; but he must be a right good one 
 to venture it alone. They say it 's sweet to be 
 hung in company ; and drowning alone is cold 
 work." 
 
 " Ay," said Murray as he looked towards 
 the maintop, " cold enough. Thank God, how- 
 ever, Galvin yet holds on ; and if one boat
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 275 
 
 reaches us, fifty may come. I dou't think she 
 nears us : do you, Munroe ?*" 
 
 " Yes, sir, — yes ; lie 's forther out from the 
 land than he was: but I'm blessed if I ever 
 saw such escapes ! There ! he rides over it, and 
 he 's safe ! — there ! he bends his back ! If ever 
 that man lives to reach us, he shall have all 
 my back pay ; which, now as the purser 's gone 
 and his books are destroyed, will be a pound 
 or two more than I reckoned upon." 
 
 " Hold on in the maintop !" roared Murray 
 as he saw a sea higher than those which had 
 rolled for the last quarter of an hour. It came, 
 it passed — four only remained ; but he that 
 was gone was not watched — every eye was 
 turned towards the boat. 
 
 It neared the ship ; and then wonder, as- 
 tonishment, exclamation, and gratitude were at 
 the highest pitch. The boat was a mere skiff, 
 pulled by a boy not more than thirteen years of 
 age. With immense perseverance he toiled at 
 liis oars ; as the sea approached him, he slacken- 
 ed his exertion, and the boat rose gradually 
 to the swell. It passed; and the youngster
 
 276 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 again, as if inspired with supernatural strength, 
 strove to gain his object. Nearer and nearer 
 the httle frail skiff approached the wreck, when 
 IMurray stood forward and waved for it to 
 pull to the maintop. The boy never heeded 
 the signal, but was pulling towards the fore- 
 top ; and even those nearest to him, although 
 they thought how sweet was life and how 
 near the chance of saving it, never contradicted 
 the order, as Murray screamed out to save 
 the men in the maintop, and to leave him and 
 his companions to another chance. There stood 
 those weather-beaten seamen, their hair blowing 
 out in the gale, wet, soaked, hungry, jaded, 
 nearly exhausted : but they never opposed the 
 generous offer ; on the contrary, Dunlap said, 
 " Galvin 's a brave man, and he cannot last 
 much longer. We are safe, — or, at least, safer 
 than he is.*' 
 
 The lad who had thus nobly risked his own 
 life was in no situation to pull about from 
 mast to mast , and having got under the lee 
 of the foretop, he turned his boat round and 
 backed her towards it.
 
 THE AIIETHUSA. 277 
 
 " Quick ! quick !" he said : "I can only 
 carry two, and I 'm already nearly swamped/" 
 
 "Jump in, sir," said Munroe to Murray. 
 
 " I ;jump in ?" replied the youngster : " never ! 
 I was the one who proj)08ed the boat should 
 go to the maintop, and I will not avail myself' 
 of its having come here." 
 
 " Well said, sir," ejaculated Duulap ; "by 
 G — d you will be the greatest man in the navy : 
 I won't go — I won't leave you !" 
 
 " And I hope 1 may drown if I do !" said 
 Munroe. " No man shall say Daniel Munroe 
 looked to save himself when his officer refused 
 to leave the wreck. He may go ashore again 
 for me." 
 
 " Let us put Mr. Weazel and this poor fel- 
 low in the boat," said Murray. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," both responded; and with the 
 greatest care (for it was ticklish work, and as the 
 boat could only touch the top brim, or rather 
 come below it, for a second, and one instant's 
 unsteadiness and the people vhey endeavoured 
 to save would have been drowned,) did these 
 brave fellows lift up Weazel and Waller, and
 
 278 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 landing tliem safely in the boat, gave tlie gallant 
 youngster three cheers as he pulled towards tlie 
 shore and left them exposed to all the perils 
 they might have escaped.""* 
 
 Those were no common -hearted men who 
 could have cheered the boy as the boat left them 
 again exhausted and in imminent peril : neither 
 should the increased blackness of the clouds be 
 
 * Tliis is no fiction — no conjuring up a hero to dress 
 a novel ; the whole is true — every name, with the excep- 
 tion of two, real — every circumstance occurred which has 
 been mentioned ; and the only regret now experienced is, 
 that the name of the boy, who was worth a legion of men, 
 should have escaped unknown. The historian of this cala- 
 mitous wreck, James in his " Naval History," toiled with all 
 his known perseverance (and if ever a man persevered in 
 the cause of historic truth, James was that man ; his unre- 
 mitted research is perfectly wonderful) to rescue the name 
 of this young hero from oblivion ; but in the greater ex- 
 citement which followed the loss of the Tribune, the poor 
 little fellow's gallantry was forgotten : for those who looked 
 on were ashamed of their own cowardice, and therefore did 
 not come forward to attest the truth, when they must have 
 been censured for witliholding their aid ; and thus he who 
 ought to have been pensioned for life, who should have 
 been held up as one worthy to be emulated, probably 
 died in obscurity, and the fame of all his daring feats may 
 have been usurped by another, who, whispering his own 
 bravery, has risen upon the valour of the boy.
 
 THE ARCTHUSA. 279 
 
 altogether overlooked, for at noon on this day 
 the weather again indicated a continuance of 
 the gale. The eyes which one moment watched 
 the skiff as it rose in security over the wave 
 and surged along to its haven, turned with a 
 saddened apprehension to the squalls settling 
 to windward ; the dark mass of clouds resting 
 as it were upon the horizon, whilst the higher 
 roll of the sea indicated that farther off to 
 windward the gale had increased rather than 
 diminished. 
 
 Each man waved his hand as the Ijoat darted 
 round the headland and was in security. Mur- 
 ray felt an elevation of mind as he retraced 
 what he had done. What would his father 
 have said to this noble conduct ? and how 
 would all the faults of the boy be lost in the 
 blaze of an action which the proudest man 
 who ever lived might have rejoiced to have 
 numbered amongst his greatest feats ! 
 
 " They are safe," said Munroe, " and long 
 before this are piping to dinner ; but Mr. 
 Weazel won't go to sleep without thinking of 
 us. I recollect when you slijjped overboard,
 
 280 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Mr. Murray, — that clay when Mr. Hammer- 
 ton went adrift, — he was one of the first 
 in the boat to assist yon ; and now you 've 
 saved him, and like a man too : and this is it, 
 sir, — I must say I should like to shake 
 hands with you," 
 
 " Here, my fine fellow,"" said Murray, holding 
 out a hand ; " and here "'s the other for you, 
 Dunlap ; and if I could reach Galvin, he should 
 have them both. Cheer up, lads !" he continu- 
 ed, "the worst is over. Those idle vagabonds 
 will he ashamed to wander up and down there, 
 looking on doing nothing, when that boy gets 
 ashore and tells them that we are here. We 
 must keep up our spirits." 
 
 " I wish I had some of the purser's spirits, 
 I know," said Munroe ; " and if ever I do get 
 on shore, I 'm mistaken if I don't bowse my jib 
 up in memory of this escape." 
 
 " You had better be thinking of something 
 else, Munroe," said Dunlap ; " for the wind 's 
 getting up, and I see no one coming out to lend 
 us a hand."
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 281 
 
 " But I do," said Murray ; " for there is 
 the youngster again, or his boat." 
 
 Again, sure enough, came the same boat and 
 the same boy : tired as he was, the shout of 
 ap])lause which greeted him as he landed the 
 nearly dead persons prompted him again to 
 brave the i)crils he had escaped. " What ! 
 can't I get any one to lend me a hand ?"' said 
 he. Not an answer was made. Some, it is 
 true, were anxious to carry away Weazel and 
 Waller, and all volunteered to take them to 
 the nearest house ; but amongst all the people 
 there assembled, and there were plenty of sea- 
 faring men amongst them, not one volunteered 
 — not one threw off his coat and offered to 
 stand by a boy of thirteen — not one proposed 
 to launch a larger boat — uor even offered a 
 reward for others to go ! 
 
 " What ! not one out of such a batch as 
 you be ?" said the boy. " Then here 's try it 
 again by myself ; and if I 'm capsized, I hope 
 some of you will look to mother, and take care 
 she dont starve or come to mischief. They
 
 282 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 call me a boy in the village," said the daring 
 lad as he sat down in his little boat and got 
 his oars out ; " but there is many a man of 
 six foot high, and I see plenty of them, who 
 is afraid to pull round Herring Cove Head ; 
 although if it was calm it would be, ' Young- 
 ster ! get out of the way and make room for a 
 stronger hand.' — Give us a launch there. Bob, 
 will you ?" said he to a lad of ten years old ; 
 " and don't let any one else but a boy touch 
 the boat. I 'm very tired,"" continued the 
 youngster ; " but I won't leave those to die 
 who might have saved themselves, but gave 
 up their chance to those poor helpless fellows I 
 landed — and one of them is only a boy." 
 
 " Stop," said an old fellow of about eighty ; 
 " I will go with you." 
 
 " No, no, daddy," replied the boy ; " you 
 may as well stay at home and keep warm. 
 There," said he as he winded his boat, " look 
 at that grey-headed man and be ashamed ! 
 There you stand hale and hearty by scores, 
 and you let an old infirm man volunteer, and 
 leave a boy to pull against a gale of wind ! —
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 283 
 
 Well, here goes !" and he forced his little skiff 
 ahead in the smooth water : " one can but try." 
 
 It seemed at first quite evident, even to those 
 who felt a little inclined to a personal risk, that 
 the boy would never reach the wreck ; but those 
 who saw what he had accomplished had yet 
 some hopes ; for the goodness of human nature 
 at that moment overbalanced the slight satis- 
 faction which would have been felt by all had 
 the brave youngster perished : then indeed they 
 might have found a trifling excuse in the cir- 
 culation of the anecdote, while they heightened 
 the danger and ridiculed the temerity of the ac- 
 tion. The youngster when he landed his half- 
 dead cargo was so fatigued as to be unable to 
 render any assistance; but the buoyancy of 
 youth rose superior even to physical exliaus- 
 tion, and reanimated by the cheers which 
 even these heartless cravens had given, he felt 
 what he had accomplished and nobly dared it 
 again. 
 
 In Halifax harbour every exertion had been 
 made and failed: the jolly-boat of the Tri- 
 bune, which had left the ship with one or two
 
 284 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 officers who had witnessed the wreck, cand who 
 volunteered assistance in the first instance, and 
 before indeed such a calamitous termination 
 had been anticipated, had tried and tried again ; 
 but all in vain, — the sea ran so high near 
 the entrance of the harbour that the boat was 
 washed back, and more than three times near- 
 ly swamped. All that gallantry and a noble 
 disdain of life could effect had been done in 
 that quarter ; but it was from Herring Cove 
 alone that any assistance could be given, for 
 It was a kind of soldier"'s wind, " there and 
 back again," from that point ; the greatest dan- 
 ger was in fu-st rounding the headland — and 
 from this Cove only a boy could be found to 
 face the danger ! 
 
 It was, as may be conceived, a time of in- 
 tense anxiety to those in the fore, and the 
 very few left in the main top. The rest had 
 all perished : each sea had taken its victim — 
 each minute had rendered life more precarious. 
 Hunger and thirst, fatigue, anxiety, hope, fear, 
 had all contributed to waste energy, until at 
 last one or two preferred an instant death
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 285 
 
 to the lingering uncertainty and pain which 
 assailed them. More than one feebly cried, 
 "God 'bless you, boys, if you live to weather 
 this gale, remember me ;" others lifted up their 
 dying voices in prayer, and as if inspired with 
 a courage to overcome the fear of death, drop- 
 ped designedly hito the foaming waters below, 
 and were swept in the boiling surf far far 
 away. 
 
 " He does not get much ahead," said Mun- 
 roe. " Poor fellow ! I wish I was at that oar 
 
 now. If he gets into the surf once '' 
 
 " Then amen," interrupted Murray. " We 
 must hope for a better end to such a gallant 
 spirit as that. I fear he does not near us at 
 all ; and to windward it looks very angry." 
 
 " I 'm in hopes the gale is broken," said Dun- 
 lap ; "for the clouds have risen considerably, 
 and they don't hang together as much as they 
 did." 
 
 " I wish," said Munroe, who in the height 
 of danger could still find time for a bad joke, — 
 " I wish all those fellows on shore were hang- 
 ing together to those clouds Avitli only slippery
 
 286 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 fingers to hold on by. A lazy, cowardly set of 
 curs, to be airing their heels on the top of 
 the cliff, when it ""s down below they ought to 
 be washing them ! I wish I had the muster- 
 ing of those rogues by divisions, and leave to 
 freshen their ways according to my notion !" 
 
 " Good God !" said Murray, " he is swamp- 
 ed !" 
 
 " No, sir," said Dunlap, who had watched 
 the boat with almost breathles anxiety ; " thank 
 God ! not so bad as that. He has given it up 
 and has turned back — he must be tired in- 
 deed. He''s getting nearer and nearer to 
 the surf — ay, he does not meet it now as he 
 did. There, thank God ! he rises again over it : 
 I thought that last sea must have swamped 
 him. He's getting close; he'll do it yet !" 
 — " Hurrah !" they all cried at once ; " he has 
 rounded the point and is safe."
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 287 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Mwrays escape from the Wreck. His tcmptution and fall. — 
 New Years Eve in Somersetshire. 
 
 That hurrah was sincere — the brave always 
 feel for the brave. Murray, Dunlap, and Mun- 
 roe felt a secret pleasure in believing the little 
 hero safe, although it might leave them yet with- 
 out a prospect of relief. Munroe, whose spirits 
 were better and higher than those of his com- 
 rades in affliction, was the most vehement in 
 praise of the youngster ; and as they sat down 
 in the top to rest themselves after the painful 
 exertion, he said, "There's many a man been 
 worse off than we are, and yet got saved. I 
 have seen the weather fore-topsail brace give 
 way in a squall, and the lad who was rigging 
 in the top-gallant studding-boom went over-
 
 288 THE ARETIIUSA. 
 
 board, tlie ship going about ten knots, on a 
 dark night, and yet he has been saved. Some- 
 thing will be done from Halifax, — although, to 
 be sure, it 's getting towards dark again, and 
 here we are like so many purser's shirts on a 
 scrubbing-day hung out to dry after being 
 pretty well seasoned with salt-water." 
 
 " It 's quite impossible," said Murray, " that 
 Galvin can hold out during the night ; and who 
 knows that the foremast may not go, and we 
 be all sent adrift .^" 
 
 " Then it will be fair play and no favour, — 
 we should all have a swim for it," replied 
 Munroe. " Why, Dunlap," continued he, *' you 
 seem to have got your figurehead a fixture, — 
 why, you keep your eyes on the same bracings, 
 and brighten up like a chap when it 's ' Grog 
 ahoy !' " 
 
 "There's a boat coming out of Halifax," 
 cried the seaman with delight : " I saw her just 
 now. There ! there ! she is again rising over 
 the sea to the left of that bluff point." 
 
 " I don't see her," said Murray. 
 
 " Let 's take a squint, sir," said Munroe : " I 'm
 
 THE AllETHUSA. 289 
 
 more accustomed to a masthead-lookout. There 
 she rises sure enough ! Well, we Ve time 
 enough to dive behnv, and get our chest aud 
 bags out of the lower deck before she arrives. 
 She 'U get here ! — they are not like those Her- 
 rin<r Cove cowards. There ! she rides over it 
 like a duck ! — Hold on, Galvin !" said he ; 
 " there 's liberty for shore coming along. Cheer 
 up ! cheer up ! we '11 turn into a snug berth 
 to-night yet." 
 
 " I pray that you may prove a good pro- 
 phet, Munroe," said Galvin. "How cold and 
 wretched I feel ! and yet that boat keeps me in 
 hope — she rides over it famously. I see her 
 now ! and she closes us fast ! Why, there 's 
 another just astern of her !" 
 
 " Yes,"' said Dunlap, who had never taken 
 his eyes from her, " I see three more : if the 
 mast and top but keep together for another 
 hour, we shall have a fair chance of being 
 saved. When three or four boats pull toge- 
 ther, one cheers the other, and no one likes 
 to be first to give up : they are sure to be 
 good ones, or they would not be there." 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 290 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 The foretop was the nearest to the boat now 
 fast advancing, and every time she rose upon 
 the sea, Murray turned his eyes to see if 
 Galvin was safe : he appeared quite insensible, 
 and lay stretched upon the maintop, his head 
 apparently jammed in the rigging, which mainly 
 constituted his support. The boat came within 
 hail, and Murray stood forward. 
 
 " Pull first," he began, " to the maintop : 
 we can hold on a little longer. But there they 
 are quite exhausted." 
 
 The boat, however, still maintained its course 
 for the foretop : the man who was steering the 
 boat kept waving his hat, as if to cheer the 
 sufferers to hold on longer ; and seeing more 
 people in the foretop, he directed his attention 
 first to them. 
 
 "Not one of us," said Murray, "will get 
 into the boat until those in the maintop are 
 saved." 
 
 " This is no time for talking," said the steers- 
 man ; " stand by to jump in as the boat rises." 
 A sea came and washed them to leeward ; the 
 boat was again backed, and again all three
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 291 
 
 declared they would not get into the boat 
 unless she went first to the maintop. Seeing 
 all pei;suasion useless, and having three times 
 narrowly escaped, the boat went to the main- 
 top, and by dint of great perseverance and most 
 excellent management they succeeded in saving 
 Galvin and two other men all insensible : they 
 were lifted into the boats by those who availed 
 themselves of a second's lull to jump into the 
 top, when the rare opportunity occurred. By 
 this time another boat had reached the foretop, 
 and the three gallant fellows, the only three 
 who had maintained their senses, jumped into 
 her, Murray insisting on being the last. Some 
 cloaks had been brought out, and the almost 
 naked, shivering son of Sir Hector Murray was 
 the last who would accept of a covering, al- 
 though from his appearance, and the eagerness 
 of the two seamen to pay him respect, it was 
 evident he the officer was the one who had 
 most nobly behaved himself. 
 
 Out of a crew of two hundred and fifty 
 people, twelve only had been saved; two by 
 the youngster, six by the boats as just related, 
 
 o 2
 
 292 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 and four in the jolly-boat before the ship 
 struck the second time. Amongst those who 
 perished were the captain, and all the lieute- 
 nants and midshipmen, with the exception of 
 Weazel and Murray. The master, who was 
 the sad cause of this wholesale calamity, and 
 two hundred and fifteen seamen and marines, 
 perished ; but no blame whatever could attach 
 to the captain. 
 
 It is unfair to deny an officer the small re- 
 muneration to which he is entitled — nay, it is a 
 stimulus to make masters become pilots, — it is 
 the hope of this reward which makes them toil 
 whilst others sleep, to weary themselves in sound- 
 ing shoals, and fathoming rocks and difficulties, 
 when their duty on board is done. For one 
 ship which has been lost by their cupidity and 
 ignorance, to use no harsher language, (for in 
 this case it is evident that when the master said 
 he knew the pilotage, he was not speaking the 
 truth,) hundreds of ships and thousands of lives 
 have been saved. How often does it happen 
 that ships in gales of wind are obliged to run for
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 293 
 
 51 harbour out of which, it being a lee-shore, 
 no pilot can come ! It is the knowledge of 
 the pi-lotage by the master which saves the 
 ship, and which, under his assertion that he 
 is acquainted with the port, warrants the cap- 
 tain in seeking the security of a haven. But 
 no words can be sufficiently strong to censure 
 the conduct of those peoi)le of Herring Cove 
 who refused to render any assistance, although 
 stimulated by the successful exertions of a mere 
 boy. Had this wreck occurred on the Goodwin 
 Sands, thousands of those gallant fellows, the 
 Deal boatmen, would have come forward. No 
 surfM-ould have stopped their endeavours; they 
 would have tried, (although we are quite aware 
 they might not have succeeded,) and those who 
 cluno- to the wreck would have found that their 
 countrymen keenly felt their danger and did 
 not hesitate to risk their own lives to avert it. 
 
 How imminent was the peril to the few who 
 survived, may be conceived from the fact that, 
 as the boats pulled towards the shore, the main- 
 top was observed to have been washed away ;
 
 294 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 and long before they entered the harbour, the 
 foremast had disappeared ! In one half hour 
 longer, and all but two must have perished. 
 
 The generosity of the people of Halifax is 
 well known to all officers of his Majesty's 
 navy : on this occasion two of the principal 
 merchants received the seamen into their 
 houses. Murray was removed to the house of 
 the commissioner, and every attention which 
 experience could prompt and liberality supply 
 was generously afforded. Two, however, died ; 
 but Murray, at the expiration of a week, was 
 seen walking about quite recovered. 
 
 Strange it was, that he who felt so much for 
 the life of the youngster as he turned his boat 
 and left him almost without a hope — he who 
 could then cheer him and speak in raptures of 
 his conduct, had now grown proud with his 
 security, and left till to-morrow the duty of in- 
 quiring after the boy. Not once even did Mur- 
 ray take the trouble of visiting Herring Cove. 
 But the two seamen who, with Murray, had 
 witnessed the boy"'s exertions, were no sooner 
 recovered, than they walked over to the
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 295 
 
 Cove; and having found the youngster, each 
 gave him some trifle which they had saved when 
 wreckdd; however, they saw him only once, 
 for men were much wanted in the different ships, 
 and a week after they reached the shore, they 
 were drafted on board different vessels, and 
 were soon separated, perhaps for ever. 
 
 It now became a duty, which the commis- 
 sioner urged upon Murray, to write a letter 
 to his father. The reports of the loss of the 
 frigate had gone to England without the names 
 of those who had been saved. When such a de- 
 struction of life was circulated, a parent Avould 
 feel most anxious to ascertain from his own 
 child the proof beyond contradiction that he 
 had been saved. The little energy which a 
 sailor's Ufe had instilled into Walter vras fast 
 ebbing, and day after day he was sinking into 
 his former state. At last the packet arrived ; 
 and as the letters for the Tribune were directed 
 to that port, Murray mustered up energy 
 enough to inquire if there were any letters 
 for him, or for the other midshipmen of the 
 Tribune : he particularly asking for those which
 
 S96 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 might be directed to Hammerton. He received 
 two ; one for himself, and one directed to his 
 unfortunate and still-hated messmate. The 
 Wow given by the latter had never been for- 
 gotten ; and even now, when he thought him 
 dead, or far beyond his vengeance, he regretted 
 the event, not in sorrow for the supposed suf- 
 ferer, but because it deprived him of some of 
 that pleasurable feeling arising from meditated 
 revenge. 
 
 " I shall take charge of these two letters," 
 said he ; " and as both are in the handwriting 
 of my father, I can mention to him my having 
 received them."" 
 
 Had there been any impropriety in giving 
 up Hammerton's letter, the character which 
 Munroe and Dunlap had spread of Murray 
 would, in all probability, be considered by the 
 postmaster a guarantee that the letter would 
 reach its proper destination. The letter was 
 given and quietly placed in his pocket, whilst 
 that of his father to himself was opened and 
 i-ead. It was a letter of advice, not of credit : 
 it urged Murray to be attentive to the advice
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 297 
 
 of Hammeitoii, mentioned Sir Hector's close 
 intimacy with the fiither, spoke iu the highest 
 terms pf the httle girl, and was very atfection- 
 ate and very admonitory throughout. The 
 curiosity of the hoy soon mastered any honour- 
 ahle feeling he might once have been taught ; 
 and when he got into his own room, he began 
 looking at his father's letter to Hammerton. 
 
 " I wonder," he commenced, " what that 
 old respectable grey-headed papa of mine can 
 be writing to this lout ; of course it is all 
 about me — he can have nothing else to write 
 about; and as Hammerton, by the blessing of 
 Heaven, has long since paid an unexpected 
 visit to the sharks, I may as well learn all 
 that he would have told me from my father 
 himself. There can't be any harm in opening 
 the letter, because if it does contain advice 
 I ought to have the benefit of it, — and if it 
 does not, why I have only shown a laudable 
 desire to be instructed. Then if Hammerton 
 is dead, which in spite of all the captain said 
 is likely enough, he never can see the letter ; 
 and if he is not dead, I can remember the con- 
 
 o 5
 
 298 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 tents much better than I can send the original. 
 So that, upon all points of principle and interest, 
 — and money matters rule the world, — I think 
 I had better just take a peep." 
 
 The harbouring of a dishonourable thought 
 is the first step towards the committal of a 
 crime. He who is convinced that he is treading 
 upon slippery ground seeks the surer steps of 
 the bank ; but he who is heedless plunges at 
 once into the mire. The more he then struggles 
 to extricate himself, the deeper he generally 
 sinks : like a man in debt, unless he can give 
 np all at first, it is a hundred to one if he ever 
 retrieves himself— as he pays off with the left 
 hand, he runs in debt with the right; as a 
 check is given for present payment, a bill at 
 six months is drawn for trifling contingencies. 
 The safest way then is to avoid all temptation. 
 
 Hammerton's letter was very unceremoni- 
 ously opened ; from the envelope fell an en- 
 closure in the handwriting of Hammerton's 
 father ; and although the commissioner had 
 given what money he thought requisite, yet 
 the sight of the fifty pounds in his father's
 
 THE ARETIIUSA. 299 
 
 letter to Hammerton was irresistible. It was 
 the easiest thing in lite to say that it came 
 in hi& own letter, — indeed, why mention Ham- 
 merton's at all ? It was read, wondered at, 
 skimmed again, concealed. The one from 
 Hammerton's father was retained : in the 
 event of being asked for a letter, there it was. 
 Sir Hector had never written to Hammerton 
 before, why should he now ? It is the easiest 
 thing in the world to imagine an excuse, but 
 the most difficult thing in life to he with con- 
 sistency. The fifty pounds had cleared away 
 all obstacles, the letter of Hammerton's father 
 was returned to the post-office, but Murray 
 slept not quite so soundly that night as after 
 he had landed and saved Weazel. 
 
 In the mean time, the last-named gentleman 
 having recovered from his fatigue, began some 
 of his boyish tricks ; and his room being prefer- 
 red to his company, he was despatched to Eng- 
 land to join some other ship, where we propose 
 leaving him to follow the fortunes of our more 
 prominent friends. 
 
 New Year's Eve 1799 was kept in all due
 
 300 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 form by Sir Hector Murray : the asli and 
 fag-got ball, a Somersetshire piece of antiquity, 
 was held at Taunton, and the worthy baronet, 
 who was always partial to old customs, made 
 a point of attending it. In those days, when 
 the hour of midnight of the 31st of December 
 was close at hand, large faggots bound round 
 with ash bindings were placed upon the fire ; 
 the company generally sat round this blazing 
 hearth, and at every crack occasioned by the 
 bursting of the bands, the merry guests gave 
 loud hurrahs and quaffed their generous ale : 
 the old year thus departed under a fire of 
 satisfaction, and the new year was ushered in 
 by merry faces and grateful hearts. It was a 
 sort of thanksgiving for favours received — an 
 acknowledgment to Providence with a cheerful 
 countenance of all the blessings which had been 
 bestowed ; and far, far better is it thus cheer- 
 fully to offer up thanks than, with long, lank, 
 straight hair, to whine over the calamities and 
 miseries of existence — to believe merriment 
 a sin and recreation a misdemeanour. Sir 
 Hector was in high force that night ; he had
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 301 
 
 persuaded old Mr. Hammerton to allow Ame- 
 lia to join in the amusement. The worthy old 
 man never quitted his young charge for a mo- 
 ment, and as the various groups passed and re- 
 marked the beauty of the little affectionate girl, 
 Sir Hector felt an inward satisfaction and looked 
 upon her as he would have done upon a daugh- 
 ter. The evening passed, the baronet returned, 
 and the next morning at breakfast he found 
 seated at his table old Mr. Hammerton and his 
 silent interpreter Amelia. The common saluta- 
 tion having been performed, Mr. Hammerton at 
 once began — 
 
 " I have received a letter from Frederic, Sir 
 Hector, and it contains a description of his 
 miraculous escape from the dangers and diffi- 
 culties by which he was surrounded." 
 
 " What !" interrupted Sir Hector, " an ac- 
 tion, I suppose ? Victorious of course ? the 
 navy, thank Heaven, are seldom defeated.'" 
 
 " Not so, Sir Hector, — worse, ten thousand- 
 fold worse." 
 
 " Is my son safe ?"" interrupted the baronet ; 
 for there was a rumour of the loss of the
 
 302 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 Tribune afloat, but so garbled and so contra- 
 dictory that no one believed it. 
 
 " Yes ; he is safe. But in saving his life, 
 Frederic nearly lost his own. You had better 
 hear the letter." 
 
 Sir Hector manifested a little impatience ; 
 and old Hammerton read the account of the 
 boat, with the danger and deprivations neither 
 heightened nor abbreviated, but a plain straight- 
 forward narrative of that which has already 
 been related, and it terminated thus — 
 
 " ' In all my sufferings, dearest father, I 
 thought of you and of Ameha : I knew that 
 my death would rob you of your only prop, 
 and Amelia of her only safeguard. I never 
 lifted up my prayers for my own safety with- 
 out eagerly soliciting that God would endow 
 you with sufficient fortitude to bear up against 
 the calamity should it please Him to shorten 
 my days. My prayer has been heard ; I am 
 yet alive and able, I trust, to work for your 
 maintenance. The first money I can gain shall 
 be transmitted to you ; although I confess at 
 this moment I see but little chance of earn-
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 303 
 
 ing more than is absolutely necessary for my 
 subsistence. For the present I must remain 
 in this small village, situated on the banks of 
 St. James's River, in the Chesapeake. I had 
 anticipated landing at New York, but we Avere 
 driven off the coast in a gale and ultimately 
 reached this place. Do not grieve that I am 
 without money, or indeed without raiment ; I 
 am spared to you, and I am grateful that I 
 am thus enabled to hope that I may contribute 
 to lighten the load under which you have so 
 long groaned. I shall work my way to Eng- 
 land, if I can fall in with some English 
 man-of-war and find some unexpected assist- 
 ance. I am grateful for the misfortunes 1 have 
 undergone, as they will teach me hereafter, 
 should chance plunge me into difficulties, not 
 to despair when danger looks the most dread- 
 ful, or give up life without a struggle to pre- 
 serve it. The hand — the bountiful hand of 
 Providence, which has sustained me in this 
 trial, may yet guide and direct me safely to 
 you ; and that I may one day be blessed with 
 your blessing, and again see my own dear
 
 SO'4 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 affectionate mother and sister, is the unceasing 
 prayer of your ever-dutiful son. 
 
 " ' P. S, — I hope young Murray will con- 
 tinue to do and to improve as he did before 
 he slipped overboard. He is a bold, dar- 
 ing, desperate youngster, with one or two 
 little failings which time and a midship- 
 man's berth will rub off: he is a rough dia- 
 mond ; but rely upon it he will never dis- 
 gTace his name if chance should throw the 
 Tribune alongside of a force double her strength. 
 I forgot to mention that it was in endeavouring 
 to save the lives of others that he fell overboard 
 himself. It happened on my dear little Ame- 
 lia's birthday.*' " 
 
 " Strange are the ways of Providence, and 
 short-sighted indeed is man ! You remember, 
 Hammerton,"" continued Sir Hector, " that on 
 that very day when your son was thus left 
 to the winds and the waves, we were drink- 
 ing his health and imploring God to protect 
 him." 
 
 " You may rely upon it, Sir Hector," an-
 
 THE ARETIiUSA. 305 
 
 swered Hainmertoii, " that this meeting of the 
 American ship was the means predestined to 
 save hrim.''"' 
 
 "A fiddlestick, Hammerton ! — predestined 
 indeed ! Then why did not the first ship save 
 them ?" 
 
 " Because it was ordained," repUed the 
 staunch okl man, " that the crew were to 
 be starved and die. You may laugh, Sir 
 Hector, but nothing can shake m}' taith : I 
 am certain in my own mind that nothing is 
 the eftect of chance — everything is ordained, 
 and we walk blindly into the snare we cannot 
 avoid." 
 
 " I wonder, Hammerton, would you think 
 so if a man was busily employed cutting your 
 throat with a blunt knife ?" 
 
 " Certainly I should, Sir Hector ; and I 
 should hope that the man enjoying the high 
 situation of finisher of the law would have 
 been predestined to exercise his art upon the 
 murderer. But tell me, sir, have you any 
 tidings of the Tribune ?" 
 
 " There are reports by hundreds : one, that
 
 306 THE ARETHUSA. 
 
 she was wrecked in Halifax ; another, that she 
 was blown in the gale off Bermuda and there 
 signaled ; others, that she was seen going into 
 harbour with her number flying ; another, that 
 she had fallen in with a French frigate, and hav- 
 ing been dismasted and left a wreck, was seen 
 under jury-mast standing towards the Azores ; 
 but as no two accounts agree, I am quite 
 prepared to believe that the ship is safe 
 enough, and only wish the accident-manufac- 
 turers of the newspapers would find some 
 other vessel to lose besides the only one in 
 the navy in which I am personally interested. 
 I was about to remark upon your son's letter. 
 He seems inclined to come home ; I think it is 
 a pity he did not endeavour to get to Halifax ; 
 he might work his way up to New York, and 
 thence he might reach his own ship." 
 
 " His poverty, and not his will, consents to 
 the steps he is about to take ; — it certainly 
 would have been the wisest plan, one would 
 have supposed, to have done so." 
 
 " I wrote to your son, Hammerton," continu- 
 ed Sir Hector, " and I took care not to make
 
 THE ARETHUSA. 307 
 
 the letter merely one of advice. Now, indeed, 
 I could have wished him to have received that 
 letter ; for, to tell you the truth, I wrote it 
 on little Amelia's birthday, and I sent him 
 a trifling present to let him know the interest 
 I took in my little favourite, and that he par- 
 ticipated in my best wishes." 
 
 " You have, my dear Sir Hector, placed us 
 all under a load of obligations which we can 
 never return, excepting by a grateful remem- 
 brance of them : and now I leave you Fre- 
 deric's letter to scan over at your leisure, and 
 by the aid of charts and newspapers to make 
 out the situation of the Tribune." 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
 
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